I recognize that many of you don’t have your own blog. But, I believe the topic of making money blogging is interesting and enlightening because the world is heavily moving toward more digital work than ever before. And for those who have a blog, this kind of post is exactly for you.
I didn’t know what I was missing out on when I wasn’t blogging, but ever since I started last year I absolutely love it. The freedom to gain relevant knowledge, create something from scratch, and give value to readers is a blast.
However, while these things are nice and all, you might wonder is blogging worth your time and ask the question, “How do you make money from blogging?”
This question is especially true in my life, because it seems like all the time I’m running into some old friend saying, “Hey man, I love TakeYourSuccess.com. You’re really killing it. But have you made any money on it?” People always want to know about the money for some reason.
My best guess is because money symbolizes the value and success of an activity. So if I’m making money blogging then it validates the time and effort I put into it.
While not every blog can make millions of dollars a year like The Huffington Post, Mashable, and TechCrunch, there is a space for the up-and-coming blog to generate good income. Assuming that they stick with blogging long enough to write quality content over a consistent time, then the money will come.
So, in this post, I’m going to highlight how to make money from blogging. I bet you’ll be surprised at all the different opportunities that exist.
Please read it with an open mind, because maybe starting a blog is exactly what you need for your breakthrough in 2016. If you want to make money blogging, use this guide to set up your blog in only seven minutes.
How To Make Money From Blogging
1. Advertisements
If you don’t live under a rock, you know you’ve seen advertisements all over pages on certain sites. For bloggers who choose to advertise (I choose not to for multiple reasons), they will either get paid each time a visitor clicks on the ad. Or, they will get paid up front to have a banner ad on their site for a certain amount of time.
2. Affiliate links
Affiliate links are links on a page to a company’s product or service. If the blogger sets up the affiliate program and leads a user from his site to buy a product off of another site, then he will get paid a commission fee. Basically every major company has an affiliate program of some sort, so the opportunity is always there to make money blogging in this form.
3. Paid product and service reviews
With a good amount of traffic, companies will ask and pay bloggers to write a paid review of their product or service. It’s better if the writer actually values the product or service because then they’re less of a sell out and more convincing in their pitch.
4. Online store
Although any blogger can create an online store to sell different physical products, it seems that fashion bloggers utilize this income stream the most through selling clothes and customized t-shirts. I don’t have an online store, but I know other bloggers who choose to sell items like backpacks, stickers, and journals.
5. Freelance writing
When you write your own blog, you create a digital portfolio of written work you can easily leverage for freelance writing income. Depending on the work, you can make upwards of $50 to $100 an hour writing guest posts for other websites. But, it’s harder to get these gigs if you don’t have your own blog.
6. Host a podcast
Basically a blog post in audio form, podcasts are great for directly reaching an audience and interviewing guests. If you get enough listeners and downloads, you can turn your podcast into an advertising machine. The best podcasts have an individual episode sponsor and a show sponsor that pays them per episode or a flat rate.
7. Author a book
If there’s an area where people need help and you’re proficient at it, you can turn that knowledge into a bestselling book. For example, I shared my successful job search strategies to write The Golden Resume and make royalty money each month. Even if you aren’t an authority in any subject right now, you can become one by writing hundreds of blog posts about it, and then turn the knowledge you gain into a book for extra income.
8. Sell an online product
As you gain special knowledge about a subject, you can also turn this insight into an informational product that’s not a book. You can sell a how-to guide, audio course, or video course on your site. Audio courses and video courses can sell for 10 to 100 times as much as books, based on the extra effort to make this product and the ability to go more in-depth than a book.
9. One-on-one coaching
While blogging is a perfect tool to reach the masses, sometimes individuals want personal one-on-one coaching and attention. Depending on how successful of a blogger you are, you can set your own hourly rate and coach individuals through the phone or a video call.
10. Become a speaker
Another option that opens up from being an authority on a topic is speaking in front of large audiences. Many speakers started out as bloggers, grew their following, and then got invited to speak at big venues like conferences, seminars, and workshops. If your goal is to be a speaker, maybe the best route (besides practicing public speaking) is to start blogging on a subject you want to later speak about.
Just Get Started Blogging
Now that you’ve seen all the different income streams that a blog can provide, I bet you’ve thought about starting your own blog.
If you are curious, here is some advice. Almost every blogger I know, including me, says they wish they started earlier. Don’t let our regrets be yours, so go for it right now.
Plus, don’t worry about getting stuck or being over your head as a first-time blogger. Because even if you do face a problem, I bet 99% of your questions can be solved through a Google or YouTube search.
So if you want to make money blogging, then get started here!
Update: My First $10k Income Month
Readers, are you interested in making money blogging? What makes you hesitate from getting started blogging today? Do you enjoy these posts on blogging and want to see more?
