Blogs and bloggers are so abundant today that many bloggers find themselves asking if blogging is really worth it. Bloggers put many hours into their blogs, and essentially want to know if they are wasting their time with it.
Blogging has been around for many years. In the beginning, blogging was a means to write, to let your creative side take over and express yourself.
Then, more often than not, it started being utilized by writers who wanted to network, put samples of their work out there to be easily available for potential readers and publishers.
Some more time passed and other professionals and nonprofessionals alike started seeing the appeal in blogging. Blogging became a hobby, that turned into a viable income source.
However, as time passed, and more blogs and bloggers came into the arena, making money online turned into an art form that required skill, strategy, and know-how.
Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link that I indicate to be an affiliated one, and purchase anything through that link, I may earn a small commission at no extra expense to you.
MAKING MONEY FROM YOUR BLOG USED TO BE SIMPLE
Gone were the days where almost every blogger could generate income by talking about something or other. Due to the fact that there weren’t as many bloggers, it was much easier to generate income.
Case in point, me at 17 years old. I was in my senior year of high school and decided to start a blog. It was on WordPress.com, and I didn’t even have a custom domain for myself.
Monetizing wasn’t even on my mind at the time. Blogging was just a way for me to write and connect with people. Six months into my blogging, and there I was, a high schooler earning approximately $2500/month.
My blog was about books, writing, authors, publishing, and book reviews. I mainly earned my money by doing reviews of different new writers, giving them the spotlight and spreading the word about their self-published book.
Then it was time for me to attend college. Unfortunately for me, I attended the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), which meant that I hardly even had time to scratch my head, let alone blog. I shut down my blog. (Cue the tears).
Nowadays, monetizing a blog takes a certain level of creativity. Moreover, you must approach it as a business, as your job, and put in appropriate hours of work to see results.
Those people for whom blogging is worth it and their time is well spent, use their blogs as a stepping stone for earning potential.
HOW CAN YOU EARN MONEY TO MAKE BLOGGING REALLY WORTH IT?
The amount of money you can earn from your blog varies from person to person and niche from niche. There are certain personalities that draw audiences in, and make money in no time because they just got it. It’s charisma, it’s the presence, it’s the ability to captivate and attract.
These cases are few and in between. Also, remember that no matter how amazing you are as an individual, if your content is not up to par, you can say “bye-bye” to blogging success.
Aside from magnetic personalities, keep in mind that certain niches are more profitable than others. According to Jeff Walker, who’s the creator of Product Launch Formula, there are core profitable niches: finance, relationships, health, and hobbies. Anything that falls in these core categories is considered a profitable niche.
There are many options and means to make money from your blog. The specific methods will depend upon your goals, direction, and abilities. Making money from your blog has become difficult, but it’s still possible. If you ask me whether blogging is still worth it or a waste of your time, I’ll say with conviction that it’s very much worth it.
MEANS OF MAKING MONEY FROM YOUR BLOG
Making money from your blog might not be as easy as it once used to be, but it’s still possible and many people do, myself included. The key is to be strategic and think creatively. Don’t get lost in the sea of choices when it comes to tools and software. You must choose your appropriate tools and start creating.
I put together an ultimate list of tools for you that would help you narrow down your options in order to create and sell digital products. I included a link to it down below.
There are several ways of earning money from your blog. Here are the more well-known methods: ads, affiliate marketing/links, selling products, online courses, offering services and working with brands.
SELLING PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL PRODUCTS
When you have your own website or blog, in order to make your attempts worth it and profitable, you can sell either physical or digital products, or both.
A physical product can be anything, just make sure that it’s connected with your niche and topic. Digital products can be ebooks, printables, planners, templates, graphics, fonts, etc. For example, I sell legal templates and policies in my Template Shop for other bloggers and website owners.
Selling products on your site can be highly profitable. You just have to promote it to your audience, on social media, set up appropriate pages on your website (meaning funnel).
Of course, this is a highly simplified version, and you have to put effort and time into it. However, when done right, it’s very effective and profitable.
Selling digital products especially can bring in good profit because the expense of making it is minimal. For example, one of my favorite bloggers, Nataly of Love and Paper Flowers, is very good at this, and successfully sells a super helpful e-book that she put together for new bloggers. It’s an ebook called Blogcabulary Plus: The Ultimate Blogging Terminology, Reference, and Resource Ebook (affiliate link).
It’s important to keep in mind that you don’t have to have an expensive product to make money from it. More often, the less expensive products make more profit for you because more people can afford to buy them.
Aside from your regular and niche buyers, there is also such a thing as impulse buyers. Impulse buyers are the people who might not necessarily need your product at that moment, but they buy anyways. Usually, products that are priced lower encourage impulse buyers. Some bloggers and entrepreneurs really love impulse buyers, and then there are some who don’t.
You have to decide for yourself if you want to encourage impulse buyers or not. That would depend on the nature of your business, your goals and plan for your business.
