Now, after some consideration, you’ve finally decided it’s time: you want to monetize your blog.
The question is: how? How are blogs turned into a money-making instrument? Well, we’re here to guide you every step of the way in the process of monetizing your blog.
Before we dive into these blog monetization strategies, let’s share some basics first.
Making money from a blog can be a big task if you’re just starting out. However, if you’re already seeing more than 10,000 new visitors monthly, then you should have an easier time monetizing your content.
ConvertKit, an online tool for bloggers, found that professional bloggers earned an average profit of $134,064 in 2016 – but amateur bloggers only made $9,497. This is bad news for anyone who plans to trade their 9-to-5 jobs for a life where they get to be their own boss and make their money online.
Not all hope is lost, though. All successful bloggers and entrepreneurs started small. Trust us, you can get there, too.
Remember that it takes time to build an income from blogging. True success doesn’t happen overnight (except in feel-good Hollywood films, of course!)
As long as you have a solid marketing plan, writing skills, and a persevering spirit, you can be a top-earning blogger in time.
Proven Ways You Can Earn Money by Blogging
There are dozens of ways to monetize a blog. However, here we’ll focus on the main strategies that will guarantee you a lucrative sum from all your hard work.
That said, here are seven powerful strategies to monetize a blog and make money online:
1. Become an affiliate marketer
First on the list is perhaps the easiest blog monetization method to get you started: affiliate marketing.
According to Pat Flynn, who is one of the most influential affiliate marketers, affiliate marketing is all about earning a commission by promoting products.
An affiliate marketer is pretty much the online counterpart of a salesperson.
You promote and sell a company’s product in your blog and earn a commission if people actually end up buying it.
There’s tons of potential for earning with affiliate marketing. For example, let’s say you earn a $5 commission for every sale you make, and thanks to a strong marketing and sales pitch, you get 250 people to purchase that item in just a span of one week.
Congrats: you just earned $1250 in a week! If passive income is what you’re looking for in terms of blog monetization, it seems like you’ve hit the jackpot!
Affiliate marketing is attractive for new bloggers, as you don’t have your own products or services to sell yet, which is why you’ll need to find merchants or companies to work with.
To get started with affiliate marketing, you’ll need three things: a niche, an affiliate product, and an audience.
First, write about topics related to your niche. Once you have a humble following, that’s when you can look for products from affiliate networks such as ShareASale, Rakuten Marketing, Amazon Associates, and a whole lot more.
When choosing an affiliate, only work with products that are within your specific niche. If you’re running a fitness blog, for instance, you’ll do well-selling affiliate health, bodybuilding equipment, or weight loss supplements.
Lastly, always aim to provide value to your readers, instead of just pitching products. The best affiliate marketers don’t really come across as affiliate marketers.
Ryan Robinson, a full-time blogger, and content marketing consultant is a good example.
Every month, he makes tens of thousands of dollars by creating valuable content for his readers, while pitching the products he likes at the same time.
Here’s a quick overview of the affiliate marketing process:
- Write compelling content in your niche.
- Decide on what products you’d like to work with.
- Sign up to be a part of their affiliate marketing program where they give you a unique link and some banners to use.
- post the link and/or banners in your blog.
- Readers are redirected to the merchant’s website once they click on the link provided.
- You receive the agreed commission when your readers make a purchase.
See how simple it works? Affiliate marketing is a great place to get started when thinking of how to monetize your blog and make money online.
2. Create and sell online courses
A great way to profit from blogging is by making and selling digital online courses.
Specialized courses, which focus on a particular topic, have a higher perceived value than blog posts alone.
Why’s that? It’s because your audience can tell how much time and effort you spent on it. It gives them the notion that it offers them some kind of value.
Online courses work best when they focus on skills such as digital marketing, graphic design, or web development, although they can also perform well in areas like accounting, stocks, and finances. It’s all about what skills your audience is naturally interested in.
Many bloggers have this assumption that you need to be an expert to teach a course, and we can tell you, that’s definitely a huge misconception.
Take Ramit Sethi of IWT, for example. Even though he’s no certified financial planner, he still manages to make six digits from his courses.
His secret? He simply helps people deal with their problems.
Like Mr. Sethi, you don’t need a special certification in order to sell a course. If you have a talent for editing videos or coming up with unique DIY concepts, go ahead and share that gift for a price!
You just have to be more knowledgeable than your audience and able to deliver information that offers value for what they paid for, and you’re all set.
Then again, you can create a course on just about any topic that many people are struggling with. It can be as simple as “how to start your first blog” or “how to use WordPress as a beginner.”
Just be sure that before building your course, reflect on whether you’re really enthusiastic about it. Your audience can read that enthusiasm and if it rings false, may dissuade some customers. Be passionate!
