Are you wanting to start a blog in the future but you’re wondering how bloggers make money online ?

In 2017, I was in the same boat. I researched for a few days and found so many income reports of bloggers who were making great money! But how were they doing it? I began to research further.

After researching for some time I finally decided to take a jump and I started my very first blog. I was soooo excited. I always loved to write and my dreams would literally come true if I could make money blogging like how other bloggers make money online.

In today’s post, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned over the past 4 years of being a blogger and I will cover lot’s of different ways that bloggers make money online. Then I will explain to you how you can get access to my secret “Make Money Blogging” framework.

This page may contain affiliate links.  We only recommend products and services that have tried, trust and love.  For more information, you can read our terms and conditions.

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How Bloggers Make Money Online – 5 Main Ways

There are tons of ways that bloggers make money online, but today I will share with you the 5 main ways. These are all income streams that you want to add as you climb up the ladder.

Some that I share are good and some I would advise you to stay away or focus less on.

1. Affiliate Marketing
2. Digital Products
3. Ads
4. Physical Products
5. Services

Let’s dive into each of these in further detail.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing can be beneficial to both businesses and blogger. It is a common  way to earn money from your blog and is a relatively easy thing to set up. However, even though there are many people who claim to earn thousands from this method, there are probably a lot more who earn very little.  And I mean almost nothing.

The question is not really whether affiliate marketing is a viable income option, rather  whether you are able to make this method work for you. 

In my experience, affiliate marketing was extremely hard for the first 2 years. In fact, I made maybe $200 in my first 2 years blogging.  This is not to discourage you but to make you aware.

Honestly, I’m not even sure If I should have even added this one because I’m not sure how bloggers make money online with affiliate marketing because it never worked for me.

Well, I take that back. I do know how. They have thousands of pageviews per month which is needed for affiliate marketing sales.

WHAT IS AFFILIATE MARKETING?

Affiliate marketing is where you use your platforms, i.e. your blog and social media to sell other people’s products. 

An online retailer will pay you a commission through an external website like Shareasale.

You will place the affiliate links and banners onto your site and for every person that clicks the link and purchases the product, you will earn a commission.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money with blogging but in my experience you need high blog traffic and a good strategy which can be extremely difficult, but not impossible.

FINDING AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

If affiliate marketing sounds good to you, how do you know where to begin and which programs to be apart of?  

My first tip is do your research to discover which affiliates you should be  using. There are lots of affiliate programs you can join but to be successful  with them you need to put in time to sign up, add the links to your website and  promote these regularly to your readers and followers. 

Research is simple – you can Google “top affiliates in {niche}” and you will find  plenty of lists of specific affiliate programs that match to your niche.

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RELATED: How to Find Your Blogging Niche-The Ultimate Guide

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Initially you should be selective about which affiliate programs you sign up to. I recommend selecting 3-5 programs to get started so that you can  effectively implement and market these to determine if they are right for you. 

Read as much as you can from other bloggers who area already using the affiliate programmes in your niche to discover which ones they like, which ones  they don’t. Many bloggers are open about the affiliates they promote and will  share their experiences on their own websites.  

Once you have a good list from your initial search, do some further Research  into the specific affiliate programs you want to sign up to so that you  understand fully how and when you will be paid, the expectations of the affiliate  company, what products you can promote and the % commissions you will  receive.  

•Pick only quality affiliate products and services. Since you are recommending  these to your readers and subscribers who you have built a trusted relationship  with, you need to ensure you can attest to the quality.

For example, if you are a  beauty blogger and your find from your affiliate research that Avon pays a high  commission but you are not really familiar with or a fan of the products and  actually prefer Mac Cosmetics – stay true to your brand and promote the  products you actually really like even if the affiliate commission is lower or  doesn’t exist.  

Another good tip when you are considering affiliate programs and products is  to look at who else is promoting these affiliates and ask yourself whether you  want to be associated with them or that group of people.  

SOME POPULAR AFFILIATE MARKETING PLATFORMS THAT I USE

• ShareASale- It’s a very beginner friendly platform and this is the one I currently use along with a couple others

• Amazon.com The most commonly used affiliate and easy to add into your site. But you need to make a certain amount of purchases in your first couple months to keep it.

• Shopify Affiliate Program A popular affiliate for fashion, style, beauty products

• Reward Style Another popular invitation only fashion affiliate

Head over to my resources page to see the main affiliates I use to make money.

WHERE CAN YOU MARKET YOUR AFFILIATES ON YOUR BLOG?

Once you have selected your affiliate programs and signed up to these, its time to start implementing these onto your website. There are plenty of places that you can  include your affiliate links to make sure your readers see them.  

• Sidebar Create custom graphics which sit in the sidebar and link directly to the  affiliate product. Or you can use HTML code from the partner site to design a  search box that matches your site colors. Always keep your graphics branded and if they aren’t then create your own.

• Resources Page See example of my resources page. This is a page where you can hold all of your freebies, tools, favorite products, etc. But don’t overcrowd it and only place things you know your readers want and love.

• Within blog posts and pages as text links. Using affiliate links within your blog  posts with text links is one of the most effective ways of getting your readers to  click through because the article explains why you like it or use it. These links  also naturally flow with the article content. Check some of my blog posts for example.

