The concept of bloggers making money is nothing new; however, not all blogs are created equal when it comes to turning a profit.
For example, the resurgence of affiliate marketing and passive income blogs has left many bloggers with stars in their eyes as they try to turn their content into cash. Regardless, the research, time and resources involved with setting up such a blog can be quite daunting, especially for a newbie.
If you’re a modern marketer interested in monetizing your brand new blog, consider doing it the old-fashioned way.
Blogging guru Neil Patel notes that any blog can be monetized, regardless of niche or industry, as long as you have traffic. Likewise, you can easily start a blog and turn it into a successful sales funnel in three simple steps.
The sales funnel concept is as old as marketing itself; that is, you build leads, encourage them to interact with your brand and essentially “funnel” them through the process of buying from your business. This approach is perfect for bloggers who have an ongoing readership, hungry for information and education but in need of something to buy to help take them to the next level. So, what do you need to get started?
You Need a Product
In short, sales funnels require you to sell some sort of product or service. While this may seem like a no-brainer, this is ultimately where sales funnel strategists and affiliate marketers bump heads. As affiliate marketers rely on commission from selling other business’ products, you should strongly consider selling your own, even if you don’t exactly know what that product is yet.
Your product can be just about anything, as long as you can put a price tag on it and sell it passively (think: not an active service such as consulting or writing, for example). Entrepreneur Tim Ferriss recommends leveraging informational products to build revenue online, as they require little overhead and almost no maintenance after launch. Such products include…
* E-books
* Authoritative how-to guides
* Packaged courses or an educational video series
As long as you have product, whether it be physical or digital, you can get started building your funnel.
Build Your Email List
Email marketing is arguably more effective than ever, with nearly 70% of emails being read on-the-go. Likewise, blogs must build their email list if they hope to effectively sell to their readership.
Think about it: if a reader is willing to provide you with their email address, chances are they’re a qualified lead. Such leads trust your brand and are therefore more likely to buy from you in the future.
If you use WordPress, building an email list is quite simple with so many built-in plugins which allow users to input their email address. Likewise, you can implement a squeeze page on your blog to encourage readers to provide their information while still allowing them to view your content.
Remember: don’t sacrifice the readability of your blog for the sake of the email list.
Craft Killer Autoresponders
Once you’ve amassed an email list, you can use a free platform such as MailChimp (up to 2,000 subscribers per month) to reach out to your followers. Crafting killer autoresponders is key to making a good impression of your readers and encouraging them to buy without annoying them. An effective autoresponder series works to…
* Reintroduce your brand and what you have to offer after users sign up
* Remind them of what products and services you’re selling
* Offer special deals and exclusivity to email subscribers
Autoresponders do most of the legwork for you, granted you have email sign-ups and continue to provide readers with worthwhile content.
There’s no right way to build a business blog that actually, well, gets down to business. If your blog already has a readership that’s excited about your brand, consider setting up a sales funnel in order to get the most bang for your buck with your business’ content.
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