Time for another reader poll – this one is on a topic that many bloggers are getting into – monetizing your blog by selling something of your own from it.
Many bloggers make money by selling other peoples products with advertising or affiliate programs – but do you have something of your own to sell and are you doing it?
What you sell might include an e-book, membership are, consulting services, training, a DVD, real hard cover book, T-shirts….. anything!
n
{democracy:51}
Once you’ve voted and if you’ve said ‘yes’ – I’d love to hear what type of product or service you sell!
At the moment, I sell bbPress Forum Theme Customization & Plugin development. I’m probably going to be releasing my first product within the next month hopefully!
A membership and a few e-products on one blog, and a coaching program on the other for bloggers.
Selling your own product on a blog is the absolute #1 way to generate revenue from the blog.
Banners are chump change comparatively.
I am selling my services as a web developer and paid versions of my scripts.
I am an attorney.I give away “free” legal content on my blog and obviously sell legal services. Educational based.
I sell a Beginner’s Twitter book and a Beginner’s Blogger course via my site.
And via my travel blog, I sell a membership site to give people additional information about the island I live on.
I have two niches that I work in:
1. Blogging. I sell my expertise to build blogs for clients and also help with mentoring. I’m just about to launch my first membership site as well, which will be a multi-media course aimed as those who want to make an income while blogging.
2. Self development. I sell several multi-media courses on Management and Public Speaking. I also interviewed and recorded several ‘famous’ self-development gurus and created a product from that.
Hope that helps.
Andrew
Hellooooo….!
I teach bass guitar online. I started off by doing free lessons on youtube, which were within the ten minute quota. People were asking me to further the teaching within these lessons, so I realised that there was a market for me to sell longer, better quality lessons.
I have about eight of these, and never wanted to “drown” my site in them. My site is heavy on free content. I think it’s important to keep integrity.
I sell my expertise training courses to build blogs /wikis and to use Web2.0 tools for educators and also help with mentoring.
Hope that helps,
Nelba
I sell consulting services as well as an ebook/plugin combo for WordPressMU so you can host mutliple domains.
I sell software utilities that extend the features of Microsoft Excel.
I also am in affiliate programs for a couple similar products, I market books on related topics on Amazon, and I host AdSense ads. Over 75% of my revenue comes from all of these activities. The rest comes from software consulting which is marketed via my blog and the associated web site.
I’m a professional web content writer, and I blog for other companies. My own blog can be seen as samples. Since I also do SEO and online marketing, what I write about that subject (and that’s the topic of the blog at my company website) is evidence that I know my stuff.
So no sales pitches at my blog, but it’s sort of like a portfolio and job interview.
My blog has math video lessons and homework tips. I sell my own tutoring services on the blog. Haven’t had any internet-tutoring clients yet (what I really want); but I have converted a number of “real-life” clients.
I sell my book off my blog. I really don’t see me seeling consulting or any other thing like that–just books:)
Very good poll Darren. I currently sell an e-book and a set of excel templates for project managers. I also recommend some affiliate products (only the ones I believe in and use myself). It has been a very positive experience so far. I have learnt lot more about landing page optimization, copy writing, product development, sales promotion and customer satisfaction thru this than what I learnt in 2 years of my MBA.
Surely I think selling services right now is equally [or much more] profitable when put side-by-side with advertising networks. Well for me, it’s a sounder choice as well. It’s like making money with your real expertise and that’s much more valuable compared to just selling adspots or something. having the freedom do doing and profiting from it is also so much enticing.
I sell a PDF file that contains mnemonic images to help students learn the part of the brain and do well on their tests.
I’m trying to sell my writing services. Just started to really focus on it, so we’ll see how it goes.
Yes. Currently my book, but will be expanding it to teleseminars, as well as consulting services.
I sell an ebook, screencast program, membership site, and packaged teleconferences (taking audio, transcripts, and referenced links and services from past teleconferences and turning them into resources pages available for purchase). All are focused to the readership of my site. I’m beginning to offer affiliate opportunities.
I sell my optimization services in my blog but most of the time I just share my knowledge as I believe educating my readers is far more important than selling them.
We sell our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook on our website. We also have an online gourmet product boutique where we’ve gathered a bunch of great gourmet items we sell. Soon we’ll be debuting our “Academy” where we’ll sell my cooking class videos, cooking tips audio podcasts, and Restaurant Social Media Training Course.
We are a business blog software company. We use our own software obviously, but also have over 500 clients on the Compendium platform all focused on demand generation through blogging.
Sell my novels (ebook and print). Blog about tech writers transferring into fiction writers; have an Amazon store.
I sell fine art photographic prints linked through my Etsy shop on my blog, Blue Satin Sashes. Readers can also link directly to my other business website, Bloom Creatives, and view writing samples and the rest of my photo portfolio.
I’ll eventually sell from my blog (most likely not this one).
I feel it’s best to post more frequently, build trust & community, and basically “prove my worth” to the blogosphere before I sell anything.
I’ll get my fair share from the community, but I’m going to pay my dues first.
Live. Love. Laugh. Learn. Leave a Legacy.
j2s
It’s actually a combination for me.. but I do sell memberships and other products and use a blog as part of that process..
