Launching your first website is exciting. However, figuring out how to turn that website into a successful business can feel like a grueling task. As an entrepreneur, you want your content to boost your website and brand authority in your industry or niche. The reality is, driving traffic to a new blog or website isn’t always easy.
Below are some key steps you must take when launching in order to monetize your website.
Find a CMS and web host that gives you the freedom to customize your website
By building a website through WordPress, you have access to thousands of themes and plugins to build a website that makes you visible and authentic. WordPress is a free content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily drag and drop custom blocks to build your website. With easy media management for bloggers, custom galleries for photographers, and the ability to alter the source code for more advanced users, it’s not surprising that in 2021 about 42.7% of the Internet uses it to build their websites.
Entrepreneurs can customize everything on their site through the WordPress dashboard. Custom colors, fonts and logos allow you to brand your site from one page to the next and through the endless plugins available for installation, you can build your business one page at a time.
Related: The Mechanics of Building a Successful Blog (With Over 2 Million Readers) on the Side
Find your purpose and allow that to drive your business forward
Purpose-driven marketing connects you to your target audience through shared experiences, beliefs or interests. Once your mission has been clearly defined, a marketing strategy should be created that reinforces your brand purpose and reveals the shared benefit that your product or service offers to your customer.
If you haven’t considered this before, it’s time to define your brand. Mission and vision statements can help set the groundwork for how your brand will operate and gives website visitors insight into your purpose and passion. If you are creating a mission statement for the first time, you should consider what your purpose is, how you can impact the lives of others, and what sets your business apart from the rest.
Simply put, purpose-driven marketing creates brand loyalty, which is essential for a business. Once you create brand loyalty, your customers become more likely to purchase your product or service over similar products in the marketplace.
Learn to win at affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is an easy and popular way to start monetizing your website. By leveraging affiliate marketing, you can make money without having products or services of your own to sell. Start by finding products or services that you enjoy personally and would recommend to others. If your site visitors are interested in the products as well, they click on an affiliate link, make a purchase, and you get paid.
Affiliate marketing has a low barrier of entry because it doesn’t cost you anything to get started. Businesses all over the world are looking for website owners who are willing to promote their products or services for them. All you have to do is create content that aligns with the products or services you are promoting, and you will earn income over time from your website visitors.
Affiliate marketing income is passive, meaning you can earn money while you sleep. And with most companies, there’s no cap on the amount in commissions you can earn each month. As your website traffic grows, your income will also.
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Use email lists to build and sustain your business
Businesses thrive on new leads. Email lists are a simple way to turn website visitors into long-term leads. Before you can send emails to promote your content, you must have people to send them to. Ask your website visitors to sign up for your email subscriber list.
Here are a few simple ways to start collecting emails:
- Add a subscriber tile ad on your blog or website
- Offer additional information in exchange for email addresses, like a bonus e-book or white paper
- Ask for email addresses through social media posts
- Run a promotion or giveaway in exchange for email addresses
By nurturing your subscribers with useful information, these casual followers are more likely to become loyal and passionate about your brand.
Startup businesses scale over time and must have a website that can grow with them. There will inevitably be more site visitors, products, sales, and opportunities to expand your business reach. Preparing for growth means you know where you’re heading and that you are consistent in your efforts in reaching success.
Originally published June 22, 2019. Updated Nov. 21, 2021.
