Five years ago, if you’d told me I’d be sitting here today making a living blogging, I would’ve laughed in your face.
Actually, I probably would’ve said, “What the heck is a blog? And how does one make money blogging?'”
Five years ago, I was working as an investment analyst at a financial planning firm.
I went into work every day, 9 to 5, dreaded Mondays, and looked forward to weekends that never lasted long enough.
There were a few things I appreciated about my job at the time. Consistent paychecks, health insurance, some of my coworkers.
But for the most part, I was not a fan of the 9-to-5 life. And by that I mean:
- Feeling underappreciated and like my work didn’t matter
- Not having control over my income
- Having to ask permission to take time off
- Office politics (ugh)
Starting a business seemed like the answer to all my problems. But I never would’ve guessed that business would be a blog.
Our Blogging Story
First off, we (my business partner Ben and I) didn’t get into blogging intentionally. Rather, we sort of fell into blogging on accident.
We started our business in 2014. Originally, it began as an investment membership site: people would pay us for detailed stock market analysis and specific insight about where they should invest their money.
Needless to say (since you’re reading this article), that idea failed miserably. In fact, in our first 18 months of existence, we made $29.00.
Obviously, our original idea wasn’t working, so we needed a plan B.
That’s when we stumbled onto blogging. We quickly realized that other people were making thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars per month from their blogs. Our first idea failed, and I wasn’t about to go crawling back to the full-time job I had just quit a year earlier, so we gave it a go.
Blogging was slow moving for us at first, but we kept reading, learning from others, and testing strategy after strategy until, finally, we figured it out:
Note: This is an old graphic. Today, our websites generate over $100,000 per month. But, this perfectly captures the roller coaster ride that was our first couple of years in business.
That first little hint of success was all the motivation we needed to keep going. From there, we were able to grow our income each month (well, most months).
If we’d had a guide like this when we first started our business, we probably could have skipped the first year and a half of pure stress, confusion, and turmoil and gotten where we are now in a fraction of the time.
Which brings me to another question we see a lot.
How Much Money Can You Make Blogging?
That, and “How long does it take to make money blogging?” These are two of the first questions we hear from every new blogger.
The truth is, it depends on 1) how hard you’re willing to work, 2) how willing you are to fail (because trust me, you will fail), and 3) the monetization methods you choose.
Sure, our websites bring in over $100,000 per month now, but it took us a lot of work to get to that point. Granted, it would have taken a lot less work and time if we had been willing to learn from others a bit earlier on (like what you’re doing) rather than trying to figure everything out ourselves.
There are bloggers who make less than us and plenty of bloggers who make a great deal more.
The thing about blogging is that there are no limitations. There are dozens of ways to make money blogging. That’s both incredibly liberating and extremely terrifying at the same time.
If you just want to make a thousand dollars extra per month on top of your full-time job, that’s totally doable.
Want to build a seven-figure digital media empire all while traveling the world? Also doable.
That’s why so many people are drawn to the world of blogging and online business.
Blogging provides freedom.
The freedom to travel, work from anywhere, be your own boss, and not have to stress about money. But that doesn’t mean it’s all rainbows and puppy cuddles. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a blog.
The Top 4 Ways to Make Money Blogging
Some ways to make money blogging are simply easier and faster, while other revenue streams take more time and effort to build.
As a blogger, you have many monetization options to choose from, and you don’t have to choose just one. In fact, it’s wise to have multiple revenue streams. That way, if something happens and one revenue stream drops, you still have other monetization methods in place.
However, we recommend focusing on just one or two in the beginning. Build up one revenue stream before moving on to the next.
There’s no one “right” way to make money blogging. The revenue streams you choose will depend on your audience and blog topic. Now, let’s take a look at some of the best, most common ways to make money blogging.
1. Advertising
When most people think of starting a blog, this is the first revenue stream that comes to mind. Often it’s not the most lucrative, but it is one of the easiest ways to get started. There are multiple ways to make money with advertising on your blog.
Display Ads
You know when you visit a site and see ads for cars or clothes or something you were just looking at on Amazon?
Those are display ads. Each time you click one of those ads, the company earns a little bit of money, which is why they call it pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
The easiest PPC method to get started with is Google AdSense. However, to make any kind of decent money with display ads, you’ll need quite a bit of traffic. And by the time you get that much traffic, you’ll make more money going with an ad management company like Mediavine (minimum of 25,000 monthly impressions to join) or AdThrive (minimum of 100,000 monthly pageviews to join).
We used to have display ads on our sites, but we’ve since moved away from them. Why?
- It makes for a poorer user experience. How many times have you been to a site and thought, “Good God, get these ads out of my FACE!”
- It is totally dependent on your traffic. Not everyone who comes to your site will click on an ad, so the more traffic you have, the more money you’re likely to make, and vice versa.
- It takes users away from your site. Yay, you got $0.80 for someone clicking on your ad! But now they’re on someone else’s site buying their things and making them money.
All in all, display ads aren’t the best way to make money with a blog. There are much better ways to make money blogging than sending people away from your site.
However, it’s also not the only form of advertising.
Sponsored Content
Once you start building an audience, you’ll be able to land opportunities for sponsored content on your site and social media.
This is when companies pay you for tweeting, writing a Facebook post, or publishing an article about their products or services. Putting that content out to your audience helps them build brand awareness and maybe even increase sales.
We’ve done this with a few companies on our personal finance website, but it’s also not our favorite way to make money with our blogs. Writing that content takes time, and unless you already have an audience, you can’t expect to make much money with this one.
The larger the audience you have, the more valuable you are to these companies, and the more they’re willing to pay you for media mentions. Therefore, this is not the best monetization method for new bloggers.
Reviews and Giveaways
Another form of advertising on your blog is to do product or service reviews or run a giveaway.
Oftentimes, companies will ask bloggers to write a review on their website about one of their products. In exchange, the blogger gets to keep the product for free. Or for a giveaway, maybe you get a product and you get another to give to the winning reader.
