Free WordPress (WP) blogs can be a great way to get your feet wet in the world of blogging. However, it’s pretty rare to make much money from them compared to paid WP.
Free WordPress blogs are exactly what they sound like: free websites that run on WordPress software. Usually, you sign up for a website address through GoDaddy or another site, install WordPress into it using an automatic installer, create a blog, and start writing about whatever topic catches your interest.
However, monetizing a free WP blog is quite different from converting a paid WordPress blog into a money-maker. You may also need a WordPress SEO company to help you maximize your blog’s potential traffic.
Ways to Monetize Free WordPress Blogs
1. Advertisements
Many free WordPress blogs have advertisements, usually within the sidebar or sometimes the header. This means that you could also place ads within your content. Some companies will serve ads to your blog and provide you with a monthly payment based on how much traffic they estimate your blog receives.
But note that you need to have thousands of readers per day to make much money from this method.
2. E-commerce
People who want to buy things online will also visit blog websites, so it’s possible to monetize your free WP blog by hosting an e-commerce store on it. The best thing about this is that you can sell anything on your site. Then use PayPal or another payment service and keep all the profits yourself.
You can sell:
- Physical products that you create yourself or receive from other companies
- Digital products, such as ebooks or graphics
- Services like coaching, editing, design work, etc.
No matter what you sell on your e-commerce site, always display a payment button somewhere within your blog, preferably in the sidebar, so that people can easily make purchases. You can ship physical items through an external company of your choice.
In addition to your WP page, you can also sell your products or services on other platforms, such as Shopify. However, you also need techniques like SEO for people to land on your page. Hiring an experienced Shopify SEO agency helps if your goal is to make it your primary source of income.
3. Sell Ads to Others
If you don’t want to advertise someone else’s product, consider using an ad service that allows you to contact businesses directly and set up advertising campaigns yourself. Some of these services will even allow you to earn commission from sales you refer to other companies.
In addition, you need a lot of visitors before anyone advertises on your blog, but it is doable. Just make sure to research the ads thoroughly and always ask for references.
4. Freelance Writing
Another way to earn money from a free WordPress blog is through freelance writing jobs. This can take many forms: guest posts on other blogs, ghostwriting books or articles, writing advertising copy, etc. The possibilities are endless.
You should note that making money with free WP blogs won’t probably happen overnight. Even if you monetize successfully one day, it takes time to build enough readership and trust so that people want to buy from your website.
It also takes time to learn sales and marketing skills, especially when you don’t have much money for paid ads and other promotions. It may be frustrating at first, but if you stick with it and refine your techniques, you can turn even a free WP blog into a money-maker in the long run.
5. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing means you link products using a special tracking code and get paid when somebody buys something after visiting your linked website. It’s quite easy for somebody with a free WordPress blog to become an affiliate marketer because all they need is a unique tracking code and the ability to link to products.
You can join affiliate networks like Shareasale and use their tracking codes to find affiliate offers to promote. But if you decide to advertise on your own, be sure that your website complies with all terms of service for commissions.
6. Selling Ad Space
Some sites sell ad space directly to advertisers instead of an intermediary company. In this case, it’s up to you to find advertisers and sell them space as if you were hosting a big banner on your blog.
Selling ad space is usually more expensive than using a service like Google AdSense, but you also earn more per click and overall. The trick is to make these ads match your site’s content. They should be relevant and useful to readers and worth clicking. This will improve engagement and ensure that readers follow through with any purchases.
How to Attract People to Visit Your Free WP Page?
SEO
One of the best ways to attract users to visit your website is SEO. It means that you need to optimize your website so that search engines rank it high when people search for certain words. Search engines consider keywords in titles, improvements to loading speed, how recently the site was updated, etc.
For example, if you plan to sell financial services, you need to use relevant terms, such as “life insurance” or “home loans,” so that people looking for these services will land on your page. You may also hire an SEO specialist directly if you don’t have much time or knowledge of best practices. You may check SEO for financial services by Figment Agency if interested.
Social Media
Social media marketing is another way to increase traffic to your free WordPress blog. This involves sharing content across different social sites and ensuring that people see them in their newsfeeds. These could be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
The more people who follow you online, the more likely they will visit your website when they get the chance. Having an audience also makes it easier to sell ad space, products, affiliate links, etc. People tend to buy from someone they know and trust.
The Bottom Line
To make money with free WordPress blogs, you need to find a way of monetizing your website. Several options include freelance writing jobs, affiliate marketing, selling ad space directly to advertisers, etc.
Be aware that this won’t be an overnight process. Even the most successful monetization schemes take time and effort before they start making good money for you. You may speed up the process by hiring SEO specialists or using social media sites to attract visitors who can become long-time fans and customers.