Just as there are many reasons to blog, there are many ways to monetize a blog. Today, I’ll be going over the nuts and bolts of setting up advertising on your blog. Specifically, setting up Google Adsense and Commission Junction affiliate ads on WordPress. I’ve created some helpful step-by-step videos to walk you through the whole process. Before I jump in to the technical “how-to” stuff, let’s talk very briefly about content strategy.
Developing Your Blog Monetization Strategy
Before you try to monetize your blog with ads, ask yourself a few questions. What type of relationship do you have with your blog readers? Why do they come to your blog? Do they read you because you tell them about all kinds of great resources, or because you are the great resource? Are you the intermediary between your audience and all the content your audience wants…or are you the end of the road?
If people come to you because you write 2000 word articles about your original research about your topic, why would they click on an ad? They’re seeking deep content and you’re providing it. They have no reason to go anywhere else.
If, however, you write 400 word articles about what other people are doing, it makes sense for your readers to click away. If your topic is “vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco”, and you just write reviews of different restaurants, you’re acting as an intermediary, rather than the end of the road. To monetize with ads, try to build a niche audience and train them to click on things they might find interesting.
I’ll write more about strategy in a future post. If you’re a blogger with some specific questions or ideas, don’t be shy in the comments.
Want to go through it step by step? Watch these videos full-screen for best results.
Installing Commission Junction Ads in WordPress
This is the first video in the series and covers installing the two plugins we like to use, as well as setting up Commission Junction ads.
Once you’ve finished installing the plugins featured in the above video, move on to…
Installing Google Adsense Ads in WordPress
The second video, showing how to get Adsense ads up and running on your self-hosted WordPress site.
Did I miss anything? Get stuck? Have a better way? Shout about it in the comments.
Excellent article John…especially liked the video, very informative. I am working on building another site right now and I have not tried the plugin that you are referring to, but I think I’ll give it a whirl! Thanks a lot.
Awesome, Mark!
Let me know how you like the plugin.