It’s no secret that blogging helps improve business performance. This strategy can build brand awareness, increase audience engagement, and increase revenue.
However, the process of creating a blog can seem daunting at first. Business owners have to pick the best platform and domain name, then customize the design to meet their brand personality.
Even after creating a blog, there are still many possible options to choose from, such as picking the right plugins and organizing effective marketing strategies to make the blog profitable.
Don’t worry, as this article will make the process easier. We’ll share four benefits of business blogging and provide detailed steps you can take to monetize it.
Table of Contents
The Benefits of Blogging for Business
Here are the benefits of building a blog for your business:
- Increase traffic. Blog posts containing relevant keywords will increase the likelihood of ranking on the search engine result page (SERP). Therefore, you’ll potentially boost your organic traffic as top results will gain more clicks.
- Show what your business does. You have the freedom to write anything on your blog, including educational articles or your company’s stories. For example, Haskell Interiorsshares home improvement tips and case studies of its previous client’s work.
- Build a network within your industry. Backlinks are one of the essential Google ranking factors. If you write high-quality blog posts, other companies may refer to them. This will signal Google and your audience that you’re an expert in the industry.
- Increase revenue. 56% of consumersagree they have purchased something after reading a brand’s blog post. It’s because the blog shows the brand’s expertise which makes them trust it. Also, a blog can be a great source of revenue if you monetize it.
Before moving on to monetization strategies of your blog, it’s important to buy a domain that includes your brand name so that customers can easily find you.
How to Make Your Business Blog Profitable
In this section, let’s take a look at five ways to make money from your business blog.
1. Advertise Using Google AdSense
A popular way to monetize a business blog is by using Google AdSense. It’s an ad network made by Google that shows advertisements on your website. You make money when a visitor clicks on an ad.
A website has to receive Google AdSense approval to advertise using the network. To do this, read the AdSense policies and ensure that your blog complies with their terms and specifications.
After that, sign up using your Google account. Complete the form by including your website and email address, and wait for the review process, which may take up to three days.
Image sourceIf Google approves your blog, go back to your AdSense account and click Ads on the left taskbar to enable the ad placement.
2. Sell Ad Space
On Google AdSense, the commission per click (CPC) ranges from $0.20 to $15. Instead of earning your revenue like that, consider selling ad space on your business blog directly. Doing this can help you earn more because you set the price yourself.
Tools like BuySellAds and AdRoll are helpful to connect with businesses that want to buy ad space. An alternative is to reach out to companies and persuade them using a media kit containing your profile and site analytics, like page views and engagement.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective ways to monetize your brand’s blog.
You choose products to promote on your blog from businesses or eCommerce platforms that have affiliate programs. Then, they’ll send you custom links to the product pages that can track users referred by those links.
You can earn a commission if a visitor clicks the links and purchases the products.
Some of the best affiliate programs include:
- Offers access to its creative inventory, like banners and demo videos. Here, you can earn up to $3,000.
- Provides a commission from 20% to 45% with bonuses for high performance.
- Has a wide variety of products so that you can choose the most related ones to your brand. It will pay a commission between 1% to 10% depending on the product category you pick.
4. Create Membership Program
Premium membership with exclusive benefits can make the paying customers more engaged, as 62% of shoppers spend more on brands after joining their paid programs.
A lifestyle design brand, The Bliss Bean, can be an excellent example of a VIP membership program. It provides a special package for the members, including private newsletters, one-on-one meetings with the founder, and various goodies.
The Bliss Bean uses a third-party platform called Vibely to host the paid program. However, it’s possible to create one on your website using a membership plugin, like MemberPress or Simple Membership.
5. Sell Digital Products
A digital product refers to any intangible product you can sell online.
Some profitable digital products include:
- eBooks
- Templates
- Courses
- Apps or software programs
- WordPress themes
If you use WordPress, a plugin like Easy Digital Downloads can help sell your digital products. It offers valuable features, like unlimited file downloads, a shopping cart, and payment flexibility.
Another option is to sell the products via a specific third-party site. For example, creating an online course on Udemy or Skillshare.
Conclusion
Blogging is one of the most beneficial methods for your business. It helps you showcase your business’ stories and gain traffic, backlinks, and revenue.
To summarize, here are five ways to make your business blog profitable:
- Use Google AdSense.
- Sell your ad space directly.
- Join affiliate marketing programs.
- Build a premium membership.
- Sell digital products, like eBooks and courses.
Now that you understand the benefits of creating a blog for your business and know how to monetize it, you have the option of choosing one monetization strategy or combining multiple revenue streams.