How To Make Money From Blogging Even If No One Is Paying You Part I

By: | June 7, 2015 | Tags: , , |
Discover how to make money from #blogging

You can monetize your blog in many different ways.

If they can do it, we can do it.

In …16 Experts Reveal Their Secrets, I interviewed professional bloggers who monetize their blogs.

If they can make money from blogging, so can we.  This post will explain 13 ways to make money from blogging.

Excited?  Wait until the end of this post.  I will offer ethical considerations that may make you think twice before you accept anything from anyone let alone cash.

13 Ways to Make Money From Blogging

1. Turn your blog posts into a book.

It is easier and cheaper than even before to self-publish.  Here are 10 Ways to Market Your Book.

I am delighted to say that many of my followers are published writers that sell their books on Amazon.

One day I plan on making money from blogging in this way myself.  A possibility for me is to divide my posts into three categories–beginning blogging, intermediate blogging, and advanced blogging topics.  In this way, I would be able to publish, and ultimately sell, three different blogging books.

How much to charge?  I have seen electronic books (E-Books) for sale for as little as $1.00 or as much as $10.00.

You might wrestle with the decision whether to publish your book electronically or the traditional way, in print.

A Beginners Guide to Getting Published Online describes how to publish an E-book.

How to Get Your Book Into a Library explains the latter option.

2. Write a sponsored post.

A sponsored post is when a person or company sponsors your writing.  They pay you to advertise for them on your blog post.

The SITSGirls Blog often advertises sponsored posts.

Here is a link to be able to pursue paid opportunities through their SWAY Corporation.

How to make money from blogging

The SITSGirls Sway Corporation offers paid opportunities.

Susan Maccarelli at Beyond Your Blog has devoted her blogging career to advertising opportunities for people outside of their own blogs.  Many of these include paid opportunities.

The Ultimate Guide to Finding Sponsored Posts is a great resource for finding other opportunities.  However, some have restrictions such as you need to have a minimum amount of followers in order to apply.

3. Write a product review.

Technically, this is an example of a sponsored post.

Bloggers are great writers.  Companies pay a blogger either in money or free products to review their product on the blog.

I know several bloggers who earn income this way.

My friend Scott over at SahmReviews offers examples of product reviews on his site.

4. Become an affiliate.

You could be a partner (affiliate) with a company that advertises on your site.  Each time someone clicks on the ad, you get paid.  I have not investigated how much.  It could be as little as pennies for 50 hits, but it might be worth exploring if this interests you.  Many bloggers I know are affiliated with Amazon.com.  Click the link to connect to their affiliate program.

5. Accept other types of advertising.

BeautyThroughImperfection has ads on the site.  The admin explains in her post How to Grow Your Blog and Make $1,000 a Month how she was able to earn $1,000 a month through advertising once she got her page views up above 500 per day.

Tammy Bleck at WittyWomanWriting was approached about having ads on her site when her readership grew above 5,000 followers.

I do not believe WordPress.com users can have ads on their site.

6. Sell a product on your blog.

Stuart Walker of nichehacks.com was selling his niche kit.

If you end up publishing a book, you could sell your book on your blog.

Sell a product relevant to your niche.  Kveller is a Jewish site, so it sells Jewish products.

Bloggers use PayPal to set up an account.  The consumer pays PayPal and PayPal pays the blogger.

The best part, you get to keep 100% of the sales* in contrast to an ad where you only get paid commission on the sale.

7. Be a coach.

Karissa Ancell from AFreshStartonaBudget offers people 20 minutes of free coaching time on the phone.  If they like what they hear and want more, she charges for additional coaching time.

8. Be a motivational or inspirational speaker.

A Battered Hope‘s Carol Graham combines her blog with a radio program she hosts.  She is also an inspirational speaker and published author.

Opportunities to speak can be found in several ways.  You could speak at blogging conferences.  Also, places look for motivational speakers.  By searching for motivational speakers in your genre on the Internet, you could get on a speaker’s list.

9. Accept donations

Some very successful bloggers accept credit cards from people wishing to make donations to their sites.

How to Accept Donations Online is the link if this interests you.

10. Hold a blogging conference.

Prices for conferences vary. I have only been to one blogging conference which cost $10.00.  It was complete with goodie bags, prizes, networking opportunities, and, of course, great instruction.

11. Have a webinar.

Instead of a conference where guests arrive in person, hold a webinar.  Technology exists where you and the guests can be at the computer at the same time.

I have attended several of Jon Morrow’s webinars.  Although I didn’t pay to attend, he explains their lucrative value in his article Make Money Blogging.  Scroll down to Lesson #11 for the information on webinars.

