How to Make Money with Your Blog
I typically don’t write about the profession of blogging, but as this blog has grown, Michelle and I get more and more questions from people about how we do what we do. The biggest thing on people’s minds is almost always “How do you actually MAKE MONEY blogging?”
While answering that question has turned into an entire industry of books, courses and conferences, I’ll at least give you an overview here, based on our recent presentation at FlSunCon. Also, since prior to being a blogger, I worked in corporate marketing, maybe I’ll have a little different perspective to add to the conversation.
Developing your Brand
The first thing I’m going to tell you is that your blog is your BRAND. In most cases, a brand serves one purpose and targets a specific audience.
Creating Your Pitch (AKA The Elevator Talk)
This means selling yourself, your brand, your product, your blog in 30 seconds. 80% of your connection success will depend on what you say in that time. It should not be about why you are great, but instead what you can do for the person listening.
Getting Started: I help {WHO} with {WHAT}?
Useful Videos for Crafting Your Pitch:
How to Perfect the Elevator Pitch
How to Craft Your 30 Second Elevator Pitch
Michael Hyatt – How to Create an Elevator Pitch
Articles on Creating an Elevator Pitch:
7 Key Components of an Elevator Pitch
Once you’ve got your pitch perfected, now you can move on to making money.
Ways to Make Money Blogging
Blogging has changed dramatically since it first become popular more than a half a dozen years ago. While it used to be possible to make a decent income off of one or two primary sources, that is rarely the case any longer. Bloggers are now “digital influencers” and that influence can be spread across a number or channels and products. Here are some of the ways bloggers create a livable income in today’s ever-changing landscape.
1. Ad Networks
While once the holy grail of blogging income, earnings for ad space on blogs has been dropping for quite some time. If your blog isn’t getting over 100,000 page views per month, you aren’t likely to make more than a few dollars a month, but hey, every dollar counts!
These are the most well regarded ad networks for bloggers, but their requirements for minimum page views vary greatly. The first five are the biggest and most popular for bloggers, but take your time looking into the others as you never know what might be a good fit for you.
Burst Media (Burst Moms)
2. Sponsored Content Networks
These are networks that you apply to join and they typically have a required minimum number of monthly page views. Once accepted into the program, you then “bid” on or “pitch” yourself for various opportunities with brands to write posts about a specific product or service. Payment for these sponsored posts can vary greatly, but typically run in the $125 – $400 range.
3. Affiliate Networks
These are just a few of the most popular, but if you are interested in being an affiliate for a specific product, brand, store, service, etc. Just go to their main webpage and scroll to the bottom looking for an “affiliate program” link or even google the name along with “affiliate program” and you might be surprised by what you find!
3. Make Your Own Pitch to Brands for Advertising and Sponsored Content
Many bloggers will tell you that once you perfect the ability to approach and pitch brands on your own, rather than going through a network, that this is the far more lucrative way to develop an income from sponsored content. You don’t necessarily have to have big traffic stats to create these relationships. Many bloggers have considerable success working with businesses that are local to them, even though their blog may have national reach. Also, if you serve a very specific audience, even if not a broad one, that can hold considerable value.
4. Free-lance write for other blogs or for print publications
Also look for organizations and associations that run regional publications, which cater to subject matter areas that you prefer to write about. For example, parenting writers might try the Parenting Media Association
5. Create Other Products from Your Blog Content
– Ebooks
– Traditional Books
– E- Courses
– Seminars
– Printables (Teachers Pay Teachers)
– Etsy Stores
– Video Tutorials
– Public Speaking Engagements
6. Consult
As a blogger, you are considered a digital influencer and the social media expertise you develop is in demand. Many small and even large businessess are lost when it comes to managing their online presence. You can consult in small ways, simply managing one or two parts of their social media such as instagram or twitter. If you want to make a larger commitment, you have the skills to help shape a company’s entire social media strategy as well to help them determine where and how to spend their online marketing dollars. Put together a proposal, determine your fees and then network within your community to find those opportunities.
Innovate
This is by no means an exhaustive list of how to make money blogging. Everyday, smart and creative people are finding new ways to monetize the content they create and the knowledge they gain as bloggers. The key is in the hustle. You just have to be willing to work hard and never stop learning, connecting, and adapting.
Katie Hornor says
Great list and pointers. I think one of the big mistakes newbies make is thinking that the act of “blogging” is writing and that that somehow generates income. There is SO much more to it than that, and the money comes from so many different avenues. This post is a great place to start to start branching out and diversifying those income streams.
Tove Maren says
This is such a great list – what a wonderful resource for new bloggers and veteran bloggers alike. Thank you for putting all of it together.
I might add that keeping a spreadsheet of your various income streams may just surprise you in the end. I didn’t think i was making any money, until I put it all on paper and saw that every little penny adds up!
(Product reviews are another revenue stream – although it’s not cash payment, it may be a new stroller or appliance)