1. You Don’t Have a Reliable Traffic Funnel
Email is a great tool for setting up a traffic funnel.
Not only can you use a list to notify your subscribers of new content (I use AWeber’s Blog Broadcast feature for that), but you can also setup traffic funnels to other products, affiliate links, etc.
You may have already noticed that I have an email opt-in form here on this blog.
Here are ways this email list creates income & traffic for me…
- When people sign up, AWeber let’s me use a custom thank you page. This page has a coupon to my affiliate marketing course.
- There’s also an autoresponder message that is sent where I often include coupons, affiliate links, etc.
- Since my email list is setup to auto notify subscribers of new posts, I can continually drive traffic back to my new content here without relying on Google
This post I wrote on Visual Composer instantly generated affiliate sales the day the post launched because of my traffic funnel that was all setup with my email list.
If you aren’t collecting email addresses, it’s a big mistake.
With all the changes to SEO, social media (algorithm filters that limit your post visibility, etc.), you need reliable traffic sources.
Ways to Use Your Email List
- Use the broadcast feature to auto notify of new posts
- Send occasional promotional emails (affiliate links, products, etc.)
- Inform your subscribers of big news and updates
- Stay in touch with your biggest fans
Sign up with AWeber here. All you do is copy and paste to insert a sign-up form into your site.
NOTE: I am an affiliate for AWeber. That means I earn a commission if you sign up.
2. Not Enough Targeted Traffic
Not all traffic is created equal.
So while you might think announcing your site to your Facebook friends will instantly catapult your business to the next level…
Think again.
Targeted traffic means people are genuinely interested in the topic and are actively seeking info.
Your Facebook friends will give you a few courtesy visits at best.
And unfortunately, courtesy visits don’t earn a lot of money, but targeted traffic — the kind you get from Google certainly can.
There’s one problem though…
If you’ve started a website in the last few years, you have probably realized by now (if not, you will soon) that you won’t be able to rely on Google traffic if you want to make serious money.
What’s interesting is SEO (search engine optimization) works the complete opposite of how it used to work.
Back in the day, you had more control over what keywords you ranked for by…
- using those phrases on your pages
- registering a domain with the targeted keywords
- creating backlinks to your site manually
Today, Google makes you PROVE your site is worthy of a ranking for those desired keywords by generating external signals such as organic links back to your site and social media shares.
What Does That Mean?
Let’s say you have a blog targeted to people who want to learn how to play tennis.
Under the old “system”, you would register a domain name like “HowToPlayTennis.com” and put out as much keyword-focused content on playing tennis that you could.
It really was more about quantity over quality.
As a result of that, your site would eventually rank for various tennis-related keywords and you’d drive free, targeted search traffic to your site day after day after day.
Today, you have to use other methods of getting exposure such as YouTube and social media. Establish a presence on these platforms first, and then use them to direct traffic to your site.
As a result of your unique and awesome content, different site owners will share your content on social media or even link to your content.
Stand out. Be unique! Approach your niche with a fresh perspective that no one else is using.
Best way to stand out is to study what everyone is doing, and do something different.
— Luke Guy (@imlukeguy) March 17, 2016
Now, you have to EARN your rank. Yes, that makes it more challenging, but it’s one way Google can gauge how authentically popular a website is.
I say “authentic popularity” because under the old system, people would create artificial popularity by generating links to their sites through blog comments and other linking schemes (link exchanges, blog farms, etc.)
Many times websites would rank on top only because the owner knew how to play the Google game. Today, websites on tops typically have a lot of links and social media shares.
That’s why you see so many well-known brands up top when you search. They naturally have more links across the web.
So if a relevant, popular blog links to your website, Google views it as an “authentic vote” because a high-profile website is not just going to dole out links to other sites for no reason.
Content still matters, but external shares and linking matter more. And the more popular the site is, the more power that link/share has in terms of impacting where you could rank.
These links and shares are signals that Google looks for to gauge the authentic popularity of a website.
For example, if I contact a blogger and ask for a link exchange, Google may ignore the “link juice” each blog is bringing to the other — especially if the blogs do not have a lot of popularity themselves.
This tactic was often used to artificially inflate the popularity of a website, and it helped with rankings for a long time.
