- UpdatedFebruary 17, 2021
- >>80 Comments
- This post may contain affiliate links, see my full disclosure page for more info.
Wanna learn how to monetize a blog? Great!
So do 10,001 other bloggers, and it is NOT always easy đ
Sooooo many bloggers see thePat FlynnsandDarren Rowsesof the world making $100k/monthâŠand end up frustratedâŠ
- âAm I doing the right things? These âmake money online tips seem a LOT harder now.â
- âMakingreal money seems so far away.â
- âHow can I make money NOW to sustain myself?â
Well thereâs luck â>
Below is a TON of ways to monetize a website with ads, affiliate marketing, online courses, virtual summits, etcâŠ
âŠas well as practical tools & resources to help you start earning in no time.
Yes, every blogger CAN make money from their website.
Itâs just a matter of patience, hard work, and learning.
This post covers the learning.
Boom. đ„
How to monetize a blog in 2021:
- Display ads on your site
- Affiliate marketing
- Sell online courses
- Sell eBooks
- Sell printable workbooks
- Sell physical products
- Run a virtual summit
- Create a paid membership site
- Publish sponsored posts (on behalf of other companies)
- Sell your services (coaching or freelancing)
Table of Contents
Monetization Fundamentals
There are a few required ingredients for making money on the internet.
Donât skip these!
If you want to monetize a blog, your learning will be for NOTHING without the following:
1 â A valuable niche
A lawn maintenance site will NOT be as lucrative as a book review site. (Who buys lawn stuff online? Nobody.)
The blogging about blogging niche (I.e. what Iâm doing right this second) is a VERY lucrative one, as people are willing to pay for info products to help them grow their blogs.
Do people buy stuff online in your niche?
2 â Amazing content
In order to make decent money from your blog, youâre going to HAVE to produce great content that matters to people. Period.
GROWING an audience depends on readers coming back for more. People donât return to your site after they see crappy content.
This applies to ALL monetization methods too.
- Ads? Youâre going to need massive blog traffic. Good content is the only way to bring that
- $700 online courses? Followers need to trust you a TON in order to fork over that cash. Publishing CONSISTENT good content builds that trust.
Psst! Although this isnât a post specifically on traffic, I highly recommend you check out my SEO post and interview archives, and the FREE 60-Minute SEO Course.
Those help you drive traffic đ
FAQ: How Do You Make Money From a Blog?
There are several different ways, the most popular of which are:
- showing ads on your site
- promoting affiliate products and earning referral commissions
- creating and selling digital products such as courses, ebooks, paid webinars, membership platforms, and more.
The secret ingredient for ALL of these, however, is building a loyal and trusting following! (through blog traffic and an email list).
3 â A loyal community, following, and fans
Publishing products (or even ads) into avoidobviously wonât monetize your blog.
Youâll need a following centered around your email list, as well as various social media platforms.
4 â Engagement!
More important than even website trafficâŠ.is engagement. Clicking, commenting, replying to emails, etc.
You want followers to not only glance at your site periodicallyâŠbut be INVOLVED in your content, clicking affiliate links and purchasing ebooks because theyâve been around you long enough to TRUST your recommendations.
Monetize with Blog Ads
For our purposesâŠweâre talking about display ads (also called âbanner adsâ) and ânative ads.â
Blog Ads = You earn a small amount of coin every time a website visitor *views* the ad, and a little MORE every time a visitor CLICKS an ad.
Display Ads
- Pros â Fairly passive revenue. Higher traffic = more revenue
- Cons â low traffic = low revenue. (VERY low revenue)
- Difficulty â 1/10 Just connect to a network and install on your blog!
- Resources âHereâs how to add Adsense to your site. At 50kish views a month, go toMediavine!
Check out this image of my friend Richâs website, Meal Prepify. a food and cooking blog:
The ads you see are from an âad networkâ called Ezoic (thereâs a huge list of several of these companies below), and another popular one would be the famous Google Adsense.
Adsense is great for beginners but pays WAY less than other networks like Ezoic or Mediavine.
However, these better-paying networks often require a minimum of traffic! Mediavine requires 25k sessions per month (if you have that alreadyâŠgive them a try! People make a great income at that level).
For new bloggers with little website traffic, Google Adsense MIGHT bring a few dollars a month. For websites with 50k, 75k, 100k+ page views a month, they can make a few thousand dollars (like my friend John above)
Hereâs how display adswork:
- You apply to an ad network.
- They review your site, check your traffic, etc.
- Once approved, youâll be able to choose sections of your site to place ads (in the content, in the footer, in the sidebar, etc)
- Thatâs it. Youâre done. You collect checks.
DYEB RecommendsâŠ
Donât show display ads on your site until your traffic is sufficient to make real money. At that point, we recommend Mediavine!
They pay bloggers MORE money, straight up.
Additional RESOURCES
Here are a few more ad networks:
- Ezoic â our choice
- Monumetricâ also hear good things
- MediaVine
- Adsenseâ our choice for beginners
- Adthrive
Native Ads (I.e. dynamic ads in your actual content)
- Pros â same as above
- Cons â same as above, AND it distracts readers đ đ
- Difficulty â same as above
- Resources â same as above
So, when we say ânative ads,â we really just meanads inserted within the content itself.
Technically, the law REQUIRES these ads to be labeled as ads, but theyâre usually designedto blend in with the content.
