Last Updated on March 22, 2024 by Muhammad Tabish
There are various reasons why someone would want to set up a blog. It could be to fulfill a need, an interest or an obsession in either his or her personal endeavors or business opportunities. For most people who have an online business, having a blog is an absolute must that serves its purpose and as an extension of his or her business. For most of us trying to make an online income, monetizing your blog is a foregone conclusion. It’s just a matter of determining when the proper time is to do so.
While there are obvious benefits to the blogger who monetizes his or her blog at a later stage, rushing into it has its fair share of pitfalls too. So, care must be taken, and you should try to decide when that perfect time is to start.
Let’s take a look at both approaches so you can see which approach will be best for you and your blog.
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The “Monetize Later” Approach
I have to say that in general, I don’t see too many blogs without any obvious signs of monetization like banner ads or affiliate programs.
Those who chose this approach tend to cater to a specific audience and are trying to build their blog to one that can command authority and trust.
Traffic is a top ingredient of its success and their first priority is to generate a huge amount of traffic to their blog, first, before anything else takes place. It’s like holding on to a trump card and waiting to find the perfect time to use it.
My Thoughts on This Approach
Banner ads used to be a popular and effective means of promotions years ago, but I personally feel they have lost much of their novelty.
In fact, some of these bloggers go from swearing by them years ago to swearing at them now. Perhaps those who preferred to monetize their blog later saw this coming and figured a better way would be to focus more on using their blog to build trust and market their brand name for their online business.
It depends on a lot on the niche that you are targeting, too. The smaller the niche, the more targeted the audience becomes, and you have a higher chance of providing your product and services to this demographic of people who demand them.
On a small niche site I used to own, I had good success using banner ads. They were very targeted to the audience that I was catering to, which made them more appealing.
My Final Verdict
Overall, with this approach, I think there are bloggers who want to gain recognition as a blogger who focuses more on first building trust and getting traffic to his or her blog, then later looking for ways to monetize that traffic with targeted ads. You don’t have to agree, but there are many bloggers out there in various niches that use this approach. Did you use this approach? Why or why not?
The “Monetize at the Beginning” Approach
Monetizing your blog immediately when you first set it up has its advantages. Many people have used their blog specifically to make an online income; although, if you follow the exploits of John Chow and Darren Rowse of the blogging fraternity, it can be done but not as easy as it seems.
For some others, monetizing your blog means not having to bother with redesigning it later to accommodate the banner ads and other forms of moneymaking strategies that may affect your overall look and feel.
Those who choose this route may be seasoned bloggers who know just how to go about generating quick traffic to their new blog, too.
My Thoughts on This Approach
In order to be successful in monetizing a relatively new blog, you need to have at least two important things working well for you – targeted traffic and good conversions. You don’t want thousands of visitors coming to your blog and yet shy away from whatever products or services that your blog promotes, do you?
This is where your keyword research comes in handy and could make a difference between failure and success. It also depends on what content you are building on your blog.
If efforts have been made to focus on a specific topic, there is a greater chance of very targeted traffic getting the information they are searching for on your blog. This, of course, translates to more sales and generates more income for your business.
My Final Verdict
Monetizing your blog at the beginning is a risky move, but can pay off later on as you are introducing your blog to the world already monetized. This way, readers will not be surprised or upset that you have added some forms of advertising to your blog later on down the road. Did you use this approach? Why or why not?
What Time is the Right Time Monetizing Your Blog?
As you can see, there is never a clear answer to when you should start monetizing your blog as there are many factors that determine the best time to do so. A lot depends on your goals in your business and the reason you set up your blog and what strategies you are currently using to meet those objectives.
Which approach do I prefer? As with my small niche site I talked about earlier, I set that up to monetize right away, and it worked. My broader niche site was set up the same way, and any future sites will follow suit. However, I have nothing wrong with the monetizing Your Blog later approach.
Like I said, it all depends on what your ultimate goals are for you and your blog. For me, my goal is simple: to make money online.
What is your goal?
I’m Mohammad Tabish Blogger and a Professional web developer SEO Consultant and Freelancer. I am from Pakistan. I started My first blog (BlogRankSeo) in 2016 and then, and I have never looked back. I Have managed lots of blogs.