Not anymore!
Why Did Google Do This?
Two main reasons…
- Google realizes they can make more money by making it difficult to rank so people will buy ads (AdWords is how Google makes most of its money.)
- It also prevents low quality sites from being able to “game” the system by just putting out a bunch of low-quality, keyword-rich content.
Before 2013, the search results were flooded with low-quality sites because rankings depended more on on-page factors that site owners could control.
What Are Other Ways to Drive Targeted Traffic?
- Start a YouTube channel
- Begin broadcasting live on Periscope weekly
- Create a podcast
- Use social media
Start out by keeping your content centered around a specific topic/niche so you attract a more targeted following.
The next one is huge…
Always make sure you drive people back to your own site where you can collect their email addresses!!
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Periscope, you name it — they may be hot today but gone tomorrow. At least when you collect email addresses, you can always reach out to your biggest fans and not rely on traffic sources that can be temporary.
This blog gets 85% of its traffic from social media and my email list (most from my list). It doesn’t rank for many worthwhile keywords on Google. So if social media and Google died today, I’d still have an audience because of my list.
This is what you should strive for.
Sign up for my email list here!
3. You Have No Trust
One of the best ways to earn trust with a website is to appear authentic.
Do this is by showing proof.
In other words, if you want to sell a book about “how to build traffic”, show exactly how you are building traffic and display your numbers.
If you have a website about how to get more YouTube subscribers, you should have a channel with a growing number of subscribers as proof that you are walking the walk.
This tip may sound like a no-brainer to you, but you would be surprised at how many people have sites about “how to start an online business” when they aren’t earning a dime!
Then they wonder why no one is signing up for their “Get Rich Program” they are marketing.
Just because you WANT to make money online doesn’t mean you should be blogging about that…
Yet!
Most people who are successful in the “make money online” or “online business” space are successful because they made money FIRST and then teach on their experience.
4. You Won’t Invest In Your Site’s Future
I’m going to go there.
If you won’t invest $5-$10/month in your website (yes, that’s all they cost today on average), then I seriously question how serious this venture is for you.
Compare the cost of starting a website with the cost of starting a brick and mortar business.
The cost difference is so extreme, it’s almost laughable.
You will never, ever find a more affordable way to start a business than online, and there are ALWAYS limitations with free hosts. Not to mention, you don’t even own your site.
In March 2016, Weebly announced that you have to upgrade in order to get any search engine visibility for your site.
So does that mean anyone who is on the free plan will have their site de-indexed and lose any traffic they earned? Their website is not clear on this, but that is something that would never happen if you buy hosting for your site.
Not to mention, I can’t tell you the last time I Googled something and saw a website hosted on a free platform ranking for any worthwhile keywords.
Let me take that one step further…
Have you ever read a success story and the owner had a Blogger or Weebly website?
That’s not a coincidence!
It’s not that search engines don’t rank sites hosted on a free platform. It’s just that the owners usually abandon them quickly and/or they never generate enough authority (links) to rank for anything worthwhile.
Often times the site owner and the rest of the web don’t take free-hosted sites seriously.
It’s easier to abandon something you haven’t invested money into. I believe people work harder at projects when there is a financial investment.
That means always buy a domain name and use paid hosting. Your site needs a home that you own. Here’s a tutorial here.
What About Starting Free and Moving to Paid Later?
I’m still not a fan. Moving a site can be a royal pain. I’ve been there when I moved this site from Blogger to WordPress back in 2007. Ugh!
Not to mention, the links on your site may change with the upgrade, so that means you’d have to setup redirects to the new content.
And not all free hosting platforms allow you to do this.
If you need to wait and save money, then do that instead.
It’s better than starting with free and going through the hassle of moving your site later.
Brandon says
Lisa, I like the way you write your contents. Your overall website theme is great as it does not cluttered with too many links and advertisement banners. Big thumb up . I learned 1 or 2 tips from your post.
Thank you Lisa.
Recomandat says
Great read Lisa!
I think the quality of the traffic is very important to earn more money. But ad placement and what type of ads people/bloggers are using on their site is also important.
Thanks for the awesome article!
Web Designer Guy says
Hi Lisa… I really like your post.