All of the ad networks above ALSO insert ads in a native format, but you CAN turn them off if you find it an interruption to your readers đ đ
Custom ads with affiliate links
- Pros â You have COMPLETE control over what you advertise! You can make sure itâs a fit for your readers!
- Cons â Still an ad, and requires a bit of custom ad creation on YOUR part
- Difficulty â 3/10
- Resources â Your affiliateâs backend dashboard (where youâll get your aff link)
Affiliate link banner adsare our FAVE type of ad, for the obvious reason: we value our readers, and you should value your readers.
Affiliate marketing, used ONLY when the recommended products are a great fit for your readers, is a powerful way to make money from ads on your website.
Weâll talk about affiliate marketing in detail below, but you can always share aff links in an ad âformatâ as well!
DYEB Recommends
Donât spend a ton of time trying to DESIGN ads, ever. Itâs not a great use of your time. However, DO grab pre-made banner ads from your favorite affiliate!
How to get started:
Almost ALL networks will offerpre-made affiliate banner ads.
Youâll almost ALWAYS find these in your affiliate dashboard, and theyâll GIVE you the HTML code to copy/paste into your blog.
I copied and pasted a code for my favorite marketing book from my Amazon Associates account below:
You retain control of the product ads you serve your visitors = GOLD. So much better than display ads, and likely more lucrative as well.
Monetize with Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the single most popular way to make money from a blog, for 3 reasons:
- You donât have to create the products. Somebody else took care of the hard part!
- You have control over what you advertise so you can recommend only products that are RELEVANT to your readers.
- Itâs FAR more profitable than ads
FAQ: How do I get started with affiliate marketing?
The first step is applying to affiliate programs for products you want to promote. Once accepted, you will grab a âspecialâ or âuniqueâ URL code that you can use to link to their product. When visitors click through your special link and buy the product, YOU EARN MONEY.
BY THE WAYâŠ.
TOOOOO many beginners take a âpassiveâ approach to promoting affiliate linksârather than an âactiveâ approach.
See this video for more info:
Hereâs an example:
One of my favorite products to promote is Podia. They are THE go-to for bloggers who want to create and sell online courses, digital products, etc..
I applied to be a part of their affiliate program, and they gave me this special link:
https://www.podia.com/?via=pete
If you click on that link, then sign up for Podia, Iâll get 30% of whatever YOU pay themâŠevery single month. Powerful!
Amazon Associates Affiliate Program
- Pros â easy to get started, you can promote anything on Amazon, youâll get commissions on ANY product they buyâŠ.not just the one you promoted
- Cons â Doesnât pay a ton (Usually 2-4% of sales)
- Difficulty â 1/10
- Resources âHereâs the link to get started and sign up.
This is mandatory for any aspiring affiliate marketer, as EVERYBODY has something to buy on Amazon. Itâs great for all niches!
FAQ: How does it work? When somebody clicks through your Amazon affiliate link, they get a âcookieâ stored in their browser (Google Chrome, etc)âŠand if they purchase any product (read that againâŠANY product, not just what you linked them to) within the next 24 hours, you get paid a percentage of that!)
So if you link to this$19 Do You Even Blog T-shirt, and somebody clicks through but buys an $850 droneâŠYOU get a percentage of the price of the drone đ đ
DYEB Recommends
Sign up here for an affiliate account ASAP.
This is the most accessible affiliate program out there, and people TRUST buying on Amazon. Itâs a fantastic way to promote products and earn extra money.
Affiliate Networks
- Pros â Access to a TON more products not on Amazon. Ease of access.
- Cons â Some networks require a strict application, minimum website visits per month, etc.
- Difficulty â 2/10
- Resources âShareasale,Clickbank,Commission Junction. Those are the biggest đ
The idea is the same as Amazon above, butinstead of your links leading to an Amazon page, they will lead to a specific company or product.
These networks contain THOUSANDS of different products and companies to choose from!
Note: Even though you get access to thousands to products through these networksâŠyouâll still have to âapplyâ to each affiliate separately. Donât worry, you can do this THROUGH your network dashboard đ
DYEB Recommends
Start blogging, and when you DO start linking to products, apply to their aff programs at that time.
Pro Tip: Getting overwhelmed as a new blogger?
START by grabbing an Amazon Associates account, then start blogging regularly. In time, you will start linking out to other products/companies.
THEN go Google â[product name] affiliate,â and see if they have an affiliate program. Apply then. Donât get overwhelmed trying to apply to 159 affiliate accounts at once.
Single Program Affiliate Programs
- Pros â More $$$$ per commission usually!
- Cons â More log-ins and dashboards to keep up with.
- Difficulty â 3/10
- Resources â It depends on your individual affiliateâfind their dashboard!
Some products and companies arenât a part of any affiliate networks, butthey might have their affiliate programs hosted separately!
When I linked to Podia, that was through their own affiliate program (i.e. theyâre not on Amazon).
Furthermore, many products have ârefer a friendâ type of campaigns, where theyâll give you a link, and either a bit of cash or free product for referring your friends!
SmarterQueue is my recommended social media tool, and it costs me $20 a month. However, when people sign up via my affiliate linkhere(which gets them a free month)âŠI get a free credit!
(Want to see more tried and tested blogging tools?Hereâs my top recommendations.)
