So, you have read a number of posts explaining what a blog is and how you can create one. But how exactly does one earn money with blogging? Is it even possible to make money from blogging, much alone turn it into a lucrative career?
These, I’m sure, are some of your most pressing concerns before taking the jump. The answer is Yes. Yes, you can make a substantial amount of money through blogging. In fact, most established bloggers make way more than $10,000 per month.
You may only be aware of one approach to generating money from your blog so far, which is by posting ads on it. I will go through the five most common ones in this post.
1. Display Advertising
Simply put, display advertising is the culprit behind those annoying ads that keep popping up on a website when you are just trying to enjoy a good article.
Bloggers are fully aware that the ads may be annoying to readers, but that is one way through which they are compensated for their work.
In formal terms, display advertising is a method used by companies to attract customers whenever they are on the internet, regardless of which website they are browsing. Advertising companies do this by putting adverts on other people’s websites (in this case, your blog).
These ads may either be related to your blog’s content or customized to your reader’s interests. When you agree to have a company’s ads running on your websites, you will be compensated by the advertising company.
HOW IT WORKS:
In most cases, a blogger does not have direct contact with the advertising company. You’ll need to join an ad network, which acts as a middleman between you and the advertiser before you can run ads on your website.
The ad network is responsible for finding the appropriate ads for your blog and helping you to place them on your website in the most efficient way.
HOW IT PAYS:
Advertising companies pay the ad network, and in turn, the ad network pays the blogger. Most ad networks pay the blogger according to the number of people who view the ads on the blog. The standard payment metric is RPM (Revenue Per Mile or earnings per 1000 pageviews).
For example, if your website receives 100 000 page views per month and your ad network’s average RPM is $21, you will earn approximately $2 100 per month for merely having ads on your website.
Three of the most popular ad networks are listed below:
Google Adsense: Owned by Google itself, this is the most popular ad network. Google Adsense is a great option for bloggers who are just getting started as it requires low minimum traffic (1000 page views per month) before a blog can be monetized.
However, the network has a low RPM, paying way less than other ad networks.
Monumetric: Small blogs with a minimum of 10 000 pageviews should consider using this ad network as it helps you set up your ads in a way that does not harm your blog’s user experience. The ads are arranged so that they do not clutter your blog.
Monumetric also offers a higher earning potential than Google Adsense. This network will, however, charge you a $99 setup fee, but you can easily make this back within your first month of working with them.
Mediavine: This is one of the best options for established bloggers who have at least 50 000 sessions per month (about 60 000 pageviews). Just like Monumetric, Mediavine places a premium on user experience.
The best peck of this ad network, however, is that it is super generous, with an even higher RPM than Monumetric.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another great way to monetize your blog. It is a type of advertising in which the advertising company pays a blogger a commission for promoting its products through the use of links.
Typically, the blogger receives a unique link to the product being sold, known as an affiliate link, which they embed in their blog posts. When a blog reader clicks on the affiliate link and purchases the product, the blogger receives a commission.
When you promote a company’s products in this way, you are known as an affiliate of that company.
HOW IT WORKS:
With affiliate marketing, bloggers can work directly with the advertising company or join an affiliate network that acts as a broker between the blogger and the company.
Affiliate networks can be viewed as marketplaces offering a wide range of products from different companies that affiliates can promote for a commission. When you sign up to an affiliate network and choose a product to promote, it is known as joining the affiliate program for that product.
Affiliate marketing is by far my favorite blog monetization strategy. Not only does it yield high returns compared to other monetization methods, but it doesn’t require much to get started.
Some products can pay as high as $200 commission per sale, and unlike display advertising, you are not required to have a minimum amount of traffic on your blog before getting started. You can embed affiliate links into your posts as soon as you start your blog.
Although some affiliate networks require you to have a minimum amount of traffic before applying to them, there are many other affiliate programs like the Fiverr affiliate program that don’t require any traffic.
This program is one of my favorites to promote. You work directly with the company, the sign-up process is instant, and you can even promote your affiliate links without a blog.
For example, you can send your link to your friends who might need Fiverr services like logo creation or share the link on Facebook groups and Pinterest. If you are just starting out as a blogger, this program will allow you to earn some cash while you put your blog together.
Tip: When signing up to the Fiverr affiliate program, you may encounter difficulty setting a password for your account. Make sure your password is exactly 6 characters long, and it should contain both letters and numbers, for example, “Bird20”.
