If you’ve recently started your blog and you are serious about making it a success, then you should avoid using adverts. Undoubtedly, this is not what you want to hear as using them seems like an easy money maker, but trust us, it isn’t.
Read on to find out how they can negatively affect your blog and to discover alternative solutions for making money from blogging.
How much will you actually earn?
If you are relatively new to blogging, you may not have a huge number of page views a day. Unless you have a LOT of views, you won’t earn much at all from ads. According to Minterest, to earn £100,000 a year using AdSense, you need around 100,000 visitors day, assuming you have a CTR of 1% and a CPC of £0.25. You not only need readers to visit your site, but to earn money from adverts, viewers must click the ads.
Beware of ad blockers
According to The Guardian, from next year Google will create a built-in ad blocker for its Chrome browser, as a result of increasing numbers of intrusive adverts. This means, even if you AdSense, from next year Google might actually block the ads, further reducing your chances of making money.
A loss of trust
To determine if your low earning ads are really worth it, make sure to consider the effect they will have on your readers. You have worked hard to find loyal readers but be aware that ads could be distracting them when you need to be capturing their attention. Loyal readers may soon lose trust in your site if they are bombarded with adverts and will be less likely to join your mailing list if they are distracted. Every blogger wants to build a loyal audience, but readers may begin seeing your site in a different light.
Lack of control
You may have turned towards blogging because you want to do things your way and write about things that interest you, under your own time frames. Suddenly, however, you will be under someone else’s control. You will have little or no control over the quality of your adverts, and certain adverts could paint your site in a bad light. Your site will also be slower, resulting in a lower ranking on Google and reducing your chances of attracting new customers.
What are the alternatives?
You may be feeling a bit deflated and wondering if your blog is a lost cause, but rest assured that there are other ways you can make money from an online blog.
You could build a mailing list as email marketing is very effective. A mailing list ensures you capture more regular readers. To make money from this list you could create a product to sell to them such as a book or merchandise, or you could offer them a service. This could be coaching or consulting, and this allows you to make money while your viewers receive something in return.
Alternatively, you could use your mailing list to sell someone else’s product. However, make sure not to jeopardise your reputation by promoting a product you wouldn’t use.
Finally, you could consider freelancing as an alternative short-term income source. The extra practice will make you a better blogger, and it can still be flexible and completed from home.
We hope this has given you some insight into why using adverts might not be the best decision for your blog and give you some inspiration for other ways to make your blog a money making success.
