How to Make More Money with your Business Blog (and Never Make Pennies Ever Again!)

“I work hard, but my business blog keeps making pennies – what did I do wrong?”

The question you just read is probably the number one problem every blog owner have in his/her mind.  Unfortunately, the question is valid: So many people are trying to build blogs, but so few successfully make something out of their business blogs.

But no worries – there IS one way that is (almost) guaranteed to boost your business blog’s income.

Feeling intrigued? Read on.

Everybody can build a business blog. And it’s both a good and bad thing.

As we all know it, the Internet has given guys like me – and probably you – a chance to be in the same marketplace where those big brands hang out and do business.  Let’s say that the Internet is a leveling ground.

True, that tons of budget vs. no budget still makes a difference online, but the difference is far less significant compared to the offline world, in my humble opinion.

Online, you and I have a chance to start something unique and make an impact (in term of influence and income.) For $100, we can create something – say, a business blog – as big as those that cost $1 million to build.

Alas, every good thing comes with a bad thing, and vice versa.  Yin and yang.  It’s how things work.

As the barrier to entry is extremely low in online business – especially blog and blogging – you are virtually competing with thousands of business blogs out there on the web.

Did you know how easy it is to start a business blog? Buy a domain name, buy a hosting space, install WordPress, use free WP theme, and blog your heart out. The whole thing costs you less than $100, and all you need is to invest time to keep on learning how to blog better and how to grow your blog well.

But you know what, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately.

You see, growing a blog as a business is not that easy.  Running a blog is an easy game to play, but extremely difficult to master.

Generating revenue with your blog is difficult, but worth trying

Let’s take me as a case study.

You see, I am far from the label “success.” But I am feel blessed that I have an opportunity to get there – at least to try to get there.

I have my fair share of ups and downs, and I work hard in trying to reach milestones I set.  The thing is, things can be frustrating at times.

In my 8 years blogging and website building, I’ve learned that building a business blog is one thing, growing a blog is another thing, and making a blog profitable is yet another different thing.

Just like what I said above, building a blog is not that hard – particularly if you are using free blogging platforms, like Blogger and WordPress.com.  What you need to do is to read some online tutorials from trusted sources, and put what you learn into practice.

Then came the next problem: How to get traffic? This is where many fail desperately.  They have tried hard to get traffic via continuously publishing great content, doing social media marketing and all.  Some succeed in getting traffic, yet there is one nagging problem they have yet to solve…

How to make a nice amount of money from my blog?

You see, making $10 online is not that hard. Just slap some Google AdSense code, and you’re done. But I’m not sure that $10 is a nice financial reward for your effort in blogging and blog building. You clearly deserve more than that.

Unfortunately, this is where many blog owners give up.  That’s include me – I was about to give up in 2009/2010, after making tens of dollar a month, working 12+ hours a day.  I failed numerous times: I have built hundreds of sites and 95 percent of them failed.

I built eCommerce sites. I built blogs. I built directories. I built microblogging platforms. I built affiliate sites. I built Made-for-AdSense sites.  I built auto-blogging “empire”. I built forums.  I built social bookmarking sites. I tried so many things.

But the good news is, if you never give up, you will see some results.

My online income starts climbing steadily, and I choose to keep my momentum, working hard, failing fast and learn from my failures.

Today, I support my family with 100% online income, and I am virtually location independent.  I’m not financially-rich, but I’m choice-rich: I now can craft my business around my lifestyle – not the other way around.

Let’s cut to the chase: Here’s how to make more money with your business blog

Okay, this is what y’all have been waiting for 🙂 Let’s get down to business!

The biggest mistake: Relying on Google AdSense (and other ad networks)

AdSense still the go-to network for generating revenue from your blog, but there are some things you need to know about AdSense.

From my experience, Google AdSense is a worthwhile solution IF:

• Your blog’s main/money keywords are listed on top 3 of the search engine result pages (SERPs) thus generating targeted, organic traffic from Google
• Your money keywords have a good per-click earning
• Your main traffic source is from Google

Other than that, don’t expect to make a considerable amount of money.

One more thing: Google changes its algorithm on regular basis, so expect strong fluctuation on your Google ranking. This means your AdSense income may also fluctuate greatly.

Back in 2012, my business blog was on top 10 of several competitive keywords with decent per-click earning.  With 120K visits a month, I was able to generate $3,000/month from AdSense.  “Thanks” to Google Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, and other Google algorithm updates, it’s losing the ranking, as well as the traffic.  I lost 80 percent of traffic and 90 percent of AdSense income.  I have to find other ways to generate income from my blog.

That’s life, lessons well-learned: Don’t rely on ad networks for your blog income, as they depend on your blog’s organic traffic.

The same thing goes with other ad networks: You shouldn’t consider them as your main source of income. In my opinion, they are great as supplemental income sources, not the main ones.

The best way: You need to sell products/offer services

Sell your own ebooks, training programs or other digital/physical products – your own or third-party’s via affiliate programs – should be your focus.  If you good at consulting or public speaking, promote them to your target market. If you are good at what you are doing, this type of income source is far more sustainable than relying on ad networks like AdSense, Infolinks and so on.

I personally don’t own products (I should!) but I take another path: Selling services.  With my blogs, I offer online publication and marketing services for clients, focusing on brand exposure and reputation building.

The great thing about selling products/offering services is that your revenue doesn’t really impacted by your search engine traffic.  You can always promote your products and services using social networks, like LinkedIn and Facebook.

Yes, without Google!

Want some examples?

If you start a business blog on freelancing topics, you can blog about freelancing tips and ideas.  You can sell your ebook on how to secure more projects, how to manage freelancers’ time better, and so on.  Alternatively, you can start a membership program, in which you teach members on many aspects of freelancing. You can promote from forums to forums and use Facebook dark posts to reach out to Facebook members who are working from home or working part time.

The same goes with other niches, say, the lucrative travel niche.  You can sell travel guides.  You can create itineraries for travelers.  You can sell affiliate products like hotels, airline tickets and tours. Love blogging? You can be a travel writer for travel networks. Promotion? Go to Pinterest and post great travel photos. Go to LinkedIn and be active in travel-related groups. Go to backpacker forums and help other members with what you know.

Look, ma, no Google! (Of course, organic traffic is nice, but you get the point…)

As you can see, the opportunities are endless.

What’s my next step?

Of course, there are literally 1,001 ways to make money from your business blog. But from my experience, selling products/offering services is the way to go.  You can always scale as your blog grows by hiring freelancers and outsourcing.

Your focus should be on promoting your products and services, and you can do so with social media networks.  Advertise on Facebook.  Reach out to business owners and professionals on LinkedIn. Join online forums and solve members’ problems with your products/services.

So, here’s your next step: Stop mulling for the best ad networks for your business blog, and start prioritizing on creating/selling products/services.  You can always try ad networks you want – during your spare time. You should spend your resources on your products and services.

I hope this helps you in your business blog building endeavor – good luck with your effort!