Monetizing their blogs is a desirable concept for most people. I know, I do the same. We put affiliate ads up, use Adsense and other Pay Per Click programs. There are also things like Text Link Ads, asking for donations, and finding advertisers to your blog directly. All of these are perfectly good ways to bring in extra income from your blog.

But, it isn’t enough to just choose a program and slap the ads on your blog. There needs to be some thought behind it. And, it’s taken me several years of blogging to learn some of these lessons so I hope it helps save you some frustration!

Determine Your Blog Audience

When you first start your blog, you should take the time to determine your audience. This helps you determine what kind of content to write and the methods you will use to promote your blog.

But, after your blog has been up for a month or so, you need to reevaluate. After all of the work you’ve put in, what is your audience really like? Is the blog attracting the people you expected? Through interacting with your readers in the comments, you should get an idea.

This information is helpful because it will determine how you monetize. When people leave comments, they often leave a URL. Spend some time on their blogs and websites to see what kinds of content and monetization strategies they use. Chances are, they’ll embrace your monetization if you do something similar.

Choose the Right Programs

Adsense, for example, is one of the most common blog and website monetization strategies out there. However, it is not for everyone. I was making a decent amount of money from it, for example. However, on my new theme, I can’t figure out how to include it without ruining the aesthetics. So, I’ve left it out. It’s okay if things change. It’s also okay if you choose not to do something. Running an ad program that is filled with products you don’t believe in or haven’t tried is not worth it.

Spend some time thinking about your blog and the monetization methods that will compliment what you are trying to achieve with it.

Reevaluate After a Few Months

Once you choose a strategy, it is a good idea to spend some time each month or every few months evaluating progress and seeing if things are working out. If not, something needs to change. Often, you’ll need more traffic in order to make more money. But sometimes it just isn’t enough. Sometimes, the program is just wrong for your blog.

As you can see, monetization requires a lot more thought than just choosing a program and letting the money roll in. After a while, you’ll find the monetization strategy that works for you but it does take some work.