I've spoken to many bloggers recently about why they chose to start a blog. A lot of the time they come back to me with “I needed an outlet for my thoughts”, or “I wanted a place to share my knowledge”. One of the most common reasons I've heard is, “because I want to make money”.
It’s an ideal many of us have – to earn a real income from our blogs, or at the very least enough to take the pressure off. Many parents are now choosing this option as a way to work around their families, while still contributing to the financial costs of running a home.
Whatever your reason for wanting to make money online, you need to go into it with your eyes open. Earning a living online isn’t easy. It takes hard work, a lot of patience and plenty of determination. Let’s look at some money management tips, as well as ways you can make money online and explore each one in detail.
Making Money Through Advertising
This is probably the most popular form of monetizing a website. Services like Google Adsense and other ad networks allow you place various sized banner and text ads throughout your blog or website.
Depending on the network, you’re paid every time a user clicks your ad, or by the number of impressions your banner ads receive. How much you’re paid again depends on the network, however with each click or impression you can expect to earn pennies.
While monetizing in this way seems pretty easy, it won’t make you a decent living on its own. To really get any benefit from these ads, you need a substantial inflow of traffic to your site. The more traffic you have, the more likely it is that people will click your ads. If your traffic is on the low side, it’s probably worth exploring a different monetization method you can use instead, or alongside your ads.
Making Money Through Sponsored Posts
This form of site monetization is popular among many bloggers. It works via a brand approaching you and offering to pay you to write about their products or services on your own blog. The catch is usually the inclusion of a link back to a page on their website.
Essentially it’s another form of advertising, however, you have greater control over what content appears on your website. If you have an approach to a brand that’s not relevant to your audience, you’re free to turn the offer down.
You can expect to earn anywhere from $50 to $500+ per sponsored post. However, this will likely depend on your site's metrics including traffic volume, domain authority and your level of influence on Social Media. It’s also difficult to land these opportunities when you’re just starting out. You won’t be on anyone’s radar just yet, so will need to work on publishing great content before you start getting any offers.
The biggest downside of relying on Sponsored Posts for making money online is that they’re not a regular occurrence. I've found that they’re a bit like buses – you’ll go for weeks without hearing a thing and then they all turn up at once.
Another thing you’ll need to consider is how you’ll disclose your relationship with a brand to your readers. To stay within FTC regulations about advertising, you’ll need to clearly state on any sponsored post that you’ve been paid to write it. Along with this, it’s good practice according to Google to “no-follow” any paid links so as not to hurt your page rankings.
Making Money Through By Selling Your Own Products
One way to really start getting serious about making money online is to create and sell your own products. Savvy bloggers have done this for years by selling online courses, webinars, eBooks, and videos, with a great deal of success.
First, though, you’ll need a product. This is the part where many become unstuck. What should you sell? How will people buy it?
My suggestion is to start small. Make your first product an eBook or something similar, like my friend Ryan Biddulph. Base your book on something you know a good deal about, perhaps a topic you cover on your blog for example. Then set an affordable price and market the pants off your product, before analyzing your results.
When the momentum dies down you can see how well you’ve done, what you could have done better and where you need to improve. This will make your next product better, more successful and will improve how much money you make.
This method again takes time. You need to put a lot of hard work in at the beginning, to get the results you want at the end. So don’t be frustrated if you don’t do so well the first time around, dust yourself off and try again better than before.
Making Money By Selling Your Services
Many people overlook this monetization method because it all sounds like too much hard work. However, this is likely the most lucrative way to make money online fast.
While it’s not a passive way to make a living, offering your services to other bloggers puts you in a position to earn a substantial amount of money. This can then fuel other projects you might be considering on the side, such as a product you wish to create.
The best way to start doing this is to show your skills. Put a page up on your website directing people to your services. Tell them what you do, examples of where you’ve done it and most importantly, how they will benefit.
A few examples of services you could offer include:
- Freelance writing
- Ghost blogging
- Graphic design
- Web design
- Virtual assistance
As more and more people take their businesses online, people offering services such as these, at a reasonable price are in short supply. They’re either overrun with work or are snapped up by entrepreneurs with an eye for a self-starter. Therefore its an excellent way to start earning money in a relatively short amount of time.
Final Thoughts
While this isn't an exhaustive list of ways to make money online, they are some of the most popular. The key with all of them is to stay patient and remember that things won’t happen overnight. You won’t suddenly wake up able to retire to a life of luxury, but it will open doors and paths you can expand upon in the future.