This can be nice if all you’re looking for is free stuff. But if you’re looking for cash, there are better ways to make money blogging.
2. Affiliate Marketing
This is our favorite way we make money with our websites.
Affiliate networks have many products and services for you to promote all in one place. Alternatively, you may earn higher commissions by working directly with the company you want to promote if they have a system for that.
Affiliate marketing can be done in a really spammy, deceitful sort of way, or it can be done in a very legitimate, thoughtful way that provides value to the reader.
The former is sleazy and won’t get you very far. We prefer the latter.
Many of the articles on both of our sites contain text links that lead to another website where our reader can buy or just sign up for something. In return, we get a commission of the sale or lead (if it’s a free sign-up).
The size of the commission varies depending on the cost of the product. For example, a sign-up for a free credit app might net us a few dollars, but a purchase of $100 could result in a $30-$40 commission.
The goal with affiliate marketing, and with blogging in general, is to always provide value to the reader. In this case, that means including links to products or services that you 1) have vetted and/or can attest to, and 2) believe would genuinely benefit the reader.
In this article, you’ll see affiliate links for things like blog hosting and our awesome email service provider. That’s because those products are relevant to the content and beneficial to other bloggers.
We have no problem promoting these affiliates because we’ve used them ourselves and can attest to their value.
3. Digital Products
Digital products are another awesome way to make money with your blog. Rather than selling someone else’s product or service, you’re creating something of your own and selling it directly to your tribe.
There are many options to choose from when it comes to digital products, but we’re going to look at what we’ve seen and consider to be the top three.
Ebooks and Workbooks
The first product we ever created was an eBook. At the time, we were still trying to sell investment advice online (before we figured out the whole blogging thing), so as we’ve already covered, that was a failed venture.
However, there are many bloggers out there who make great money from their workbooks and eBooks.
One who comes to mind is Rosemarie Groner of The Busy Budgeter. She sells her Budget Boot Camp Workbook for $27, along with various other workbooks and worksheets.
The difference between a workbook and eBook is the amount of involvement or activity on the reader’s end. An eBook is mostly text with maybe an exercise or two thrown in. A workbook helps your reader do or accomplish something by leading them through the process.
In Rosemarie’s budgeting workbook, for example, she leads her reader through the process of organizing their finances and creating a budget. Workbooks and eBooks are a great place to start with digital products since they’re decently quick to make, unlike our next digital product.
Online Courses
This monetization method has become incredibly popular over the last few years. As a result, there are many bloggers out there making a ton of money sharing their knowledge online.
The Perfect Pin was our introduction to the world of online course creation. And we can say from experience that creating courses isn’t a walk in the park. It takes a lot of time to create and, depending on your topic, maintain your course content.
However, they can also be a very lucrative way to make money blogging. Teachable is our favorite platform for creating online courses, and the one we use for our own courses.
Membership Sites
A membership site is basically a paid online community. Subscribers pay you a monthly fee for access to premium content, which could include weekly classes, workbooks and printables, video lessons, tutorials, or whatever else you have to offer.
Think of it as a mix between teaching and community.
4. Services
Offering services is by far the fastest way to make money with your blog. Your blog doubles as your portfolio when pitching clients, so you can make money working for others while building your other income streams. Let’s look at some of the best services to offer as a new blogger.
Digital Marketing
In case you haven’t realized it yet, blogging is about so much more than just writing and publishing articles. Along the way to building your blog, you learn about social media strategies, design, SEO, content marketing, and about a million other things.
Many of those things fall under the umbrella of digital marketing, and they’re incredibly valuable to other businesses.
Our friend Bobby realized that soon after he started his blog. His site wasn’t making any money at the time, so he needed to find another way to bring in some cash. That’s when he started reaching out to other businesses to offer his services doing the things he’d learned from blogging (Facebook ads, writing online content, social media strategy, etc.).
That bright idea turned into a nice little side hustle and allowed him to continue building his blog and growing his online business. Spoiler alert: he’s now a full-time blogger.
Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are in high demand for online entrepreneurs. A virtual assistant helps business owners with everything from administrative tasks to design to email marketing.
Your services will depend on your specific skills and experiences. For example, if you have impeccable spelling and grammar, then one of your services could be to proofread articles for other websites.
As a virtual assistant, your options are pretty much limitless. Here’s a list of 150+ services you can offer as a virtual assistant. Yes, there are really that many.
Freelance Writing
This is one of the easiest and most common services to offer as a new blogger. You’re already writing content for your own website, so why not get paid to write for someone else?
Freelance writing is a great way to practice your writing skills and get your name out there. It’s also perfect for building authority if you write for sites in your niche.
And don’t think for a second that “freelancing” is synonymous with “working for pennies.” Some freelance writers make upwards of six figures per year.
How to Make Money Blogging: A Guide to Your First $1,000
All right, now that you’re up to speed on the different ways to monetize a blog, let’s talk strategy.
If you commit to following every single step in this article, you can money with your blog within a matter of months.
That being said, the first $1,000 you make blogging is probably going to be the most difficult money you’ve ever earned in your life.
There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s easier to make $1,000 flipping burgers (I’ve done both).
But, once you hit that $1,000 mark, the sky is the limit.
You’ll be surprised how quickly your blog can grow and your life can change once you get past the initial hurdle of profitability. You just have to stick with it to get to that point.
If you want to escape your 9 to 5 and make a full-time income from home (and eventually more than a full-time income), blogging is one way to accomplish that.
So here we go, the exact steps you need to take to make $1,000 blogging, even if you’re a total beginner.
Step 1: Choose a Blog Niche
The biggest mental roadblock I see out there: people thinking they need to come up with something 100% unique that hasn’t been written about yet.
Or worse, thinking that you can only write about something you have a raging passion for.
Here’s something for you: I’m not “passionate” about the subject areas of our two blogs (personal finance and blogging/business). Sure, I really enjoy both topics, but it’s not like I have a primal calling to write about them. I just enjoy both things, and that’s enough to keep me going.
