Have you ever met a blogger who doesn’t want to make money blogging?
Maybe you have.
Would they refuse the money if offered?
Doubtful.
Recently a commenter wrote me observing bloggers consistently write tips explaining how to make money blogging.
Do you know why?
Writers are interested in how to make money online.
You, too, can make money blogging, and you can do so quickly.
By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll know how to make money blogging.
In order to set up a money-making blog, first, you need to set up a blog.
How to Start a Blog
Creating a blog is easy. Millions of people currently have blogs on the internet.
- I highly recommend starting on WordPress.org. Serious bloggers use this platform. WordPress.com highly frowns on bloggers accepting money from blogging. I know of bloggers who petition WordPress.com to be able to run ads. However, if you start on WordPress.org, you don’t have to jump through these hoops.
- You will need a host. A Small Orange and Host Gator are two of them, but many popular web hosts exist.
- Of course, you will choose a theme which is like your blog’s template. Pick a theme with a sidebar, so you have a place to place ads.
- Pick a niche so advertisers can run niche-specific ads on your blog. Choose a topic you’re knowledgeable and passionate about. Check with Buzzsumo.com to ensure people are searching for your topic. Your blog will be more lucrative if people are interested in the product you are trying to sell.
- Pick a name for your blog that tells potential visitors and advertisers what your niche is. For example, my blog name, Mostly Blogging, makes it clear blogging is my niche. You must pick a name that is available. Sites exist which list available domain names.
- Install plug-ins to help your blog run smoothly. I recommend Jetpack, which gives me additional traffic analytics and Yoast SEO which will help your posts do well in search engines.
- When you make a blog, you should verify your URL with Google Search Console so search engine bots crawl your website.
- Network with other bloggers in your niche on social media to gain interest in your content. Comment on their blogs so their readers learn about you.
- Guest blog. Your reputation in your niche will spread if you write on the blog of a popular blogger in your niche.
- Sign up for an Email service. MailChimp and Aweber are the two most popular.
- Have an opt-in incentive so when your traffic starts, people have reason to subscribe to your blog. Once you start building your email list, you are ready to start making money. You can do this with as few as 15 people on your list.
How to Make Money Blogging
- Blog marketing – Advertise someone’s product or business on your site.
- Content marketing – Sell your own product or service on your site. According to marketer Erik Emanuelli, blogs that market their own products do better in search engines. Also, repurposing your content into an ebook, cheat sheet, or another product is a valuable way of getting new exposure to your writing.
- Be an affiliate – An affiliate is someone who has an agreement with a company to be rewarded when they help to sell a product. A blogger who is an affiliate is often referred to as a publisher. When visitors click on an ad on your site, you get paid!
- Have affiliates – Do you have a product, service, or business you can advertise on someone else’s blog? When people click, you give your affiliates a portion of your sales. It’s win-win for both of you.
- Be a freelance writer – Write articles you get paid to publish.
- Ghostwrite. Ghostwriting is freelance writing except no one knows you are the author. ProBlogger.net is an excellent place to look for ghostwriter and freelance writer jobs.
- Publish sponsored posts – People pay you to publish their writing on your site. How much you can charge often depends on how large your traffic is.
- Be a virtual assistant – Once you have experience blogging, you can monetize your skills by being a virtual assistant to other bloggers. Offer your services on sites that match bloggers with assistants like Upwork.com.
- Sell your photos – Websites exist which will sell your photos for you if you pay a membership fee.
- Write for revenue-sharing sites. Niume is an example of a site that shares revenue with its users.
- Start a service. Your readers are likely to enlist a service that solves a problem for them.
- Have a membership site. You could charge $10.00 and up to let people join. I know a blogger who charges $50.00 a month to be a member of her site.
- Use Sverve.com which matches bloggers with campaigns.
- Conduct webinars. Some webinars charge to attend. Others are free but try to entice the participant into paying for further help. A webinar is a video conference.
- Sell a course. Udemy.com is the place many bloggers sell their courses. Blogger Ruth Soukup turned her ebook into a course called “The Elite Blog Academy.”
- Become a motivational speaker. Now that you’ve got credibility in your area, you could empower people off-line.
How Will You Spend Your New-Found Income?
In closing, I highly recommend turning your blog into your business.
First, any money you spend on your blog becomes tax deductible. Expenses are involved like paying for your web host.
Next, making money from doing an activity you love– blogging– is icing on the cake.
Also, you get money to invest back into your blog in order to make more money.
Have fun spoiling yourself with your new-found money. After all, you worked hard for it. However, you don’t want to have too much fun. The more money you are able to put back into your blog, the more financial rewards you’ll see.
Bloggers, please share so other bloggers wishing to start making money blogging know how to monetize.
Do you make money blogging? How so? Do you have additional ideas you can offer? I look forward to your views in the comments section.
