I’ve mentioned in the past that I think blogging is the ultimate side hustle. I’ve also talked a lot about online income.
I’ve been interested in online income for about ten years now and have launched a number of online businesses that failed. Young Adult Money has been my most successful project to date and I’ve learned a lot about how to make money blogging in the process.
The best thing about online income is that there is always something new to learn. There seems to constantly be new companies and businesses that make it easier to make money blogging.
While I realize many of the readers of this blog don’t actually have a blog of their own, most people I know are very interested in how to make money blogging. This post will focus specifically on legitimate ways to make money blogging. You will need a blog if you plan on using these strategies. If you don’t have a blog you can start one quickly using our 5-step guide for starting a blog.
Many people have asked me how do you make money on your blog? The answer to that question is this post. I’ve seen a number of other blog posts on this topic, but honestly most just talk about how much they make instead of how they make it. This post will go into much more detail about the specific ways you can make money blogging.
One last note: If you want to see general ways to make money online instead of how to make money blogging, check out our list of 7 ways to make money online.
Here are 8 ways to make money blogging:
1) Sponsored Content through IZEA
I have a long history of making money on IZEA that dates to before my blogging days. IZEA is a company that is focused on match-making publishers and advertisers for social sponsorship campaigns. Publishers don’t have to be blogs, as many campaigns are focused solely on Twitter, instagram, or some other non-blogging platform.
If you are a blogger your potential for making money on IZEA increases because they have many sponsored blog post campaigns you can apply for or be asked to take part in. One thing I love about IZEA is that they are fully in compliance with FTC disclosure laws. For example, sponsored posts will have “no follow” links instead of “do follow.” They will also provide a disclosure for the beginning of the post.
To see an example of an IZEA post on my site, check out this post. If IZEA sounds like a good option for you, go here to sign up for IZEA (it’s free).
2) Sponsored Content through LinkVehicle
LinkVehicle is another company that offers a match-making service for publishers and advertisers. The negative of LinkVehicle is that you can’t bid on jobs like on IZEA. You need to wait until an advertiser makes an offer. You do get to set your price per post, though, and the offers will be at that level.
I first wrote about LinkVehicle in my post The Dirty Little Secret of How Bloggers Make Money. The big negative with LinkVehicle is they require “do follow” links, which violates Google Policy and can result in temporarily losing your Google page rank. Each blogger will need to weigh the pros and cons of taking on this kind of post. There really is a lot of money in it if you have a blog at page rank of 3 or higher, but again, it comes with risks.
LinkVehicle also has many affiliate link options for bloggers, but I honestly haven’t used their affiliate links. There are other networks I prefer to use if I’m going to go that route for monetization.
Head on over to LinkVehicle if you are interested in seeing what they have to offer.
3) Google AdSense Banners
Google AdSense banners are the “old faithful” of the online blogging world. AdSense is extremely popular among bloggers for a few reasons:
- It’s Easy – All you have to do is go to AdSense.com, authenticate your site, and pick what ad units you want.
- It’s Volume Based – This goes along with “it’s easy.” Typically the more traffic you get, the more you will get paid from AdSense. In a future post I will be talking about a wrestling blog that makes over $200k a year in profit from Banner ads alone. Their secret? They get at on of traffic day-after-day.
- There’s No Minimum – You can have AdSense banners from day one on your blog. Conversely some affiliate programs and advertisers will only work with you once you hit a certain monthly traffic level.
The bottom line is this: AdSense can be a great way to monetize your blog. Don’t expect to make a ton of money off AdSense, though, unless you get a ton of traffic.
4) Affiliate Links
Affiliate links are links where you get paid when someone clicks on a link and fulfills a certain action (i.e. inquires about a mortgage, purchases a product, etc.). Virtually every company around has an affiliate program.
