More and more people are using technology to block advertisements from websites these days. Use of ad blockers has grown 30 percent to 236 million devices last year, according to the advertising consultants at PageFair. And that growth isn’t expected to stop, either.

In an era when technology empowers people to actively block advertising, traditional digital advertising on web pages seems to be coming to a close. This may seem like a big blow to making money online with a blog, but some websites are generating more income than ever for their owners. How do they do it?

When you’re wondering how to monetize a blog or a website, the answer is to first consider how you currently create value for the people that visit your site. What keeps them coming back?

Now consider how you can extend that value in way that also allows you to reap some financial reward for your efforts.

There are several ways to monetize your website or blog without traditional banner or PPC advertising. Depending on the implementation, these methods don’t just bypass an ad-blocking plugin, your visitors won’t even care that they do.

1. Lead Generation

If you run a business that offers a physical service, whether you’re a primary care provider, a plumber or a tutor, the primary purpose of your website or blog is to generate leads that bring in new customers.

If you have a successful website or blog but no business, then it may be time to leverage your site’s popularity to help you start a business.

With that in mind, it’s important to ensure your site is set up to make it easy to for prospective customers to contact you. It also must be professional-looking and helpful enough to give them a reason to want to contact you.

Email marketing is a great way to nurture leads and provide value to existing customers. When you’re using your website or blog to generate leads, getting visitors to sign up for your email newsletter is a primary goal.

Most of your visitors won’t simply hand out their address because you shoved a form in their face, however. Your website should provide enough value to them that they want to give you their email address.

One common way of enticing people to contact you or sign up for your newsletter is by offering something free. For SaaS companies or professional services, this is often an e-book or whitepaper that provides some greater insights into the industry they’re a part of. Local and online retailers can offer discount codes and coupons in the same way.

2. Affiliate Marketing

There’s no question that affiliate marketing has been one of the more popular methods of making money on the Internet for a long time. It’s a relatively easy way to directly translate high traffic and large communities into heaps of commission checks.

But despite a somewhat checkered past, affiliate sales are still an excellent way to monetize your blog without drastically altering it. Typically, all you need to do is add the links leading to the main sales page in your own content.

Affiliate sales is mainly a numbers game, however. If you have a website or blog that generates large amounts of traffic, then you may see a good return. Unless your website is an authority in a highly niche topic, you probably won’t see great results without great traffic.

When you embark on creating a website monetized with affiliate sales, one thing to keep in mind is how upfront you are with your audience about affiliate links. It’s important to stand behind the products you’re endorsing and be clear that you are endorsing them.

Blogs are one of the easiest types of site to set up for affiliate sales. At the end of each post, don’t forget to include a short paragraph about the product you’re endorsing along with its affiliate link.

3. Sponsorships

Sponsorships are the bread and butter of social influencers, and are often combined with affiliate marketing. Podcasters, YouTubers and Instagram divas don’t necessarily have to get all the fun, however.

If you’ve built your website, blog or community into a highly-engaged traffic machine, it may be worth approaching companies within your niche with an offer of including their product directly in your content.

Sending an email or LinkedIn message to a random businessperson looking for a handout won’t cut it, though. If you really believe your website’s audience can offer real value to a potential sponsor, then take time to get to know them.

After you’ve built up your list of business contacts, it’s time to sharpen your pencil and craft the perfect sponsorship proposal. Remember to keep your letter concise and focus on the value that a sponsorship will bring to their business.

4. Selling Physical or Digital Products

These days, you don’t necessarily need your own website to sell stuff online. There are a lot of options like Etsy, Amazon, EBay and more for small online retailers to choose from.

However, selling your products through a third-party e-commerce service means you may be paying higher transaction fees; you may pay a higher price from being so dependent upon the service. One account suspension could ruin your business.

Selling stuff on your own website may mean you work harder for each eyeball looking at your wares. But it does give you a level of control over your own business that can’t be arbitrarily taken away.

5. Ask for donations

Artists and personalities have existed on patronage of their fans and admirers since the dawn of time, it seems. If you’ve built a website with a thriving and active community, asking for donations in lieu of advertising can provide you with the means to approach your website as a full-time job.

Services such as Patreon that make donating to digital writers, artists and other creators have become a viable income-earner for those who have built up a highly-engaged audience.

Monetizing your blog takes some imagination

When you’re considering how to monetize a blog or website, the first consideration is always the health of your audience and community. The larger your following, and the more highly engaged they are with your content, the better your monetization efforts are likely to be.

Don’t forget to take into account your audience’s own attitudes about different types of marketing, however. Depending on the reactions of your site’s community, monetization could damage your audience without netting a profit.

If you’re not sure how your audience will react to the addition of an e-commerce shop or affiliate sales, be prepared to make a quick reversal depending on how it’s received. If your audience doesn’t shrink, your monetization may be worth keeping even if you have a few complainers.

A lot of website owners, both big and small, complain about the ad blockers. But with a little creativity, you can monetize your website or blog in a way that naturally fits in with your user experience, making your audience happy and making you some money.

About the Author: Pieter Konink is a customer experience specialist from Portland, Oregon who specializes in using content strategy and community management to support web-based products and services. Read more from Pieter at: http://pieterkonink.com, or follow him @pieterkonink

Feature Image: Pixabay