How to Start Making Money Blogging (Even as a Beginner) (2024)

What’s Inside: REAL tips to start making money blogging, even as a beginner! If you’ve wondered how bloggers make money, we’ve got the goods! (These are the ways I earned my first $500 as a new blogger!)

How to Make Money as a New Blogger

You’ve probably seen bloggers’ income reports floating around, and if you’re like me, then you’ve probably clicked through out of curiosity.

Many of these high-profile bloggers make tens of thousands of dollars a month! While it’s definitely inspiring, it can also be intimidating for a beginner.

Blogging is first and foremost a passion, but there is definitely potential to make an income with your blog.

However,you’re not going to go from zero dollars to ten thousand dollars right away.

The experienced bloggers have lots of amazing tips to offer, thoughthey might not be realistic or practical for someone who’s just getting started and doesn’t have a million views a month.

That’s why I wanted to sharetechniques for monetizing your blog, right from the beginning.

Related:

• 5 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started my Blog
• How to Start a Blog from the Ground Up in 10 Steps

Update 2023 — I originally wrote this post in June 2015, just 6 months after starting my blog. By the end of that year, I was making a full-time income blogging. These days, Iearn more thantriple my salary from my previous career! (See an income report here!) That’s how I know these techniques really DO work!

I’ve included affiliate links for products/services that I use and love and that might be helpful for you too; read mydisclosure policy here.

5 Ways to Start Making Money Blogging (even as a Beginner)

These are the five simple things I did to set myself up for success and start bringing in a real income.

1. Set yourself up to make money

If you’re still on a free hosting platform, then it’s time to make the switch to self-hosting! Many free blog services have restrictions on monetization, so if you’re serious about blogging as a business, you’ll need topurchase monthly hosting and your own domain name. Plus, it just looks more professional to have your own self-hosted website.

I started withBlueHostbecause they offer the best value for the money (and as a beginning blogger you want to keep your expenses as LOW as possible!) They also offer 24/7 support, which was a lifesaver for me on a few occasions.

Note: I actually started on a free blogging site and a couple months in I figured out how limited the potential was there. I ended up paying my host to switch me over to my own self-hosted website so I could start monetizing my blog. So if you’re already on a free blogging site, no worries! You can switch over for a small fee and then you’ll be off and running!

And this is the really awesome part…

If you sign up through my link you’ll get exclusive pricing for Soccer Mom Blog fans as low as $2.95 a month PLUSa free domain name! (a $15 value!)

Bluehost also hasreasonable upgrade options for an easy transition when your traffic increases.Check out this post about why I chose Bluehost hosting and 4 web hosting myths debunked.

2. Join Affiliate or Referral Programs

When you “go pro” as a blogger, you’ll get plenty of offers to become an affiliate for various companies —some big, some small. Be selective! You don’t want the entire focus of your blog to be pushing readers to buy products that you don’t even use, and keep in mind that your audience is looking for helpful tips, not sales pitches.However,you CAN share things that you use and love, and maybe even make some money doing it!

I joined Amazon Affiliates becauseyou can find almost anything on Amazon,so it’s easy to find links for the super-cool stuff you want to tell the world about. Plus, you can get bounties (flat fees) when readers sign up for services like Amazon Prime.Amazon is a large and reputable company, so your audience will likely already be familiar with them andfeel safe purchasing through them.

I also LOVE to refer people to the Ibotta Rebate App! I personally use it every time I go to the grocery store to get additional savings on lots of items that I buy (and don’t always have coupons for, like fruits and veggies). Since it’s something that’s been really helpful to me in my daily life, it’s easy to be enthusiastic when telling others about it.

3. Get Paid to Post to your Social Media

Sign up for a service like IZEA (formerly known as Sponsored Tweets), which connects you with brands who will pay you to post to social media for them. This was one of the easiest ways I found to make money right away!

Since social sharing campaigns arebased on your social following numbers, as opposed to blog traffic, you can get work this wayeven if your blog readership is still modest.

So, if you have a Twitter account with tons of followers, but are still working on getting more people to your actual website, you can still start making money with your social media!

4. Ad programs

Just about any website or blog you visit these days has ads. As a viewer, they can be annoying, but we’re all used to them by now so your guests will generally expect and accept them.

Twoof the most popular platforms are Google AdSenseand Media.netbecause they are accessible to small bloggers.

(Once you get bigger there are other ad networks you can apply for, but they generally have traffic requirements).

TIP: If you’ve applied for Adsense but haven’t heard back, be sure to check out Media.net! Their service team is super responsive and their rates are competitive.

Ad revenue may be small in the beginning (more traffic = more ad revenue), but getting ads on your site will ensure that your readers are used to seeing them.

5. Reviews, Giveaways, Sponsored Posts

Even if you’re not one of the power bloggers yet, there are still companies and brands of all sizes that are looking to partner with bloggers big and small! Many times they will even contact you! Make sure it’s easy for them to get in touch with you — your contact page and business email should be prominently displayed!

At first you might just get offers to review products (as opposed to cash for sponsored posts), but this is still considered income and you can get some really neat stuff this way! As with all paid opportunities, be selective and stick to products that are actually relevant to your audience.

You can also reach out to companies with products you love and see if they would be interested in a working relationship. This is how I set up my very first product review and my very first giveaway. I simply explained how much I loved their product and that I wanted to share it with my readers because it was so helpful to me! The worst that could happen is they will ignore your email, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask! Just remember to be respectful, anddon’t get too bummed if you don’t hear back — it’s not personal —they probably get TONS of emails and every brand has a different marketing policy.

Learn More:5things I wish I had known before starting a blog

One more thing…

(And it’s super important!!)

If you plan to monetize your blog (and you totally CAN!)OR you’ve spent any money to get your blog started (web hosting is just one example), you’re going to need to be filing taxes! Don’t wait until it’s “tax season” to try to figure it all out!

READ THIS NEXT -> The 5 Things I wish I’d Known NOT to do when Starting a Blog

So there you have it, my top five tips to start making money blogging! It might not be much at first, but it’s a start, and if you keep working and keep creating amazing content to bring in more readers, your income will grow too.

I’m always amazed that I can make ANY money at all doing something I love so much —it seems too good to be true! But then I remember all the hours I spend writing, photographing, creating, networking, and even justthinking about blogging and I know that it IS work — it just happens to be work that I love!

Are you excited yet?! CLICK HERE to read more about the very FIRST step in starting your blog!

What Happens if My Blog ISN’T Making Money?

Successful bloggers often make it look easy! But there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of their success!

Here’s what they’renottelling you: Why Your Blog Won’t Make Money (and how to fix it!)

More Posts About How to Blog

Check out more of my popular blogging posts:

• How Much Does it Cost to Start a Blog?
• How to Become a Virtual Assistant with No Experience
• 12 Things to do Every Time You Write a Blog Post
• The Secret to Writing a Blog that People WANT to Read
• 6 Reasons You Need an Email List for Your Blog
• How to Start a Blog in 5 Steps
• 4 Reasons Your Blog Won’t Make Money (and How to Fix It)