How to Make Money Blogging: Step-by-Step Guide

Whether you’ve just started your blog or you've been sharing awesome content for a while now, chances are you’ve wanted to make money out of it. While it’s an enjoyable hobby for many people, blogging has also been known as a way to earn money online. But how do you make money blogging?

Over the past few years, blogs have changed from a platform where people can share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences, to a channel where individuals can get a profitable stream of income out of their interests and passions.

For marketers and advertisers, blogging is an equally important source of traffic to your website. Similarly, it helps convert that traffic to leads, helps establish brand authority, and drives long-term business results. Blogging is helpful in SEO, increases the likelihood of being found in organic searches, and can build a long-lasting content machine for your brand.  

As such, it’s very important for bloggers and marketers to always work side by side.

 If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, here are a few tips on how you can make money blogging.

Let’s begin!

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How to Make Money Blogging

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Making money with blogging requires to choosing a profitable niche and consistently creating quality content that resonates with your audience. By effectively promoting your blog online through SEO, social media, and other channels, you can attract a dedicated following and explore various revenue streams, such as sponsored posts and affiliate marketing, to monetize your blogging journey.

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Choose a Profitable Niche

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When you decide to start a blog, selecting a profitable niche that aligns with your passions is crucial. A niche that solves problems or caters to enduring interests has a viable audience eagerly searching on Google for insights, solutions, and inspiration.

This foundational step ensures that your blog content resonates with readers and stands out in Google search results, setting the stage for a successful blogging journey on platforms designed for visibility and engagement.

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Create Quality Content

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The heart of any successful blog is its content. High-quality, engaging blog posts that provide valuable insights and solutions are what attract and retain your audience. Whether it's through in-depth articles, compelling videos, informative podcasts, or eye-catching infographics, your content should cater specifically to the interests of your blog niche.

Regularly updating your blog with new posts not only keeps your audience coming back for more but also improves your site's ranking in Google search results, making it easier for new readers to find you.

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Build Your Audience

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Building your audience is essential for making money from your blog. Promote your new blog post across various channels, including social media, and email marketing campaigns, and by leveraging SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to increase visibility in Google results. Networking with other bloggers or influencers in your niche can also introduce your content to a wider audience.

Utilize blogging platforms that offer robust analytics tools, like Google Analytics, to track your progress and refine your strategies. Engaging with your community through comments or sponsored posts can further solidify your presence and help establish your blog as a go-to resource in your profitable niche.

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Try Affiliate Links

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Affiliate marketing is one of the most profitable avenues to make money blogging. This is when you refer your page visitors to online products or services, and when someone makes a purchase based on your recommendation, you receive a commission.

Many companies – like Amazon, Target, and eBay – have built-in and well-automated affiliate programs, so part of their business efforts is to compensate you for directing your blog readers to their offerings. This means you don’t need to pitch to sponsors, do cold emailing, or create your products.

Here’s how it works:

• An advertiser gives you a unique link that tracks your affiliate code to the products they want to sell.
• You add or share this link on your website and social media platforms.
• When a reader clicks the unique link and buys the recommended product, you earn a percentage from the sale.

Remember that you must already have significant traffic to your blog to generate income through this stream.

Also, it’s important to maintain credibility at all times, so only recommend products that you use or believe in. Affiliate marketing is not about spamming your content with countless links to every product you can find. Remember, quality always trumps quantity. Choose your affiliate products and services wisely.

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Place Ads on Your Page

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Advertising space is an active component in many digital marketing campaigns. Think of it as like ads on billboards, magazines, or newspapers, but on the internet. And because people spend an average of 6.5 hours online every day, placing ads on your page is a great way to get your brand’s name out in public and for you to make money blogging.

You can start by using display ad networks like Google AdSense, Media.net, or Mediavine. Simply sign up and get approved by the network, receive a piece of code, place this on your blog where the ads will go, and advertisers can start bidding on reaching your audience. With this, the ads shown are automatically based on the context of your articles, videos, and user interests. You can also use the best AI copywriting tools to produce content easily.

If you want to maintain your specific brand messaging, you can opt for more industry-specific ad platforms like Carbon Ads. If you’re still a new up-and-coming blog with less than 300 daily views, PopAds and Propellerads may be for you.

One important note: Similar to how the quality of your content shouldn't suffer due to affiliate marketing, ads shouldn't do this, either. Be mindful of how many ads you're placing and where you place them. If they're negatively impacting the readers' experience, not only with they not work, but they'll likely hurt the performance of your blog.

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Have Sponsors and Partners

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Sponsored content is when a company pays you in return for writing an article, sharing a review, or creating a video about their business, or a topic related to them but highlighting their brand, product, or service. If readers want to learn more, you can direct them to the sponsor’s web pages as the go-to resource. Just make sure you are aware of common blogging problems as well.

Similarly, if you already have an established market (or a growing audience base), consider exploring business partnerships to monetize your blog. Whether through brand collaborations or curated webinars, you can help brands reach their target audience by running their campaigns for them. You can also partner with another blogger to create content or make a product together and market these to each of your audiences.

Keep in mind that although sponsorships and partnerships are paid advertisements, these should not be hard-selling sales pitches, but rather relevant and genuine content that will provide real value to your audience. It’s essential that you only work with companies that you know and truly believe in, so you can stay true to your audience and brand image.

Are you noticing a pattern here? It's absolutely possible to make money blogging, but it should never impact the user experience.

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Sell Digital Products You Create

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If you’re not one to advertise other people’s products and services, you can consider selling your very own digital products.

