Is it possible to make money with a website without selling anything? The answer is YES, and in this post, I will reveal 6 alternative methods to monetize your website.
Does being a website owner sound appealing?
Building a blog is one thing; however, creating a PROFITABLE website can make has made me (and loads of others) a full-time income and beyond!
That being said, when it comes to website monetization, there are two myths I hear often:
MYTH #1 You need to sell physical or digital products or services to make money with a website.
MYTH #2 You need lots and lots of traffic to make money.
Selling products is not for everyone, but luckily there many ways to make money online without selling a product or service…
Below, I’m going to explain exactly how you can build a profitable website and earn income without having to sell anything.
If you’re starting a website or looking for ways to make money online; or, maybe you’re after alternative methods to monetize your blog, this post is for you…
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Do you want to start your own blog? Check out my step-by-step guide on how to set up a blog in less than 15 minutes. Click here to get started.
Here are 6 ways you can make money with a website without selling anything:
1. Placing Ads on Your Website
This is probably the most obvious and reliable method for monetizing a website without selling anything, so it’s only right we start here.
Advertising is a way for companies to jump in front of your audience, in the hope that readers will click through to buy their product or service. In return, you will get paid for every successful click. This is known as pay-per-click advertising.
Getting started with ads is easy, and, platforms like Google Adsense will connect your website to thousands of publishers with just a few clicks.
That means you can start making money from your website with little traffic. Click here to apply to Google Adsense.
BUT WAIT…
As you grow and you start attracting more website visitors, you can look to move over to premium ad platforms such as Mediavine and AdThrive.
These premium advertisers will connect you to higher paying publishers, therefore earning you more money per click.
Getting your website approved for these premium ad platforms will require a more significant amount of quality traffic.
I suggest starting with a Google Adsense account and transitioning over to a premium ad platform once you can.
2. Accept Sponsored Posts
Websites with high quality and targeted traffic can look to accept sponsored posts.
What is a sponsored post?
Companies and advertisers will often pay relevant websites (with a specific audience) to post content that looks native and natural to your audience, yet subtly promotes their product.
The idea is for the sponsored post content to blend and almost be disguised as a normal post.
Note: If you do accept sponsored posts as a way to make money, it’s important to notify your readers that this is a paid post. Transparency is key.
So, if you have a website or blog with a niche-specific audience, you could earn money through sponsored posts (without selling anything).
When done correctly, sponsored posts can be a powerful method to monetize your site, without covering your blog with unattractive advertisements or forcing products down your audience’s throat.
3. Build an Email List
I urge you to go check out any well-known blog or website…
There’s a good chance that they will invite you to join their email list at some point. That’s because…
“the money is in the list”
If you truly want to make money online, you will need to build an email list of engaged and targeted readers.
But, why is an email list so crucial to making money from your website?
REASON #1 you can build rapport and a stronger relationship with your readers by providing high-quality and exclusive content via emails.
REASON #2 you can notify your audience when you have new content. This will increase how often a reader will return to your website, which will increase the amount of income your earn through ad placements and other methods.
REASON #3 when someone visits your website, you have one shot to convert that person into something profitable. However, with an email list, you have the opportunity to get paid from a reader over and over again.
REASON #4 if you ever look to sell your website in the future, having a targeted email list can increase your website’s value dramatically!
So, start building an email list today, as it can become a future goldmine in many ways.
4. Start Affiliate Marketing
This is hands down my favorite monetization strategy.
With affiliate marketing, you don’t have to sell anything to make money with your website. Instead, you can simply earn a commission for recommending someone else’s product or service.
This takes the hassle out of being a sales person, and dealing with customers. Once set up, affiliate marketing is a great source of passive income.
Many well-known websites make their income using affiliate marketing.
>> 9 Role Model Affiliate Marketing Examples
There many eCommerce websites that are willing to pay you a commission for referring customers. Amazon is one of them.
In every niche, you’ll find awesome affiliate products that you can mention to your audience.
If you’re just getting started and you’re looking for affiliate products to recommend, check out Clickbank and Amazon Associates.
>> How to Make Money on Instagram With Clickbank
I also have a FREE affiliate marketing email course that will teach you the secrets behind starting your own online empire with affiliate marketing.
You can sign up today be entering your email address below…
5. Rank and Rent Your Website
This is a new concept that I have been interested in recently.
Building and owning a website can be a valuable asset. However, not everyone has the knowledge, patience, or skill set to build a successful website…
That’s why a website that receives regular targeted traffic can be rented out (to the right person).
For example, a local plumber knows how to fix a leaky toilet, however, they probably don’t have a clue how to build a website that gets traffic.
If you can build a website that will bring in a constant flow of traffic and warm leads for plumbers, this can be extremely beneficial to a plumber.
So much so, they will most likely be willing to rent your website to get access to those leads.
This can be a great source of passive income from your website without selling anything.
Watch the video below to find out more about rank and rent.
6. Accept Donations from Your Readers
If you build a strong and engaging audience who appreciate your content, you will be surprised how many people will be willing to donate money to keep your website going.
Sites such as Wikipedia are kept alive from donations from its users.
This could be a great strategy and a way to make money without selling.
Even for websites that don’t receive thousands of monthly visitors, you can still earn a decent amount through donations (if you build a loyal audience).
Platforms such as PayPal and Patreon make it easy for your audience to send you donations.
You can even offer special thank you content as a bonus for those who have donated.
How to Build a Profitable Website
The strategies listed above show you how to make money with a website without selling anything…
HOWEVER, If you want to make money (enough to earn a full-time income), you will need to build a website worthy of making a profit.
