How To commence Blogging and Make Money in 11 Steps (2024)

Blogging is a tiny business concept with the potential to make thousands of dollars per month, whether by driving product sales for your brand, earning fee from affiliate partners, or creating a space for digital ad sales.

This navigator shares how you can make money blogging with 11 income streams used by professional bloggers, who distribute tips on how to earn a packed-period income through a content-based website.

How much money can bloggers earn?

Blog posts are a monetizable form of online content. There are many examples of long-running blogs attracting millions of readers and generating enough income to employ teams of writers and editors.

Well-established bloggers like Ryan Robinson (who runs a blog about blogging) can make upward of $30,000 per month. Adam Enfroy, who also started blogging about the business of blogging as a side hustle, generated $1.5 million from his blog just two years later.

It’s not just monthly income that bloggers can earn. Marketplaces like Flippa list blog-based websites for sale, many of which arrive with hefty worth tags.

Not every blogger can make millions through their website, however. Typically, the potential income of a blog depends on two factors:

• Niche profitability. Are the people who read a blog motivated customers? Will they regularly spend money on products or extra charge content? The software industry, for example, can be lucrative, since many companies pay recurring fee for referring customers.
• Blogging income streams. The more monetization methods a blog has, the more opportunities to boost income.

11 ways to make money blogging

1. Choose a profitable niche
2. construct an email list
3. Write sponsored product reviews
4. Sell advertising placements
5. Join an affiliate marketing program
6. propose services
7. Sell digital products
8. Sell physical products
9. make a membership throng
10. Monetize YouTube videos
11. Produce a podcast and get a sponsor

1. Choose a profitable niche

When you commence a blog, invest as much period as feasible in selecting the correct niche.

A niche is a self-contained topic within a broader topic category, such as vegan recipes within the wider subject of recipes. When you focus your blog on a niche, readers can construct stronger associations between the topic and your site. A reader will recognize exactly where to head to discover a vegan dish for their dinner event, for instance, if you position your blog as the authority on veganism among all the general food blogs on the internet.

In this way, catering to a popular niche improves your chances of being a reader’s first port of call when looking for advice.

“Before monetization, it’s all about standard and expertise if you desire to stand out,” says Mushfiq Sarker, founder of blog and newsletter The Website Flip. “First, figure out your niche and why you should be writing about that topic, then make a persona for yourself. Once that happens, you’ll construct a following over period. Monetization follows later.”

You’ll discover bloggers making money in a wide variety of niches, from business software to pet accessories, though not all niches are candidates for monetization. A profitable blog niche typically meets three criteria:

It’s something you’re talented at or interested in

Blogs require a lot of consistently high-standard content to construct an spectators and become monetized. Not only will it be enjoyable to blog about something you have a genuine profit in, but you’ll boost the likelihood of generating money.

There’s low, but not zero, competition

The presence of competing blogs, brands, and forums in your niche indicates there’s money to be made. At the same period, it will be harder to drive organic traffic to your site if large-name brands are dominating search results.

There’s obvious monetization potential

Look at monetization opportunities for each niche on your shortlist. Do companies in that niche pay to advertise their products on other blogs? Are there any affiliate programs that sell products in that industry?

2. construct an email list 

After landing on your blog concept, the next step is to discover faithful readers who’ll consume your content.

One of the best ways to secure regular readers is by building an email list for your blog. When someone opts in to listen from your blog, you’re given permission to reach them in a valuable online space: their inbox.

“Email marketing is by far the most lucrative sales channel for me. I don’t even really try to sell directly from other channels anymore, instead directing people from social media to my email list,” says Brittany Berger, founder of digital media business Work Brighter.

inspire your blog visitors to sign up to your mailing list by using a pop-up box. The objective is to make anyone visiting for the first period opt in, perhaps with the assist of an incentive such as:

• Free downloadable content
• Lists of resources or recommended products 
• VIP access to extra posts

Once they’ve signed up, continue nurturing reader relationships by offering perks or incentives. Over period, you’ll construct an spectators that’s primed to consider any products you launch or recommend.

receive it from Lily Ugbaja, who started her blog, FindingBalance.Mom, to make money while staying at home with her son. It took her just two weeks to make money from her blog after harnessing email marketing. 