And yes, there are a million other blogs out there that already cover what Ben and I write about. The internet is a really big place, but I can promise you there is room for all of us.
So what should you write about?
If you want to make money from your blog, you need to treat every decision you make like a business decision. When it comes to choosing your blog niche, that means using some common sense:
Here are some things to consider:
- Write about something that interests you. Otherwise, it won’t be enjoyable and you’ll fizzle out after a while.
- Find something that other people are interested in, too. If you choose to write about Himalayan basket weaving for men, you probably won’t have many readers, and you’ll have a hard time earning any income. Try to find something that combines your interests with things other people also care about. For my main blog, I write about money advice. I’m a personal finance nerd and, fortunately, there are people online looking for that type of information, too.
- You DON’T have to be a world-class expert on your topic. You just need to know a little more about your topic than your readers.
Have a question about whether a particular niche has a good income potential? Post your question in our Facebook group and you’ll get tons of helpful feedback.
Step 2: Get Started (If You Haven’t Already)
You’ve probably heard of WordPress before but may still be unsure what it is.
Think of WordPress as the backbone of your blog. It’s the easiest to use (and most powerful) content management system (or CMS) in the world. WordPress is what makes it possible for regular people like you and me to build and run a website without being a computer coder.
In fact, you don’t need any coding knowledge whatsoever to get started with WordPress.
You have two main options for starting your blog: “Self-Hosted” on WordPress or “Free WordPress.”
Why is self-hosting with WordPress the best way to go?
Even though you have to pay for your own web hosting out of pocket, going this route allows you much more flexibility in terms of site design and usability. And don’t worry, hosting is inexpensive, especially if you take advantage of our 42% off coupon code with HostGator (BTOP42). Depending on your hosting plan, it shouldn’t cost you more than a few dollars a month.
There are a few key differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
With the free version of WordPress, you don’t really have that much freedom to make changes to your site. Plus, WordPress actually owns your site if you use the free version (meaning, your site is technically not even yours). With the free version of WordPress, your website link even looks unprofessional; instead of a .com ending, your site will look like “yourwebsite.wordpress.com”.
I can’t think of even one successful blogger (in terms of income) that is using the free version of WordPress.
If you want to make money blogging, self-hosting is the way to go.
For step-by-step instructions, check out our free guide on how to start a blog with WordPress.
Step 3: Create Helpful Content
At this point, you should have honed in a niche you feel comfortable writing about, and you should have your blog set up.
If you skipped to this section and haven’t done the first two steps, take the time to go back and do them!
After you’ve got your blog set up, it’s time to write some epic blog posts.
If you have the end goal of earning income from your blog, you need to be strategic in the type of content you write and how you write it.
Here is a basic framework you can and should use for planning out your content, at least to start. The main goal here is to get you in the habit of writing articles that you know people will want to read. You don’t want to waste time writing to an audience of 0.
Simple as that.
Why is this strategy so effective?
Because the leaders in whatever niche you are blogging about are already making money. And probably a lot of it.
They have cracked the code, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to emulate their success.
That said, be cool. Don’t outright copy them.
Another way to find topics to write about
If the goal is to create content people want to read, then another method is to figure out what they’re already searching for.
- Type in some phrases related to your niche on Pinterest and see what comes up
- Search a common phrase or problem on Google and look at the “related searches”
- Use a free keyword tool like UberSuggest
Figuring out what type of content to create takes practice. You’ll probably end up writing at least a few articles that you later delete, and that’s okay. We’ve all been there (trust me).
But the more you practice, the more articles you write, and the more you get to know your audience over time, the better you’ll become at creating high-quality content that people want to read.
Even if everything you want to blog about has already been covered by a million other blogs, there is no substitute for YOU.
Your voice, experiences, perspective.
The way YOU present your content.
Take this blog, for example. There are thousands of other “blogs about blogging”… and a lot of them are WAY bigger than us.
Yet Ben and I have been able to carve out our own little tribe of followers online, and in turn, we have helped a lot of people with pursuing their online dreams. Our readers probably also read our competitors’ blogs like Melyssa Griffin, Pat Flynn, Michelle Schroeder, etc., but they ALSO read us.
They recognize that our perspective and our voice has value, even if we aren’t as big as the top dogs.
I think the same logic applies to any niche. To the average Jane on the Internet/Pinterest, there is not a saturation problem. She just wants to read great content, no matter where it comes from.
How to structure your blog posts so people read them
Repeat after me:
I will NOT use walls of text.
Using massive walls of text is the quickest way to kill a blog post.
The way we were taught in school to write is NOT how you want to write for your blog. Big paragraphs, pages and pages of SOLID TEXT, etc. are not going to make readers want to stick around.
See what I mean:
So, no long paragraphs. But what about structure? Do you write blog posts like an essay?
Yes and no.
The key here, again, is to break up your articles into bite-size chunks. Here’s a template you can steal:
Write enough posts to fill up your theme’s homepage (so it doesn’t look empty). Then, it’s onto the next step.
Step 4: Pick ONE social media network and OWN it
When Ben and I first started blogging, we tried to be everywhere, all the time.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Quora, Quibb… we were all over the place.
And you know what?
For the longest time, our traffic sucked. I mean, it REALLY sucked. We weren’t getting anywhere. And we weren’t making any money.
That’s when we decided to try our hand at Pinterest, a platform neither Ben nor I had ever used in our lives up until that point.
And let me tell you, Pinterest changed everything for us.
For new websites, ranking high on Google is just not going to happen overnight, but Pinterest can be your secret weapon. It is, bar none, the best way to get your name out there if you are a new blogger.
How to dominate Pinterest and grow your traffic
For most new bloggers, I recommend focusing exclusively, 100% on Pinterest to get your first significant stream of consistent traffic. It really is the best use of your time at this stage of your blog.
