How to Make Money Blogging - Ultimate Beginners Guide
Are you new to blogging and want to learn how to make money as a blogger?
The fact is, blogging for a living is hard. I’m a realist and this isn’t going to be just another of those hum-drum dreamers lists. It’s just a few ideas that have worked for me, but it requires real effort and often little reward but, sometimes, you get lucky. And there are ways to turn words into cash. Here are a few of the things I do to make money blogging.
Disclosure: This is a free article that contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Blogging on your own site for maximum payback
Starting your own blog is a pretty easy process. You can start a blog in minutes on ready-made platforms such as Medium, WordPress.com, even LinkedIn.
Personally, I like to buy my own domain and host a website myself on WordPress. If you’re not tech-savvy and you feel you wouldn’t know where to start then I will just say, it’s not that difficult and it doesn’t cost much either. This path gives you the most flexibility.
However, you decide to start your blog, most of the following methods will work and could bring you some payback for your writing effort – the majority of these methods will require you to be established and with a regular flow of visitors to your blog:
1. Sell ad space on your blog (you’d need your own site for this rather than using a free platform).
2. Get sponsored posts from brands and other companies.
3. Reach out to companies that may be of interest to your readers and inquire about advertising opportunities with them (it’s best if you’re already doing some advertising on the site first).
4. Promote affiliate links for products or services you personally like and use, but keep in mind that this can also get tricky really quickly so make sure you know the rules before jumping right in (especially if you would be linking to a product or service that might sell something not all readers might agree with).
5. Look into affiliate programs, some of them offering up to 50% commission! My platform of choice if CJ.com (cj.com) but Clickbank (clickbank.com) is good for more specialist products such as eBooks and software.
6. Get paid to review products or services on your blog.
7. Advertise your own products or services on your blog (you can sell eBooks, guides, etc.).
8. Do any of the above with a podcast to increase your reach and to make you an authority on a subject! (Just be sure you’re doing it right because you don’t want to just be spamming people).
9. Create an email list or supply content that can be delivered directly through other mediums such as social media or email. This will allow you to reach more people and bring in even more money, especially if you’re providing valuable content.
10. And once again, don’t forget about the power of teaching via a course (Paid or Free). This is the area that I’ve had the most success with.
11. Google AdSense, Monetize with CPC Ads. The most well-known way to monetize your blog is through Google AdSense, which you can do on just about any site with ease (there is an approval process but so long as you have good quality content and are getting site visitors, it’s straightforward). You can sell space in many different ways – text ads, video ads, image ads (banner or in image format). You have more flexibility here as it depends on what your readers want.
These are just a few of the ways you can turn your writing efforts into some extra cash. But keep in mind that most of these methods won’t make you rich though if that’s your goal! 🙂
Choosing the Right Blogging Niche for maximum profit
The first question is why are you blogging? I know it sounds simplistic but, if you’re not sure of your own goals for trying to monetize a blog then chances are you won’t be able to achieve them.
You need to decide what your niche is.
My top tip here is to choose something that you’re interested in. Whether you’re basing this around an affiliate niche or just something you’re passionate about, just bear in mind that you’ll be blogging about it for a long time, so it really must interest you and, it has enough scope for you to keep writing about it.
Attracting traffic to your blog
I recommend you pick a social channel (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube etc.) and focus on being active there too as this is often the quickest way to get some interest in your blog. Post your blog articles on your social channels and turn them into videos or podcasts too if you can – the more you do, the better.
Think long-term about search engines as it’s hard to get your website ranked, it takes a long time, but it will be a long-term source of traffic. Research into SEO and learn the basics as it will go a long way to helping you understand how search engines work.
But I'm not making any money, is it worth the effort?
Be under no illusion, blogging is hard, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again! know what you’re getting into and how it will suck all your time for potentially, little reward.
But perseverance, dedication, hard work and patience can pay off for you. Eventually, your website will attract visitors, you’ll pick up some subscribers, your website visitors will click some of your affiliate links and if you’re lucky, they’ll share your articles.
what can I do?
It could take a while before this happens, just be clear about your expectations and have blind faith that if you carry on, it will make you some money.
And, you have a skill (writing!) so, if you’re prepared to write for other people’s blogs then there is money to be made. There are platforms out there that pay for blog writers:
iWriter (iwriter.com): iWriter is an online writing platform and it’s one of my favorites. They pay up to $10 for a 500-word article and they have very straightforward instructions on what they want. And they’re always looking for new writers so if you’re just getting started, this is a great place to start.
HireWriters.com (hirewriters.com): is almost the same as iWriter. However, I’ve found that they don’t pay as well as iWriter and they have a smaller audience. The payment per article ranges between $5 and $10.
Both platforms offer regular work opportunities so if you’re in need of a little extra cash and you have an abundance of time on your hands then this might be a good place to start.
In conclusion, I hope this has been helpful. It’s a very long process, particularly at the beginning, but don’t lose hope. You will get there in the end!
Good luck!