How to make money from blogging

Blogging can be a rewarding hobby – an excellent way to share your enthusiasm for a specific subject. But make no mistake: either as a side hustle or as a full-time occupation, it can also be a fantastic way of making money. Last year, via his blog, Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income earned over $2 million. True Valhalla’s Matthew is a 20-year-old game developer who’s on track to make $500,000 from his blog this year. And Anil Agarwal of Bloggers Passion doesn’t get rich, but his blog takes in around $70,000 a year. So this post will help if you want to make an additional $1,000/month from your blog or are looking to leave your day job to blog full time.

How to make money through blogging

25 ways to make money from blogging

The first way to Make Money from Blogging is to create a business directory. What kinds of goods or services do your audience mostly ask for advice on? Compile a list to sign up for your company directory, and then contact related companies. A tool such as the Business Directory Plugin makes getting started easy.

1. Create a business directory

The Second way to Make Money from Blogging is to promote an affiliate product. For most big-name bloggers, affiliate revenues represent a big chunk of revenue. For example, Pat Flynn made $53K from affiliate sales last month, as opposed to just” $9,500 from book sales. In general, search for partner goods with higher price points; if it makes sense in your market, web hosting companies are a great choice, with payouts of anywhere from $60-$130+ per signup.

2. Promote an affiliate product

This is the approach in which most bloggers begin when trying to monetize their site. Bear in mind, however, that you are not limited to selling banner ad spots (which is generally an ineffective strategy these days). Consider other places that you can rent out: room on your pop-up box, headers for social media, “P.S.” on your email newsletters… think beyond the box (quite literally).

3. Sell ad space

Although it might not make you wealthy to sell your services (look for passive income to do that!), it’s a great way to make some extra money and build your credibility. Offer services that are specifically linked to your blog subject (e.g. catering for a food blog), or freelance blogging services such as writing or graphic design.

4. Offer services

In almost every niche, there’s a need for consultants. Pay by the hour for the advice you’re probably still giving away for free by phone, email, or Skype.

5. Offer consulting services

Every day, expect to receive multiple supported post requests as you build up your blog. These native advertising can be a highly efficient way for advertisers to reach your audience in a non-threatening manner, and they can be a highly efficient way to make a lot of money for you. Only make sure the articles are genuinely interesting and important to your audience, and that the supported nature of the article is fully disclosed to you.

6. Write sponsored posts

Coaching is usually more of a one-on-one operation, close to coaching (while consulting is generally provided to organizations or teams). Put together a number of packages that you can offer: hourly consultation, DIY packages, or unlimited packages of email advice.

7. Offer coaching services

While many companies use them to generate leads, an alternative is also to host paid webinars. Just make sure you’re providing outstanding value – with so many free webinars out there, if you want to charge for it you need to deliver something very unique.

8. Host webinars

Approach companies in your niche and offer to host a giveaway on your blog or social media or a contest. This will increase your followers’ knowledge of their business; and when done right, they can also create a lot of leads for their business.

9. Host sponsored contests or giveaways

Do you want to design and completely host an online course on your blog? WordPress plugins such as Zippy Courses and LearnDash make it easy to get started. Of course, if you would prefer to host your course via an existing website for online education, look at Udemy or Skillshare.’

10. Teach an online course

Using a free plugin like bbPress, build a virtual community on your site, or host it on Facebook using Facebook groups. Only make sure you’re providing great value to make the monthly charge worthwhile with so many free groups out there.

11. Create a private community

One of the ways to Make Money from Blogging is to write an E-Book. Do you have in-depth experience in your niche? Load it up on your blog into an ebook and sell it. Generally speaking, I would advise against selling it at least exclusively) on Amazon or Kobo, as you are likely to be able to charge far less. If you have a strong audience already built up, you can possibly move anywhere from $5 to a really short one, all the way up to $39+.

12. Write an E-Book

On your Facebook profile, give corporations some airtime, or share supported tweets or Instagram pics. These are ridiculously fast and easy to publish, and, depending on the size of your audience, you can charge anywhere from $25-$500+ per post.

13. Sponsored social content

Premium content – an ebook, whitepaper, digital guide, etc. – can mean any form of content you charge for. But pay-gated content is what I’m referring to here. Basically, you have put some amazing content behind a paywall, meaning that visitors pay to access it. Using a plugin like MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro, you can get your own paywall set up in 10 minutes or less.

14. Premium gated content

Some marketers are not happy with just getting a sponsored post or banner ad; they want the full meal offer. A site sponsorship is where the website essentially has complete control of an advertiser (at least in terms of adverting exclusivity). This may mean they’re having banner advertising, pop-up mentions, the blog banner logo, etc.

15. Site sponsorship

With a plugin like Woocommerce, adding a store page to your blog is simple and free). This can be a perfect way to make some extra cash from your blog, whether you sell handmade merchandise, your own digital items (E-junkie is a great low-cost option for this or other related products.

16. Sell merchandise

A good design will save time and money for your audience. In almost every niche, templates will work: company – new client contract template; exercise – 30-day workout template; wellness – safe eating template for 3 months, etc.

17. Sell templates

A perfect way to make your blog “sticky” is to build a work board on your website – ensuring you get people back again and again. It’s also a perfect way to make some extra money while offering a valuable service as well. ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse runs a hugely successful job board where he charges $70 for a listing for 30 days. With about 70 listings per month, with relatively little investment in time or resources, he brings in some decent earnings.

18. Job board

To help them reach a particular purpose, hold a Bootcamp for your audience. This fits well in the fitness niche (30-day Bootcamp “get in shape”), company (“Launch your website boot camp”), home and lifestyle (“Makeover your living room for just $200”), and many other niches.

19. Private Bootcamp

One of the ways to Make Money from Blogging is to write tutorials. In-depth tutorials are great for social networking and interactions. They can, however, also be a great way to earn cash on your blog. There are a variety of forms in which you can do this – including affiliate links for the items you use in your tutorial; advertising your own products in the tutorial; writing a tutorial to endorse the product of an advertiser (be clear that it’s a supported post), etc.

20. Write tutorials

Online, your blog will make you money directly, but that’s not your only choice. To offer your services as a local speaker or presenter, leverage the experience and skills you have built up through your blog.

21. Take your expertise offline

Have you got an especially famous blog post that you want to monetize? Attach links to affiliates inside the content of your post. Don’t you know where to start searching for affiliate programs? You can always start with the most common affiliate program – Amazon – or use an affiliate network like ShareASale or Clickbank to find relevant items.

22. In-content affiliate links

Reach out to the appropriate companies and offer, for a fee, to review their goods or services. Be sure to explain that a favorable review is not guaranteed (and that if you can’t give the one you will return their money).

23. Product reviews

Would you like to sell things on your blog, but don’t want to deal with shipping and inventory? Dropshipping is an ideal way to sell very low-risk goods. The opportunity here is immense – just look at what Wayfair furniture retailer has done using this model!

24. Dropship products

Last but not least way to Make Money from Blogging is to create a resource page. Lists of resources inform the viewer what tools, goods, or services you are using and/or recommending. They’re a perfect way to provide your audience with a valuable service, while still making you money through partner connections or paid placements. Just make sure to report explicitly the connections you gain from and which ones you don’t.  

25. Create a resource page