How to create a blog monetization strategy (and why you need one!)

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Blogging can be very lucrative. But money won’t just land in your lap! You need to make a plan… and then put that plan into action. Here’s how to create a blog monetization strategy (and why you need one!)

Blogging can be a very lucrative business model. But money won’t just land in your lap! You need to make a plan… and then put that plan into action! Here’s how to create a blog monetization strategy... #blogmonetization #blogmonetizationstrategy #makemoneyblogging #blog #blogging #blogger #professionalblogger #bloggingismyjob #solopreneur #mompreneur #fempreneur #bloggingbiz #bloggingtips #productivitytips #productivity #productivebloggingcommunity #BSNH #blogsmarternotharder #productiveblogging

So… I have something a little bit controversial to say…

Money isn’t going to just land in your lap!

There, I’ve said it… Now you might be chuckling into your tea right now because ‘durr!’

Except it’s amazing how many bloggers basically behave as if that were true… They churn out blog post after blog post, spend lots of time on social media and then wonder why their blog is not making any money…

Perhaps that feels a bit familiar? Perhaps you’ve been working super hard on your blog, but you are just not seeing the results you’d hoped for?

Perhaps you hear other bloggers talking about their 6 figure incomes and you are wondering why that’s just not happening for you?

So you double down and work even harder… You write more blog posts and you put more effort in to social media, jumping through every new hoop the social media overlords invent, and STILL you don’t see an improvement in your bank balance…

If this is ringing true for you, I have good news!

The fix is actually very simple…

You need a blog monetization strategy!

What do I mean by ‘blog monetization strategy’?

I mean you need to have a rock-solid plan in place for exactly how you will make money over the next year.

And then you need to work that right back to your to do list, so every day is taking you one step closer to your goal.

And actually, the process is really simple.

Here’s how to create a blog monetization strategy…

STEP 1: Pick your monetization methods

Start by deciding exactly how your blog will make money over the coming year. There are lots of ways a blog can make money, but the 6 main ways are:

Ads
Affiliates
Sponsored posts
Physical products
Digital products
Services

Exactly which of those monetization methods you choose will depend on your blog, your niche, how established your blog is, your personality and your goals…

However, if you want my advice, I recommend focusing on passive income strategies – so that’s ads, affiliates and digital products.

I also recommend you pick at least 3 monetization methods. Diversifying your income streams will earn you more, make you less vulnerable to economic shocks and help you future-proof your blog!

STEP 2: Pick your 3 Most Impactful Tasks

The next step is to pick your 3 Most Impactful Tasks for each monetization method you’ve selected.

In other words, if you could only pick 3 things to do for each monetization method, what would they be?

The idea here is that instead of trying to do EVERYTHING (which will only lead to feelings of stress, overwhelm and burnout), you instead focus your efforts and energies on the things that will move the dial most. In other words, you will work less hard but achieve more!

So, let’s suppose you have chosen ads, affiliates and digital products… Your 3 Most Impactful Tasks might look like this…

Ad Income

(The best way to earn money via ads is to increase your pageviews. And the best way to increase your pageviews is getting serious about SEO)

Affiliate Income

Research affiliate schemes in your niche (going beyond Amazon and finding affiliate schemes with better commission – maybe even recurring commission!)
Optimize your top 20 posts with relevant affiliate links
Create new content that targets buyer intent keywords (In other words, keywords which the ideal customers for your affiliate product are typing into Google when they are in the mood to buy!)

Digital Products

Create a new product
Build out an evergreen sales funnel
Work on growing your email list with a really good new lead magnet that is going to attract the perfect buyers for your new product

woman sitting at a computer, using a mouse

STEP 3: Create an action plan

Now you have your 9 Most Impactful Tasks, the next step is to create a month-by-month action plan for the next year – your YEARLY ACTION PLAN.

You obviously can’t do all 9 of those Most Impactful Tasks all at once, so you are going to have to think about the most logical order to do them in… What order should you do these tasks for maximum impact?

For example, you might decide to start the year by focusing on affiliate income. You could spend Month 1 researching affiliate programs and optimizing your top 20 posts. This will mean those blog posts are going to be earning money for you – passively – all year long!

In Month 2, you might decide to focus on your digital product a little. Maybe this month you are going to do some market research and figure out what kind of digital product you are going to create, so you can come up with that awesome lead magnet and start to grow your list with the perfect people. By doing this early in the year, it means that when you come to actually create and launch your product later in the year, you will have a ready-made list of red-hot buyers!

Then in Month 3, you might decide to turn your attention to upping your SEO game.

And so on…

(If you want more help with this, I recommend you read my free ebook Blog Smarter Not Harder, where I take you step by step through this whole process – with a whole year’s worth of examples!)

STEP 4: Work that action plan right back to your to do list

Here’s where it all goes wrong for many bloggers. You know you WANT to make money from your blog. You know HOW you plan to make money from your blog. You may even have got as far as Step 3, and you know WHAT you need to do to make money via the revenue streams you have chosen…

But then what you actually do on a day-to-day basis bears absolutely no relation to any of that!

If this sounds all too familiar, you are not alone. So many people (not just bloggers!) spend their days doing ‘busy work’ that feels important but is not actually taking them even one step closer to their ultimate goals.

So how do we fix that?

The answer is simple:

Work that action plan right back to your to do list.

Because unless you take those tasks that are on your YEARLY ACTION PLAN and work that back to what you actually do on a day-to-day basis, then chances are they won’t get done.

Instead, your days will fill up with ‘busy work’ and you’ll never get to the truly important work – work that is going to move the dial and ensure you actually make money from your blog!

By writing a DAILY ACTION PLAN each evening for the following day and by creating a detailed MONTHLY ACTION PLAN at the end of each month for the following month, you will slowly but surely work through each of your 9 Most Impactful Tasks throughout the year.

And if you do that, by the end of the year you will have completed every single one of your 9 Most Impactful Tasks and (hopefully) achieved your goal of actually making money from your blog (or making MORE money from your blog!)

Blog Smarter Not Harder

If you want more help with this process – including detailed advice and worked examples – download my free ebook Blog Smarter Not Harder.

In the book I take you step by step through this entire process, as well as answering questions like:

‘But what do I do about all the things that are ALREADY on my to do list?’

‘How do I find the time to do all this?’

‘What do I do about really good NEW opportunities which pop up during the year?’

‘What about when real life ‘stuff’ happens?’

And more!

Over to you

How have you been (more) strategic about monetizing your blog? We’d love to hear your tips!

Let us know in the comment section below…

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