Since people are interest in my previous blog post about making money blogging for beginners, here’s another post focusing on this topic.
Since I started to earn the first money from my travel blog (and shared many posts about this topic on both my blog and my Facebook page also), the most common question I get from other fellow bloggers is, “How do bloggers make money?”.
While for some this can be a touchy subject 🙂 I am happy to spill the beans! If you break it down, there are basically two categories of revenue streams: marketing campaigns and e-commerce.
Now, let’s walk through these opportunities in more depth.
5 Ways to Make Money from Your Blog
Note: Affiliate links may be used in this post. I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you use my affiliate link. Full disclosure policy here.
1. Brand Sponsorships
The most popular form of revenue for bloggers is brand sponsorships. This could mean an array of things: sponsored blog posts, social posts, video, event coverage, etc.
A brand will pay a blogger to promote their products/services by authentically integrating them into their content. In return, the brand gets exposure to thousands of loyal and engaged followers.
Typically, your initial goal should be to reach 50,000 unique visitors a month and about 10,000 total social followers for brands to reach out. Once your numbers hit around that threshold, you should be able to start generating revenue.
Of course, every brand and media agency may have their own requirements, but those numbers are typically what I’ve seen so far.
2. Banner Ads
By showing banner ads on your site, you’ll make money based on the number of impressions your banners receive. You can also make money from users clicking on the banners.
The revenue for banner ads is not super lucrative as you may think, but it directly increases as your site’s page views increase. Besides, it’s a great way to generate passive revenue while you can focus on other things and allow the ads to bring in some side money.
3. Product Collaborations
Since the relaunch of my travel blog (new new, brighter colour and more professional look), I’ve received a lot of product collaboration invitations from brands looking to work with micro influencers (read: you don’t have to be super big to work with brands!)
Most of the time I got asked either to be a brand ambassador for the products, or to simply attach my name/the name of my blog to the product line.
Brands tend to want to work with bloggers who have strong followings on projects like this because they want the name associated with their line of products to be recognisable, especially to a large, loyal audience.
4. Affiliate Links
You’ve probably heard of ShareASale and Amazon Affiliate by now. These are companies that allow bloggers to generate affiliate revenue.
When you recommend products to your readers and this leads to readers purchasing, you get a commission from the sale.
Please keep in mind it’s extremely important to only recommend products that truly fit your style so that you can be authentic and true to yourself.
PRO TIP: Chelsea Clarke @HerPaperRoute has these two courses about affiliate marketing, Affiliate Marketing Strategy Book and Affiliate Program Database: 3,000 High-Paying Affiliate Programs You Can Join! which will be useful for you to start with.
5. Sell Your Own Product
This option is really limitless. If you have something you are great at then use it. If you have a shareable skill, then you can make money online.
It ranges from selling stock photos to other bloggers to offering a course on something that you excel in. So many online entrepreneurs open Etsy shops or sell e-books, e-courses, and these are great ways to make money blogging.
I am currently working on creating an e-book that I plan to sell on my other blogging blog, FromHobbyToMoney.com.
Nonetheless, blogging isn’t all about money.
It is, first and foremost, about doing something that you enjoy. Write about what you are passionate about and what you are good at.