In order to build a profitable website, there are few areas you MUST focus on three key factors…
KEY FACTOR #1 Content Matters
To build great content you will need to create great content!
But, what does great content actually look like?
Well, to produce the highest quality content on the web, you will need to think about the following…
- Search Engine Friendly – you can have the best website in the world, but if your site cannot be found, it’s useless. That’s why you have to create SEO friendly content.
- Providing Value – the content you serve your audience needs to be above informative. With every piece of content, you should aim to make it the best on the internet. Focus on creating content that is good enough to charge for (but give it away for free).
- Being engaging – speak directly to your audience. Share personal stories, and ask questions. Engage with your audience through social media and strike conversations.
- Long-form Content Works Best – it’s true! It’s proven that longer content keeps the reader engaged for longer, this will be a great SEO signal to Google. AND, long-form content will allow you to serve more ads in a single post (more money).
- Consistency – keep the good content coming. Aim to release new blog posts every week. This will keep your audience coming back for more – increasing your chances to make money.
- Shareworthy Content – creating good content is expected, however, producing share-worthy content will take your website to another level. Aim to make content that people can’t wait to send their friends. This will increase your chances of going viral.
Keep these important things in mind when creating your content.
TOP TIP: I use a system called bullet journaling to plan, schedule, and organize the content for my blog. Check out my post Bullet Journal for Work and Business to see how it works.
KEY FACTOR #2 Traffic
Earlier we identified that you don’t need heaps and heaps of traffic to make money from your website.
That being said, the more HIGH-QUALITY traffic you can generate, the more money you can potentially make.
Notice that HIGH-QUALITY is emphasized…
Here’s the thing, your ability to drive the RIGHT kind of people to your site will determine how profitable your website will be.
For example, let’s take a website about wedding dresses…
Their ideal target audience will most likely be newly engaged women (this is obvious, right?)
If this site was to receive one hundred thousand visitors a month, it would be useless if those visitors are all married men.
That’s why I suggest focusing on your ideal targeted audience, rather than bringing in random traffic.
BUT, how do you bring in highly targeted traffic?
This is the million-dollar question and the secret behind creating a profitable website. Here are a few ways to drive loads of highly targeted traffic.
- Search Engine Optimization – by ranking your website at the top of Google for key terms and phrases around your niche, you will bring heaps of super relevant visitors (people who have searched specifically for that topic) to your site.
- Social Media – platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are great free tools you can use to connect to the masses (most people are on social media). Post content that will attract your ideal audience and then invite them to check out your website or blog post.
- Build a Brand – building a strong brand presence in your niche is hard work…but it’s worth it! By building a reputation and a name that people can trust, you will make your website stand out. People will remember your brand and recommend your site to their friends.
- Pinterest – One of my favorite (and most successful) ways to drive traffic to my blog is through Pinterest. Create eye-catching pins and add them to your blog posts. This gives something for your visitors to pin to their Pinterest boards.
- Create Clickworthy Titles – creating blog posts on your website is a great way to attract visitors to your website on a regular basis. However, if your title is not enticing, no one will click through. Focus on creating click-worthy titles that will provoke curiosity.
>> Want to become a maser of traffic? Check this out
KEY FACTOR #3 Monetization
So, how do websites make money without selling anything? It all comes down to how well you can monetize your content, and make use of the ad space on your website.
Consider Ad Placement…
Ads are a great way to make money from a website, however, the placement of your ads can have a dramatic impact on the amount of money you can generate.
Most advertisers will pay you per click, BUT, you don’t want to overload your website will ads everywhere. This can slow down your website and affect the user’s experience.
That’s why you need to pick the most prime locations for your advertisements that will get the most exposure from your audience (without ruining their experience).
Finding the perfect spots to place your ad may require some patience and research…
BUT, once you find the best spot, the results will be worth it.
Afillaite Marketing with Intent…
As I mentioned earlier, this is personally my favorite way to monetize a website.
However, you must remember that you only stand a chance of making money when someone clicks through to the affiliate site.
Therefore, increasing your conversion rate will depend on how well you can entice people to click through.
Most people make the mistake of writing “Click Here”.
Does this make you want to click here? Probably not!
Instead, try to encourage your audience to click by jazzing up your sentences.
For example “Discover the affiliate marketing secrets I used to build an online empire“. This is way more intriguing, don’t you agree?
This one change in your affiliate marketing approach that can drastically improve your website results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make money with a free website?
The short answer is yes! There are many website builders (such as WordPress, Squarespace, and Blogger) that offer a free version. You can use some of the strategies in this article to make money online.
That being said, with a free website there will be restrictions; and some platforms may not allow you to place ads on the free version.
If you’re serious about making money with a website, I suggest starting a new website with paid hosting.
>> 7 unique ways you can make money blogging on Squarespace
How many views do you need to make money on a website?
It is possible to start earning money with as little as one hundred views.
How much money you make will depend on your website’s niche, quality of traffic, and method of monetization. This will be determined by a metric called CPM (cost per thousand impressions).
If your CPM rate is $6, that means you make $6 per every one thousand visitors. This will be different for every website.
It’s also important to bear in mind that some advertiser platforms will require a minimum number of monthly users before you can apply to be added to their ad network.
Which type of website is most profitable?
Blogs with ad placement and affiliate marketing are usually the most profitable type of website. That’s because they can attract tons of traffic and they have little overhead costs to maintain the site. Once the website is completed, it can become a reliable source of income.
That being said, any type of website is capable of making a profit if you follow the principles taught in this post.
Conclusion
I hope by now, you know how to make money with a website without selling anything.
Building a profitable website is hard work and requires patience.
However, if you use the principles and strategies in the post you’ll create a money-making machine, capable of producing residual income without selling any products.