But is the traffic everything about earning? You mentioned about traffic funnel, Please suggest me about Sales Page funnel or Sales funnel. I’ve a lot of traffic but hardly get sales.
Thanks
daniel dove says
I have just started a new site and your post has made me rethink a few parts already. Thanks.
Lisa Irby says
No problem, Daniel!
Raul says
Hi I make money from my blog with Adsense but would like to scale up my earnings so have added some affiliate links and also working to get more traffic.
I plan to monetize my site with e-books, e-workbooks, affiliate links and courses too.
Today i have a difficulty with one of my blogs, it is fitness weigth loss
niche in http://desafiovip60.vlog.br
Any suggestions for help me wit this niche?
Thanks Success !!!
Kaycee says
Nicely written. I make money from my blog with Adsense but would like to scale up my earnings so have added some affiliate links and also working to get more traffic.
Amy Lynn says
Thank you for updating this post! I now realize I’m going to have to come out of my comfort zone. A lot of successful people in my niche are on YouTube but I’m really afraid of the camera. Any suggestions?
How about using a screen recording software. Is that just as effective? I know you use Camtasia.
Lisa Irby says
Yes I do use Camtasia but some videos just go over better as talking head. I guarantee if you try and continue to practice you will get more comfortable.
You can also look into Powtoon. You can make nice, animation presentations as well.
Angelina says
On my blog, I have some links to other sites that I own, and that has made me some money – due to the Adsense ads. But, still working on the blog itself.
Anonymous says
Hi there I am still learning as I’m new to this but I currently have Adsense set up when I get enough visits I’ll add other advertisers right now. My blog so far in November has had over 300 visitors and for this month I’m at 140 but no one is commenting. I am not sure if that is even good traffic but I’m definitely going to try to some of Lisa’s tips. I believe it takes time for sure. Lisa this blog is awesome. You rock.
STEVE says
When you look at all the comments around on the web you can there hundreds of reasons why a site works and another doesn’t. I am new to the whole scene of internet marketing and have yet to make a dime. One main crime I have committed is to allow myself to be overwhelmed by all the info out there. I am not a specialist in my field of Business choice, I’ve made it up as I go along by following those “wot know” like Lisa and others. I have a squeeze page and a site I am developing as a blog site which will have a link to the former. Two other crimes I have committed is failing to plan-partly because I did not know what to plan for and procrastinating. Delaying writing, making videos as if they would do themselves.
If there is anyone out there who can learn from my mistakes it will ease the pain of knowing I have wasted a lot of time doing plenty but going nowhere.
So then, do this: Plan, take Aim and Shoot at your Target audience with your business offer or product. Get going! Steve, UK
Lalitha says
I currently use Adsense to monetize my blog but eventually I plan on selling T-Shirts, coffee mugs and note pads to name a few. Although people are reluctant to admit it, there are more people with bad credit than good in today’s economy. My goal is to reach those people and let them know that it’s okay to admit that you’re behind in your bills if you have no choice in the matter. Sometimes good people make bad choices. It doesn’t make you a bad person…It just makes you human!
Restaurant review in Mangalore says
Generally, bloggers set up ads on their site, frequently with mainstream ad players like Google AdSense, Amazon Associates and Pay-Per-Post, all of which are fairly user-friendly. But after finding the advertisers, you’ll need to find readers – a lot of them.
cedrict says
Making money online is not an easy chore. I think that is what mess a lot of beginners up,including myself. We see the success story and don’t realize the work that comes with it. I now make OK money since I have build some traffic to my site.I think to succeed as a beginner don’t ask yourself how much money you can make online, instead ask yourself how can you build trust with your targeted audience. Once you master that, the money will come.
Chavol says
I suggest if anybody who just started a blog or wants to start one – DO NOT quit your day job! As one reply was, it takes time to make a decent amount of money. On my blog, I have some links to other sites that I own, and that has made me some money – due to the Adsense ads. But, still working on the blog itself.
Lisa Irby says
I agree. I didn’t quit my job until my income was 4x’s my salary and I had the savings to be comfortable. This is hard work and you have to make sure you are in a good place before you give up stability.
