While there are many strategies for how to monetize your content, ultimately you have to create content that someone actually cares about. Here’s a few tips to do that.
What should I create content about?
Something you know a lot about or something that you want to learn about. A good rule of thumb is that if it is something you are constantly talking about that would be an easy thing to start creating content about. A big mistake that a lot of people make is that they spend a lot of time figuring out their niche. My recommendation is just pick something and the good news is that if you get tired of it or determine it is not a niche that will be profitable you can always change!
Focus on value you provide rather than value received
Focus on how you add value rather than the return on that value. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you should ignore your return – however, if you are able to create content that people really enjoy and find value in you’re more likely to increase traffic to your website. The more traffic you generate the better your return. So, identify value in the market place (what people want) and determine how to provide it to them.
Do about something you care about
My mistake when I first started trying to monetize my content was to try to determine would make money. Ultimately, I fell into a decision making paralysis and never did anything. Frustrated at my inaction I quit and never actually monetized anything. Instead of falling into the same trap find something that you actually care about and would be willing to do for free – or already do for free anyway! Alternatively, if you are having trouble determining what you are passionate about just pick something. If you pick something and either fail fast or determine that you are not passionate about it then just pick something else. With persistence you will find something you really enjoy which will resonate with others.
Know your audience
Spend as much time identifying and researching your audience as you can. This can be done through question and answer websites like Quora, joining LinkedIn groups, attending tradeshows, or even getting out and talking to people around you about your subject or industry. Your goal should be to become a subject matter expert and your content is the go to place for that subject. While developing that reputation may take time, it is more likely that you get there if you have a customer obsessed mentality.
Help your audience solve a problem
Find the biggest problem possible and start developing solutions to that problem. To me this ties back to focusing on adding value. The greater the problem you solve the greater your return.
Be consistent with publishing
Start a routine of writing one article a day or develop one product idea to start. Eventually, your habit will compound and you will start to generate traffic and interest in what you are doing. Also, have a consistent cadence in your posts as well so your audience (whether that be an email list or a social media website) will get into the habit of viewing your content.
That said, while you should be consistent on posting be sure to go back and refine your content as your audience is going there to get their questions answered not see the number of posts you have. Think about your content as a product release strategy. While you need to continue to come up with new and innovative ideas you should also go back and refine your ideas to make them even better through more clear thoughts and expanding on concepts.
The best advise that I can think of is just keep refining your approach and content. If you are relentless in your pursuit you will achieve your goal!
Check out this article for when it is the right time to monetize: Website Monetization Strategies
Also, if you’re curious about how to increase your content creation history see here: Increase Content Creation Efficiency