Click on the red button below to find out 4 more ways to make money with your blog.
I love your eBooks, Ryan and it's great to mention them and you!
Thanks for stopping over to comment,
Sue
Hi Sue,
great post.
I have to admit that in the start I was more reluctant to starting with coaching calls, because I wanted an automated process by selling digital products.
However, after getting tips from Yaro Starak and Jon Morrow, coaching is a smart way to go when it comes to you first product.
Why?
Because you are displaying your skills.
But more importantly, you get to know your customers and their needs.
What is the point in spending a lot of time making a product you THINK your customers want?
This is the mistake Danny Iny from Firepole Marketing did (according to himself).
It doesn`t matter how good your product is or how good you are at marketing, if you market the wrong product to the wrong people.
No need to play a wizard or sorceress and stare into the crystal ball. You don`t know what your customers want.
THEY do.
This is why I`ve started with coaching, where I help bloggers to free up more time, so they can do what they love – to write.
Thanks,
Tor
Hi, Tor,
I also heard Danny Iny say that. He lost money and time trying to think of a product his readers would like instead of asking them. Bryan Harris of VideoFruit always says to make a product in front of your readers – involve them with surveys, blog post questions and comments, etc. And both Danny and Bryan have been very successful!
Thanks for commenting today, Tor,
Sue
Hello Sue and savvy commentators,
Thanks for listing and clarifying – really does help.
May I lower the tone? It strikes me that most things in life are relationships. Our relationship with our customers (as you know, this is but a distant dream for me at the moment) is on much the same basis as family or personal relationships.
Don't guess or imagine – communicate with each other! Talk and find out what the other person wants.
'fraid that's my only contribution.
Thanks again – kindest regards to all.
Great advice, Zarayna! Communication and building relationships is the whole blogging business in a nutshell.
Thanks for the sage advice and for commenting,
Sue
Hi Sue,
Interesting what you and Tor are saying about asking what your readers want. I only have a small readership but it is growing and I have been thinking about doing a little survey. I liked to learn Survey Monkey as it's a good tool to use in the classroom with students, something I have been wanted to do for a few years now.
Always a great read, thanks Sue.
Cheers Julie
Julie recently posted…How a novice went from 10 to 1700 Twitter Followers in a Month
A one question survey works. "What is your biggest challenge or frustration with _____?"
Thanks for commenting, Julie!
Sue
Hey Sue Anne,
Not sure how common this is but heard a smart way to get a lil residual income on your sponsored post from Enstine Muki. He says to work out a deal with advertiser to use your affiliate link for their product.
I thought that was pretty clever. What are your thoughts on it?
That does work with the right affiliate partner, Steven. Just be picky!
Thanks for commenting,
Sue
Thanks Sue,
I am glad someone sent me this blog post because it is hard trying to find ways to monetize site without resorting to "blackhat" tactics. You readers are very informative as well, I was not expecting such dialog in the comments, this blog is now on my favorites list! Special thanks to Zara; people often forget to build relationships with their customers and Im glad you took the time to address that.
Jordyn
UK Staff @NYSILLY ONLINE
Hi, Jordyn,
I'm so glad to have you as a new commenter on Successful Blogging! The commenters are a great Team and you'll enjoy reading them.
Thanks,
Sue
[ Smiles ] I would go with sponsored posts, because a lot of bloggers have complained about not making sufficient money on Adsense.
I would agree, Renard. Adsense is tough lately.
Sue
Hi Sue,
Making money with a blog is a lot of work in the beginning. But, the work is so worth the result!!!! It's like anything, you have to build momentum and then sustain it.
As you know, I sell my services and my blog is a tool that helps demonstrate my competency and skills. It has been HUGE in helping me reach and meet new clients and influencers alike.
It's my blog that has earned me the opportunity to write on SEMRush.com and I have some amazing opportunities possibly with several business journals and other large blogs.
The goal is always to meet new prospects and earn new clients and my blog has been a massive tool that has aided me in the venture!
Thanks for exposing the different ways for me Sue. In the near future I will be starting to introduce eBooks and possibly even a new self-paced online training program.
I hope you had an awesome week?
~ Don Purdum
Hi, Don,
I thoroughly enjoyed your post on SEMRush this week. You are working the "blogget outreach" needed to drive traffic to your blog.
I like the idea of adding an eBook and self-paced course to your sales funnel. It's a natural product extension for your brand.
