What the advanced online visitors now demands is premium content, yet they won’t pay for it. They also want this information available on all devices. The content publisher is faced with the task of providing this superior content, while attempting to monetize it somehow.
This the delicate balance that publishers are faced with, and that’s finding ways to be profitable while complying to the readers demands for better display. Their biggest annoyance being the constant ads that they’re forced to view, this when visiting your blog.
The blinking and flashing banners, the popup ads are how content publishers monetize their sites, this so they can provide their information for free.
What the finicky readers are finding is that the advertising is becoming too obtrusive. So many are now turning towards ad-blocking technology to avoid seeing these ads.
The Content Publisher’s Predicament
For anyone who operates a blog or app, the dilemma they face is how to monetize their content. The traditional way to generate profits was once the visitor is on their page, they would hopefully click on an ad, then the publisher gets paid for it.
What most readers want is an ad-free experience, so content publishers need to comply by minimizing their ads, while looking for better sustainable ways to continue delivering their content for free, while monetizing it without annoying their audience.
There are now free iPhone apps for instance, which allows users to block ads which are shown on their Safari browser or apps.
If they have the ad blocking app installed on their phone, they have the option of viewing the ad and if they do, they’re the one’s getting paid for clicking on it.
Well Crafted “Native Ads”
So the key becomes publishers to develop new revenue streams while still engaging their readers, this without sacrificing user experience.
What this translates into is the readers spending more time on your blog by reading more pages, which helps boost revenue while increasing search engine optimization.
Native ads can be carefully planted where the visitor browses your site, as these ads are hidden in the text, videos, tags, and banner images, which offers creative earning opportunities.
Strategic Use Of Images
What images does is precisely communicates messages that words can’t speak, so they’re frequently used in blog posts and articles, and are especially popular on social media.
When incorporating marketing campaigns with compelling images which are contextually relevant, does is they offer a complete user experience.
What you’re attracting are more views without disrupting the flow. There are now advertising platforms which pays the publisher for displaying images instead of banners.
Most images are expected and accepted on content, and the reader is less likely to experience “banner blindness” when looking at an image.
What’s used is a content recognition algorithm to match the topic of the content with an appropriate image, thus creating a naturally flowing experience for the user.
These relevant images can also help in making the content more attractive, and any type of improved user experience or reader retainment, translates into better click through rates.
Offering Premium Content
Whether this is implemented through a subscription or membership based model, or through application downloads, what offering premium content entails is providing certain content for free, then charging a fee for the more valuable content.
Authority sites which has strong brand recognition with valuable information often use this approach. One method is offering a limited number of articles that a reader can view, this before they need to login or subscribe.
Some publications will offer access to whitepapers or propriety content just for their subscribers.
This model also works for a number of other genres, such as online gaming, where bonuses are only available once the gamer pays a fee.
Productivity platforms which offers a service such as cloud computing or storage, also successfully offers this revenue model. The basic service is usually free, but then a monthly or annual subscription fee is required for more space or benefits.
These subscription models are a win-win situation, as they provide the user with a valuable service, while providing the business with a monthly predictable revenue stream. It’s also scalable, offering improved service to the consumer.
Sponsored Advertorial Content
This model works with blogs which are extremely popular, and that’s monetizing it with relevant “sponsored” advertorial content.
This is popular with content publishers who wants to maintain control over their content, while retaining their readership, allowing them to earn ad revenue.
There are sponsored ad platforms which allows publishers to reach more brands and agencies, so they could monetize their site better. What statistics show is that readers will view sponsored ads 25% percent more than they would display ads.
Affiliate Marketing
Once you’ve generated a strong following on your blog, or choose to use paid ads, affiliate marketing is an excellent option to monetize your content.
Affiliate marketing if strategized properly can create a steady stream of income. What affiliate marketing does is pays you a certain percentage for a product or service that you promote on your site.
E-commerce is on the rise, and most vendors will rely on affiliates to promote their product or service, provided that the theme of your blog complies with their niche.
Affiliate networks are the “middle-men” who screens and connects you the publisher with merchants offering products to sell. Your job as an affiliate is to drive traffic by promoting their products on your blog.
Monetize Content
The battle to generate revenue for publishers is an uphill battle, as traditional display ads are constantly blocked, so new creative “out-of-the-box” methods are needed.
All what’s required however is a targeted audience that’s hungry for information, and a way to convert them.