Pro Tip: Once youâve been blogging a while, youâll likely have a TON of affiliate links and dashboards to keep track of. We recommend creating a Google Sheets document and putting all of your links there (as well as links to your dashboard log-ins)
Hereâs mine:
Info Product Affiliate Programs (I.e. other creator's products)
- Pros â Usually pay really well
- Cons â Youâll need to work 1-on-1 with the product owners, or perhaps even have BOUGHT their product
- Difficulty â 3/10
- Resources â Each individual program, butMaking Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
This just means youâll be promoting other bloggers info products! (which weâll talk A TON about below in the products section).
See that link above to Michelleâs affiliate marketing course? Thatâs my affiliate link, and when people buy the program through my link, Iâll make $67.
I have my own affiliate programs for Online Impact (my private membership community), and Podcourse (my podcast training), etc. đ
DYEB Recommends
If youâre a new blogger, you canât just start applying to other bloggersâ products right away.Becoming affiliates for other bloggersâ products happens over time as a natural result of building blogging relationships.
However, they pay well. Typically 25%-40%. Thatâs over $200 PER REFERRAL for premium products like Podcourse and Online Impact.
Monetize from Digital Products (Info Products)
Affiliate marketing = THEIR products and high profit margins.
Your digital products = YOUR high profit margins đ
Some of this might be tough while youâre learning how to monetize a blog, and rightfully so:Creating your own products is advanced stuff.
Affiliate marketing means somebody else did the hard work of creating, designing, and launching products. Now itâs YOUR turn to do all that work.
HOWEVER, if youâre looking to grow a $100,000+ online business, itâs highly likely youâll be leveraging your own products.
In factâŠ
This is my bread and butter at Do You Even Blogâand I have 3 main product funnels:
- Online Impact (a high-tier membership community for online entrepreneurs)
- Podcourse (my UNcomplicated course on starting and growing a podcast)
- 1HR BLOG POST (My $27 templates & tools thatâll help you produce content FASTER)
Good news though: Monetizing your website with your products doesnât have to take months. You CAN make money from very simple but valuable products.
With HIGH profit margins too
Below are the BEST ways to make money from your blog without going back for an MBA or product design degree đ
Ebooks
- Pros â Will cost you nothing todeliver,and you can generally re-use content and ideas youâve already written
- Cons â Not big ticket items, are surprisingly difficult to sell. Some learning curve required.
- Difficulty â 7/10
- Resources âCanvafor designing ebook covers.This articleon how to CREATE and format the ebooks. This guide topublishing via Kindle.
Ebook are just like regular books, except that ANYBODY can create and publish themâŠand theyâre read via computer.
FAQ: Whatâs the best format for selling an ebook? The simplest way is to write via MS Word or a Google Doc, and export to PDF. BAM. Ebook! However, you can also publish to be read on peopleâs devices, such as Kindle. Then you can sell your ebook on Amazon!
My copywriter friend Liz Wilcox created a 40+ page PDF, and sells it in the sidebar to her website, bringing in several hundred dollars per month.
If youâve been blogging for a while (and have built up a nice body of posts), you can also pull from content youâve already written to fill out your ebook.
Pro Tip: Wondering what you could write that will actually SELL and make money? If you have access to yourblog metrics, (which you should) you can sort all your blog posts by âmost viewedââŠand that will tell you WHICH pieces of content resonate the most with your readers. Create paid products based on THOSE topics!
DYEB recommends
Ebooks easy enough, especially is youâre utilizingfree templatesâŠbut my guess is youâll find them DIFFICULT to sell. Especially for decent money. (Have YOU ever paid more than $10 for an ebook? Seems rare).
The ebook would have to be EXTREMELY tasty and valuable. And even then, itâs a low ticket item compared to how much time you spend creating it.
If you want to teach people via a paid product, online courses are far more appropriate (and profitable) than ebooks.
So speaking of which, letâs learn how to monetize a blog via courses!
Online Courses
- Pros â HUGE profit potential. Tons of flexibility with format and content
- Cons â â Takes a ton of work. Still requires marketing and sales skills đ
- Difficulty â 8/10
- Resources â Podia (or Teachable) for creating and hosting course content. See resources below for tips on getting started.
The 8/10 difficulty rating is the hardest and most intimidating for our uber âhow to monetize a blogâ list. However, creating your own online course is STILL the highest ROI and most profitable website monetization strategy.
This is for three reasons:
- You can create a course once and sell it for years to come, making the income fairly passiveâŠapart from the initial work of creating.
- You can price your courses anywhere from $0 (used to get leads, not dollars) to literally thousands.
- Itâs also a preferred format for teaching people things, so your readers will approve!
Hereâs Michelle Schroederâs December 2017 monthly income report:
Thatâs crazy money.
When Bryan Harris had hisFIRST product launchfor his course 10K Subs, it made over $200k.
He now makes over $1M annually from that course.
Overwhelmed? You do NOT need to be making money from an online course like THESE people. It took them YEARS to build an audience that would bring that much revenue. You CAN get started TODAY.
You donât need a huge audience or fancy & expensive software to start making money soon.
Only 3 months into THIS blog, with an email list of less than 400 people, I made over $1,500 frommy first product launch(an online course).
How to get started:
First, here is a fantastic article onhow to create online coursesfor your blog that monetize well, written by my friend Nick Loper fromSide Hustle Nation.
Also, hereâs a quick video I made:
Step 0 â Find a course idea.
