how to make money blogging for beginners - how to start blogging for money

How To Make Money Blogging: Your Free Guide

How To Start A Blog And earn Money

Although blogging has become seriously saturated in 2023, there are still ways to turn it into a profitable income stream. Blogging is a small business idea that has the potential to earn thousands of dollars per month by selling your own brand of products, earning commissions from affiliate programs, or creating a niche for selling digital advertising.

This guide shares how you can make money blogging, 11 income streams used by professional bloggers who make a full-time income from their website.

index

• How much money can bloggers earn?
• How to Make Money Blogging: 11 Ideas
• How long does it take to make money blogging?
• Turn your blog into a money maker
• Money Blogging FAQ

How much money can bloggers earn?

The possibilities of blogging are virtually limitless. Well-established bloggers like Ryan Robinson—who runs a blog about blogging—can earn over $30,000 per month. Adam Enfroy, who started blogging about the business of blogging as a side hustle in 2019, has earned $1.5 million from his blog just two years later.

It's not just the monthly income that bloggers can cash in on marketplaces like Flippa for listing blog sales, many of which come with six-figure price tags. Bloggers get cash when they achieve their creative projects

Screenshot of Flipa Marketplace

Unfortunately, not every blogger can earn millions through their website. Your blog's earning potential depends on two factors:

Your niche. Do people spend a lot of money on products in your industry? For example, the software industry can be lucrative, since many companies pay recurring commissions. Bloggers can earn a small amount every month after customers make purchases. (More on this later.)

Your monetization strategy. Some blog monetization methods are off the table for new bloggers who want to stick to their core values—like not paying for content you disagree with. This can affect the earning potential in the short term.

How to Make Money Blogging: 11 Ideas

Looking for a creative side hustle to generate extra income? Whether you're starting a new blog or growing an existing one, here are 11 ways to make money

1. Choose a profitable niche

A niche is a specific topic within a broader topic, such as vegan recipes. By opting for your blog, readers create an association with your site so they know exactly what they'll get when they visit, improving your chances of being the first port of call when looking for advice.

"Before monetization, if you want to stand out, it's about quality and efficiency," says Mushfiq, founder of website Flip. "First, figure out what your niche is and why you should write about it, and create a persona of who you can be in that regard. Once that's done, you'll build a following over time. Next comes monetization."

Raechel Pilner tweeted about the low quality of SEO content

You will find bloggers making money in different niches from business software to pet accessories. Not all niches are good though.

A profitable blog niche meets three criteria:

It's something that takes a lot of consistently high quality content to build an audience that you're good at and/or interested in blogging and monetizing, so it's more fun to blog about something you have a genuine interest in. will earn more money. Potential income will be earned. It's easy to stick with a hobby we enjoy.

Competition is low. Popular blogs, brands or forums in your niche indicate that others are making money from it. Similarly, do a Google search to assess keyword ranking difficulty. Big-name brands (even with big marketing budgets) will find it difficult to drive organic traffic if they dominate the first page of search results.

There is clear monetization potential. Look for monetization opportunities for each niche on your shortlist. Do companies in that niche pay to advertise their products on other blogs? Are there many affiliate programs that sell products in that industry? Both are telltale signs of a profitable blog niche.

2. Build an email list

To make money from your blog, you need loyal readers who value your recommendations

One of the best ways to do this is to create an email list for your own blog. When someone chooses to listen to your blog, you are giving readers access to a place that is most sacred of all: their inbox

“Email marketing is by far the most profitable sales channel for me. I don't really try to sell directly from other channels anymore, but instead send people from social media, collaboration, and SEO to my email list,” says Brittany Berger, founder of WorkBrighter.

Encourage blog visitors to sign up to your mailing list using a pop-up box Target first-time visitors so they want to hear from you using an incentive, such as:

Free checklist

List of resources or recommended products

Blog content (such as printable recipes) is packaged in a PDF

Once they sign up, continue to nurture that relationship with educational or entertaining content. You will create an audience ready to buy products from your recommendations.

Take it from Lily Ugbazar, who first started her blog FindingBalanceMom "because I wanted to stay home with my son, do something I love and still make money."

It took Lily two weeks to make money from her blog: “I used email to promote my products and relevant affiliate products with Tripwire and Facebook groups. You add lead magnets to your site so that people sign up after reading your article. Instead of a success page, you share a one-time offer—a low-cost product at a super discounted rate, $7 in my case.