12. Write a paid guest post.

I know a blogger who wrote paid guests posts.  It was a win-win situation.  She explained she received increased readership as a result of her guest posts and got paid as well.

Here is the link to paid guest post opportunities.  Scroll down to Paid Posts.

13. Monetize your subscriber list.

I hear some bloggers get paid $1.00 for each new subscriber.

AfterOffers is the link if you are interested.

Other Considerations

I was told that if I had 5,000 eyes on my blog, I would be approached by people wanting to use my audience for their own purposes.

The word “panderer” comes to my mind.  Panderer often has sleazy connotations.

At the time of this writing, I don’t have 5,000 eyes on my blog, yet I have already been approached three times by people wanting to spam my community.

Did anyone ever offer me money?  Yes.  Did I accept it?  No.

I told him he could keep his $25.00.

$25.00?!  I live in California.  $25.00 wouldn’t pay for two movie tickets and a tub of popcorn on a Saturday night.  (Readers who came to my May Meet and Greet know how much I like popcorn.)

I guess I should be flattered.  I read on Facebook that the head of the Southern California Bloggers Association was offered $10.00, and she’s the head of the association.

Tammy Bleck of Witty Woman Writing accepted $500.00 per month by a reputable company to let them advertise on her site.

Eventually, they criticized a headline to one of her posts and asked that she take the post down.  She refused and stopped accepting their advertising money.

Trust me, with two daughters contemplating graduate school, and one of them contemplating medical school, I have nothing against money.  I’m just saying considerations need to be made before you decide how much you will accept and for what purpose.

Anne at Ethical Thinker discusses how “dangerous” having a big following can be because of the panderers this post discusses.

To close, I am editorializing.  In my humble opinion, blogging is fun, but not necessarily lucrative.

Many bloggers have chimed in on whether the money matters.  Of course, my time is worth money.  However, currently, blogging is my hobby.  I blog because the experience is rewarding for me in other ways, and, like all hobbies should be, it’s fun.

According to WeBlogBetter.com,

Blogging is fantastic. The ability to reach and communicate with thousands of people from around the world is just amazing! If you could earn money while you’re blogging that’s great, but if money is the reason you’re blogging, you may consider getting an actual job. Because blogging isn’t going to make you rich, and can barely pay your bills.

This post was written at the request of a reader.  If you think any other readers could benefit from these blog monetization tips, please share.

Readers, what are your experiences with blog monetization?  Do you have any other ideas for paid experiences you can share?  I look forward to your views.

Related Post:

Do You Want To Make Money From Your Blog…

Sources:

Five Ways to Make Money With My Blog*

The Ultimate Guide to Finding Sponsored Posts

Why I Abandoned My Social Media Presence

 

 

  1. signorad

    This has been very informative and has given me tons of ideas. Thank you.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Signorad,
      Thank you so much for your comments. I was hoping by offering thirteen different ideas that there would be enough suggestions that people could select from to try. I appreciate the comment, so I know I’ve offered enough variety. I tried to make the post comprehensive for that reason. Thanks for writing.
      Janice

  2. drewdog2060drewdog2060

    Thanks for this post which is full of useful information. As regards point 6, I believe WordPress Terms prohibit selling a product on a wordpress.com domain but wordpress.org users can sell products direct from their sites. WordPress.com users can link to a site selling products (for example to their Amazon author page) but they can’t take payment over their wordpress.com domain. I was offered a guest post by a blogger on beauty products of all things. I am still struggling to understand what relevance a post on beauty would have to a site called newauthoronline.com! The gentleman in question also said his posts would be well written, which was ironic given the fact the email from him was riddled with errors. Kevin

  3. bhavpreet

    this was really helping one … i loved it & respect this post of yours a lot ….

  4. adrianscrazylife

    Sorry Janice, I would have to disagree with you. I know MANY bloggers who are making phenomenal amounts of money in very ethical ways. I ran across a lady just this week who is making $18K a month from her affiliate links. She runs a popular sewing blog and sells craft classes through Craftsy on her affiliate link. At my last conference one of the speakers was selling an E-book series and Mastermind group. She probably made about $5k on the spot and another $2K in monthly residual income on the Mastermind group. And women (including ME couldn’t hand her the money fast enough) So there’s gold in them thar hills and I’m hoping to get some of it.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Adrienne,
      How exciting for your friend. How much was she selling her E-book for?
      Thank you for providing this information to help my readers, especially the reader who requested a post about monetization possibilities.
      I appreciate people (like you) writing who have additional information about this.
      Janice

  5. john doe

    That was really a comprehensive post. Thank you for all the information. You are an incredible researcher and writer.

