12 innovative ways to make money through Blogging
Blogging is like a personal diary of an individual unless it is for a business or a corporation but the essence remains the same. Every writer has a platform where his/her’s expertise lies, be it in Lifestyle, Fashion, Motivation, Travel, Entertainment or the things you are already passionate about or have a keen interest in writing about.Getting paid for writing what you have been doing almost every other day, isn’t that something all the aspiring writers among us dream for? All you need is something interesting to say about something interesting that has been in the trend and the topic will soon start gaining a good amount of traffic.
When it comes to blogging if we look back a couple of years where people used blogging just as a hobby but now people are doing it full time and not just for their passion but now they are blogging for money. Well, that’s how money making ideas can change the pre-historic thought processes. Especially, people who aren’t meant to sit in an office for hours for the work that they can do by being in an environment that motivates them. Like, Travelers, House staying mothers/fathers, Introverts.
Blogging, unlike any other businesses is a low-cost investment which further helps you sharpen your areas of expertise which slowly teaches you how to get paid from blogging on blogs.
Now it’s time to move one step ahead of passion and focus on other factors you should consider if you are willing to focus on blogging for money.
Traffic and trend, two important aspects one should be familiar with if the topic you are writing on has less traffic or is out of trend, it’s not good for your potential money-making blogging. Now it depends on you whether you want to monetize your blog through Ad Network or Affiliate marketing.
Creating great content still matters even if the topic is great on its own, every day millions of blog posts a published and that shows the amount of competition. So, before creating blog posts we need to know that this is something people will want to read and share it further be it on social media or even on their blogs.
Honestly, blogging isn’t the easiest way to make money and it doesn’t matter which category you fall under, whether it’s a hobby blog or a business blog but when it comes to how to get paid for blogging, it’s not a quick process but if you are really focused and do it right, you could make a profit with blogging on your blog. Whether you are looking to complement your current income with a little extra pay or you just have little financial needs to support your life, you can make as much money you want to from blogging but only if you are prepared to put in all your hard work and that too both effectively and efficiently.
How do Bloggers Make Money? - 12 Ways to Monetize a Blog
Let’s provide you with a concrete action plan, giving you ideas on how do bloggers earn money
1. CHOOSING A PROFITABLE BLOGGING NICHE
Finding the right Niche is one of the most important parts of building a blog because if you pick something with a lot of competition the chances are that your blog will be pushed down by the ones who already have a huge market of their own. If you pick up something where no competition means no demand. Think of something you are passionate about and then pick a topic you enjoy both writing and talking about. When you think you have a few topics on your mind then its time for market research to make sure whether it is profitable to go forward. You can even search with google trends and see what people are talking about these days, whether you have big enough audience for your topic to receive a good amount of traffic or not. Make sure your topic is profitable, look for brands or organizations that are already advertising for your keywords. You can check on AdWords to see if people are spending money to advertise specific products targeting keywords related to your Niche.2. MAKING MONEY WITH AFFILIATE MARKETING
Affiliate marketing is when you recommend a service or product to your audience, it is one of the easiest ways through which you can start earning money from blogging. Once you make a sale, you get a referral commission on every sale if a buyer comes from your site. There are affiliate programs available in every niche. You have to think of products that your readers may be interested in and other blogs are already recommending it. Now you have to add the product to your blog, so buyers can purchase the product using your referral link. If you want to promote a product and you have facts showing that it could be profitable, you might not always find an affiliate program and in that case, you can simply ask the company or business via email. There are various Ad networks through which you can utilize affiliate marketing like, Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, BlogAds, etc.
3. MAKING MONEY WITH AD NETWORKS
This is one of the most common ways that enables you to get paid from blogging. The most popular network for placing these kinds of ads is Google AdSense, which helps you in a way that you don’t need to get in contact with the advertiser. And not just AdSense, there are various other programs like Infolinks, Media.net, etc. There are two popular types of ads , CPC ( cost per click ) Ads - In this kind of Ad you have to put banners on your site and every time a reader clicks on the Ad, you get paid for it , CPM ( cost per 1000 impressions ) Ads - In this kind of Ad you get paid for ad views, some fixed amount depending on several views.
4. ENHANCING EMAIL LIST WITH POP-UPS
You must have seen all kinds of Pop-ups asking you for your email address and phone number while you are trying to read something. Well, they aren’t bugging you they are helping the site owner to earn some extra money by blogging. You can also do the same by growing your email list with pop-ups. See, if a visitor comes on your site and gave you their email address and phone number through your strategically placed pop-ups that mean he/she has subscribed to your site, helping you learn how to get paid by blogging. There are so many ways to use pop-ups in authentic ways so they don’t look like spams, just don’t ask for too much information. This pop-us might make you feel annoyed or bugging all the time but it’s just a small price to pay for making money by blogging.
5. GET PAID TO WRITE REVIEWS
This is one of the most interesting money-making ideas for your blog where you get to earn money by writing paid reviews on your site. You can directly ask companies if they are interested in paid reviews for their product/services. At the beginning whatever niche you picked, you need to identify products in that niche so that you can contact respected companies. You can also register on websites that provide a platform for bloggers and get paid for blogging your reviews on the services the website provided you with. Not just money but you get to use the products for free and then get a chance to review based on your experience. I think it’s a great platform where you get paid for spending your time and using the latest products. You see reviews are valuable for any brand or company and these brand are willing to pay for them. There are so many sponsored review sites that pay you to blog, PayPerPost, PayU2Blog, SocialSpark, Famebit, etc.
