Earning a living from your blog isn't as easy as everyone makes out, in fact I would say the vast majority of blogs on the net only just about cover their hosting costs (if that). However there are a few key reasons why some blogs make money and others don't so I decided to list them below.
No specific target market. This is a big problem with general blogs as they have no real specific audience and so can't sell targeted advertising. In order for advertising to convert into sales you have know what your audience is looking for first.
Even if you have a blog on a specific niche you still need traffic that has a need to buy something, or at least be in some way associated with purchasing online. I suppose this is the main reason big sites like YouTube cant turn a profit, no-one is there to spend money.
Your content also plays a big part in how effective you are in converting visitors into sellers. There's a real skill in funnelling people to the buy button on your online store because you need to convey the message of what you're selling and also the trustworthiness that you're going to deliver.
Poor site design is really off putting to readers and customers because if people can't find what they want fast using your navigation they will quickly go elsewhere. Make sure you promote important parts of your site (that make you money) clearly and prominently, web users can be lazy so you need to do the work for them sometimes.
Implementing the wrong type of advertising is another common mistake. I can't remember the last time I bought something from a pop-up window so why do webmasters insist on using this type of intrusive advertising? Any ads need to complement and match your content in order to be effective.
As you can see there are plenty of reasons why some webmasters struggle to make a living online. I think it really comes down to experimenting with different types of advertising and site design until you get the right combination.
No specific target market. This is a big problem with general blogs as they have no real specific audience and so can't sell targeted advertising. In order for advertising to convert into sales you have know what your audience is looking for first.
Even if you have a blog on a specific niche you still need traffic that has a need to buy something, or at least be in some way associated with purchasing online. I suppose this is the main reason big sites like YouTube cant turn a profit, no-one is there to spend money.
Your content also plays a big part in how effective you are in converting visitors into sellers. There's a real skill in funnelling people to the buy button on your online store because you need to convey the message of what you're selling and also the trustworthiness that you're going to deliver.
Poor site design is really off putting to readers and customers because if people can't find what they want fast using your navigation they will quickly go elsewhere. Make sure you promote important parts of your site (that make you money) clearly and prominently, web users can be lazy so you need to do the work for them sometimes.
Implementing the wrong type of advertising is another common mistake. I can't remember the last time I bought something from a pop-up window so why do webmasters insist on using this type of intrusive advertising? Any ads need to complement and match your content in order to be effective.
As you can see there are plenty of reasons why some webmasters struggle to make a living online. I think it really comes down to experimenting with different types of advertising and site design until you get the right combination.
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