Whether running a website generating millions of unique hits each month or only a few dozen, everyone has the same question: how do I monetize my traffic?
The problem is online display advertising doesn’t do the trick. Consider:
- Nearly one-third of all U.S. web browsers have an ad blocker activated, up from 14% four years ago.
- Compensation is generally based on impressions, actions, or clicks. Good luck finding two trackers that agree on what happened on your website — these numbers are difficult to trust.
- Affiliate programs are slow to pay and attribution is suspect.
Offer direct placement sponsorships.
Instead of dealing with all of that, focus on securing a lead sponsor — someone who, for a flat fee, will be present on every page.
This is especially effective if you create an e-mail newsletter to share your content as it comes out. If you have an e-mail newsletter with a few thousand subscribers, it isn’t uncommon for companies to shell out a few hundred dollars for a logo at the top of that newsletter. This requires some hustle — you’ll have to reach out to potential sponsors individually or work with a network like Benja or PowerInbox — but can be well-worth it, especially since you don’t have to worry about tracking performance.
Look for the hidden opportunities to unlock value.
Your website may do more than you realize, especially if you have a login or form (like an e-mail newsletter sign-up). As I wrote in Hacker Noon, that “I’m not a robot” box is the equivalent of performing volunteer work for Google — when you identify images in that workflow, you provide labeling data for Google’ self-driving car project.
As a website owner, there are alternatives which allow you to monetize that activity. HCaptcha offers the same functionality as Google’s reCAPTCHA — bot prevention via image puzzles — but they’ll compensate you for completing those labeling tasks.
Sign up for hCaptcha here.
Become a Verified Publisher on Brave.
The Brave browser is taking a bold new approach: the browser includes an ad blocker by default, but uses its Basic Attention Token to compensate publishers and website owners based on the amount of time the user spends on their page.
This is certainly a more-fair way to compensate (as it’s based on time spent, an indicator of quality) and it offers a better experience overall (with no ads and faster load times).
The drawback, of course, is you need adoption of the Brave browser. While we wait for the adoption I (and many) believe is coming, you can sign up to be a Verified Publisher here.
Offer Your Services as a Consultant.
If you’ve developed an audience blogging about business, lifestyle, or anything that might position you as an expert on the topic, you’re in a prime position to find work as a consultant or advisor.
The best thing about this option: it doesn’t take much to test the water. Throw together a blog post, put up a “hire me” button on your website, and see what comes back.
Andrew J. Chapin is the Co-Founder & CEO of Benja, head of the benjaCoin token project, author of Art of the Initial Coin Offering, and a team member at Intuition Machines (mentioned in this post). This November, Andrew is running the New York City marathon for Athletes to End Alzheimer’s.