7 Essential Ghost CMS Features for Content Monetisation

Ghost CMS is a platform designed to help creators earn from their content without relying on excessive plugins. It simplifies the process of content monetisation with built-in tools, offering options like free memberships, paid subscriptions, or a mix of both. Here’s a quick overview of its key features:

• Membership Tiers: Create custom pricing plans with perks for free and paying members.
• Payment Tools: Integrated with Stripe, allowing secure, fee-free transactions (aside from Stripe fees).
• SEO & Speed: Built-in tools for faster performance and better search rankings.
• Email Marketing: Manage newsletters directly within the platform, with segmentation and analytics.
• Content Access Control: Restrict content visibility by membership level, encouraging subscriptions.
• Team Management: Assign roles like contributors or editors for efficient collaboration.
• Third-party Integrations: Use tools like Stripe, Google Analytics, and Zapier to extend functionality.

Ghost CMS helps creators keep 100% of their earnings while simplifying audience engagement and revenue generation. Whether you're a writer, journalist, or blogger, its features are tailored to support your growth.

How to Make Money with a Ghost Blog: Monetize Your Ghost ...

1. Membership Tiers and Subscriptions

Ghost CMS allows creators to earn recurring revenue by offering personalised membership tiers. These tiers can have different pricing, perks, and content access levels, making it easy to cater to various audience segments.

Setting up membership tiers in Ghost Admin is simple. Key features include:

• Custom pricing for monthly and yearly plans
• Unique tier names and descriptions
• Specific content access settings
• Defined member perks
• Optional free trial periods

Ghost CMS takes no fees, so creators keep 100% of their earnings. Collectively, publications using Ghost CMS generate over £20 million annually.

With Ghost CMS, you can assign content access based on membership tiers to encourage engagement. For example, free members might receive weekly newsletters, while paying subscribers gain access to detailed analysis, community features, and premium content.

The platform also lets you archive tiers or test new pricing options without impacting your current subscribers. To help boost conversions, Ghost CMS offers:

• Customisable subscription portals
• Tier-specific signup links
• Email marketing tools
• Social media sharing options

Payments are processed securely through Stripe, and members can log in using a passwordless JWT email-link system, making access seamless. This combination of flexibility and ease of use makes Ghost CMS a powerful choice for growing subscription-based revenue.

Next, we’ll explore how Ghost’s built-in payment tools work alongside these membership features.

2. Payment Processing Tools

Ghost's built-in payment tools make it easier than ever to turn content into revenue.

Through its integration with Stripe, Ghost allows creators to manage both recurring and one-off payments with ease, all while maintaining complete financial transparency.

Here’s what Ghost’s payment system brings to the table:

Zero Transaction Fees
Ghost CMS doesn’t take a cut from your earnings. You keep everything you make, aside from Stripe's standard fees. For creators in the UK, payments can be processed directly in GBP, avoiding any hassle with currency conversions.

Customisable Checkout Experience
Ghost offers various options to tailor the checkout process to match your brand:

Automated Payment Management
Ghost takes care of the heavy lifting when it comes to payment administration. It automatically handles:

• Subscription renewals and cancellations
• Sending payment receipts
• Recovering failed payments
• Processing refunds

For creators looking to reduce revenue loss from failed payments, Ghost also supports integrations with dunning services. These tools retry failed transactions and notify subscribers about payment issues, helping to minimise churn.

A Success Story
Take The Browser as an example. This independent media company uses Ghost CMS and Stripe to manage its subscriber base. By January 2023, they had grown to over 10,000 paying members - all without paying extra transaction fees.

To make the most of Ghost’s payment tools, try these tips:

1. Set up a dedicated Stripe account specifically for your Ghost CMS.
2. Turn on automated email receipts in Stripe’s Billing settings.
3. Use dunning management tools to address failed payments and reduce churn.
4. Check Stripe's compliance guidelines to ensure your content aligns with their terms.

3. Search Engine and Speed Settings

Ghost CMS offers built-in tools for search and speed improvements, helping you get the most out of your content. Its modern tech stack and semantic HTML ensure fast performance with minimal effort on your part.

Tests show that Ghost CMS can be up to 1,900% faster than older platforms. This speed boost can enhance user engagement and lead to better conversion rates.