Below are a few of the bigger affiliate networks that I’d recommend checking out:
- Amazon Associates – Amazon isn’t a network per se but it has a ridiculous number of products that you can link to and make a small commission off of if the user ends up making a purchase. The only real downside to Amazon Associates is that you really do need to convert a high volume of products to make a decent income.
You can check out Amazon Associates here. A few posts I wrote to drive Amazon Affiliate sales on this site are 5 Personal Finance Books on my “To Read” List and Is Roku the Key to Cutting Cable Forever?
- LinkOffers – LinkOffers is a good network if you are going to try to sell any sort of financial-related products or services. They are really focused on this area and have a wide variety of companies you can work with.
- FlexOffers – FlexOffers is another good affiliate network with thousands of companies you can work with. Some examples of companies I’ve worked with on FlexOffers are Target, Hotels.com, and Angie’s List.
- Commission Junction – Commission Junction is an affiliate network I would highly recommend bloggers check out simply because of the wide variety of companies they have in their network. The companies are as diverse as Lending Club, Blue Host, and Vegas.com. They also seem to compete heavily with LinkOffers/FlexOffers, so you are almost guaranteed to find a company on one of the three networks.
Affiliate revenue is tough. You can write an amazing post that has what you think is a very effective call to action and have little or no conversions. I have a small business loan blog post that gets tons of Google traffic but for whatever reason barely ever actually results in an affiliate sale.
With that being said, affiliate revenue is the most respected and sought after revenue stream for a blog. If you ever plan on selling your blog to an investor you’ll want to at least put forward some effort in this category because $1,000 in affiliate revenue per month is worth a lot more than $1,000 worth of sponsored content per month.
5) Paid reviews of products and services
One way I’ve made money blogging is reviewing products and services. I’ve negotiated most of these directly with companies that have reached out to me. You may be surprised at the number and diversity of companies willing to pay you to review their products or services.
If you look at my Review category of the site you will see some of the companies I’ve worked with on reviews in the past. They include:
These are just three of the companies I’ve reviewed. Again, see the rest on the Review category page.
There are other companies that ask me to work in a mention more naturally into a post. You won’t see them under the “review” section, but I’ve had some good feedback on these types of posts and advertisers seem to be really happy with how they’ve performed. I also sometimes write reviews of products in hopes of driving affiliate sales. This has been hit or miss.
Bottom line: Ask for money! If you are going to spend the time reviewing a product or service you might as well get paid for it.
6) Write a Book
If you blog regularly you will naturally become an “expert” on the topic you write about. I’ve been blogging about personal finances for nearly three years now and in that time I’ve written hundreds of posts and have read tens of thousands of blog posts on other personal finance blogs. I’m not sure I’m an “expert” but I also wouldn’t be surprised if others would refer to me as one.
Regardless of what the topic of your blog is you will likely have more than enough knowledge to write a book or e-book that you can then sell on your blog. Like most things with blogging, this can be really hit-or-miss. Some people write books and never sell more than a handful; others have a lot of success and are able to get good media coverage to promote their book.
One person who seems to have done a great job of promoting their book is my friend Stefanie of The Broke and the Beautiful Life who recently wrote a book by the same name.
Writing and promoting a book based on your blog topic is an art, not a science. Some people seem to simply “get lucky” and their book gets a lot of exposure. Others have amassed such a huge audience they are almost guaranteed to sell thousands of books. Finally some have such “niche” audiences that there really aren’t a lot of books on the market for the topic they blog about.
While I haven’t written a book or tried to sell one on my blog, if I do go that route in the future I will likely focus on solving a problem people have. If you can solve a “migraine” problem through your book people will be much more inclined to pay money for it.
7) Selling a Product you created
One of my favorite business/entrepreneurship/lifestyle books is Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. In this book the main strategy he gives people for making passive money is creating a product and selling it online. He refers to it as a “muse.”
A muse is something that hasn’t been made before, but doesn’t have to be a ridiculous new invention, either. For example a couple people who read his book decided to create a two-person yoga mat. It’s essentially just a really big yoga mat. Nothing too “insane” from a creative standpoint but it clearly had a market as it ended up bringing in over $15,000 a month in sales.