Do you want to share your profound and valuable ideas while also building your brand? Start by selling an eBook. All you need to do is pick your topic, compile your articles about it into a well-structured book, and sell it on your blog or Amazon. Once established, you can gain credibility as an author and earn a decent passive income.

Do you have any skills and expertise you can teach others? Explore doing online courses, webinars, or workshops. Do simple, short-form instructional courses on niche topics that can teach your blog readers something meaningful, and based on your personal experiences, learnings, and successes. If you’ve excelled at something they’re interested in, they’ll willingly pay to learn how they can do just the same.

Other options of digital products you can sell are your images, videos, or music that people can use in their content, as well as apps, plugins, or themes you design.

When doing this, make sure that your digital products are something relevant and useful to your readers. You must consider what they need or are interested in, so you can create something that they’re looking for.

What's so cool about digital products is that in many cases, you can create them once and then they'll make money for you indefinitely. Something like an eBook or online course is not just a way to make money blogging — it's a fantastic source of passive income.

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Sell Private Ad Space

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When you have substantial traffic on your blog, advertisers may ask you to place their ads on your site, or you may reach out to them personally. Unlike placing general ads on your page, you can choose which brand ad will come up and set your own ad rates.

This method can come in the form of banners, buttons, or links. It can also be an underwritten post or series paid by the advertiser for the “brought to you by” mention in the content. You can also sell private ad space on your newsletters, videos, or podcasts.

Consider adding an “Advertise With Us” section on your blog, where you can list the different ad formats available and how much each costs. Be sure to also highlight your credentials like Google PageRank and other traffic stats, so advertisers can know if you’re a good fit.

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Offer Paid Memberships to Exclusive Content

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When you want to share exclusive content on your blog, another option to make money with blogging is to sell memberships. This will create a place where your audience can join and get access to your special offers – from articles, reports, and video tutorials, to templates, apps, and software.

For example, if your blog is dedicated to helping startups, you can sell memberships to people who want to get personalized advice about starting a business. Or if you’re a travel blog, members can get access to discounted tours, accommodations, or flights that you also use.

Generally, people join blog memberships because they believe this special content can speed up their learning curve, give them in-depth details on how to do things or provide them with one-of-a-kind experiences.

Thus, it’s important to remember that your exclusive membership should be exactly that – exclusive. It has to offer something valuable and worth the price, not one that general page visitors can access or that people can avail of for free elsewhere.

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Offer Freelance Services

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If you still haven’t decided on how to make money with blogging, one good option is freelancing, where you can share your skills and expertise with clients. This is especially favorable if you already have a substantial following and can demonstrate to clients that your content can deliver results.

To start, create a page on your blog where you list the services you’re offering. Make sure that this link or button is visible and accessible to your page visitors. Similarly, be sure to indicate your contact details so potential clients can easily contact you and inquire further about your offerings.

Depending on your interests and what you’re good at, you can offer different types of services:

• Content creation
• Copywriting or blog writing
• Brand logo creation
• Website design
• Software development
• Consultation with marketing teams
• Business coaching

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Additional Monetization Strategies

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Exploring additional monetization strategies can significantly enhance your blogging business's revenue potential. By diversifying your income sources through methods like hosting paid webinars, leveraging affiliate marketing, and implementing advanced SEO techniques, you can transform your blog into a more profitable platform.

1. Hosting Webinars and Workshops

Hosting webinars and workshops is a great way to add value to your own blog and make it a more profitable part of your blogging business.

By planning and promoting these events through your blog, you can monetize them through ticket sales or sponsorships. Recording these events also allows you to repurpose the content, opening up opportunities for collaboration with other successful bloggers.

2. Utilizing SEO for Long-Term Traffic

For your blog to continue being a valuable resource, implementing search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial. It enhances your visibility on search engines, driving consistent traffic to your site. Mastering SEO basics, conducting thorough keyword research, and employing link-building strategies with other successful bloggers are key steps in maintaining a blog.

3. Engaging in Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is essential for growing your blogging business. Choosing the right platforms and creating tailored content strategies for those platforms can dramatically increase traffic to your blog. Interacting with your audience on social media not only boosts your blog's visibility but is also instrumental in sustaining a profitable blog.

4. Building an Email List for Direct Engagement

Email marketing offers a direct way to engage with your audience, making it a powerful tool for bloggers. By building an email list, you can send out newsletters that provide additional value and drive traffic back to your blog.

Successful bloggers leverage automated email campaigns for monetization, highlighting it as a crucial element of a thriving, profitable blog. Through these strategies, your business can achieve long-term success, making you a successful blogger in your niche.

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Final Thoughts

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Blogging is truly an attractive way to make money online. However, always remember that the quality of your content and your credibility should be the priority. You should never, ever sacrifice these for the sake of simply monetizing your blog.

Do you have other expert tips on how to make money with blogging? Share it with us in the comments below. If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level and to make money out of it, then you’re on the right path with one of these seven tips.

Lastly, keep in mind that all these will only work if you also promote your blog across your social media channels.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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How do bloggers get paid?

The most common way to make money blogging is through advertising revenue. Many bloggers monetize their content by signing up with various ad networks that place ads directly into their websites or blog posts. When someone clicks on an ad, the blogger receives money from the network in exchange for hosting the ad on their site.

Is blogging a good way to make money?

A successful blog can be a great source of income for many people. Bloggers can get paid in a variety of ways depending on their style, audience, and goals. But there is no doubt that you need to learn some basic skills before the money will start rolling in!

What is a realistic income from blogging?

Somewhere between $35,000 and $45,000 is a realistic yearly income for a blogger. However, these income ranges can vary greatly depending on the niche and the experience of the writer. Some will make much more!