So You Want to Make Money Blogging…
Note: I may earn money or products from the companies, products, or links mentioned in this post.
In 2015, I made just under $30,000 blogging and by offering various services here on the blog. I get asked all the time how I make money blogging and so much of it too!
The fact is everyone wants to make money online and they think it’s easy. I’m here to tell you it most definitely is not easy! There is a lot of work that goes into running a blog and social media channels. It doesn’t sound like it, but it is a full-time job for me.
There are so many “experts” out there on the web and it’s hard to know who is right and who is not. I will always be honest and detailed about how I make money and that is why I like posting my income report several times a year. Since I get so many requests for help in this area, here is how to start making money blogging from my perspective.
Make Money Blogging in 3 Steps!
1. Get a Professional Blog
Many people don’t realize that if you really want to make money blogging you need to put money into buying a nice, professional blog. WordPress.com is nice, but wordpress.org is where you can make the money. You are not allowed to make money on wordpress.com, and it does not have the plugins that you will need to make your blog go further.
Once you decide to go all-in here are some things you need to do:
- Choose a Host. This can be one of the hardest parts. There are many hosts out there and it’s hard to know which is the best for you and your blog. Bluehost is one of the top blog and website hosts and it’s the host I have been using since 2011. I have loved working with them and I love their customer service. I recommend them to every blogger I help, and I know many others love Bluehost too.
- Choose a Designer. This is a very important part of making your blog professional. You want a blog designer that knows what she’s doing. This is your baby and you want it done right! I refer all my clients to Laura at pixelmedesigns.com. Her prices are amazing and her work is incredible, you will not regret using her if you choose to. If you decide to go a different direction, check out these other designers I recommend: Blog Designers & Design Tips.
2. Grow Your Traffic.Â
Once you have a professional blog and website, it’s time to grow your traffic. It’s hard to make money if you don’t have enough traffic on you blog.
I have been asked by many people about the amount of traffic a blogger needs before they can make money. I don’t have a direct answer, but I would say to maybe start at 10,000 monthly pageviews. You can start sooner, but remember that you won’t make as much money. I personally recommend waiting and focusing on growing your blog
In order to grow your blog and your traffic, there are several things you are going to want to do:
- Blog Often. Blogging often is usually the number one step to growing your blog. You want quality content that keeps people subscribing and coming back for more. When asked how many times per week someone should blog, I say five times per week to start off and then later, once you have a foundation, you can go down to three times per week if that works better for you.
- Comment Often. So often people skip this step. Find other blogs in your niche, ask friends and others for their blog links, and subscribe! Then comment when they publish new content. Make it a priority to find at least one new blog a week to check out and leave a comment.
- Promote Often. This can be the hardest part of it all. A lot of bloggers don’t want to promote and aren’t sure how much they should be promoting their blog and their posts. Social media promotion is going to be your number one source of traffic and email promotion can be too. When asked what the most important social media channels are to focus on, I usually say these three: Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. I do Instagram and have a Google+ account, but when you are wanting to grow your blog and learn how to promote, you don’t want to worry about too much at once. Focus on a little at a time.
- Take Advantage of Link-ups and Blogger Groups. Link-ups are a great way to grow your traffic! You link up a blog post and then follow the rules as to what you can do for others. Usually you need to go take a look at several other blog posts to make it fair. Facebook groups for bloggers are also very helpful. You can exchange ideas and most will have weekly threads where you can share your blog posts.
- Research. A lot of bloggers like to ask for help, this is not a problem, but the fact is there are MANY resources already out there on the web. You just need to research! I started my blog from scratch and taught myself everything I know. I haven’t ever taken a course, I have mostly used Pinterest to find the best blogging resources and help. Plus it’s free!
- Get help! Sometimes it is easier to ask the experts or get some help learning and growing your blog. I offer many services including personalized blog coaching. I would love to help!
3. Get Your Blog Ready to Make Money!
Once you have grown your traffic to where you want it to be, it’s time to get ready to make money!
- Set up an Advertising Page. The first step is setting up an advertising/PR page on your blog. You want this to be a place where people can find out your stats, prices, and a little bit more about you and your blog. This is also a great spot to place your media kit for download. Check out this example: My Media Kit.
- Set up Affiliates. Affiliates are a great way to start making money because you can easily insert links or write posts about these companies or products. Be careful how many you promote because it can get hard to make money if you have too many. Focus on just 2-3 that you really like and support. My favorite affiliate programs are Amazon Affiliates and Apple/iTunes. Both are companies I love, with lots of products I can easily talk about on my site.
- Contact Companies you Love. Now that you are ready, it’s time to start contacting companies you love to ask about doing reviews, giveaways, and sponsored posts. Make sure you include your media kit!
- Sign up With Influencer Companies. Influencer companies are the ones that help businesses and brands find YOU! It’s basically like contract work. You make an account with a company like IZEA, and then you can apply for work (sponsored content) through them. Find more companies to work and make money with here: How I Made Almost $30,000 on my Blog in 2015.
- Place Ads. Once you have the traffic, it’s time to place some ads! You can sell ad space directly from your blog and you can use sites like Google Adsense to put targeted ads in for you. Just remember that in order to make good money from ads, you need to have the pageviews to do it!
