Whether you’re just launching a new blog or have been running one for years, likely one of your top concerns is bringing in the income necessary to sustain it and grow.
For most blog owners, advertising is the primary source of income. Paid advertising is usually easy to set up and target toward relevant visitors. And it becomes more lucrative as your traffic levels increase.
A major problem today, though, is the rise of ad blocking tools. Ovum has estimated that ad blocking will lead to approximately $35 billion in lost revenue by 2020, with the number of downloaded tools rising each year. While this is clearly damaging to bloggers, there are opportunities to diversify income streams. So what are the income streams bloggers should be considering?
Email Marketing
Building an email list is one of the most popular techniques for bloggers. An email list not only ensures you can contact a subscriber when you publish new content or have a relevant announcement, but it also offers the chance to earn extra income.
Promoting quality products through email is often easier than writing a blog post as you can create a more personal experience. While email marketing carries many benefits, developing another income stream should be a main goal.
Sponsored Content
A problem with advertising on blogs is that most visitors view it as a distraction. Sponsored content, on the other hand, can actually provide value that fits with the rest of the site.
Sponsored content typically involves creating articles or videos that are relevant to your site, but with branding from the paying organization. This type of advertising will require a good level of traffic, with smaller sites not usually justifying the expense. In many cases, the content is of a very good quality, so your readers don’t feel they are being explicitly sold something.
Discounts & Coupons
Discounts and coupon codes are a way of earning revenue and offering something of value to readers. Directly promoting products can be an irritation, but providing a good deal removes much of the cynicism associated with promotions. If you have a good readership, negotiating a deal with a vendor should not be too difficult, so always be willing to make contact and see what is available.
Ebooks
People visit your blog because they value the information you provide. Many successful bloggers have developed branded ebooks that expand on what their blog offers and brings in an additional income stream.
Ebooks are often impulse purchases, as most people have access to an Amazon account or a similar store. With some carefully positioned promotions around the site, you can quickly start building up sales. The results of these sales, along with some positive reviews, is that you appear more prominently in the marketplace.
Donations & Crowdfunding
More bloggers and content creators are discovering the revenue potential of donations and crowdfunding. Donations are a legitimate way of funding your site, particularly if you are in a niche that is less common and not receptive to advertisers. Crowdfunding involves using sites like Patreon to earn monthly income, with contributors receiving bonuses for pledging payments.
As more visitors consider using ad blockers, or just naturally have banner blindness, it will take innovative thinking to keep people interested.
Not overdoing ad placements is a good start, making it possible to enjoy the blog without frequent distractions. But it will also require the addition of a secondary income stream if you want to capitalize on the traffic you receive.
In some cases, another income stream could supplant the blog as your main focus, with many popular bloggers moving into software or digital product development. However you envision your blog, now is the time to consider how you can still thrive regardless of possible advertising shortfalls.