8 Ways to Make Money Blogging

The main reason I started my blog was because I loved writing and I wanted a creative space that was my own. I started writing blogs about motherhood and lifestyle. My first blog was the water-birth story of my son. Then I started writing blogs that focused on being a resource to my audience. After about a year, I started doing some research and I realized I could really make money from my blog. Here are 8 ways to make money blogging. 

1. Influencer Platforms

One of my first paid sponsored blog posts was from the influencer platform Social Fabric. Influencer marketing platforms offer paid sponsored blog post opportunities. Sometimes those platforms don’t pay much, but it’s a great opportunity to get started with building your blog with paid sponsored content. Check out my blog post on 8 Influencer Platforms for Beginners.

2. Ask Brands

I get a lot of brands that reach out to me for paid partnerships on Instagram. Typically, brands want an in-feed post and stories. During the negotiation stages with brands, I always mention that I have an active blog. I offer an additional blog post at my blog post rate. Brands love when influencers have blogs because that means it’s an additional way to get more exposure and/or sales for their brand. 

3. Freelance Writer

One of my first high paying blog opportunities was to write blog posts for Visit Williamsburg. Most cities have a website where they have detailed information and blogs about the city’s activities, events, attractions, etc. From that blog opportunity, I was also able to visit that city and attend several events. If you’re interested in writing blog posts for your local city or state you can go to their website and scroll to the bottom of their page where they will usually have an email contact for their PR team. Also, there are a lot of opportunities for you to write blog posts for various websites. If you’re a motherhood blogger you can be a guest blog contributor and get paid on websites like Mother.ly and Parents. 

4. Sell Ad Space

Have you ever been to a website and there were various ads at the top of the page or bottom? Oftentimes, bloggers will run ads for a certain amount of time on their blog. The advantage of this is that it requires minimal effort from the blogger. You just have to set up an account with an online ads platform and connect your website. Typically, you need a certain amount of views on your blog to sell ad space. Also, my tip is to be very strategic about having ad banners on your page. If the ad banners don’t align with your blog audience then it can draw people away from your page. 

5. Affiliate Links

As an affiliate, you can partner with a brand to promote their products on your blog. You will earn a certain commission for every product sold that originated from your blog. Here’s an example of how you can easily incorporate an affiliate link into a blog post. If I write a blog post on 5 homeschool essentials, then I might add an affiliate link to some of the homeschool products that I use or products that might be helpful for new homeschool families. 

6. Ebooks and Digital Products

Ebooks and digital products are a great way to generate income from your blog. Initially, it takes some time to create a good ebook and/or digital product but after you have created it, you can add it to your blog for your audience to purchase. I highly encourage you to create an ebook and/or digital product that truly aligns with your expertise. For example, I have plans on creating an ebook and/or digital product that focuses on childhood education. I have over 10 years of experience in the educational field, I was a form teacher and counselor, and I have my Masters degree in education. With that being said, I’m confident that I can create a great ebook and/or digital product that is truly helpful.  

7. Offer Coaching and/or Consultation Services

The same as ebooks and digital products, make sure you have some type of expertise in the area that you want to offer coaching and/or consultation services. I would suggest creating an outline or blueprint for how you want your coaching calls and/or consultation services. Then create a time scale for it. Example: Free 10 minute consultation call, 35 minute consultation call for $100, etc. 

8. Sell Merchandise

I know a lot of bloggers from various niches that sell merchandise on their blog. It’s a great way to generate income. I know fashion bloggers that sell clothing, lifestyle bloggers that sell coffee mugs, and food bloggers that sell recipe books. So whatever niche you’re in, there’s an opportunity for you to sell a product that aligns with you and your blog. 

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I hope this blog post on 8 ways to make money blogging was helpful! There are a lot of opportunities for you to make income on your blog! Be sure to check out my blog post How I Created a 6 Figure Business as an Influencer/Blogger.

XO,

Ashley