While the simplest way to monetize your community may be to just plaster ads in every slot, there’s a bit of art and science involved. Google has shared lots of great research on where to place ads and what verticals pay the most. This is only the tip of iceberg though, and you don’t need to stop at banner advertising. Here are just a few ways you can monetize your community forums:

• Sponsorship: Let a company sponsor community content
• Events:  Use your community as a springboard to bring like-minded individuals together in real life.
• Links: Use a service to monetize the links in your community with affiliate links from Amazon and others.
• In-Image Ads: Overlay contextual advertising that matches the graphics shared in your community.
• E-commerce: Sell merchandise with your logo or exclusive products from your brand to community members.

Since monetization is more complex than a simple blog post, we have created the following free guide: “How to Monetize Your Community Forum”. We hope you’ll find this free guide helpful and learn some new ways to gain revenue from your community.