“He who makes $25,000 annually through passive income is more enviable than he who earns $100,000 annually through a salary.” ~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Generating passive income is the best kind of income. Just ask anyone on Wall Street.
If you own a blog, you know how difficult it is to keep generating quality content week after week. Often, there’s little time left to worry about making money in the process. Enhance your blog with features for easy income, without sacrificing content quality or creation time.
Imagine what it would be like to check your bank balance in the morning and find an extra $500, $5,000, or more in your account. That might sound too good to be true on the surface, but it’s easier than you think. Generating passive income, when done right, doesn’t involve coming up with some get rich quick scheme or doing anything shady.
Why Passive Income?
Your content is an integral part of your brand. But, when your content is your brand rather than a supplement to your eCommerce website or marketing strategy, it’s important to find creative ways to make money.
However, that’s not the only reason to monetize your blog.
Creating passive income streams also helps with your marketing in several ways, and it frees your time to develop better, more informative blog posts.
You’ll benefit from blog monetization by:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Elevating your authority
- Leveraging partnerships
- Improving SEO
- Adding value to your content
Here are seven tried and true ways that bloggers like you are making money without quitting their day job.
On-Page Advertisements
This is the original path to generating online passive income. Banner ads and similar marketing tools have been around almost as long as the internet itself, and they’re still a win-win proposition when done right.
The keys: Don’t clutter your pages with annoying ads or popups. Sell advertising space only about products or services that are relevant to your type of content and desirable to your audience.
Affiliate Marketing
Generating passive income with this type of marketing is similar to on-page advertising, but the methods are a little different. Affiliate links are more subtle because they’re often incorporated into the content itself in ways that are natural and relevant.
With affiliate marketing, you partner with a company that sells products your audience wants. For example, a fitness blog might partner with a sportswear company or supplement manufacturer. This type of product is easy to work into a post about nutrition or fitness gear. Your revenue, a percentage, depends on how much traffic clicks these links, making it ideal for high-traffic blogs.
Create an Online Course
Is your blog content something that could be translated into an online course? If you have a special skill or knowledge, you have the potential to make money by selling that expertise in the form of an online course.
For example, a successful writer could create a course that teaches others how to start a blog step-by-step. You don’t have to be physically present in order to teach a course, and demand will continue for as long as people need to learn what you have to teach them.
Create Video Content
Making a viral video is a goal for many content creators. But, what if I told you that video content can also be monetized?
YouTube is a very popular video format, but it is also the second largest search engine next to Google. By creating a YouTube channel, you can link to it from your blog, add affiliate links, and use the video itself as a call to action that drives traffic to your blog. You’ll also get a check from YouTube if your videos get a lot of views.
Create an App
Creating an app may seem technical, but it’s simpler than expected. With any technical or design experience, you can customize open source modules for your needs.You can also hire a developer to create a custom app for you, if your budget permits.
An example would be a finance blog that sells a budgeting or investment app. Just make sure that your app is thoroughly tested and bug-free, and that it’s easy for users to download and enjoy.
Write and Sell an Ebook
Perhaps you’ve noticed that many blogs also sell eBooks that tie into their content. While writing an entire book is time-consuming, the income you’ll make from something that’s well-written and promoted is worth the effort.
A concise, valuable eBook can be offered on your blog, like parenting tips for mommy blogs or emergency planning guides for survival blogs.
Coaching or Consulting
Why not capitalize on your industry expertise by hiring yourself out as a consultant?
This is a viable option for any blogger that has the time to work one-on-one with clients, and it can be done remotely. For example, marketing experts can offer consultations on SEO best practices or social media engagement. Any type of information that ties into your blog and area of expertise is something that your readers will pay to get access to professional coaching.
Final Thoughts
Business leaders will tell you that you get further by working smarter, not harder. Generating passive income is the ultimate realization of that adage. By strategically incorporating even a few of the above ideas into your blog, you’ll begin to see a steady rise in your bank balance before you know it.
Trends and algorithms are always evolving. When you’re ready to leverage the power of your blog, consult with an expert about your options.
