How to Make Money Blogging

Do you want to learn how to make money blogging? You can make money in a lot of ways from your website.

But actually getting that income isn’t easy. Read on to learn about different income streams and how to start earning cash.

Before we get into it, this post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.

Passive Ways to Make Money Blogging

My favorite ways to make money from my blog are passive methods. These are actually more semi-passive, but they don’t require as much work as active income sources.

Here are a few streams of income you should add to your blog.

Display Ads

Almost everyone has gone on a website and seen an ad. The advertiser pays for space on websites. Usually, advertisers and bloggers go through an ad network.

However, you can also sell individual ads direct to companies. If your blog is new, an ad network is the way to go. Some networks have a lot of requirements, while others are easier to join.

Out of all blogging income sources, ads are the most passive. You set them up once, and you can keep making money. Of course, you’ll need to work to get traffic to earn from ads, but still.

Affiliate Marketing

A lot of bloggers make money through affiliate marketing. This is where you mention a product and include a special link. That link can track who clicks on it and if they make a purchase.

For example, I use an iPad Pro 12.9-inch model. I love the iPad for streaming or even checking up on my blogs. That link I included is an affiliate link, so if you buy from it, I’ll make a small cut at no extra cost to you.

Affiliate marketing is relatively easy since you just need to add those special links to your content. If you already write a lot of reviews or mention products, affiliate links can be very lucrative.

Digital Products

After you’ve had your blog for a while, you may want to create and launch a digital product. Popular options include eBooks, courses, and other downloads.

You do need to invest time (and sometimes money) into creating the product. However, you’ll keep a bigger portion of every sale compared to affiliate sales.

That means you could make more money without as large of an audience. But you’ll need to create a product that people will buy. I’d recommend waiting until you have a loyal audience before you create a product.

Active Ways to Make Money Blogging

A lot of bloggers talk all about passive income. But they might not tell you about more active ways to earn money. Active income can come in handy as your blog is first starting up.

Here are a few options to consider.

Sponsored Blog Posts

If your blog is really new, you probably won’t get sponsors. But once you have some consistent traffic, you can get a company to pay you to mention them in a post.

This is a more active income stream because you have to do the work for that specific payment. You’ll also need to follow any guidelines the sponsor has to make sure they approve your post for publication.

However, some bloggers can make a killing from sponsored posts. Just only choose sponsors you love, and try not to make every post a sponsored post. That can get annoying and make your readers not trust you.

Relevant Services

Think about the blog niche you chose. Then, consider any relevant services you could offer. Coaching and consulting can work for almost any blog niche.

But maybe you have a food blog, so you offer catering services. On one of my other blogs, I write about flute sheet music. So I offer commissions of arrangements and original flute pieces.

You can use your blog to promote the service you want to offer. That way, you can get potential clients to trust you and want to hire you. Plus, you’ll make much more money right away compared to ads or other passive methods.

Physical Products

Depending on your blog’s niche, it might make sense to launch a physical product. For example, a dog blogger could create dog treats to sell to readers.

Of course, this takes consistent work. You have to develop the product, and you have to pack and ship it every time you get an order. But it can be an extra way to make money through your website.

Like digital products, you’ll keep more per sale compared to affiliate products you promote. That can help you increase your income a bit more quickly than other methods.

How to Make Money Blogging

Knowing the different income streams is great. But that doesn’t necessarily teach you how to make money blogging.

Here are some tips you can follow to help make your first dollar. Then, you can repeat the things that work for you to increase your income.

Start With One Method

While it’s good to diversify, you should choose one income source to start with. You can add more sources later, but selecting one helps you go all-in to learn how to make the most money from that source.

I’d recommend either display ads or affiliate marketing at first. These are pretty easy to set up. And you don’t need to have tons of extra time to help clients or pack and ship products.

Use blogs, videos, and other resources to learn as much as you can about that income stream. That way, you can incorporate various strategies into your blogging to help make money.

Slowly Expand

Once you learn all about one income stream, add another. Do the same thing and learn the basics and some more advanced aspects of how to make money in a specific way.

For example, maybe you started with affiliate links. Now that your blog is getting some traffic, you could add display ads. Then, you can learn how to get more visitors to increase your ad income.

Diversifying your income is essential if you want to take your blogging full-time. You can also diversify by joining multiple affiliate programs or taking on more than one client, so you can do the same thing but get paid from more sources.

Publish Posts Consistently

If you want to make money blogging, you need to blog. You should post as often as you can, especially at first. That can help you get more content out there.

