There are a lot of side-hustles out there. And while all can bring in some extra cash here and there, not many can replace a full-time job.
Or let you work from anywhere in the world.
Or be a cash cow that keeps on giving.
For all these reasons (and more), blogging is a pretty lucrative business. Is it a competitive landscape? Absolutely–there’s an endless amount of bloggers out there! But the good news is, there are ways to make money no matter the size or niche of your blog. The more effort you spill into it, the greater the opportunities and profit become.
It’s an excellent side-hustle or full-time career, depending on what you want. Either way, here are the 9 ways you can make money blogging.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is viral. It takes many forms – influencers, shameless YouTube plugs, etc. – but can pay the bills if leveraged well.
Essentially, you promote a brand’s product or service on your website (with a unique link, of course) and get paid commission on every sale. It’s an easy source of passive income on a blog.
There is a right and wrong way to try and profit from affiliate marketing.
The right way: Find products that compliment and relate to your niche. Then, promote it authentically without overdoing it. For example, if you were a travel blog promoting a camera, you might promote it in a post surrounding things you take on every trip. Simple, authentic, and not over-the-top. Your viewers don’t want to think of you as a marketer but rather a trusted friend.
The wrong way: Pushing products that don’t relate to your website. If a website is about automotive tools, a reader’s likelihood of buying a recommended baking kit is slim to none. This will result in zero earnings. You also don’t want to be pushy. If your site seems more like an ad space than a blog, you’ll lose viewers.
Advertising
Speaking of ad-space, when thinking of ways to make money blogging, advertising tends to be top-of-mind. At its core, advertising sets aside sections on your website (ad units) to sell to advertisers. Publishers are paid out in different ways (per view or click are most typical).
Google’s AdSense is the logical beginner’s choice as it offers a streamlined setup process and basic requirements. AdSense has a pool of advertisers and serves as the middleman, allowing them to bid for units. If you’re not interested in partnering with AdSense, you can also directly sell your ad space to networks/advertisers. It requires more effort (and research!) on your part but does come with its own set of benefits. Publishers earn more based on the quality of their partnerships (advertisers) and their website traffic.
Header Bidding
The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and luckily for publishers, it’s introduced header bidding into the world of advertising. Header bidding is the programmatic technique of bringing an extensive array of advertisers together to bid for ad units simultaneously in real-time. It’s also the best alternative to AdSense.
If your website has decent traffic, upgrading to a header bidding platform is the best move you can make. Since AdSense works on a ranking system, you don’t always receive the highest bid for an ad unit. In addition to higher payouts, most providers use AI tech to optimize units and sites.
If you are monetizing with ads, but haven’t thrown in with a header bidding provider, check out Newor Media, a reputable publisher provider.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is giving companies information on relevant users. No user purchasing of products or services is required; instead, payment is given for supplying information (emails, names, etc.). Depending on your niche, this may or may not be lucrative.
One way to do this is by actively selling information to companies. For example, if you know a user is interested in tax-related solutions, you might sell a tax-service provider their contact info. Unfortunately, with this method, the user is unaware this is happening, and if you’re not careful, you could violate privacy laws. So, honestly, this is not the recommended practice.
Another option is to create a referral form for your users to actively apply to for a specific company or service to connect with them. By having users be active and aware, you can avoid breaching privacy laws.
Sponsored Posts
For bloggers less enthusiastic about writing, accepting sponsored posts is an excellent way to get extra – not written by you – text content. Publishers are paid to place a post on their website promoting the service or product of another company. When done correctly, they appear organic and balance promoting a brand with giving users valuable information. Equally beneficial, keeping sponsored posts relevant to trending topics and brands could lead to an influx in traffic for your site.
As a general best practice, you should never compromise your site’s integrity with brands or services that don’t align with your quality standards. Promoting something that isn’t relevant or of good quality to your users will only hinder your credibility and diminish your traffic.
Take Donations
You won’t see early retirement, but asking for donations can give you quick revenue boosts from time to time. If you know that you’re providing users with quality content and resources, there’s no shame in asking for a monetary ‘thank you.’ It’s important not to be pushy or intrusive when asking. Placing a simple call-to-action button like “donate please,” somewhere on your website should get the job done!
Guest Blogging
Offer your expert writing services with guest blogging. If you enjoy writing and being social, this can be an exciting opportunity. All you have to do is connect with others in your industry and start collaborating!
They benefit from your brand’s traffic and credibility, and you get money in your pocket and strong backlinks to your website. Win-Win.
Sell Your Products
The sky is the limit with this money maker. Bloggers can sell anything from physical products to digital. It all comes down to the wants and needs of your audience and how you leverage your personal brand.
Online products can include Ebooks, courses, or guides that offer valuable information to viewers. Although they require a bit of effort upfront to create, they can quickly become passive income once completed.
There’s a lot of fun to be had choosing the physical product route. You can sell fun logo products (if applicable), mugs, stickers- really anything.
Offer Your Services
Depending on how attentive and involved with your blog you are, you may have developed a few desirable skills. Create your own graphics? Excellent at content writing? Web designing your new hobby? A specialist in your topic?
Let your website speak for itself. After all, it is a pretty solid portfolio and testament to your work. You can sign up for freelance work or offer your visitors the opportunity to work with you. A simple ‘hire me’ or ‘work with me’ call-to-action is just enough to do the trick.
Host An Event
Hosting an event is a step opposite of passive income but could prove quite lucrative if done well. It will require effort and planning and a deep dive into whether you have the community for it. Your event could be anything from a seminar to a financial workshop you notice your viewers actively desire. If you’re a smaller site, consider reaching out to other publishers in your niche for partnerships.
Conclusion
Blogging may be a competitive landscape, but there are monetization methods for everyone. So long as you have decent traffic (and good website quality, of course!), you can find yourself raking in anything from side-hustle money to dependable income. Since making money with ads is a reliable place to start, I’d recommend checking out this free earnings calculator to see how much you could be earning.