How to monetize equity research blog

11 replies
Hello.

I make posts covering various stocks and receive a decent amount of traffic for each submission. I've just signed up for AdSense but this is probably not the best route. How can I monetize traffic that is comprised of people interested in equities? I do NOT want to push any trashy ClickBank products or scams. I need something that will make me money but not destroy my credibility.

Many thanks.
#blog #equity #monetize #research
  • Profile picture of the author vishwa
    You may go with some Forex or online trading products which will lead you some great commissions,
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  • Profile picture of the author MegaHold
    Forex is not directly related to stocks. And Andrew, I didn't mention building traffic; I was asking about monetization strategies.
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  • Profile picture of the author MegaHold
    Trying this once more... hopefully someone can give me some ideas.

    Perhaps I could sell some kind of service on the side, such as custom equity research reports?
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Three ideas.

      Start a paid weekly newsletter. Give your recommendations at a price. Find a niche where there is demand and supply your newsletter that meets the demand. Don't try to cover all equities. Choose a particular sector that you know and focus on people that have the same interest.

      Start a paid membership site. Build a community of people that have the same interests. You become the discussion leader but allow various types of interaction with you and the other members on your site. The idea is to create a "hangout" where passionate folks in the niche can get their daily "fix."

      Create your own product. It could be a handbook, a video course, a trading system, or just a comprehensive guide to equities. You have knowledge on the subject. You might also interview other experts for their views. Since your chosen subject is a volatile landscape you should have no problem creating one product after another.

      Do market research to see where the demand lies then get creative to find a unique solution to that demand with your paid product. Target your marketing to just those that want what you offer.

      That's really the key to any successful Internet business!

      The very best to you,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Yaro
    Have you considered creating a product or service of your own to sell?

    Advertising and affiliate product are a good starting point, but you will do better with your own products.

    Why do people read your blog? Are they trying to make money using a process you know a lot about? Perhaps you can start a coaching program around that?

    Yaro
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    • Profile picture of the author MegaHold
      Originally Posted by Yaro View Post

      Have you considered creating a product or service of your own to sell?

      Advertising and affiliate product are a good starting point, but you will do better with your own products.

      Why do people read your blog? Are they trying to make money using a process you know a lot about? Perhaps you can start a coaching program around that?

      Yaro
      Good ideas, thanks.

      Well, as I said, affiliate products are a no-no because it's largely hyped up garbage. Advertising I could certainly look at, but I think bigger buyers would prefer to place media buys with massive traffic generators, not independent blogs.

      People read the blog because I give short and sweet analyses of public equities (i.e. stocks). I cover business fundamentals and provide graphs and illustrations to complement the articles. My articles, to readers, are either investment opportunities or simply interesting articles to read.

      I have no process as such, as I like to look many different companies, industries, opportunities, etc. Perhaps I could sell some kind of course... since my website is research-based, I was thinking of selling custom research services, though I'm not sure that would sell. I suppose there's no harm in testing though.

      To Steve: Thank you very much, fantastic words. I will think about those options now!
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  • Profile picture of the author Ceeyee
    We are in the investment niche too.
    May I ask how you marketed your blog to generate the traffic? Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author MegaHold
      Originally Posted by Ceeyee View Post

      We are in the investment niche too.
      May I ask how you marketed your blog to generate the traffic? Thanks.
      Social media only at the moment... places like Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, etc. are all good if you manage to pick up some initial buzz. If you have quality content, people tend to want more of it! I think the traffic is relatively easy in this niche, because you're helping people make money essentially (or just feeding their interests), but monetizing is a lot harder.
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  • Profile picture of the author Talanexor
    The money is always in the list. Start building an email list and then find relevant products/offers to promote to that list.

    If you don't like AdSense, try signing up to BuySellAds.com and offering advertising space directly there. You'll probably make more money.

    Also, I agree that the real money is in creating and promoting your own products. Ebooks and coaching and video tutorials are all great, but I think that in your niche you could make an absolute killing with some simple tools - calculators etc.

    If you can get someone to code you up a tool or calculator - say for calculating investment yields, portfolio proportions etc - you'll probably find it much easier to sell than yet another infoproduct.

    P.S. I'm also working on another way to monetize blogs - DM me if you want details.
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    I'd at least get Adsense on it for now until you come up with something. You may be pleased with the results.

    I think there are some very expensive, high quality paid newsletter publishers that would work out an affiliate relationship with you. These aren't on Clickbank so you may have to try some newsletters and the ones that are a good fit with your audience could be a great product to promote.

    If you work out a private arrangement be sure to get recurring commissions.

    You could build your own list and promote the newsletters that way.
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  • Profile picture of the author jbmarwood
    Hey,
    I'm interested to know the name of your site because I'm in the same niche and we might be able to work together.
    My blog is at JB Marwood Blog

    I promote my online course there so maybe there's a way we could work together?
    Cheers
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