We’re sure you want your online course to be useful, engaging, and one-of-a-kind – which brings us to our next tips:
3. Run ads
Another powerful way to monetize your blog and generate a huge chunk of cash is by setting up pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements.
However, there’s a catch: With PPC ads, you need to have massive amounts of traffic. We’re talking 10,000 or more visitors per day! Unless you’ve hit that 10k mark, don’t expect to receive a fortune anytime soon.
While it may sound discouraging for new bloggers, there are some things you can do to increase your ad power to make money. One thing you can do is negotiate terms directly with advertisers and use display ads over PPC ads.
Sure, these ads may get a bad rep in the blogosphere, but they’re actually the fastest way to start monetizing a website!
In fact, many bloggers start with display ads until they can figure out more profitable tactics, while others wait till they have enough traffic to run PPC ads. For first-timers, those first few dollars keep them motivated to continue.
With advertisements, you won’t need to stress over selling products, but you do need a lot of traffic. The more traffic you generate, the more revenue you make!
If you’re looking for inspiration, look at the case of Car Expert Alborz Fallah, who started making money online by placing ads from Google AdSense, which a friend recommended to him.
The AdSense business model is ideal for anyone eager to make a passive income with minimum effort.
It’s a straightforward form of revenue generation, based on contextual marketing. By giving Google permission to display ads on your blog, website, or YouTube channel, you get paid whenever visitors click on any of those ads.
Thanks to these ads, the now-multimillionaire entrepreneur went from earning nothing on his blog to getting a $200 paycheck per day!
Mr. Fallah went on to work with car manufacturers that paid him as much as $30,000 for sponsorship deals. Imagine where’d he be now if his friend never suggested AdSense!
Remember, ads don’t have to be permanent. You can just run them until you can monetize your blog in other, more lucrative ways.
But for all we know, you could be the next Alborz Fallah!
4. Sell eBooks
If you’ve always aspired to be an author, it’s never too late to make it happen. Craft an eBook,
publish it online for the world to read, and you’ll fatten your wallet in no time!
The first thing to consider is the content of your website and how your eBook fits in. If your audience is all fitness junkies, you don’t wanna promote an accounting book, right?
Let’s be honest, writing an entire book is a tough process. Though it should ideally offer new content not already on your blog, you can also repurpose old content by integrating it into an eBook form. That way, you’ll allow loyal readers to gain access to your old posts, like what Darren Rowse of ProBlogger did.
His eBook 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is a collection of blog posts helping people work their way towards making money in the blogging industry.
Here are some basic tips to get you started on your eBook:
Decide on a topic. Besides choosing a topic that you’re passionate about, see that it matches the needs of your audience, keeping it as original as possible.
The best eBooks have one thing in common: they all share true-to-life experiences. This is because personal stories are engaging, show authority, and build empathy with the reader.
If you’re not sure what your audience responds to, assess your blog posts and social media updates to see which of them are getting the most likes, shares, and comments.
Have a captivating title. A killer title might just be what you need to entice your audience to buy your book. Joanna Penn, the lady behind The Creative Penn, talks about a successful post she wrote called “Career Change.” It could have generated lesser sales had she decided to stick to the original title: “How to Enjoy Your Job.” Not long after switching the title, she saw her sales suddenly take off.
Incorporate visuals. There’s more to images and graphics than just beautifying your eBook. You can also use visuals to provide your readers a better understanding of the material you’re covering.
Don’t forget to check the license on each image you’re using.
Don’t overdo it. You don’t have to write your whole eBook in one sitting. Focus on one chapter at a time, set deadlines, and take breaks if you need. Even the most prominent authors hit the pause button sometimes. The easiest way to promote your eBook is by talking about it on your blog.
5. Offer coaching services
If motivating and uplifting others makes you happy, you can double that happiness by turning it into a source of income by becoming an online coach!
Everyone faces challenges in life, and yes, that includes your readers. By serving as their life, personal, or business coach, you can monetize your skills. Making people feel better and earning money at the same time? Yes, please!
To sell coaching services through your blog, you’ll need to create useful content on topics that matter to your target audience.
For instance, if you’re catering to entrepreneurs and business owners, you can cover subjects such as:
- Building a start-up
- Dealing with stubborn customers
- Overcoming the challenges of maintaining a business
- Growing your business
- Leadership training
- Building the right team
- Managing your employees
6. Secure sponsorships
Similar to running ads, you’ll need a solid online presence and lots of traffic if you plan to make money from sponsored posts and reviews on your blog.
The good news is that once you have a decent audience coming through regularly, your website will bring you a significant amount of cash.
Your sponsor will write a post about their latest product, which you then add to your blog. Your readers are exposed to the product, sparking their interest and eventually leading some of them to buy it. Regardless of whether they become customers or not, you’ll definitely get your big share of the money by simply allowing the post on your site.