Tyrone says
First of all, fantastic article, kudos.
Secondly, I’d just re-iterate what others have said – it takes a LONG time, years even, before most people start to see any kind of decent revenue streams from their blogs.
But, what I do, and many others out there is to work as a freelancer on the side while we wait for our blog to hit the big time and garner enough traffic to make it our full-time occupation (oh, the dream!).
There’s plenty of good options out there for freelancing – much of which only require writing skills – which almost all bloggers have, so it’s a great option.
Thanks again for the great post.
katy says
I’m still struggling greatly…and I’m 66 years old and we’re retired and ok financially…but I just want my blog to make big money … just to know I CAN do this. 🙂 I’ve been a stay at home mom for 47 years and been blogging daily for 3 1/2 years. I initially just started blogging because I love storytelling and I didn’t even realize people MAKE money at this….and I still DON’T…hahaha I have good traffic…or at least good to ‘me’…as I average 800 to 900 readers a day usually…but I only make money through adsense and that isn’t doing well for me. I try to change ads as I see they’re not working but so far I haven’t found the ones that are going to be good for ME. I’ve looked into affiliate ads…but haven’t added any. I WOULD GIVE AN ARM to spend an afternoon with YOU Lisa 🙂 I want to do this so so badly……I’m 1,035,020 on the alexa scale today so I’m getting better and better there AND on a daily basis….I should be well under 1 million by the end of this week…..but HOW do I make good MONEY? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!
Akshay says
My main income stream is Adsense.. and i get a lot of visitors on my blog, but i dont know whats the reason but AdSense keeps on deducting my earnings… Am i really fed up of adsense now, and i am thinking to try out some affiliate marketing!!
Buy Electronic Cigarettes says
Just found your blog. Great article for beginners. I stumble upon successful blogs everyday, but never realize how well they perform. I am really impressed by your performance too.
Backflow Preventer Installation says
Thank you for such an informative article. I am just starting out and I really appreciate your honesty in what it really takes to make a living blogging.
yogesh pant says
yes i also agree with the previous comments that alexa is something which is of an immense importance for your website.
all what matters is the traffic what you get for your articles…it is the true mirror which reflects the visitors for your website!
also, except the google adsense, there are many ways by which you can earn money such as by placing chitika, infolinks ads and also by the use of affiliate marketing.
picture poetry says
my alexa rank is stopped on 644155
how i can decrease it….. 🙁
Lisa Irby says
Alexa has nothing to do with your traffic potential or popularity. It’s your rank compared to other sites. It’s becoming less and less important because it’s only influenced by people who use the Alexa toolbar. So the fewer people that use it the, your rank will suffer. Focus more on traffic since Alexa has nothing to do with your site’s success or traffic.
Silver Polar Bear says
At the moment Adsense is the only way I’ve monetized my sites, but will be looking at a few other options like Amazon or even list building via an opt in…
toko aksesoris mobil says
My blog is 8 months now,i blog about photography tips,what am really struggling with is getting traffic,i need tips how i can get traffic.thanks you lisa
Jim says
I make money from many different sources, but my favorite has to be private advertising where you can get others to pay you month after month after month without having to worry about page views or adsense.
Mark Furrer says
Hey Lisa ,
Seriously its quite amazing to know about money making blogs .You have enlighten me with the varied knowledge a very big thank you .I ll be always be glad to read your thoughts about money making in future
Amal Rafeeq says
Hey Lisa. Great Idea it is 🙂
I make money from my blog with Adsense and Clickbank. It’s like about 125$ only / month.
Is it bad for a 30 days old blog? And can you suggest me some other ways to bag some cash from my blog?
Varun says
I make money with AdSense but my income is only about $10-$12 a month. 🙁
Japheth says
My blog is 3 months now,i blog about photography tips,what am really struggling with is getting traffic,i need tips how i can get traffic.Thanks Japheth from Kenya
Sudipto says
Hey Lisa,
Awesome post with great information. According to me, making money with blogging is really a tough part which requires lot of hard work. I think, for making money with blogging we requires lot of traffic and also update our blog continuously. For traffic, we have to make more backlinks which can be done by either commenting on others blog or by guest blogging.
