When you were a kid, you may remember watching your parents tote in the Sunday paper. They sit—coffee in hand—perusing through current events, sports, and maybe even the comics. And then, without fail, the catalogs and weekly ads would fall out onto the floor.
Armed with scissors, they’d cut and cut and cut, grouping coupons into small piles by store, product, need—you name it. If lucky, they’d narrowly escape developing carpal tunnel syndrome right then and there before scooping all of their savings up into a conveniently organized accordion organizer. Off to the store you’d go to watch them painstakingly check, double-check, and eventually pile all that paper onto the end of the conveyor belt for the cashier to scan, one by one.
This scenario is certainly not an uncommon depiction of how most people from the non-digital days used to approach couponing. And in fact, it may very well be part of the weekly routine for some shoppers today. With the Internet though, the art of couponing has benefitted from a more simplified approach.
Through the use of daily deals and coupon websites, saving on both the products you need and want is easier than ever before. And on the flip side, making money from these efforts is entirely feasible.
Let’s take a look at how to go about creating a coupon blog that’ll keep customers coming back—and a paycheck coming in.
The Two Most Popular Types of Coupon Blogs
Not all coupon blogs are created equal and many depend on a developed sense of social proof for long-term success. When it comes to couponing online, there are a couple of approaches to consider.
Online Clipping Services
Remember that Sunday newspaper scenario we laid out while walking down memory lane earlier?
Consider online clipping websites the equivalent of that, gone digital. These are websites that collate coupons you would normally find in magazines and newspapers into one centralized location. Coupons.com and RetailMeNot.com are perfect examples of this approach.
Essentially, shoppers will visit the website and search through a plethora of current coupon offerings. Websites like these will often sort by product and/or store, making it easier for visitors to find exactly what they need. Coupons can then be printed out for use in-store.
Sources of income from coupon websites like these usually take shape in the form of a percentage taken from each coupon used. In addition, affiliate links, advertising on the website, and/or membership options can also bring in money.
Aggregate Coupon Websites
Rather than hosting coupons, aggregate coupon websites curate coupons and serve as a database of links that lead people to the source of each deal. These types of websites aim to cut down on the time consumers can spend bouncing from site to site. Savings.com exemplifies this model, boasting deals for a variety of brands, from The Home Depot to Expedia.
In typical affiliate fashion, these types of coupon websites bring in money through a percentage of sales taken in from the websites it links to.
How to Get the Most Value From Your Coupon Blog
Whether you’ve started a coupon blog or are considering doing so, standing out in the crowd will be of utmost importance in driving long-term success.
Here are a handful of ways to ensure your coupon blog provides great service and puts money in your pocket.
Find Your Niche
Savings websites can be a dime a dozen these days. To combat this, avoid being a generalist. Instead, land on a specific market you’d like your coupon website to cater to. This could include health and fitness, travel, beauty, etc.
If there’s a niche you’re particularly passionate and knowledgeable on, use that to your advantage in developing a coupon blog that caters to only the best in savings for those particular types of items and/or services.
Invest in Your Website
Usability is incredibly important when it comes to any website nowadays and this is especially true for couponing. After all, look at the problem for which you’re solving for. Sifting through newspapers ad by ad is incredibly time-consuming and inefficient. There’s no way of easily narrowing down your hunt by location, product, or expiration. It’s just one-page flip after another.
Your coupon blog, on the other hand, should be a complete 180 from that experience. Give visitors an experience that is both easy and enjoyable to use, with clean layouts, clear navigation, and up-to-date information.
Incorporate Thumb Ratings into Your Coupon Offerings
One of the biggest headaches customers can come up against when searching the interwebs for savings is spam. Fake or outdated coupons do neither you nor the customer any good in the long haul. Appeal to a sense of community by giving your visitors the ability to rate each deal they come across on your website.
Applying a thumbs rating to coupons offered on your website gives visitors a position of authority in determining which deals are worthwhile. As the ratings increase, they also then help speak to your coupon blog’s authority in offering dependable content. Customers can efficiently spend time onsite gravitating towards savings they can count on, while further driving profit on behalf of your business.
Market Your Coupon Blog
“Build it and they will come” is not necessarily the motto you want to adopt when attempting to drive traffic to your coupon blog. As mentioned above, the competition in this space is not limited, so to stand out, you have to develop an online marketing plan that’ll guide you in doing some of that heavy lifting.
Social media is one way to approach advertising your website to the general public. Work to develop ads that speak to the benefits of the particular savings exclusive to your site. In addition, working in those aforementioned thumb ratings to advertise authority and reliability will work in your favor.
Be cognizant of your SEO efforts as well. This in part goes back to the usability of your website. You want to ensure layout and language is clear, concise, and developed around keywords that are most relevant to your particular business. Consider diving more into the benefits of schema markup as well.
Developing a coupon blog may not be rocket science but it does take a bit of strategy and customer consciousness to make your efforts profitable. Give back to your coupon community with a tool that’ll help them save time and find the best deal—install RatingWidget today!
Featured Image Credit: ccPixs.com