6. PAID MEMBERSHIP
Selling memberships to exclusive corners of your website. Your most dedicated readers who have been a source of regular traffic to your blog and they might be willing to pay to read more. Well, In that case, you’ll have to give some perks to the paid members that they don’t get anywhere else for free. You will have to create exclusive content, accessible to only paid members or It can be Videos or audio content for your blog or maybe if you are selling a product you can provide free samples. Once someone subscribes to your website’s exclusive content, they should be considered a member and access are granted to premium content. You can decide whether you want to charge monthly or annually. You can also provide perks like providing a discount for a member who brings in another sale.
7. SELLING DIGITAL PRODUCTS
Selling products on your blog is another smart way to convert an audience into a permanent revenue stream There are so many products you can sell digitally like, -> eBooks: The best part of creating eBooks is that you are already familiar with blogging. So, all you have to do is compile your Write-ups into chapter o a book. Not just eBooks, you can sell your photography, as high-quality photographs are one of the most top-selling digital products. Even recorded lectures can be a source to earn a little extra money. Various other examples of digital products are Softwares, Video, Graphics & Digital art, Documents, Professional services. One of the classic money making ideas is selling your products on your blog, converting permanent readers into customers. Even selling someone else’s products on your blog can be profitable too.
8. ONLINE COURSES
Creating online courses is another efficient way of making money from a blog. If you believe that you can convert your textbook into video clippings then you already have what it takes to upload an online course. Through selling online courses you can earn a good amount of extra income, pretty much more than you will get from selling digital products. You’ll have to divide your course into lessons and then you can provide with the teaching material. It can be in the form of Documents, Audio/Video Files, Written Material, Presentations, etc. There are various platforms that you can use for uploading and selling your course : -> LearnDash -> Thinkific -> Teachable. When you have already uploaded your course, then you can think of smart ways for getting the clients attracted by providing bonus schemes to the specific market that will provide you with the audience you need, depending on your chosen Niche. Some so many people teach online while they satisfy their passion. The community of online teachers is so vast, from School/College Teachers to Psychologists and Graphologists, Musicians and photographers, etc.9. ACCEPTING SPONSORED POSTS
Sponsored posts are blog posts that you get paid for blogging on your blog. It can be Banner Ads, links or a blog post. Yes, it’s a great way to earn money but it’s a risky business too because some times sponsored posts can have an effect on where your posts appear in search results a that depends on what company you choose to accept sponsored posts from. See the fact is that most of the sponsored posts you receives are spams and even if you think of putting a post on someone else blog, your content has to be authentic and it has to be something that people would want to read. Accepting sponsored posts is basically due to lack of traffic on your current blog or just another extra way to earn more money from blogging.10. FREELANCE SERVICES
This is another interesting way to make money from blogging where you have the privilege to choose from where and when to work but this privilege comes with a price because now you are blogging for business even if you are writing for you passion, the content has to be of premium quality. From now own you have o think of your blog your client and provide it with scheduled publishing by sharpening your expertise. Your blog acts as an online portfolio and maintaining it is a long term commitment, then you can start looking for companies or brands hiring for freelance bloggers. Choosing a niche that you can think of writing with passion and can continue for a long time. You must have the knowledge of SEO(search engine optimization) that will help you maximize the number of visitors on your blog. This is out of my personal experience in freelance blogging SEO is the key to gain more traffic.
11. START A PAID NEWSLETTER
When you are already in the process of building your business and creating a personal brand, paid Newsletters are an effective and efficient way through which you get paid for blogging. Newsletters can be profitable if you figure out how to convert newsletter readers into potential clients. Building your newsletter is easy but when it comes to looking for subscribers, it can not happen overnight because it requires commitment. Getting money from your Newsletters becomes easy when you know how you can build your audience. You can use your free content that has already gained permanent readers and promote your paid subscription amongst those readers. Platforms that help you in making the process of creating NewsLetters easy are Substack, Revue, Campaignzee, etc.
12. RUNNING BRAND CAMPAIGNS
This is another helpful way that not just helps you in earning money from blogging but also increase traffic on your blog. All you have to do is help brands reach their target audience by hosting a campaign for them on your blog, which helps you in connecting with that brand’s tarted audience. After the collaboration with the brand and deciding on how you get paid for your work, you will have to host Webinars, making Audio/Videos and even paid Ads. Hosting a successful campaign can be a hectic job but it has its perks depending on what brand you get to work for and where it puts your blog in the search results. Various tools help you in coping with brand requirements, Canva, SEMrush, Grammarly, Google URL Builder, etc.
So, Yes you can earn money from blogging and just like any other service or business or job, your blog will also take time to reach your desired audience. I am sure by now you have learned some money-making ideas that answer your frequently asked questions on How do bloggers make Money.
Author: Sumit Arora
Sumit Arora is a travel writer and photographer, traveling around India for almost a decade. Passionate about Nature and Wildlife, Sumit documents the devastating effects on Nature.