You put a lot of effort into creating content, and you may wonder if there’s any way to make it pay. You can monetize content, and even make a good living from it, but this is not a get-rich-quick (or even get-rich-slowly) scheme. It takes time and effort, and there are no guarantees you’ll succeed. Here are the top ways to monetize content on a website, blog, or other outlet.
Why You Should Monetize Content
Although monetizing content takes some work, it can pay off in the form of passive income. That means, once your system is in place, it will continue making money for you with only a little effort on your part. Passive income creates a steady stream of money that works around the clock.
Even if you don’t make enough money to quit your job or retire early, your efforts may be enough to cover the costs of production, including hosting your website, producing your channel, or upgrading the premiums you offer.
4 Ways to Monetize Content on Your Website
Whether you sell products, services, or content, you can use your website to promote them. Your website can become a moneymaking venture by using one or all of these methods.
1. Try affiliate marketing to monetize content
You’ve probably heard a lot about affiliate marketing, but what exactly is it? In simple terms, it’s when you use your website to recommend products and services to your readers. If they buy the items you suggest, you get a commission on the sale.
For instance, if you have a blog or website that deals with cooking, you might develop an affiliate partnership with the maker of a particular blender or cake pan. You will get an individual link to that item that only you and your readers use. That way, the company knows the sale came through you.
Affiliate marketing can be very lucrative, especially if you’ve developed a good relationship with your readers. If they trust your opinion, they are more likely to buy products and services you recommend. However, it only pays off if you already have a lot of visitors to your site. Concentrate on building traffic to your site before you consider an affiliate marketing partnership to monetize content.
2. Use Google AdSense to monetize content
As a beginning website host or blogger, it may be difficult to sell ads. Advertisers won’t be interested unless you can show high levels of traffic. So, what can you do if you’re still building your blog?
Google AdSense makes it easy to monetize content on your website. It is an advertising matching service that finds websites with ad spaces to sell. It then matches them with companies who want to sell targeted advertisements. It works especially well if you have a niche website whose readers have specialized interests.
If a reader clicks the ad, you will get a percentage of whatever the advertiser pays Google. To get started, you just need a Google account. Go to the AdSense website to fill out a form and get started.
3. Sell digital products to monetize content
Digital products are products that you sell directly from your site. They’re a good way to monetize content because they’re easy to produce, and they build on the work you’re already doing. If you’re a writer, you can produce high-quality reports, e-books, and training guides that readers would be willing to pay for.
Your e-books should focus on specific issues your readers need help with. You can sell how-to books on any subject, from fitness to knitting to decluttering.
The average digital book is about 300 pages in length. If you price it correctly, you’ll have eager buyers who want to learn how to do something you have expertise in.
4. Offer online courses to monetize content
Online courses can help you monetize content from your website. There are several formats you can try.
In an e-mail course, your students receive a weekly or twice-weekly email from you that outlines your lesson and suggests homework steps the reader should try.
For instance, a course on organizing a house move might start with an organizing checklist and a list of organizational tools the reader will need. The suggested homework would be to find or buy the needed items and make the checklist.
You can set up an automatic email system through any website.
Video courses are another way to train people. You could produce a video series on a particular subject. Each video would demonstrate one aspect of the subject you’re teaching.
Video courses and e-mail courses are a good way to monetize contact because you can “set them and forget them.” You don’t have to deal directly with your students. If you want one-on-one contact with them, you could offer coaching or consulting services.
Monetize Content on Your Blog
If you have a blog, you can use the same methods to monetize content on it that you’d use for a website. These include affiliate marketing, digital products, online courses, and Google AdSense.
How to Monetize Your Artwork
Yes, it’s possible to make money from your artwork, photography, or design. Here are some ideas.
Get a licensing deal to monetize content
One way for artists to monetize content is through licensing. When you get a licensing deal, companies pay to use your work in their commercial products. The company pays you royalties based on how much of the item they sell. Some examples of these deals are:
- Paintings and photographs used in calendars
- Paintings and illustrations that get turned into puzzles or paint-by-number kits
- Fabric designs
- Designs for mugs, plates, and serving ware
- Tee shirt graphics
- Artwork for greeting cards
- Wallpaper designs
- Artwork for hotels and offices
To be successful, you will need a commercial mindset and an awareness of what designs sell. Most companies who use licensed artists are in search of specific images that fit their industry.
How much can you make? Typical royalty rates vary from 5% to 15%. While 5% may seem low, keep in mind that that’s usually for a mass market merchandiser who sells millions of products.
How do you get a licensing deal? There are three ways:
- A company notices your work and offers you a deal.
- You get an agent who specializes in putting together licensing deals.
- You approach companies directly to offer your artwork.
Sell your designs online
Some artists have success on Etsy. If you have a marketable artistic skill, you can create on-demand artwork for people who want pet portraits, family portraits, and housewares with original designs.
Sites like Redbubble are open to all independent artists. You can use the site to create tee shirts, mugs, phone cases, or other objects that have your artwork on them. It’s a print-on-demand service, so you don’t have to stock inventory.
Monetize Your YouTube Channel
If you have a YouTube channel, you have a potentially profitable venture. YouTube is the most popular social media outlet. To qualify for the monetization program, you must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours a year. You will also need an AdSense account.
Besides these requirements, YouTube has strict policies about the type of content you can show on your channel. You could get penalized for excessive bad language, offensive content, misleading thumbnails, and inflammatory language.
There are many ways to monetize your channel, including YouTube ads, affiliate marketing, paid channel subscriptions, YouTube Premium, patronages, and selling merchandise.
Make Your Hard Work Pay Off
Producing content takes time and effort. With some added work, you can monetize it to create an income stream. If you’re already getting attention to your website or YouTube channel, make the most of that attention with these strategies.
We hope you’ve found this article helpful. At Dazzle Printing, we work with many hardworking content creators who want to see themselves in print. Contact us when you’re ready to do the same.
