How to Make Money Blogging | How to Start a Blog: DAY 7

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I make a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure here.

Welcome to Day 7 of the series How to Start a Blog. Today we are tackling how to make money blogging.

This post was sponsored by GetBlogged.

Because at the end of the day, whether you started this blog as a fun hobby or not – who wouldn’t want to earn an extra income doing something they love?

I’m sharing with you the main sources of income bloggers use to monetize their blogs and how to set them up.

Ready to start your own blog? I use and recommend Bluehost for your blog. If you have no idea where to begin, use my free ultimate guide on how to start a blog and make money blogging.

I know how overwhelming it can be to get started. So I’m here to guide you step by step with all the tips that I have learned myself. With a daily checklist to keep you on track.

There are 7 posts in this Start a Blog challenge, so here is what you can expect:


TODAY’S CHECKLIST

  1. Set up Google Adsense
  2. Join sponsored posts programs
  3. Set up affiliates
  4. Sell a digital product

How To Make Money Blogging

I am going to preface this post by saying: you will not make money blogging overnight.

If you’re going into this blogging journey expecting to make a quick buck, you will likely be disappointed.

You can definitely start making a serious income from it, but it takes a lot of hard work and it’s something that happens in time – months and even years.

However, if you’re passionate about this, it can become much more than just a hobby.

roadmap to monetization how to start making money blogging in 2020

The main thing you need to make money blogging?

Blog traffic.

All of the income sources below will highly depend on the amount of pageviews you get.

So if you haven’t already, make sure to read How to Get Blog Traffic first.

If you have just started your blog, I suggest waiting for a few months to focus on posting quality content and growing your blog traffic before you look into monetizing it.

You can probably already get into certain affiliate or ads programs even with little traffic. The thing is, with no traffic, your earnings will look something like this: $0.005.

Once you start getting some traffic, here are the monetizing options I would look into.

1. Set up Google Adsense

Once you are approved for the Adsense program, you can start placing ads on your blog. And gain an income every time someone clicks on those ads.

It is recommended that you wait until you’ve had your blog for 6 months before you apply.

Again, as I mentioned before, you might get accepted super early. But unless you actually have traffic on your blog, you will barely be making anything.

Once you start gaining those pageviews, the Adsense revenue will go up as well.

I’ve been experimenting with different ad placements as well to see how well they perform. My main goal is to not make them super annoying for my readers, but also have them as visible as I can without ruining the user experience.

I will talk more about this in some future posts about monetizing, especially after I’ve tested different strategies first.

2. Join sponsored post programs

Opinions on sponsored posts are divided.

However, I think as long as you integrate the sponsored product/service naturally into your content and also provide value to the reader, you will do well.

Brands and companies also appreciate when their product fits seamlessly into your content without it looking forced. So make sure you choose to promote products that actually fit in your niche.

What I try to do is create a full post like I normally would, while including their product and link.

Here is an example of one of my sponsored posts: How to get a Perfect Flatlay.

The post revolves around the sponsored product, BUT I packed it full of tips and props ideas so that I also offered value to my readers. Hope that makes sense.

I’m still getting the hang of it myself. 🙂

Where do you find sponsored posts?

If there’s a brand in particular you would like to work with, you can obviously straight on pitch your ideas to them. However, I have found it easier, especially in the beginning, to use websites for sponsored posts that basically connect the brand with the blogger.

Cold-pitching to a brand is not part of my current strategy, so instead I have joined a few of these sponsored post websites in order to reach brands that are actively looking for bloggers to write for them.

The one that I’ve had the most success with so far is definitely Get Blogged.

They offer paid blogging jobs on various topics and they’re updated quite frequently, so you’re bound to find something relevant to your niche.

They are great, especially if you’re just starting out, because they’ve got sponsored opportunities for different-sized blogs, not just for huge ones. So you can apply even without a massive domain authority.

Here is a list of websites where you can find sponsored posts:

  • Get Blogged
  • IZEA or IZEA UK
  • SocialFabric
  • TapInfluence
  • RealClever
  • BloggersRequired
  • Linqia
  • Pollinate
  • Aspire IQ

And there are sooo many more out there. Give as many as you can a try and see which one works better for you.

Don’t forget to always disclose when you put out a sponsored post.

4 ways to start making money blogging with free resources

3. Set up affiliates

Another great way to earn a bit extra is by using affiliate links. I use these whenever they fit my content and I always disclose that in my posts (which you should too, in order to comply with current regulations).

Affiliate networks usually have long lists of merchants/brands you can put up links for. For example, Skimlinks has brands like ASOS, Nordstrom etc.

There are multiple affiliate programs you can join and I recommend going for the ones that have the most brands that you use.

After you are approved into an affiliate program, you can start adding affiliate links in your posts.

The way it works is: when someone clicks on your link and buys the product, you get a small commission. At no added cost to the buyer.

It’s a win-win situation really.

The affiliate market gets free promotion for products. You as a blogger get a commission. The reader gets quick links to products they’re interested in. So they don’t have to spend time scouring the internet for various products.

Here are some of the most popular affiliate programs you can join:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Skimlinks
  • Viglink
  • Shareasale
  • CJ affiliate
  • Rakuten
  • Reward style
  • Shop style collective

I have not used ALL of these, just a few so far, but these are quite popular among lots of bloggers.

The best one for me in terms of income so far has been Amazon, but I have only recently started working with a few more, so I will keep you posted on how it goes.

4. Sell a digital product or service

Another method of monetizing your blog (which lots of bloggers swear by) is creating a digital product and selling it to your audience.

Keep in mind that a lot of people DO appreciate free valuable resources, so pick and choose what you want to sell and what you want to give as a free resource.

For example, I have quite a few freebies that I offer, including some Free Lightroom Presets and my audience really appreciates them.

Make sure to have a strategy in mind and do some research to see what products you could sell and what would be a reasonable price for your audience.

Here are a few ideas of products you could create to sell:

  • E-books
  • Online courses
  • Workbooks
  • Worksheets
  • Recipe books
  • Meal planners
  • Printables
  • Stock photos
  • Templates

Congrats on taking the leap to start a blog. If you put in the effort, you will certainly see results in time and you will start to make money blogging.

What monetizing strategies would you like to try for your blog?

1 thought on “How to Make Money Blogging | How to Start a Blog: DAY 7”

  1. Do you use blue host for wordpress? I’m still using blogger and I’m not sure if I should make the move 🙃 what do you think?

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