Do you want to start a free blog and make money from it? You should think about a few methods for how to monetize a blog on Blogger, a great free blogging platform.
There are more options than you think, which can be nice if you’re on a tight budget. Keep reading to learn more about each method to decide what’s best for you.
But first, this post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy to learn more.
1. Use Google AdSense
Display ads are one of the most popular ways to monetize a blog, on Blogger or elsewhere. Unfortunately, if you use Blogger, Google AdSense is your only option.
That’s because Google owns Blogger. But it’s also super easy to set up ads right from the Blogger dashboard. Now, you can’t just set up a blog and start using ads right away.
You’ll want to publish at least 20 to 30 articles, and make sure they’re of good quality. Google also requires you to publish unique content on your site if you want to show ads.
Once you get the ads set up, you don’t have to do much more work. Instead, you can focus on publishing even more amazing articles and blog posts.
I like how you can make money from all of your blog posts when you get ad impressions as well as clicks. So you don’t have to write a specific type of content to earn revenue.
The amount of money you can make from AdSense depends on your niche and how much traffic you get. In my first month, I only earned a few bucks, but those earnings have gone up slowly ever since.
2. Start Affiliate Marketing
My favorite way to make money blogging is to do affiliate marketing. This is where you get special links that track clicks and purchases of the products you recommend.
So if someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you’ll earn a commission. Commission rates vary from pennies to hundreds of dollars, depending on the affiliate program.
You can join affiliate programs for your favorite shops, like Amazon or eBay. Some individual products also have their own affiliate programs, usually online courses.
The nice thing about affiliate marketing is that you can do it as soon as you start a blog. Now, that doesn’t mean you’ll start to make money right away, but you won’t have to go back into your blog posts and add them later.
And as you publish more blog posts, make sure you include at least one affiliate link. You can also choose blog topics based on the affiliate programs you’re a part of and write reviews of your favorite products.
If you have a small blog, affiliate marketing will almost certainly be more profitable than display ads. While you can earn pennies for each add click, every affiliate sale can net you up to hundreds of dollars.
3. Sell Digital Products
Another option for how to monetize a blog on Blogger is to sell digital products. Unfortunately, you can’t host the digital files on your Blogger site, so you’ll need an external option.
Teachable is a great choice because you can sell online courses, and they also recently started offering other downloads. You can build a great sales page for each product you upload, and you can sell items independently of your Blogger blog.
Digital products can be a great way for you to make money. If you create a course, you could charge hundreds of dollars for it, so you don’t have to get a lot of sales to make a full-time living.
But you can also sell smaller-scale products, like eBooks or printables. The lower price point can make getting a sale a lot easier, especially if you don’t have a huge audience.
Regardless of the product, I wouldn’t recommend this option to beginner bloggers. You need to establish yourself as an expert in your niche and build an audience so that selling your product will be easier.
4. Offer Services
The way I’ve made most of my money as a blogger so far is by offering freelance services. You can offer just about any service, but make it one that’s related to your niche.
If you blog about fashion and enjoy sewing, you could sell custom clothing. Or if you have a blog about pets, you could offer a pet sitting service to people in your area.
Services are the best way to earn a lot of money much sooner in your blogging career. You can charge an hourly rate or project rate based on the service you plan to offer.
I’d recommend adding a service page to your blog. Include a link to it in all of your blog posts and get people to learn more about working with you.
Of course, you have to consider if you have the time to offer a service. If you have a full-time job, you may want to focus on other options for now.
Another thing to keep in mind is if you want to offer a virtual service or work in-person. Local services can be great, but it will significantly limit your pool of potential clients.
5. Get Sponsorships
After you’ve been blogging for a while, you should have built an audience. If you regularly get a decent amount of traffic to your blog, you can work with brands to sponsor individual posts.
You can make a few hundred dollars for a small sponsorship, but a larger blog could make thousands per partnership. Once you write the post, you’ll need the brand to approve it before publication.
I have yet to do a sponsorship, but I’d recommend working with brands you like and trust. Just like with affiliate marketing, promoting any old brand could cause people to lose their trust in you.
That could cost you a big chunk of regular readers, which could then cause you to lose out on future sponsorships, clients, or product sales. It’s not worth the risk.
If you want to work with a brand you haven’t used, ask if you can use their product for a while to make sure you enjoy it. Then, you’ll feel better about publishing an article advertising for the company.
How Many Views Do You Need to Monetize a Blog?
Technically, you don’t need any page views to monetize a blog, especially if you use affiliate marketing or offer services. But you’ll need at least some views to earn money.
There’s no exact number of views you need to get for your blog to make money. Plus, it will vary based on how you monetize a blog as well as the niche you’re in and where most of your readers live.
How Do Beginner Bloggers Make Money?
Display ads and affiliate links are two great options for beginner bloggers to make money. Unfortunately, neither will result in a ton of income when your blog is new.
If you’re looking to make more money as a new blogger, I’d recommend offering a service in connection to your blog. You can make more per service, so you don’t need as much traffic to replace your job income.
How Can I Monetize a Blog for Free?
All of the methods I share can be done for free, at least to a certain extend. Display ads are free to set up, but you will need to invest in content, either by writing it yourself or paying freelancers.
A service is also free unless you need to pay for certain supplies to execute your service. Meanwhile, you can start affiliate marketing or sponsorships for free if you own the products you want to talk about.
Final Thoughts
Deciding how to monetize a blog on Blogger can be tricky, especially because it’s not as flexible as WordPress. However, you can still make money even if you don’t want to move your blog off of Blogger.
Consider everything from Google AdSense and affiliate marketing to services and digital products. And if you want to give affiliate marketing a try, enroll in Affiliate Marketing Superstars to learn more specific strategies.