From my time in blogging, I’ve realised that most newbie bloggers are purely in it for the money (as are some of the more experienced). Whilst I don’t agree with this philosophy, I do feel it is important to address this issue and hopefully this post will help you make some decisions about making money from your new blog.
What Philosophy?!
In the last paragraph I said I don’t agree with ‘this philosophy’, and that belief is that you shouldn’t just blog for the money. My advice to any blogger is to write to inform and assist, and then, in time, as you build a more successful blog, the money will start to come in. If you blog purely for the money, nine times out of ten you’re more likely to drive the reader away (in my opinion).
I’m sure that some people will object with this, and I can see why. You’ll put hours and hours into making the blog successful (I know I do!), so why shouldn’t you be rewarded for your efforts?! Well, you should, but I personally feel it’s better to let the money come naturally rather than forcing it.
Monetising solutions for new blogs
Yes, new blogs. New blogs are those that will struggle to make an income as they’re less established, so here are my top tips:
- Don’t sell! – Whilst it may be tempting to try and sell advertising space on your blog, I recommend against this. The advertising space on a new blog will be practically worthless anyway, so is it really worth it?!
- Adsense – Programs such as Adsense are, in my opinion, an amazing way of monetising new blogs. As long as you can get some clicks, you can start earning from your blog almost immediately.
- Affiliates – You could also try putting your affiliate banners up in the advertising space. Doing this is another great way of earning some money (if you have enough quality traffic) until the site is popular enough to sell the advert space privately.
Using your spare advertising spots effectively
Whilst you may want to start earning some money, there are other things you can achieve from your advertising space. I’ve found a very effective way of building traffic and exposure for your blog is to actually give away advertising space.
Give away?! Am I mad?!
Well, actually, no, I’m not. I advise that you donate your advertising space to contests being held on other blogs. This way, you get a link back and therefore some exposure to your blog. Another way is to hold contests to win the advertising space. I usually just hold small contests on forums, but to enter you must leave a comment. It’s a great way of getting some quality traffic to your blog. Plus, if those two aren’t good for you, giving away free advertising is also a great way of making friends!
Your thoughts
How do you monetise your blog? What would your tips be for noobs? Do you have anything to add to this article? Do you just want your say? Please feel free to leave a comment below and, if the article was helpful, please share it with others via one of the icons below.
I use adsense, it doesn’t make me much money
Web traffic is picking up though so i shall sell some space in the comming months.
great post once again!
Matt Dutton’s last blog post..Is It Really Cheaper To Build Your Own PC Instead Of Buying One?
Thanks for the compliment, Matt.
The thing about Adsense is that you need quality traffic for it to work. If someone is just passing by, they’re unlikely to be interested (and click) one of the ads, so it’s important to get people who are quality visitors.
Rockin post Teenius!
You’ve covered everything.
How about a similar one for forums? Many forum owners out there.
Thanks for the compliment Farrhad
I’m not too sure about the post about forums as I’ve only ever moderated forums, not owned them, so I wouldn’t want to talk about something I’m clueless on 
Still, I’ll try and find someone in the know to do a guest post about it
Good post, i used to use adsense on my proxies and hope to put it onto my blogs in the future.
Hopefully il hit the $5/day mark soon again!
Well, I wish you the best of luck for hitting that target
$5/day is EASILY achievable with a bit of work 
I think people who blog for a hobby they should let money come naturally as you said . Those who wanna make a living out of blogging then they will surely make use of all technical aspects to get money.
Yeah, but I still feel that there is a point where you should focus on PREPARING the blog for income rather than just going and miliking it dry for the sake of a few dollars.
Hey great post.
But I’m wondering, when can you actually sell your ads?
As I’m seeing it, I think it’s possible to sell a 125×125 ad for like 10$ if you have 50 daily views?
Stefan | StudySuccessful.com’s last blog post..Transform a bad teacher class into a usefull class
There isn’t really a set point as to when you can sell adverts, but I would say for a normal blog it would be around 1-2 months (if you want a decent amount, that is).
Regarding the price, it really depends where you go to sell them. On a high class website you should get a decent amount, but on a lot of the forums where people are usually a bit cheaper.
Great article Simon,
In my opinion I think Adsense and Affiliates are great for monetising new websites however to really make this work for you, you need some sort of traffic coming in.
Salwa’s last blog post..Get promoting using Yahoo! Buzz
[...] Tips for monetising new blogs! – Teenius [...]
People who venture into blogging just for the money often leave frustrated because you wouldn’t start making money as fast as you think.
Making money online takes time. You have to write good contents and build your readers base so they(your readers) build trust in you and keep coming back, then the money will come gradually.
And there are so many ways you can monetise your blogs: Adsense and Affiliates like Simon mentioned above.
Read up my post on 6 best ways to monetise your blogs.
http://princesioni.com/6-best-ways-to-make-money-online-with-your-blog/
Prince Sioni’s last blog post..Twitter Removes @username Reply Feature
hey this is a very interesting article!