This is actually the most important step by FAR. Whatever info product you create, it needs to be somethingREALLY DESIRABLEto your target reader! Something they want really bad.
Ask yourself: What problems or frustrations are my followers facing? What do they need help with? Which problems need MORE than a 1,300 word blog post to solve?
Step 1 â Pre-sale course BEFORE you build it
Why waste precious time and energy building an online course if youâre not COMPLETELY convinced that your readers will pay you money for it? What better way tovalidatea blog monetization idea that to actually ASK for money before you build it?
Pat Flynn fromSmart Passive Incomewrote a book calledWill it Fly?which details this idea validation phase. Worth reading!
Step 2 â Choose a platform
I recommendPodia, only because itâs FREE to start with, and you can start creating content immediately, no set-up required. You can also create and sell products in online course directories likeUdemy, or even host them on your own blogâŠbut Teachable seems to be the best of both worlds.
Steps 3 and 4 â Build the course and launch it
This blog post on monetizing isnât the place to detail this out, but launching online courses to make money isnât a walk in the park.
In fact, itâs hard. Check outthis blog post for more info on LAUNCHING products, specifically courses!
Overall, building an online course is probably the best way to monetize your blog, but it takes a massive amount of research, planning, building, and then selling. High ROI = lots of work.
Virtual Summits
- Pros â Lends you great authority from speakers, very lucrative at high levels
- Cons â They take an INSANE amount of work
- Difficulty â 8/10
- Resources â Hereâs aHUGE virtual summit guide.Teachablefor hosting content,ConvertKitfor emails, and youâll also need a webinar host. (Webinar NinjaorGoToWebinarare great)
FAQ: What IS a virtual summit? If a webinar is just you on video presenting (or maybe one guest), a summit is MULTIPLE videos with MULTIPLE presenters over a day or two.
Most summits are gathered around a specific topic, like my friend Chelseaâs virtual summit, âMamas Talk Money,â which spans several days and features video presentations with well-known women in finance!
So hereâs how a summit can monetize a blog:
- You choose a topic your blog readers care deeply about.
- Find experts and other presenters on that topic
- Either pre-record interviews via a webinar host (or Skype or Zoom), or do them live during the summit
- Promote the summit (generally with FREE admissionâŠwith product offerings on the backend for money, or charge people for lifetime access to replays!)
DYEB Recommends
Not doing virtual summits, unless you have a TON of time to organize the event, as well as great connections (to get impressive speakers). Itâs simply NOT a great return on investment outside of that. Learn how to monetize a blog in better ways.
Monetize Your Blog Content Itself (Membership Sites and Sponsors)
You can actually sell content itself in different forms!
However, membership sites are easier said than doneâŠ
Ok, so TECHNICALLY, monetizing your blog from ebooks and courses IS selling contentâŠbut itâs just a different format.
- Ebooks aredeliveredviaPDF downloads, or Kindle formatted, etc.
- Online courses aredeliveredvia a module and lesson formats, like a school syllabus, whether thatâs via a drip email course, Teachable, or your blog.
The following monetization ideas are people JUST PAYING for your content in the totally normal way. I.e. blog posts! (or podcasts or videos).
Sponsorships and sponsored posts
- Pros â QUICK way to make money for your blog. Less time-consuming
- Cons â Requires skilled outreach and pitching skills, and/or a large audience
- Difficulty â 6/10
- Resources â Readthis awesome postwith Rachel from Joyful Derivatives,then listen to Jason Zook on Nick Loperâs podcast episode aboutgetting sponsors here.
BtwâIâve made a REALLY quick video covering a toooon of blog sponsorship tips (It says podcasting, but 90% of the tips apply to blogging or brand sponsorships as well).
If the thought of emailing influencers or companies and straight up ASKING them for money scares youâŠthis monetization strategy is not for you.
- Sponsorships = you reaching out to people/companies who want promotion, and asking them to sponsor your content in exchange for money. ANY content.
- Sponsored posts = slightly different. This is where your content itself is focused on promoting the sponsor.
Kelan at The Savvy Couple routinely makes over $15,000-$25,000 a MONTH from sponsored posts.
However, you donât necessarily NEED a huge reach and millions of visitors to get a sponsorships.
In my FIRST month blogging, I lined up two sponsors for $150. (more info here on that first month). I had literally NO views or downloads, and that more than paid for the first yearâs website hosting, etc. #MONETIZE
Pro Tip: The key to obtaining sponsorships for your blog is A: finding people with enough money to pay, B: being upfront and honest with your intentions, and C: find the perfect balance of the value YOU provide THEM in exchange for the money they give you.
DYEB Recommends
It takes a certain amount of guts, persistence, and patience to pitch people or companies for sponsorships.
If you feel you have what it takes to deliver this type of value, and are comfortable pitching people and getting rejected, this is an EXCELLENT and quick way to monetize your blog. But be honest with yourself, if this isnât you, move on to other methods!
Membership sites
- Pros â Can be huge, predictable, and RECURRING blog revenues,
- Cons â VERY difficult to sell
- Difficulty â 8/10
- Resources â See below for software tools to build membership sites
Blackjack Apprenticeshipkeeps their good content behind a memberâs only paywall:
How to monetize a blog with membership sites:
First, you must have content worth paying for.If people donât think itâs valuable enough, or if itâs just glorified blog contentâŠyouâll have a hard time finding sales.
Next, youâre going to have to put software in place torestrict accessto member content. More on that below.