Rajan says
Just started blogging on making money online. Trying to learn for earning from my blog.
Umer Rock says
i mostly use paid posts and text links for make money from blog.
Daniel says
I am a firm believer that having various income streams from a blog or website is very important. The main reason is quite simple.
Various income streams will allow you to use each in the place where they are most effective. For example, using a CPC network will be most effective for more informative posts, while an affiliate network will likely be more effective from targeted traffic coming from a blog post about a certain product or service in a certain niche.
Excellent post here 🙂
Jules says
Hi Lisa,
I also monetize my blogs like what you do and it help really a great helps in generating traffic to my site. I had made connections and promoted my site. And great! I had a great results and most of all I have learned lessons from other bloggers. Your information is a great help to every blogger.
Excellent post!
Sara says
I created a health, nutrition and recipe blog http://www.eatfeelfresh.com which has made tons of money through Pinterest! By utilizing tons of other social media sites and commenting on other blogs, you’ll increase traffic to yours. It’s been less than a year and I have over 1 million hits!
lisa says
Sara this is amazing!
Autumn@fallfordesign.com says
Agreed, that is amazing. You must have some great ideas. 🙂
Sudha says
Hii Everyone
I am new to creating websites and blogging. I think it can be a good way to earn money once you become expert in this. I am using different kind of SEO technique like onpage optimization, directory submission, social media, blog and guest posing. I believe that first effort should be to increase the Google PR of your blog and website. It must have quality content which encourage visitors to visit again and again and also to refer to their friend circle.
I am looking forward for my time when i start earning from blogging and website.
Regards
Sudha Gautam
Deddy says
Only use adsense so far. Start seriously write my blog in dec 2012. I don’t think to get much money from adsense at not much visitor yet.
Sherry Fredley says
I earn a minimal amount of money from my site. It is 6 months old and I have over a hundred posts and probably twenty pages. I just began monetizing at the sixth month mark. Traffic isn’t easy and I come from the SBI training to give first then monetize. I do try several different things that is not so typical in my niche. I have a gluten free living site and I sell everything from t-shirts and gift items to consultations. I also am an Amazon Associate bc it is one way to monetize my posts and it is pretty easy.
Heather Madden says
I’m still waiting to earn money from my blogs and currently nothing goes as i wanted, maybe you have a guide how to be successful as you do?
Kim says
My blog is about “How” I make money online and my most popular posts are my monthly income reports where I detail how much I make from what source. My actual income comes from affiliate links, most of which are for products I recommend on my Squidoo lenses. My blog details where I make my money. Since I’ll make close to $40,000 this year, I guess that’s enough to enhance my lifestyle, as the question asks. 🙂
Military Money says
I’ve monetized with Google Adsense and I’m seeing a healthy amount of organic traffic from Google. With a bit of work I think that could translate into at least enough to cover my hosting costs every month!
D. Dixon says
I just started creating sites so I’m new to this. I am going into this with the knowledge that it will be at least a year before I see any kind of money from my efforts and I’m prepared to wait it out. I’m using a combination of SEO, content, social media, commenting, guest blogging (just one place so far) because I don’t want to place all my eggs into one basket. I’m doing it on all sites because quite frankly, why not? I use the products and I believe in them so I don’t leave any stone unturned but I’m not crazy about it, either. I’ll hopefully have a good story in 2013 about making money from niche sites!
CashMyStudio says
My Blog makes money from Google Adsense , Chitika, and In house ads. Get a free blog with CashMyStudio and earn royalties from Google Adsense and Chitika for free. Just click on my name.
Bree says
Hi Richa, I understand your comment, try doing SEO search engine optimization this will help drive more traffic to your blogs. That’s one of the main reasons to have a blog is to get more traffic, and to also make useful and quality content for your blogs.
I just recently found out that Blogspot.com has new features for Google affiliate products, I will be writing more content for Blogspot more often than I use to. My site brinafr3sh.hubpages.com/hub/onlinewriter
Richa Shrivastava says
I am doing blogging since couple of months, and finding it hard to get organic or refer traffic, what kind of things i should do to get more traffic and to earn money from it. Kindly share your views.