Want to know more? Check out this podcast I did with Trista from A Purpose driven Wife. Click on image below to view!
Other Resources:
- How to Grow Your Blog Without Spending Money
- How to Track Your Blog Growth
- Best Link Parties to Help Grow Your Blog
- Why Scheduling Your Social Media is the Most Important Thing you will Ever do
- How to Write a Perfect Pinterest Pin Description
- My Twitter Strategy: 10 Tips for Gaining Followers
- How to Invite Non-Friends to Like Your Facebook Page
- 8 Steps to Advertising on Your Blog
What about YOU? Do you make money with your blog? What do you think is the best way to start?
Thank you so much for including a copy of your media kit! That’s a great resource.
So glad to help!
Thanks so much for these tips! I make money online through VA work, but would love to make more on my blog.
Thank you and good luck!!
Thanks for including a copy of your media kit. Right now my stats are on my site, but I always wondered what else would go on a media kit.
This is helpful! It’s refreshing to read that you have learned so much yourself! I always wondered if I should be taking classes but many are very expensive but I have learned so much just like you said – by reading posts! Pinning this for reference!
Yes!! I agree. I have taught myself everything I know from coding, to blogging, to social media, and more! It’s definitely do-able. Good luck!
This is great, Kathryn! Thank you! đ I like how I knew some of these things but you explained the importance of them (like promotion and commenting) so that I was reminded just how powerful they are đ
great tips! im still fairly new in the blogging world and im looking to hopefully make money in the future
Good luck!!
Kathryn,
Great post! I love these ideas! I am relatively new to blogging still and have just begun trying to monetize so this is great!
So glad it was helpful to you. Good luck!
Really helpful article. I pinned and will definitely be referring back to this when I have more page views monthly. I started my blog just under a month ago and am at about 2,500 page views so I hope to get to 10K in a few months. I love your suggestion to wait to monetize until I reach 10K page views.
Thanks
Thank you for pinning! You are not too far off from 10k, I bet you will hit that this year. Good luck and I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
Thanks so much for this, was just looking into this x Great timing!
Great, I’m so glad I could help!
Lots of great advice! Thanks for sharing! I just moved to WP from blogger. I was so nervous to do it, but you’re right, it is the best way to go!
I was too, I kept putting it off and now I wish I did it sooner! Glad you are enjoying it now, good luck!
These are some great tips! I thought about switching over to WordPress (I’m on Blogger), but I’ve had pretty good success so far, especially this past year.
That’s great! Different people and different things… to each his own. Glad you liked the tips and good luck!
These are truly fantastic tips. Thanks so much for sharing! It’s a great perspective and reminder. I was feeling overwhelmed today and now I feel a lot better.
I’m so glad I could help! It can be overwhelming at times, but if you keep plugging away at it, it will get better. Good luck!
Very useful advice Kathryn. I enjoyed reading your post. I have 2 questions, apart from IZEA, which other influencer company will you recommend? And secondly how else can you effectively place ads on your blog without using adsense?
Here’s my list of influencer companies I’ve used in the past year: https://singingthroughtherain.net/2016/01/blog-in-2015.html. There are tons of other ad networks, but most of them require a specific amount of pageviews to join. I list a few at the link above too.
Fantastic. Thank you
This is an extremely helpful article Kathryn. I will have to keep some of these things in mind!
Great, so glad it was helpful!
Great Post with lots of valuable information! Thank you for sharing. đ
I’ve had such a problem monetizing my blog. I get about 20-25,000 page views/month, but I’ve yet to collect a paycheck from Google Adsense. I joined CJ Affiliates, but I don’t want to turn my whole blog into one big advertisement — and it seems like you have to stay on top of it and change out the offers so regularly. I’ve done some sponsored posts, which are my favorite way so far to make money, but they are few and far between. Thanks for the tips. I’m bookmarking this page so I can dive deeper!
Yeah with Google Adsense you have to reach $100.00 before you can cash out. Also, the amount of money you get is dependent upon your ad placement. You have to be strategic with your ads. Good luck and I hope it gets better!
I am just starting out and this is a great resource for me as I am building my blog so I can start off on the right foot monetizing it! Thank you!
You’re welcome, good luck!
Awesome information! Thank you for sharing this! I will definitely be putting your help into practice!
I’m so glad it was helpful!! Good luck!
These tips are so helpful đ Thank you for sharing xx
Glad I could help!
Good tips! I really need to get Adsense going…
It’s super easy! Good luck!
Love reading these posts, they inspire me to keep working hard at my blog!
You can do it!!! Good luck!
Thank you for the links round up that helped me so much ! and promoting on social media can be so draining … Yet it’s so important
Your welcome! I’m glad I could be so helpful.
Great advice. Will definitely take on board some of these tips. Thanks for sharing. đ
So glad to help! đ
Thanks for the inspiration and the steps! I appreciate you sharing both. : )
So glad to help!!
This is exactly what I need – succinct, practical information with great takeaways. Thanks for sharing, pinning this for future reference đ Now if I can just make some money…
Just an additional tip. In blogging, think about not just link building. Think about compelling content that will make the members of your Link-ups and Blogger Groups. Make them not just support you because you are part of the group, but also love you because your blog make sense.
Definitely, great advice!!
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