Last, you need to KEEP making it worthwhile for people to be members. This means adding content consistently. Thatâs a TON of work probably.
My membership community, Online Impact, was built because I realized JUST selling online courses didnât actually lead to much success.
- Courses
- 1-on-1 coaching & support
- Masterminds & other group activities
A lot goes into membership sites!
Resources and tools for setting up a membership site:
- Paid Memberships Proâ You can start restricting content and charging people for memberships today, for FREE, but it lack features.
- MemberPressâ Thereâs no free version, but itâs extremely affordable, and offers a ton of features!
- Podia. Yup, you can also set up memberships using them as well! So strong đ
- Hereâs a HUGE guide to creating a membership site on WordPress
If youâre looking for a profitable (but more difficult) way to monetize your website, but want MORE than a stand-alone courseâŠa membership site is what ya want. Iâll say this again,you absolutely need content worth paying for though.
There are definitely easier ways to monetize a blog on WordPressâŠbut this can be INSANELY lucrative if you nail it.
Flipping blogs (buying and selling, or just selling)
- Pros â Um. Lots of cash in bulk?
- Cons â You lose your blog, and your blog needs to be valuable!
- Difficulty â 7/10
- Resources âFlippaandEmpire Flippersare the two biggest marketplaces
The ONLY reason âflipping your blogâ is an actual way to monetizeâŠis because there are actually a ton of people who do it professionally.
In fact, there are people out there who start âniche websitesâ or âauthority sitesâ with the sole intention of selling the blog once it starts getting traffic and ad revenues.
(Want to listen to my podcast episode with THE niche site master himself? Click here)
FAQ: At what point would somebody sell their blog? Websites that generate significant traffic are worth money. While there is no minimum traffic for selling a blog, you wonât be able to sell for much until you are generating traffic capable of earning a few thousand dollars a monthâŠeven if it is NOT currently making that!
Since weâre learning how to monetize a blogâŠthat implies weâre actually going to keep the blog, so we wonât spend a ton of time on this.
Still, just know that at some point down the road, if you blog consistently and start ramping up traffic, blog ad revenues, etcâŠyou likely could find a buyer!
BONUS: How to monetize a blog via private label rights
Private Label Rights(PLR) really just means âpre-made content people can just BUY, then use however they want.â
People need content, are too lazy to produce content, and also too lazy to hire and manage freelancers? They buy PLR.
And folks like US could potentially sell our content to them. There are TONS of legal stuff to this, as well as competition, but it can be done I suppose.My thoughts?Donât bother lol. Better ways to make money.
Monetize with Blogging Services (Freelancing, Consulting, and Coaching)
Donât underestimate thisâŠ
There is NO quicker way to make money online than through freelancing!
Sexy? No.
Profitable? Yes.
This might be a little controversialâŠas you technically WONâT be monetizing YOUR blogâŠbut rather making money from other peopleâs websites, etc.
(Although Iâd argue itâs still very much utilizing blogging skills, and you wouldnât be able to get these profitable freelance gigs WITHOUT a blog of your own!)
Important:Personally, I recommend freelancing 1,000% percent.
Freelancing is the fastest way to make money blogging. Period. In terms of overall revenues, no other blog monetization method comes close in the *short-term.*
The reason? For almost all other ways to make moneyâŠyou need to spend time building traffic and cultivating a following! (who will pay you money).
For freelancing, you need only match up your skills with other bloggers willing to pay you to perform themâŠof which there are plenty.
Blog freelancing
- Pros â There is no shortage of people who NEED help with their own blogs and businesses! QUICK money making potential
- Cons â Still requires skills and outreachâŠand you wonât be building your own brand (or will you?) đ
- Difficulty â 4/10
- Resources â Twitter for building connections (more below), bloggingFacebook groups.
At the time of this writing, I still maintain 3 freelancing clients, which earn me anywhere from $1k to $3k a month. I would NOT have found these gigs if I hadnât started this blog.
Nick True fromMapped Out Moneyruns his own blog and YouTube channel, but actually makesfull-time income from only 2 blogging clients.
One of my Online Impact students, Melody, made close to six figures in her first yearâlargely thanks to getting freelance clients!
(she used that income to leverage an audience to sell her own products now).
Hereâs how to make money in freelance blogging and writing:
1 â Figure out what youâre good at
What skills do you have, or are really keen on improving on?You DONâT need world-class freelancing skills in order to make some money! You just need to find 1 or 2 skills you enjoy working hard at and learning about.
Can you run Facebook Ads? Make pretty Pinterest images? Organize schedules and manage inboxes as a VA? Can you write more good?
#jokes
All of us have something to offer other bloggers, itâs just a process of finding what that is and matching it with what other people need.
Personally, Iâm a freelance writer. It pays well and allows me to build backlinks to my own blog!
2 â FIND the people willing to pay you for your services
First, hereâs a great postfor finding freelance writing gigs. Youâll see several âmarketplacesâ for people looking for freelance bloggers!
However, those can be quite competitive, as can HUGE freelance sites likeUpwork, etc. You wonât make much blogging money from these.
RatherâŠfocus on this:
3 â Pitch them and build relationships
- Bad = cold emailing other bloggers and asking if they need help.
- Good = building real relationships with other bloggers and asking if they need help
đ
Though itâll initially take longer, focusing on building REAL friendships in your communities WILL make money over the long run, and this could very well mean freelancing income as well.
