5 Tips on How to Earn Money From Your Blog

In March 2014, Abby Lawson earned $ 1,010 from her blog justagirlandherblog.com. Two years later, that sum had grown to more than 40,000 US dollars per month. According to this blogger, she never dreamed that her small-scale DIY and decorating blog project would expand to such an extent.

Many share the same dream as Abby: writing your own blog about something that inspires you and you feel passionate about, whilst also earning money. No wonder there are countless blogs on all kinds of topics, but up until now, few have earned any significant revenue from their online journal.

Studies have shown that only a small proportion of bloggers actually make a living from their revenues.

Whether you take the example of Abby, top SEO bloggers or the revenues achieved by some international blogs, there are always success stories that report lucrative results. We can learn a lot from bloggers who have managed to make money with their site.

Learn from successful blogs

In early 2017, Forbes released an article detailing 10 of the most successful blogs. Looking at the reports, it’s noticeable that many successful blog operators achieve revenues from five main activities. We’ll take a look at each of these in turn.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most important sources of income for bloggers. It works like this: Bloggers recommend the products or services of external companies in their blogs. This involves actions such as adding a text link or banner ad to your page. To track the blog in which a user has encountered the advertised product, the advertising formats employed are provided with a unique code.

The blogger then receives a previously agreed commission, usually by applying one of the following popular models:

1. Pay-per-Click (commission earned per click registered on the advertising medium)
2. Pay-per-Sale (commission earned as a percentage of the sale revenues)
3. Pay-per-Lead (commission earned per contact established)

Various partner programs are available for Affiliate Marketing. For example: The Amazon Partner Program, Zanox or Belboon. However, finding the right partner program and discovering which product recommendations are right for your users takes plenty of practice.

Which affiliate network is best suited to any particular blog depends, among other things, on the chosen topic area and the remuneration model. The Amazon Partner Program is a good choice for beginners and has a broad selection of products that are relevant to many types of blogs. However, the commissions can be quite small for some product categories.

Tips for Affiliate Marketing:

– Choose an affiliate program that allows you to offer relevant advertising to your users.

– Only recommend products that match your topic.

– Only advertise products that are actually available.

– Select products you recommend very carefully and always check the product evaluations, if available.

Focus on high-quality, well-prepared content because it’s only content that offers value to your users that has the potential to generate a volume of traffic, and thus earn you higher commissions.

2. E-books

In-house products like e-books are among the best sources of income for many bloggers, right behind affiliate marketing. Selling usually takes place via shop plugins, which are available for many content management systems such as WordPress.

If a blog has already acquired a certain reach and provides regular articles for its users, then the bundling of premium content in an e-book is a sensible next step.

E-books that offer solutions to problems also work exceptionally well. For example, Problogger.com sells its e-book “31 days to build a better blog” at a price of $29.99 and, according to its own figures, makes a good profit.

Source: https://problogger.com/31dbbb-workbook/

However, creating an e-book for sale can be quite a complex project. E-books can be designed, for example, using Lulu Press or the WordPress plugin Beacon.

Electronic books can be published quite easily via platforms such as XinXii or Amazon Kindle. However, a certain reputation and influence are basic prerequisites for e-book success. And an e-book usually needs to provide some really helpful tips and tricks before users would be willing to make a purchase.

Tips for E-books:

– The e-book must be high quality.

– The content should provide value to users.

– The topic should be carefully chosen and should not have too much competition in its field. A preliminary topic search is recommended.

– Niche themes are usually better than general themes.

Without appropriate marketing, even the most interesting e-book won’t sell. In addition to promotion via social media and newsletters, you should also reference it at various points in your blog – for example, in thematically matching articles, as well as on the sidebar.

3. Online courses

In addition to e-books, many successful bloggers offer online courses as a means of monetizing their blog. Online courses that provide users with concrete solutions to a problem are particularly promising, and the profit margins can be quite high.

For example, the US blogger Elna Cain offers different courses for Freelance Writers. Her courses consist of around 50 lessons and costs run from $70 per month. The well-known blogger Neil Patel offers his advanced marketing program with 45 modules at an annual price of $997.

Online courses can, for example, be created and processed using platforms such as Teachable and Udemy. However, the preparation of such courses is quite a complex undertaking and is usually only successful if one has already built up a certain reputation.

Tips for online courses:

– The course should address the needs and problems of your users.

– Convincing pictures and product descriptions are an essential part of marketing the course.

– Collaborations and partnerships are a good way to promote online courses.

– Maintain regular e-mail contact with course participants and those who have expressed interest.

– Use audio and video files, as well as text, during the lessons.

4. Advertising

Whether arranged direct or through an intermediary, many bloggers find advertising – for example display banners – can be a profitable source of income.

Though it’s usually only viable with a certain number of visitors, selling advertising space on your own blog can be an attractive proposition. You save on the cost of working with an intermediary and get to keep all the income. However, it’s not always easy to acquire independent advertisers. Anyone who can meet certain requirements, such as traffic volumes, can take advantage of online advertising marketplaces such as AdScale, which specialize in bringing advertisers and publishers together.

Another option is the integration of pay-per-click advertising in your blog – for example via Google AdSense. AdSense ads are easy to install and, once implemented, they will largely optimize themselves. Then, you earn money each time a visitor clicks on an advertisement.

Tips for advertising on your blog:

– Ads should be thematically related to the blog and aimed at your target audience.

– Your blog should not be saturated with advertising.

– Ads should be carefully placed and properly sized and positioned.

Collaboration and sponsorship

Even though some bloggers categorically reject such offers, sponsored articles in return for products or cash are not just Influencer marketing hype.

These partnerships with companies can work in two ways: Either the blogger writes an article on a product or offers the company a platform to publish ‘guest’ articles. However, any paid items should be clearly marked so readers don’t feel they have been misled.

Collaborations and sponsorships can take many forms – for instance, sponsored reviews, product links, interviews or newsletter recommendations – and each will require individual negotiation. How much money you earn depends on the reach and reputation of your blog.

Tips for collaboration and sponsorship:

– Recommend only relevant products you are happy to endorse.

– Keep a healthy balance between editorial content and sponsored content.

– Be honest and genuine even with paid items and product evaluations.

– Prominently identify collaborations and sponsorships to retain your credibility and comply with the law.

Conclusion

The marketing opportunities and income-earning options for blogs are almost endless. Whether its coaching or a paid-membership model delivering premium content, there are, of course, many more ways to earn money from your blog than just the five presented here.

However, the prerequisites for monetizing a blog are always high-quality content and regular publications that attract users. For instance, many of the examples mentioned only become profitable once you have gained a certain reputation and influence.

The top priority is good content that draws a lot of traffic to your blog. Neil Patel also recommends that you concentrate on building visitor numbers before turning to the task of converting this success into a cash return. Informative content, quality, authenticity and a unique style are key.

How you make money from your blog will depend, among other things, on your traffic, the topic you choose, and your own talents. Naturally, a specialist blog with a niche focus will require different strategies to those employed by a travel or fashion blog.

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