SEO Features That Matter
Ghost takes care of essential SEO tasks automatically, helping your content perform better in search results. Some of its key features include:

These features work together to support your site's organic growth, paired with the platform's speed advantages.

Tips for Faster Sites
Here are some ways to keep your site running quickly:

• Pick Performance-Focused Themes: Use themes that are well-coded for speed and efficiency.
• Limit External Resources: Avoid overloading your site with third-party scripts or large media files.
• Stick to System Fonts: Using system fonts can help reduce loading times.

To build a strong SEO plan, keep in mind that it often takes over two years for content to rank in the top three positions. Only 0.3% of content reaches the top ten for high-traffic keywords in the first year.

Track and Improve Performance
Using Google Search Console can help you monitor and refine your site's performance by letting you:

• Check how visible your content is in search results
• Spot technical issues that could hurt your rankings
• Understand how users find your site through search
• Track click-through rates directly from search pages

These steps can help ensure your site remains fast, optimised, and ready for long-term growth.

4. Email Marketing Tools

Ghost CMS includes email tools designed to help you generate revenue through consistent audience engagement. Its built-in newsletter system keeps you connected with your audience while supporting your earning goals.

Newsletter Creation and Management

Ghost CMS offers an easy-to-use email template system. You can create different types of emails depending on your needs:

Once your newsletters are set up, advanced segmentation tools help you refine your audience targeting.

Advanced Segmentation Features

You can target your emails more effectively by segmenting your subscribers based on:

• Newsletter preferences
• Membership type (free or paid)
• Custom labels for tailored campaigns

Analytics and Performance Tracking

Ghost CMS also provides detailed analytics to measure how your emails perform. Key metrics include:

These insights let you adjust your strategy to focus on content that resonates most with your audience.

Practical Tips for Better Results

Make sure to preview your emails on different devices, craft engaging subject lines, and add interactive elements with clear calls-to-action.

Automated Delivery Management

For Ghost(Pro) users, automated delivery ensures smooth communication and compliance, making email management hassle-free.

Flexible Content Distribution

Ghost CMS gives you three options for distributing content:

• Publish and email at the same time
• Publish content without sending an email
• Send an email without publishing the content

This flexibility allows you to adjust your approach to achieve the best engagement and revenue outcomes.

Ghost’s email tools integrate perfectly with its broader monetisation features, making it easier to grow your audience and income.

5. Content Restrictions and Member Access

Ghost CMS offers tools to help you control access to your content, turning visitor engagement into revenue. By using membership tiers, you can manage who sees what, ensuring your content is both secure and monetised effectively.

Setting Up Access Levels

Ghost CMS includes four access levels to manage content visibility:

Creating a Segmented Content Strategy

A well-structured, tiered content strategy can help you maximise revenue:

• Public Content: Free, SEO-friendly material designed to attract visitors and showcase expertise. For example, Mark Manson’s website drives 37% of its traffic from search engines through carefully placed public content.
• Freemium Content: Offers additional value to convert casual visitors into engaged members.
• Premium Content: High-value, exclusive material that justifies a subscription fee.

This structure not only builds engagement but also creates clear pathways for conversions.

Using Public Preview Dividers

Public preview dividers allow you to mix free and protected content within a single post. These dividers are great for showing off the value of your premium material while still benefiting from SEO. They also act as natural conversion points, encouraging users to subscribe for full access.

Membership Models

Ghost CMS supports three main membership models, giving you flexibility in how you manage access:

Content Protection Features

Ghost CMS includes several features to safeguard premium content, ensuring a sustainable revenue stream. These include server-level protections, passwordless JWT email-link authentication, and automatic call-to-action prompts for users who aren't logged in.

Managing Custom Tiers

To create tailored membership tiers, go to Settings → Membership → Tiers. Here, you can define unique pricing, benefits, and access levels. Custom tiers allow you to align your membership offerings with your overall content strategy, driving consistent revenue.

6. Team Management Options

Managing a team effectively is key to maximising content monetisation. Ghost CMS simplifies this process with tools for assigning permissions and enabling smooth collaboration.

Role-Based Access Control

Ghost CMS uses five staff roles, each with specific permissions to suit different responsibilities:

Collaborative Workflow Features

Ghost CMS allows real-time collaboration, letting team members work on content together. This is especially useful for time-sensitive, premium content releases.

