Since we’re not in the business of actually selling the service of providing web development, hosting, SEO, etc, you can bet your bottom dollar that the information to be shared in this post will be comprehensive. In no way am I setting you up for some call-to-action which will lead me to benefit in some way, but therein lies the first lesson to be learned as part of the process of building a blog with monetisation as the end-goal in mind.
Calls-to-action
So I’ll start at the end, so to say and discuss the most crucial aspect of having your blog eventually generate you some income, which is the call-to-action. Basically different calls-to-action will apply to the different people who fall within the different segments of your blog’s monetisation channels, such as perhaps the prospective clients who go on to enquire about your services or products which they can buy, warmed up leads who go on to click through an affiliate link you’ve embedded in some informative text, pure advertisers who fill in your contact form to place an order for one or more of the advertising channels you offer, etc.
You’ll need to do your own research about all these available paying call-to-actions and try to incorporate every single one of them into your blog.
Content creation
This applies even in the case of those blogs or websites which are purely built for informational purposes, such as divulging information about the products and services your business offers. In this day and age, that’s no longer enough. You need to establish yourself as some kind of authority in order for prospective clients to want to reward you in particular by buying from you or through you (affiliate links).
The content you create just needs to be fresh, relevant and consistent and it should be complemented with so-called “teaser” content which would be published on the blog’s corresponding social media channels.
That pretty much makes up the basics of the ultimate #BloggerGuide to setting up a blog if you have monetisation in mind as the end-goal, certainly as far as the structuring and timing of the content goes, but what about the technical side of things?
Content Management Systems vs. Bespoke Web Developers
Judging by how bespoke, purist web designers and developers seem to be adopting the “If you can’t beat them, join them” stance to their previously puritanical approach to web design, it’s becoming clear that Content Management Systems (CMSs) such as WordPress are winning the argument of whether one should indeed deploy the likes of WordPress templates over going with the custom made solutions offered by web developers. CMS, like that provided by Sitecore, can also help test, optimize, personalize, and automate content which can be a real advantage. In my own opinion, the answer is neither, or it can be both, but that depends on something entirely different to merely considering the costs associated with the setting up of your blog.
Digital and marketing agencies such as Click Consult should really make for the determining factor as to whether you’re ultimately going to get a bespoke blog designed and developed or if you’re going to deploy a template via a CMS, or perhaps even get someone like a WordPress developer to customise an existing theme or template further.
To stand out these days it’s no longer just about how your blog or site looks, but rather about how visible it is on the web proper and over the various social media channels you will have had to have set up for it.