Pro Tip: When pitching for freelance work, always ask for things HONESTLY and transparently. Furthermore, asking for referrals is far more powerful than asking for. things directly! Also, send follow-up emails and be persistent.
Blog coaching and consulting
- Pros â Great money for little actual direct work
- Cons â Requires authority, takes time, can be stressful
- Difficulty â 4/10
- Resources â Hereâs agood resource on how to start a coaching business
Jillian fromMontana Money Adventuresis a blog coach AND money mentorâŠand has more inbound requests that she can handle.
Whether you blog about gardening, the ketogenic diet, or personal financeâŠthere will always be individuals who want 1-on-1 help, and are willing to pay for it!
However, you canât juststart a blogone day and hope to make money coaching the next.Why should people trust you?You need to build up that âauthorityâ first.
DYEB Recommends
You may not want to hear it, but I donât think anybody should start coaching theirreaders until theyâre being asked to. If you really have to sell it, youâre not ready yet anyway.
However, it couldnât hurt to create a separate page on your website where readers could browse through your different service offerings. A âcoachingâ or âhire meâ page could make money one day.
Frequently Asked Questions - Blog Monetization
How do I monetize my WordPress blog?
If youâre blog is currently hosted on WordPress.com, youâre sadly limited by how you can monetize (you canât display ads unless youâre on a premium plan).
Youâre also slightly limited by what plugins you can use (which could help you monetize via membership sites and online courses).
If youâre currently hosted elsewhere (but still using WordPress as your CMS), you can monetize with ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored, posts, and any other method.
Can you really make money blogging?
Yes! There are several monetization methods, including ads, affiliate marketing, digital products, etc. All of these methods are accessible, but you will still need a a decent amount of blog traffic (and trust with your audience) in order to monetize a blog.
How much money can you make from a blog?
Most bloggers in their first year earn very little, mainly from ads and affiliate marketing.
However, it is possible to start growing between $50-200 a month within your first 24 months.
Once your traffic reaches higher numbers, it isnât uncommon to start earning more than $1,000.
Bloggers at the highest levels can earn over $50,000 a month, usually through a mix of affiliate marketing and launching their own digital products.
Which blogging platform is best for making money?
Using the WordPress software on your own hosting account (meaning you purchase hosting from a 3rd party provider, like Bluehost, GoDaddy, or Siteground) is the best platform for making money from a blog.
WordPress gives you the most flexibility to experiment with different monetization models, including affiliate marketing, running your own membership sites, and selling online courses.
Who is the highest paid blogger?
There are several bloggers who earn over a million dollars a year, just from their online platforms (including blogs).
These includeâŠ
- Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income
- Michelle Schroeder from Making Sense of Cents
- John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire
- Etc.
How do BEGINNER blogs make money?
Beginner bloggers are most likely to start making money via two ways:
- Affiliate marketing (referring your audience to products/services from other companies, and earning a small referral commission)
- Display advertisem*nts (using an âad network,â such as Google Adsense, to earn a small amount every time a reader views an ad)
How do I start a FREE blog and make money?
Starting a blog for free, using sites like WordPress.com, Medium.com, and Blogger.com, can eventually lead to making money (mainly through affiliate links and selling digital products like online courses or eBooks).
However, paying a hosting provider to host your own blog does offer more flexibility and customization, which could make it easier to monetize your blog.
How can I make my blog profitable?
Display ads, affiliate marketing, and selling digital products (namely online courses) tend to be the simplest methods to start earning income from a blog.
Even for new bloggers, the revenues from these can generally make up for the annual costs of domain names and hosting accounts, turning a profit!
Conclusion - Can you really make money blogging?
If youâre really looking tomake money blogging, you should know that it takes WORK.
There IS no get rich quick option, nor is there any one âbestâ way to monetize a blog. Youâll have to figure some things out for yourself!
In fact, the ACTUAL bestblog monetization strategyis to constantly try different things out until you find what works best for YOU. Then double and triple down on that.
So what will it be for you?
Leave me a comment below and share what strategy has brought you the most money from your blog! If youâre a new blogger, what are you most excited to try?
80 Responses
Wow this is quite the post â definitely going to add this as a resource to my personal collection of blogging resources, but also link back to it to help you out đ
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Whhhhhat thanks Erik!
I appreciate that đ
(no joke. After I read your net worth article today, I put you on a list of people to reach out to for backlinks >_< I shall NOT pitch you that email now lol)#blogging
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I completely agree with that! Amazing content đ
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Thank you, kind sir! đ
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MEGA POST!!!
Seriously, awesome content Pete! This gets a share!
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haha yay thank you Mike!
I do enjoy a good share đ
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Thatâs an amazing article on monetization, Itâs really helpful for as Iâm a newbie in affiliate marketing your article really help me to choose which one is better for my sites.
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Glad to hear it TtR!
(I always refer to folks by their abbreviated site name)
đ
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Thanks Pete !
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I needed this so badly! Thanks!
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yeah? Iâm happy to have put it in front of you Yetunde đ
Good luck monetizing!
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Whoa! Great stuff here. Thank you for the comprehensive (and inspiring!) share.
Definitely going to be checking out the sponsored posts podcast from Mike Loper you reference. Really starting to get a lot of requests and I have no idea what to charge.
