Instead of seeing a blog as the INVESTMENT that it is, many of the people I run into see it as an expense.
This couldn't be more wrong.
Blogs have value, sometimes big value. My hope with this post is I can raise awareness of how valuable blogs can be.
Getting a lot of value and making money from blogs is pretty simple and there are a lot of ways to do both. Here are some of the best ones:
#1 - Advertising
Google has a free program called Adsense that anyone can use to put ads on a blog. When people click them, you get paid.
There are many other specialized ad networks that pay you even more after you get some followers.
#2 - Free Product
I have received free books, devices, advice, memberships and many other benefits because of my blog.
My sister has remodeled practically her entire house with free products by posting about them on her blog. Home depot, Rustoleum and other companies have given her free hardwood floors, paint and many other things. On top of that, they pay her to post about the projects.
Once your blog has followers, companies will start contacting you. You are an opportunity for them.
#3 - Ability to Sell Products
When people are interested in your blog, they often are interested in many products that you recommend. Sometimes you can sell your own products/information with your blog. Other times, it will make sense to sell the products of other people. Either way, you can get paid.
#4 - Reselling Blogs
People approach me all the time about setting up blogs. Once you have a blog and people know it, they will start to ask you how you did it. In the beginning, I would charge $100-$200 to help people to get their blogs set up. I now charge around $1,500 if someone wants me to set up their blog.
On top of that, they would pay me a monthly fee since I would add them to my own blog account, which allows you to do unlimited blogs.
Also, I charge $120/hour for private blogging lessons and did it way before I ran The Blog Builders. It's just something that people want to learn.
Knowing how to run a blog is a very valuable skill. Once you can do it, you have a way you can make extra money, potentially a lot of extra money.
#5 - Selling Your Blog
A few years ago, I sold my half of one blog website for over a million dollars. We had a private section of the blog where around 1,700 people were paying us $33 a month for access. My partner ended up buying me out and continued to run that business. I got a nice payday.
That was pretty much the most exciting day ever.
Even though I made a ton of money from that blog, it only cost around $70 to start, just like any other blog.
You may never sell a blog for seven figures. But, there are people every day who sell their blogs for $1,000 or $10,000. There is a site called Flippa where you can list your blog for sale. People buy blogs all day long over there. I see blogs with $0 in revenue for $500 all the time.
Conclusion
Learning to blog is super valuable. If you see starting a blog as an expense instead of an investment, that is a big mistake. It's one of the best small investments you can make.