Despite the blog getting less than 1,000 monthly page views, Lily says she made more than $100 in her first month, which soon grew to several thousand.

You can charge your email list for access to exclusive content. Many bloggers monetize through monthly subscription fees that give subscribers access to additional content. You can use a platform like Substack to publish directly to your audience and get paid through subscriptions.

3. Write sponsored product reviews

All businesses want social proof to show their customers that their products are worth buying. One way to collect this is to pay bloggers to publish reviews.

Contact your favorite brands and ask if they would be interested in sponsoring a review on your blog. This technique costs essentially nothing if you use the product outside of review purposes. You're getting paid to share your opinion about a product you already own.

However, this monetization strategy is a little unclear. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently fined Fashion Nova $4.2 million for suppressing negative reviews, even though—allegedly—a third-party service requested them.

The FTC has a whole set of guidelines that pertain to ecommerce merchants and, ultimately, the bloggers they're paying to write sponsored reviews.

Avoid landing your blog in hot water:

Express whether you are encouraged to write a review. If you are paid to publish a review, for example, include the following disclaimer in the introduction to your article: "I was paid to write this review and may receive a commission if you purchase this product."

Be honest. Share pros and cons to help readers make an informed decision about whether to buy the item you're reviewing. One reason D-Effect has become a trend.

4. Selling advertising placements

Companies willing to pay bloggers to advertise on their websites lend their otherwise unused space in exchange for a fee.

There are two routes to creating this income stream for your blog:

Negotiate with the company separately. Find companies in your niche and ask if they would be interested in advertising on your site. This method is more time consuming and requires you to have strong negotiation skills, but if done well, it can net the maximum amount of money.

Use an ad network. Prefer the hands-off approach? Platforms like Google AdSense, Mediavine, and Raptive (formerly AdThrive) claim space on your blog and handle billing to advertisers. Just embed the code on your site and pay to show ads.

For blogger Emily Brooks of Emily May, display advertising is the most profitable sales channel. "About 60% of my blog's revenue comes from display ads," he says "Ads keep making me money every month, even if I don't publish any new content."

To make advertising a significant revenue stream for your blog, driving website traffic should be a priority.

Ad networks like Google AdSense pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM), while the average CPM for display ads falls around the $1.25 mark. The more people encounter ads on your blog, the more money you make.

Some platforms require bloggers to meet minimum page-view requirements before applying to join the network. It is an investment that will pay dividends in the long run. Monica Lent, founder of Not a Nomad blog, generates most of her income through blog advertising.

Chart showing annual income on Monica Lent's blog

Afoma Umesi runs her book blog, Reading Middle Grade, on the side. “I had no experience and started blogging as a hobby before I decided seriously to monetize the site,” she says.

“I needed something passive, so I chose advertising and affiliate links. I'm not looking to create or sell digital products or services right now, and I'm not a huge fan of sponsored posts, so ads were perfect. All I need is traffic."

Reading middle grades earns $800 to $1,000 a month—three-quarters of which comes from such ads. Afoma says, "Don't be afraid or embarrassed to use ads. They are inconvenient for some users, but if you pay for it and use it wisely, most users don't notice the ads."

5. Join an affiliate marketing program

Affiliate marketing is the process of recommending products to your blog visitors. You get commission when they buy products using your custom link.

This is a great income opportunity for bloggers, as the content you share will already influence their purchasing decisions, centering your blog on educational content and building the knowledge, preferences and trust you want to sell.

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that you don't have to create your own product. Plug into an existing eCommerce business and become a virtual salesperson for them. No need to worry about producing marketing materials, shipping products, or dealing with customer service

To make money blogging using this method, join an affiliate marketing network like ShareASale or ClickBank. Browse programs available in your industry, apply to join them, create custom links and track affiliate income through the dashboard.

You can also search for high-ticket affiliate programs from merchants that sell expensive products like electronics, jewelry, or software. Shopify affiliates earn big checks when bloggers recommend those items to readers, for example, earning 100% commission on the first two payments of any subscription plan.

6. Offer Services

A natural byproduct of building your audience is that more people associate your name with the blog topics you write, which is a great way to build authority—something people look for when hiring people to complete a service.

Mushfiq, founder of website Flip, says, “If you're in the B2B space like me, consulting is a great source of income. “If you have some expertise and people are actually reading your content, what kind of advice can you give them? This is a high income, low commission blogging.