ADS
If you’re a beginner and don’t have a lot of traffic, ads might not be the best option for making money. Quite honestly, I don’t like ads in general, regardless of whether the traffic’s there to make it profitable.
However, if you don’t overdo it to affect user experience, it can be very profitable, especially with ad networks like Mediavine, Adthrive, and Monumetric. However, you need to have a certain amount of traffic on your site in order to qualify for these networks, or to see an actual profit from it.
There are plenty of bloggers and website owners who make very good money from ads. The trick with ads is to not jump into it too early because that’s how many bloggers get disappointed and frustrated.
When you’re a new blogger, you most likely don’t have enough traffic to earn from ads. Therefore, if you intend to have ads on your site, build your traffic first and foremost.
AFFILIATE MARKETING/LINKS
Affiliate marketing is a popular means of earning income from your blogs. Affiliate marketing is essentially selling and promoting other people’s products.
It’s important to select reputable and quality affiliate products, otherwise you’ll lose the trust and respect of your audience. It might be tempting to go after the money first. However, many companies with bad products offer high affiliate commissions. What you don’t want is to recommend a product to your readers, who buy it, then clearly hate it. You’re gonna be the one blamed, and you can kiss goodbye to your future sales.
When you promote other people’s services or products, you usually get either a certain set percentage or a specific amount. Some affiliate programs and networks allow you to email your subscribers with affiliate links, include them in social media. Then, there are others, like Amazon, who are very strict and have specific guidelines you have to follow.
To be successful with affiliate marketing, you must have an email list or a base of your own followers to promote those products and links to.
This type of monetization can be very profitable. One person who comes to mind when discussing affiliate marketing and links is Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income blog. He knows how to sell a product, how to promote it, but not in a sleazy-salesy manner. He gets you excited about the products he is promoting. What’s more, he is always honest. This is one of the reasons that he’s considered an authority figure when it comes to affiliate marketing.
BLOGGING IS SO WORTH IT IF YOU CREATE AND SELL ONLINE COURSES
Online courses are by far the most profitable means of monetizing your blog. You can create online courses on any topic whatsoever. Just make sure that your course topic is inline with your niche or the topic your generally blog about.
Your courses can be priced for any price, really. You can have lower-priced products- such as something that is up to $200; you can have middle-range priced products-anywhere from two hundred to $450; or you can have products that are premium-priced that go up to $1,000 or more.
Don’t be fooled in thinking that you will only make profit from expensive products. According to a case study done by Shane of Thrive Themes, the “sweet spot” of online course prices is $200. Watch this video to see how Shane from Thrive Themes comes to this conclusion:
I know of several bloggers and online marketers who create and sell online courses for a living. A few of them I look up to as mentors and have taken their courses to propel my online course creation and selling forward.
Some of my absolute favorites and super successful course creators are Amy Porterfield, Jeff Walker, Ramit Sethi, and others. These are people who can make upwards of $500,000 to over $2,000,000 in one launch. These numbers are amazing, and as hard as it is to get to these numbers, it’s possible with preparation, strategy and time.
OFFERING SERVICES
Many people use their blogs as an extension and medium to offer services. You can provide coaching, consulting, membership, designing, email marketing, copywriting, freelance writing, and much more.
Offering services can be profitable, and make your blogging absolutely worth it. When I just started my blog, I was able to offer freelance writing services and earn $5400 in only 30 days. However, when you offer services, you have to be careful with your schedule and not take on more than you can handle.
Services can either be one-on-one or in a group environment. Do not overextend yourself because you don’t want to burn out. Many bloggers who offers services don’t usually do it full time. They offer services to get clients, to make money, then most of them usually transition to other means of monetizing such as as courses, or offering digital products for sale.
WORKING WITH BRANDS
As bloggers, there is a unique opportunity to work with brands. This means that you can do sponsored posts, you can do reviews, you can do sponsored videos, and all other types of content for brands to promote their products.
In exchange you might receive a free product or money or both. There are many bloggers out there who work with brands very successfully and monetize their efforts.
You can also work with brands through your social media profiles, especially on your Instagram.
One key aspect to keep in mind when working with brands and products is not to sell your integrity for money. Try to only promote and advertise products that you truly believe in. Your main goal in everything associated with your blog is to keep your readers and subscribers happy. When they are happy and satisfied with your efforts, they will stay with you.
One blogger who works with brands very successfully and tastefully is Cate Rosales at Sweet & Simple Life.
CONCLUSION
If you were wondering while reading this post is blogging worth it, then hopefully you’re convinced that it is. There are many ways to monetize your blog and make a nice amount of profit from it. You can pick and choose which options best suit your need, and your voice as a blogger. You can and should diversify your sources of income. Don’t be discouraged to find that you make small amounts from different things. Remember, initially it’s all about learning the techniques, strategies and ways to make things happens. Eventually, those small things will add up and become an amount that you’re very happy with.
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