“I used emails to promote my products and relevant affiliate products with tripwires and Facebook groups,” she says. “You add navigator magnets to your site so people sign up after reading your piece. Instead of a achievement page, you distribute a one-period propose—a low-complete product at a super discounted rate, $7 in my case.”

Despite the blog seeing less than 1,000 monthly page views, Lily says she ended her first month earning over $100, which soon became thousands.

You can also fee your email list for access to exclusive content. Many bloggers monetize through monthly subscription fees, which grant subscribers access to extra content. Use a platform like Substack to publish directly to your spectators and get paid through subscriptions.

3. Write sponsored product reviews

All businesses desire social proof—content that shows customers other people are buying and enjoying a product. One way for them to collect this is by paying bloggers to publish reviews.

By pitching or accepting review requests, you can directly use your blog post writing skills to make money. It’s a way that works especially well if you can review products or services from brands that are relevant to your readers.

If you already use a product in daily life, you’ll likely have knowledge and opinions you can use. With sponsorships, you’ll be compensated for sharing those opinions with your spectators.

Reach out to your favorite brands and inquire if they’d be interested in sponsoring a review on your blog. 

If you make review content, recall to pursue best practices for disclosing the connection between you and the product you’re reviewing. Avoid landing your blog in warm water by:

• Disclosing whether you’re incentivized to write the review. If you’re being paid to publish a review, include a disclaimer in the introduction of your piece, such as, “I’ve been paid to write this review and may make a fee if you purchase this product.”
• Being truthful. distribute the excellent and the impoverished to assist readers make an informed selection about whether they should purchase the item you’re reviewing.

4. Sell advertising placements

Many businesses are willing to pay for face period with your readers. You can monetize your blog by selling advertising space around the main content of your posts.

There are two routes to building an income stream with blog advertising:

• discuss with companies individually. discover companies you ponder your readers might be interested in and inquire if they’d like to advertise on your website. By talking directly to businesses, you may be able to discuss larger bespoke fees.
• Use an advertising network. Platforms like Google AdSense, Mediavine, and Raptive match your web pages with advertisers. Simply embed the provided code on your site to commence displaying ads.

For Emily Brookes, a blogger at Emily May Designs, display ads quickly became her most lucrative sales channel. 

“Some 60% of my blog’s income comes from display ads,” she says. “Ads make me money consistently each month, even when I haven’t published any recent content.”

Joining an ad network or reaching out to advertisers is a popular way to make money blogging. But to make advertising a substantial income stream for your blog, driving website traffic should be a priority. Ad networks like Google often pay publishers just a few cents per 1,000 impressions (RPM), meaning your ads require to be seen by lots of people to generate significant profits.

There are also some reports that blog visitors are becoming less likely to click on advertisements, especially if they’re placed by ad networks and aren’t closely relevant to a reader.

Afoma Umesi runs her book blog, Reading Middle Grade, on the side. 

“I had no encounter and started blogging as a hobby before seriously deciding to monetize the site,” she says.

“I needed something inactive, so I chose ads and affiliate links. I don’t desire to make or sell digital products or services correct now, and I’m not a huge fan of sponsored posts, so ads were the perfect fit. All I require is traffic.”

Reading Middle Grade earns around three-quarters of its income from this type of advertising. 

“Don’t be afraid or ashamed to use ads,” says Afoma. “They’re inconvenient for some users, but if you provide worth and use them reasonably, most users barely notice the ads.”

