20 Ways to Make Money from Your Website
Once you’ve created your own online website with Bluehost (click here to follow our guide), there are endless opportunities for you to start making money!
It’s not uncommon for a committed blogger to quit their day job after just a couple of months of blogging. You did it!
In this guide, I’ll share some of the best ways to monetize your website, with plenty of practical tips and resources to get you started on day one.
But don’t use them all at once! I highly suggest picking one or two methods from this list that best meet your needs and the content of your website – and really focus on them first.
Let’s start (in no particular order) with 20 Ways You Can Monetize Your Website!
How to make money from a website
1. Affiliate marketing
Being an affiliate means that you are promoting a product or service to your website visitors in exchange for earning a commission if a purchase occurs through your link.
Join the Awin Network to gain access to thousands of affiliate programs, including programs from major brands such as ASOS, EE, and Expedia.
Then simply include your referral link (provided by Awin) when products from your chosen partners are mentioned on your website.
2. Use Skimlinks
Skimlinks is a bit like Awin (and other affiliate networks), in that it allows you to earn commission on purchases made through links on your website.
The main difference is that in addition to allowing you to create individual referral links when you want, Skimlinks can also be installed on your website to automatically monetize your content.
If you add a link to a retailer in your content that is part of the Skimlinks network, Skimlinks will automatically convert the link into a referral link!
You will be paid if a visitor makes a purchase via your link, and commissions vary from 2% to 10%.
3. Add ads
You can easily set up network ads with Google Adsense or Media.net by copying and pasting the code into your website to display ads related to a visitor’s recent search on the Internet.
Taboola is another service that is increasingly popular with bloggers who are monetizing their content. It works by displaying relevant articles (instead of ads) from advertisers on its network.
These networks will pay you each time a visitor clicks on your ad (cost per click, or CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (cost per impression, or CPM).
You can also sell banner ads directly to businesses that have a related product/service. This option can be more profitable, as not only will you set the prices yourself, but the advertiser will (hopefully) know that it is your audience that they would like to target!
4. Use text link ads
You can sell basic text links to the advertiser’s website (in-content advertising) and charge a fixed price per month (eg £20). Instead, you can charge per click.
There are a lot of marketplaces like BaClick Herecklinks and LinksPanel where you can buy and sell links.
5. Selling to email subscribers
The biggest thing I hear bloggers regret not doing is not starting their email list early.
So get an account with AWeber from day one to capture your audience and connect with them after they leave your website!
You can then email the fulfilling subscriber with recommended products they might be interested in (commission promotion), and earn different commissions if they sign up or buy something.
6. Publication of promotional leaflets
Sponsored posts are advertisements in the form of editorial or article content, usually containing a link to the advertiser’s website.
An advertiser may send you the article, but if you can write the content for them, the subscription fee will be paid for your time as well.
You can earn £35 to £200 for sponsored post, depending on the popularity of your website.
Join bloggers network Facebook groups and share your website, advertiser is looking for the best options!
Note: Advertising regulations state that if you post an article on your site that is being paid for by a third party, you must always write “Sponsored Article” on the page somewhere.
7. Product review
This is especially true if you have readers in a niche, such as new parents or avid gamers.
But even if your readers are not from a specific field, you can still get the possibility to test products. As long as you’re happy to write a product review after trying it, companies will be more than happy to send you some freebies – and maybe even pay you!
Sign up on Toluna and SurveyBods as soon as possible to get the latest opportunities.
8. Sell digital products
E-books, prints, graphics, templates, and podcasts are all examples of digital products that can help you earn continuous passive income from your site.
You can charge around £2.99 for a 5,000-word ebook sold by you – doesn’t sound like much, but you’ll be getting 20 ebook sales per month soon!
9. Physical Products
You can use your website as a base to sell your physical products as well. For example, you can create T-shirt or mug designs with Zazzle — maybe even brand your site on them, if you think people will buy them!
Or create handmade products to sell on eBay or other sites like Etsy.
Remember, wherever you sell, just be sure to add a link to the marketplace from your site – for direct access, which will give you an edge over other sellers on the platform.
10. Include a business directory
Set up a business directory page, where companies pay you a set fee to list their business.
You can charge a monthly or annual listing fee and charge anything between £20 – £500 (and onwards) per year, depending on your site’s traffic levels.
