There are many ways to monetize your online presence, including ads on your website, paid posts on social media, or via email. While social media may be newer to the monetization scene than websites, emails, or blogs, it has quickly become one of the most common and profitable ways to monetize your online presence.
In 2023, for example, the global influencer marketing market was worth an incredible $21.1 Billion dollars. This was triple the number in 2019, so it’s clear that brands are spending more money than ever on social media influencers.
And there has even been a noticeable shift towards smaller influencers (aka micro-influencers) who have a strong connection to their followers. But this doesn’t have to end with your social media following. Building and nurturing an email list along with your social channel is a great way to maintain and strengthen these relationships that brands are paying to get in front of.
Having an email list of subscribers can also help you take monetization to another level by utilizing your strategy across multiple platforms. You’re not solely relying on one or two apps anymore, which is vital in this evolving landscape because, as we’ve seen, things can change very quickly, and social media channels can disappear at the drop of a hat.
An email list also gives you significant control over your audience. You decide when and how to interact with your subscribers without the influence of algorithms.
But how can you transition your monetization strategy from social media and apply it to email? It’s very similar! Here are three ways — plus a bonus! — on how to get started:
- Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts on social media usually take the form of a video or a photo/collection of photos posted with a compelling caption. With email, you would use your email service provider (ESP) to send versions of these same posts. These can be an entire email or one section dedicated to promoting a product, good, or service.
Unlike character or time limits, email offers unlimited space to feature sponsored products or information, which gives you more room to negotiate higher earnings for your work.
- Selling Space in Your Emails
With email marketing, because you have total control over the content that is sent, you have the opportunity to sell dedicated space in your emails. And, because it isn’t the focus of the email, this method offers the bonus of “posting” it more than once or twice without annoying your audience.
Just as you would create content for an Instagram post or a TikTok, you can then repurpose that content or content like a graphic or reel provided by a brand as filler for dedicated space in your email.
Similar to the sponsored content perk mentioned above, this increase in frequency offers more room to negotiate when working with brands and businesses.
- Referral (aka Affiliate) Programs
Referral programs, sometimes also referred to as affiliate marketing programs, on social media tend to show up in the form of mentioning a product or service in your post or content, then sending followers to your “link in…bio/description/comments” section for more information. Revenue earned here is often on a per-click or sign-up percentage basis.
As long as it’s following your program agreements — and your ESP’s terms of service — you can repeat these same actions in your emails. And! Similarly, you can easily earn extra money by working with your ESP’s referral program, promoting the ESP to your audience, who may also benefit from its services or by using affiliate links seamlessly in your content.
As mentioned above, this can have some restrictions, depending on the ESP you’re working with. We highly recommend you check before you send to ensure you’re in full compliance with both the affiliate program and your ESP’s terms of service.
And it’s important to know that not all ESPs are created the same, so double-check if your provider offers referral incentives. FeedBlitz has an excellent referral program available to all clients with no limits on how much you can earn. As long as the referring account is active, you can earn additional revenue every month. You can learn all about the program in detail here.
EMAIL ONLY BONUS: Using an Automated Ad Program in Your Emails
Using an automated ad program offered by your ESP can be one of the easiest ways to monetize your online presence with email. This isn’t available to you through social media, but it is a great tool to earn extra income and an easy-to-use resource if your ESP provides it.
There are a handful of ESPs on the market who offer this service, and there are ad programs available that will automatically insert ads into your emails, similar to how ads are added to a website or blog. This creates a passive revenue stream from the emails you would already send.
FeedBlitz offers a one-click advertising program, available to all clients, to automatically insert ads into your emails.
While you won’t have total control over the ads that appear in your emails, you will have full control over where and how many ads are shown. If you have any other questions about FeedBlitz’s ad program, check out this post.
Nurture your list like you nurture your audience for optimal results.
Encouraging your social media audiences to sign up for your email list can be as simple as posting it to your stories, status updates, or linking a signup form in your bios. The first step is always letting your followers know there is an option to access additional content — and that you can always be found in your emails if an app/channel/platform ever suddenly disappears.
As your email list starts growing, just as you would want to nurture and engage with your social media followers, it’s equally as important to nurture your list by continuing to put out high-quality, genuine content that will have your audiences engaging regularly.
With email, this means your open and click-through rates, which often increase with content tailored to your audience. These metrics aren’t magic. They’re nurtured and cultivated with each email you send and each new subscriber who joins your list.
Because, like social media, the higher the engagement, the higher the return.
Are you ready to start earning revenue with your emails? Learn more about our free trial and reach out to us on our Support Page to contact us via email, chat, or even over the phone. Live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern.
