If your website attracts good web traffic, then the next logical step to consider is how you can monetize your online content.
What is content monetization?
Content monetization is the ability to convert your website traffic and valuable content into revenue generation.
Some common methods of website monetization are implementing pay per click or cost per impression advertising, putting content behind a paywall and selling access with paid subscriptions, selling single pieces of content, including affiliate links in your content and selling courses. These options can all be leveraged to produce revenue because of the value of your content and the audience it brings to your site.
Is your content worth monetizing?
Before you can investigate possible revenue streams, you'll need to determine if your website meets the requirements necessary to monetize your content.
Does your website meet these four characteristics:
- You are an expert in your niche subject.
- You own an established website that receives good and growing traffic.
- You create high quality content that reflects your expertise - unique content will help you to rank higher in search engine results.
- You regularly add new content that is of value to your audience and have built a loyal audience.
If your website delivers regular, unique, high-value content to an engaged and growing audience, then it's time to monetize!
How to generate revenue with advertising
One of the most popular methods to create a passive revenue stream from your website is to implement pay per click or cost per impression advertising. There are various networks that facilitate placing advertisements on web pages to benefit from a website’s traffic.
Pay per click advertising or PPC is a strategy where advertisements, targeted by keywords, are placed on a relevant website. The advertiser pays you for every click made on their ad.
Cost per impression uses the strategy where the advertiser pays every time their ad is shown to a user. The ad usually is targeted to a specific audience sector and displays alongside relevant content.
Google AdSense is the most well known of the ad networks. Your website will have to meet some eligibility requirements and hit certain metrics before ads can be placed on it. But if your website is approved, you can get started by simply adding one piece of code to your website.
Create a recurring income using a subscription model
Besides taking advantage of your web traffic, another monetizing opportunity is to sell access to your valuable content through a subscription model.
Don’t give away all your content for free. Leverage your expertise into an income generating product.
By putting your premium content behind a paywall, you can create another revenue stream. The added bonus of the membership model is that, over time, recurring subscription payments can add up to a tidy sum.
The membership website builder, SubHub, is an easy-to-use platform that allows you to quickly create a robust membership website and accept payment for access to your content. You can get started building your website with a free 14-day trial.
A successful membership website does require a time commitment to new and regular content creation. This ensures that members remain engaged and continue to see the benefits of their ongoing subscription.
Besides your padlocked content, always provide free content as well. Free content illustrates to potential members the merits of why your product is valuable. It encourages sign ups and it's good for SEO.
The website, GrowingForMarket, specializes in content relevant to the market farmer. Their free, informative articles highlight the value of a subscription and reinforce their authority on their subject matter.
Selling pay-per-view products
There might be some visitors to your website who aren’t ready yet to commit to an ongoing subscription but do want to access an individual piece of your content. The ability to sell single pieces of content means that you won’t miss the opportunity to earn additional revenue.
Importantly, you’ll also capture the email of a visitor that has shown interest in your content and be able to include them in your future marketing campaigns giving you another opportunity to persuade them to become a member.
The SubHub platform supports both the membership model and the sale of pay-per-view products. All member-only content has the option to be sold as a unique store product.
LovePrayTeach’s membership includes access to all their Sunday School printable lesson handouts. But those users, who just want to purchase a single lesson plan, have the option to visit the store and make a one-off purchase.
LovePrayTeach also grows their email marketing list by offering a free membership subscription that features the benefit of a store discount. Since many visitors may only want to purchase a single lesson, this strategy captures potential paying members with the enticement of a discount.
The member is then exposed to the premium content available to paying members which may persuade them to the value of an upgraded subscription.
Monetize your website content with affiliate links
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning commission by promoting a product or service. You earn commission every time a user makes a purchase through the unique affiliate link. Commissions vary depending on the affiliate network you use.
Amazon Associates is the best known affiliate program and one of the easiest to get started with. In order to qualify, you must own the website and your content must be original with recent posts made in the last 60 days.
The biggest benefit of being an Amazon Associate is that you earn commission on the buyer’s entire basket.
Being a successful and effective affiliate marketer requires maintaining trust with your website audience. You should only promote products that you genuinely believe in and connect with. You don’t want to diminish credibility with your audience by recommending products you have no personal experience with. Your audience needs to trust you in order to comfortably follow your product advice.
Selecting which products to promote is the first step. The product should be relevant to your audience and aligned to your area of expertise. Your audience needs to connect with what you’re recommending and recognise its value.
How to incorporate affiliate links in your content
There are a number of different forms of content creation that work well in promoting the click through rate on an affiliate link.
- Create a product tutorial: Before making a purchase, people like to see how the product works and the results it can deliver. A product tutorial, especially one that includes a video, can clearly showcase the value of the product you're promoting. Video demos also provide a greater incentive to the viewer to make the purchase.
- Post a ‘Best’ list: In this post, you might highlight best selling products in a certain Amazon category. Or this could be a ‘best’ list of products you believe in and recommend.
- Write an in-depth review: Publish an article based on your personal experience of a specific product. Reviews are a good way to reinforce yourself as an expert.
- Link to a resource page: Compile a detailed list of your favorite tools or products. Be sure to include clickable images as they always increase conversion.
Selling online courses
The trend towards digital learning continues to grow in scope and profitability. The value of the eLearning market is expected to grow to $325 billion by 2025. Selling a course can be a rewarding source of a passive income stream. You create the course once then can sell it multiple times.
Any type of expertise or skill can be transformed into a course series from calligraphy to cake decorating. You might even be able to monetize existing content by repurposing it into a series of course lessons.
An online course can serve multiple purposes. Courses can be sold as individual products, used as a marketing tool in the form of a lead magnet or given as a sign-up reward.
The most successful course creators focus on a niche topic. A niche topic allows you to showcase a higher degree of expertise and concentrate on a topic where there is typically less competition. You’ll also be able to refine your marketing message so that it resonates more strongly with your target audience.
When creating your course, research your potential student base. Understand and address their pain points and teach them how to solve their problems.
HappyYogaCommunity recognised a niche yoga market in offering courses for pregnant women. They used the course builder of their SubHub website to create individually sold courses in additional to their subscription revenue.
While StemSmart, uses the SubHub platform to sell their preschool educational courses and materials.
Conclusion
These are just some of the strategies you can use to monetize your website content. Remember that in order to leverage your content and traffic, you first have to be producing great quality content that is of value to your audience.
No matter how much you may earn by monetizing your content, the best content creators always remain focused on their audience. Delivering an authentic experience to your audience is paramount in retaining and growing your traffic and earning an income from it.
SEE ALSO:
- How To Start a Profitable Online Magazine
- The 17 Most Important Things to Consider When Starting an Online Magazine
Start monetizing your content now with a free 14-day SubHub platform trial.
