When I started my blog, I didn’t really have any idea that it was possible to make living as a blogger. I had read income stories and some real-life stories of a few blogging friends but still I had doubts. How do bloggers make money online? What do they do to make money from blogging? If they do, how much money bloggers make?

As I dip my toes into the blogosphere, I realized that it was possible. Of course, with hard work, research and steady streams of consistent efforts.

Since it was all new, I took a long time to actually figure out how bloggers make money and how I can make money from my blog too!

Blogging is also a lifestyle-friendly business. You get the flexibility to work from home, pick topics of your interest, communicate with others, and improve your skills. And, of course, make money blogging.

If you are looking to start a money-making blog from scratch, use my free tutorial to create your own blog! This guide tells you exactly what to do to start blogging and how to start your own blog.

HOW BLOGGERS MAKE MONEY?

Blogging gives you limitless opportunities. As soon as you start a blog, you are more likely to avail several opportunities to grow, expand and make money from your blog. However, no one can actually guarantee the amount of money you can make out of your blog.

As it also depends on multiple factors.

• Money Making Strategies
• Monetization methods
• Organic search
• Blog Rank
• Email lists
• Consistency
• Blog Traffic
• Social media influence

But, wait!

That doesn’t mean you can’t make money from blogging. But, all the above factors are essential to consider blogging for money. In blogging, things are connected. The probability of your blog’s income depends on your consistent efforts.

I personally think, you just need to get serious about blogging and treat it as a business to make money.

Whatever blog monetization method you pick, consider building an email list. Many new bloggers get scared to start an email list and writing emails. But, it’s one of my best blogging decisions. Being an avid email reader myself, I emphasize on email marketing. I use Mailerlite to send monthly emails and mailerlite is free up to 1000 subscribers. If you’re new and you just want to build an email list then start with a free email marketing tool and upgrade it as the limit exceeds.

Here’s a post on ‘how to build an email list for free’.

OptinMonster is another great lead generation software that helps to design beautiful forms on your blog. I use OptinMonster for lead generation. It’s so simple that anyone can do it on their own.

Create forms, collect subscribers and send them emails through Mailerlite.

Awesome? 

Must-Read: How Do Bloggers Get Paid To Blog?

Let’s talk about ways to make money from blogging.

7 ROCK-SOLID WAYS BLOGGERS MAKE MONEY ONLINE

Now, I’m going to uncover the most popular ways bloggers make money. If you’ve just started your blog or planned to blog for money, make sure bookmark this post.

Related:

The Blogger’s Guide To Make $100 From Blogging

1- AFFILIATE MARKETING

Affiliate marketing is a little easier to explain. Basically, a blogger signs up as an affiliate partner of a company. His job is to promote the products or services of that company. If someone clicks on the affiliate link and make a purchase of any product, you will earn a commission. As simple as that.

There are multiple affiliate marketing programs for bloggers to join for free. A number of companies have their own affiliate programs where you just need to sign up and get approved as an affiliate. On the other side, there are a handful of affiliate networks where you can easily search for brands and apply for their affiliate programs. Literally, there is a wide range of brands available on the affiliate networks. From clothing to technology and sports, the choices are endless. Depending on your targeted audience and the blogging niche, you can pick brands and promote their products.

Affiliate marketing is also one of my biggest income sources. I often recommend some great products, books, courses, and tools to my email lists.

In my opinion, it also helps to provide new resources, and products to the followers so that they can enjoy and reap the benefits while you make a small commission. So, If you like a product, join their affiliate program and let your followers know about it.

Many bloggers make money with affiliate marketing. This is where the importance of big email lists, massive blog traffic, and social media influence comes in.

You can read ‘The Beginners Guide To Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers’

Few affiliate networks you can join;

• Commission Junction
• Amazon Affiliate Program
• Shareasale – Click to join Shareasale
• Viglink
• Rakuten Linkshare

More: Top high-paying affiliate marketing programs for bloggers

If you’d like to join Amazon affiliate program then you may be interested in reading this super amazing post on How To Make $1000 Per Month With Amazon Niche Site.

2- AD NETWORKS

Another common way to make money blogging is participating in the ad networks. The basic idea is that you display ads on your blog and when a visitor clicks on those ads, you get paid a very tiny amount. If you are able to generate maximum traffic to your blog then ads can definitely help you make some good money.

A number of famous bloggers make money with ads, and they earn a decent amount every month.

It’s simple to set up ads on your blog. As your application gets accepted, you just have to copy and paste the codes into specific places where you’d like the ads to display.

Recommended: How To Monetize Your Blog Without Ads?

Some of the popular ad networks are;

1- Google Adsense
2- Media Net – Apply it here
3- Infolinks

Making money with ad networks is a common option. A number of bloggers make money by only displaying ads on their sites. If you have not monetized your blog yet, you can try applying for these ad networks and make few extra money.

MediaVine is another ad management service.

It’s a great alternative to Google Adsense but it works differently. It’s more like an ad manager which allows tested and optimized ad placements on publishers websites. It also has a large support department for publishers that seamlessly work with technical and other optimization issues. The only requirement to apply for MediaVine is you need to have at least 25,000 sessions per month.

