I’ve talked about Google AdSense a lot before and recommended AdSense as one of the best contextual advertising networks for bloggers. With high-quality ads and stable recurring income, AdSense is an excellent network for bloggers to earn money.
But what about those who are blocked by AdSense or cannot get AdSense approval? Are they no longer able to make money from blogging?
No! That's not the case!
In this article, I will share the situation that your AdSense account is banned or not approved by AdSense, but it is not as serious as you think.
AdSense is considered one of the best money-making programs for bloggers for the following reasons:
- It is very convenient to use.
- You don't have to worry about low-quality ads.
- You don't have to manually change your ads after a certain amount of time.
- You don’t have to worry about payments (AdSense payments are very reliable).
However, you will face many problems when using AdSense:
- You must adhere to the content guidelines provided by the AdSense team .
- You can't just post whatever you want. Even if you don't violate any webmaster guidelines , you still can't post certain types of posts due to AdSense policies. (Example: a site that allows us to watch movies online.)
- To get more from AdSense, you need to keep trying various optimization techniques, including using high CPC keywords.
- If most of your traffic comes from countries like India, Pakistan, or Malaysia, then you may only earn a small amount of income from AdSense.
None of these drawbacks make AdSense bad, but they do indicate that AdSense may not be as good as you think.
Why and how you’re better off without an AdSense account:
First, I would like to share my experience with AdSense:
When I first started blogging, I had no idea how to make money. I started blogging out of my passion to share knowledge and heard about AdSense a few months later. Even after enabling AdSense on my blog, my first ad revenue was just $47 from DreamHost affiliate marketing.
- It is not from AdSense or any other ad network.
You may be wondering why I say this since I make a lot of money blogging. However, I want to ask you: have you ever seen AdSense ads on this site?
If you look at my AdSense income, you'll see that it barely brings me any income compared to the other monetization methods that are making a ton of money. The only benefit of AdSense is the recurring income, which gives me some sense of security.
Now that you know my AdSense story, I’m going to share my experience in successfully monetizing some blogs without using AdSense, and what can happen if you choose to do so.
Your blogging life becomes more experimental.
The best blogging education comes from experimentation.
As you try out the latest monetization methods, you might stumble upon a solution that’s a great fit for your niche. Experimentation also allows you to learn from other bloggers’ experiences.
So, instead of spending time trying something completely new, you can start with methods that other bloggers have already tested.
Takeaway: When you see information about a new ad network, always try it out. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Also, instead of just looking at reviews, search for revenue reports and/or case studies.
You will be inclined to use your natural skills to earn money.
I have a blog called WPSutra that is currently in its "orphan" phase. The good thing is that I have a business plan ready for the blog, and I believe it will be successful. As for how successful it will be, I'm not sure. But the blog has been running for a while, I don't use AdSense, and it still makes enough money to cover the hosting and maintenance costs.
You might be thinking, “Harsh, sure, but you’ve been using WordPress for eight years, you must know how WordPress works.” Yes, you’re right. But WordPress is also one of my skills.
Have you ever thought about what your skills are?
- If you are running a technical blog, you can write an eBook on how to accomplish certain tasks.
- If you are running a financial blog, you can offer financial plans to your readers at an affordable price.
- If you are running a relationship blog, you can provide quality one-on-one counseling services around relationship issues.
- If you are running a health blog, you can provide diet plans for your readers.
- If you’re running a fashion blog, you can help people buy the fashion items that are right for them… and you can get paid for it.
Key Point: There is a market for everything! You just need to know how and where to sell your product.
Embrace affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is a major source of income. You will find thousands (maybe even millions) of marketers talking about affiliate marketing and recommending you thousands of products. But they will never tell you what works and what doesn’t.
Many of them will claim to make you a millionaire in a day, but don’t be fooled!
If you plan to earn income through affiliate marketing and use it as an alternative to AdSense , then you need to work hard and need a plan in place to achieve sustainable income.
If anyone tells you that affiliate marketing requires no effort, they are wrong. Likewise, if anyone tells you that affiliate marketing won’t generate recurring income, they are also wrong.
I knew that no matter what, I would make at least $5,000 a month from affiliate marketing. That was the minimum I could make because I had created a resilient sales funnel that could sustain that income each month.
The key to this sustainable success with affiliate marketing is to recommend products that you personally use and educate your readers on how to make the same gains. While Google does not like affiliate links, they don’t mind as long as you can add value.
Key Points: There are many types of affiliate marketing, and you can choose the one that suits you. You can start a blog and try to recommend all new products in your field, or you can selectively recommend products you are currently using while teaching your readers how to benefit from them.
If you want to achieve long-term financial success without selling your soul, go about it the right way. It may be slow going at first, but it will pay off big time in the end.
Here are some selected articles to help you learn more about affiliate marketing:
- What is Affiliate Marketing and FAQs
- How to Promote Affiliate Products on Your Premium Blog?
- ThirstyAffiliates WordPress Affiliate Link Cloaker Plugin Review [30% Discount]
My purpose in writing this article is to show you the reality of life without AdSense. Many bloggers give up when AdSense doesn’t work for them and don’t even try other methods.
Half of them spend months trying to get an AdSense account approved, only to end up making silly mistakes that get their account banned.
If AdSense isn't working for you, let it be. Try something else. Try something that others are afraid to try. If there's an ad network on the market, chances are it's working for someone. Why not you? You should probably ask yourself if you're brave enough to take that risk.
If you want, then take action!
I’d love to hear about your success stories in monetizing without AdSense. Please share your experiences in the comments below!
If you found this article useful, please don’t forget to share it!
See also:
- Affiliate or AdSense: Which is More Profitable?
- 9 Best Ad Networks for New Bloggers (With Fast Approval)
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you click through to visit us, at no extra cost to you. See how SidelinePlay is funded, why it’s important, and how you can support us.
Was this helpful?