Permission Management Strategy

Assigning the right roles to team members is crucial for smooth operations and high-quality output.

Contributors

This role suits freelance writers or guest contributors. They can draft posts without publishing them, leaving final decisions to higher roles.

Authors

Authors are your regular content creators. They can publish directly to specific membership tiers, making the content delivery process more efficient.

Editors

Editors are essential for maintaining quality. They:

• Review and edit content from all contributors and authors
• Manage team member accounts
• Ensure consistent standards for premium content

Security and Access Control

Ghost CMS includes tools to safeguard your monetised content:

• User Management: Admins can suspend accounts while keeping content intact.
• Permission Monitoring: Regular reviews help maintain security.
• Role Adjustment: Easily modify roles via the Staff dashboard.

Enhancing Team Profiles

Complete team profiles not only add credibility but also help justify subscription rates.

Technical Considerations

To keep your team running smoothly:

• Use a dedicated server for better performance.
• Enable SSL certification to secure team communications.
• Regularly update permissions to maintain security.

Ghost CMS’s team management features are designed to support your monetisation goals. From streamlined workflows to secure content delivery, they help ensure your team works efficiently while maintaining high standards. Up next, learn how third-party tools and add-ons can further improve your monetisation strategy.

7. Third-party Tools and Add-ons

Building on integrated payment, email, and team management features, Ghost CMS extends its capabilities with third-party integrations. These integrations simplify workflows and help increase revenue potential, complementing the platform's built-in monetisation tools.

Payment and Analytics Integration

Connecting payment systems and analytics tools allows you to track and optimise your revenue streams. Here are some key options:

Community Engagement Tools

Cove's commenting system supports exclusive subscriber discussions, encouraging retention. Features include member-only commenting, reactions, engagement metrics, and community counters.

Marketing Automation

In March 2023, Mailchimp's Email Verification API demonstrated its impact by reducing bounce rates from 12.3% to 2.1%. It cleaned a 45-million subscriber database, improved email deliverability by 34%, and contributed approximately £1.8 million in additional revenue (Mailchimp Case Studies, 2023).

E-commerce Extensions

Ghost CMS integrates with platforms like Gumroad for digital products, Snipcart for physical goods, and BigCommerce for full e-commerce solutions. These options make it easier for creators to sell products directly.

Analytics and Performance Insights

Ghostboard provides detailed insights into audience behaviour and content performance. The subscription plans include:

• ECO: £7/month
• VIP: £15/month
• PRO: £31/month
• Unlimited: £79/month

Best Practices for Implementation

To get the most out of integrations:

• Start with essential tools like Unsplash and Google AMP for quick wins.
• Use Zapier to automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency.
• Regularly review analytics to ensure tools are supporting your revenue goals.

Security Tips

When using third-party tools, keep these security measures in mind:

• Use secure API connections.
• Update integration settings regularly.
• Monitor permissions for data sharing.
• Maintain a reliable backup system.

Conclusion

Ghost CMS offers a complete system for managing and monetising your digital presence, giving you full control over your content and audience. Publications using Ghost CMS have collectively generated over £20 million annually, with no payment fees involved. This makes it an appealing platform for content creators aiming to maximise their revenue.

Here’s a quick look at some of its standout monetisation features:

• Membership Management: Create tiered structures to cater to different audience segments.
• Payment Processing: Integrated with Stripe for smooth transactions.
• SEO & Performance: Tools to optimise for search engines and boost site speed.
• Email Marketing: Built-in newsletter functionality to engage your audience.
• Access Control: Restrict content based on membership levels.
• Team Collaboration: Simplified workflows for multi-user setups.
• Third-party Integration: Expand capabilities with external tools.

These features work together to simplify and enhance revenue opportunities. With 3,991 new publications launched just last week, it’s clear that more creators are turning to Ghost CMS for their publishing needs.

Ghost CMS’s impact is further backed by user feedback and adoption statistics:

"Your audience, brand, and revenue – owned entirely by you" - Ghost.org

With over 50,000 readers already using the platform, Ghost CMS has become a go-to choice for professional publishers. If you’re looking to transform audience engagement into reliable income, Ghost CMS provides the tools to make it happen.

Related posts

• WordPress vs Ghost CMS: Which Platform Suits Your Business?
• Website Hosting Guide: Managed vs Self-Hosted Solutions