Robert says
I believe that the first mission would be to get targeted traffic to your site. There are many ways out there that claim to deliver traffic to your site. But a lot of these methods are mere surfing sites that rotate users for 15 to 30 seconds to your page. But do people really sit there an watch the pages being rotated in front of them? Probably not…
But it is quite difficult to make money with a website if there isn’t any true targeted traffic heading your way. So the first step would be to build your backlinks with solid PR sites that will boost your PR. I am very new to all this, but have spent most of my time trying to build traffic to my site. It’s very time consuming and seems it will take a lot of time.
So all this being said, I look to make some money from my site eventually, but so far has been an uphill battle! 🙁
johndouglas cheap web design says
Money is the most powerful weapon in this world. Everyone want to become a rich man but everyone want to know how?
Blogging is known by everyone but there are only some peoples know that how can they earn by their blog.
I this blog have a great tips that how can a blog make money.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Andy Domonkos says
I make some money from a upload site that pays me a penny for every 1 file downloaded. It’s made me 4 bucks so far lol. Also adsense throws a few nickels at me from time to time.
Sudeep Acharya says
I create money from blogging by advertisement . Besides advertisement affiliate programs also makes money for me.
Punita Verma says
I had a look at your blog and of course it makes a lot of sense to read articles like these. I just wish to understand if these advertisements actually make good money, enough to have a great lifestyle? Also, my blog is more towards my personal experiences, does this show any potential for monetization?
Laurina Honore says
I’VE BEEN STRUGGLING TO START A BLOG. I READ ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME BUT CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW TO GET STARTED
Quishapaicely says
Hi Laurina,
The best way to start a blog is to blog about something that you are well skilled in, have a lot of knowledge in AND if you want to be able to make money from it, it need to have the ability to make a profit…does it solve a problem, or have a lot of interest by the public.
Now, you don’t have to be a master at the topic but you should know more than the average person on the topic. And be willing to invest in knowing more.
Wrodpress.org NOT WordPress.com is a AWESOME platform to get started with your blog.
Chat with me on http://www.facebook.com/thecurintongroup and ask me anything you want to learn more!
Debi says
Hi…I am so confused!!
How do I get a company to place ads with me so I can make money??
I already have a blog. Now I need to make money from it. I am lost!
Quishapaicely says
Hi Debi,
The best way to get advertisers for your website is to have lots of traffic. Google Adwords, affiliate links, and most advertising will not be successful until you get some traffic coming your way.
Here are a few ways to do this:
1. Get your own hosting. Use Godaddy or hostgator(about 8-10 bucks a month)
2.Use a wordpress site. WordPress.org NOT wordpress.com it offer many free plugins that offer SEO.
3. Build a facebook page and put your recent blog bost onto your page.
4. Use Facebook to find groups in your niche-Google and Facebook search to find groups and forums to offer valuable content.
5. Write articles and submit them to free article submission site. like http://www.ezinearticles.com,,reprintarticles, and goarticles.com to name a few
This will help get your traffic coming…hope this helps!
Quisha
Mike Omoasegun says
My name is Mike Omoasegun, i would like to share with how my blogs make money: i have more than ten (10) blogs/sites, all make money through google adsense, through selling ebooks. Two of the sites are articles websites, one of them is free advert site, one is online store where i sell my products, two of them are forums sites. etc. i also use affiliate links to some. to make money from blogs or sites need patience and hard work. thanks and God bless
Missi says
The countdown for my website launch is in a month.Yeah!!!! I’m not going to even worry about monetization for the first six months or so. In that time, I plan on building my email list, making great connections with people, promoting my site, and working on some e-books that I would like to sell.
I’m not an expert in blogging, but I believe slow and steady wins the race. Yes, I want to make money like the next person, but it’s the journey and connections that I make with people that’s going to give me staying power (hopefully).
I plan to monetize my site with e-books, e-workbooks and courses, and maybe some affiliate links. I am so not a fan of Adsense, but never say never. Ads, hand-picked of course, would be great if only I know my customers will benefit from them. I always want to have a professional, solid brand.
For now, I’m keeping my day job. 🙂
Corey says
I just started a blog I’m looking for people to check it out. I’m adding real legit ways to make money online. http://SP-ROCK.tk Thanks.