Hopefully you’ve implemented one or two of the money making methods I’ve mentioned so far, and are well on your way to covering your blogging costs and looking at making a profit. If not, here’s another idea to improve your blog’s income.
8. Sell a Product
There are a number of ways to produce and sell a product, it really depends on where your talents lie. If your blog has a big following, or is well known for a logo or tagline you could try setting up your own shop at cafepress. Cafepress enables you to design/personalise products from a vast range and sell them via an online shop. You share a cut of the profits with cafepress.
If you are creative, and can produce your own products, I’m thinking knitted products, soap, candles, picture frames etc… Etsy is a good place to start. I haven’t had any experience of Etsy myself, however I’ve picked the brain (nice) of a fellow blogger to get the inside scoop on Etsy…
You sign up for a free account there (much like you do at Blogger) and customize your shop by uploading pictures to the header, things like that. You fill out profile information and decide how you want people to pay for their items ( i.e. PayPal, check/money order, etc). Then, you list individual items for a flat rate of 20 cents per item (non refundable). When someone buys an item Etsy charges a small percentage of the sale price (I forget exactly what it is, something like 3%). If you choose to use PayPal as your way of paying for something then they too charge a small fee for the exchange. Bottom line, if I sell a $30 purse I make something like $27.50 on it. Your bill comes due once a month and you pay it through your credit card which Etsy keeps on file.
It’s very user-friendly and gets a lot of attention which is a big benefit. Then you can also put a mini etsy window of your store on your sidebar for publicity. People give feedback on items that they purchased–much like Amazon or something–and people can “heart” shops or individual items they like (much like Technorati allows you to “favorite” a blog you like).
Scribbit’s Etsy Shop (love the knitted doll basket) and her blog with Etsy window in sidebar.
Finally, for the wordsmiths amongst us, how about an ebook. This is one that I have tried, which just proves that it’s totally possible! I wrote an ebook on pregnancy and tips on everything from where to get the best maternity clothes to which brand of pregnancy test detects the smallest levels of HCG. I sold the book on ebay for a couple of pounds, it wasn’t hugely successful (I sold about 20 copies), but successful enough to make me feel that this is a worthwhile option for anyone writing on a niche topic, or anyone who simply has a flair for writing, the potential is far greater than anything I did/could achieve, so if you think you have the talent (and a lot of you definitely do!), go for it!
Of course ebay is not the only outlet to sell your ebook, your blog is a perfect place to tout your products, simply set up an automated system like the one we used earlier to sell advertising and then email buyers the ebook. The possibilities are endless for writing ebooks, you could repackage your blog content, write a recipe ebook, or put together a how to guide on any topic etc etc….
5 Responses to “Ten Tips to Increase Your Blog’s Income”
I had to come back a second time–I noticed just today a blog with cafe press gear and I’m thinking about doing that too. At least it would be good advertising I suppose.
Hi Erica, I’ve just read you whole all your blogging tips so far and they are brilliant! I’m working on a new site myself and have followed quite a few of them already. Looking at your most recent post where you mentioned the idea of an ebook - perhaps you could do one yourself and sell it on your site. Or you could offer it on your site for visitors to download and generate extra traffic to littlemummy.com I think I’ve caught the blogging bug. Keep up the good work.
Hi Ingenious, thanks for the advice, perhaps I’ll need to think about it
What’s the new site?
It’s a parenting blog but still in the early experimental stages at the moment. I’ll keep you posted!
Somehow I can’t find the time to develop the concept and get started on a blog. From what I see, you have to be devoted and consistency is the key to developing the following that you need for your site be successful and popular.
Etsy is one of my favorite sites to browse and shop, but I didn’t realize how it works. Thanks for posting the information because I do like to make homemade pretties and find that my inventory exceeds my need for gift items from time to time. I may explore the possibility of selling a few items if for no other reason but to get money for more paint, paper and crafting supplies!
Jan from Ideas for Personalized Gifts to Make at Home