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Itâs an amazing one, but his name is Nick Loper, not Mike đ
(and now Iâm wondering if I mistyped it above. Gonna go check)
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Great post Pete! How long did it take you to write it?
Going on month 9 and still barely getting any traffic and no engagement. But keep trying, right?Reply
Great question. Maybe about 15 hours in total? Maybe more like 20-23 actually.
And email me a few more stats and metrics CJ. Letâs see what we can do.Reply
Great post! Now, how about one for reading Google analytics and other metric-based sites that look like a different language with pretty pictures? đ
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Aw, man. Youâre raining on my membership site parade, Pete.
I used to make most of my money designing and building websites for people. For about a thousand and one reasons, I wound up hating my business. I shut it down last October, then launched a new thing thatâs more heavily focused on content than services, and fellow misfits and mavericks instead of traditional businesses.
Iâm liking it way more, but not yet earning enough to even buy dog food :/
I have implemented some of the monetization strategies you mention (small services, affiliate networks & single program affiliate links), but I donât have the necessary traffic (yet!) to make the passive stuff pay. Iâm already doing video walk-throughs in a private FB group & getting positive feedback. I thought this might translate into a membership site of some sort.
I do need to figure out whatever it is that will pay the bills, but the membership thing is so attractive b/c itâs a super-cool way to help people like I do in the FB group. The big difference, besides possibly charging for membership, is that I could actually engage them more than FB allows.
Would love to nail this, as you put it. Iâd even settle for âlucrativeâ instead of âINSANELY lucrative.â
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Very nice synopsis and well laid out. Iâm fasinated with all the blogs making a killing every single month! Iâll definitley bookmark this one for later. Cheers.
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Thanks Michael. Me and you both, itâs the only reason my podcast exists đ
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I love how comprehensive this post is! Itâs nice to have one piece now that I can always refer back to instead of having to Frankenstein together a bunch of different articles.
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Why thank you Kate! That was the ultimate goal really (and probably should be for all SEO hopeful posts)
đ Thanks for being here, I appreciate you!
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I read this when you published on Monday and bookmarked with a note to come back on the weekend to re-read. Well I didnât wait for the weekend and re-read this today while eating my lunch.
Such a comprehensive list but fine-tuned with the usual Pete & DYEB laser focus. I am about 10 weeks into my own blogging journey (and $117 in revenueâŠhaha) but this type of resource is evergreen and will continue to deliver value as time passes and the MM blog grows so that I can better implement some of these strategies.
Adding to the Momentumâs Finest roundup tomorrow!
Cheers,
ScottReply
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When I first started blogging (in 2007) I monetized my blog only with ads and some services that I stopped providing after a short time. For a few years I made a good income just on ad revenue, but there was always constant pressure to keep traffic increasing. After I added some other revenue streams like selling digital products, affiliate programs, and membership, my income increased pretty rapidly. Selling digital products has been my favorite way to make money from a blog for the past few years, but if does require some work.
Thanks for the great article Pete.
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De nada Marc!
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This is a great roundup â I love how itâs clean and easy to use. My question with affiliate blogging (and one I canât seem to find an answer to, no matter how I structure my query), is, what is the best way to handle the tax portion of the affiliate program applications? And then, how do you structure your bank accounts and manage purchases for blogging and paying yourself? Thanks for any insight you can provide!
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Just wanted to follow up as I canât seem to find great resources on the personal finance side of blogging! When you set up your affiliate accounts, how did you file (individual contractor, as an LLC, etc.)? I just want to make sure everything is completed correctly at the beginning rather than dealing with things after an issue arises!
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Bah sorry Krystal! This one slipped by me.
For tax purposes, an entity really doesnât matter, as whatever weâd (99% of bloggers) would do is create a pass-through entity (so weâd only get taxed once on earnings), i.e. a single-member LLC or sole proprietorship.
Takeaway? Be a sole proprietor đ
This would mean forking over your SSN instead of an EIN, etc.
As far as bank accounts, Iâd say donât change anything, add new accounts, etcâuntil youâre making $20k-30k a year. Just keep your receipts from all blogging-related expenses, and add all that up on your individual tax return (schedule C)!
Once your business is to the point of making enough income to warrant financial statements, or spending enough so that itâs really hard to keep track ofâcreating separate business accounts might make it much easier.
Hope that helps!
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Hey, great post. Quick question, how did you develop the table of contents? Do you use a plugin? If so, which one? Thanks!
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Nope! No plugin!
I interlinked using CSS IDâs (i.e. domain.com/some-post#chapter2)
That, and custom CSS formatting like this: https://youtu.be/LyUzyLt8wt0
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2nd question:
Would you be interested in reading a tutorial on this? I think one other person asked as well.
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Thanks for clarifying. Yes, I would be interested. Thanks!
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Wow. Really nice article đ Good job!
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Thank you đ
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Hi Pete, awesome information collection! Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to trying some of these money making options.
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But of course! Thank you for coming here and commenting đ
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This is an incredible post. Iâve got so many tabs open right now just from this one post! Looking forward to learning much much more. Thanks for sharing!
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Well you are more than welcome Emily, and I appreciate that đ
Thanks for being here, and good luck sifting through the tabs!
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I needed this Thanks for useful information
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de nada!
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Nice post! Iâm proud to say that I have managed to create my very first blog post for my website, and Iâm excited to put everything aside to make this work. I have been doing guest post outreach for businesses and bloggers for while before I decided to create my own site.
