6 Effective Ways to Monetize WordPress to Build a Profitable Website

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For better or worse, revenue does not fall magically in your lap after building a solid website. More clicks and visits do not automatically translate into more money. Then again, if you use WordPress (WP), you are in a position to reap opulent rewards. After all, WP represents a highly-versatile platform with a plethora of tools to design, manage, and monetize a site. It is the most popular content management system (CMS) that powers a slew of websites and is hailed for its directory that contains whooping 29000 plugins. As open-source software, WP allows third-party developers to access its code, which means that new plugins are constantly being added to an already immense pool. And since it was designed as the blogging platform, WP does need additional plugins that ramp up monetization capacity.
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For better or worse, revenue does not fall magically in your lap after building a solid website. More clicks and visits do not automatically translate into more money. Then again, if you use WordPress (WP), you are in a position to reap opulent rewards.

After all, WP represents a highly-versatile platform with a plethora of tools to design, manage, and monetize a site. It is the most popular content management system (CMS) that powers a slew of websites and is hailed for its directory that contains whooping 29000 plugins. As open-source software, WP allows third-party developers to access its code, which means that new plugins are constantly being added to an already immense pool. And since it was designed as the blogging platform, WP does need additional plugins that ramp up monetization capacity.

They are the main tools to lay the foundations for successful WP monetization. So, here is how to customize and fine-tune the operational capabilities of the website and turn it in a huge source of profit.

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Selling products

One of the common monetization strategies revolves around turning your WP site into a digital storefront. Nowadays, WP is widely used as backend software to build large stores from the ground up. It is also ideal for those who seek to make baby steps in e-commerce business and gradually scale as they go. There are many tools to assemble a profitable business that sells digital products or physical goods.

Namely, if you mean to launch fully-fledged e-commerce operation, you need to use plugins such as Product Directory Plugin for WP. It allows entrepreneurs to easily create listings as well as key page elements like video explanations, images, and product descriptions.
You also cannot go wrong with WooCommerce, the king of shopping cart plugins. It is a no-brainer for most entrepreneurs as it is easy to use, has a strong support of a devout community, and comes bundled with versatile options and features.

A sound payment system

To pave the way for real profit, it is of the utmost importance to determine how customers will make purchases. The good news is that the scope of choice is not as overwhelming as it can get with other monetization options.

There are two basic systems: direct and micropayment. The first, direct approach is used by most e-commerce stores as a default option. It supports, usually via specialized plugins, direct payments and related gateways, such as PayPal, credit card, alternative methods, etc.
On the other hand, micropayments involve virtual currencies that are used by visitors to carry out on-site transactions. They differ from site to site, although it is standard to have a virtual wallet that can be filled using real currencies.

Note that micropayments come with a host of other befits. They are widely used to filter user interaction, foster community engagement, maintain a point system, and facilitate purchasing. Again, it pays off to use plugins such as MicroPayment Platform Plugin to successfully set up the payment framework.

Affiliate marketing

One of the staple monetization strategies of today is affiliate marketing. In a nutshell, you promote other people’s offerings via your WP site via a post that contains an affiliate link. Whenever your visitors click on that link and end up buying the product, you earn a commission. You get to choose which products you want to feature, so it should always be something that resonates
with your target audience.

Try to keep up the pace because this strategy is spreading across industry sectors. For instance, it was in the limelight of the ICE VOX in London, an event that kicked off ICE Totally Gaming. A special series of conferences serves as an educational, knowledge-sharing platform for the gaming industry, e-sports, blockchain, data science, etc.

This is one of the indications that affiliate marketing is only going to get bigger and encompass mobile apps and gaming platforms. These two pose the next big frontier for those seeking to capture an immense amount of traffic and bolster revenue streams through affiliate programs.

Advertising

Next, we come to hosted ads on a WP site, an approach that should always be considered a feasible course of action.

