Many people say they make a living from blogging, but not everyone does. This article explains 10 common ways bloggers make money and discusses the good and bad sides of each.
Not all bloggers actually make a full-time income. Studies show that only about 5%-8% of them do. How much money you make from blogging depends on how well you use different money-making methods. If you don’t know these methods, you won’t make much.
Some bloggers I know make a lot of money, even six figures, from their blogs. One example is Pete Cashmore, who started Mashable in 2005. He sold it for $50 million in 2017 and is now worth over $120 million.
How Do Blogs Generate Money
How do blogs make money? Well, they use different methods like affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, ads, selling products, and more. But making money from a blog isn’t instant. It takes time and hard work.
Let’s look at two popular ways blogs make money: advertising and affiliate marketing.
1. Advertising:
Companies pay to put ads on your blog. You can talk directly with a company or use an ad network like Google AdSense. When people click on the ads, you earn money.
How much can you earn?
It depends, usually between $0.01 and $0.25 per pageview. But it’s not always easy. Ads can be annoying for readers, and some networks have requirements before you can join.
Pros:
- Ads are easy to set up, and you can make money without doing much once it’s set.
Cons:
- Ads can bother readers, and it’s not the best way for beginners to make money.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
This is when you earn a commission by promoting other people’s products. For example, if your blog is about dogs, you can review dog products and earn money when people buy them through your links.
How much can you earn?
It varies, but on average, between 1% and 10% from affiliate networks. Some private programs offer even more.
Pros:
Easy to start, no need to create your own products, and you can earn good commissions.
Cons:
It’s hard work at the beginning, and it can be tough to grow if you don’t pick the right topic or have the right team. So, making money from a blog takes time and effort, but with the right strategies, it’s possible.
3. Sponsored Content:
When companies want to show off their products, they pay bloggers to write about them. It’s like getting paid to share something cool with your readers.
How much can you earn?
It depends on how many people visit your blog and how influential you are. On average, it can be anywhere from $25 to $1,000 for each post.
Pros:
You get paid for your content, and it could lead to lasting relationships with brands.
Cons:
Finding sponsors can be tough, especially if you’re not a big deal in your area. It also takes a lot of work, and you have to be careful not to be too one-sided.
4. Selling Services:
If you become an expert in a specific topic through your blog, you can offer services like consulting or coaching.
How much can you earn?
It varies, but for consulting, it can be between $60 and $300 per hour.
Pros:
It’s easy to start if you already have a good reputation, and there’s potential to earn a lot. You can build long-term relationships with clients.
Cons:
You need to put a lot of effort into providing a quality service, which can be hard if you’re already busy with your blog. It’s also tough to grow because clients want to work with you, not someone else.
5. Selling Products:
Some bloggers create and sell things, like ebooks or T-shirts, on their websites.
How much can you earn?
It depends on what you’re selling, but it can range from $4 for a book to $50 for merchandise.
Pros:
There’s a chance to earn a lot passively, especially with digital products. It’s also easy to expand.
Cons:
Creating products takes time and money. Even writing an ebook can be a big task. With physical products, there’s extra work to make sure everything is made and shipped smoothly.
6. Online Courses:
If you know a lot about something, you can make online courses and sell them on your blog. Some people even sell courses about blogging tips or making money with affiliate marketing.
How much can you earn?
Courses usually sell between $400 and $1,000 per sale, but it depends on what you’re teaching and how many followers you have.
Pros:
You can earn a lot from selling courses, and it’s easy to make more courses.
Cons:
Making courses takes a lot of time, you need to find people to buy them, and it can be hard to compete with big businesses.
7. Coaching and Mentoring:
If people look up to you, you can offer coaching or mentoring to help them learn. This is like giving one-on-one advice.
How much can you earn?
It varies, but you can earn $50–$150 per hour on average.
Pros:
You can make good money, and it’s rewarding to see people you help succeed.
Cons:
It takes a lot of work, and you need to be fair and ethical when giving advice.
8. Public Speaking:
If you know a lot about something, you can talk about it at events. This could be workshops, seminars, or conferences.
How much can you earn?
Anywhere from $500 to $10,000 per event, depending on how famous you are.
Pros:
You can earn a lot, and it’s easy to do more events.
Cons:
You need to be comfortable talking to big groups, and you have to be a good speaker.
9. Premium Communities:
Some bloggers make exclusive online groups that people pay to join. This could be for special content, meetings, or networking with important people.
How much can you earn?
These groups can make $50 to $150 per month from each person.
Pros:
You can make good money from membership fees, and it’s easy to grow with more members.
Cons:
It takes a lot of work to set up and run the group, and it can be hard to find people to join, especially at the start.
10. Blog Flipping:
Making money online can also come from buying and selling blogs. If you know what you’re doing, you can buy a beginner blog, make it better, and sell it for more money – like flipping a house.
You can do this by yourself or use websites like Flippa, Investors Club, or Empire Flippers. These places help connect people who want to buy and sell blogs.
How much can you earn?
Blogs usually sell for 20 to 40 times their monthly profit. So, if a blog makes $1,000 a month, it could sell for $20,000 to $40,000. Successful blogs can sell for even more, sometimes over $100,000.
Pros:
You can make good money by selling your blog, and it gives you money to buy other blogs to sell later.
Cons:
It takes a lot of work to find and manage blogs, and it can be hard to find people to buy or sell them to, depending on the topic.
Tips for a Successful Blog:
Now that you know how blogs make money, here are some tips for making your blog successful and using those money-making methods as much as possible.
1. Choose a Profitable Niche:
Pick a topic that can make you money. If you want to use affiliate marketing, choose a topic with expensive things to promote. Some topics are competitive, but that can be good because you can learn from others.
2. Keep it Unique:
There are a lot of blogs out there, so you need to stand out. Be different by sharing your personal experiences or offering more information than others. Use visuals like pictures and videos to catch people’s attention. Find a topic that isn’t covered much – like if you love alpacas, that could be your special idea.
Note: Make sure your content is good quality – not just different. Google likes good content, and so do readers.
3. Make Your Content Useful and Interesting:
Write in a way that’s easy to understand and useful. People and search engines like good content. Make your content unique, easy to read, and satisfying for what people are looking for.
- Grow Free Traffic with SEO:
You can make your blog successful by using something called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO helps you get free traffic from search engines like Google and Bing.
When you start a blog, it’s important to write about things that people are looking for. Using tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer can help you find the right topics that people are searching for. This way, more people will find your blog, and you can get more leads for your products or services.
Tip: Want to learn more about SEO? Check out our SEO course for beginners.
- Build an Email List:
While SEO is great, things can change suddenly. You might lose a lot of your traffic with just one update. That’s why it’s crucial to collect emails. Having a newsletter that shares your content and other relevant things with your subscribers is a smart way to turn them into leads and sales.
Example: SEOFOMO, a popular SEO newsletter with over 27,000 subscribers.
As long as you’re not sending spam, you can reach out to your email list whenever you want. This is a good strategy, especially if you add other ways to make money, like selling courses, products, or services.
- Expand Your Blog with Additional Channels:
You can make your blog even better by adding more things like social media, YouTube videos, or a podcast. This helps you reach a bigger audience and opens up more ways to make money, like ads on YouTube or sponsored podcasts.
Example: A parenting blog that has digital products and a podcast as extra features.
- Final Thoughts:
Blogs can make money in many ways, and you can use several of them to make sure your blog has different sources of income. Whether you’re recommending products or offering consulting services, there are lots of ways for even new bloggers to earn money.