Creating a product is tough, but because of this it also has a much higher potential from an income perspective. After all, you are providing more value because you aren’t simply referring people to a website to purchase things that some other vendor created, marketed, and serviced. Instead you are taking as high a profit margin as you want (or are able to, depending on what you create) because you control the pricing.
8) Leveraging your blog for contract work
The final way to make money blogging is leveraging your blog for contract work. I put this in a different category of selling a product you create because typically this is more “service” work that requires you to trade your time for money instead of creating a passive income.
Despite not being passive income, leveraging your blog for contract work can still be a great way to monetize your blog. I was able to freelance write for a site for nearly a year at a rate of $50 a post. I negotiated it up to $75 after six months and even had two posts a week for a period of time. Having a blog was the sole reason I was able to land this job. After all, the editor found the site and reached out to me, not the other way around.
Besides freelance writing many bloggers move into social media management and general blog management. These are skills that bloggers acquire over the course of starting and running a blog, so it’s a natural service to offer. I would encourage all bloggers to “think outside the box” because there really is an unlimited amount – and type – of contract work that bloggers are uniquely qualified for.
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Hopefully after reading this post you realize there are a variety of ways to make money blogging. Ultimately it’s true that blogging isn’t “easy money,” but it is possible to make money. Tens of thousands of bloggers make money blogging every day, and some even do it full-time. They all had to start somewhere, so if you haven’t taken the plunge into blogging: get started!
Do you currently make money blogging? What has been the best strategy? If you don’t currently make money blogging, which of the 8 ideas sounds the most appealing to you?
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Great post, thanks for sharing. I’m just starting out and have Adsense at the moment. Will definitely check out IZEA.
Glad I found your blog through Twitter. You have a new follower.
Great tips DC. I signed up for IZEA, their website was a bit difficult to use after a few tries I gave up.
mrselfreliance Always happy to have a new follower! AdSense is the best way to get started imo and from there you can explore the many other options.
All great ways to make money through blogging DC – I’ve done or do many of them myself. The best strategy I’ve found, or at least what works for me, is find the ones that fit best for my sites and create as much diversity as possible. I’d love to do #7, and have something in mind, but the time aspect needed to get it off the ground is what has held me back thus far.
DebtDiscipline Thanks! It’s too bad to hear about your experience with IZEA. I’ve had a lot of success the past few months in particular on IZEA. I do think there are a number of changes/enhancements they can make to improve the UI.
FrugalRules Thanks John! I agree with the diversity aspect. It’s not bad to be heavy in one type of monetization strategy over another, but it’s always important to have a few other revenue streams in the works. Whatever product you have in mind I think it’ll sell well, but I agree there is a huge time commitment (and sometimes money) to get it off the ground.
I find it easiest to have sponsored posts or freelance, but I probably prefer products / ebooks because of the reoccurring / passive income. I think the more income streams, the better!
Financegirl I agree with you that ebooks, products, and more passive income streams are ideal, and I think every blogger should work towards making that their main source of revenue. I know that’s the direction I’m trying to go and hopefully it pays off over time.
Thanks for the book shout out! Like a blog, a book is really helpful in building a platform to leverage in creating other income streams.
brokeandbeau No problem, Stefanie! I love seeing fellow bloggers publish books. It seems to have really helped your blog, too, as you gain more and more exposure through media appearances and word-of-mouth.
I do but I’ve yet to conquer that nasty little bugger called affiliates. I think at this point I need to move on and maybe create a product. hmmm
Don’t forget Master Mind Groups! Do you follow Side Hustle Nation at all? I’ve been watching as Nick has developed the site into an awesome money making platform to promote his brand.