For example, let’s say you have a website that reviews audio systems. Assuming the likes of Currys PC World and Amazon might already be popular, charge independent retailers (both local and online) to appear on the list page of places in the UK that sell best-in-class soundbars.
11. Publish distinguished articles
If you can create highly useful content, you can earn from it.
Suppose you have a gaming website, and you share some unknown strategies in the article. You can get traffic by sharing a few tips, then linking the visitor to a password-protected page (this is an option found in WordPress) to get the most valuable information.
The reader gets the password to unlock the premium content once they pay you a fee via PayPal. Add as much value as you like, although £2 to £10 is a realistic price for a premium article.
You may have seen some of the big websites, such as The Telegraph and The Times, use this strategy in recent years, so it clearly has some advantages!
12. Add a members-only forum
You can add a “members only” forum to your site by using free WordPress plugins like bbPress. You can then monetize this by charging a standard subscription fee, or a one-time infinite access fee.
Crucially, how much you can earn depends on how much value you can create for your forum members. If you can turn your forum members into a real community – one that networkes and shares tips – you are the winner.
13. Create an online course
You can create an online course as an add-on to your website. This is another type of paid premium content where visitors pay to get to the extra details.
The course can be automatically delivered via AWeber to those who have paid and signed up email addresses, or you can add it to Udemy to reach a wider customer base.
14. Create your own referral program
Once you have created your website product(s), such as a course or ebook, you can create your own referral program and hire affiliates to help spread what you have produced
This can lead to more product sales and more traffic to your website. It’s the win every blogger is looking for, and there are plenty of free WordPress plugins to get you started.
15. Create a Hire Me page
When you start your own website, you’ll develop some new skills that will help you make money.
Set up a Hire Me page on your site, and offer freelance blogging and writing services to get started. If you’ve taken a more involved role in setting up the code and design for your website as well, why not also advertise your services as a developer?
Other than your location, you can offer these services via Upwork as well. A freelancer can earn quite well, around £20 – £50 per hour.
16. Ask for donations
Add a simple PayPal donations button on your website and ask people to donate to help the website (the equivalent of buying a coffee) if they like your content. You can also link to your Buy Me A Coffee page, if you have one.
Some of the largest websites in existence run partly or exclusively on donations, including Wikipedia.
After all, if you don’t ask, you won’t get.
17. Create an Amazon store page
The beauty of Amazon is that it sells almost everything you could want. So no matter what domain your website is in, there’s a good chance Amazon will be selling related products.
You can easily add a separate Amazon store page to your website, and if visitors see you as an expert in your field, they will listen to your recommendations about products to try that are relevant to them.
Amazon has its own affiliate program (you can join it here), and you’ll earn anything from 1% to 10% commission on product sales if one of your readers buys something through your link.
18. Create video content for YouTube
Creating video content for your website will not only help you keep your visitors entertained – it can also earn you cash.
One of the ways you can monetize the c
If you are an expert in a field, why not share your knowledge for an hourly consulting fee?
Advertise through your website and present your expertise through monetizing webinars and podcasts, or even through a Skype call where visitors pay upfront to take advantage of your knowledge.
Whatever channel you choose, if people come to your website for your expert explanations and opinions, you should definitely charge for some personalized advice.
ontent of your videos is by uploading them to YouTube and setting up Google Adsense (Google has a helpful guide on how to do that here). And while you’re at it, check out our guide to making money from YouTube.
Once you’ve created your video content, you can then embed your YouTube videos on your blog. If your video goes viral, you can earn hundreds of ad revenue.
19. Become a counselor
If you are an expert in a field, why not share your knowledge for an hourly consulting fee?
Advertise through your website and present your expertise through monetizing webinars and podcasts, or even through a Skype call where visitors pay upfront to take advantage of your knowledge.
Whatever channel you choose, if people come to your website for your expert explanations and opinions, you should definitely charge for some personalized advice.
20. Sell your website
Once you have a website that is already monetized and is receiving good levels of traffic, you will have something valuable.
As with anything valuable, your website can sell, and when the time is right, websites like Flippa and the aptly named BusinessesForSale.com are here to help you find the right buyer.
Expect to earn around 6-10 times the monthly revenue of your website if you decide to sell.
This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Their purpose is to inspire you to take real action and profit from your website, knowing that there is ample opportunity to make money.
If you haven’t set up your own website, do so now. Click here for a step-by-step guide to using Bluehost and WordPress.