Blogging is one of the most popular online careers today. It has a lot of benefits that make it an attractive career opportunity, but how can you make money as a blogger?
You might be surprised to find out just how lucrative blogging can be. There are many different ways that bloggers earn money, and they’re not all in the form of blog ads or sponsored posts. Bloggers also sell their own products, create their own courses, and more!
In this post I’ll break down my favorite methods for making money as a blogger so you know what’s possible with your blog!
Bonnie and I both own blogs outside of this one and they are very profitable!
HOW MUCH MONEY DO BLOGGERS MAKE?
It’s pretty easy to make an extra $500 – $2,000 per month blogging in your first year. I was able to do that early on in my blogging career by working only a few hours each day. That extra money is great if you are looking for part-time work.
If you are willing to put more into it, you can make a lot more. I made upward of $6k a month working part-time off of only one blog. That’s a lot of dough! You can make serious money by blogging. In fact, you should be able to earn $25,000-$50,000 your first year doing it.
Don’t be like me though, I had to learn everything the hard way – by trial and error.
That is why Bonnie and I put together this blogging series, so you don’t have to learn the hard way. There are several things you need to do to make sure that everything is in place, don’t worry, we will get to all of that and show you step-by-step.
HOW DO BLOGS MAKE MONEY?
There are several different ways you can make money with a blog and you don’t need a large audience to do it.
Although if you are working with an advertising network, the more traffic your website gets, the more money you’ll be able to make but that is just one of the ways you can make money.
Here are some ways that blogs make money…
Advertising Networks
Most bloggers start with Google AdSense. Google Adsense allows you to run ads from the Google Display Network onto your website. If you are a new blogger, Google Adsense is a low-effort way to earn money on your blog. Unfortunately, even if you’re receiving a thousand visitors/month, your maximum income from Google Ads will be $50 – $100 at most.
Once you’ve reached at least 25,000 page views per month, and your site has an established reputation for attracting traffic in general, it would be a wise move to stop embedding Google AdSense on your pages so you can start making more money. Instead you should work with one or more advertising networks (also called publisher networks) who will accept the placement of display ads and you’ll make a lot more money than Google AdSense.
Ad Networks
Affiliate Marketing
Some bloggers make six figures from affiliate earnings alone, which is an amazing way to make money as a blogger! Getting started with affiliate marketing is something you can do as a new blogger. I recommend getting at least 10-15 solid blog posts published. While you could do it sooner, many brands only want to work with established bloggers. When they come to your site to see what your blog is about, you’ll want to make sure you put your best foot forward and have awesome content up!
When you promote a product or service on your website – like the ones you use yourself and love to recommend – through an affiliate program, every time someone clicks through one of your ads and makes a purchase as a result, you’ll earn commission payments from that company.
These are affiliate ads and a win/win for both advertisers and bloggers because the advertiser earns a new signup, which is more desirable than just clicking on the ad. Bloggers also earn an increased commission from confirmed signups instead of just clicks.
As an affiliate, you can make $5-$500 or more per click, depending on the product being sold.
I like to choose products from sites like Shareasale, Awin, and Impact Radius. You can also reach out to companies and brands directly to see if they have an affiliate program you can join.
Amazon Affiliate
One of the most popular affiliates is Amazon which allows you to get a commission on any products that are generated by readers linking directly to a product listing in your affiliate store. Payouts can be lower than going directly to a service or product, but it’s much easier for new affiliates who want an easy way to promote products from their own linked homepage.
I use this as a last resort because the payout is small compared to other affiliate networks. If you want to make a large income when promoting products, the more expensive they are, the higher your commission will range.
Blogging about electronics, cameras, and expensive items can be a lucrative business if you’re hosting affiliate ads. Affiliates earn up to 10% of the purchase price for every transaction. I had a book blog and while payouts are low for books, I still made $500+ a month because they’d click over to buy books and I also got commission for everything that they bought!
Direct Display Ads
As you get larger, you can cut out the middle man and companies will directly contact you about advertising. You can also reach out to companies about advertising. Make sure to have a media kit ready if you do, they will need to know your stats!
You can get between $200–$2,500 per month for an advertising banner on your blog depending on the niche and traffic. Just be careful not to put too many ads.
Sponsored Content
This is where I’ve made a lot of money with some of my other blogs. I’ve been paid between $200 and $2000 (the latter included a spocial media campaign) for sponsored content on my blogs. You work with ad networks or can reach out to companies directly.
Social Media Promotion
Up above I mention that I made $2000 from a blog post and social media campaign package. Many of you know that I’m also a Social Media Manager and social media is my passion. Companies have paid me to tweet or post on Facebook about their product. I made a really good chunck of change over the years.
Coaching
Do you have a fitness blog? Or a organization blog? The number one reason most people search for a blog is to find an answer to a question. People need help. You and your blog can be the answer to their question. If they need extra help, then they can hire you for group or one on one coaching sessions. This can be EXTREMELY lucrative!
Courses
Remember when I said people need help? Maybe you don’t have the time to do one on one coaching? This is where a course can come in handy. You set it up and it is a residual income if you set up funnels in place. I love courses because you are genuinely helping someone and they can work at their own pace. You are still there to answer questions as they go. You can set this up when you set your blog up. We’ve used several different platforms over the years for our courses but we now use Podia which we LOVE!
Books
When I say books, I mean ebooks as well. It is easy to publish both paperbacks and ebooks on Amazon and other platforms to sell. You can also run advertiging on Amazon introducting new readers to your books and in turn to your blog.
Digital Products
I mentioned ebooks already but you can also make planners, cheat sheets, membership sites, meal plans, and so much more.
So, how much money can you make with your blog? The answer to that question is really up to you. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort into building a successful business then there’s no limit on what your blog could earn for you.
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