People have been creating and posting free content on the Internet for more than 20 years now. While that’s a satisfactory option for some, a lot of people are interested in how to make a website and earn money. If this is your first foray into the exciting world of creating income streams from the comfort of your home, do not stress! If you follow these simple steps, you’ll see just how simple it can be to make a website and earn good money even if you have no programming or web design experience.
Below are 11 must-follow tips to make a website and earn money.
1. Make a Monetization Plan
Even if you’ve got the freshest, best content in the world, with engaging copy and viral photos/videos, you’ll struggle to make any money if you don’t have a monetization plan.
Before you write your first post, spend the time necessary to develop a fully detailed monetization plan so that you’re able to take advantage of traffic once it starts rolling in.
2. Get to Know Google’s AdSense
Google and Facebook account for more than 50% of all digital ad revenue around the world. That’s truly an astounding statistic if you stop and think about it for a moment.
Not every profitable site uses Google’s suite of advertising revenue services, but it’s still important to know what Google “wants” from your site in order to give it a high ranking and seamlessly deliver traffic. Learn about Google’s powerful suite of marketing and analysis services that come with an AdSense account.
3. Understand Facebook
Entire books have been written about how to drive traffic and earn revenue for websites using the many features of Facebook.
Definitely learn to create interest, mailing lists, and generate enthusiasm for your content via Facebook. And, as the other major source of advertising revenue on the Internet, you’ll need to put the time in to learn how carefully crafting marketing campaigns on Facebook can earn you money and send torrents of visitors to your site.
4. Don’t Forget the Other CPM Ad Networks
Even though Facebook and Google are the market leaders in advertising, that doesn’t mean you should neglect the “little guys.” Smaller companies can help you read specific niche markets that can add more traffic (and money!). These include:
- Media.net
- Kontera
- Chitika
- GumGum
- Clicksor
- Vibrant Media
5. Learn about Advertising that Pays per Pageview
Google and its competitors operate on a system where you only get paid for the ads that visitors actually click on. That’s great if you’ve got an audience that engages with the ad content on your site, but don’t forget other advertisers that pay per (1,000) pageviews. No clicking necessarily, and you still make money!
6. Amazon Affiliate
In short, you place links on your site to goods and services sold through Amazon (dot com). When visitors to your site click on the link and purchase the item, you get a small commission. Over time, and with thousands of clicks, you can make some really good money.
Note: many other sites offer affiliate networks too, a great way to leverage the specific interests of the visitors to your site.
7. Direct Affiliates
It takes more work to find these sites, but it will be worth your while if you can find a proprietary affiliate program and join up. If there’s a company out there providing goods or services that would be of interest to your site’s visitors, but they don’t currently offer (or list) a direct affiliate program, contact the company and see if you can start up an affiliate program.
8. Be Your Own Ad Vendor
Whether it’s the banner across the top of your site, the horizontal side columns, or space anywhere else on your site, it’s also possible to sell the use of these spaces directly to interested advertisers. You can either sign up for a third-party manager or work with advertisers directly in order to sell space on your site for a specified price.
9. Sell Something
Instead of being an affiliate for a company selling their own products, why not consider selling your own products or services? You don’t have to open your own manufacturing plant to create real-world physical goods in order to sell something. Here are just a few ideas of products and services you can sell directly on your site:
- Write software/code/templates.
- Create a unique service (like writing customized messages for romantic break-ups).
- Add a forum or content to your site that requires paid membership (see paywalls below).
- Make a training video or video course.
- Write an e-book.
10. Paywalls
Only a few sites are completely hidden beyond a paywall (members must pay to see any the content). Many sites find it far more profitable to use partial or split paywalls such as:
- The first X articles are free every month, but then you must pay.
- The first 100 words of every article is free, but then you have to pay.
- Some content is (completely) free, and some must be paid for in order to access it.
- Leverage a log-in from a social media site (like Facebook) in order to access content.
- Require an action (such as “liking” a Facebook page) in order to access (some) content.
11. Donations
If you create content that truly engages visitors, they’ll come to consider your site a kind of second “home” on the Internet. Never feel too proud to ask your must dedicated visitors to contribute money in the form of a donation in order to keep funding the wonderful content you’re providing.
By spending the time and effort necessary to a simple but boring site into a dynamic location on the Internet that engages readers and steadily gains traffic, you’ll quickly learn just how easy it is to make a website and earn money. Take your time to do it right and soon you’ll see that your hard work will pay off with greater popularity and a steady income.