3 Important Things to Focus on When You’re Trying to Monetize Your Blog
What’s the number one thing that most bloggers THINK you need to focus on when you’re trying to monetize your blog?
Blog traffic. Lots and lots of blog traffic!
Yes, many bloggers and blog coaches will tell you that you need to focus on growing your blog traffic and getting a lot of website views if you want to make money from your blog.
Well, I’m here to tell you, they are allllll wrong.
You do not need a lot of blog traffic to monetize your blog. In fact, you can start making money from your blogging business even if you have low page views and a small following on social media.
How is that possible, you ask? I’m going to share all the dirty details with you in this article today!
HOW I MADE MY FIRST $100 WITH LESS THAN 100 DAILY PAGE VIEWS
First, you should think about what revenue streams you want to focus on. Do you want to run ads on your blog? Do sponsored work? Sell affiliate products? Give some thought to this before you dive into a blogging strategy.
When I was still a newbie blogger, I wanted to focus on sponsored work (writing promotional content on my blog for other brands). I got an email asking me if I wanted to do a blog post on a product that was valued over $100. I had less than a hundred daily page views on my blog at that time; in fact, some days I had less than 25 views on my blog. Booooo…
This company offered to send me the product for free if I would take pictures and promote that product on my blog. I was ecstatic about this at the time!
But let’s face it, free products don’t pay the bills.
I decided that if I was going to make this blogging thing sustainable, I had to start charging ACTUAL MONEY for my work.
When the next company reached out to me about sharing their product with my audience, I responded with my rates, and they accepted! As my pitches improved and my confidence grew, I started landing sponsored gigs every week.
That’s right. I had less than a hundred daily page views on my blog, and I was still making money, without running ANY ads on my site.
Now, let’s talk about how to make that happen for you too.
WHAT TO FOCUS ON WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO MONETIZE YOUR BLOG
If you’re a newer blogger and you want to start earning money from your blog, you need to focus on three important things, and they all have zero to do with your page views.
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FOCUS ON QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
My regular readers are probably sick of hearing me say this, but I’m back and I’m saying it again: quality is more important than quantity. This is true in every single aspect of your blogging career!
It is better to publish one high-quality blog post each week than to publish three mediocre blog posts.
It is better to have a handful of quality readers than to have thousands of page views that do not convert to followers/readers/clients/sales.
So, focus on quality. Focus on engaging with the right kind of readers, the people that will be genuinely interested in what you have to say and share!
It is true that earning an income from your blog requires some semblance of an audience, but don’t get hung up on numbers. Instead, get hung up on the quality of your content, the quality of your readers and followers, the genuine engagement on your social channels. A high-quality, heavily engaged audience is waaaay more valuable than high page views on your blog.
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FOCUS ON CREATING HELPFUL CONTENT
Most of the time, when I ask my blogging community what they want to get out of my group, they say they want to “boost their blog traffic.”
There is nothing wrong with that at all. Of course, we all want more blog traffic! But, the point I must emphasize is this: you cannot grow your blog traffic unless you’re focused on the right things. Stop focusing on the numbers and start CREATING GREAT CONTENT.
Create content that is helpful to your readers. We always want to be solving problems and filling needs for our audience. That is how we make the audience grow! If you’re helpful to your readers, they’re going to remember you and trust your recommendations.
Example time!
Let’s say you’re known for promoting products that are helpful to moms with twins. When you reach out to a brand for collaboration, you might show them an article you wrote that is helpful for this specific market. **Bonus points if you have some engaging comments from moms on that post!
The company might be more inclined to work with you, because you are a trusted resource that is already in contact with their audience. Similarly, if you wanted to sell an affiliate product (like a double stroller), you could easily write a helpful article on that topic, because you are already known for your trustworthy recommendations.
Focus on creating helpful content, and the money will follow. Customers purchase from trustworthy, helpful sources. So, be a trustworthy, helpful source.
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FOCUS ON GIVING
Social media is a great way to monetize your blogging biz! You can find your ideal client, you can collaborate with other bloggers, and you can share your products and services with a large audience.
Buuuuut, it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of begging for page views and feedback on your blog, and then wondering why no one is buying your stuff or reading your latest blog post.
It’s important to BE A GIVER in this business.
If you’re constantly taking, taking, taking, your readers and followers are going to get weary.
So, remember to GIVE.
Give assistance to others when you can. Engage with others on social media without asking for anything in return. Offer tips and tricks that will make life better for your readers and your colleagues.
This one little shift has been a game-changer for my business. The more I give to others, the more people I get checking out my blog, complimenting my work, asking for my advice, and purchasing my stuff.
