Do you want to just make money or you want to start an online business that will become your major source of income in 3 to 5 years time? If it’s just money you want to make, then this post will help you in a little way. If what you want to start is a business, then this post will help you a great deal. You have heard of blogs and you have also started a blog or several blogs but you are not finding it easy to make money blogging. Please note, blogging will fetch you little money. If you want to make big money online then you need to consider turning your blog into a business. A business is what you do on your blog. If you think you can just publish a post, splash your blog with Adsense and hope that you will make a dime, I’m sorry, someone who enters blogging with a business mindset will meet you where you are and earn more than you do.
To turn a blog into a business, you need to;
1. start a blog about a niche people considers you an expert in.
It must be a niche people come to you for advice most of the time. Also, you must be passionate about that niche. The niche can be on something related to what you study; where you are working; what you love to do; a business you own etc. In addition, it should be a niche you can do for a long time whether part-time or full-time in years to come.
2. Write an eBook and more ebooks
This is the most logical step for many bloggers out there. If you already write on a blog, so it’s not all that difficult for you to write an eBook too. It’s easier than you think. In many cases, you can simply reformat what you have already written on your blog and turn that into an eBook with some free software. Even though your readers could get most of the same information for free, if you’ve established yourself as an authority, people will gladly pay you for a neatly organized and formatted eBook. With this, you can make over N 200, 000 in one month.
You can also take your e-book to another level by publishing in a hard copy for people to buy. This would be very useful for many people who may find it difficult to read an e-book. I know someone who made N 2 million in one week just printing an e-book into hard copy and selling 2,000 copies of it.
3. Start a Membership Website
A membership website is probably the most attractive business model for most bloggers. Usually, these membership websites have exclusive content that cannot be found on the blog and requires a recurring payment to access.
Let’s say you set up your own membership website and charge a N1, 000 monthly fee (which is relatively low). If in the first month, you sell 50 memberships. That’s N 50, 000. If in the second month, you sell another 50 memberships. That’s N 50, 000, plus another N 50, 000 from the 50 members from the first month. That’s N100, 000 total in the second month. If in the third month, you sell 100 new memberships. Now we have 200 total members, which is N200, 000. And so on and so forth…
Obviously, people drop out and don’t stay members forever, but still – profits can add up quickly. Setup your membership site once, and just reap the benefits month after month.
4. Create and Sell Courses
Somewhat related to membership websites, you can create a full line of courses to help teach whatever it is you want to teach. The difference between a membership site and selling courses is that the courses don’t necessarily have to be something that is only accessible online. Think DVD packages and audio CDs.
5. Become a Consultant or Start a Service
Many bloggers use their leverage in the blogosphere to actually launch their own consulting or service businesses that are related to their niche. Think about the type of businesses that a successful graphic artist and blogger could create. Or how about a social media expert, or an interior designer?
Yes, these kinds of businesses aren’t as “passive” because they need your direct services (at first), but it’s definitely a viable way to start earning a profit as a result of who you become on your blog.
6. Sell Something You Actually Made
Maybe you knit really awesome sweaters or build record-breaking remote control cars. There’s no reason you wouldn’t be able to develop a following and begin to sell your creations online. What about food? (Although – I’m sure there are some strict regulations for selling any kind of food online. Better check on that before you sell your Grandma’s cookies online.) For you software developers and coders out there, maybe you’ve created some type of awesome software or program that does something we all wish we had the ability to do.
7. Start and Sell Something Innovative That’s Never Been Done Before
When it comes to innovation and blogs, the first thing that comes to mind is Jason and Evan from iwearyourshirt.com. If you haven’t heard of them, they basically get paid to wear company t-shirts. That’s it. Maybe you’d call it a flash in the pan, or a gimmick, but these guys are making bank.
You too can think of something weird and that can make you big money. Create, Sell or do them and you would be breaking a bank.
And number 8…
You have to treat it like a business and not a hobby which will cost you money, hence the above would only matter when you wake everyday and have a plan to follow for your blogging business or make money online journey!