Get a business account and set up “Rich Pins”
You want to make sure you aren’t using a personal account to build up your Pinterest profile for your website.
With a business account, you’ll have access to Pinterest Analytics, as well as the ability to create “Rich Pins.” You can also pay Pinterest to promote your pins with a business account, but that’s definitely not necessary. We experimented with about $50 worth of promoted pins before figuring out we could make our pins go viral on our own, without the help of ads.
Rich pins make your pins stand out just a bit more by adding a bold link title in your pin description. Getting rich pins is really easy (and free, don’t worry). You just need to confirm your website with Pinterest.
Create a “Best Of” Board
Once you have a business account, the next step is to create your “Best Of” board.
The purpose of this board is to house only pins that link to content on your own website. This is not the place to pin other peoples’ stuff. You can (and should) make a bunch of other boards for that.
When other users are looking at your account and deciding whether or not they want to follow you, they are going to be looking for this board to give them a sense for what type of content you yourself are contributing to Pinterest. In your board description, be sure to include lots of keywords that users might be searching for.
Ideally, you’d like to have at least 50 or so pins on this board. If you don’t have that many pieces of content, don’t worry. See the next step.
Make multiple pins for each blog post
This is important for a few different reasons.
First, it’s always smart to A/B test your pins.
“You could write the best blog post in the world, but if I don’t feel like clicking on your pin, you’ve just lost the game.”
Experiment with different image backgrounds, different calls to action (CTA), even different keywords in your description.
The other benefit of making multiple pins is that it makes it a little easier to run up your total pin count on your Best Of board. This helps when it comes time to apply for group boards, as you want to have a decent portfolio of pins that you can share.
I generally try to make 2 or 3 pins for each article. But sometimes I make as many as 10 pins if I feel it’s an article that deserves to get some real attention.
Brand your pins to stand out
I’ll be the first to admit, I could have done a much better job of this when I was first making the pins for our first personal finance blog. I just didn’t know any better.
Then one day as I was scrolling through my Pinterest feed and this pin caught my eye: 
Before I looked down to see who the creator of the pin was, I knew it was going to be from Pauline Cabrera over at twelveskip.com. Without even realizing it, I had subconsciously begun to recognize her purple-themed pins with the crisp block font. And I knew that those pins led to really good content, so I clicked on the pin and ended up reading her article.
That’s when it dawned on me how important branding is when it comes to creating your pins, as long as you have great content. The ONLY reason I clicked on that pin and went to her website was because it stood out to me in the sea of pins on my feed.
So since launching BTOP, I’ve been keeping Pauline’s focus on awesome branding in the back of my head. Here’s a look at how our pins appear now:
There are a few key points I’d like you to note with these pins:
- They all have some amount of our main brand color: orange.
- Pins that have both scripts and block font perform well.
- The background images are all very light/white themed. This makes the text stand out more.
- I don’t have a rigid format for each pin. I switch it up constantly, while still keeping the same theme.
- Each one has both a logo and our .com address. Brand recognition, guys.
Having rock-solid brand recognition is SO important if you want to be recognized on the platform.
After creating your initial batch of on-brand pins, you can also experiment with making “off-brand” pins. I go over a lot of the strategy behind that in my Pinterest Design Course, but that’s a little beyond the scope of this article.
A lot of people use Canva or Photoshop to make their pins, but I’m old-fashioned and just use Powerpoint. Whatever works best for you is fine. PowerPoint is what I used in school for projects, so it’s also what I use to make pins. Our course goes into way more detail in terms of actually making your pins.
Join Group Boards
This is where the real magic is with Pinterest. If you don’t know yet, the number of followers you have on Pinterest doesn’t mean much…it’s all about how many (engaged) followers you have.
Group boards can help with this.
And while they’re not as effective as they used to be, they can still be a powerful tool to help increase your reach and drive more traffic to your website.
So how do you get on these group boards? You have to hustle.
The first step is to compile a list of boards that you would like to join. The best way to do this is to look at what group boards some of the top accounts in your niche are contributors to. You can also use PinGroupie.com and search for group boards centering around different topics.
Each group board admin is going to have a different way that they want you to apply to their board. Some want you to email them, some prefer a DM, some want comments, and some don’t give you any directions at all (that’s when you go full-on stalker-mode and go to their website and search for their contact info).
Mass group board application means a lot to keep track of, so I recommend using a spreadsheet similar to mine below (we applied to well over 100 but this screenshot only shows the first 56 boards).
Once you have your spreadsheet started, it’s time to get to work and start contacting all of these people.
It’s going to take you a long time, and most of the time you will never hear back and you’ll never get added to their boards. That’s just the way it goes, and it’s okay. You have to cast your net wide and understand that rejection is just part of the game.
Here’s a basic outreach template you can use. However, keep in mind that board owners get a lot of these requests. The more personalized and unique you can make your email (and if you can offer them something in return, bonus points to you), the better your odds of being added.
Hi _________,
I was hoping to catch you and see if you would be open to adding me as a contributor to your ___________ (actually link to the board, they may have several and this makes it easier for them) group board.
I regularly write about __________, ___________, and __________ on my website, and think my content would be both interesting and valuable to your readers. I also like to regularly promote and highlight other members of the community so that everyone benefits from collaborating.
My Pinterest profile: ____________
My Pinterest email: __________
Thanks a bunch,
Jeff
Put Your Pinning on Autopilot
When you’re busy building your blog or your website, you can’t afford to spend your entire day on Pinterest.
This is where automation comes in.
Instead of manually pinning each of your pins to your group boards all the time (along with finding other peoples’ stuff to pin), there is software out there that takes care of all that for you. And it’s awesome.
Ben and I have used a few different programs, but our favorite by far is Tailwind.
One of the coolest things about Tailwind is how it can tell you which group boards are performing the best for you. With that info, you can really double down on what’s working (and eliminate what’s not working).
And you don’t have to get the paid version if you’re not ready for that yet. You can get by for now with just the free trial, but eventually, you will need to make the investment. It is easily the best money we spent early on for our blog.