Examples of services you can sell alongside your blog include:

• Consulting services
• Graphic design
• Freelance writing
• Virtual assistance
• class or workshop

Save time scheduling and delivering appointments with apps like Acuity and Calendly. Promote your services with a blog—whether it's a standalone landing page or display ads in your sidebar—and start booking new clients.

RELATED: 12 Things to Sell on Shopify (Besides Physical Products)

7. Selling digital products

Digital products are a more scalable way to make money by selling things alongside your blog. Unlike service-based businesses, you don't trade time for money. And unlike selling physical products, there are no shipping or manufacturing costs.

You can create digital products once and sell an infinite number of them through your blog - hence "build once, sell twice."

“I decided to add printables—and soon other digital products—to diversify my income and put more control in my own hands,” says Dylan Houlihan, founder of Swift Salary. "So far, I've let readers decide how much they want to pay for my printables, which is why the revenue numbers haven't been crazy. However, I've had over 800 downloads, so I'm proud of that."

Find out which digital products your audience is buying using reader surveys with the question, "What problem do you need help with that the blog isn't already solving for you?" The answers may uncover ideas you can package and sell:

• Ebook
• printable
• Workbook
• Online courses

Benjamin Houy has been running the French Together blog full-time for almost 10 years. Part of the blog's monetization strategy consists of digital products – specifically a French course, which drives 90% of the blog's revenue.

"Advertising and affiliate links can be great monetization strategies depending on the niche, but creating a product is both easier and more profitable than most bloggers think," says Benjamin. "Your product doesn't have to be the best product when you launch, it has to be something your audience will actually use and be happy to pay for."

"Selling your own product is amazing because you can improve it based on people's feedback and you don't have to worry about more people turning off affiliate programs or using ad blockers," he says.

8. Selling physical products

Does your blog have a cult following? Loyal readers of a blog quickly become fans, eager to support their favorite influencer. Help them while generating income for your blog by selling physical products.

The print-on-demand model works well for small blogging businesses because you only pay production costs when a reader purchases a product. There is no additional inventory, storage fees or high upfront costs when producing bulk products.

Use a service like Printful or Printify to create custom merchandise, such as:

• the mug
• t-shirt
• sticker
• poster
• tote bag
• In case of phone

Looking for inspiration? His first $100K came from selling merchandise by sending messages of support to his target readers You'll find the blog known for phrases like "Smash the Patriarchy" and "Financial Feminist" on branded tote bags and T-shirts.

Financial feminist products

Prefer something more on hand? Start your first online store and consider your blog visitors as your primary customer base.

Founder Emily Weiss brings one of the world's most infamous beauty brands to life by sharing beauty tips on her blog and building an audience of loyal fans on her blog Into the Gloss. She later created a skin care line that catered to the blog's readers. That was the starting point for Glossier—a beauty brand now worth more than $1 billion. how to make money blogging for beginners.

Richard Belton is another entrepreneur who took this approach. He has been blogging about maple syrup on his blog, Kaito Ridge, for about eight years, using the site as a means of income through Amazon affiliate commissions.

However, Richard recently changed his blog monetization strategy—and took control of the site's revenue potential—by launching his first Shopify store. "I'm in the process of directing my articles, blog posts and informational posts to link to my own Shopify store and reduce my reliance on Amazon," he says.

9. Create a membership community

Give your most engaged readers a VIP experience—for a small fee. Such communities are an important part of social connection—especially important in a world that's becoming increasingly online—first communities have not only been shown to improve mental health, but 52% of shoppers will spend more on brands (or blogs) with shared values. .

Tweet: Community is the new blog

Take it from Michael Keenan, who runs Peak Freelance Blog as well as a membership community: “If you want a consistent revenue stream for your blogging efforts, create a membership program. You can offer exclusive content like handbooks and courses, special offers—even a Slack channel like we offer to Peak Freelance members.

“Set up your membership fee on a monthly or yearly basis. Offer a small discount to those who pay annually. It gives you a nice cash injection that you can use to develop new content and products for members."

10. YouTube video monetization

Have you joined an affiliate program in an attempt to monetize your blog? Expand your reach—and subsequently, your revenue stream—by diversifying the content you create. Let's dive into different ways to make money on Youtube as an extension of your blog content.

Add video marketing to your list to increase affiliate commissions. About 88% of people are willing to buy something after watching a branded video. Make it your tutorial, review or collection and you will be rewarded when a visitor buys your recommendation.