I’m building up the reputation of someone that cares about quality, cares about helping others, and gives more than I take. Those things end up having a positive effect on my audience and it actually helps my blog to grow.
HOW TO MAKE MONEY WITHOUT A TON OF BLOG TRAFFIC
If you’re spinning your wheels and struggling to gain traction and traffic on your blog, STOP WORRYING ABOUT TRAFFIC.
Stop worrying about the numbers.
Start worrying about the quality of your work. The quality of your pitches, your product recommendations, and your social connections.
If you need some direction with monetization strategies, you can check out this blog article about making money blogging. But regardless of what revenue streams you choose, keep in mind the importance of the 3 things we talked about today.
You don’t need a ton of traffic to be successful in this biz! You just need quality content, a quality audience, and some strategy!
Now, tell me! Has this article helped you shift your focus from blog traffic to more important things? I hope so! And if so, please take a moment to share with your fellow bloggers so they can benefit too 🙂
37 Comments
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Jill
July 3, 2018 at 12:58 amI so needed to hear this today! It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers and forget to focus on adding value and creating great content. I was kind of in a slump today, this was just the motivation I needed to get back to work! Thanks for a great post!
Cate
July 4, 2018 at 6:44 amThank you for reading! It always breaks my heart when I see new bloggers sweating it over blog traffic. Traffic matters, but it’s such a small part of earning income. There are so many more important things to focus on!
Recheal
July 5, 2018 at 1:17 amGreat post! I’m a newbie blogger . Thanks for encouraging to be obsessed over quality and not quantity.
I have got a question though : How can I start writing sponsored post as a new blogger?
Cate
July 5, 2018 at 1:40 amHere’s a good article for writing sponsored posts: https://sweetandsimplelife.com/working-with-brands/
Jasmine
July 5, 2018 at 2:36 amThis was a really insightful read, Cate! Being a new blogger, I need to realize traffic and money aren’t instant. I always assumed the more traffic = the better, but you’ve taught me blogging can be successful without the numbers. Thanks for giving me hope!
Cate
July 5, 2018 at 3:18 amThe only time that traffic really DOES equal more money, is when you rely heavily on ad income. You have to have a certain number of monthly page views just to get into the bigger ad networks…buuuut, I don’t run any ads on my blog, and I don’t care for them on other blogs either. So I like bloggers to know that there are many other ways to earn money from your blog, and the numbers aren’t everything. Thank you so much for reading 🙂
Claudine
July 5, 2018 at 7:27 amThanks for sharing Cate, this makes so much sense. I’m thinking about monetizing my blog for the first time but feel so overwhelmed by all the thousands of posts that I have read this far that I feel Procrastination at its best going on on my side!
Cate
July 5, 2018 at 7:31 amThere is sooo much info floating around and it’s easy to get overwhelmed! Focus on quality content, being helpful. That will take you the farthest. And if you need help with monetization strategies, here is the link to my training course: http://sweetandsimplelife.com/makemoneyblogging
Savvy Southern Chic
July 5, 2018 at 2:02 pmI totally agree with the importance of quality content and having an engaged audience no matter how bug or small that audience is.
Cate
July 5, 2018 at 9:20 pmYes, quality over quantity always! 🙂
Hildah@Sproutmentor
July 5, 2018 at 6:25 pmThank you Cate. This is very true! One can easily got caught up in the numbers or get impatient for not making money. Your wise words were timely.
Cate
July 5, 2018 at 9:20 pmThank you so much for reading!
Talin
July 25, 2018 at 4:53 amThis is very true. Thanks for this helpful article. I’ve been stressing about numbers and I need to stop and focus on other things more important. I know if I’m consistent then things will happen.
Cate
July 25, 2018 at 11:35 pmIt’s so easy to get stressed about the numbers, and don’t get me wrong, we all want more blog traffic! I just don’t think that blog traffic is the most important thing. I think creating great content and helping people is way more important, and then the traffic will come in time 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Keyona
July 26, 2018 at 2:10 amThis post was right on time! My blog is a little over a month old and I find myself constantly checking analytics to see how many page views I have. It’s stressful. This is the first place I’ve heard to not focus on the numbers. I’m going to take your advice and focus on the content. I haven’t had much engagement thus far but I know it will come! Thanks again.
Cate
July 27, 2018 at 4:40 amThis makes me so happy to read! I know it kind of goes against the grain, but that’s why I think it’s so important to speak up about this and share it. People stress way too much about blog traffic and that is really secondary. Thank you for reading!