Reapply to Group Boards That You Never Heard Back From
Just because you were rejected the first time doesn’t mean you should give up. There are a bunch of reasons why you should revisit your spreadsheet every few months:
- The board owner might have missed your DM, email, etc.
- Your profile might not have been good enough back then, but it’s much better now.
- They could have just forgotten to add you.
No matter what might have happened the first time, go ahead and get back in touch with them. You have nothing to lose!
Don’t use the exact same script, and be sure to remain polite and courteous.
Step 5: Begin Monetizing Your Blog
You were probably wondering when I would circle back around to actually making money from your blog, weren’t you?
Well, the truth is, most bloggers never actually make any money from their blogs. And you know why?
Because they skip straight to the “making money” steps without putting in all the necessary foundational work. And then, when they do the blog monetization stuff and don’t see any income, they give up (or worse, make an excuse for why it didn’t work out).
This stuff takes time! Like I said, the first $1,000 you make on the internet is the hardest money you will likely ever make. But after that hurdle, there are no limits to your income. A $1K month leads to $2K, then $5K, then $10K, then $25K, then $80k+. I’ve seen it happen many times.
Before you do anything in this section, you should have done the following:
- Joined our free Facebook group.
- Chosen a topic you enjoy and that appeals to many people.
- Set up your blog.
- Written your first 5-10 high-quality posts written.
- Established a presence on one social media site.
- Have at least 5,000 monthly visitors to your site. If you aren’t there yet, revisit Pinterest. Figure it out.
Without traffic, your blog will never make any money. That’s just the truth.
The rest of this section assumes you have the above items done. A solid foundation is imperative for your success!
The best way for most new bloggers to begin making money
As I said earlier, most of our income today is from affiliate marketing, which is a commission-based form of advertising on your blog. This is our favorite way to make money blogging and one that we suggest you start implementing early on.
Essentially, for every sale/lead/signup your blog generates, you get a small fee. Most commissions are between $1 and $100.
This model works best if you are promoting things that directly relate to your content. For example, on our personal finance blog, we promote affiliates that help our readers make and save money.
Why do I advocate for affiliate marketing for new bloggers over creating your own product or some other method of monetizing?
Because it’s the best way for you to learn how to sell. Creating your own products takes a ton of time, and then promoting them takes even more time and effort. It’s just too big of a risk. When you’re just starting out, you’re much better off promoting an already successful product and taking a commission on your sales.
Affiliate marketing is just the most practical way to make money for a new blogger. Not to mention you can make really good money doing it.
How to find affiliate products to promote on your blog
Hopefully, you already have a few products in mind that you personally use and like.
If not, go back again to the leaders in your niche. They most likely do some form of affiliate marketing on their blog (probably in addition to selling their own products).
Go back to their most popular posts. What do you see them promoting within these posts?
Chances are, if an affiliate product is appearing in a successful blogger’s most popular articles, that product is making the blogger a lot of money.
It might make a lot of sense for you to promote the same product (assuming you’re familiar with it and believe in it). Being authentic definitely helps in converting affiliate sales.
Start promoting your favorite products
You should have a list of 5-10 affiliate products related to your niche that you have seen others in your niche promoting that you want to have on your blog. Now it’s time to become an affiliate.
Affiliate networks
“Affiliate networks” are websites that connect bloggers with hundreds of companies that advertise via affiliate marketing. By joining a network, you’ll instantly have access to apply to all the affiliates within that network.
Here are the main networks we recommend joining:
There are many other networks, but these are big players and should cover most of your needs.
If you come across a company you want to promote and you don’t see them on any of these sites, send the company an email and ask if they have an affiliate program.
Find out which posts of yours are getting the most traffic
This will be your starting point for placing affiliate links on your blog.
Yes, you are going to go back and edit your old posts.
Read those articles again and try to spot areas where there are opportunities for you to drop an affiliate link. Again, authenticity is important — don’t force it.
An example of how this works:
Pro tip: Because of the nature of affiliate marketing (where you are essentially recommending a product to your readers), text links tend to be far more effective than pre-made banner images. Text links feel more natural and “real” in an article, which means a higher level of trust.
Go back through all of your articles and find opportunities to include affiliates. This isn’t a quick fix; it will take you some time, but always be on the lookout for ways to improve your old content.
Your content strategy going forward
Most articles that you write on your blog should be done with the dual purpose of helping your readers and converting an affiliate sale/signup.
Note: I said “most,” not “all.”
If you want to make money from your blog, very rarely should you write just for the sake of writing.
Your blog is a business.
With that said, don’t forget that your readers come first. Your content should always provide value to your readers, even if they don’t click on an affiliate link.
If your blog devolves into an affiliate spam fest, you will lose readers.
For example, right now I’m going to plug an amazing affiliate marketing course that I took from Michelle Schroeder-Gardner that I am now an affiliate for. (She makes over $50K a month from affiliate marketing). I’m talking about affiliate marketing, she has a course on affiliate marketing. It feels “right.”
And I dropped the link after giving you a ton of value in the article. It shouldn’t feel sales-y.
Choose one other monetization method
Earlier in this article, we covered other ways to make money blogging aside from affiliate marketing (ads, digital products, services, etc.).
Choose one other monetization method in addition to affiliate marketing and grow them side by side. A service can be a good place to start since that’s oftentimes the fastest way to make money with a blog.
Another, more passive option is to go with display ads. Remember, though, that until you start getting a significant amount of traffic, you won’t see much money with this one. However, it is a more passive alternative to offering services.
Once your affiliate marketing revenue takes off, you can slow down on the services and pick up other revenue streams (e.g. sponsored content or digital products), if you so choose.
How to Make Money Blogging in a Nutshell
Did I cover everything there is to know about blogging in this post?
No. Not even close. That would be a gazillion-word article that no one would read.
What I did do is tell you everything you need to know to start taking action now. Today.