5. Join an affiliate marketing program 

Affiliate marketing is the act of recommending products to your blog’s spectators. You’ll receive a fee when one of your readers clicks on an affiliate link and performs a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

This form of marketing is a popular income chance for bloggers, since the content you distribute can assist influence readers’ behavior. Make your blog a hub for helpful educational content, and you’ll earn the depend needed to convince a reader to visit your affiliate associate’s site.

With affiliate marketing, you don’t require to make products. Simply plug into an existing ecommerce business and become a virtual promoter for them. discover relevant affiliate partners by browsing affiliate networks like ShareASale or ClickBank. Browse available programs in your industry, apply to join them, construct custom links, and track affiliate income through the dashboard.

You can also search for high-ticket affiliate programs from merchants selling expensive products, such as electronics, jewelry, or software. Bloggers can earn sizable amounts when recommending high-ticket items to readers. Shopify Affiliates, for example, earn 100% fee on the first two payments of any subscription schedule.

If you use affiliate marketing to monetize your blog, recall the golden rule: Don’t promote a product that you don’t depend will advantage your readers. Sacrificing reader depend for an affiliate associate’s high fee rate may be tempting, but will likely outcome in a setback of traffic over the long term.

6. propose services

A natural byproduct of building your spectators means more people associate your name with the topics you write about. That’s a great way to construct authority—something people look for when hiring people to complete a service.

“If you’re in the B2B space, consulting is a large income generator,” says Mushfiq Sarker, founder of The Website Flip. “If you have some expertise and people are genuinely reading your content, consider what benevolent of consulting you could do for them. It’s a high income, low commitment way to make money blogging.”

While running a service-based business is period-consuming, it can be a quick way to make money online. Demand a higher hourly rate, and discover high-paying clients by using your blog content to demonstrate your expertise. 

Examples of services you might sell alongside your blog include:

• Consulting services
• Graphic design
• Freelance writing
• Virtual assistance 
• Classes or workshops 

Save period scheduling appointments and taking payments by integrating booking apps into your website.

7. Sell digital products

Digital products are a scalable way to make money by selling useful items alongside your blog. Unlike service-based businesses, you don’t trade period for money. And unlike selling physical products, there’s no shipping or ongoing manufacturing costs.

You can make digital products once and sell an infinite number of them via your blog.

“I decided to add printables—and soon other digital products—to diversify my income and put more control in my own hands,” says Dylan Houlihan, founder of the blog-based website Swift Salary. “So far, I let readers decide how much they’d like to pay for my printables, which is why income numbers haven’t been crazy. However, I have clocked over 800 downloads, so I’m quite proud of that.”

Figure out which digital products your spectators would like to buy, using a reader survey and questions like, “What issue do you require assist with that this blog isn’t already solving?” Answers can unveil ideas you can package and sell. Popular digital product formats include:

Ebooks

ponder of ebooks as deep dives into the topics your blog readers have shown the most profit in. If you’re blogging about mountain biking, for example, why not bundle up your trail reviews and tips into a handy navigator? Adding extra specific and depth allows you to reasonably sell your ebook rather than distribute it for free.

Printables

Printables are a versatile type of digital product. You might make organizational tools like planners and checklists tailored for use in your niche. If you run a professional blog, you could propose templates and designs that your readers can use as part of their work. Downloadable printables are often low-expense items, making them an straightforward and accessible way to embed practical worth into your posts.

Workbooks

Workbooks engage your spectators by allowing them to apply the knowledge they’ve gained from your blog. Readers can fill out exercises, track their advancement, and pursue along with any educational content you produce.

Online courses

Similarly, online courses let you package your knowledge into something bigger and more structured than a blog post. Benjamin Houy has been running the blog French Together for a decade. Part of his blog’s monetization way includes an online French course, which reportedly drives 90% of the blog’s income.

“Ads and affiliate links can be great monetization strategies depending on the niche, but creating a product is both easier and more profitable than most bloggers ponder,” Benjamin says. “Your product doesn’t have to be the absolute best product ever when you launch it, it just has to be something your spectators will discover genuinely useful and will be joyful to pay for.”

