Multiple revenue streams on one content website

The Internet does not stand still; for webmasters, something changes every time and needs to be addressed in a different way. Many website owners have realized in recent years that relying solely on advertising revenue is no longer enough. Diversifying revenue streams is essential to the success and resilience of your content website. In this blog post, we'll take a closer look at the different ways to diversify your revenue streams and their benefits. Let's get started!

Ads: The basic source of revenue

Ads are often the core of revenue for content websites and also the first step website owners take to generate revenue from a website. With advertising networks like Google AdSense, it's also an easy task because with a little preparation and content, you can already be approved for Google AdSense. And then all you have to do is add a piece of code to the header. This will then automatically place ads on your website. It's a 'set it and forget it' thing that you can't achieve with many other revenue streams and therefore requires more active effort from you.

Ads only generate real revenue that you can use when you have tens of thousands of visitors to your website every month. For many websites that do not have such visitor numbers, it is therefore often a side income. However, this strongly depends on which industry or niche your website is in and how relevant this traffic is. Visitors from abroad to a Dutch-language website, for example, count for much less than the original target group.

In addition to advertising networks, you can also approach companies directly to make an advertising deal. As soon as you have achieved a certain level of awareness, companies can also approach you. They will then often provide you with an advertisement, the duration and placement of which you then decide together. If all goes well, the advertiser will receive an influx of visitors from your content website to their website. It is easy to track how often the ad is clicked and what type of user it is. We also recommend keeping track yourself with a tool such as Google Analytics or Microsoft Clarity. This way you can safeguard yourself in case there are comments at a later date. And avoid discussions about this with an advertiser.

Affiliate marketing

The big webshops that everyone knows all have an affiliate program, meaning a program and a way to link products, services and more on your content website. Once a user clicks on it and makes a purchase or conversion, you get a percentage for it. This can be used successfully on a content website, as you will naturally write about a problem or question in most articles and recommend a solution.

From a new dog leash that makes walking easier to a new book by the same author. In almost every industry, there are programs you can join, often grouped under a collector or marketplace, such as ShareASale, Tradetracker and many others. Join these collector affiliate programs or check with a company that seems interesting to you. You won't be the first to ask this question.

Sponsored content

Sponsored content is a way to generate income that requires active work on your part. This could be a blog post, a review, a video or a post on your website or social media channel, for example. These are then companies with a service or product that want to introduce themselves to your audience. If you spend even 5 minutes looking around social media, you'll soon come across it. As a content site manager, you may also consider this, but it's something to take with a grain of salt. Too much sponsored content can be distracting and smells like SPAM to many of your target audience that you have just painstakingly reached.

Memberships and subscriptions

Another tactic often used by others is to build a community of members or VIPs. In return, they often offer additional or exclusive content that "normal" users don't have access to. You can also provide an ad-free version of your website that does not show ads to logged-in users. To do this, conduct a survey of your users who return to your content website most often and see what they find most interesting. If you do this right, you will also build more trust and a loyal user base.

At this stage, it is also important that you run your content website as a business and apply for a Chamber of Commerce number. This is because you are obliged to do so as soon as you start selling products directly and/or processing payments yourself.

Selling digital products

A big step that content site webmasters can take is to sell your own digital (or physical) products. For example, if you find your own solution to a problem you encounter on a daily basis, you can offer it to your audience for a fee. Selling your own products is often a later step, when your website is already a few years old. This is because you are then more likely to actually sell them.

Examples of digital products are e-books, courses, merchandise or other own products that you can offer. Create a separate landing page for these products where you describe their benefits and show some user experiences. Of course with the option to buy them immediately. You can then link to this landing page in your other relevant content. In this way, you ensure a natural influx of visitors and also more justification for this page from the perspective of search engines such as Google.

Multiple revenue streams make your website stronger

Building multiple revenue streams makes your website stronger and more resilient to unforeseen circumstances. Just 1 revenue stream can fail completely or be drastically reduced. Ads are the biggest flexible factor here. They can fluctuate monthly and usually have many ups and downs. Both upwards and downwards.

Spreading your opportunities therefore makes you more resilient to setbacks and can save your content website and make it more sustainable. This allows you to focus on what you created the content website for - content.

Have you already taken steps to generate more revenue for your website? Which of these have you already implemented? Let us know!