If you follow every single step in this article (and don’t skip anything), you will have a real foundation for your blog to begin earning consistent, meaningful income.
Here’s the thing, though.
Most people aren’t actually willing to do all of this. In fact, the vast majority won’t even try.
There. I said it.
This guide is right here for the taking.
I’ve shown you 90% of what is needed to run a multi-thousand dollar per month blog (and no, the last 10% isn’t a “secret,” it’s just higher-level tactics that aren’t important at this stage).
I’ve given all the info, for free, and now you just need to make a decision on if you are going to use it.
Seth Godin sums up the concept of blogging perfectly:
Here’s a keyboard, connected to the entire world. Here’s a publishing platform you can use to interact with just about anyone, just about any time, for free. You wanted a level playing field, one where you have just as good a shot as anyone else? Here it is. Do the work.
That’s what we’re all counting on.
For you to do the work.
Here’s What to do Next
→ Bookmark this post. This is your guide.
→ Join our free Facebook group for bloggers. Say hi.
→ Set up your blog using this tutorial.
→ Start (strategically) writing 5-10 high-quality articles based on past successes in your niche.
→ Find a social media platform to dominate. I recommend Pinterest.
→ Enroll in our free Pinterest Design Course. Making appealing pins is a skill you need to have and there is no way around it.
→ Find affiliate products you want to promote and join networks to get access to those programs.
→ Revisit your original articles and insert affiliate links. This may require you to heavily alter some posts — that is okay.
→ Consider enrolling in Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to further hone your affiliate marketing skills. I’ve taken the course and can tell you that it is worth the investment.
→ Write more conversion-oriented articles, make more pins, and keep putting yourself out there.
A Short Pep Talk Before You Go
Listen: I know this stuff can be intimidating when you have no clue what you’re doing. It’s easy to put it off and not really commit. It’s easy to wait for “inspiration” to hit you.
But here’s the bottom line. If you take the time to learn the game, blogging can truly change your life.
I know it’s changed mine.
I have complete freedom to live life on my own terms — not an employer’s.
I’m free.
We started at $0 just like everyone else.
We are not special, we just put in the work. So can you.
YOU CAN DO THIS.
69 Responses
Thanks for this great and informative post! This has got me motivated to get on pinterest. Would you recommend getting a VA to do this for you?
It depends on what your skillset and budget are! I think Pinterest is something that can be learned, but it does take time and effort.
Also, I would make sure to vet your VA if you decide to go that route. Make sure they know what they are doing, otherwise it will be a waste of money.
Best of luck to you!!
Hot DANG, what a helpful article!
Definitely sharing this on the world wide web. Great value here, Jeff!
AHHHH I have a fan. Yes!
Nice article Jeff. For beginners, I would suggest to stay away from sites like Amazon, as they pay low. Try to go after affiliate programs which pays at least 30%.
I agree. I added that one last because I was thinking, “man, someone is gonna call me out for not including the biggest affiliate site on Planet Earth.” Amazon should be a last resort in my opinion!
I would say this is a cornerstone article. It’s epic I would I’m an intermediate in blogging.
I have found this article explaining everything one needs to start a blog and how to do it.
Best things I have been looking for an article like this where I can refer people who want to start a blog and have so many questions.
You guys I’m gonna share this post everywhere. I repeat this is AWESOME .
Thanks!
Ahh thank you for all the nice comments Frida!! You are the best 🙂
Hi Jeff,
Great tips and I’ve already started implementing some of these tips that I read from other blog posts that you’ve written.
This month, I made it a point to stop using Facebook and Twitter. I’m still using them but I turned all my focus to Pinterest.
I’ve recently started making more than one pin for each blog post. In the past, I was only making one pin per post.
I’ve also joined a few Group boards and several Tailwind Tribes. In just a month, I can definitely see the increase in the traffic to my blog. Pinterest is now the biggest referrer.
I still have a lot to learn when it comes to Pinterest, but blogs like yours definitely make it easier.
Thanks for sharing these tips, now I need to go find some more group boards.
Have a great day 🙂
Susan
Glad to hear you liked it, Susan! Yeah, not focusing on Pinterest right away is the biggest reason I think our blog didn’t really grow like we thought it could when we first started out.
Thanks a lot Jeff! You inspire me every single time. I admire how you share so much, investing into people’s lives and holding nothing back?
You are a blessing
Thank you so much for the kind words!! Just made my day 🙂
welcome Jeff
I love the side hustle is beautiful because it helps anyone gain Financial Freedom if they put their mind to it and stay consistent with their internet business building efforts. If I would have known this stuff 20 years ago I would have been in a better place today financially.
It takes some time for a new blog to get the first sale. In my case the time was about two months. This time depends on a marketing strategy a blogger has chosen and especially whether he will buy the traffic or not.
For almost a solid year I have been reading, researching…..you know, generally avoiding going live lol. December is the month. Actually it was all worth it because I found some awesome content of yours a few month’s ago and you continue to impress….thanks Jeff!
Awesome ROI! Michelle’s is God send for folks like us. At the rate that you’re going, I trust you’ll make your goal of earning a full-time income.
Jeff, first article of yours I’ve read. Excellent stuff! I’m following Michelle as well and am floored at the potential. I’m starting right now to implement all your suggestions. I’ve not yet set up my website email, but hey, one bite at a time, right? I’m looking forward to making a contribution to the interwebs. At this moment, by site is a blank slate, but I have several posts written in Google Docs of which to choose from. Cheers!
Welcome to the crazy world of internet blogging!! 🙂
Thanks for this wonderful article. You are really doing much better than most of the bloggers out there…
Thank you so much for this helpful post! I have been researching how to make a successful blog for a month or so and have found many of your posts very helpful! It is my goal within the next year or so to have one up and running! I’m currently working more then full-time hours but live my job; just want more freetime. I think with some hard work I can make it possible.
xcellent post. I think you sum up all the points why many bloggers don’t make money they should be making. Frequently posting posts makes a huge difference.
