Every page of your website can be monetized.
Go ahead and read that statement again, and then just do a quick mental inventory of your site. Are you using every page to either market a product or service or to generate leads? If not, you should be brainstorming ideas about how to make that happen.
The easiest place to start is with your blog. Your website does have a blog, right? In a previous post, I went into detail about some of the things successful bloggers do to keep their blogs fresh and relevant, so use that as a springboard for what I’m about to share. Your blog can be a moneymaking machine if you use the right fuel. Here are a few examples.
The Obvious Points
Let’s just get these few obvious details on the table. Think of them as the board where the game is going to be played. Every good blog is made up of three vital elements:
1. It has quality, relevant content.
2. It is constantly updated.
3. It motivates the reader to take action.
With those things in mind, here are five ways to incorporate those elements for successful monetization.
#1: Use Opt-In Forms
If you don’t have an opt-in form in your sidebar, you are missing out on leads. An effective opt-in form lives either in the sidebar and is easily visible as soon as the page loads or at the very end of the article. The former works because it’s visible. People tend to ignore things less when they show up on every page. The latter works because if someone reads your article to the end, he or she is genuinely interested in the subject. Now is your chance to offer him or her more content and capture an email address.
You might also consider putting an opt-in form in the footer of your home page, especially if your blog covers one central topic. The same principle applies: If people are willing to scroll down to the bottom of the page to peruse all the articles, they probably have enough interest in the subject to opt in for a free newsletter or email list.
#2: Create Downloadable Content
Digital assets are a great way to generate leads. Offer a special report, PDF or e-book in exchange for their email and link to an opt-in or landing page from within your blog post, most effectively on the last page or in a pop-up. At worst, you’ll probably capture their email address. At best, you could make a sale right then and there.
If you don’t think you have time to develop all the extraneous content you will need to incentivize your blog posts, you can affordably enlist the aid of a good copywriting company to generate some simple digital assets. As you start seeing success with these campaigns, you will have the money to spend on better assets and eventually the development of premium-quality content that you can use to further monetize your blog.
#3: Offer Referral Bonuses for Sharing Your Content
Affiliate programs are easy to set up, and they cost little to nothing to maintain. You can create excitement around your downloadable content by offering your base product free with a new referral. You can even set up a section of your website for “members only” and offer access to small segments at a time based on referrals.
When that person generates a new referral, send him or her an email telling where to get access to the product, then redirect to a landing page that has the download and a description of the premium content that accompanies it.
#4: Make Your Calls to Action Clear
People will never proactively do anything as a result of reading a blog. You need to give them clear and concise directions and make sure you’ve made following your directions simple.
You also need to incentivize your CTA by either promising to give them something in return or assuring them that following your advice will lead to the solution of whatever problem/issue/pain your article addresses. The actual solution can be found in the form of premium content that they can learn more about and order once they click through to your landing page.
#5: Make Smart Use of Pop-ups
When I say smart use, I don’t mean bombarding them with a pop-up as soon as the page loads. There are a number of site tools that manage pop-ups well, allowing you to time them to hit when the reader scrolls far enough down the page or comes to the last page of a split post.
Smart use also means “use sparingly.” In most cases, one well-positioned pop-up will be all you need to generate the lead. As much as we tend to groan at pop-ups, they have been proven to capture more leads and can even help reduce bounce rates considerably.
If you follow these simple steps, you will find it becomes much easier to monetize your blog and you will develop a sense of what works and what doesn’t. When you have a clear picture of the things that click with your site visitors, you can apply the more profitable strategies to other areas of your website as well.