Blogging Strategies: Making Money

The “blogging success stories” run rampant.  It’s difficult not to get wrapped up in the thought of making money off your blog, but monetization isn’t the best option for everyone.  As we’ve lightly touched on before, there are many methods of advertising, but before delving deep into advertising strategies it’s import to decide if advertising is right for you. ProBlogger offers an informative post on how to decide when and where to advertise.

Pros of advertising:

• Motivation – We all find ourselves slipping into a blogging slump, but advertising can keep you motivated.  If you don’t write new posts, your regulars won’t have a reason to visit your site.
• Funding to grow your blog – Every blogger has ambitions, from a redesign to becoming a full time blogger, expanding your blog can take capitol.  Advertising can provide you with the means to create the blog of your dreams.

Cons of advertising:

• Reader backlash – Readers are more perceptive than we give them credit for. Advertising can cause reader distrust in your motivations and intentions.
• Layout problems – If your site’s layout wasn’t initially built for advertising, you might experience organizational issues.  
• Same old, same old – Chances are, most bloggers in your genre are utilizing the same ad networks as you, which means your readers are seeing the same ads on all the sites they visit.  Additionally, in ad networks, publishers generally don’t have approval of which ads are displayed on their site.  Choose wisely. 

Let us know what type of monetization you’ve considered and what options you’d like to learn more about.