You have made the transition from traditional print media to an online publication. Now you want to understand how to monetize that shiny new website. Following are some ideas that will get you started.
Advertisements
For many, advertisements is the leading revenue generator.
Pay per click is an easy way to get started if you don’t have the sales team to pursue direct advertising. The advertiser will pay you a pre-determined fee for each click on their advertisement. I suggest you explore services that take care of all the accounting for you.
Direct advertising can be the most lucrative option, since you can often get a fixed long-term fee. This works well when your advertiser has a specific interest in reaching your audience.
Since you will likely have an installed advertising base from your print publication, you can offer an advertisement on the website for an additional fee or include it in a bundle package, making your overall advertising offerings more attractive.
For direct advertising, it will be important to provide data that shows the amount of potential views that advertisement will receive. Most hosting providers provide detailed web analytics that will be invaluable for data collection. You can also try Google’s free web analytics tool.
Paid Content
If you have access to exclusive data, such as research reports, transcripts of speeches, etc., offer those pieces of content for a fee. Most modern shopping carts will allow you to accept payment for downloaded digital products.
I advise against trying to monetize the general content, such as the regular articles that your publication offers, since that is what drives the vast majority of the new traffic to your website.
Memberships
Monthly or annual dues can be collected in return for special benefits such as access to paid content, receipt of content before it hits the press, special email alerts, etc.
Affiliate Programs
Many products and services have affiliate programs, where if someone clicks on an advertisement on your website, that is part of the affiliate program, and purchases something, you will share in the revenue. Consider working with key vendors to find ways you can add value to their services and offer additional promotional opportunities in return for an increased revenue share.
Services
Do you have any services that your publication provides that can be automated and offered entirely online? Even if the entire process can not be automated the time savings can be significant.
Make sure that you have the ability to accept payment easily online. It does not hurt to more ways to collect revenue; however, be sure you consider any transactional fees.
How are you monetizing your online publication?
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