Great tips, Jeff.
I recently starting focusing on Pinterest, creating memes on Canva. I include my blog URL on every meme. I appreciate your tip about branding. I think I’ve developed a brand “style,” in the way I lay out my images, but will now reconsider it.
Thanks also for the tip about posting several different images for each blog post. I had not thought of that.
Quick question about Tailwind: some people worry that Pinterest might adjust its algorithm to punish auto-pinning. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Final thought: Another way to profit from your blog is to build it around a niche information product. With that as your main focus, you can add relevant affiliate products to the back end.
Thanks.
David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
Hey David,
I help Jeff with most of the Tailwind stuff so figured I’d chime in on that part of things!
Anyhow, the good thing is I think we can very reasonably expect a warning before anything like that happens. Enid Hwang (one of Pinterest’s top honchos) recently spoke at the AdThrive Summit and shared that Pinterest does penalize/look down on/treat any differently an approved API partner (like Tailwind) than it would someone who is manually pinning — this has been known for some time, it was just nice to hear them reaffirm it (any conjecture beyond that is merely a rumor).
I don’t foresee Pinterest really deviating far from that particular status quo merely because it would infuriate content curators/publishers…but of course there is a chance they completely 180 on that if they feel a need to protect their platform.
IF something like that were to happen I surmise we can reasonably expect some sort of announcement/warning to the approved API partners (and probably even to the general public). I would say it’s almost impossible they’ll push through some sort of update that suppresses auto-pinned content without us knowing (at least a little) ahead of time, thus giving us time to adjust accordingly.
Hi Ben,
Thank you for your insights. On the strength of that, I’ll hop over and check out Tailwind.
Awesome post regarding how to start a kick-ass blog and how to earn money through blogging, really this post covers all the things that a blogger need to grow and monetize blog.
Thnks
Thanks a lot for this eye opening content. As it is right now, I have to get on Pinterest to get basic traffic first of all I guess.
What a great and informative post. You go far and beyond to provide more than enough. I agree that blogging is tough and requires a lot of sacrifice and patience. It Those attractive income reports I see bloggers share can really be deceptive to a new blogger. Thank for providing a realistic picture of blogging in this post.
Wondering if I already use the free WordPress and I’m ready to self host with either hostgator or another hosting site, will I be able to integrate my current content on my blog?
Absolutely, once you’re able to purchase hosting (be it through HostGator or elsewhere, all you’ll have to do is follow the export/import instructions you see here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-properly-move-your-blog-from-wordpress-com-to-wordpress-org/
It’s pretty simple 🙂
Brilliant! This article has so much valuable information. I have been working on my blog for a couple of years now and have recently started to monetize. I was worried about my blog turning into a spammy site if I added too many banners. I’ll definitely be conscious and use more of the text links.
One of my Pinterest concerns includes what to do when a pin starts to lose traction after a couple of months. I love the idea of making multiple pins from the beginning. I need to do some research on A/B testing.
I’ll definitely be following some of the recommendations here and see how it works out. It’s clear you invested time into this post. Thanks!!
Great article Jeff! Good idea about identifying your most popular posts and adding additional content with affiliate links. I think the Google algorithm will like the fresh content too!
Thanks,
Alan
Hi Jeff!
Great information altogether, but my main question still hasn’t been answered. I think I have Pinterest figured out and my traffic is gradually growing. I haven’t reached 5000 views per month yet but right now it seems like I will get 1000 page views in August and I started Pinterest mid-July with 0 views. I’m sure could be better, but not too bad either.
To speed things up I’m considering guest posting, therefore my question is – do you think I should try to guest post on another blog in the same niche or focus on my own content and stick with only Pinterest for now?
My main concerns why I’m asking this is that I think 12 published blog posts might not be enough content for the person that lands on my page to stay on my page for too long, therefore it might be more beneficial to guest post a few months from now. Also, I’m thinking maybe it is better to invest that time in things like learning affiliate marketing rather than trying to get somebody to collaborate.
What’s your view on this? Should I start guest posting this early on in my journey or better wait a few months?
Thanks a ton,
Charlotte
Hey Charlotte!
I’ll let Jeff know you commented so he can chime in too (he’s out of town at the moment), but I figured I’d chime in so you weren’t left hanging for a while 🙂
Your dilemma is a legitimate concern and actually shows a super good self-awareness that many bloggers struggle with.
Guest posting typically achieves two equally important things:
1) Increased visibility in front of readers in your niche
2) The SEO benefits of building links to your site from another authority site in your niche
Note: If a potential guest post isn’t in your niche and/or the site is too small to be worth your limited time, I’d pass.
As a new(er) blog, your realized time restraints are typically best served by building a library of content and putting it in a place where the most people will see it (i.e. Pinterest).
Were I in your shoes, I’d focus nearly all my time researching popular content topics in your niche, and then planning out and writing content that addresses those topics/pain points. This will help you build a library of content that is:
1) Popular/helps you build an audience
2) Helps you further establish yourself as a figure in your niche as like-minded bloggers will inevitably trickle to/stumble upon your content.
The TLDR; version:
Focus on content and Pinterest (social media for now); if you can maybe set aside an hour/two per week for some email outreach to other niche bloggers (that have some level authority) and a quality-guest post opportunity presents itself, take it.
You may get some trickle referral traffic from the guest post (don’t expect much), and the SEO benefits may be realized later, but it is somewhat important to get started on it now versus ignoring it for months/to years while you build your content library.
Got it! Mainly content for now!
On a side note, what do you think about forum marketing? Is it a legitimate source of traffic if done correctly or is it just one of those things that some people talk about but doesn’t bring in as much traffic to be noticible in long term?
Cheers,
Charlotte
Probably not worth the time investment that it requires — it takes a fair bit of time to engage/interact in a substantial way that allows you to link drop without appear spammy, and then you will only get minor referral traffic at best.
