Unquestionably, WordPress is the number one blogging platform on the planet. If you have a WordPress blog and you are considering making some money with blogging, there are some great ways to do it. Monetizing your blog allows you to earn money while doing what you truly love. And who wouldn’t like that?

Below, we collected 7 proven ways you can rely on to monetize your WordPress blog content. However, here’s a quick warning before we dive deeper into the topic. These are not those typical hacks or schemes that promise to make you rich quickly. Instead, these methods require time and effort in the long run. But if you are dedicated and consistent, you can make some money while following your passion and sharing it with like-minded people. 

How to monetize your WordPress blog content?

Now, without further ado, let’s see what options you have if you want to make money from blogging. You might think that advertising is the most popular way to make money with your blog, but the truth is that there are so many other ways you can try. Undoubtedly, it is one of them, but there are other options, too. Below, we will take a close look at the top 7 ways you can start monetizing your blog. 

#1 Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular practice among bloggers. It means that with the help of a special tracking link you recommend a product or a service to your audience. Obviously, these should be relevant to the people who follow your blog. So in case you are considering trying affiliate marketing, first take some time and think of the products or services your audience may be interested in. The procedure is quite simple: each time someone buys a product or a service after clicking your affiliate link, you will get a commission. There are lots of affiliate marketing programs at huge platforms and brands such as Amazon, BestBuy, Walmart, Commission Junction, and ShareASale, just to mention the biggest names.

First, you need to select the products you can promote to your audience, then use a WordPress plugin to manage your affiliate links. Tools like PrettyLinks can come in very handy when it comes to affiliate marketing, as they allow you to insert links to your posts, auto-replace certain keywords into affiliate links, and so on. You can even see how each link performs. 

#2 Google AdSense

Using Google AdSense is another easy and highly popular way to monetize your WordPress blog. This is a CPC (cost per click) ad practice, which will allow you to make money each time someone clicks on the displayed ad. For each click, you will be paid a set amount.  It works very simply, all you need to do is to add a script from Google to your website. Then you can start displaying ads on your blog. It won’t make you rich in a heartbeat, but it is definitely a good start to making money with your blog. A good alternative to Google AdSense is Media.net, which also has a broad range of advertisers ready to pay you decent money for displaying their ads on your website.

#3 Sell ads directly

While Google Adsense is easy to set up, the money you can earn with it is not much. To boost your earnings you can sell banner ad space on your blog. In this case, you won’t have to rely on users clicking on the ad you displayed, instead, you can negotiate your own price and terms for the ad space. Obviously, you can use the CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per thousands impression) ad models, you can also charge a flat rate. Most bloggers do this, as charging a flat rate is easier to manage per client than monitoring the views of clicks for each ad. If you want to opt for this type of monetizing practice, you must know that directly selling ads takes more effort. You will need to negotiate the pricing, figure out the terms, and manage such administrative works as invoicing. Luckily, there are amazing WordPress tools that can help you a lot with this process. A good example is AdSanity, which will make selling ads directly on your WordPress blog much easier!

#4 Sponsored blogs

If you are ready to start monetizing your WordPress blog but don’t want to risk your readers getting annoyed or offended by the ads displayed on your site, here’s another proven way you can make money with your blog. You can opt for sponsorships and write sponsored blogs. This works the same way as it does in TV shows, sports, or any other industry. You will need a company to pay you for writing about their product or service and promoting it to your audience.

First, you will need to get in touch with some companies that are relevant to your customers. Before you approach them, put together a media kit including your traffic stats, audience demographics, social media followers, and any other data that may be relevant to negotiate your sponsorship deal. 

#5 Write reviews

The next way to monetize your WordPress blog is to write paid reviews and display them on your website. This is similar to sponsored posts, but the monetization method is slightly different. Instead of writing a blog post with affiliate links, when writing a review, you will get to try out the products or services you are about to write. You will receive products for free and even get paid for writing about your experience trying them. When approaching companies to write paid reviews about their products, make sure to choose brands and products that are relevant to your niche and your audience will appreciate learning more about them. 

#6 Flipping websites

Now this one is exciting. It requires some WordPress knowledge, but if you have got that, you are a lucky champ. It might be surprising, but there are some beginner entrepreneurs or even bloggers who would like to buy an already established website that they can use to build the online presence of their business. If you have web development knowledge (which, let’s be honest, when it comes to WordPress means very little), you can easily create WordPress websites, build their traffic, and then sell them. It is a very easy way to make money. If you are unsure where to start, websites like Flippa can be a good starting point.

#7 Public speaking gigs

Last, but not least, as a blogger you have another way to make money with your content. Once you have a decent number of followers, you will be established as an influencer in your niche. Regardless of whether you run a food blog or a fashion blog, once you are successful, people will look for your advice. If you are already an established blogger with a larger following base, you can start searching for public speaking influencer gigs. Conferences, launches, product releases, and openings, are just some examples of the events you can be invited to and be paid to attend. It is not only a great way to make money with your blog, but these public appearances and speaking gigs allow you to promote your brand and network. 

Final thoughts

Hopefully, the above-mentioned 7 ways will give you some inspiration on how to start monetizing your WordPress blog. Try one or two methods, and see what works and what doesn’t work for you. The most important is to get to people, build connections and learn how to promote your brand, as these are the three main things that will get your further and help your business grow. And as a bonus tip: stay always relevant to your niche and make sure that you give value to the people who follow you!