Creating content for your website isn’t the easiest thing to do. Various steps are carefully considered before this happens – you have to have an idea, think of possible ways to go about this, execute, and then promote this piece of content for the world to see. It is only fair that after you have succeeded with all of this, that you’re able to monetize your website and the content you have been able to create.
Some methods of monetization are simple, some a little more complex, but all can work wonders – if done right. Here are some of the popular ways to monetize your website.
Sponsored Posts
One of the most common ways to monetize your website is by accepting sponsored posts from brands and public relations companies. Now and then, these organizations hope to leverage on existing platforms to be able to communicate with their target audience. For this, they send you the content or ask you to create it and make it more in line with your demographic. Take, for example, a new beverage brand launching in Lagos would take advantage of a popular Lagos blog that recommended foods and drinks to its audience. For this, it is always necessary to grow your existing audiences and if possible, focus on niches.
Affiliate Marketing
Simply put, affiliate marketing is an agreement between your website and a brand where you direct potential customers towards their site and earn a commission. This could be in two ways – either for clicks, where you’re paid per click to the website. This mostly happens when the said brand is looking out for awareness. Alternatively, it could be for acquisition, where you’re paid per every customer who makes an action. This action could be buying a product, signing up for an email list etc.
Display Ads
Have you ever been to a website and see those big banners, which are sometimes annoying begging for attention all over the page? These are called display ads and they are one of the simplest ways to make money. With this format, you receive a commission from the advertisers (mostly search engines like Google) for every time that a reader on your site clicks through to the advert from your page. Alternatively, you can also sell these display ad spaces to brands by studying their approach to their marketing and understanding what you can do. For example, if you run a sports website that covers a lot of Lagos readers, you can reach out to betting companies in Lagos to advertise on your website. The trick is to be relentless, and ensure that you have a value proposition for them.
Sell A Product Or A Service
This happens a lot more often and it is another common way of monetizing your website. The interesting thing with having a website is that it is accessible to more eyes and thus, it is a good place to sell your products or services. For the products, you can take advantage of DIY e-commerce website builders, such as WooCommerce, which we use here at 63 WebStudio to create an online store and sell things that you make. A popular example of this is the popular food and drink website, Eat Drink Lagos that publishes reviews of restaurants in Lagos. Currently, they have a shop that sells merchandise like shirts and tote bags to their readers. Alternatively, you can take advantage of your website to sell things you can do for a sum, etc.
Email Lists
Emails are a more direct means of speaking to your readers and it’s necessary to work on this. The trick is converting strangers who visit your site for the first time into followers that want to stay up to date with your content, such that they’re ready to receive it in their mailbox. This will come in handy for many reasons – first, you can sell products from brands to your email list and be sure that it’ll convert because you’ve been a source of reputable information. You can also use that to garner more attention to your existing posts. In the end, you’re trying to establish yourself as an authority for information in your field.
These are just five proven ways to make money off your website. At the end of the day, all of these boils down to a few things – are you creating content that people want to see? And are you promoting your content? Ultimately, these are the biggest determinants for most of these things. Review your content strategy today, and get started!
At 63 WebStudio, we are committed to delivering web designs that can be understood by anybody. We love to see businesses thrive, and so we provide them with the websites they need to thrive and the tools they need to tell the right stories to their new or existing audiences.
Thinking of building a website for your company, call 0812 949 6583 to speak to our friendly team. You can also contact us by sending a message to claim your FREE consultation at your convenience.
