When Should I Monetize My Blog?

Welcome back Q&A Thursday!

If you have been following this blog a while, then you know that I introduced Q&A Thursday a few months ago.

I originally believed that those two posts, “Where Should I Focus My Marketing Efforts as a New Blogger?” and “Should I Promote My Blog After Every Blog Post?” didn’t cl8ck with my audience. However, over time those posts have grown in popularity, so today marks the return!

So, today’s question is “When should I monetize my blog?” I’m going to cover the answer to this question and give you some early blog monetization tips in this post.

*This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, click here.

There is quite a bit of debate on the subject of when to start monetizing your blog. Some bloggers believe that you shouldn’t monetize for 6 months, while others recommend that monetize from day one. I get why there’s so much confusion.

Early monetization is a personal preference for each blogger. He or she must decide when and how to monetize when the timing is right for them.

Affiliate Marketing

I waited a few months, and honestly, I wish I had started sooner, especially with affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is passive income. There is no harm in your blog paying for itself. Don’t feel guilty about it.

Keep in mind that most affiliate marketing programs will only earn you about 50 cents per 1,000 pageviews. So, don’t expect much in the beginning. With time this will increase.

There are higher paying ad networks available, but most bloggers won’t be accepted until they have been around a while and have lots of content and pageviews. Some premium, high-paying, ad networks require a set number of pageviews (typically 25k or more).

There are also other requirements for the most popular programs. Amazon, for example, requires a minimum of 3 purchases in the first 90 days or your account will be deleted and you will have to reapply. Until you have an audience, you won’t earn much from affiliate marketing and may be kicked out of these programs.

Recommended Post:

How Bloggers Really Make Money Blogging and You Can Too!

The Downside of Affiliate Marketing

One of the major arguments against affiliate marketing is that it takes readers away from your blog. It kind of defeats the purpose of creating new content, interlinking, and improving your website’s navigation if you’re going to just send your audience away as soon as they find your blog.

Although you may earn 50 cents for every 1,000 pageviews, you are likely to lose more readers, which could be a costly mistake. Most of your readers that click on your affiliate links also don’t make a purchase and once they’re off your page, they’re not likely to return.

Many bloggers prefer to make the most out of a smaller audience by keeping them on your blog for as long as possible. It is more valuable to you if your blog visitors become fans and sign up for your email list than it is if they make a quick affiliate purchase.

Email subscribers are worth approximately $1-2 per email address in revenue. Once they purchase something from you, they are also much more likely to purchase again.

Better Monetization Methods for Beginners

Most bloggers do agree that offering services are a much better way to go for newbies. It’s a hard sell because you haven’t earned a reputation in the blogging community yet.

However, services like coaching, freelance writing, and freelance blogging are easy to offer from day one. Neil Patel recommends services and digital products for beginners.

So, if you have the knowledge, make use of it. If you can write, are an expert or experienced in a specific field, or have been in the field for a while, selling your knowledge can be quite lucrative.

Active vs. Passive Income

New bloggers are often limited on time. It takes a lot of time and hard work to publish content, set up your blog properly, and build sales funnels. Most bloggers also have full-time jobs in addition to their blog.

That means that you need to consider the amount of time you have available to funnel toward services and creating a product that’s worth buying. Active income sources, such as services, require you to be actively engaged in the service. In most cases, this takes hours.

Passive income ideas such as creating an ebook or e-course can take a month or more up-front to prepare. However, once you have your product, you won’t spend very much time on it after it’s complete.

Time constraints are likely the reason most news bloggers opt to use affiliate marketing on their blogs. You can write a blog post or add a few links to old posts and you are done.

Yeah, the money isn’t the best, but it may be worth having a lower income up-front to salvage your sanity.

Why Not Today?

Considering all of the above, yes, new bloggers should monetize. However, they should understand their options and determine which options are the best for them.

Ask yourself, which is more valuable to you at this moment, money or time? If you have more time than money, go with offering a service or launch a digital product. If you are okay financially but your time is limited, try affiliate marketing instead.

If it doesn’t work for you, that’s okay, you can always switch. Just remember that if you start dealing with clients and bail out on them, they probably won’t recommend you to others in the future or purchase your future products.

If you decide to discontinue a service, contact clients directly and give them enough time to find someone else. Finish out any contracts you make and be upfront with your client about your time limitations.

Monetize a New Blog

I hope this helps you decide when and how to monetize your blog. I know there’s a lot of confusion and discussion about this topic, but the bottom line is, do what works for you! No one else knows what will work for you. Trust your gut.

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Thank you so much for reading!

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