If you’re not repurposing your business’s online content for monetization purposes, you’re missing out on an untapped stream of content revenue. All of the blog posts, videos, infographics, social media posts, photos, and other assets you create as part of your digital marketing strategy can be used and reused in different ways to maximize your earning potential.

How to Monetize Content

The businesses that really thrive in today’s digital landscape are the ones that understand why content creation is an excellent source of income. Too many organizations phone it in when it comes to their blog posts or social media, delegating the task to an intern or neglecting it altogether. Great content can not only convert but can also become a profit-generating powerhouse.

Once you’ve invested the resources into creating content for your business, you’ll want to make the most of it. There are many different ways that you can turn a direct profit with your existing content, including:

• Affiliate marketing: Some companies, like Amazon, allow you to earn a commission by linking to their products using a special affiliate link. Although there are requirements for properly disclosing these links, it’s easy to go back in and add links to your existing content when appropriate once you join their affiliate program.
• Sponsored content: While this approach may not be suitable for every company, some small businesses and entrepreneurs can generate new revenue streams by collaborating with larger companies to create sponsored content.
• Digital products: Any blog post, article, tutorial, video series, or other educational content you create can be turned into digital products, such as e-books, online courses, and templates, which you can sell. Often, you can make a valuable digital product by simply combining several already-created pieces of content and expanding on them slightly.
• Membership and subscription models: If you typically provide educational resources for free, you can easily implement a paywall for members to access bonus content or additional information. Depending on your business, a subscription model might be another option. Consider tiered pricing with different member benefits for each price point.
• Selling advertising space: If you have a lot of traffic to your content hubs, consider offering advertising options to related, but not competitive, businesses. You can create banner ads, newsletter promotions, podcast ad reads, or other promotional spots that companies can pay to occupy.

Your content can also indirectly impact your bottom line through lead generation, providing incentives to sign up for your email list, and attracting brand partnerships and collaborations. The options for making money with your content are nearly endless.

Assessing Your Existing Content

Before you start monetizing your content, it’s essential to take inventory of what you already have on hand to use. Conduct a thorough content assessment across all platforms, including your website, social media channels, email campaigns, video libraries, and more. Catalog each piece of revenue-generating content by topic so you can view your usable assets at a glance.

If you’re unsure where to start, review your analytics. Your highest-performing content should give you an indication of what your audience is looking for. Look for metrics like engagement, shares, and search rankings to see what’s resonating. These pieces will serve as a strong foundation for digital content monetization, as they’ve already proven their value.

Practical Content Revenue Implementation & Tools

Once you have a list of the content you have on hand, you can brainstorm the best way to repurpose it for future content. For example, you can easily turn a blog post into a video, a podcast episode into a blog post, an infographic into a social media post, and more. This way, you have a bank of new content ideas without having to reinvent the wheel each time.

Several tools are available to help you repurpose your content, regardless of your budget. Tools like Google Analytics can tell you which pages or blog posts get the most traffic on your website, while websites like Canva can help you create graphics and ebooks with premade templates.

Next, you will need to develop a content calendar to space out your monetizing content. No one likes to feel like they’re being pitched to all the time. It’s crucial to balance your standard free content with your sponsored posts, member exclusives, or ads for your own paid content.

Over time, you will want to monitor the analytics of your monetizing content to see what works and what doesn’t. Your best-sellers will give you an indication of what your audience wants more of.

Monetizing content isn’t about choosing between serving your audience and generating revenue: it’s about finding ways to do both. By assessing your existing content, repurposing popular pieces, and implementing monetization strategies, you can create multiple streams of income that also serve to position you as a thought leader in your industry.

Want to learn more about increasing content revenue and developing your business sense? As a business coach, I write weekly blog posts on leadership, industry growth, and related topics. Click here to sign up for my articles on the keys to entrepreneurial success.

Coach Dave