-Matt
A bag pattern!
I have a couple of affiliate 125 ads for some of the online services that are relevant to my readers but the return is very small. I have just opened an Amazon Store and I have made more from that in a week or so than from the affiliate linkis in six months!
I am wary of Google Adsense because I don’t want to be seen as overtly commercial!
I sell source files of some programs. But the bulk of income is still affiliate sales and yes, some adsense
I sell a Japanese language etextbook but not very successfully yet :( Though the site was started only in April so I still have faith :)
I have an e-book called “Guide to Getting Started with Social Media for Artists and Arts Organizations.”
It really grew out of my blog (which is about business skills for artists). When I sat down to write it, I used posts that I’d written as the ‘bones’ of the book. The overhead is low, and the blog and the book really support each other!
We sell The Expat Cookbook… A cookbook for how to make “from scratch” recipes for people from the US who live abroad and can’t buy food from back home… Like “sour cream” and “peanut butter”…
Our website is about Uruguay and our blog is about our daily life in Uruguay… and we have a forum as well.
We are getting ready to relaunch another site in the next 2-3 weeks with a product that details how to successfully create a website, blog, forum and product… Aimed at people who want to live abroad, just like us.
I do not sell my own products on my site, however I have been thinking about what type of products would work best for my site. It is a movie blog geared towards women. I am thinking about an ebook, but now sure how well that will go over.
I have also considered selling a line of products like T-shirts, mugs, etc with my logo and cool movie quotes.
Actually, I am thinking to Sell my own Ebook from my blog. But to sell out my book, I need to write that book in a very interesting manner.
So, I Started my Ebook writing on “Need of Blogging in our life along with microblogging”…. How’s my idea…??? Hope will attract many users.
Hi Darren,
I am only in my 4th week but with almost 500 unique visitors a day and climbing I would like to offer some services/products directed at my reader base.
I think I would offer an e-book free to increase subscriptions and many should build up more people…
How many visitors a day did you have when you started adding products?
Not yet, but there is no telling what the future may bring. I am considering working on an ebook sometime within the next two years.
I am actually going to tell you what I want to sell on my blog since I do not currently sell anything.
In the near future I really want to start an ebook.
I currently don’t sell anything on my site, but I have been doing some research with my growing number of readers (site is only 3 months old). There seems to be a consensus that an e-book along the lines of “15 Minutes to an Extraordinary Marriage” is greatly desired (I have posts and more ideas that fit this theme). I hope to get started on it over the holidays. In the meantime, I thought about creating a smaller, free e-book for those that sign up to my email list.
I haven’t been blogging long, but I wrote an ebook (40 pgs) on how to install, configure, and use the Subscribe2 WordPress plugin. I sell that on a separate page from my blog.
I created a new product called Twitter Background Effects, a series of short video clips that teach people how to create their own backgrounds and advertisements for their blogs to generate additional income from their blogging and twitter efforts.
I don’t have this product set up on my blog because other content will cause people to click away from the product.
Creating the product was easy and no one else has made these videos, but getting traffic from other bloggers and pay-per-click ads has been a headache.
if people like the product, I plan on creating a full course that teaches people how to grow their blog readership and sales using graphic design. I create my own 125×125 ad banners and found this to be the cheapest and fastest way to start getting traffic to a new blog or website.
Thanks for letting me share this with Problogger and the Problogger community!
Robert
I sell Internet marketing services for small businesses and I’m working on an ebook and/or membership program as well.
Not selling any of our own product, however we are providing reviews and recommending other products to our users and visitors.
I offer my Votre Vu Luxury French Skincare samples and product giveaways to my readers. I also offer specials periodically and announce new product launches. Our products are getting incredible reviews, tons of press coverage and celebrities are starting to give testimonials. The company offers skincare, hair & body products for men and women comparable to high end lines found in top department stores but at 1/4 the price. We also offer a home business opportunity at ground level since we launched in January 2009 in the USA.
I sell an e-book and am writing another.
I sell ebooks on dressing with style, and packing for travel, that I write, I also have mention of the image consulting services that I offer from personal shopping to colour analysis.
i sell my services as a makeup artist.
I sell an e-book.
I am starting to sell kits on my blog–I have 3 different Glitter Decoupage Ornament Kits that I’m selling, and a couple of Stamping and Embossing Supply kits.
Here’s the link:
http://makegreatstuff.com/order-kits/
I also make videos on how to use the kits:
http://makegreatstuff.com/videos/
I’d love it if you’d take a look! :-)
Currently, I am not selling anything except providing the free advice from my own experiences. However, I am planning to start offering consulting services later on.
I’m selling a science fiction novel I wrote in blog format. It’s the online journal of an android Xenobiology Professor.
I’ve just recently transition the blog from the a journal-story format to a genera science/biology blog selling the book. I’d appreciate tips on how to better organize my layout.
I’m also not sure if I’m even taking the right direction with the new content. I’m not a biologist so it’s hard to generate new non-fictional content, and I don’t like constantly referencing wikipedia and other blogs.
http://xenobiology.blogspot.com