Pay-per-click advertising is considered the easiest form of monetization for most blogs and websites. As the name suggests, you sell your space to include ads (by placing ad code on the website) and then earn money whenever someone clicks on them. Webmasters that attract a high volume of traffic across multiple sites tend to opt for external ad networks run by Google, Facebook, and other giants. Adsense is a PPC company that easily attracts the most clients and connects them with people willing to host their ads.

There are also some nice alternatives, so weigh your options carefully. To make the most bang for your buck, realize that one of the main challenges comes in the form of tracking and evaluating the campaigns. Fortunately, you are not without instruments to pull it off. There are many quality plugins that let you manage and rotate banners, take advantage of the advanced statistics, handle ads on popular networks, and do campaign grouping.

Memberships and subscriptions

Filling your website with quality content is a good place to start and a nice way to entice visitors. But, it takes more than that to tap into profit. One of the viable tactics is to integrate subscription and membership services with the content. There should be enough people willing to pay for high-quality articles and educational materials. You can also capitalize on trends such as the meteoric rise of educational video content. Use a dedicated plugin to create video lessons on a niche subject: share your valuable insights and expertise with others and draw them into your subscription system.

Speaking of which, an integral part of this monetization method is to formulate a subscription service that is tailored to your audience. A Pay Per Post Plugin is one of the tools that enable you to do just that. Basically, it restricts all users from viewing certain pages and posts, setting multiple pricing plans as a requirement for access.

Sponsored Posts

To the utmost joy of many bloggers and webmasters, WP allows users to accept sponsored posts. There are a few ways in which this monetization tactic plays out. Firstly, you can get paid for writing about a certain product or service. Secondly, you may write a post in exchange for a freebie. Finally, it is not uncommon for other content creators to write something and pay you to publish it.

One thing to note is that your WP site must offer more than just sponsored content. It is borderline impossible to cultivate long-term trust and loyalty of the audience that way. At the same time, remember that all sponsored posts must adhere to WP Terms of Service. Of course, if you really mean to attract sponsored content, you also need to put together a website that does not look amateurish. Premium WP themes can boost the visual appeal, but also the functionality of the website. So, use tried and tested tricks to make your website look professional and you will boost your chances of hitting it big.

Money makes the digital world spin

Over the years of sprawling digital boom, WP has evolved into a full-blown CMS as well as a powerful business platform. Whether you want to get e-commerce operations off the ground or drive revenue via blogging, there is a way to make it happen. One cannot strike gold without knowing where to dig for it. Thus, monetization strategy is an absolute must for all those who aspire to earn good money from a website. Most methods require little to no investment, but they do require long-term planning and managing.

So, you should implement monetization methods right from the get-go, before the avalanche of visits and clicks hits you. Align them with your other strategies, value proposition, and your online persona. Offer people something valuable and they will not regret paying you in return. Exercise extensive control over your monetization tactics and campaigns.

Following the tips above, you should be able to establish a strong internet presence that is ready to act as a profit-generating enterprise.

Sean Lockwood

Sean is an IT expert with years of experience. He covers all aspects of IT like programming, photoshopping and other effects. He has spent some time in the field of security and is still helping other companies with the same. In his free time, he loves to enjoy moderating his extreme sports blog: https://www.extremesportslab.com/ and his two German Shepherds.

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4 Responses

  1. Hey Sean,

    Thank you for the awesome post. Monetisation is certainly not as easy as it sounds, is it? There’s just so much work to put in, upfront, that most people even give up before the site could get to a point where it can start making some money. Also true that you got to know where to dig for gold.

    Now, it gets even more trickier if we are trying to sell services. In these cases, do you think using affiliate marketing as a monetisation method makes sense?

    Ash

  2. For any project revenue is most important.you have shown a great effective ways to profitable site.

    Love to read it Sean.!!!

  3. Your comment about how many plugins is way off base. There are (as of Mar 18) Extend your WordPress experience with 54,362 plugins. From:https://wordpress.org/plugins/

    1. Hello James,

      Thank you for your kind comment, I will have that in mind for future posts.

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