Recurring and Non-recurring commission.
The majority of affiliate programs pay out a one-time commission, but there are others that offer a recurring commission. A recurring commission is one that is paid to the blogger for as long as the client who was referred to the product continues to use the product.
This commission structure is common with subscription-based products. For example, a program can pay a 10% commission to a blogger whenever their referral pays their subscription. This means that you can get a lifetime commission on your referrals.
Therefore, when choosing products to promote, you may want to prioritize those with a recurring commission so that you can be guaranteed a consistent monthly income.
Some common affiliate networks are:
- Amazon Associates
- JVZoo
- Clickbank
- ShareAsale
HOW IT PAYS:
If you work directly with the advertising company, you will be compensated by the company. However, if you work with an affiliate network, you will be compensated by the network.
3. Selling Digital Products
One of the best ways to make money through your blog is by selling digital products.
Digital products are, as the name implies, products that can be delivered digitally to the consumer through the use of download links and other internet technologies.
These products provide a way for you to offer more value to your readers while helping you generate a passive income.
Examples of digital products include ebooks (a series of related blog posts put together as a book), digital planners (a digital calendar that you can download and use to track productivity), and online courses (a compilation of videos designed to teach a specific skill chapter by chapter e.g., a series of videos on how to run a business).
The main advantage of selling digital products over physical products is that the same copy can be sold over and over again so you have a wider reach without having to create many copies.
Another advantage is that the consumer gets their purchase instantly so you don’t have to worry about shipping fees.
When you are selling downloadable products like ebooks and digital planners, it is best to sell directly from your website rather than using external sites like Etsy or Shopify so that you can keep all profits to yourself. However, if you are selling a course, it is best to link your course from your blog to a platform like Teachable which specializes in delivering online courses.
HOW IT WORKS:
As seen above, you can either sell your digital products directly from your blog or through third-party sites, depending on what would be most convenient for both you and your customers.
HOW IT PAYS:
When digital products are sold directly from the blog, the blogger is paid directly by the consumer. When a third-party site is used, payment is made according to the terms of the agreement between the blogger and the third-party site.
4. Sponsored content
When it comes to blogs, most people think of the classic format: a handful of posts written by a single author. But the modern blog is a lot more complex than that.
In addition to the posts that have been there from the beginning, many blogs also feature a variety of other kinds of content, including sponsored content.
Sponsored content is a form of advertising where a business pays a blogger to publish content on their site. Sponsored content promotes the advertiser’s product, and it usually comes in the form of sponsored videos, sponsored blog posts, and sponsored reviews.
This type of advertising is also known as influencer marketing and works well if the blog already targets the advertiser’s target audience.
HOW IT WORKS:
The advertiser may approach the blogger and vice versa. You can also apply for brands to work with through influencer networks such as Get Blogged.
Sponsored content may be created by the advertiser or the blogger, but the bottom line is that the blogger will get paid to have that content published on their blog.
HOW IT PAYS:
The advertiser pays the blogger, usually via PayPal.
5. Offer Paid Membership for Exclusive Benefits
Another blog monetization strategy is to offer your readers the ability to access special content through paid membership. Special content can include the following:
- Exclusive articles. An example would be a full guide to building a successful blog if you are in the blogging niche.
- One-on-one coaching and consulting sessions. Even though you are doing your best to provide free knowledge on a topic through your blog, your readers may want detailed lessons and instructions tailored to their specific scenario in order to achieve their full potential. This is when they turn to you for personalized guidance.
- Access to special product offers and discounts
HOW IT WORKS:
Paid membership helps you to cultivate a loyal readership while also producing a consistent monthly or annual income stream, depending on when your subscribers pay.
You can even offer your readers a once-off lifetime access payment plan. This ensures that you get paid upfront and that you won’t have to worry about members canceling their subscriptions for any reason.
When people subscribe to your paid membership site, they receive access to exclusive content that is not available to the general public. This creates a gated community that not only receives special benefits but also gets a sense of belonging by interacting with other members who may be experiencing similar struggles.
HOW IT PAYS:
The client pays the blogger directly on a monthly, yearly, or once-off basis, based on the membership package selected.
Read More:
- How to start a Blog in WordPress: Step by Step with Bluehost
- Blogging For Beginners: Blogging Terms Explained
