A recent study conducted by the New York Times showed that 95% of blogs fail at their launch. This is exactly what happens with most startups. The same team of researchers analyzed some of the basic causes of failure and suggested the best approaches to maintaining your blog and making money with it.In this post, we’ll let you know about some free and paid ways of promoting your blog (or personal website).

Generate Content Regularly

You should publish posts on a regular basis. From small infographics and videos to lengthy posts with colorful images — all types of content will do. The recommended length of an average post is 1,000-1,500 words depending on the topic. You should also search the Internet for fresh ideas and post new stuff at least twice a week.Having a passion for writing is a must. However, you should also manage your time effectively. If you have no time for writing posts regularly, you can hire some professional writers online to prepare custom writing essays for your website. It will save you plenty of time and effort.

Try Your Luck with CPC/CPM Advertising

By placing ads on your website, you will automatically make new friends online and increase your credibility in their eyes. Having partners is always an advantage, but try staying away from direct competitors. There are two types of such ads:

• Cost-per-click (CPC): Those are banners that a blog’s owner places in the post or sidebar. Every time a user clicks on them, an owner gets paid.
• Cost-per-1,000 impressions (CPM): This type of advertising depends on the number of users viewing a certain offer.

Don’t know where to start yet? There are many platforms for placing promoting your blog. The most popular and trustworthy one is, of course, Google AdSense, but you may also try Infolinks or media.net. By using them, you will not need to waste your time on face-to-face meetings — you just place a banner on your website, and the search engine selects ads that are related to the topics covered in your blog. 

Get Involved in Affiliate Marketing

Perhaps, you have heard about affiliate marketing? This is another effective way of monetizing your blog which works like this:

• Let’s say someone has a service or product they’d like to promote. This person offers a blog owner a percentage from every deal (sale) they close. For this to happen, a customer should click on the link on your blog and arrive on the seller’s website where they should make a purchase.
• They provide the blog owner with an original link that tracks the affiliate code. That is how the seller will know whether the customer came from your blog.
• A blog owner has to add the affiliate link to the blog. Banner ads can help you do that most effectively.

Networks like Amazon Associates will help you implement this idea. It is also possible to develop private partnerships with sellers who are involved in affiliate programs. 

Make Them Want to Donate

The modern world is all about donating. Donating money to young talents is a widespread practice, so why not ask your users do the same? Do not be shy to request their financial assistance to help you create more exciting content.It’d also be a good idea to set up a PayPal merchant account because most people today make their online payments using this system. 

Begin E-mail Listing

This is one of the top three ways of making money online. Thanks to it, Darren Rowse, a famous Australian blogger, managed to double his traffic and achieve stable profits. It works like this: every time a new publication is posted on the website, its subscribers get notified by email. This way the readers are motivated to follow the link and continue reading the new content. 

Guest Blogging

If you are really good at writing, you may share your skills with the visitors of other websites. Writing for other blogs will let their readers discover your own blog or reach it by following one of your links. Do not forget to attach your bio to the guest post. Pick only the most successful blogs! 

On-page SEO

Search engine optimization is another effective way to increase your website’s traffic. Yes, it takes time, so you’d better hire an SEO expert who can do this quickly and effectively. SEO includes:

• Relevance
• Content quality
• Usage of keywordsUser experience
• Website speedInternal linking
• Compatibility with various devices
• Authority
• Metadata
• Hashtags
• Schema markup
• Tagged images and videos
• Domain names
• Evergreen content 
• Headlines & permalink
• Feedback 
• Local SEO

After mastering every element, you will be able to achieve the best results. In general, experimenting with keywords is the most effective method. 

Leave Feedback on Other Blogs

Everyone loves to learn what other people say about their work. Thus, you can attract other users and blog owners to your website by sharing your opinion. It is OK to leave a link to your blog or post in the comments, but do not forget to say a few good words about other people’s works.