Wondering how to make money blogging?
It can seem like a dream job, writing content about your favourite topic but how do they actually generate an income?
I know when I started in the online space, I was so curious to see how people were making money blogging. How were they earning a legit income online?
The first time I realised it was a thing was when I was travelling on a group trip through Turkey and one of the other travellers was a travel blogger. I heard of blogs before that but hadn’t ever met someone that had one and actually earn money from it.
My mind was blown when I realised that was how she was funding her grand adventure. She was travelling endlessly and earning an income, sounds like a dream job right?
When I got home, I started researching and that led to the creation of my first blog. I mean, the main reason I started it was to join in on the online sewing community’s events but it was definitely a learning curve.
The further I got into it, the more I realised there a real opportunity to create a blog and business that allowed me to follow my passion and make a difference in other people’s lives! A bit dramatic maybe but it’s true if you have something you want to share with the world then do it! You never know how you could possibly make an impact in someone else’s life.
So, without further ado, let’s investigate how to make money blogging. Each of these ways of earning an income will perform differently for each business. You will need to see what resonates best for you and your blog.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning when you click through and make a purchase I receive a commission. This occurs at no cost to you.
Ads
I’ve popped Ads as the first income stream because it’s often the first step for bloggers to start earning money. There are a couple of ways bloggers go about starting with ads. They can either sell ads privately or join an ad network like Mediavine.
When selling ad space in their blog privately, they need to create their own rates and are responsible for organising the ad placement with each business that decides to advertise on their website. The pro of this method is that they’re in control of their revenue but the con is that this could be quite a time-consuming process.
The other option is to join an ad network. This way you join the network and then they are responsible for the rest. The blogger still has control over the ad placement, where and how often they appear on the blog but not over other factors like rates. The benefit of this method is that it’s all done for so it’s a very passive form of income.
With both of these options, the amount you earn is hugely dependant on the amount of traffic coming to the website. The more traffic, the more the blogger will earn.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is another way bloggers make money online. It’s also a popular option for new bloggers. Affiliate marketing is where the blogger recommends a product to their audience and if they click through and make a purchase, the blogger will earn a commission. This doesn’t cost the reader any more money, the product owner will give the blogger a percentage of income generated.
The amount the blogger is paid is usually a percentage and can vary from 2% through to 50%, depending on the products that are being sold. Generally, digital products command a higher percentage compared to physical products.
There’s a low barrier to entry but it can be quite a profitable revenue stream when done well. Affiliate marketing is a revenue stream that I recommend almost every business owner utilises. When I started this blog, I had very little knowledge of what affiliate marketing was. I invested in the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course and earned that investment back through affiliate sales very quickly! I know it would have taken me much longer had I tried to figure it all out alone!
Creating Digital Products
You may have noticed that a lot of bloggers have created their own digital products.
The reason for that?
They’re profitable and scalable.
By that, I mean that once the blogger has created their products, they’re able to sell them again and again, without too much more effort on their part. Of course, there will be customer service but they don’t need to keep creating the same product again and again. They also don’t have to send out any products in the mail.
There are many options for digital products but my favourites are ecourses and ebooks. Both are quite simple to create and are very scaleable products.
If you want more information on the creation of digital products then I recommend these two courses:
Course creation: Kapow Course Creation with Liz Benny (she gives you the exact blueprint she uses to create profitable courses)
Ebook creation: Ebooks That Sell by Blogger Jess
Influencer Marketing
If you’ve spent any time on Instagram, then you’ll be familiar with Influencer Marketing.
In a nutshell, Influencer Marketing is where brands pay bloggers and influencers to share products or services on the blogger’s website and social media platforms.
This is becoming a very profitable niche, both for the bloggers and the brands. They’re realising how much impact influencers are having generating sales for their products and services.
To get started with influencer marketing, you will need to already have an engaged audience but it’s definitely a very popular way for bloggers to make money online.
If you’re interested in getting started with Influencer Marketing, then I highly recommend the course The Micro influencer handbook by Chelsea over at HerPaperRoute. She’s created the course particularly for bloggers with 100-20000 followers and steps you through how to get started with influencer marketing.
Selling Services
If you have a blog, then it’s highly likely that you’ve built up a set of skills. Often bloggers will then sell those services to generate income.
For example, if a blogger has been successful on Pinterest, they could then position themselves as a Pinterest expert and help other bloggers manage their Pinterest accounts. It’s possible to package up any service and offer it to others.
Creating a service is a good way to start creating income and is probably the quickest generator of substantial income, having said that, it’s not very scalable when just trading time for money. It is possible to scale though, here’s how I’ve started scaling my service based business. Have a good think about the services you could sell to others, create your packages and you’re good to go!
So there you have it, 5 ideas that show you how to make money blogging. It is possible and if you haven’t already started your blog, now’s the time!
I’d love to hear from you, how have you generated an income as a blogger?
