Many people ask me how to make money with their blog. Here's a strategy – one I usually don't provide…
Strategy: Sell advertising space directly to related suppliers.
Steps:
First, go to Google (on the second go around you can do this same thing with Yahoo or other search engines – but first learn the sequence).
In Google's, search book and type in your main blog purpose or keywords.
Second, take notes on what advertisers (they could be yours next) come up above or to the right of your search.
Now, if the ads above or to the right don't seem to be a match. Guess what? You aren't searching right. Search again until you get it right. If this is occurring this also means your keywords and search descriptions for your blog aren't right (hint, hint). Fix it.
Third, gather all the contact information you can for these advertisers. They definitely have the budget to advertiser (because they are already doing so).
Fourth, put your offer together and make it to the right person at their organization.
What are you going to offer the advertisers that will help them make money? If you don't know, how are they to know and how are you going to make them an offer they can't refuse.
Now if you don't have the statistics on how well your blog is doing – number of visitors, types, etc. Then you will want to set all this up before you take on this strategy, do it for a few months, and then try it again. Google Analytics (talked about this in the past – search for this info on the blog) is a free one that works well. Again, you're going to have to gather the information for a bit before you can place the info in your offer. Don't be shy though. If you're only getting a hundred visitors a day, it's okay, especially if they are targeted. Your fee will not be large but you have to begin somewhere. I've known many bloggers who sell only with 100 visitors, even 50. Always offer. It will give you some practice and who knows what will happen.
I started by making $10 a month a year ago. Now it's over $200. Probably dismal compared to some blogs but I'm happy with the progress. The number keeps going up as I continue to refine the blog.
Fifth, after getting your offers to the right people at these organizations, follow-up. I suggest following up in 10 days. Do so over the phone if possible. You want to gather as much information as you can to make your blog more attractive to advertisers since this is your objective.
Keep a smile on during this process. It takes time because of your learning curve but it does pan out.