• At the end of your blog posts and pages as embedded links or graphics Create a section at the end of your blog post that includes relevant and related affiliates.

• Dedicated blog posts For example you could write a blog post “My Favorite Skincare Products” and use affiliate links to make money blogging.

• To your email list in a newsletter or other email updates you share.

• On your social media channels telling your followers why you love the products.  On Instagram you could write these into the caption or on stories. 

• eBooks or Guides If you are creating any eBooks or downloadable guides you  can include relevant affiliate links.  

• Courses If you are creating an online or in person course add your affiliate links  into your key recommended products 

Example Resources Page:

View this page by clicking HERE.

2. Digital Products

Crafting a collection of digital products to offer on your blog not only enhances your revenue stream but also proves to be an effective strategy for growing your email subscriber base.

Now, when it comes to building your email list, these digital products can serve a dual purpose. You have the option to either sell them for a profit or use them as enticing freebies.

The beauty lies in the flexibility – you can opt to give away a digital product initially, serving as a powerful magnet to attract new subscribers. This strategic move not only helps in expanding your subscriber list but also lays the foundation for a pool of potential customers.

As you progress, consider introducing additional digital products that you can sell. This progression allows you to diversify your offerings and capitalize on your growing audience.

The key is to strategically blend value and profitability, creating a dynamic blog that not only engages your audience but also contributes to your financial success.

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RELATED: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY CREATE A DIGITAL PRODUCT TO SELL

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WHAT DIGITAL PRODUCTS CAN YOU CREATE?

The list of digital products you can create is endless since you can create digital  products on so many topics. But for now, I have grouped these into common digital  products that are easy for you to create and make available on your website.  

• eBooks 

• Website Design Templates

• Printable’s 

• Worksheets  

• Checklists

• Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator Customisable Templates 

• Canva Designs 

• Customisable Pinterest covers 

• Customisable Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube graphics 

• Customisable Media Kits 

• Customisable Presentation documents 

• Lightroom presets 

• Stock photography 

• Online Courses

Like I said, the list of digital products is endless and such a create way to make money blogging. It’s also the one I tell my blog coaching clients to focus on first!

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NOTE: Check out my shop for inexpensive website design templates and blog educational eBooks

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3. Advertising

Advertising on a website has become common and most web users are used to seeing advertising on the websites that they visit. While advertising can be distracting,  it can also be a great way to make money blogging.

PROS 

• It is an easy way to earn passive income 

• If you have a high volume of traffic, you can earn thousands of dollars per  month from this revenue source 

• Covers the cost of running your website 

CONS 

• Can be distracting for your reader and affect reader experience

• Can look spammy 

• Might advertise competing products to your own 

• You need a minimum number of page views to sign up for certain advertising  companies – typically 25-50K+ page views per month  

SOME ADVERTISER OPTIONS

• Google AdSense- These are primarily text ads and payment is made for “clicks”  and is not based on purchases.  It is also the most common for new bloggers to use to make money blogging.

• Mediavine- but this now requires 50K pageviews per month.

In conclusion, even though I think ads could be a great way to make money blogging, I do not recommend it. I don’t use Google ads because it can distract away from my products and it also gives me a higher bounce rate.

You want to keep your readers on your website for as long as possible and if you have a bunch of ads popping up everywhere, this can cause someone to click off really fast.

If you do want to use ads, I recommend not using them in your first 6 months to 1 year of blogging.

4. Physical Products

Some bloggers sell physical products. Some examples:

• Books
• Handmade Products
• Planners
• Clothing
• In person conferences
• and more

Even though I think selling physical products can be a great way and this is how a lot of other bloggers know how bloggers make money online, I also think that it can be very time consuming and you also have to have a budget upfront. You never know if you will see a return on your investment.

5. Services

Offering services is a more active way of earning an income from your blog and I’ve seen amazing results with this. By offering services you are typically offering your time.  

To come up with services that you can offer to your readers and followers first consider.  

1) What are you good at? 

2) What are people asking you about or for?  

From here you can come up with some ideas of services that you offer.  

For example, my services are custom website designs for bloggers and 1:1 blog coaching.

Some other service ideas include: 

• Photography 

• Fashion / personal shopper 

• Life Coach

• Business Coach

• Social Media Management 

• Pinterest Manager

• Virtual Assistant

• Graphic Designer

• Website Designer

• Copywriting 

There are several ways to make money with blogging by providing a service and I recommend that you do if you want to take your income even higher.

From selling custom website design and blog coaching services, I’ve been able to make $3,000 more every month than I would if I didn’t.

If you want to blog to make money or want to learn how to create products and services to sell, you can book a free 15 minute blog coaching call with me here.

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How much money have you made blogging? Have you struggled? Let me know in the comments below!

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WHAT TO READ NEXT:

• Best Tips for Selling Anything on Your Blog
• PODCAST – Why Most Bloggers Haven’t Even Made a $1
• Why Showit is the Best for New Bloggers
• PODCAST – Why You’re Not Making Money Blogging (5 Reasons)
• PODCAST – I Would Have Made Money Blogging a Lot Faster if I Just Did THIS

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SHARING IS CARING:

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