Ever since the start of the digital age with the advent of the internet, websites have been the main medium through which we explore the World Wide Web. Today there are over 1.7 billion websites on the internet. Initially, websites used to be simple, and their purpose was just to share information or they acted as personal journals or blogs.
As we advanced into the digital age, websites became commercial and various methods were introduced to monetize them. If you take a look around today in the world you’ll see people who have become billionaires thanks to the internet. Although I don’t claim that you will become a billionaire after reading this article, I can guarantee that you’ll discover new and exciting ways to make money from your website.
Make Money With Ads
Probably the oldest and most reliable way to monetize your website is by putting ads on it. Ever since the beginning of the internet, this has been the most popular way to monetize a website. The ads on a website are placed through Ad Networks, the most popular of which are Google AdSense, Ezoic, AdThrive, and MediaVine.
The Ad network mostly used today is Google Adsense. It is an Ads program by Google which you can use to make money using your content. You can apply it on your website or blog and it can also be applied on your YouTube channel.
Google AdSense is used by clients who want their ads to be displayed, AdSense then displays those ads on your website and you get a healthy share of the revenue that is generated through those ads. Signing up for AdSense is completely free, but before the ads start appearing on your site, Google has to approve it. For Adsense to work best it’s necessary to have original, unique and optimized content on your site.
AdSense is the most suitable ad network for your site if it has less than 10k visitors, but if the sessions exceed this number then you should try out Ezoic, as it can increase your ad revenue up to 3 to 4 times more than Adsense.
Other ad networks that you can check out are AdThrive and MediaVine which are both legit and high paying Ad networks.
Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
One of the most exciting and hassle-free ways of making money with your website is through affiliate marketing. It involves you putting affiliate links within the content of your website. Whenever someone from your audience clicks that link it takes them to a sales page from which they can buy that specific product. For each sale of a product, you get a commission.
The strategy behind affiliate marketing is that you write about a specific topic or product and then you can give affiliate links within your content. This way if your content is appealing, the reader will click on the link and buy your product straight away.
To begin affiliate marketing first you have to register with an affiliate program. Almost all major brands and products have their own affiliate programs. The most commonly used affiliate program is that of the e-commerce giant we all know as Amazon. Its affiliate program is free to join and within minutes you can get your first affiliate link to paste on your website and start earning money.
Another great thing about affiliate marketing is that suppose your audience clicks on the given link but don’t buy that specific product and end up buying something else. You’ll still get a commission for the sale of that product as well. In fact, Amazon will give you a commission for every sale made in the next 24 hours.
There are many other affiliate programs of major e-commerce giants, two noteworthy contenders are Clickbank and Warrior Plus. Both of these affiliate programs offer a much higher rate of commission than Amazon, but their products are mostly digital.
Sponsored Posts
If you have a sizeable audience on your website, you can attract the attention of big brands and advertisers. These brands can ask you to post on their behalf thus getting them exposure in your audience. This post can be anything from a review of their products or an article that highlights a problem and then presents their product as the solution for it.
You can write the sponsored posts yourself or they will be given to you prewritten by your sponsors. Obviously, if you write for them as well as post it on your site you can charge a lot more. Initially, you’ll have to look for brands interested in giving you sponsored posts, you’ll have to pitch your website in the best possible way. You can start by looking for small companies and brands looking to expand their reach. When your brand starts getting a broader audience you can then start expecting big brands to come knocking at your door.
Alternatively, you can also check out sites such as Cooperatize, PayPerPost, Sponsored Reviews, and Tomoson. These are sponsorship market sites where you can find brands willing to give you sponsored posts.
Create an e-Commerce Store
One of the most profitable ways of making money with your website is by creating an online store within your website. Think about it, today the highest earning websites on the internet are e-commerce websites like Amazon, E-Bay, and Ali Baba. If you set up an online store within your website, you can earn 100% of the income, unlike affiliate marketing in which you only get a small percentage of the sale.
If your website has a specific niche, it makes sense to add products related to that niche within your online store. When your website takes off, so will your online store, as visitors to your site will flock towards buying your products.
Create a Paywall for Premium Content
If your website offers genuinely useful content that helps your audience in their lives, why not create some premium content, available for those who pay a subscription fee. Creating a paywall is one of the most effective ways of earning money from your website.
If your content inspires your audience to keep coming back for more then it’s time to offer them some premium content. This content can be anything from an article, a how-to guide, or even a full video course.
When your audience will see the value of your content, they will flock towards your premium content and the subscription fee will seem minimal to them. This method gets you a steady income in the form of subscription fees. It also gets you a ton of emails from your subscribers which you can then add to your mailing list.
