Are you blogging to make money? But what are the best ways for bloggers to make money? Where should you even start? How blogging earns money depends on what you want to spend your time doing? There are many ways to earn an income as a blogger and they all have their pro and cons! Let’s look at how blogging makes money for most people and how you can get started earning with your blog!
Many people have heard that blogging can make money but how blogging can earn money is still a mystery to some!
In this post, we’ll go over popular ways to make money blogging – even if you are just starting out!
Most popular ways bloggers make an income online
Advertisements
Most people will only think of ads when it comes to monetizing a blog. It’s one of the most well-known and popular ways to earn money with a blog. It’s oftentimes the first thing people think of.
With a brand-new blog, it can be difficult to get into an ad network or management. Most bloggers start with Google Adsense. They accept bloggers even if they still get a little amount of traffic. And they are a great way to get started with ads.
You can experiment with ads a bit and people will get used to seeing ads on your blog.
Google Adsense pays only very little to blog owners. But you’ll get valuable insights into your traffic, people’s behavior, and ad performance.
On top of that, some ad networks need you to have a good standing with Google Ads to accept you. So when you already have Google ads on your blog, it’s a signal to them that your blog is decently built and runs smoothly.
You might want to try to get into Google Adsense sooner rather than later if you plan to monetize your blog with ads.
Besides, you won’t turn people away later because they are used to seeing ads on your website.
As soon as you have 10,000 pageviews a month, apply for a better ad network, for example, Monumetric or Ezoic.
Other networks, such as Adthrive, need you to have even more traffic, like 100,000 pageviews.
On a personal note, stay away from Media.net. I was with them for a short amount of time. Their payout was even lower than Google Adsense which I didn’t know was even possible. Plus, their ads look ugly, in my opinion.
To make good money from ads bloggers need to pull in a decent amount of people each month. As a rule of thumb, think of $5 ad income per 1,000 blog visitors. But only if you are signed up with a managed ad network other than Google or media.net. That is just a general estimation. The actual ad income can differ significantly. For example, I see a spike in ad income around the holidays when people are in spending mode.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing sounds like a great way to make money with a blog. And for some people, that is true! You sell things you didn’t create or own, you don’t have to care about customer service or handle refunds. Once the affiliate links are up on your blog, your job is finished.
Well, yes, these are the perks of affiliate marketing. But unfortunately, it can be hard to get people to see the links and make them click or even buy from them.
It’s easier for small products and low-priced items that are an “easy yes”. But you’ll need a lot of sales to make a decent amount of money from those affiliate links.
It’s a good idea to connect with other people in your niche to find out what works for them.
Some blog topics are more likely to do well with affiliate marketing than others. For example, if you use Amazon affiliate links, people trust those links as most people know Amazon. If you blog about home decor or recipes you can easily find products on Amazon to share in your blog posts.
You can also create holiday gift guides that are full of affiliate links.
Remember that you have to disclose affiliate links on your blog, social media, and in your emails. Everywhere.
Sponsored content
People can do very well with sponsored content once they have a large audience. Here is a real-life example: YouTuber CC Suarez once disclosed in one of her videos that her standard rate for a brand shoutout is 2,000 $. Not bad for talking about a brands’ products for two minutes.
Again, you’ll need to disclose that your content is sponsored. And it will only make you good money once you have a large or very engaged audience.
Own digital products
One of the best ways to make money blogging is by selling products of your own. You can start small, tiny even, by putting together an ebook with content you already have. With a tool like Canva, you can create an eye-pleasing cover and book interior. Upload it to a platform like Payhip, Sendowl, or Etsy and you are ready to collect payments.
You now have to find people interested in your products. Your best chance is selling to your email list. These people have already shown an interest in your content by signing up. Your chances of getting sales by sending out an email campaign are not bad.
You can also write blog posts for people who are your ideal customer. Attract them with free content on your blog and promote your products in the post.
If you sell many smaller products you should create a shop on your blog. There are many free and paid options out there. For example, you could use the free plugin WooCommerce to build a store.
Creating a store outside of your blog (and link to it) keeps your blog lean and fast. You can build it with the free Wix online shop templates. Shopify is another popular option that has lots of ways to customize your store but comes with monthly costs.
Coaching
Coaching is a great way for you to learn more about the problems your readers have. They will learn from you hands-on! Many marketers suggest you do lots of 1on1 coaching before you create an 8-module, $500 course.
You can learn so much about the struggles your people have!
Not all blogging niches make a great coaching business though. For example, if you have a baking blog it’s unlikely that your readers expect you to offer personal coaching.
Services
Many people struggle to get the things done that you have on lock! Are you a graphic design wizard? Can you write like a maniac? Edit like a pro? Can you find the perfect keywords for SEO success? Or maybe you pay for a keyword tool anyway? Use it to create a custom content plan for another blogger who doesn’t know where to even start.
Important is that you offer something you are good at and that doesn’t take you hours to finish. I also suggest you charge for “service packages” with fixed prices rather than hourly. As you do services more often you will get better and faster. Hourly rates would punish you for being efficient with your time.
Teaching
Teaching comes in different ways. You could create a course and sell that. Or you can do a live workshop where you teach a group of people live so they can ask questions or you can discuss things.
Another option is to be the guest expert on someone else’s platform and get paid for your appearance.
Public speaking
Some blogging niches have a good potential for public speaking gigs:
topics that have a larger interest in the general population
topics that are hot and trending
These could be the starting point for some public speaking gigs!
Thanks to social media you can be your own PR manager. Start networking, build connections and pitch yourself as a speaker or interview partner to the media.
There you have 8 popular ways how bloggers can make money. You can even make passive money. It will require some upfront work but can bring in money for years to come without you lifting a finger.
Whether you are shy or camera-ready 24/7 there is a way for you to monetize your blog without selling yourself out.
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