Jessie | One Lost Coin
July 27, 2018 at 6:19 pmWOW Did I need this today!! I feel like I’m doing a lot of things right on social media, but only get about 20 page views a day. Can’t wait to get further into monetizing, subscribed today!
Jessie
Your Story Matters.
http://www.onelostcoin.com
Cate
July 27, 2018 at 6:20 pmI’m so glad to hear this was helpful! Thanks for reading!
Skye
July 31, 2018 at 4:20 amI’ve never really worried about blog traffic as I started my blog initially because I enjoy writing and I want to share the things I learn with the world. But I would like to aim toward monetising my blog now and this article helped greatly! I’m glad I found you on Boss Girl Bloggers. Thanks for your insight! Feel free to check out my blog at int0theskye.com and let me know what you think. I don’t mean to make it seem like I’m trying to sell myself on your site, but I’d love your feedback so much!
Cate
August 1, 2018 at 6:13 amI’m glad you don’t worry too much about the traffic, it makes me sad when so many bloggers burn out because of numbers that don’t even matter unless you’re trying to run ads on your site. I will check out your blog! Glad we could connect 🙂
Kate Findley
August 19, 2018 at 5:25 amThis was definitely encouraging. Despite actively promoting my posts on Twitter and Pinterest and applying SEO, my numbers have been depressingly low and several times I’ve thought about throwing in the towel. What I thought was particularly interesting was that you started by writing sponsored posts (something I’m interested in), and I was under the impression that you had to have a lot of traffic before companies would consider paying you for sponsored posts. I’m glad this is not the case!
Cate
August 29, 2018 at 9:22 pmA common misconception that you need a lot of traffic to make money from your blog. You should definitely look into sponsored posts, here’s an article to help with that: https://sweetandsimplelife.com/working-with-brands/
Biljana Katanovich
August 28, 2018 at 10:25 amThank you so much for this wonderful post. I appreciate the encouragement, clean writing, and the calming visual effect. Very useful, friendly and addictive 🙂 All the best to you, Cate.
Cate
August 29, 2018 at 9:20 pmThank you!
Bipin Milan
September 15, 2018 at 4:21 pmYes, you are right, to monetize a blog, we must mainly focus on Quality content and a little bit on content quantity.
You have written a wonderful post regarding to Blogging and Earning.
Well done,
Keep doing and write more interesting articles like this.
You have encouraged all the Blogger by giving tips on Monetizing Blog.
thank you.
Alicia
September 30, 2018 at 2:29 pmHi, thanks for the article. I haven’t officially started my blog, I am still learning but I do have Pinterest and this was very helpful to remember to make it a quality piece and not worry so much about things of people following me.
Cate
October 1, 2018 at 12:50 amYes, always focus on quality over quantity 🙂
Wendy
October 8, 2018 at 8:13 pmThank you for this article. I have been so focused on numbers(obsessively looking at the numbers ) that I did not think it was worth monetizing my blog. I think I will relook into my strategy.
Cate
October 8, 2018 at 10:41 pmI’m so glad it was helpful! Foundation comes first, numbers (including traffic and income) come later. I highly recommend refining your own message and audience so that you can serve your readers better. That’s the best place to start 🙂
Raffaele
October 24, 2018 at 10:09 amGreat! Exactly what I needed now. Thank you!
Anthony
November 2, 2018 at 2:14 pmThis was inspiring to read as a new blogger with lower traffic. Thanks for all of the tips!
BARTOLO
November 13, 2018 at 3:10 pmTHANK YOU FOR YOUR ARTICLE. YOUR WORDS ARE INSPIRING.
Cate
November 19, 2018 at 6:44 amThank you for reading!
Christina
November 23, 2018 at 7:31 pmThanks for the encouraging post! This helps me put things into perspective when it comes to creating posts. Quality is definitely better than quantity! Thank you! 🙂
Cate
November 25, 2018 at 4:08 amYes, quality over quantity always! Thanks for reading 🙂
Enstine Muki
November 25, 2018 at 4:04 pmHey Cate,
Good to be here from “Bloggers Supporting Each Other” group on Facebook and thanks for the nice read
You know people who preach the “Page view” message are people who focus on direct advertising model. There are many other channels that don’t need this at all and thanks for bringing this clarity.
Hope you are having a wonderful weekend
Cate
November 26, 2018 at 7:59 pmVery true, when your focus is on running ads, you tend to care about blog traffic a lot more. There are so many other great ways to make money, I always encourage researching your options before getting caught up in traffic and ad revenue! Thanks for reading!