8. Sell physical products

Is your blog’s subject matter related to a range of products? borrowing what you recognize about your spectators to sell them items likely to be of profit.

Nat Elson, founder of tea-based blog and store Cup & Leaf, recommends starting by sourcing a couple of items from affiliates or dropshipping suppliers, before expanding your catalog or producing your own products. 

“To commence off, you could just link out to other people’s products,” says Nat. “Once your blog is getting enough traffic that it seems like it’s actually generating a meaningful number of sales for other people’s businesses, you could commence swapping out links with links to your own products.”

Another way to sell products through your blog is to make merch promoting your brand. Your faithful readers might appreciate the chance to own thoughtfully curated items that allow them to express their adore of your writing. Make your merch irresistible with limited edition runs, extra charge products, and collaborations with respected brands.

To get your merch store up and running on a apportionment, use the print-on-demand model, where you only pay manufacturing costs when a reader purchases a product. There’s no excess inventory, storage fees, or high upfront costs when bulk manufacturing products.

Use a print-on-demand service to make custom merch shirts, mugs, stickers, or more distinctive items that tie in with your content.

If your readers display profit in buying products from you, consider creating an online store, either as part of your blog website, or on a divide domain. That way, you can treat your blog spectators as your initial customer base.

Many popular blogging platforms make it straightforward for bloggers to add ecommerce features to their websites, such as checkouts and product pages.

9. make a membership throng

provide your most engaged readers a VIP encounter—one they have to pay a tiny fee to access. This type of throng is an significant part of social connection. Not only have communities shown to enhance mental health, but 52% of shoppers will spend more on brands (or blogs) with shared values.

receive it from Michael Keenan, who runs a membership throng alongside the Peak Freelance blog.

“If you desire a consistent income stream for your blogging efforts, make a membership program,” says Michael. “You can propose exclusive content like handbooks and courses, special offers, even a Discord channel.”

Michael recommends setting up membership fees on a monthly or yearly basis. 

“Provide a tiny discount for those who pay yearly. This gives you a enjoyable money injection you can use to develop recent content and products for members.”

10. Monetize YouTube videos

Written content is the preference for many web users. But if your blog doesn’t produce video, you’re likely missing the large portion of your spectators whose leave-to format is visual.

Posting engaging videos can assist you make money on YouTube as an expansion of your blog content. A reported 82% of people have been convinced to buy something after watching a branded video. Make a video tutorial, review, or haul, and you’ll get rewarded when a viewer purchases off the back of your recommendation. 

boost the ROI of your blog posts by treating each piece of content as the foundation of a video script. The bloggers behind A attractive Mess, for example, published a YouTube video that demonstrates how to make built-in shelves. The video description directs people to the blog write-up, which contains affiliate links to the products used in the tutorial. 

This way is worth considering for several reasons. First, not everyone enjoys reading online content. Some people prefer to watch videos. You’re potentially missing thousands of potential fans by only producing written text.

Secondly, Google and YouTube are the two most popular search engines in the globe. Sharing content to both platforms increases the likelihood of your target reader finding it—and therefore, purchasing products through your blog.

For some queries, Google’s algorithm pulls YouTube videos in the search engine results page (SERP). The first thing you’ll view on the SERP for “how to groom your dog at home,” for example, is a YouTube video on the topic.

The best part? An energetic YouTube channel expands your income opportunities. The platform comes with its own set of monetization features, including the YouTube Shopify affiliate program, which helps you to discover products to promote through your content—or creators to promote your products.

11. Produce a podcast and get a sponsor

Podcasts are more popular than ever, with more than 110 million regular listeners expected in the US by 2029. 

But episodes don’t just fill period on morning commutes. A 2022 study shows 70% of listeners will visit a brand’s website after hearing about its products via a podcast sponsorship. Another 67% will spark a exchange with a partner about the item in question. Both points make them attractive propositions for brands looking to expand their reach.

