What NOT to do when monetizing your blog

[image] Tell me something, {NAME}…are things heating up between you and your blog? You’re starting to spend late nights together and the computer and early mornings doing photoshoots of your coffee cup. You have similar interests, like to talk about the same things, and overall seem like a great match. But… you’re having some reservations. You’re putting in a lot of effort and don’t want to be the only one contributing to this relationship. I so get it. I know you want to make money from your blog. But here’s the dealio, dude — I see so many bloggers focus on old, less profitable ways to generate revenue. In fact, I used to be one of those bloggers. I want you to have the happiest, most fulfilling relationship with your blog! The type of relationship where your blog works for you, and you get to make the impact you were put on this earth to make. That’s going to mean ditching the “old ways” of making money with your blog and committing to new, profitable strategies. So what’s the old way? Well, back in the day, promoting other people’s products used to be the way to move your blog relationship from moochy roommate who eats all your chips to equal partner who is meeting you halfway. This is usually what people think of when they think of earning money as a blogger. In this revenue stream, you’re using your blog as a way to promote products other people or brands create. There are three ways to do this… and to be real with you, I don’t recommend using these are your sole source of income. Let’s break down what they are + why they’re limiting your growth: 1) Ads The most basic way to earn money as a blogger is by putting ads on your blog. It’s also one of the worst ways (yep, I just went there). Here’s why: First, you’re growing someone else’s brand. You’re spending time and money to help someone else grow their brand instead of you growing yours. When you think of it that way, doesn’t it sound kind of crazy to use ads as a way to monetize your blog? Second, unless you have an enormous following, they’re not very profitable. I used to use ads on my blog to earn some extra money. But get this: the most I ever earned in a single month from ads was $400 and that was when I had about 200,000 monthly pageviews. It took me years to grow my traffic to that number, and the paycheck I got from it was barely enough to cover my monthly car payment. Bonkers, right? 2. Brand Sponsorships + Sponsored Posts Want to hear a crazy story? I once emailed this brand because I really loved them and had a collaboration idea that we could do together. When they responded to my initial email, I noticed an email that was accidentally forwarded to me in the email thread — something that was just between two members of the brand’s PR department: [image] Ouch. Seeing that emailed confirmed something important to me: working with brands can oftentimes be about the numbers you project, not the impact you have on people. It makes it so easy to lose sight of what your audience needs to hear from you and what impact YOU want to create! Ever since I stopped taking on sponsored posts, I’ve felt so much better about my blog. I don’t care as much about the “numbers” because they don’t matter to anyone else but me. Now, I care about the people I get to help and the fun projects I create. I’m focused on the IMPACT I want to have in this world! Am I saying never do a sponsored post? Of course not! If there’s something your audience will really love and that you believe in, collaborate! Just don’t make it your main focus. 3. Affiliate programs Out of all the “promoting other people’s stuff” options, I’ve found the most success with affiliate programs. Why? First, they can have a very large, recurring payoff. One company that I’m an affiliate for typically pays me $3,000-$5,000 per month for my affiliate commission. Two, it requires very little work. One of the keys to using affiliate programs is to write an affiliate blog post that gets traffic each day. If you’re using SEO, then your post will naturally get more and more traffic over time. So, your only work is to write one affiliate blog post, which can lead to big payouts. It is truly “passive income.” Now, here’s the one downside of affiliate programs: your income is still reliant on someone else. It’s not as stable as other income streams, like creating and selling your own products. It’s also not uncommon to have a really big month, followed by a month of tiny commissions. So, using affiliate programs can be awesome if you’re using them strategically, but they shouldn’t be your only source of income! So now you know… the old ways to make money with your blog do work, but they’re gonna cost you. But guess what? There are NEW, more profitable ways to turn that blog into a thriving business! You didn’t think I’d leave you hanging, did you?! I’ll be popping into your inbox next week to share those strategies, so keep an eye out for that email! xoxo Melyssa [Unsubscribe]( The Nectar Collective, LLC 520 Broadway Suite 200 Santa Monica, California 90401 United States