Monetizing My Blog in 2017
Who is ready to make some money?! I know I am!
I started out 2016 with the goal of growing my blog in order to one day earn a profit from it. Down the road, I’d love to be able to earn a full-time income as a work at home mom. Although I’m still not there yet, I’d say I’m on the right track.
Last year I generated an income from this blog through several channels, including sponsored posts, ads, and affiliate sales. This year I’d love to continue using these methods, as well as expand to new ones.
Ad Networks
Mediavine – I’ve only been with Mediavine for a couple of weeks, but I am completely in LOVE! I am already making at least three times as much from their ads as I was making with my previous ads! They do an exceptional job of taking care of their bloggers and doing what’s best for our pages!
The catch with Mediavine is that you must have at least 30,000 monthly page views. Also, Mediavine requires exclusivity, which means you can only have their ads on your page. I haven’t found this to be an issue at all, however I know that there are some out there that prefer to diversify! I find that they provide a great balance!
Chicory – I was previously using Chicory all on it’s own in my recipe posts. Now that I am with Mediavine, Chicory works as part of their network. The way it works, is that Chicory adds a purchase link at the bottom of my recipe cards. Readers can then easily purchase the ingredients needed for the recipe. For certain promotions, they’ll even feature an image of a product. Around the holidays I made a KILLING with Chicory! It’s since died down, but has been picking up as of this week!
Sponsored Posts
I’ve gotta admit. I’ve been less drawn to sponsored posts lately. I know they tend to be less popular when it comes to views, which tells me most people aren’t interested in reading them. If I see a campaign for a product that I absolute love or a product that I might be able to incorporate into an existing idea, I apply. If not, I usually let it pass.
Social Fabric – This is my favorite network for finding sponsored posts. The fact that SoFab requires unique content ideas and fabulous photos, pushes me to be a better blogger. SoFab ALWAYS has new campaigns available, although they can sometimes be hard to get.
Influence Central – I’ve found that Influence Central campaigns pay much better than most others and don’t have the strict guidelines that you find with SoFab. The down side is that IC campaigns don’t seem to come up as frequently.
Affiliate Sales
Amazon Associates – I’ve decided that this year Amazon will be my sole affiliate network. The amount of affiliate income that I make is so minuscule and dispersed, that I don’t expect to ever receive a pay out from most networks I belong to. The nice thing about Amazon, is that you can find just about everything for sale there! Even the products that have their own separate affiliate programs.
Another plus to Amazon Associates, is that the shopper who clicked the link doesn’t even have to purchase the product you linked to in order for you to be compensated! In fact, the majority of my Amazon commissions don’t even come from the items I’ve linked to. As long as the shopper purchases through Amazon after using your link, you earn!
E-Sales
This one is a work in progress. While I’d love a nice passive income from digital products, I don’t think I’ve mastered anything in that category yet!
I am pretty crafty though! The plan is get back on Etsy after this PCS and sell some physical products.
I have an eBook/workbook in the works, although I haven’t decided if it’s something I want to sell or not.
I’m curious, are the ads annoying? Do they take forever to load? How are you monetizing this year?