Let’s be real: You have started a blog because you want to make money online.
That’s the truth. But it’s also something that you don’t want your audience to know.
There are many reasons why.
The foremost one is…
The Money-Interest Behind “Help”
The moment you realize someone has a hidden financial agenda behind their “help” – you almost instantly get skeptical about the authenticity and reliability of that help.
You start trusting that person a LITTLE LESS.
For instance, if I ask you to visit here, signup for Grammarly for free and help me make some commission – there’s a good chance you wouldn’t do that. Because it clearly is in my self-interest and not yours.
This is a basic funda why exactly bloggers should avoid monetizing their blog from day one.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t listen to “top bloggers” who ask others to monetize thier blog “quickly” or “as early as possible”.
You Lack The Base
Chasing money without first investing in the infrastructural growth, relevant reach and brand building of your blog is a big mistake.
People don’t like being bombarded with sales pitches. They can smell the affiliate agendas you have behind promoting a product. They can sense that you’re trying to make money off them.
Of course, monetizing your audience isn’t wrong in itself.
However, how can you even expect that to work out for you, and convert, when…
- You haven’t brought a single value to your audience.
- The majority of the visitors do not even know you.
- Your brand value is weak and non-existent.
- No one trusts you.
When you ask before you give anything substantial – it’s a very straightforward way to lose. You will inevitably lose.
What’s The Key To Make Money From Blogging?
The key to make money from blogging isn’t necessarily to have the best landing page and to trick your audience into believing that you’re providing them value.
The key is to actually provide them as much value as you can.
Once you do that, once you have provided them enough value, once you have really helped them with their problem – they are bound to convert.
In this process, you also end up building brand trust, which further triggers your conversion.
Understand How Consumers Respond
Consumers behave in self-interest.
They want to get more than what they give. This only has a few exceptions, including when they are dealing with trusted people/brands, in which case they would be fine giving more.
When you have just launched a blog, you are still to …
- Produce enough high-quality content
- Deliver high value to the visitors
- Build brand recognition and trust.
In the absence of these, do you really think your sales pitches – including the subtle ones – will convert?
Moreover, when you’re trying to push products to your visitors from day one, you also significantly hurt your brand image and retention rate.
Because most of the visitors will end up with the perception that all this blog does is try to sell them something.
And this perception, in the long run, can be fatal.
You Need A Plan – But Also The Patience
All things said, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a plan to monetize your blog.
It’s essential, in fact, that you know how exactly you’re going to make money from your blog and how much money can you make.
But that plan should be strategic, smart and long-term focused – and not money-centric.
Becoming a successful and profitable blogger is a long game. It requires time and personalized strategy that fosters sustainability.
Running to make money from your blog from day 1, or even day 100, without building the necessary base infrastructure is a mistake. And the bloggers who do that will struggle to survive in the long-run.
Do NOT monetize a new blog “quick”.
Have patience.
Work hard.
Take a page from Gary Vaynerchuk’s notebook: “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” – give, give, give and then ask.
Conclusion
In conclusion, for questions like “when to monetize my blog” and “should I monetize my blog” – the answer is fairly simple. Until you have given your target audience enough, rushing to monetize the blog is a bad idea.
Funnily, each one of us would know in heart if we have provided high value to the audience or not! 😉
Recommended Read: 21 Ways To Make Money From Your Blog in 2019
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