Generating ad Revenue on a Blog: Clarification
When discussing the idea of generating ad revenue with your blog, it should go without saying that you need to generate a large amount of traffic before you’ll be able to generate a large amount of ad revenue from your blogging efforts. When we say “ad revenue” we’re referring to revenue that comes from people clicking on ads that are placed on your blog by ad networks such as Google Adsense, Ezoic, Mediavine, etc., and we’re NOT referring to your own affiliate ads that may be placed on your blog where you’re promoting other people products either through an affiliate network (e.g. Shareasale.com) or through a direct relationship with the vendor. In this article, we’ll discuss generating ad revenue through ad networks that serve ads on blogs and help blogger monetize their blogs in a way that is outside of traditional affiliate marketing.
Don’t Focus on Generating ad Revenue on Your Blog Right Away
Generating revenue from ads on your blog shouldn’t be your first objective. Since it takes a large amount of traffic to make a lot of money from ad revenue, it may be wise to wait before you start generating ad revenue on your blog. In order to generate ad revenue on a blog in the first place, you will need to apply to an ad network. Some of the popular ad networks are Google Adsense, Ezoic, MediaVine, and many others. Most ad networks have a minimum traffic requirement in order to approve new applicants. Many ad networks want bloggers to have 5,000 to 50,000 page views per month before they’ll even consider your application. Other ad networks may allow brand new bloggers to apply, but it may be hard to make any money when you don’t have established blog traffic yet.
Generating ad Revenue on Your Blog: Pros and Cons
Generating ad revenue on your blog can be a way to earn semi-passive income, but it does come with some challenges. For one, the revenue that you generate from ads on your blogs may have gone to affiliate sales if your readers hadn’t left your blog chasing whatever was on the ad. Second, the ads that are served on your blog are typically relevant to your niche, so the affiliate products that you sell on your blog may actually be competing with your ads. These may be some of the cons of generating revenue through ads on your blogs, but there are some pros as well. For one, you don’t have to have a direct relationship or affiliation with whatever is being advertised on your blog. For example, you may have a blog about personal finance, but the ad network may run an ad for a major auto manufacturer on your blog. Now, you’re getting paid for a truck advertisement, when you’re blogging about auto loans, auto insurance, or something that’s not even related at all, like savings accounts. Second, as we mentioned, ad revenue is semi-passive income. You have to work to generate the traffic, but you don’t have to sell anything or fulfill any of the product orders from ads that are run on your blog. Secondly, the keywords that you need to rank for in order to serve ads may be easier than some affiliate marketing products.
A Hybrid Plan for Generating Blog Revenue maybe Better Than Ads Alone.
The hybrid blogging plan would include having one or more products or services of your own that you offer (e.g. an ebook), offering several affiliate products and services, AND generating ad revenue through blogging. By covering all of these areas, you may have a couple of methods for active income generation through blogging and a few different semi-passive forms of income from your blog. The hybrid blogging model may be the best overall blogging strategy, as it combines your own products/services, affiliate products, and ad revenue from your blogging efforts. In summary, generating ad revenue from your blog may be a great way to supplement your blog income, but it’s not typically, the BEST way to monetize a blog, depending on the specific content and circumstances.
