So, you want to make money blogging.

But, how?

Which method is the best one?

Here, I will outline what I believe to be the top 10 ways to monetize a blog site in the best order I believe they are workable

1. Membership Programs

The “free” model is a huge and growing trend in online income right now. You provide a great deal of quality content to your audience for free, and provide a premium-level program to those willing to pay for it. You can charge a monthly membership that will provide a steady income stream.

Any blog can be turned into this style of membership program. We’ll cover that a little later.

2. Sell Your Own Information Products

The selling of knowledge is BIG Business! If you build your position within your market, you can then sell quality information to that market. This can be e-books, audio, videos, or all of the above. You can package in bundles or just sell them digitally. If you author the product yourself you keep 100% of the profit.

3. Provide Services

Another great way to make money with a blog is an indirect one. Use your blog to build your reputation, your brand and your audience. Then, make your money by directing that attention into offline services, consulting and/or coaching. I’ve seen many a blogger develop a nice, lucrative business just from coaching. The one drawback is the trading time for money so keep that in mind during your planning stages. How much time can you invest?

4. Public Speaking

If you develop your reputation, brand and audience to the point you can be considered an expert in your niche, you can turn that into a public speaking business that you get paid for.

5. Product Sales

If you have a physical product line to offer, you can use your blog as a venue for promoting your online store. Sell whatever you like. If you are an artist, you can develop an online store to sell your art pieces and a blog to build up audience and a following.

6. Affiliate Programs

Affiliate marketing is a great way to build up your income. You sell other peoples stuff to your audience and get paid when they buy it. In fact, any time I recommend a product or service to my audience, I check to see if they have an affiliate program. If so, I sign up and use my affiliate link. If I’m going to recommend something to my readers anyway, I might as well make a little something for the free advertising I’m giving them.

7. Direct Ad Sales

Banner ads and in-text ads a popular way to make money – but be aware, it’s not the most lucrative unless you have thousands and thousands of readers. This is usually the first method would-be bloggers consider.

However, if you’re going to try direct sales, selling the ads directly will result in more cash in your pocket. You should consider creating a media kit for your blog that includes ad sizes, prices and locations. As for pricing, a general rule of thumb is to aim for twice your eCPM from Google Adsense.

Why twice? Because that’s what Google is charging – you didn’t think you’d get it all did you?

8. Banner Advertising

If you don’t want to sell your own ads, you can still run network advertising from a variety of different sources. Personally, I use Adsense and keep it simple.

You can also direct sell ads and use network ads as filler for unused inventory.

9. Pay Per Post

You can get paid to review products, sites or services on your blog. Sites like PayPerPost, Social Spark and ReviewMe are among the most popular options. I’ve seen some blogs sell this option directly. When doing any type of paid posting, it is imperative to disclose the fact that it is a paid review. You also want to make sure to not challenge your integrity by giving a less than honest review.

10. Develop and Sell

You can build a blog, build an audience, sell it. In fact, some people actually buy blogs which are dead or setting idle. They’ll invest their marketing skills, build the SEO back links, cultivate readership then sell it for a profit. It can work.

I’ve sold three websites now ranging in price from $100 for one that I had that was dying on the vine and being underused to the more lucrative ones at $6,500 and $95,000.

There’s a nice amount of money to be had in flipping websites IF you have the skills to develop and market them to the point they become desirable to buyers.

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.

On May 16, 2008 I placed my order for ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. A week later my book arrived. Due to it being the end of the school year and with everyday family chaos ensuing, I placed the book on my nightstand with the promise I would read it eventually.

June 4th was the morning my world came to a screeching halt. We’d had several days of steady, non-stop and, at times, heavy rains here in Indiana. That morning I woke to over three feet of water in my finished basement. When I opened the basement door and saw the water pouring in around the windows and down the walls, there was little else we could do besides close the door and let Mother Nature have her say.

Without Internet, there wasn’t much I could do besides grab a good book and read. The book I chose was Problogger Book.

I’ve followed the success of Chris Garrett and Darren Rowse since their very early days. It was nice to read a book that was written by two people I felt I had such a connection with. Authors I’d also grown to know as friends.

It had become obvious, the aftermath of this 30-year-flood was going to be financially  devastating at best. I was at such a loss for what I was going to do, how my family would recover, but for a few hours I wasn’t going to think about that – I was going to read. I was going to read and enjoy the success of my friends and feast on something positive in the wake of my worst nightmare that was obviously brewing the level beneath me.

As I began to read, I realized I was going to need a highlighter for this experience. While I’ve been blogging almost as long as the two writers, they had learned and experienced far more on the topic of blogging than I had ever dreamed of.

The more I read, the more I felt I was being pulled into some divine plan that was showing me the answer to my haunting question – “How will we ever recover from this horrible flood?”

As I read about selling blogs, I realized I was sitting on some fairly nice, prime online real estate and I was going to take a shot at selling one of them. I followed the plan as described by Darren and Chris and composed the perfect pitch. Once I was comfortable with the wording and presentation, I emailed the proposal to seven people/companies who would likely have interest in my particular niche. With a quick prayer and a click of my mouse, the wish was released and the waiting began.

Within 2 days the first bid came in at $75,000 and by the end of the week, I agreed to accept a bid of $95,000. June 14th I signed my letter of intent to sell and the rest is history.

My answer had come – I would survive – I would recover and my life and that of my family would change in such an amazing way.

Once I recovered from the flood  and her $20,000 plus reign of terror – the remainder of my funds were tucked away. I established an LLC and am just about to launch two new businesses that will employ relatives who need the work and will love and nurture the investment as I would.

More on those businesses later – but I will say one is so unique and landmark that finally, rather than being the person who sits back and says “why didn’t I think of that?” I can say “I actually thought of that!”

Call it Law of Attraction – Power of Positive Thinking – A Divine Plan or the Power of Prayer, but whatever you choose to call it, I believe my prayers have been answered and I’m achieving a level of success I never dreamed of.

I’m very blessed to have friends like Darren and Chris enter my life to become tools to get me to where I needed to be. The right place at the right time and with the perfect storm, literally.

In a single year, I sold a website, recovered from the worst Midwest flood in 30 years, launched two new businesses, hired 5 relatives I’ve dreamed and prayed I’d be able to help someday, will have bought and moved into a new home I can CALL MY OWN and paid off all my debt. I now know firsthand what financial freedom really is.

I can’t tell you enough, buy the book, buy an extra copy because you will want to give one away someday. Read it, learn it, live it! It works – and when combined with watching The Secret and using both in combination – I don’t think it gets any better.

Buy The Secret and/or The Problogger Book on Amazon

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My Comment Commitment: If you leave an approved comment on any of my posts, I will visit your blog and “share it” in some way whether on StumbleUpon, Twitter or Facebook depending on if I can find a nice fit.