Ideas for Monetizing Your Blog Footer

It’s usually the last place you visit when you are on a web site or blog, but still… lots of people see your footer. For web site, it’s usually just a few links, contact info and a copyright symbol. For blogs, it’s become a whole new playing field. With fancy custom designs and easy widgets and plugin installs, what you can do with your footer is limitless. SpyreStudios put together a list of “48 Excellent Examples of Blog Post Footer Designs“. Below I will highly a few that I found most impressive.

The UpSell
Once your site visitors are at your footer, there’s a good chance they are going to either click something, or leave your web site / blog…. so why not try and sell them something! Something I’ve seen a lot more of recently, is blogs posting what theme they are using on their blog, then offering others to buy that same theme. Usually, blogs doing this will receive a commission on all referred sign ups. A great example of this can be seen on Chris Brogan and CopyBlogger’s blogs.


Example Footers: Chris Brogan, CopyBlogger

Keep Them Reading Your Site
Another great resource for your blog footer, is to keep the reader interested and let them know about key points or areas of your blog that they may have missed.


Example Footers: UX Booth, Mashable, Search Engine Land

Having Fun with Your Blog Footer
Not all footers need to be an upsell, or a source for driving visitors to different areas of your site. It’s always nice to see blogs get creative and come up with their own designs and layouts for rss, bookmark buttons and subscription forms. I took a liking to the blog designs below.


Example Footers: Spoon Graphics, CSS-Tricks

These are just a few samples, but I know I’ve seen some other great blog footer designs in the past, and just can’t remember the site names. Be sure to take a look at the full list, and leave any other cool blog footer designs in the comments section.

  • Posted in Uncategorized
19 pieces of wisdom given by ye faithful
  1. John said on May 13th, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    I have been thinking about this for sometime, but I have a hard enough time trying to get people to read what I have to say to begin with, lol. I doubt they even get to the bottom of my blog.

    John’s last blog post..MySpace Advertising Not a Total Bust – Results Part II

    Reply
  2. Hendry Lee said on May 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am

    Thanks, Zac. This is helpful. Out of those, I like the first option best. I’ve seen bloggers use it in the footer of the RSS feed too.

    Hendry Lee’s last blog post..Information Business May Not be the Best Business, But…

    Reply
  3. Crazy Oldie said on May 14th, 2009 at 9:43 am

    I think this is worth testing out. I finally have started testing out different ads and layouts in my free time and this looks like one worth integrating. Even if readership is low, its worth adding and testing.

    Crazy Oldie’s last blog post..Is Blood Thicker than Water?

    Reply
  4. Find Affiliate Offers said on May 14th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    Good tips. I’ve noticed a lot of sites now doing the pop-up footer think that slides into place. It can be annoying, but most don’t show back up when you close them.

    Find Affiliate Offers’s last blog post..As Seen On TV Network: Pink Ped Egg

    Reply
  5. Zac Johnson said on May 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

    @Find Affiliate Offers:
    I know John Chow has been doing well with the footer email subscribe. Definitely another annoying option… but works.

    Reply
  6. Matthew said on May 14th, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    Thanks for the shoutout of UX Booth! :)

    Matthew’s last blog post..Feedback Army Contest Winners

    Reply
  7. Smooth Skin said on May 14th, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    yeah, I guess I never really gave any thought to ‘using’ my footer for any kind of business. I guess I will start paying more attention to others to get some ideas for myself. I like the ideas you said, but I don’t know, maybe something original … I will have to put some time and thought into this.

    thanks.

    Smooth Skin’s last blog post..Where can I find Private Label Right or Resales right on ebooks, topics on early childhood cultivation?

    Reply
  8. Play Games Win Prizes said on May 16th, 2009 at 3:45 am

    Interesting monetizing methods :D

    -Mike

    Reply
  9. Free Webmaster SEO Tools said on May 18th, 2009 at 2:48 am

    Excellent post, I tested this a while back and monetized a couple of sites footers and it worked quite well. Thanks!

    Free Webmaster SEO Tools’s last blog post..18 Comment Tools and Wordpress Plugins for SEO and Bloggers

    Reply
  10. Brandon said on May 18th, 2009 at 6:03 am

    thanks again, another great idea from the man.

    Reply
  11. kindle dx said on May 18th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    Thanks for the great post Zac. I don’t really have anything in any of my footers so i’ll try this out and see what happens.

    kindle dx’s last blog post..April Contest Winners

    Reply
  12. Matty Byloos said on May 19th, 2009 at 1:44 pm

    I think the footer, especially for blogs, is a vital area to do a lot of things. If you receive text link sales, and the properties aren’t quite related to your own site, I find this a great place both offer value to the purchaser, and to not confuse the readers.

    Matty Byloos’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: 5.13.09 Honey Bees

    Reply
  13. Posicionamiento web said on May 20th, 2009 at 12:35 am

    Good tips! Thank you

    Reply
  14. shoes said on May 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 am

    Some sweet ideas laid out here, and in that blog post you referenced.

    Reply
  15. low cost online advertising said on May 24th, 2009 at 4:04 am

    hmm.. i’ve seen copyblogger before.. its prominent and sounds like an interesting monetizing idea. but i don’t understand the other one on display.. the last..

    Reply
  16. MP3 tunes said on May 24th, 2009 at 9:40 am

    … thanks for the useful information. Popup Header and Footer is a very interesting idea …

    Reply
  17. Johnny Cizash said on June 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm

    Good post on what you can do with your footer. I’m currently in the process of figuring out exactly what to do with mine right now. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Johnny Cizash’s last blog post..Why Did I Start This Blog?

    Reply
  18. Internet Marketing Services said on December 14th, 2009 at 12:02 am

    This is very helpful Zac. A very informative and valuable post. Thank you!

    Reply
  19. Sunday Chatter - 5/24 said on May 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    [...] don’t pay much attention to what your blog’s footer looks like, but according to Zac Johnson, you can monetize it in several different ways. Zac suggests either upselling your visitor in your [...]

Got some words of wisdom?

You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree Plugin

Blog Sponsors
Recommended Moneymakers
Blog Sponsors