Thanks, as always, for commenting!
Sue
Sue that awesome, if you write till more on sponsored post will help newbie like me to make money happen, als thanks for rest of the tips which i am defensively hitting on, ye me too faced little difficulty in getting adsence but finally i made it… thanks for lovely tips.
Best Viinod
Hi, Arkads,
I have another article on sponsored posts. Search box is in the footer of the blog.
Glad you enjoyed the tips and thanks for commenting!
Sue
Hi Sue,
Great post! I love making money through my own products. Of course, some of them are already down the road while majority are through automation and referral (affiliate sales).
You did well in this post and keep it up! Just shared on Triberr too 🙂
Hi, Reginald,
Your own products are by far the best way to make money. For some newer bloggers, it's better to get your traffic going before creating any products or they just get discouraged.
Thanks for commenting!
Sue
It is interesting that so many people said they want to make money. There is nothing wrong with making money, of course. I love making money too 🙂 I interviewed some very successful bloggers, some of them made millions with their blogs. What I found is most of them did not start with an intent to make money. Rather, they wanted to journal what has been happening in their lives.
I have seen and heard that quite a bit also, George. It's a good way to start because you start building up traffic before you ever try to sell anything.
Good to see you here and thanks for commenting!
Sue
Interesting post, Sue. Making money through your own products is one of the most effective and passive way to generate money. I have already experimented with sponsored posts and advertisement, and this year, I plan to focus on releasing my own products.
Hi, Dev,
I totally agree about your own products being the best. The other ways are good for starting out or to save time, but your own stuff is the best way to go.
Thanks for coming by and commenting!
Sue
Hi Sue,
Every blogger wants to make money online. There are a number of ways to monetize a blog, which creates confusion to choose a right one.
This post has all major ways to earn money from blog. Currently i am using Adsense on my blog, but didn't earn much. So planning to do affiliate marketing.
One more thing that i learned from this post that the patience is the most important thing in online business.
I also want to get some sponsored post, but don't know how to get sponsored post. So can you please help me with it.
Thanks
Hi, Rabin,
Thanks for commenting. I have a post on sponsored blog posts here: Fair Sponsored Post Rates.
Email me if you need more help!
Sue
Thanks Sue for your quick replay.
Going to read that post.
Thanks once again.
Thanks Sue I'm a new blogger and this post will help me moving forward
Hi, Selwyn,
So glad to hear that! Thanks for commenting today,
Sue
Hi, Rabin,
Glad it was of help!
Sue
When I started in 2011, my biggest motto was to make money online only.
For the first year I was like try this, try that and tried almost all methods which were claiming to make me rich.. ha ha..
But soon I realized the actual meaning of blogging and started putting more efforts to make it a place for newbies.
The day I started giving priority to my readers, money started coming. As I started writing more with the intention to solve their problems.
You have listed very good methods to make money online which anyone can try in the starting days of their online career.
Thanks for the efforts.
Thanks for great post. I am a new in blogging, so this post is suitable for me, and I got a guide to make money with blog.
The information provided was extremely useful and informative. Thanks a lot for useful stuff.
Glad you enjoyed it, Sandesh, and thanks for commenting.
Sue
I have been into the blogging field for around a year or so but not able to generate really much. I have been able to get the ideas of all things but could not generate anything other than Google Adsense
I'm glad you got some new ideas, Anshul!
Thanks for commenting,
Sue
Hi Sue
Thanks for this affective post. Blogging is a great things nowadays. Thanks again share how to make with a blog.
You are most welcome!
Sue
I agree Sue, earning money online is not an easy task, it takes a lot of effort and hard work.
Thanks, Sue, for this wonderful article, but traffic is the real key to make money with a blog,
yeah this is great suggestions when i started blogging in 2016 , i don't know about anything and i am more confused still i make more sale and make money.
Everything is according to me.
Above all of them great work for me and make money more.
i really appreciate you, Sue Dunlevie. You have done a great job.
Thanks so much – I appreciate you for commenting!
Sue
You love blogging. Maybe you call it a hobby, but the truth is, it’s your passion. Your blog wakes you up in the morning, pulling you out of bed with the magnetic draw of its power to share your thoughts with the world. It keeps you awake at night with a stream of ideas you can’t shut down. It doesn’t matter if your blog is about parenting or finance or deep sea fish; the point is, you get to write about the thing you care about the most.
LOVE this, Toby! Thanks for this eloquent comment.
Sue