The best way to monetize a blog without ads

09 Sep, 2024

Are you an awid writer and would love to start monetizing your blog? Let’s explore the best way to monetize a blog without ads!

First of all, let me give you a brief insight in my own experience when it comes to blog monetization and making money online.

I’ve been in this space for a decade and believe me when I say – I’ve tried it all! Or at least, I have tried and tested the most popular options out there.

The answer to what is the best way to monetize a blog without ads is NOT rooted in just one thing I personally love the most or that one great success story I’ve had.

Quite the opposite.

It’s rooted in years of hands-on experience with blog monetization, both for myself, as well as my clients.

And one other thing I want to mention before getting into details – I believe that there are plenty of different ways to monetize a blog without ads. And which one will be THE most successful for you will depend on plenty of different elements.

The shares below are based specifically on my own experiences in various niches.

The best way to monetize a blog without ads

Some of the most popular ways to monetize a blog without ads

Ads can be great! However, sometimes the ad platforms will have hard-to-accomplish requirements for you to get accepted for their ad programs. In other cases, you might just be against using ads altogether.

I personally strongly dislike any type of paid ads and especially these days there is just so much of that online… I want to keep my space – my blog – clean!

Besides, what many often overlook – there are plenty of users with adblocks and they just won’t see the ads on your site at all which can make that ad income even lower that it might have been…

So let’s have a brief look at some of the most popular ways to monetize a blog without ads!

Affiliate marketing

I LOVE affiliate marketing and it definitely is an amazing blog monetization strategy.

Affiliate marketing means that you’re promoting products, either physical or digital, and get an affiliate comission for the purchases made.

You can see this everywhere – every Amazon link you’ve ever clicked is an affiliate link (well, most likely…), every platform review you’ve read will have an affiliate link in it, every product suggestion you see – it is very likely it’s all coming from an affiliate.

Affiliate marketing is absolutely legit and an amazing way to generate blog income.

The percentage you receive will highly depend on the platform. I’m currently an affiliate for most of the course platforms, and many most will give 10-30% affiliate commission. Whether it’s a one-time commission or repeated, that will also depend on the specific program. But realistically you might be looking at $10 – $100/per sale.

What’s important with affiliate marketing is that you’re promoting offers that will be RELEVANT for your audience.

It’s easy to get started with and most affiliate programs will have very few or no requirements to receive your affiliate link.

Digital products

Unlike affiliate marketing, creating your own digital products will require more of your involvement because you’re expected to actually, well, create a product!

This is an especially great way to monetize a blog without ads if you’re an expert in a specific question, you have any type of an extensive experience within the field and you know you can help with useful advice.

In fact, creating an online course also is THE tip I’m giving here for the best way to monetize a blog without ads! You can learn all about the why’s below.

There are plenty of digital products to consider:

Actionable guides and workbooks
Checklists and step by step handbooks
Masterclasses
Mini courses
Full evergreen online courses
Live masterclasses
Templates and downloads

1:1 consulting and DFY offers

While not a passive way to monetize a blog per se, 1:1 consulting, coaching or strategy calls and done-for-you offers like freelance support can be an amazing way to tap into your blog audience and make more money!

This will work especially well if you’re an industry professional of some kind and you know your experience can help others.

One of the first things I did online was freelancing! I’m actually a self-taught graphic designer and the initial income I made as a freelancer helped me to get my business off the ground as it funded the rest of the setup needs.

The best way to monetize a blog without ads

As previously introduced, in my experience, the best way to monetize a blog without ads is with COURSES.

And there are several reasons why I’ve found this to be the most versatile way of them all.

But first, let me say that yes, creating a course will take more time, it’s more of a commitment and therefore not as many creators will opt in for that.

I’m not questioning the fact that many other strategies can be simpler to start with and definitely more seamless for you as a creator.

However, the impact that courses can give on your income and your online brand is like no other!

Here are some of the reasons why I consider courses the best way to monetize a blog:

Courses can be mid-range to high-end products

Depending on the exact offer you’re creating, you’re looking at selling it for the minimum of around $50 to hundreds of dollars, to start with.

A more extensive experience can also be sold for thousands!

This means that you’re not playing around with getting $10 here and there, if lucky, as it often can be with many other blog monetization strategies. Instead, each sale can be really profitable.

Creating a course establishes you as an industry expert

If you have the experience to share in a course AND you decide to dedicate the time to make your course happen, it alone speaks volumes and helps your audience to see you as an industry expert.

Your course is unique to you, it’s the only offer like that

Imagine how many affiliates you’re competing with out there.

When you’re promoting your online course, you’re promoting something that is absolutely YOURS.

Courses can be sold in many different ways

While you can always focus on selling your course in your blog posts, on your website and social media, there are also plenty of other ways to market and sell your courses in a way that can generate ongoing passive income!

Your course can be a part of your membership offer: establish consistent recurring revenue by packing it up in a subcription offer
Your course can be the core of your evergreen funnel: all roads lead to the course!
Get your own affiliates! Yes, as a course creator you can get affiliates to promote your course and give them a chance to make the commission out of it

My point is – once you have created a course, the world is your oyster.

How to start monetizing blog with courses?

Here will be some of the first steps covered for you:

And if you’re ready to start working on your own online course, make sure to explore Your Course Creation Membership that will plan you to plan, create and launch and online course, step by step!

Stay in touch!

Connect with me on Instagram @coursecreationlab

And listen to my podcast Savvy Offer Hub