If you’re looking for ways to make extra cash, there are plenty of opportunities online. You can design websites, perform online surveys, or become a freelance writer. But, perhaps the most profitable online job opportunity is blogging. A WordPress blog is a great way to make money online because it can be monetized with affiliate marketing, which is an easy way to make money without any special training.
In this article, we will teach you how you can make money online with a WordPress blog. We’ll cover everything from the basics of blogging to growing your blog to making money with affiliate marketing.
The Basics Of Blogging
At the most basic level, a blogging platform such as WordPress.com or WordPress.org simply provides you with a space to write. When someone clicks on a monetized link or buys a product that’s promoted on your site, you’ll earn a commission.
You don’t need a huge site to make money with a blog. In fact, you can make decent money with just a few hundred words a day. The perfect guide to showing you how to make money with a blog is our comprehensive list of the best affiliate marketing blogs for 2020.
To get started, simply choose a blogging platform that supports affiliate marketing, then install the WordPress plugin. From there, you can start making money by taking advantage of affiliate programs offered by your blogging platform (more on these later).
The Types Of Affiliate Marketing You Can Do Online
There are four types of affiliate marketing you can do online:
- Paid Promotion
- Earning Revenue From Visitors
- Earning Revenue From Products
- Monetizing Content
Let’s discuss each type of affiliate marketing in turn.
Paid Promotion
Paid promotion is when an advertiser pays you to display their ads on your site. Typically, you’ll earn a commission when someone clicks an ad or makes a purchase after viewing an ad. Google Adsense, for example, is a popular network with a wide array of advertisers who’ll pay you to display ads on your site. You’ll simply need to have a minimum of 500 unique contacts in your audience to become a certified partner.
To get started, create a new Google account. When you log in, you’ll see a dashboard with several tabs. Next, click on the Adsense publisher tab and then click on the Get Started button.
From there, you can download the Google Adsense app to your smartphone. After you download the app, you’ll be able to begin creating an account and getting paid to have ads on your site. You can then follow the prompts to set up your account and get started earning money from Google Adsense.
You’ll need to add a new design to your website. If you’re using WordPress, you can choose from thousands of free and premium themes to suit your needs. For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll use the free Blogger theme by Google.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed the Blogger theme on your site, head over to Theme Options and scroll down to the Marketing section. Here, you can add a new design for your blog by clicking on the Add New button. From there, you can choose the Blogger theme and customise the design to suit your needs.
Earning Revenue From Visitors
Earning revenue from visitors is when you generate money from the people who visit your site. You can do this with affiliate marketing, where you promote products or services that are relevant to your niche. When someone clicks a monetized link or buys a product that’s endorsed or associated with your blog, you’ll earn a commission.
To begin, create a new Google account. When you log in, you’ll see a dashboard with several tabs. Next, click on the Adsense publisher tab, then click on the Get Started button. From there, you can download the Google Adsense app to your smartphone.
As before, head over to Theme Options under Marketing and click on the Add New button. For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll use the free Blogger theme once again but we’ll add a few custom design elements to make it look a little bit more professional.
After you’ve downloaded and installed the Blogger theme on your site, head over to Theme Options and scroll down to the Design section. Here, you have the choice of twenty-four different fonts and font sizes. When you click on the Customize button, you can edit the text throughout your site. You can add a logo or brand image, as well as pick an accent colour for the page.
To add a product or service to promote, simply click on the Products or Services tab, then click on the + icon to add a product. From there, you can choose from a variety of popular products and services relevant to your niche to promote.
Earning Revenue From Products
Earning revenue from products is when you directly earn money from the products you promote. For example, Amazon will pay you to promote their products and you’ll earn a commission when someone purchases a product that’s mentioned or linked to in a blog post. If someone buys products that you’ve endorsed or recommended, you’ll earn a portion of the revenue.
To begin, create a new Google account. When you log in, you’ll see a dashboard with several tabs. Next, click on the Adsense publisher tab, then click on the Get Started button. From there, you can download the Google Adsense app to your smartphone.
As before, head over to Theme Options under Marketing and click on the Add New button. For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll use the free Blogger theme again but we’ll add a few custom design elements to make it look a little bit more professional.
After you’ve downloaded and installed the Blogger theme on your site, head over to Theme Options and scroll down to the Design section. Here, you have the choice of twenty-four different fonts and font sizes. When you click on the Customize button, you can edit the text throughout your site. You can add a logo or brand image, as well as pick an accent colour for the page.
To add a product or service to promote, simply click on the Products or Services tab, then click on the + icon to add a product. From there, you can choose from a variety of popular products and services relevant to your niche to promote.
Once you’ve added all three types of affiliate marketing, you can use the Google Search bar at the top of your blog to track your earnings. You can also use the WordPress Back Office to track your income and traffic at any given moment. Take a look at our blog’s income over the past year:
How To Monetize A WordPress Blog
There are several ways you can monetize a WordPress blog. You could sell and display ads on your site, you could join a affiliate program, or you could start a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for charity. We’ll discuss each method in turn.
Advertising
Adding advertising to your blog is an easy way to earn money. You can place ads on your site using a network such as Adsense, which will automatically display ads throughout your content. When someone clicks on an ad or makes a purchase after viewing an ad, you’ll earn a commission.
To get started, create a new Google account. When you log in, you’ll see a dashboard with several tabs. Next, click on the Adsense publisher tab, then click on the Get Started button.
From there, you can download the Adsense app to your smartphone. After you download the app, you’ll be able to begin creating an account and getting paid to have ads on your site. You can then follow the prompts to set up your account and get started earning money from Google Adsense.
You’ll need to add a new design to your website. If you’re using WordPress, you can choose from thousands of free and premium themes to suit your needs. For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll use the free Blogger theme.