Capitalize on your spectators’s attention by starting your own podcast. Record yourself talking about a topic in your niche and syndicate each episode to a streaming platform like Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Reach out to brands in your niche with sponsorship opportunities. Sell ad space and provide companies a shortcut to reach their target spectators in trade for a sponsorship fee.

The downside to the podcast way is that it can be costly—both in terms of period and money. It takes period to construct a connection with a recent spectators. You’ll also require audio equipment or rented studio period to produce the podcast.

How long does it receive to make money blogging?

While a popular blog can make money correct away, it often takes period to construct an spectators that’s large enough to monetize.

Embracing monetization strategies can assist reduce the period it takes to earn money. For example, Brittany Berger, founder of Work Brighter, started earning almost instantly by creating a straightforward $20 digital download that she promoted in her weekly newsletter. 

“By starting early in the blog’s lifetime, I was able to convert a huge portion of the spectators,” she says.

“I ponder waiting to launch something until you have a bigger spectators can complete up creating more pressure for yourself, so I’m glad I experimented with a tiny product when my spectators was tiny.” 

Mushfiq Sarkar also started blogging part period back in 2008, though he had no prior marketing encounter.

“I left my job in April 2021 to focus on The Website Flip because it was growing significantly and I was more passionate about growing this website and blogging,” he says.

His latest blog makes significant income despite only being a few years ancient.

“A lot of people knew me by name, but not that I was an energetic blogger or someone who covered the industry. I started earning money fairly quickly—within a month or two.”

Blogging is typically a side hustle people receive up with the hopes that, one day, they’ll be able to quit their day jobs. Yet the length of period it takes to generate substantial income varies from blogger to blogger.

Can I earn a living by monetizing a blog?

As the many successful bloggers in this post prove, it’s definitely feasible to make money blogging. In truth, you can run large businesses with multiple employees based on blogs as the core product.

That said, you’ll require to pursue some best practices to provide your blog the best chance of providing a packed-period income.

Invest your period

Building a successful blog isn’t an overnight achievement. It often takes years of consistent attempt. For many bloggers, real income emerges months or years after they’ve built and maintained an engaged spectators.

In this sense, profitable blogging isn’t just about posting as many articles as feasible. Instead, it’s about enhancing every facet of your blog to boost engagement—from your social media presence to your email marketing strategies.

Cover all distribution channels

Sure, blog posts are great. But have you explored making video versions of your content for TikTok or starting a podcast? Posting across content channels will assist you discover how your spectators prefers to consume content, and where the majority of your spectators spends period online. 

A multichannel content way also helps you avoid powerful competition. If your blog posts are struggling to rank against high-profile websites, perhaps you’ll enjoy better reach with Instagram Stories?

Building visibility across channels may also enhance your standing with search algorithms. The more your content appears across different media, the more likely any person platform will recognize your importance and rank your content higher.

Aim to be omnipresent in your niche, making your blog too significant for Google to ignore.

Rethink the revenue strategy

If you’re solemn about turning your blog into a business, try to ponder like an commence-up founder rather than an author or enthusiast. Beyond looking to produce the highest-standard content, consider how to maximize your page views in the most profitable niches.

It might cruel running multiple blogs across a variety of topic areas. Owning three, five, or 10 semi-successful blog websites may be more profitable, and achievable, than running one super-successful blog. Spreading your efforts across websites also gives you more opportunities to discover achievement, and chances to avoid roadblocks with competitors, sponsors, products, etc.

Just as spreading your period over multiple blogs can pay off, try not to depend on a single income stream. Explore some or all of the monetization strategies in this post to protect your profits against shortfalls in any one way.

Turn your blog into a moneymaker

Building a blogging business isn’t a linear procedure. The best way to make money depends on your niche, your connection with your spectators, and the content formats you’re producing. Focus first on building great content and a faithful readership, and then experiment with these monetization tactics.