How to Monetize your Blog with Products
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In the blogging world, there are several schools of thought on how to monetize your blog and how to monetize your blog with products. Many will teach you to create content that speaks to your audience, grow your email list and then create a product. This is the strategy many bloggers use when monetizing their blog.
When you get to the create a product stage, you usually have a pretty good platform to support your product. The hope is that you will be able to have an audience who will purchase your product. Products are one of the easiest ways to increase income.
Monetize your blog with products
Today, let’s chat about products. Products can be anything. The GOAL of the product is to help your audience solve a problem.
They can be a mini-course, an email challenge, or a full course or ebook.
They can even be a service that you offer.
Services that many bloggers offer are coaching, mentoring, being a virtual assistant and Pinterest virtual assistant.
If you are in the stage of product creation, don’t forget about the services. You have so much to offer your audience!
How do you know what product you want to create?
Creating a product is really something that you should create after your email list has grown a little. That way you know what your readers are looking for.
Often times you would email them and ask them if you were to create a course or product what would they prefer.
When you ask your readers, you send them a short little survey asking them specifically what products they would like you to make. The survey will show you what to make first.
Then you can keep the other ideas in an idea folder and make those next.
What about Services
Services are completely different! They are something you can offer right off the bat. Like being a coach, people are always looking for someone to learn from and help guide them in the right direction with their journey.
People really want and need people who offer services as their product. And what better way to help people than leveraging your blog’s platform to help them!
Offering Virtual Assistant help is what I decided was best for me. It wasn’t something I planned. It was something I felt like I could do well and help people.
I decided to be specific and only offer Pinterest VA services. You can look at my services here (and contact me if you need help!)
Why services?
Services are something you can offer and earn an income almost right away. Let’s say you want to offer a service of being a virtual assistant and specialize in social media.
You identify how you will help the client, what resources you will need and then you create an awesome Hire Me page that shares all the service you can do.
If you need to increase income right away, I recommend offering a service. Something that you are good at and something that is a need.
Types of Services
Coaching
Virtual Assistant
Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Financial assistant (Book Keeper)
Website maintenance
This is just a very short list. There are so many possibilities for services you can offer.
My Testimony
I decided in September to offer the service of Pinterest VA to my clients. Where was I going to get clients? I knew my clients would be bloggers since I know that business and have several friends who are bloggers.
I also took the course Become a Pinterest VA. This course gave me the foundations I would need to grow my business.
When I decided that I was going to set a goal to be able to pay off the course with earning within 2 months. I was able to pay it off within 6 weeks of finishing the course.
My 60-day goal was to earn $1000 and I hit that goal. That is a $1000 increase in income that I didn’t have in September.
I wouldn’t have earned that income if I hadn’t made the decision to offer a service on my blog while I grow my platform a little more.
Related: How to outsource when you struggle to let go
Other Products
Once you start earning an income from your service, you can then focus on the products you want to offer your audience. Those products can be anything.
Printables
Coloring sheets
Photography
Courses
eBooks
All the products list above can be sold in a shop. Creating a shop is another way to help your reader solve a problem.
The Goal of Products
The ultimate goal of the product is to help someone with a deep need. It may be needing a VA, it may be the ebook you are about to write. As long as their deepest pain point is being addressed then your product is what they need.
Keeping your audience in front and center of your focus while creating the product will help your product come to life. Remember it’s not about you and what you like, it’s about your people and what they like and what they need.
Be sure and grab the printable worksheet that will help you brain storm what kind of product you want to create.
Bottom Line
I recommend you spend a little time in prayer. Ask God for wisdom and what to do next. He is faithful and He will help you and guide you. Decide how quickly you need to earn money. Once you decide how quickly you want to increase your income, that will help you determine which product you are going to offer.
Don’t forget you are unique and your audience is the reason why you are creating the products. Have fun and know you are going to help someone with them!
Stephanie has been blogging at Sticky Note Mom for 4 years. Before starting her blog she worked in the finance industry working on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade to working for major financial institutions with personal financial planning and the mortgage industry. Now she shares all she has learned about frugal living to help others learn how to stop spending and start saving more.