Assuming you use SEO, your content can start to rank in search results to improve your reach even more. Think about how much time you can spend writing posts each week to help choose a publishing schedule.

Since this blog is new, I’m trying to post something every day, at least for now. On my other main blog, I post twice a week since it already has hundreds of posts. Do what works for you and your life.

Set Income Goals

Having the goal to make money is great. But what can really motivate you is setting specific numbers you want to hit. Now, you should be realistic, so don’t expect to make a million dollars right away.

You might not make any money in your first year. But you could set the goal to make your first dollar in 12 months. Then, you could aim to make $10 in a month and so on.

Write down your income goals. Then, you can use them as inspiration to work on your blog, even when you don’t want to.

Be Realistic

I mentioned this, but I can’t state how important it is to be realistic. It took me years to earn money on my first blog. When I started my second blog, it took about four months to earn anything, and it was less than a dollar.

You’ll probably have to put in a lot of unpaid time at the start. That will help you write posts and promote your blog to get traffic to it.

Either way, you need to start with smaller goals. If you reach them, you can set larger goals.

Keep Going

If you’re not making money, it can seem like blogging is pointless. But you should still keep up with it. Like I said, many blogs make $0 in the first year, so it’s normal not to earn anything right away.

You’ll probably have times when you want to quit. And I get that, especially if you have bills to pay and not much free time. But I’d tell you to keep going.

The growth may be slow, but it can be steady. If you give up, you’ll never make money blogging. But if you stick with it, you could make it a decent income stream.

Know When to Invest

You can start blogging for free or very cheap. However, you’ll eventually want to invest some more money into your blog. That can help you get better hosting, for example.

You can also invest in books or courses about blogging. Some resources are pretty cheap, so you don’t need thousands of dollars. But you should spend a little bit to improve yourself and your blog.

Think of your blog as a business. Many businesses need an investment eventually to grow and scale. Your blog or website is the exact same.

Why Make Money Blogging

For some, the reasons to make money blogging are clear. However, you may wonder if it’s really worth it to put in the time to monetize your site.

Here are a few advantages of making money from your blog.

Turn It Into a Business

Maybe blogging isn’t your thing, but you want to start an online business. You can use your blog as a stepping stone to that overall goal.

If you start your blog, you can learn about the industry. Then, you can make money from your content. Use that money to help fund whatever business you want to start.

Or you could make the blog itself your business. Do what works for you and your goals.

Cover Base Costs

Some people have no desire to make a living from their blogs. If that’s you, I’d still recommend trying to earn a little cash. That way, you’ll have money to cover the base costs of running your website.

You have to pay for your domain and hosting at least. And as your blog grows, those costs can increase as well. Use some of the more passive income streams to fund your blog.

Then, you can use any extra money to buy a better theme or to move to a better host. You don’t have to want to profit from your blog to want to make any money from it.

Dedicate More Time to It

The more time you spend on your blog, the faster you can get it to grow. But you might have a full-time job, kids, or college classes. If you don’t have much time now, blogging can be hard.

You could set up some income streams and watch the money roll in. Once you start making consistent money, you may be able to dedicate more time to it.

For example, you could move from five days to four days at your job. Then, you use the extra day of the week to write blog posts.

Gain Flexibility and Independence

Knowing how to make money blogging can also help you get a more flexible schedule. I can write blog posts whenever and wherever I want.

That was super helpful when I was in grad school. I had classes and music rehearsals at specific times. Being able to work on my blog and those of my clients meant that I could fit work into my life.

You don’t have to be a digital nomad to want independence. Even just wanting time with your family can be a good motivator.

How Much Money Can You Make From Blogging?

You can make a lot of money from your blog. Some bloggers make millions every year, but those are rare cases.

More bloggers make very little from their websites. However, don’t let that discourage you from trying to make money blogging.

Can You Make Money Fast From Blogging?

Blogging is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme. Sure, you might make a few cents in your first month.

However, you should plan on not making anything for a year. The good news is if you can keep up with your blog without earning for that long, you probably have the dedication to turn it into a business.

Can Anyone Start a Blog to Make Money?

There’s nothing stopping you from starting a blog to make money. But you’ll have an easier time doing so if you’re good at writing.

Otherwise, you can hire a writer to create the posts for you. Then, you can keep most of the profits while paying your writer a good rate per post.

Will You Make Money Blogging?

A lot of new bloggers want to know how to make money blogging. You can earn in a variety of ways.

But actually getting that first dollar can take time and effort. Don’t give up just because you aren’t a millionaire in your first year.

If you’re not a writer but want to start a blog, contact me to learn how I can help you!