Maximize the dollars you earn with your blog by treating each topic as the basis for a video script, talking about the same topic yourself, then editing the video and uploading it to YouTube.

The bloggers behind A Beautiful Mess, for example, have published a YouTube video demonstrating how to build built-in shelves. The video description directs people to write blogs, which contain affiliate links to the products used in the tutorial

YouTube with blog posts

This strategy works for several reasons. First, not everyone likes to read online content. Some prefer to watch videos. By creating only written text you are potentially alienating thousands of people.

Second, Google and YouTube are two of the most popular search engines in the world. Sharing content on both platforms increases the likelihood that your target audience will find it—and therefore, buy the product you're associated with.

For some queries, Google's algorithm pulls YouTube videos up the search engine results page (SERP). The first thing you'll see in the SERPs for "how to train your dog" is a YouTube video on the subject.

Dog Grooming Videos SERP

The main part? An active YouTube channel expands your income opportunities.

The platform comes with its own set of monetization features, including the YouTube Partner Program, which is available to vloggers with over 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. Once registered, YouTube will display ads before your video loads. You get paid every time a visitor views it—a great way to supplement your blog income.

Also Read: YouTube Affiliate Marketing: 7 Pro Tips To Earn Extra Income

11. Create a podcast and get a sponsor

Speaking of alternative formats, podcasts are more popular than ever. More than 60% of US consumers have listened to a podcast – up from 33% in 2015.

But the episodes don't just fill time on the morning commute. Studies show that 70% of listeners will visit a brand's website after hearing about a product through a podcast sponsorship. Another 67% would start a conversation with a friend about the item in question. Both points make them attractive propositions for brands looking to expand their reach.

Capitalize on your audience's attention by creating your own podcast. Record yourself talking about a topic in your niche and syndicate each episode to a streaming platform like Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Contact brands in your niche with sponsorship opportunities. Sell advertising space and give companies a shortcut to reach their target audience in exchange for a sponsorship fee.

This podcast revenue calculator shows a blogger:

10,000 episodes downloaded

Four new episodes every month

Two ads (one pre-roll)

…can add over $16,000 in income per year.

Podcast Revenue Calculator

The downside to the podcast approach is that it can be expensive – both in time and money. Building a relationship with a new audience takes time. You'll also need tools like a high-quality microphone and editing software to create podcasts yourself

But get it right and your blogging business has the potential to add another lucrative revenue stream.

How long does it take to make money blogging?

Although you can technically make money directly from blogging, it usually takes some time.

Some entrepreneurial-minded people make their first $100 online within months—like Brittany Berger, founder of Work Brighter, who started making money almost immediately. Berger created a simple $20 digital download, which he promoted in his weekly newsletter and on his newsletter signup page. "Starting early in the blog's life, I was able to convert a large portion of the audience," she says

"I think waiting to launch something until you have a big audience can put more pressure on you, so I'm glad I experimented with a smaller product when my audience was smaller."

Mushfiq Sarkar started blogging in 2008 alongside his full-time job. Although Mushfiq had no prior experience in marketing, he said, "I quit my job in April 2021 to focus on Website Flip as it had grown significantly and I was more interested in growing this website and blogging."

Now, the blog generates significant income despite being only a few years old: “I started in April 2020 at the peak of the pandemic. A lot of people knew me by name, but not that I was an active blogger or someone whose industry I started making money fairly quickly - within a month or two."

Blogging is usually a side hustle people take up with the hope that one day they will be able to quit their day job. But the time it takes to earn enough varies from blogger to blogger.

Turn your blog into a money maker

Building a blogging business is not a linear process. The best income generator depends on your niche, your relationship with your audience, and the content you're creating. Focus on creating great content and a loyal readership first, and then experiment with these monetization strategies

How do beginner bloggers make money?

The fastest way to monetize a blog is through display advertising. You don't need special skills to rent space on Google AdSense for your blog, but you will be paid for every 1,000 website visitors who see the ad.

What experience do you need to become a blogger?

You don't need any professional experience to make money blogging. You are in complete control of your website, which gives you the freedom to build your digital marketing skills through trial and error.

How can I earn $100 a month blogging?

Blogging is a great way to make your first $100 online by choosing a profitable niche, building an email list, and recommending an affiliate product for the products you sell. You can earn thousands of dollars per month when people buy through your recommendations.

What kind of blogs make money?

High-earning blogs have one thing in common: a strong relationship with their audience. The more people who visit your blog and trust your recommendations, the more likely you are to make money blogging.

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