There are many ways to earn passive income. Writing a consistent blog of your own and monetizing it with ads and sales of premium content (such as an ebook) is one of the more popular ones.
All forms of “passive income” require upfront work. In fact, the more money there is to be made, the more upfront work is required. That said, many consider blogging to be a passive income strategy simply because you can write on virtually any topic. Choose something you’re already interested in, and maintaining a website won’t feel like work at all.
That’s not to say you can ignore certain practical issues if your goal is to make money. A blog won’t help you earn extra cash on the side without a substantial readership. To boost yours, keep the following tips in mind.
Schedule Interviews
It’s easier to increase blog traffic when you’re not the only one promoting it. Thus, it’s smart to reach out to people who are also experts on your chosen topic for interviews.
Many will be happy to grant them. They’ll see the interview as a chance to promote their own services. Of course, you should target people realistically. A relatively-unknown technology blogger probably won’t land an interview with Bill Gates. However, it is possible to land interviews with small tech startup owners in your sphere of interest.
These interview-based blog entries help drive traffic in two ways. First, the people you interview may share the entry via their own marketing channels. Second, including valuable insights from experts will make your content more appealing to readers.
Understand SEO Best Practices
Google uses a search algorithm to determine where a page shows up in relevant searches. Google also changes this algorithm frequently.
As a result, it’s important to frequently research SEO best practices. Potential readers are more likely to discover your blog if it appears early in search results.
Use Social Media
Don’t rely on web searches alone to bring readers to your blog. You can cast a much wider net with a social media presence.
This is particularly helpful as more and more people use social media platforms to discover content. Instead of regularly visiting certain blogs on a consistent basis, many people now find articles and blogs to read by first seeing links to them on Facebook or Twitter.
With a social media presence, you can alert your existing followers to new entries, interact with them to boost engagement, and reach out to new followers. You can also network with similar bloggers to share each other’s content.
Submit Guest Posts
Guest writing also gives bloggers the chance to promote their brands. You could do the same. Contact other bloggers or publications relating to your topic and ask if they are interested in guest posts. Try targeting bloggers who already have relatively large readerships.
Many gladly accept guest posts. When someone else writes for their blog, they don’t have to spend their own time generating more content. Just make sure they’re comfortable with you promoting your site as well. If they are, you can leverage their readership to boost your own.
Use Content Multiple Times
Once you have posted a substantial amount of content on your blog, review it to find other uses for it. Repurposing content for another platform helps you reach out to potential followers who might not otherwise learn about you.
For example, maybe some of your entries could serve as the basis for a podcast series. Maybe you can turn information from several entries in an easily-shareable infographic for social media. Perhaps your content could be expanded into an ebook (which you could then sell for passive income).
This tip doesn’t just help you attract more readers. It also saves you a lot of time. Instead of trying to come up with ideas for new content every week, you can repurpose existing content instead.
Monitor Your Traffic
Monitoring your current traffic is essential to growing it.
For instance, perhaps you want to understand what type of content is most popular with readers. You can check which entries received the most views or social media shares to get an idea of what your followers respond to. This helps you determine what type of content to focus on in the future.
That’s very important to remember. Although your blog may be dedicated to your own personal interests, it also needs to offer genuine value to users. It needs to entertain, inform, or both. You’ll get a clearer idea of what type of content has that effect by monitoring your traffic regularly.
You’re more likely to earn money from a blog when you have a substantial readership. Ads on your blog will get more clicks, and any additional products you offer will reach more potential customers. These tips will help you achieve that goal.