Everyone used to talk about the many ways that blogging can make you money. It used to be the bread and butter of every digital business, but times are changing, or so they say. The question really comes down to this: Can you still make money blogging in 2019?
The obvious answer is yes! No matter what happens with technology, content will always and forever be king. There is no shaking that fact, and it’s stood the test of time. Those who influence the world do it through content, and blogging is definitely an important medium for content. As a matter of fact, blogging is the new short story, but instead of print editions, we access them through the internet.
So, since we know that you can in fact use blogging to make money, let’s take a look at how that’s accomplished.
Creating Irresistible and Relevant Content
The best way to make money blogging in 2019 is making content that people actually want to read. That means taking irresistible blog post ideas and crafting them around search-relevant terminology. If you can create content that is on-topic for your readers, it could lead to a sale.
Think about it this way, if you run a cross-country running store, you want to make content around the questions you hear all the time. Which XC shoe is really the best? Which shoes last the longest? Can I use one type of shoe for every terrain? These questions are important because they point you in the right direction for your content. If you have customers asking these types of questions, just imagine what people are asking online. With this information, you can create a few different types of blog series like all the XC shoes compared for 2019 or the longest-lasting XC shoes for 2019. Both of these topics give you great pieces of content to start with, and since they are comparing brand to brand and shoe to shoe, your post is going to be naturally keyword-rich. The best part about creating posts this way is the ability to update the content year over year, and that’s something Google loves. Build that authority!
Call to Actions in Your Post
This is where you take the post layout to the next level if your site is also an e-commerce store. Let’s stick with our XC shoe company example. They have written that awesome post idea we had about the shoe comparisons, but they want it to do more for their site specifically. This is where they can insert a call to action for each shoe they sell in the review. If you have ever read a major comparison blog, I’m sure you’ve seen this exact thing. The consumer has read through the block of content about a specific product, and then they find a link to the product right under the blurb. Since you’re the one helping them make a choice on what shoe to buy, your reader is more likely to click through and buy from you since you helped. You can even put a call to action in your content about how you sell that item and it’s a hit will customers. Just make sure you tell them what to do like “click here” or “see more” when you put the link in your blurb.
Affiliate Links
If you aren’t selling products yourself from a store, you can still use your content as a means of sending people where you got the product, so you can make money. This is done through affiliate links, and it lets you take a bit off the top of a purchase that comes from you. A referral fee if you will done through specific links. If you haven’t heard by now, Amazon is one of the biggest players in the affiliate link game. When you sign up for the Amazon Affiliate Program, you are given the ability to get special URLs to link in your blogs. These URLs still land on the same products you want to send your readers, but it places a pixel on their IP address to that product marking you as the referrer. The result, is you getting referral fees from Amazon if a sale is made from your link. Even if the reader clicks through and doesn’t buy right then, but then later returns to Amazon and buys through searching, you still get the referral money from Amazon if they buy the same product. The still lets you act as the “referrer” for the sale, so you still get paid. Thanks Amazon.
Ads On Your Blog
The last major way to monetize your blogs is through the use of ad space. You can create ad boxes by signing up for an ad platform like Google AdSense. This lets you display ads on your site for companies that are signed up with AdSense. Much like affiliate links, these ads use specific URLs to tag you as the referrer for the sale, so you get a cut for the sale. You even get kickbacks for simply displaying the ads on your site. It’s like a rental billboard online in your sidebar, header, or footer. It’s easy money for simply renting space on your site, and wouldn’t you know it, the blog is a great place to do so.
Yes, You Can Make Money Blogging in 2019
No matter what you do, there are ways to make money blogging in 2019. If you have great content housed in the proper blog structure, you will be sure to find ways to monetize your blog. That can be through simply connecting with your customer through that content, or putting up ads for your users. It really depends on your goals and the purpose of your website.