WordPress is by far the most popular content management system in the world because it offers a wide range of practical functionalities. What started as a simple blogging platform quickly grew into a much larger project with features for all types of businesses and content creators.
Today, you can use WordPress for launching an eCommerce store, creating real estate listings, making business directories, invoicing clients, and a variety of other activities. But the best thing about this content management platform is that you can use it to monetize the content on your website.
This is the main reason why WordPress powers more than 35% of all websites currently active online. You don’t even have to run a full-time business to start thinking about monetization. On the contrary, all it takes is to have your own blog and the website is already available for profit generation.
In such circumstances, the only logical question is: How can I make use of WordPress to monetize the content on my website? Keep reading as we are about to show you the 25 most practical ways to do it!
1. Sell advertising space via Google AdSense
The first and by far the most popular WordPress monetization method is Google AdSense. You don’t have to be a digital marketing expert to know that it’s an advertising platform that brings together businesses and content creators. The process is fully automated – all you need to do is create an account and Google AdSense will pair you with the right advertisers based on your keywords.
2. Sell advertising space on your own
Google AdSense may be the most popular advertising solution, but who says you have to use it? Another option is to sell advertising space directly by finding a business partner on your own.
3. Become an affiliate marketer
Affiliate marketing is the process of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. Your job is to briefly mention a given product or service somewhere within your post and wait for readers to engage. Each time someone makes a purchase based on your link, you will be paid a commission.
4. Write sponsored posts
There is also the option of writing sponsored posts. It’s a simple process – you can charge clients for publishing content that promotes their products, events, or services. This is a huge source of income for highly relevant WordPress websites.
5. Write paid product reviews
If you are a genuine niche authority, you might as well charge brands for writing product or service reviews. The difference between sponsored posts and product reviews is easy to figure out – sponsored posts are directly promotional, while product reviews keep the distance and function as unbiased and objective pieces of content.
6. Sell eBooks
Are you publishing a lot of high-quality blog posts revolving around the same topic? If yes, you might as well think about compiling articles into an eBook. This is a popular digital format that you can start selling on your WordPress website, especially if it already generates a sufficient amount of traffic.
7. Sell online courses
Have you ever checked out online learning resources such as Coursera or Udemy? The two platforms contain thousands of online courses, which could be a good solution for your site as well. Of course, you should focus on one niche that really suits your professional expertise and design a top-level online course.
8. Host webinars
WordPress is also capable of hosting online conferences. You can exploit this function and use it to organize online seminars. Webinars have become a common learning strategy in the last few years, thus giving you one more chance to prove skills and earn money along the way.
9. Sell design products
You’ve probably seen dozens of WordPress websites selling all sorts of design products. The likes of logos, templates, labels, product packaging, illustrations, clip art, and similar items come in digital format, which means you can sell them online with ease. Therefore, it’s a standout monetization strategy for creative individuals with fresh design ideas.
10. Sell WordPress themes
A theme is a collection of templates and style-sheets used to define the appearance and display of a WordPress-powered website. In case you can combine coding and design skills, why wouldn’t you try selling WordPress themes on your website? Thousands of new websites are launched every day and you can count on high demand in the long run.
11. Sell WordPress plugins
Although there are currently over 55 thousand plugins available on WordPress, there is always enough room for a few fresh products. Plugins are built with the purpose to improve the functionality of a WordPress-powered site, so you’ll need to think of a practical way to boost website performance.
12. Sell video lessons
You’ve probably noticed that WordPress webmasters can sell a lot of different things online. Video lessons are by no means an exception and you can give this tactic a try if you know the basics of video production. Besides that, you will need a reliable WordPress plugin such as Video Lessons Manager.
13. Offer freelance services
Freelancing has become a big deal all over the world and you can take advantage of it using WordPress. Namely, you are free to offer freelance services through the website and invite potential clients to send you job proposals. As we already know you are a skilled niche professional, you should attract a variety of offers very soon.
14. Start a consulting business
Another thing you can do is start a consulting business and promote it via the WordPress site. This solution is similar to the previous one as you are supposed to prove expertise in order to attract enough clients.
15. Launch an eCommerce store
The online retail industry is booming these days with players like Amazon and eBay, but there are more than enough opportunities for building a smaller eCommerce store. All it takes is to carefully choose the right niche and establish partnerships with relevant stakeholders in the early stages of the business.
16. Build an auctions website
Similar to eCommerce, auctions websites can also help you earn a lot of money. The only difference is that auctions sites allow users to bid on products, so there is no fixed price to pay. You can craft an auctions website using a WooCommerce plugin and a special auctions add-on.
17. Sell premium memberships
Are you sure that your content is really something special? If the answer is positive, then you have a green light to sell premium memberships. In other words, you can lock certain parts of your content and save it for premium members who are willing to pay for it.
18. Create private forums
Instead of paying for content, website visitors could also pay you for joining private forums dedicated to highly specific topics. This is where you can communicate with each member one-on-one and give people recommendations on how to solve their private or professional problems.
19. Build a Q/A website
Question-and-answer websites are flourishing these days because users want to know answers to their questions almost instantly. In such circumstances, building your Q/A site seems like a perfectly reasonable solution as you can later use it to place ads relevant to a given discussion.
20. Make a job board site
Almost every employer is now looking for the most promising talents online, the fact you should exploit to monetize your WordPress content. The strategy is simple – you make a job board site where companies can publish vacancy announcements. Of course, you charge a fee for each post.
21. Make an event calendar site
This tip goes hand in hand with the previous one. You can design a good-looking event calendar site and divide it into multiple categories based on users’ and clients’ interests. Once again, you will get paid for each event promoted through your WordPress website.
22. Create business directories
Some webmasters consider this to be an outdated monetization technique, but the truth is that business directories remain a profitable WordPress strategy.
23. Become an influencer
Influencers are one of the most powerful weapons in digital marketing, so you should not hesitate to build a self-brand and become a key opinion leader in the targeted niche. That way, you will earn respect and many businesses will be glad to pay you for mentioning their products on your site.
24. Become a ghostwriter
If the audience loves your online content, you are likely to be consulted as a ghostwriter. This is yet another chance to earn money through your WordPress content, but you better make sure to publish amazing articles consistently.
25. Get paid for public speaking
A genuine industry thought leader will receive tons of public speaking invitations. Such opportunities are not only glamorous but also well-paid, which is a win-win situation for a dedicated WordPress content creator.
Up to You
Webmasters love WordPress because of its unparalleled functionalities, but the main reason they appreciate the platform is monetization. The system gives everyone the opportunity to earn money through blogging, advertising, online retail, and many other activities.
In this post, we showed you the top 25 ways to how to make money with your WordPress content. Have you ever tried any of these methods? Which one proved to work the best for you? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments – we would love to see your experiences with WordPress monetization!
Good and a very detailed post. If you want to start your own auction site try the woo auction software plugin