Do you want to make more money, but aren’t sure how to begin?
Maybe you want to increase your savings rate or pay off debt. Or, maybe you could benefit from simply having more cash on hand.
Whatever the reason, side hustles are an ideal way to increase your income.
And what’s one of the best side hustles?
In my opinion, it’s blogging.
Blogging can be a lot of hard work, but if you can produce quality content on a regular basis, it is very possible (if not very likely) that you will start making money with blogging.
Here are 8 reasons why blogging is the best side hustle there is.
1) Affordable to Start
Unlike many other business ventures, a blog is relatively affordable to start. In fact, you can start a blog for just a few dollars a month through Bluehost. All you need is to purchase a domain address and a hosting account.
If you are interested in starting your own blog, you can read our step-by-step directions here.
2) Easy to Maintain
Not a tech guru? No problem. You don’t have to be a skilled coding expert in order to start and maintain your own blog.
Once you start your own blog, you can keep it simple and build it gradually. After you get the basic theme and organization of your site down, you can then search for various plugins and widgets to install to suit your needs. In fact, you can create and maintain your blog without understanding one bit of code.
3) Writing About What You’re Passionate About
Perhaps the best part about blogging is that you can blog about anything you are passionate about and make money by doing so.
Most bloggers I know started their blog to share about the topics of interest to them. I wouldn’t suggest starting a blog if it’s not a topic you really care about. When you are interested in what you’re writing about, blogging doesn’t seem like work.
4) Network With Other Bloggers
While I didn’t really expect to make new friends blogging, I’ve actually been quite amazed at the sense of community I’ve found. In the personal finance niche, everyone is incredibly close and supportive. I know if I need help or ideas, I can reach out to anyone for assistance.
Instead of being competitive, from my experience the blogging community is incredibly collaborative. Through blogging and social media, you’re bound to make connections with people all over the world.
5) Outlets to Earn Passive Income
Blogging is one of the few side hustles where you can earn passive income, meaning you earn money without having to do any extra work. You can earn passive income through blogging in a couple of different ways.
First, you can earn money through advertising on your website. While not every blogger chooses to insert ads, they do allow you to earn passive income if you choose to have them. With advertising, you typically apply to an ad network, such as Google Adsense. You then insert the ads into your blog. Whenever someone clicks on them or makes a purchase, you get a small commission, without having to do any extra work past the initial setup.
You can also earn money through selling a product. One simple example is by creating and selling an eBook. After you create the book and upload it to your site, you can earn passive income every time someone makes a purchase.
Lastly, you can earn residual income through affiliate links. Affiliate links are added to blog posts to refer readers to a certain product or service. Like with ads, when someone clicks your link and signs up or makes a purchase, you get a commission. As with brand partnerships, bloggers are required to disclose when a post uses affiliate links so the reader always knows whose income they are contributing to if they follow through the links.
6) Earn Money By Promoting Products You Love
Brands love to work with bloggers. Some of the bigger blogs receive thousands and thousands of views each day. Companies like to work with these types of bloggers in effort to promote their product or service.
When a blogger partners with a brand, they are introducing the product or service to their readers. Typically, honest bloggers only promote brands that they know, trust, and have used. In return, bloggers can receive payment for their promotion efforts.
Keep in mind that bloggers should always disclose whether they received compensation for promoting a certain product or partnership.
7) Work from Anywhere
Since all you need is a laptop computer, you can really blog from anywhere. For anyone who travels significantly, or is just plain busy, this makes it a perfect side hustle. You can easily blog from a car or plane, or even while watching your kids’ soccer practice.
8) Flexible Hours
From my perspective, one of the biggest advantages of blogging is being able to work whenever you want. There is no set schedule to follow. Whether you choose to work mornings or evenings, one a week or every day of a week, blogging is extremely flexible and adaptable to your schedule.
The best part is that you can work ahead and schedule blog posts for weeks or months in advance. If you have a busy period where you’re unable to dedicate a lot of extra time to your blog, you can always plan your posts in advance.
For anyone who also works a full-time job and has family or other obligations, a blog is a perfect solution.
Want to start a blog? Use our quick guide to get started today!
Related:
What’s your favorite side hustle? How do you earn money blogging? If you haven’t yet started a blog, what’s holding you back?
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Networking has been huge for me – and I’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of networking potential!
That’s such a good point, Joe. I feel the same! I’m not great at networking, but it has already led to some amazing opportunities.
Totally agree! Blogging is my favorite side hustle, that I actually earn a full time income from!
That’s amazing! I love to hear how full-time bloggers progress.