Great advice! I’ve yet to make a single dollar from my blog yet, but I have been employing a small bit of affiliate links as well as Google Adsense recently, and I think I *might* get my first Adsense check sometime this summer. We’ll see! I went into blogging knowing that it could be well over a year before I started seeing any money. I have to try some of these other methods out! I’m just now getting to the point where I feel like I have a decent amount of traffic to start spending my time on monetizing. Always awesome to know what has worked for others :)
Great ideas and resources. I really need to work on earning a passive income with my blog, but I know it will come with time. I currently only earn a very active income my blog for contract work. Sponsored posts would be right up my alley as well. For sponsored posts, do you ever contact companies or do you just work with the ones that approach you?
Beachbudget I’m with you, affiliate revenue can be difficult to come by. It seems like you need the planets to align to make consistent revenue from it. I think creating a product is even better than affiliate income, but perhaps even more difficult.
Hannah UnplannedFinance Hmmm Master Mind Groups are one thing I haven’t gotten into. I do not follow Side Hustle Nation, but it sounds like there is probably a lot to be gained from following it.
Christina@EmbracingSimple That’s the thing with blogging, you really have to stick with it if you ever hope to make money off it. If you keep up your regular blogging and look into monetizing I see no reason why you can’t make some money on your site each month.
Chonce The only times I’ve actively reached out on sponsored posts is when another blogger has provided me with their email address. Otherwise I just respond to emails that come my way. I think it greatly helps to have a PR3 or higher blog, as advertisers know from that ranking that you have a fairly strong site with decent traffic.
I’ll definitely bookmark this for if/when I decide to monetize my blog. Thanks!
We’ve done a variety of these and are making a little bit off of each of a lot of the avenues you recommend. People often think that making money off of blogging is a fallacy, but it can be done, and done well, as you have learned too, DC.
I make a small amount from ads…might be enough to cover hosting if that. I’ve considered sponsored posts, but probably not a good idea unless I post consistently. The sponsored post might be a turnoff otherwise. I definitely need to work on affiliate links and reviews might work too. I’ve also considered doing contract work but I barely have time to write for my own blog. I need to manage my time better…that’s for sure.
Those are some good ways. I’ve made a little bit with affiliate sales, but the most of my online money has come from Adsense. You’re 100% correct when you said that making money with the affiliate links is tough. I’ve had a couple posts in the past where I thought I was going to kill it and I didn’t. I’m not giving up because once I find the right formula that will be income on auto pilot.
Great tips, DC. I think blogging can really open doors both in adding a little income (and sometimes a lot) and giving you exposure. For me, my blog has really helped brand me, especially within my community, which has led to many opportunities that I might not have been offered otherwise.
Thanks for the tips! Definitely book marking this to try and implement some of these things on Simply Save!
ferventfinance Glad you found it to be a good resource! I did my best to outline every way possible to make money blogging (that I know of so far). If you ever run across different ideas let me know.
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer Good to hear about your successes, Laurie! Making money blogging isn’t “easy” money, that’s for sure, but there are more options out there than people think.
Andrew LivingRichCheaply The lack of time for contract work has been an issue for me as well. If you barely have time to manage a blog, how can you possibly take on contract work? I did freelance writing last year and it was definitely a struggle to balance my time. With grad school coming up I will focus primarily on building up my web properties.
Jason @ The Butler Journal I’ve had about three or four posts that I thought were going to KILL at affiliate income, and they have barely grossed anything. But you’re right, you need to stick with it and keep trying new things.
ShannonRyan Thanks Shannon! Great point about branding. It’s really cool how you can leverage and utilize a blog to brand yourself. I have a second website in the works and I’m very focused on what it will be as a brand and how it will be talked/viewed by others.
SimplySave No problem! I think they’ll work great on your site. It seems like you are really committed to your blog and you have some great content.
I’ve done most of those except for writing a book or selling a product. Right now, I have a pretty killer writing gig that I’m sure will go away at some point, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. The company contacted me directly though my blog, so if you want to make money writing, I think you really should have an established website so people can get a feel for your style. I’ve also been given some really cool things to demo and write about, everything from the Kaiku card to a handbag to a juice cleanse. I will probably never replace my day job income with online projects, but it’s a great way to add to your bottom line!