    • Janice Wald

      Thanks John,
      I tried to include a link for each suggestion, so people could take action (click the link I provided) if they were interested and not just hear about it from me. In the nine hours since this post was published, the outbound links from this post have been clicked twelve times. I am glad people are finding the links helpful if monetizing their blogs is what they are interested in doing.
      Thanks for the nice comments about my research and writing.
      Janice

  6. Valeriehoff

    Thanks for this post! I’m focused on improving my content and increasing traffic before I monetize and eventually transition out of my Day Job. It might take years my website is my passion and I love working on it all weekend, even if there’s no money right now. Pinning this article so I can refer to it later!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Valerie,
      Nice to meet you. Like you, I also want to focus on increasing my traffic before I put any serious efforts into monetization. It is also my passion. I called it my “hobby”. Perhaps one day it can be an income earner as well.
      I’m glad you liked my post. I added you to my Email list I send out once-a-week, so you can always be kept apprised of my posts. I’m glad you liked my pin as well.
      Janice

  7. Terri Webster Schrandt

    Another great post as usual, Janice. I think bloggers who are committed to their blogs should think about monetization in one form or another. However, to be an affiliate or run ads, your blog has to be self-hosted. Some huge blog sites like SITS girls and Blogher won’t even consider your blog as part of their groups unless you are self-hosted and have a boatload of hits and followers.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Terri,
      Great to hear from you. I believe you are self-hosted, yes? I appreciate people like you and others providing the gaps between WordPress.com and self-hosted sites. I did mention under the second advertising tip that it wasn’t possible for WordPress.com users. Thanks for letting people know that affiliates aren’t possible either.
      Janice

      • Terri Webster Schrandt

        No I am not self-hosted yet, but I have my own domain…wordpress still owns my blog. WP will migrate your blog for a fee once you get your self hosted site. I use Blue Host for my Windigen Consulting website which is a wordpress.org. I may self host soon. WordPressYour post was chock full of good info. We all learn the hard way…by experience 🙂

          • Terri Webster Schrandt

            Oops, Janice, I was referring to your latest post and WordPress sneaked in. 🙂

          • Janice Wald

            I wrote it? Funny confusion.

  8. Janice Wald

    Hi,
    Update since this post was published:
    I have now been approached four times about companies/people wanting to use my audience. This time it was by a reputable company–Purex! However, in exchange for advertising their new products on my site, they are letting me join a group of bloggers. No financial compensation. I am leaning against it. Opinions?
    Janice

  9. Terri Webster Schrandt

    Janice, I have also been approached by several companies. One I wrote for used my post in their newsletter which was kind of cool. Then I blogged about using fitness trackers for Oscar insurance. No I did not get paid, but I got social media exposure and more readers. I spoke with another blogger and she charges a fee for writing posts. I like that idea. Sounds like Purex could do better by you. I belong to a bloggers’ group in Sacramento and they often send out invitations for events to blog about. I guess you have to decide if promoting their product for FREE is worth your time in coming up with the appropriate post for the product.

    • Janice Wald

      Wayne says it is a waste of my time, and I am inclined to agree. Thank you for writing with your opinion.

        • Janice Wald

          Awww…. Thank you! =)
          Like Valerie who commented here, it is my plan for the future. Right now, I should focus on getting my numbers higher. As these comments indicated, as did the sources I cited, you need a lot of traffic to interest advertisers. Thanks again for the help with my decision.
          Janice

  10. Rachel

    Thanks, I’ll have to ruminate on what I’m trying to achieve with my blog, you have given me food for thought- which is far better for me than actual food…

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Rachel,
      I’m glad I gave you ideas to ponder. I am very happy on WordPress.com. However, if I want to put ads, I may have to self-host one day. If someone gives me a code, I wonder if I could put the ad in a sidebar…?
      Janice

  11. bhavpreet

    i liked the comments too … as i am not self hosted , so is there any other way , other than word press to earn online , i mean the work whose requirement is Internet Connection ???? … Because i do not have much followers right now so might be possible that they all will reject me here …

    • Janice Wald

      Honestly, I agree with you. That’s one reason I don’t monetize. I don’t feel I have enough followers yet. Click the links and see if they have a minimum number of followers requirement. However, as these commenters mentioned, you may have to self-host if you want ads on your blog.
      Janice

      • bhavpreet

        i will do so .. thank you for your precious support to a person you never even saw .. it means a lot ..

          • bhavpreet

            thank you … when i will become something good i will definitely come to see you with a surprise …. & this won’t take longer than 3-6 years .. hahahahaha

  12. purpleslobinrecovery

    Yeah… so, I’d be scared to take money for what I do. I don’t want anyone being able to tell me what to do!
    Thanks for the ideas, as always.
    Your friend, Melinda

    • Janice Wald

      Hey My Friend Melinda,
      I assume you are referencing what happened to Tammy Bleck. These are hard choices. She took her post down and gave back the monthly income. I honestly don’t know what I would do. What if my daughter gets into medical school? That would be consistent money, $500.00, to help her out with. Suddenly blogging has turned into a moral dilemma worthy of Sophocles!

