If you are a writer who can curate exceptional articles and blog posts, a web developer with the expertise to build the best of WordPress plugins, a marketer, photographer or web/ graphics money looking for ways of making money online, WordPress.com is a good place to start.
The best bit is that you only need a WordPress Domain, a hosting service provider, and some plugins to get started.
Even though WordPress.com is regarded as a site inferior to WordPress.org in terms of the plugins, themes and monetization options, if you are only starting out in the online money making business, WordPress.com is a great platform for you.
There is a lot you can do with the blog. What matters the most is your willingness to leverage your skills.
It all begins with creating a product or service that generates the kind of traffic you can monetize easily.
Here are some of the things you could do to start making money off your blog:
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1. Advertising
The thought of making money through blogging brings up advertising as one of the avenues of earning money from. Using WordPress.com, you can earn from displaying ads on your blog.
WordPress.com has an advertising program specific to its site owners, WordAds. This program features ads from external advertising networks like AOL, Facebook, and Google.
For you to use WordAds, you’ll be required to upgrade to the WordPress Business or Premium plan where you will have automatic access to the program, and you will get to set up ads on your blog.
What if you cannot afford the Business/ Premium plan, yet?
Well, don’t worry. You can still join the WordAds program as a WordPress blogger on the personal or free plan if your blog attracts moderate to high traffic and if you create relevant/ appropriate content.
WordAds is also open to sites with mapped or custom domains.
Besides WordAds, you could also access and manage top third-party advertisement networks such as Google AdSense or BuySellAds if you are in the WordPress.com Business Plan.
This is because the blogs running on the Premium plans and below cannot self-manage the ad-networks even though they can run WordAds that can optimize buyers.
2. Displaying Ads through Google AdSenseOn the WordPress.com Business Plan, you can display ads on your blog.
The only requirement for this is for you to add a script from Google and to your blog, then you can start displaying ads on your blog.
The ads displayed are cost-per-click ads meaning that you get paid every time a user clicks on an ad.
You could also use WordPress advertising plugins to increase your earnings. In this case, you will sell banner ad space on your blog to a marketer/ advertiser.
3. Affiliate Marketing/ Linking
Affiliate marketing is becoming increasingly common in the marketing world, and bloggers are earning good money from this channel.
As a WordPress blogger, you can earn a bit more from your blog by adding affiliate links to your blog posts or articles.
This works and is profitable, as long as your blog’s original purpose is to create high-quality and original content, and as long as WordPress.com supports your ad code.
So, if you blog about music, books, clothes, shoes, home décor, kitchen gadgets, or anything else that leaves your readers drooling over, you get to post the relevant affiliate links for the products using images or texts.
It should be noted that affiliate links are often unacceptable for get-rich-quick schemes, gambling, multi-level marketing programs, malware, pornography, or phishing-type scams.
Also, sites whose primary purpose is to drive traffic to the affiliate links are disallowed.
Amazon runs one of the best affiliate marketing programs. All you have to do is add the Amazon Affiliate link in your content.
Remember that the success of your affiliate marketing project depends on your ability to curate high-quality, interesting, and shareable content.
4. Sponsored Posts (Pre-Written)
Sponsored posts/ content refers to content that promotes specific services or products after encouragement by the individual or company that makes the product/ service.
You can publish such posts on WordPress.com. To start earning from the sponsored posts, you only need to include the content on your blog and the brand you sponsor will be compensated.
However, WordPress.com doesn’t allow sites whose content is mainly sponsored.
To attract sponsors, your blog must have a substantial amount of traffic, and your content of remarkable quality and relevant to your niche/ audience.
5. Writing Reviews
Here, you get paid to try out a product and to write a review of the product.
The product you review must be something your audience is interested in, and it should be useful to your readers.
6. Provide WordPress Consultative Services
How about using your WordPress.com knowledge to earn money?
If you are an expert in WordPress, you could earn extra income by creating customized designs or offering courses on WordPress to beginners and even the advanced users.
All you need is an impressive portfolio. You could easily build your portfolio by offering consulting services freely to influencers and other bloggers.
Along the same lines of service delivery, you could provide blog setup services. The best bit about this is that you don’t have to be an expert.
You can make a bit of money from installing WordPress.com, uploading themes, or even adding plugins.
7. Offer a Content Writing Service
If you are a great writer, you could use the platform to provide content writing services.
Writing an article for others is one of the best way to earn huge money from your blog for free. You just need some of hard work to write quality articles for others.
Other ways of earning from WordPress.com include:
8. Selling digital and physical products
For this, you need the right plugin with an extension which will let you sell products/ services handle, the shipping process, and to collect taxes, among other things. You can handle payments using PayPal.
9. Creating (and selling) plugins
Plugins improve the functionality of WordPress. With many problems cropping up while interacting with online solutions, you could create then sell a plugin.
Other than plugins, you could also develop WordPress themes – people are always looking for unique themes and your design knowledge, and creativity could be all you need to earn a bit more.
It is clear that there is a lot you can do with your WordPress.com blog and the best news is that you can make good money off it.