DC @ Young Adult Money SimplySave Thank you!
Great list! I am still waiting to try Izea. It is on my radar, but I haven’t had time!
I’ve been blogging for about six months now. I’m enjoying writing posts, but it would be really nice to make some money, especially since we’re hustling to get out of debt right now. Blogging really is a rabbit hole of work: from signing up with affiliates, to keeping up with social media, and being engaged with other blogs and forums. All I can do is keep at it, everyone says it takes a while to see some profit. How long did it take you to start making money?
Holly at ClubThrifty Thanks Holly! IZEA has it’s areas to improve, but overall I’ve been able to make a little extra from sponsored tweets and blog posts. I think getting positioned now will pay off down the road as active users seem to be more likely to get offers.
Eyesonthedollar I’m a big fan of testing out products and services. The Kaiku card was a really great review opportunity. I also make all my advertiser connections through my blog, so it pays to have one.
Harmony@CreatingMyKaleidoscope It took me 7 months, but I was also able to get my site up to a PR3 in that time frame. Unfortunately some sites have taken more than 2-3 years to get to a PR3. I was writing 5-6 posts a week those first 7 months and commented on a ridiculous number of posts. I honestly think “keeping at it” is the best thing most bloggers/publishers can do.
Wow this list is going to be incredibly useful for me in the coming months. My blog is barely 3 months old, so I haven’t even considered monetizing it yet. For now, I just want to see if I can stay committed to it for at least 6 months. Thanks for the great info!
This is awesome DC!! The biggest way I have made money through my blog is through the freelance writing it led to. However, recently I have been gaining new financial training clients through my podcast which I consider a part of my blog. I think a blog and/or a podcast are the best ways for people to get to know you.
I make some ad money from my blog, but most of my income is from freelance writing and, recently, my online blogging course. For personal reasons I don’t do product reviews
Anum I’m glad you found the post useful! Nice job on sticking with your blog for more than 3 months. Most people seem to quit before 6 months, so keep at it! The money will come eventually if you are committed enough.
blonde_finance Thanks Shannon! I think podcasts can be extremely effective because many people (myself included) wouldn’t consider going that route, mainly because of the time commitment involved.
DonnaFreedman That’s pretty awesome that you’ve been able to make a full-time living through blogging the past 8 years. I’m sure you provide a ton of value in your online writing course.
I am all about the affiliate income, as freelancing isn’t really in my schedule right now. Thanks for posting this – I wasn’t aware of a few of these. Off to check them out now!
believeinabudget No problem, glad you found the post useful! Affiliate income will probably always be the “holy grail” of blogging income. If you can make affiliate marketing work you are way ahead of other bloggers.
Great post DC! I’m always trying to increase my affiliate income. So far I’m at about $800-$1,000 a month but I know it could be a lot more.
Thanks for the post DC. Just getting started in the blogging world and this was really helpful to anticipate some monetization strategies down the road.
BudgetBlonde Yes, it can always be more. $800 to $1,000 a month in affiliate income alone is pretty impressive imo. I think 99% of bloggers would be VERY happy with that sort of income.
Financial Tour Guide Glad you found it useful! I think it’s important to have monetization strategies in mind early on because you will eventually tailor your site and posts towards at least a few of these strategies.
Great post DC. I’ve been focusing on the contract work area lately, as I’ve gotten some pretty decent work through people noticing my blog. I enjoy writing in general so it has been a good opportunity. I’ve been blogging for almost 2 years now, mainly as something to pass the time, but I would like to start trying to make some money from the blog directly. I’ll be referring back to this post in the future for sure.
thebrokeprof Thanks for the feedback and I’m glad you found the post useful. Contract work is a great side income source. There’s definitely a ton of ways to make money blogging.