  13. Lux Ganzon

    This is absolutely helpful. Thank you for sharing these ideas. I hope to get paid more though blogging is more of sharing my passion. 🙂

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Lux,
      Pleased to meet you. Thank you so much for reading what I wrote and writing me. I’m glad you found my tips helpful. I write posts like this three times a week. I added you to my once-a-week mailing list, so you never miss a tip.
      Thank you again for reaching out.
      Janice

  14. Hammad Rais

    Great post this is as you have explained so many ways to earn money via blogging. Some of them are worth trying!

    • Janice Wald

      Thank you so much Hammad. I was hoping to include enough variety that even if someone does not self host, there would be ideas for them to try. Thank you also for visiting. You know how much I love seeing your Lego Avatar and how it reminds me of the Lego Movie and my favorite song Everything is Awesome. =)
      Janice

      • Hammad Rais

        Thank you so much Janice for liking my Lego avatar and for replying. Keep posting helpful stuff like this & you will feel more awesome 🙂

        • Janice Wald

          I just got that!!! Yes, everything is AWESOME! Sorry I was slow this week. I love our running jokes about the Lego Movie. Keep them coming! =)
          Janice

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  16. D.G.Kaye

    Another great informative post Janice that I am bookmarking. Indeed there are several ways to monetize our blogs. But like you said, there are also other reasons we blog. Many writers like myself enjoy blogging to share our thoughts and build our readership to forge friendships, and hopefully interest in what we have to say, that may also possibly lead to readers being interested in the books we write.
    In your case, your blog is so full of great information on the subject of blogging, that no doubt you should be putting together a book with your excellent information. 🙂

  17. Debbie Woodruff

    Great information. I enjoy making money from my blog but I turn down a lot more opportunities than I accept because they don’t fit with my niche or my ethics. Visiting from #SaturdaySharefest

  18. Http://exploringdomesticity.com

    Great list! Very informative! I’ve basically given up on making money from my blog. I do it because I like it but, so far, it isn’t worth the time focusing on monetizing would take – maybe in a couple years…

  19. Heather Lynn

    Your posts are so informative, and are always packed with useful resources. Thank you!
    This post caught my attention from SITS Saturday sharefest. And I’m happy it did, I’ve been trying to find new ways to monetize my blog. But only in a way that would benefit my readers, not annoy/ruin my growing readership!
    This post is definitely bookmarked! 🙂
    – Heather Lynn

  20. xiaohuamaobiji

    I discovered great sites by reading this post, thanks so much for sharing!

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  22. Daniela Apostol

    Another great post, thank you for all the fantastic ideas. I am quite interested in the sponsored writing, could you kindly advise how to approach a company to sponsor me? As my blog is food related, l was thinking about approaching companies that l use most ingredients from, but l do not quite know how to do that. Thanks a lot!

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Daniela,
      Absolutely! Yes, I can. Do you know Carolyn West of thistalkaintcheap.com? That’s exactly what she does. Smart & Final, a big store near us, and others sponsor her. She makes a recipe, using the ingredients from Smart and Final, and they pay her for including their ingredients in their recipe. At least that’s my understanding from her and someone who introduced me to her. Perhaps you want to follow her blog and get to know her. She is very nice and credible. She helped me when I first started.
      There is also a company called FatJoe’s. They are a blogger outreach company. They write a guest post for you and pay you to publish it!
      Also, Loop88 will pay you to post pins on Pinterest. I hear they love Food Bloggers.
      I hope you will find these ideas helpful.
      Janice

      • Daniela Apostol

        Thank you so much, Janice, you are an absolute angel! I will look into it And thank you very much for including me on your board on Pinterest, highly appreciated.

        • Janice Wald

          What kind words! Thank you! It is always my pleasure to help. I will look forward to pinning with you. My other food bloggers can see you there. I have bimonthly Meet and Greets as well. On Mondays, I have a mega linky party. Most of the 400 people that come are food bloggers! You will meet lots of connections to help you grow your blog here.
          Let me know how the Carolyn West contact works out for you.
          Janice

          • Daniela Apostol

            Thank you very much, Janice. I am looking forward to that!

  23. Mark

    I absolutely love the creativity of your post Janice!

    You have really eye many eyes to the possibilities,
    including my own!

    And I like where the one lady refused to be silenced, so she
    stopped accepting the advertisers money! Since she
    was able to take a stand, I say bravo to her!

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