How To Make Money Blogging
When I started blogging back in 2011, the blogosphere had already taken off. Bloggers were making money simply by placing ads on their site. But then something happened.
Google changed the game rules and suddenly making money by placing ads on a website wasn’t as profitable as it had been before.
Some bloggers threw in the towel and went on to other ventures. Other bloggers took the bull by the horns and created their own money maker.
And something else happened too.
Big brands started to realize the kind of influence bloggers had on an audience and the next thing you know they’re reaching out to bloggers to promote their products. Okay so Kim Kardashian is still a major influencer but hey, who says you can’t become just as big, right?
Blogging is steadily climbing the charts as one of the top self-employment businesses. In fact, Entrepreneur ranks it #2 in their top 12 low-cost business ideas for introverts.
How Much Can You Make As A Blogger
The burning question every blogger newbie has is how much money can a blogger make?
I wish I could tell you the money will start coming in like yesterday but I’d only be leading you on.
Truth is it takes a blogger an average of about 2 to 3 years to start making a full time income. It also depends on the effort you put into it.
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Nowadays a lot of bloggers share a monthly income report to show how much money they’ve made blogging and how they did it. Some earn about $10k a month, others about $5k and some maybe $1k a month.
But what I can say is that with the right marketing plan, the right product and some sweat, it won’t be long before you start to see money coming in.
First Things First – Get Ready
You’re not going to make money blogging if you don’t have an audience to sell to. So the first thing you have to do is build a community of followers who you can turn into customers.
Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can do to build a following:
- Create awesome content and make sure it’s optimized for search engines
- Share your content on social media and sharing sites like Triberr, StumbleUpon, and Viral Content Bee
- Connect with other bloggers by reading, commenting and sharing their content – they in return will do the same for you
- Join Facebook groups or create your own
- Start a mailing list
Now let’s go over the ways you can monetize your blog.
How To Make Money Blogging
1. Write eBooks
If there is an area you rock in put your expertise in an eBook and sell them on Amazon for Kindle.
Writing an eBook may not be as difficult as it sounds. If you have created a lot of content you can take those blog posts and turn them into an eBook.
Ryan Biddulph has created over 100 eBooks, read the 12 lessons he learned from publishing his first eBook along with some tips to help you get started on your own eBook.
2. Sell Your Own Products
If writing an eBook isn’t your thing but you have other talents you can create other products such as:
- Digital products like social media templates and printables
- Handmade products such as jewelry, t-shirts and other clothing
- Phone accessories
- Paintings
- Candles
- Soap
You can sell your products on your own website and on marketplaces like Shopify and Etsy. We have a tutorial on how to create your own site.
3. Freelance Writing
But if you do have a passion for writing and have a knack for it you should give freelance writing a try.
As a freelance writer you get to choose whatever topic you want to write about – so long as you have some know-how about it.
To get started, you’ll need to set up a blog to display a portfolio of your work. A blog is also good to create content around your niche – which also makes great writing practice. You can also put your contact information, display social proof (think testimonials) and build credibility as a freelance writer.
The next thing you want to do is determine who your ideal client will be. Do you want to work with bloggers, B2B companies, online businesses, big brands?
Finally, it’s time to start looking for freelance writing gigs. Here are some places to start looking:
Other ways to make money freelancing:
- Add a “hire me” page on your website
- Pitch letters to potential clients
- Advertise you’re for hire on social media
4. Influencer Marketing
Like I mentioned earlier, brands now recognize how much influence a blogger has. And now they are willing to pay bloggers like you to get the word out about their product.
Marketing campaigns normally include content and social media marketing. Think email marketing (affiliate) blog posts, tweets and Facebook posts. These posts are shared on your blog’s social media pages in hopes you will influence your audience to purchase or try a brand’s product.
Here is a list of Influencer Networks to connect with your favorite brands:
5. Affiliate Marketing
As an affiliate you will make money promoting brands. This can be in the form of a blog post, social media post, banner ads, and email marketing promos.
The difference between an affiliate and influencer is that as an affiliate, you don’t work directly with a brand. Instead you join an affiliate network and connect with brands through their platform.
The way you make money through affiliate marketing is per click, per sale, or cost per action.