Thanks for the inspiration and the value you provide đ
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Aw. Thatâs very kind of you Angeline, and Iâm happy to hear that!
Keep up the good work, and keep me posted đ
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Hey~ Just wanted to say thank you for what you do! I love listening to your podcast. It gave me the push I needed to keep going and working at this crazy blogging thing.
There isnt much to look at but check me out at darcilou.com if you would like!Reply
yay! Thank you!
That makes me feel good đ
and please doâYes, itâs crazy, difficult stressful, etcâbut can also just be fun and rewarding (if we let ourselves celebrate the small wins).
Let me know if you need anything! Checking it out now.
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Another great article! Quick Question: Do you recommend WooCommerce? As I read the section on ebooks, I didnât see any recommended products/tools fore commerce. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Thanks, Pete!
MargoReply
Hey Margo! It depends on what youâre selling probablyâand the level of advanced features you need.
If you just need the basics of ecommerceâWoo is fantastic. The big downside with them is you have to pay for advanced features separately via add on plugins.
It is a fantastic free option though!
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Thanks, Pete! That is what I needed to know. Appreciate your insight!
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I donât even know the way I stopped up here,
however I thought this post used to be good. I donât recognize who you
might be but certainly youâre going to a well-known blogger in the event you arenât already.
Cheers!Reply
Well Iâm certainly happy you did! And I appreciate that đ
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This is so needed and extremely helpful. THANK YOU, youâre awesome!
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Well youâre welcome! <3
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vary good post.
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Hi, I recently started listening to your podcast and really like it so far. Two things on this post: 1) the two links I wanted to click through to were for the Penny Hoarder but Iâm in the UK and got a message saying I couldnât see the site in this country â any other way to see what you were linking to? 2) just to let you know the images on this page arenât showing up right on an iPhone 8plus (they basically stretch across so to see them all youâd have to scroll all the way to one side if that make sense?). Iâd want someone to tell me if it was my site so I thought Iâd let you know. Thanks for all the content! Kristen
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Bah sorry about that Kristen!
Iâm actually working on republishing this one right now, actually, and will take care of those image issues đ
And I donât think thereâs a way for you to get on TPH unless using a VPN. Theyâre probably blocking all EU traffic due to GDPR issues đ đ
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Whoa! Great stuff here. Thank you for the comprehensive (and inspiring!) share.
Definitely going to be checking out the sponsored posts podcast from Mike Loper you reference. Really starting to get a lot of requests and I have no idea what to charge.
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Itâs totally worth it. Great episode. Thanks, fellow boxing lover! đ
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Fantastic content! Iâll safe this page and will definitely link it to my blog so other can learn from you as well.
Many thanks!Reply
Of course! Glad to help.
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This was very helpful! Thank you.
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Youâre welcome!
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Hi Admin,
Thanks for sharing such an awesome article, keep posting more of these.
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Awesome content
it is not good to depend only 1 income source. Adsense is the best program we can earn some good money from our blog.
Selling ads and sponsored posts are what works best for my main blog. Thanks for the share!
Keep SharingReply
Hey, this is a great blog. You explained everything really well. I enjoyed reading this guide. Your readers will surely appreciate you for composing this guide. Bookmarking this. Keep the good work up đ
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Thanks Team K đ
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Giveaways are another way to make money blogging. While it seems like you d be spending money giving away a prize, there are ways to monetize the audience. Some giveaways have entry options where you re required to visit a website to get a point. There have been bloggers who add an affiliate link to Amazon for that option, earning a commission in the process and covering the cost of the prize. You can also earn a commission or payment if promoting the giveaway of another brand making it a sponsored giveaway. Another option that an online retailer, with a blog, could do to monetize giveaways is send a runner up prize to all the people who ve lost the giveaway. The prize? A discount to your online store. Thus, making the giveaway profitable instead of an expense.
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The biggest asset a blogger owns is his or her audience. With regular traffic to your blog from search, social media, or your email list, you own the one thing everyone wants: customers. If you want to make money blogging, adding an online store to your blog can be a life-changer. If you re a fashion blogger, you can find the latest men s and women s fashion on Oberlo. Heck, if you re a blogger in beauty, home decor, maternity, children, DIY, photography, and basically every niche on the planet, you can find products to sell from Oberlo. The magic of dropshipping lies in your ability to sell products without having to buy bulk inventory so you only buy what you ve already sold. And with your website already set up, you can add hundreds of products (for free).
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When people start internet marketing for the first time, they may face some problem like Website customization, SEO and monetization etc. I love expert marketers share their experiences and inspire newer to work professionally.
Love your tips, this is so helpful.
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One mistake that a lot of people probably make is picking the wrong niche. There is a formula to pick up a new niche. Donât pick up a niche that already has very large competitors. So one of the rules, if you want to be successful is to check the parameter, whether that niche is competitive? Does this niche have a future, can you see trends?
Another test I ask my readers to take is can you come up with at least 20 articles when you are coming up with a niche.
Analyze how many advertisers are in that niche? How much they are willing to pay? CPC is a good way to measure that.
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Like!! Really appreciate you sharing this blog post. Really thank you! Keep writing.
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Great job
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Thanks! For this informative article. I would surely forward it to my group.
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Awesome post! What I love is the siteâs simplicity! I have a few quick question, how and what do you use to create the fun comic illustrations? And how do you change font/highlight color/custom buttons?
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