Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you purchase through them.
Have you ever wondered how bloggers make money?
There are so many avenues you can choose from to monetize your blog. Which routes you ultimately decide on pursuing will depend on which niche you are in.
What’s so great about blogging is that you can combine different revenue streams to earn more money. This importantly allows you to diversify your income so that you aren’t putting all of your eggs in one basket in case something happens to one revenue stream.
Ready to learn more?
Here are 6 great income streams to make money blogging online.
But before I move on, if you haven’t started a blog yet, follow my easy step-by-step guide on how to start your own blog here for just $2.95/month!
1. Ad Revenue
One of my favorite ways to earn passive income as a blogger is to include ads in blog posts.
All you have to do is write good quality blog posts that people want to read and successfully direct traffic to them. Once readers come to your posts, you’ll earn money when they view or click on any ads, depending on the ad network you’re with.
Although this sounds great and all, there are a few problems with this revenue stream.
First, it can be a real nuisance to your readers if you include too many ads on a page. They might find that the page looks too busy or it takes too long to load which can deter them from ever wanting to come back to your site.
Many ad networks, however, have a settings area where you can customize how many ads you want your readers to see. This is a great option if you are bothered by how many ads show up on your blog. Unfortunately, you won’t earn the full potential amount of money compared to if you left the settings as the default so that is a big con.
Another disadvantage is that your income growth from this method can be hard to increase indefinitely. As you’re relying on traffic to earn money, it’s much harder to grow your traffic and your income once you hit a certain number of pageviews per month.
Despite these cons, it’s a great way to make money passively. I highly recommend checking out the following ad networks:
Google Adsense – Great for beginners as there are no traffic requirements to join.
Mediavine – I have another blog with this site and absolutely can’t recommend this network enough. They have the best customer service and team. You need 50,000 sessions per month before you can apply.
AdThrive – They require you to have 100,000 pageviews per month to be applicable.
SHE Media – Requires 20,000 pageviews per month but if you haven’t reached that threshold, they may approve you on a case-by-case basis. This is the network I’m using with this blog.
Monumetric – You can either apply when you reach 10,000 pageviews a month and pay a $99 setup fee to be a part of the network or wait until you reach 80,000 pageviews a month and then join for free.
Ezoic – They don’t have a minimum pageview requirement so this network is perfect for beginners.
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2. Affiliate Marketing
Another great passive stream of revenue is affiliate marketing.
How it works is you promote products and services that you believe in and then gain a commission after a sale occurs when a viewer clicks your affiliate link. It’s a great way to promote products that you genuinely like and would recommend to others.
There are many ways to include affiliate links into your blog and affiliate marketing works best when you help others find a solution to their problem.
You can write a dedicated post where you review a product or service based on your own experiences, sprinkle them in within general blog posts, or even promote them via your social media accounts. Another great way to earn money is to write gift guides during the holiday season.
If you want to learn more about how to make serious money from affiliate marketing, I recommend that you check out my post on the best affiliate marketing courses for beginners.
Also, if you’re just starting out, check out my post on 9 great affiliate marketing networks and programs you can join even as a new blogger.
3. Sponsored Content
A third avenue of making money on your blog is writing sponsored content on your blog as well as your social media channels such as Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook.
How this works is brands will pay influencers money to write a dedicated post or share on their social media accounts about their experience with their products or services to help market their business.
It’s a win-win for both parties as brands get to spread the word about their business while bloggers and influencers earn money to promote products they love.
What you earn from these sponsored posts and social shares will depend on how many followers and readers you have as well as engagement rates. Some bloggers earn thousands of dollars per month just on sponsored posts so it’s a great way to earn cash once you’ve grown your following.
Head on over to my post I wrote on my 10 favorite influencer networks for bloggers to learn more about how you can get started.
If you’re interested in learning how to become an Instagram influencer, I recommend checking out Chelsea Clarke’s Paid To Post course where she teaches you how to score sponsored blogging & Instagram jobs, work with brands, and become a high-paid brand ambassador.
4. Create Your Own Products
To really get your blogging business to the next level, a great revenue stream to add to your income is to create your own products.
With creating your own products, this allows you to have full control over what you’re selling and the sky is really the limit to how much you can earn!
Digital Products
Digital products are a great way to start creating your own products and they’re also pretty easy to make even if you’re a beginner. You don’t need any physical inventory so it’s easy to start up with relatively no capital.
There are so many great products you can create that surround the theme of your blog depending on your niche. From e-books, e-courses, printables on your blog or on Etsy, and more, create a product that you know will help your readers find a solution to their problems.
What’s even better about having your own digital products is you can find affiliates that will help you market your product so you can do less of the hard marketing work! All you have to do is pay them a set commission percentage if they successfully sell a product for you.
You can sell these digital products on places such as Etsy, Teachable, Payhip, and Sendowl depending on what your products are.
Physical Products
You can also sell your own physical products from physical books on Amazon, clothing, cookbooks, and so on. The sky is really the limit!
5. Social Media Consulting
Another popular revenue stream many bloggers get into is social media consulting.
If you find a social media outlet or two that you’re good at using, you can become a virtual assistant and start helping other bloggers and business owners in your area of expertise who don’t have enough time and need to outsource that work.
There are so many options you can choose from including Facebook ad managers, Instagram managers, Pinterest virtual assistants, and more.
Choose something that you have had success with and find clients by showing your clients your expertise in the area by writing up a case study showcasing your results.
6. Freelance Writing
Freelancing writing is another great way to make money as a blogger. You already have a built-in portfolio as a blogger to impress potential leads so all you have to do is find clients who are looking to outsource that work.
You can check out the following freelancing writing websites to find leads:
I highly recommend checking out Write Your Way To Your First $1k by Elna Cain if you want to get into freelance writing.
Elna will teach you the proven method step-by-step to fast track your way to success with freelance writing even if you have no prior experience.
In less than 6 months, she was able to replace her salary while still being able to take care of her twins during the day – all doing it part-time!
Included in this course are:
- 7 self-paced modules (with over 50 lessons)
- Video tech training on popular tools and best practices
- Exercises to help you stay on track towards your first $1,000
- Templates and email swipe copies that are ready to use
- Tips on how to get clients to come to you
- The exact method she used to make her first $1,000
- Lifetime access and updates for free
Check out Write Your Way To Your First $1k today!
More Ways To Monetize Your Blog
- 10 Influencer Networks To Start Making Money As A New Blogger
- 7 Best Affiliate Programs For Beginners
- 50+ Tools To Make Money On Your Blog
- How To Sell Printables And Make Passive Income
- How To Earn $1000/Month As A Pinterest Virtual Assistant
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