Monetizing Your Website

Check out the other posts in this series about Becoming an Online Content Writer:

So You Wanna Write for the Web
Building Your Online Writing Portfolio
Finding Paid Writing Gigs Online
Making Your First Money as a Content Writer
Why You Need a Website and Where to Get One Really Cheap

Get Paid!

Now that you have a website, and you’ve begun filling it with great content, why not make some money while you’re sleeping? First things first.

Traffic — You need to have some traffic to your site before your begin to monetize. It’s debatable as to how much. Once your begin to see a nice flow that is steadily increasing from month to month, I would say go for it!
Content — This really only pertains to sites that are or include a blog. If you only have a few articles, don’t bother. Concentrate on updating your site regularly first…then monetize.

NOTE: If you’re a writer, and you don’t have a blog, why not? Where are you going to put your articles, or link to your content you’ve written for other sites? Maybe you don’t feel like you really have anything to say or blogging just isn’t your thing? That’s respectable, however; it’s up to your how your use your blog. You write what you want. Having a blog can benefit your website because:

It creates more pages for search engines to index
Search engines LOVE new content
It allows you to diversify your site

Get to the Money Part!
Adsense

The single most popular method to monetize websites is Google Adsense. If you’ve been around the Internet any time at all, you’ve seen Google Ads EVERYWHERE. It’s quite a simple process to create an account and begin putting these ads on your site. You get paid various amounts each time someone clicks an ad on your site. If you already have a Google account for your Android phone or email, you can get started in minutes.

Remember, you don’t want your ads to be so intrusive that they take away from your writing. However, you want them front and center enough that they grab a bit of attention. There are other ad networks like Adsense that you may like better. I have only used Adsense on my sites and have been pleased with the result. You won’t get rich quick…or really get rich at all, but you will make money while you sleep, work, eat, and shop.

Affiliate Programs

There are literally HUNDREDS of affiliate programs to promote on the web. An affiliate program is when you endorse products or services on your website and get paid a commission if someone buys using your links. One of the most popular and user-friendly affiliate programs is Amazon Associates. Again, if you already have an Amazon account, it quite simple to get started.

Private Advertising

If your site is a hit, you can consider selling advertising spots on your website yourself. It’s as simple as putting together a page on your site with the available spots and setting a price per month. This allows you to help someone who maybe has less traffic than you share your visitors by placing a ad on your site. This is a great way to advertise, but it requires that your website stats be stellar. You need better than average traffic and content.

You’re Too Vague

That’s because you need to hone your research skills. Get on Google, read some of the other information on this site, research, research, research! No more Mrs. Nice Writer. The methods I’ve listed here are simple and don’t really require yet another tutorial online.  You can do this, and figuring it out on your own will give you a sense of pride and accomplishment that I can’t. I’m always available to answer questions via the Contact Page.