Finding sponsors can be done through the following:
Set up a “sponsor” page on your website. Probably the easiest way to get sponsored blog posts is by placing a page on your site letting everyone know that you’re open for sponsors.
Offer a media kit. For some companies, a professional media kit will help them decide to collaborate with a blogger. Media kits usually contain your name, contact info, name of your website and URL, monthly page views, social stats, and your audience. If your website has a resume, this should be it.
Check out your competition to see who’s sponsoring them. Your competitor can also be your ally, though they don’t have to know that! Browse their website and see who’s on their blog. There’s a good chance that these sponsors might love to have their posts on your site, too.
Let Google do the work for you. If you have no potential sponsors in mind, you can count on Google AdSense to help you out. Place some ads on your website and give Google a few days or weeks to get used to your content. After Google determines which ads are appropriate, try reaching out to sponsors and ask if they might be interested in buying banners or text link campaigns on your site.
7. Sell digital products
Whether it’s resume templates, stock photos, phone wallpapers, mobile apps, or even audio tracks, selling digital products through your blog is one of the best ways to scale and make money from your blog.
Don’t let your skills go to waste, whatever they may be. Think of how you can package your services and sell them online.
For instance, if you’ve worked as a layout designer for several years, there’s a good chance that other designers would be willing to buy your templates. If coding seems to be one of your specialties, you can make software or WordPress plugins and sell them to your audience.
When selling a digital product, make sure that it’s something you know very well about, something you’re awfully good at, and something that your readers can really benefit from.
If you’re more focused on the amount of money you can earn, it’s better to shift that focus to a more important matter: providing solutions for your audience.
If you’re asking this question to top blogging gurus, expect to hear different answers. Some will tell you to write about anything that ignites your passion, others might suggest you go for a topic of your specialty, and then there are those who’ll pick the latest trends.
Our advice? Choose a niche that not only has great money making potential, but one that you’re super passionate and knowledgeable about.
The more popular the blog niche is, the more profitable it. Food blogs are the perfect example, as seemingly everyone has googled a recipe at some point in their lives.
Personal finance blogs are another popular choice because people are always looking for ways to save, earn more cash with side hustles, and live life frugally.
Other niches receiving constant attention include lifestyle blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, and health blogs.
Final Thoughts
Starting a blog is easy-peasy, and it’s the monetization part that most bloggers struggle with. Unless you can find the strategy that works best for you, blogging alone won’t generate revenue.
The reality is that you might have to wait at least 6 to 12 months until you can see any viable income in your bank account.
We know it can get a little discouraging, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep on trying. It takes patience, patience, and patience!
All in all, learning how to make money from blogging is mainly about trying things out, improving, and testing. Once you finally have your moment where your money-making strategy clicks, that’s when you’ll know you’re on the right path. Believe us, blogging is something you’d wanna do for the rest of your life.
Good luck!
What’s the number one blogging platform for earning money?
Not surprisingly, WordPress.com is a crowd favorite among rookie bloggers, particularly because it’s free and super easy to use. The bad news is that there’s absolutely no way to monetize a blog or website.
If you’re among the hundreds of thousands who are hoping to make income from blogging with the free WordPress version, then you’ll have to use a different platform, or upgrade to WordPress.org.
This paid version gives you the freedom to take advantage of the platform’s incredible features that are guaranteed to make you money with your blog. Since WordPress.org lets you take full control, you can monetize your blog in any way you prefer.
The best part is? You have access to 1000+ SEO plugins and themes that allow you to customize your blog in various ways! For as low as $2.75 a month, you can earn up to $1,000 in the same month!
How much money do bloggers make every month?
It depends, actually. Most beginners make $1,000 or less, others earn $10,000, and believe it or not, there are full-time bloggers who are able to make $100,000, and yes, in just a span of 30 (or 31) days!
As per Glassdoor, however, the average salary for bloggers in the US now is $38,334.
What you need to understand is that the amount you earn greatly depends on two things: how much traffic you’re getting and how big your email list is.
If you keep on creating valuable content, your revenue and traffic will keep on growing. Wanna reach that goal of earning six figures in a month? Don’t stop blogging!
What are the most popular niches for blogging?
If you’re asking this question to top blogging gurus, expect to hear different answers. Some will tell you to write about anything that ignites your passion, others might suggest you go for a topic of your specialty, and then there are those who’ll pick the latest trends.
And our advice? Choose a niche that not only has great money making potential, but one that you’re super passionate and knowledgeable about.
The more popular the blog niche is, the more profitable it is. Food blogs are the perfect example, just because everyone (well, almost!) has goggled a recipe at some point in their lives.
Personal finance blogs are another, because hey, many people are looking for ways to save, earn more cash with side hustles, and live life frugally.
Other niches that are receiving constant attention include lifestyle blogs, travel blogs, fashion blogs, and health blogs.