Some popular platforms are:
- Share-A-Sale (affiliate)
- Impact
- LinkShare
Or, you can search on a brand’s website to learn about their affiliate or publisher programs.
6. Ad Placement
I know I said there really isn’t much money to be made with ad placement but it does add to your bottom line.
Sites like Google Adsense and Media.net provides you with code snippets to place on your site to generate ads based on the content of your site.
The threshold for payout is $100 and unless you have a high volume of traffic, it might take anywhere from 2-3 months to reach it…but remember the bottom line.
7. Rent Ad Space
Once you have a steady stream of traffic on your site, you can advertise ad space for rent on your website.
The most common ad space that’s purchased is “above the fold” which is the upper half of a webpage. And the reason why this area is in high demand is because it is front and center – and that makes it visible to site visitors.
When you create an advertising page on your site remember to list the sizes of the ads, rates and contact information.
8. Membership Sites
Membership sites can be a great way for a blogger to earn passive income.
Here’s how it works…People will sign up and pay a monthly fee to get access to premium content and other digital products.
The most popular types of membership sites are:
- Online Courses
- Digital Products – think graphic design, web design, and eBooks
Check out the post How to Make Money at Home With a Membership Site by The Balance Small Business for the pros and cons of running a membership site and some tips to get started.
9. Sponsored Content
You can also sign up to sites that pay $25 to $100+ to publish their content on your site. Sites like Guest Crew, BlogDash, Valued Voice and PostJoint offer paid content for bloggers in just about every niche.
Things to Do To
Before I close up this post I want to go over several things you should do to increase your chances of making money:
- Determine what kind of advertising opportunities you want and set rates
- Create an Advertising page and include advertising opps, rates, stats and disclosures about your terms
- Promote your advertising page on social media to let brands and marketers know about your advertising opportunities
Today is the day to start the blog of your dreams! I have several feminine designs to give your blog a chic, elegant feel. They are easy to customize! See all the designs HERE.
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Over To You
So those are the ways you can make money blogging.
My good friend and mentor Donna Merrill has said “never put all your eggs in one basket.” Her point is that you don’t want to rely on just one stream of income. You want to try different approaches that will ultimately add to your bottom line.
Now let’s chat!
What are some of the ways you’re making money as a blogger? Tell us about it in the comments below.
One more thing before you go, I’d really appreciate it if you’d share this post on social media so that other bloggers struggling to make money can get a gander at these suggestions.
Happy blogging!
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Leave a Reply
You’ve put in the work to make awesome content, now it’s time to dress up your site with a stunning design.
It’s ironic that you post this. 🙂 I literally just purchased my domain earlier this morning and set up my social media accounts and then shortly after I received your email with this post. I decided on your Emily Blake theme and am looking forward to this new venture!
I have been studying and researching this whole blogging field off and on for a couple of years now. (I should have done it years ago, but didn’t). I was fearful of getting myself out there and then fearful that it wouldn’t succeed. Now, I am more like “Who cares if it doesn’t take off”, writing is what I enjoy doing and I am going to do it!!
Take care and thank you for the reassurance,
Sundra
HI Sundra,
Congratulations on starting a blog and thanks for purchasing the Emily Blake theme!
I know exactly how you feel. My first year was a total disaster I had no experience whatsoever, I didn’t even know what WordPrress was, lol. It’s a long story. 🙂 That year I only made $25 and that had me wondering if this blogging thing was worth it. Thankfully I connect with great bloggers who took me by the hand and showed me the right way to blog and eventually (3 yrs.) earn money.
I’m not making boo-koos of money but I love what I do and the fact that I can call my own shots, well, that’s a big plus. 🙂
I was afraid to get out there too. I think I waited a month before I actually published my first blog post. I kept editing and editing because I wanted it to be perfect. Truth of the matter was, it was fear that kept me from publsihing. I didn’t think the content was good enough.
But once you get out there and connect with other bloggers, you’ll find a supportive group of people who are willing to help out and there is no judgement because what you’re feeling is a common emotion all bloggers feel when they first start out.
I love your ‘who cares attitude’ – and it’s so true. Don’t worry about anyone else and what they’re doing. Just run your own race at your own pace and you’ll do fine!
Good luck to you Sundra! If you’d like to talk about it more or have other questions about blogging, feel free to contact me. 🙂
Cori