MONETISE YOUR BLOG: 7 MISTAKES TO AVOID
There's something that's been really bugging me lately and it's when I see people making these mistakes when they want to monetise their blog.
So today we're digging into some of the biggest mistakes bloggers make when they try and monetise their blog.
And what I want to say before we start is that I’m sharing these mistakes from a good place, my friend.
These are mistakes that I see bloggers make time and time again. I mean, I’ve definitely made some of these mistakes.
Especially number 7, that’s a big one.
What I don’t want you to do is feel guilty if you’re making any of these mistakes. Instead, let it drive you to focus on making some positive changes so you really can work to monetise your blog.
Shall we started?
MISTAKE #1: TRYING TO MONETISE BEFORE YOU BUILD AN AUDIENCE
So let’s say you come up with an idea for a product and you release it - but nobody buys it. What did you do wrong?
You didn’t have any audience or engagement to market that product to.
Don’t be that person. Seriously, if you do this, you’re missing such a critical step. It’s not rocket science - you need to have an audience to sell your products to.
But you can get caught up in this. A lot of people wait to release something because they think their audience is too small and then they never end up releasing it.
If you have 100 people who are engaged and invested in what you do, you could be successful. It’s not about knowing the most people. It’s about creating a community of people who trust in what you create.
MISTAKE #2: YOU FOCUS ON NUMBERS INSTEAD OF ENGAGEMENT
It’s not all about the numbers. Repeat that to yourself right now.
Yes, if you have loads of pageviews this will help. But if these are people who don’t care about what you do then, you’re in trouble.
Numbers aren’t everything. Engagement - now that’s where you want to put your focus.
Don’t just focus on getting new subscribers and new followers. Focus on engaging with the ones you already have. Think of your followers as your friends - how much do you communicate with them?
Imagine how this would work if you had this mindset for your blog. Launching a product to a bunch of strangers would be nowhere near as successful as launching it to your friends.
MISTAKE #3: YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOUR AUDIENCE IS
If you have no idea what your audience wants to buy - don’t guess!
The thing people are most worried about when they launch something is that no one will buy it or people won’t find it useful.
There are actually ways round both of these issues.
You need to start by understanding who your audience is. And then you need to figure out what your audience needs from you. You can:
- Run a survey
- Join in conversations on social media
- Just ask them.
Knowing who your audience is and what they need will help people see the value of what you have to offer.
MISTAKE #4: YOU JUST TRY AND MONETISE THROUGH ADS AND SPONSORSHIPS
If you only focus on ads and sponsorships, you’ll be moving very slowly in the world of monetisation my friend.
Why would you use monetisation techniques that take people away from your website? Because that’s what ads and sponsorships basically do.
What’s better is to use your blog as a tool to promote yourself.
It can also be really tricky to earn a decent amount of money from ads and sponsorships, especially if your goal is to turn your blog into your full-time job.
If this is your current main monetisation method, then ask yourself, is it worth it?
MISTAKE #5: YOU TRY AND DO IT ALONE
As someone who works from home, I can understand why self-employed people close themselves off. We forget how important relationships are.
And you might think that you have your bases covered by being active on social media - this is exactly what I used to think.
But in reality, social media is just your starting point. And typing is not the same as speaking to someone face-to-face.
If you find people that your really connect with on social media, that have similar goals to you, talk to them. Then move to email and then Skype them. Now you have someone who you can speak to face-to-face about blogging and building an online presence.
Game changer.
For the longest time I just blogged by myself, I didn’t have any connections whatsever.
But since I started to put this as a focus, it’s been such a season of growth, because having these people to talk to and plan with is so valuable.
MISTAKE #6: YOU GIVE UP TOO QUICKLY
There are 440 million blogs are out there right now.
440 million.
And I bet only a handful of those actually earn a full-time income.
It can be discouraging, but the main reason a lot of blogs don’t make money is because people give up before they’ve even given it a chance.
I did a workshop at a university recently and a lot of people said they had a blog, but because they weren’t getting results after 3 months they stopped.
3 months!
It’s easy to assume that a lot of people had an overnight success but it doesn’t exist. The big players have been working on building their brand for years.
Now don’t go thinking that it' going to take you years, that’s the wrong way to think. You just need to put the right strategies in place that can help you get there faster.
Do what works. Always provide value. That’s what’s going to get you there.
Just because you don’t see results instantly doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Keep persevering.
MISTAKE #7: YOU USE TOO MANY STRATEGIES
This is something I used to do all the time, it’s like falling down a rabbit hole.
You think "I want to start an email list" and then you spend I don’t know, two hours reading different blog posts on email lists - each with new ideas and strategies - and then you try and put it altogether.
And then you think, why hasn’t that worked? It worked for them!
You don’t need to read multiple blog posts on the same topic. There I said it!
You need a system, just one, that will help you reach your goals more effectively.
So you can definitely try different strategies, but make sure you’re only honing in on what’s working and the thought leaders that you trust the most.
Have you made any of these monetisation mistakes? Don't worry, I'm raising my hand too!
Remember to monetise your blog effectively to get one step closer to a breakthrough.
