As bloggers we all not just document our passions, but also look at monetizing our blogs in the long run. Expanding your services beyond the usual sponsored blog posts, online advertisements and sponsored backlinks, helps engage more readers and earn higher profits as well. A wise way to bank upon monetizing opportunities is to offer innovative products and expert services for sale to your readers.
Looking for an easier way to make the buying and selling part of it possible,  I recently came across a new and unique platform called ezebee.com which makes it easier for bloggers to sell their merchandise and get paid for it instantly. Without the hassle of building a traditional e-commerce website, this new venture gives anyone in the world an opportunity to create a free online shop and offer any products or services they like. Below are 10 ways you can monetize your blog using platforms like these without losing any transaction fees.Â
- Customized Holiday Planning: The one asset that we all have as a travel blogger is our knack of planning trips with the best options and prices on the itinerary. But it is of no surprise that there are a lot of people who hate planning their holidays and therefore look for outside help like travel agencies and travel experts. By providing a service option of customized holiday planning within your posts, starting with your friends and personal connections, you can earn an extra income using your planning experience. Here is an example of this.Â
- Become a City Expert: If you are a local of a city that is burgeoning with tourism, you are in the right spot to be a local expert. Much like the job of a city guide you would remember from your childhood who would show us around narrating a lot of history – this one particular service has evolved a lot with time. Tourists these days look for genuine recommendations from prim and polished guides who are fun to interact with, and can refer places that suit to individual tastes and desires. Not very time consuming, you can easily provide this service over email, texts and WhatsApp, being constantly connected with your client. Alternatively you can also travel in person with the visitors and have the advantage of making new friends and meeting new people from all over the world.
- Sell a merchandise: This is probably the most typical way to expand and monetize for a blogger, and also the most profitable one. If you are a food blogger, an art blogger or you have expertise in a particular kind of product that can be sold further to your readers, all you need to have is a platform like ezebee.com to make the transactions and then mail the packages to your customers. I have seen some amazing DIY pottery, textile and baking bloggers sell some really awesome kitchenware, fabrics, bags, bedsheets, tableware, cakes and cupcakes to their readers – making easy profits out of their hobby.
- Sell your own E-book: We all are writers, constantly posting blog posts one after the other. But if you have a particular beat with a lot of content to offer, or a story to tell – turning it into an ebook and selling it online to your readers gives you a better opportunity to monetize your content, than just posting it as a blog. The Kindle Direct Publishing tool by Amazon is a great way to implement this.
- Offer Web-based Seminars: If you are an expert on topics like – basics of blogging, how to make and run a blog profitably, how to monetize or score FAM trips, how to write engaging blogspots, guide to photography, or other insightful topics of your choosing – you can start offering paid web-based seminars / workshops to your followers. A lot of young bloggers out there are looking for expert guidance on scaling and growing their blogs, and webinars can be the most popular way for you to monetize.
- Seek Donations: This one is monetizing ‘for a cause’. If you believe in a mission, or want to gather support for a particular cause or Non-profit organization – its wise to seek donations from your readers – all for a cause. Alternatively I have also seen a few full-time bloggers ask for donations to fulfill their dreams by raising funds and support for their next expedition from their readers. Surely something to think about.Â
- Consultancy Services:Â The one option I enjoy the most is that of being a travel consultant. Suggesting people new places to travel, where to stay, what to eat and things to see is not just a service, but lots of fun too when coming from the right person. I love planning holidays for people, helping them with ideas and recommendations – and a consultancy service like this is always a great idea appealing to an average lazy planner but a great traveler.
- Sell Holiday packages and Activities:Â If you have good connections with travel companies, airlines, and tour companies – a good way to monetize is to tie-up and offer customized holiday packages and activities to your readers for a commission / profit as an extra service following your posts. This will in-turn also give your blog an edge over others as loyal readers can easily book your recommendations with full confidence with a single click on your blog and help you expand in the process.
- Newsletter Subscriptions: Paid newsletters are not that easy to execute for a profit, but if you are a big blogger with a lot of fan following, or if you are offering any sort of valuable service / information / data through your newsletters which is hard to get otherwise, you might have a good chance to make a profit out of paid newsletters. If not a quick way to monetize, this one is surely a good way to expand reach in the long run.
- Images, video, or music people can use in their own content: This option is the most beneficial for bloggers in the entertainment or creative industry. Most professional photographers make their high-res pictures available for purchase on their blogs, and the same goes for bloggers who make professional videos, and license their own music. If you have been wondering about a good platform to offer your work for a monetary transaction, then once again a platform like ezebee.com seems like a great option to explore.
Great ideas! I think the consultancy would be the best option for me – and the most fun! I love researching and planning trips!
How to do you a travel consultancy business and how is that different from customized holiday planning? I would love to learn more!
Some great ideas. I have been eyeing with the idea of writing an e-book for a while now. But I need to find the time really.
a very practical piece and thanks for the great ideas! – I am definitely bookmarking this and will explore the possibility of some of them in the future! @ knycx.journeying
Great tips! I could certainly use a few. Who doesn’t need more money?!
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Awesome tips. It’s everyone’s dream to make a lot of money via blogging. But many fails, only a few make it to the top.
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