WordPress (WP) is a free and open-source blog publishing platform with various blog styles and layouts. It started in 2003 and is now one of the most popular blogging platforms worldwide.
Setting up a WordPress blog couldn’t be easier: you download it, upload it to your WebHost, open it in a browser, and enter your blog title, username, and password. From there, you can start adding posts and pages to your blog using the “dashboard” and by clicking on the “+New” button on the WP admin bar.
A free WordPress blog is not limited to just that: you can also build an affiliate marketing empire with it. However, note that this doesn’t happen overnight, and you may need the help of WordPress experts.
What’s the Importance of SEO?
More visitors on your blog means the better it is for affiliate marketing. This is why webmasters are always searching for traffic generation methods that they can use to drive massive targeted traffic to their sites. One way to achieve this is through SEO or Search Engine Optimization.
SEO refers to getting high rankings on search engines by using certain keywords frequently in content with various “SEO techniques.”
For instance, you want to offer financial services. You need to incorporate keywords, such as “personal loans,” “insurance,” or “saving money” to your blog content to make it SEO friendly. Check here if you need help with this kind of SEO service.
How to Monetize Free WordPress Blogs
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing simply refers to visitors buying products or services from another website. This can be done through:
- A link that directs visitors to the product page of your affiliate merchant site
- Google Adsense ads where you make money when someone clicks on an ad.
The second method is where WordPress blogs come in handy. You can integrate Google Adsense text, image, and video ads straight out of the box without third-party plug-ins (although some cool plug-ins are available). This means that if someone visits your blog and clicks on one of these embedded Google ads, you’ll get paid.
2. Sell Your Own Products or Services
You may also sell your own products and services using WordPress. There are two ways to do this:
- Creating a blog where you post tutorials on how to do certain things, such as movies, recipes, TV series, and season theme-related tutorials (e.g., security themed) or other niche-related tutorials that people may be interested in buying.
- Making an eCommerce website where you directly sell what you have. You can either create a general store or one that sells products specific to your WP blog’s niche.
If you see this as your primary source of income in the future, you may want to start learning the know-how. You can also hire digital agencies that offer SEO packages to help you boost your sales through SEO strategies.
3. Display Sponsor Ads in Your Posts
Sponsor ads are similar to Google Adsense ads, wherein they pay you when people click on them. But these ads come from external sponsors instead of big companies like Google. Plus, they’re usually placed within your content rather than at the top or bottom of each post.
You can find popular affiliate networks that handle sponsor ad placements, such as BlogHer – an advertising platform for female bloggers. To start, you need at least 100 views per month and have been blogging for at least six months.
4. Review Products or Services
Review other companies’ products or services on your blogs. This is a great way to use your authority as a power user or a blogger to sell affiliate products or services from partner companies.
Just remember to be honest and unbiased when doing your reviews. If you don’t like the product or service, then say so instead of lying to sell it.
5. Host Ads on Your Website
Another way to make money from your WordPress blog is by hosting ads from other companies. If you’re not interested in writing a tutorial or product review, this is a great alternative, yet you want to monetize your site.
To start earning money through affiliate marketing, all you need to do is contact an advertising company and get paid when visitors view or click on these ads. In return, you’ll get a percentage of the money the advertisers make from each visitor who clicks their links.
6. Paid Subscriptions
You can set up a paid subscription system on your blog. You can do this by creating premium content that non-subscribers cannot see.
You can charge users to see this premium content through a one-time fee or monthly subscriptions. If you’re serious about obtaining paid subscribers for your blog, you need to create high-quality contents that are worth paying for.
The downside, however, is that people will only subscribe to your blog if they trust you and like what you offer. You can even lose some subscribers when you require payment, so handle this method with care.
Maximizing Your Earnings Through WordPress
Getting paid from a free blog sounds unrealistic to many people, but there are several ways you can maximize your blog’s earning potential.
The trick is to identify your blog’s strengths and use them as a means to make money. Do you know what angle your blog can provide? What can make it stand out from the rest?
You can either use one method or combine several of these techniques to maximize your earnings through WordPress blogs. Remember that all methods have benefits and drawbacks, so choose wisely and always consider your blog’s resources and current status.
The key takeaway is to keep blogging. You never know where it takes you – whether having fun while writing or making big bucks from monetizing free WordPress blogs. Also, remember that this doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient.
Most of all, if you decide to seek help from professionals, make sure to choose the experienced, such as these best SEO agency London experts.