If you’ve spent a lot of time writing that week and just need a break from working on a post, it may be a productive way to spend an hour or two but I personally think your time could be better spent elsewhere. (This isn’t to say that you can’t find success utilizing this method, I just don’t see many/any people doing it and reporting back that it’s really helped them).
Thanks for the post! It helped put some things into perspective for my blogging strategy!
You’re welcome!
Jeff and Megan took a long time to put this beast of a post together so I’m glad you got something out of it 🙂
This post contained a lot of valuable information. I will use it as a resource. Thank You !
You’re welcome, hopefully you learned a thing or two! 🙂
I made close to $200 in the last two months following almost everything that you have outlined above. SEO and WordPress tips (from your other posts) really helped but I found that most of my revenue came in through ads through Google, but that’s because I got a bump in traffic recently from a more successful friend of mine.
As a blogger I suggest to join (maxbounty-mostCPA-peerfly) and choose YOUR niche, suitable offers and then start write some blogs about those offers. I guarantee that you reach out your money goals.
Thanks for such a well-written post! This is definitely share-worthy content! I already knew about some of the information, but there was also a lot I learned. I am just figuring out how to get rolling with Pinterest, so I’ve bookmarked this page so that I can refer back to it. Thanks again!
It`s really important to follow clear and tested tips and tricks and not to confuse and lost at the beginning of blogging!
[…] impact on your ability to monetize your blog effectively. Jumping straight into digital products as a beginner blogger trying to make money is going to leave you wondering why the heck you’re not getting […]
Hi Ben, It’s amazing and very helpful for the beginners. Every blog beginners need to have knowledge about the passive income before starting the blog. You article explained everything that blog starter are stumbling for.
This is probably the best article on blogging that I’ve come across. It’s cut and dried right to the point with a massive amount of information in a single article. Great job Jeff!
It is true when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I retired from cooperate on 12/28 after 32 years. I was not sure what I would do next but remained open to all possibilities. Today I am came online and found this. Thank you so much for opening sharing this very informative information. I am grateful I found this.
Outstanding article. I was researching remote jobs, and stumbled here in my google search. My questions about blogging for money were all answered for my beginner’s level. The rest is up to me. Thank you! I’ll share this on social media as an exchange for the free knowledge, and to help others like myself that want to start, but are unsure where to begin their journey.
Excellent article! This post gave me the push I needed to start a blog. Thank you so much for the step-by-step guide!
I would love to improve my blogging income (currently lucky to make £30 a month), this has given me a lot to think about, thank you!
You’re welcome Emma! Join our blogging group if you haven’t already. We’re here to help. 🙂
This is all such great advice. Especially on how much of a powerhouse Pinterest is. I really need to put more effort into that tool. I found this PDF super helpful when I was getting started and didn’t know how to make any money on my blog. https://eliteblogacademy.com/boostincome (it’s free and short… I like it when stuff gets straight to the point!)
Fantastic post, very detailed and super informative. I’m just starting out and although I’ve done my research, your post had many tips that I found inspiring to forge ahead and aim for 6 figures. Thank you so much!
Excellent post guys. I have learned a lot from this. I just have started blogging. I believe making money is possible but really needs to work hard.
Great article that could be separated into 3 or 4 good articles.
As someone who knows a bit about blogging, this is nothing new, but it’s always nice to hear the same story from another perspective.
I even got some ideas to improve my article about affiliate marketing and I thank you for that.
Just one more thing. There seems to be some pingbacks in comment section so you should consider removing them.
You gained one loyal follower. 🙂
My experience is that Native Ads work best, affiliate links are very difficult to make money with and selling ebooks simply is not working. At least I never saw any real success with ebooks.
This was awesome. Thank you for sharing. It put things into a better perspective for me. Small goals will get me to bigger ones without giving up.
This blog post is like a free course!
What an awesome article! I am sitting here researching: “How the heck do I start a blog to make some money” and you came up. I can only imagine the hours you put into this post.
Thanks so much for all the awesome information. The kick I needed to finally get the ball rolling.
This guide is awesome sauce! It’s long so I have to bookmarked. Thanks for sharing it.
This is really helpful. I’ve been working on my website/blog for 1 year on and off. I had it self-hosted, then got busy with life matters and did not proceed. Right now I’m working with a free WordPress site and hopefully when I’m 100% ready I will self-host it again!
Insightful article. I’m just starting out as a newbie blogger. I believe this post had given me a push to start off by immediately.
Wow, thanks for revealing these amazing secrets to us. I must say this is the best resource I’ve seen on this topic. I’ll definitely try out some of these tips on my blog. Thanks for sharing.
Building an audience first is vital. It can be tough to make money with a blog if you don’t have an audience that you can rely upon. It’s great of you sharing how Pinterest have helped you build grow your traffic. I’ll definitely try this strategy.
In my entire life, I have never read such an in-depth article… I had to learn all these things my self when starting.
I’ve worked really hard, 3 unsuccessful blogs with 50+ articles isn’t encouraging at all, but I didn’t give up, I started a new blog last week and your guide came at the right time.
Already registered for Pinterest and have about 7 pins already, the country I am targetting hardly has any good enough boards but I plan on being the starting point.
Thanks so much for this article Jeff, I would pay for this kind of content.
Great tips! I am a new blogger and haven’t started earning from my blog just yet. Your tips are really helpful to start with.
Thank you Jeff for taking the time to give new bloggers this information for FREE! It is truly so helpful and I sincerely appreciate your honesty.
I have been blogging for about 4 months now and am at a point where I feel overwhelmed by the amount of “next steps” to take, but also hopeful for the possibilities! It is a tough journey getting started for sure.
Thank you again for the reminder that the battle is uphill for most at this point- but we CAN get past it! Currently fighting for that first $1000. Definitely bookmarking this article for future reference. Thank you!!
A real beginners’ guide on how to make money blogging. It really helped me to take my blogging to the next level. The thing which I liked the most is the inside view of the blogging market and a step by step way to learn blogging from scratch. Keep the great work up.