Even though the world is in love with social media platforms like Instagram and video streaming platforms like Netflix, blogging is still a really powerful art form that can provide a full-time income. If you have valuable information to share with the masses, you can strategically share your content by using a blog as your platform of choice. Blogs aren’t obsolete. Additionally, the income possibilities are pretty diverse. If one option doesn’t resonate with you, there are always more to consider. As long as Google and other search engines exist, you’ll be able to build a blog and a website that provide consistent income.
Affiliate Marketing
There are many people who grossly underestimate the power of a good affiliate link. If you take a look at any given retailer in the online marketplace, they more than likely host their own affiliate program. So, if your blog is all about parenting toddlers, you can share amazing products and services that you love to use because they make your life easier or more efficient in some way. Before you share that specific product or service, go to the website of the retailer. Sign up for their affiliate program. Once you sign up for the program, you’ll receive your own code that you can embed in your blog post. Once you share the information within your blog post, embed the affiliate code. As you continue to post more relevant content to your niche and gain more traffic, that affiliate link can prove to be its own passive income stream over a period of time. Just make sure that you create a marketing plan for every single blog post. Whether you choose to promote the blog post on Pinterest or Instagram, find ways to recycle the content so more people can come across those affiliate links. Do your best to insert those links in a natural and authentic way because people can read through phoniness easily.
Digital Products (Books, Courses, etc.)
It doesn’t really matter which niche you choose. As long as you’re providing great value, the people will continue to visit your blog. One of the keys to success involves a marketing plan that includes search engine optimization. However, you want to also make sure you have a sustainable income stream that includes your own work. While affiliate links and programs can be nice, a book is the new business card. If people see that you’ve written a book, it helps you come across as a more serious content creator. Whether it’s a short e-book or a 200-page workbook, create digital products like books and courses that you can sell on your blog. It’s a lot easier to make a sale from a book on a daily basis in the beginning of the journey. This is especially true if you have demonstrated success in whatever niche you’re in. So, if you’ve been a successful real estate investor, share your numbers and your personal story behind the business. This will entice people to want to learn from your courses and ebooks so that they can have the same success. Also, when it pertains to digital products, it’s okay if you’re not a writer. You can always outsource the content creation of the book to a ghostwriter. As long as you give them a thorough outline with your talking points and details, they’ll be able to fill in the blanks. Just make sure that when you pay the ghostwriter, graphic designer and any other service provider, you consider the profit margin. Think about how long you’d like to promote before you reach your first financial goal. You can calculate your profit margin so that you’re clear on the type of effort you’ll need to put in so you can achieve the success you desire.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are probably one of the most popular options to consider. Brand deals and partnerships allow you to create content where you use a specific brand and give a glowing review. If you’re a natural hair blogger, you can partner with a natural hair product company to model and use their products for a post or a series of posts. The company will pay you directly and you two can negotiate the specifics of your deal. In most cases, brands tend to care about how many followers and consistent readers you have because it shows the type of value you offer to the marketplace. Knowing this, it’s wise to maintain your own press kit with your facts, statistics and numbers that reveal the impact you actually have. Then, once you’ve negotiated the right contract, you can freely create your content, submit it for approval and get paid. Just make sure that your content isn’t dominated by sponsored posts. When readers see this, it can be a major turn-off because it makes you look as though you’re solely creating content for the money.