3- PAID REVIEWS

Blogging is a multi-tasking activity. It just not helps to build an audience but it’s a daily practice to improve your writing skills. As a blogger, you also get paid for writing reviews. You are asked to review a product and write about it on your blog. Several bloggers make money with sponsored blog posts and reviews. When starting out, you will have to contact with brands and other companies who are looking for bloggers to review their products. Many brands give you a free product to try. Some companies also offer you discounts on certain products. Sometimes, you also get a free trial of an expensive tool.

If you are a lifestyle blogger, you can get maximum opportunities for paid reviews. By just reviewing products, you can easily make money blogging.

My post on how to make money from sponsored blog posts walk you through the simple process of working and collaborating with brands for an additional income.

But, you can always set your rates depending on the audience reach, overall traffic and engagement rates. Below are few options to consider;

• Payperpost
• SponsoredReviews.com
• Coobis
• Set up a work with me page on your blog

Mostly, big brands contact you directly through an email and give you the opportunity to get paid. But, you should always make yourself visible on different platforms.

TIP: Remember not to only focus on blogging for money. It may profit you in the short run but definitely not profitable in the long run. Adopt the strategic idea to produce quality content, build an audience and increase your blog traffic to automatically attract money making opportunities.

4- INFLUENCER MARKETING

Another big one is influencer marketing. This is somewhat similar to sponsored reviews. As I mentioned earlier that blogging covers multiple tasks. At a time, you wear hats to different operations. If you have managed to gain a large audience on your blog and social media platforms – be an influencer. It can be a wonderful source of revenue.

I’m talking about those gorgeous Instagram photos. Brands contact social media influencers and pay them for sharing one image on social media platforms. Isn’t that awesome? Literally, you paid for sharing one image with an attractive caption.

Posts related to Influencer Marketing;

• Become a Micro-Influencer Today! 

The fact is that influencer marketing will continue to be a focus of brands in 2018. Smart marketers and brands need social media influencers to achieve success in their marketing campaigns. Many bloggers earn money with sponsorship. Below are some popular websites to help connect bloggers with brands.

• Webfluential – Apply here!
• Cooperatize – Apply here
• Tap Influence
• Linquia
• Izea
• Influencter

Of course, you need to have an impressive number of visitors on your blog and decent followers on social media channels. Additionally, you will also need to have an engaged audience who participates and give a response.

In order to get started with influencer marketing, you will have to create a media kit to work with brands.

5- CREATE AND SELL A PRODUCT

Another lucrative way to make money on your blog is creating your own products and selling it online. It just not helps to make money from blogging but also enhances your overall blog visibility. The idea works well in any niche.

Some of the things that you can create and sell to earn money from your blog are;

• E-books ( Ebook Creation Guide )
• E-courses
• Speak at conferences
• Teach workshops
• Sell Webinars
• Create a membership site where people can pay to join the community

Helpful Read: Top Blogging Books To Boost Your Blog & Traffic

I also got an amazing free ebook.

 

Looking for more ideas on making money blogging?

Scroll down.

6- OFFER FREELANCE BLOGGING SERVICES

I often get asked how do bloggers make money. Recently, a new blogger has sent me an email inquiring how to make money as a blogger. I told her to start offer blogging services to make extra money on your blog.

Making money as a blogger isn’t hard. You just have to be creative and expand yourself. Don’t get restricted.

Here are a few ideas you can use;

• Offer freelance writing services
• Blog management services
• Offer virtual assistant services
• Create images for other bloggers
• Provide WordPress technical services

I also make money by offering freelance writing and blog management services. I often get multiple writing opportunities through my blog. Recently, one blogger and a company have hired me for writing their blog posts. Look at my ‘work with me’ page

Helpful Read: 7 Steps to kickstart your freelance writing career off the ground

Tip: Use your blog as a portfolio to impress your freelance clients. Freelance writing can easily make you earn money. Of course, writing and research skills matter. But, you can start as a beginner and learn as you grow.

7- DIRECT ADVERTISEMENTS

Let’s unfold the last idea to make money blogging.

Another popular method bloggers make money today is direct advertisements. As a blog owner, you can display ads on your site and get paid whenever someone clicks on the link. Basically, these are the ads that are normally displayed on the sidebar or the widget area. Some companies and brands want to show their product on your sidebar. These companies approach website owners and ask rates for the direct advertisement.

Sometimes, these companies ask for header ads. You can specify all your conditions and size of ads on a separate page on your blog. To get started, you can create a work with me page and state all your conditions under a direct advertisements category.

Be sure to provide your email so that they contact you for further discussions.

FINAL NOTES

I have talked about some popular methods to make money from your blog.

1. Make money with affiliate marketing (How I made my first $100 from blogging)
2. Ad Networks (Google Adsense, Media.net etc)
3. Paid Reviews (Read the full post on Monetize Your Blog With New Methods)
4. Influencer Marketing
5. Create and sell a product
6. Freelance Blogging Services ( 27 Freelance Services You Can Offer From Home)
7. Direct Advertisements

Most importantly, I share valuable blogging tips and other blogging resources in my emails. I would definitely encourage you to get on my email list so that you get the best advice, resources directly in your inbox.

What other ways do you use to make money from your blog?

Have you monetized your blog yet?

Share with us what works for your blog.

Do let me know in the comments below.

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