If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either a long-time reader of my blog or a really big fan of me (or perhaps even both!). If not, then maybe you should consider following me on social media, where I’ll occasionally drop big news stories and juicy gossip. No matter what your reason for reading this, I’m grateful you’re here.
I started my blog back in 2009 when I was 19 years old and had just won the prestigious Ebay Young Blogger award. I definitely didn’t have the money to fund a lifestyle blog back then, so I did what most other aspiring bloggers do: I got a part-time job.
Since then, I’ve slowly built up a small following, largely thanks to my tireless (and somewhat obsessive) outreach on social media. I’m always looking for new ways to grow my blog and to eventually monetize it.
Recently, I’ve been exploring the world of online gambling and betting. As a long-time sports fan, the idea of combining my two favorite pastimes is very appealing. However, running a betting site can be a bit more complicated than running a simple blog.
Monetizing Your Blog
Let’s say you’ve been diligently building up a small audience on your blog for years. You’ve posted regularly and engaged with your readers through social media. Now, you’ve finally decided to cash in and pursue paid blogging. What can you do?
The first step is to make sure your blog is built to take advantage of any income you might generate.
Blogs with featured posts, for example, usually make more money than simple “flat-top” blogs because they draw more organic traffic. Having posts featured in a blog aggregator like the Tumblr blog platform also creates more opportunities for monetization.
Your next step is to figure out how to make the most of your blog’s existing audience. Do you want to try selling and displaying ads on your site? Do you want to try selling affiliate products such as shoes, toys, or jewelry? Or do you want to try something different and take advantage of the size of your audience?
Monetizing An Online Casino
If you’re looking to monetize an online casino, then you’re in luck because I’ve got just the thing for you. In this article, I’m going to show you how to easily and effectively monetize your online casino using a simple and proven method.
What is affiliate marketing? In short, when an online casino accepts affiliate marketing links as payment, the casino covers the cost of the commission (typically around 3-5% for major credit cards and 2% for PayPal). So, in effect, the player is paying for the privilege of playing!
Why should you try affiliate marketing? It’s a proven method that works. Take a look at Real Money Online Casinos for example: they make up the great majority of online casinos, and you’ll notice they don’t offer any incentive to play (e.g. no sign-up bonuses, free cash, or discounted play). That’s because they’re already making money through affiliate marketing!
To be blunt, playing at a real money online casino is not free, and it’s especially not expensive. If you play for real, you’ll either be required to spend money on gas or eat into your bankroll. And let’s face facts: that’s not going to happen. The aim of an online casino is to make money, and they’re doing a pretty good job of it. If you’re curious, check out this year’s top 100 online casinos, which are all extremely profitable and generate a substantial amount of revenue.
Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing
To get started with affiliate marketing, you’ll need a product to promote, a website or blog to house the ads, and an ad-network to get the ads on your site. The first two are pretty easy to find, but the last one can be a bit more complicated.
Once you have all of those in place, the next step is to pick the right type of affiliate marketing plan.
There are three basic types of affiliate marketing:
- Direct Sales
- Product Review
- CPA – Cost Per Action
Each of those will be discussed in more detail below.
Direct Sales
If you decide to go down the direct sales path, then you’ll want to set up an account on platforms like Ebay or Amazon.
You’ll put your affiliate links in your listings so when potential buyers click on an action button (e.g. Buy Now), they’re taken directly to your affiliate’s product page. When they make a purchase, you’ll get a commission.
The great thing about direct sales is that you don’t need to have any experience to get started. You just need to know how to pick a good product to promote and how to set up an affiliate account. Even better, you can use tools like Commission Junction to create and monitor affiliate accounts for you. So with direct sales, you don’t need to worry about learning how to code or how to fix things yourself. You can literally get started earning commissions within minutes!
Product Review
If you decide to go the product review route, then you’ll be reviewing products that are already available on the market. You won’t be posting any new products, but you will be telling people about products that they might be interested in.
The idea behind a product review is to help consumers make more informed choices when buying a product. Instead of just telling them what the product is and offering no further information, you’ll provide people with all the necessary information about the product. In addition to that, you’ll review the pros and the cons of the product so people can make an educated decision. Often, manufacturers will give you a free product to review, or you can purchase a similar product for cheaper.
Just remember: if you choose this route, your reviews must be authentic and unbiased. You should never write a review just to get a product to promote or to give away for free. Doing so will reflect badly on you as an industry professional. Make sure you always disclose your affiliations and conflicts of interest. For example, if you’re writing a review for a living product, disclose that you’re being paid to recommend it. If you’re being paid to mention a brand, then mention it. Being transparent is the key to maintaining trust with potential customers.
CPA – Cost Per Action
Finally, we have cost per action (CPA). This is one of the most popular methods for monetizing a blog because it is a very simple and straightforward way to make money. Simply put, when someone clicks an affiliate link and makes a purchase, you’ll get paid a commission. For example, let’s say you’re a personal stylist and you notice someone following your stylist Instagram account is interested in booking an appointment. You could take them directly to your website, where you’ll explain how personal stylists can help them to style various outfits for various occasions. After they’ve read the information on your site, they might decide to make an appointment with you, and once the appointment has been made, you’ll get paid. From the perspective of the customer, this is a pretty simple and straightforward way to find what they’re looking for and make an informed decision without having to go through a cumbersome and time-consuming process of comparison shopping.
In summary, there are three basic methods for monetizing a blog. You can try one of these out and see how it goes. Which one you choose depends on your experience and what you’re looking for. Whatever you do, make sure you pick a method that won’t hurt your financials in the long run. And remember: with affiliate marketing, the more you put in, the more you’ll get out. So don’t be afraid to try out different methods and see which ones work best for you.