Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could make money talking about stuff we loved all day every day, working our own hours from wherever we wanted in the world? What a dream that would be…
It’s not a dream! You absolutely can and in this article, I am going to walk you through how to make money blogging from your kitchen table or a beach in Fiji!
And don’t be fooled into thinking blogging is only about writing. Whether you enjoy writing, talking, or performing, you can build a money-making blog in your PJ’s!
Quick Takeaways:
- Focus on Insanely Valuable Content:
- Pour your heart and soul into blog posts, providing valuable insights and lessons learned.
- Prioritize your audience, addressing their pain points and needs.
- Craft content that goes above and beyond, even if it means longer posts.
- Optimize for SEO:
- Strategically place your main keyphrase in the headline, first 100 words, and throughout the article.
- Include related terms, synonyms, and semantic content.
- Utilize alt tags for images, add a meta description, and ensure SEO standards are met with tools like Yoast.
- Create a Content Schedule:
- Decide on a consistent posting schedule that works for you.
- Stick to the schedule to build a reliable and engaged audience.
- Take responsibility for self-imposed deadlines as an entrepreneur.
- Promote Your Blog:
- Leverage SEO to rank higher in search results and increase organic traffic.
- Build backlinks strategically, focusing on quality sites within your niche.
- Utilize guest posting, round-up posts, and HARO for effective link building.
- Utilize Social Media:
- Leverage Pinterest as a visual search engine, creating multiple Pins for each post.
- Use YouTube for video content, complementing blog articles and potentially monetizing.
- Consider Facebook for both Pages and Groups, using them differently for promotion and community building.
- Engage with Instagram and TikTok, understanding that follower count doesn’t always correlate with blog traffic.
- Embrace Email Marketing:
- Build an email list from the beginning, offering value through lead magnets.
- Use services like Flodesk to manage your email list effectively.
- Email remains a powerful tool for connecting with your audience and promoting content.
- Set Long-Term Consistent Content Goals:
- Success in blogging requires long-term consistency and dedication.
- Establish a content schedule you can adhere to and stick to it.
- Plan 6-12 months ahead, setting measurable traffic and income goals to stay motivated.
Blogging in 2024 & Beyond
As I write search is changing dramatically.
Google has released a series of updates in the last year that have impacted the niche blogging world beyond belief. Favouring large scale popular branded blogs with high domain authorities and already enjoying a large percentage of search traffic, the smaller niche blogs have disappeared from sight and been forced to pivot to other means of driving traffic.
The reason is that Google is preparing for SGE (Search Generative Experience). An AI powered search world which will look very different from the search engine functions we’re used to.
Does that mean that SEO is dead. Unlikely. But it does mean, as has always been so, that putting all your eggs in one basket is extremely risky.
The future belongs to communities and so rather than just building a blog, you need to be thinking about how your website is part of your overall community building plan.
That gives it a very different meaning and path to simply searching for some keywords and writing about what you think might rank on Google.
Build a brand, not just a blog!
Different Types of Blog Content
Whether you start a blog, website, vlog, call it what you like, your blog is a place you can have fun, create content around topics you’re passionate about, and add massive value to your niche inviting your community, customers, and clients to learn more about what it is they want or need to know.
If you love writing you can create text based posts covering your niche topics;
If you love talking, start a podcast and build a site around your podcast;
If you love making videos, start a youtube channel and build a site around your videos;
I like to call my site my ‘home’. I may have content all over the web, but my blog is where people can come to read my best and biggest posts, learn more about me and how I can help them, and purchase my products and services, all in one place!
Meaning you can build a huge following on Instagram or TikTok with your posts & videos and gently guide your viewers over to your blog to build a stronger relationship and give them even more useful content!
How to Make Money Blogging
Before I get into the nitty gritty of how you can get started building your money making blog, let’s have a look at all the ways you’ll be able to monetize it once you’ve grown an audience of adoring fans!
- Advertising
- Affiliate Marketing
- Books and Ebooks
- Online Courses
- Membership Sites
- Physical Products
- Selling Services
- Become an Influencer
1. Advertising
Advertising is one of the most easily understood and popular methods to make money blogging.
Your goal is to publish high quality and useful content as often as possible on your blog. Then, as your traffic grows, you can sell space on your site for other companies to post their advertisements on or sign up to a specialized advertising service like Ezoic or Mediavine who’ll manage the process for you.
If you don’t fancy displaying ads on your blog you could instead look for brand deals.
Brand deals are when a company and a blogger work directly together to spread the reach of a company’s image. A common method of this is when a blogger uses that company’s product throughout its content instead of its competitors.
The travel blogging couple, Lia and Jeremy make money travel blogging by writing about their travels and experiences in different parts of the world.
They have several revenue streams, such as:
- Services
- Courses
- Advertising
- Affiliate
But most of their income comes from advertising. They typically use Mediavine to sell space on their website, however you’ll need over 50,000 page views before you can use this service.
Other ad services to use when just getting started include Google Adsense & Ezoic.
The key to their successful ad revenue stream is the sheer volume of traffic they receive. With as many as 300k monthly visitors, they monetize tons of space on their site.
To get this amount of traffic, they focused their content around keywords that bring in traffic. They also guest post on larger travel sites frequently to increase their reach and the number of authoritative links back to their own site. Now they even allow other bloggers to guest post on their site, meaning they can cover even more keywords, increase their traffic and give their readers more variety of content!
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing has got a bad rap over the years. Mainly because, very unfortunately for the rest of us, this segment of online business is flooded with scammers and people just looking to make a fast buck.
Why? Because you don’t have to put the work into writing the book or making the course or manufacturing the product. Your job is to create great content, drive traffic to that content and then link out to other people who’ve done the hard work writing the book, making the course, or manufacturing the product.
The challenge however is that creating great content and driving traffic is equally hard work, so don’t be fooled thinking this is the easy way in. It isn’t.
For example one of my most popular posts about starting a business on Amazon, which drives a significant amount of monthly affiliate income for me, is over 19,000 words long!
To attract readers and encourage them to buy via your links takes creating quality content consistently and building a level of trust through your posts and blog.
Matt from Expert Vagabond for example has become a trusted source of valuable travel information and has been running his travel blog for years.
On most of his ‘things to do in’ posts he has an advert for SafetyWing travel insurance which I’m sure brings in very healthy affiliate commissions.
No matter what industry you’re in, there’ll likely be affiliate programs you can sign up to. This can be a lucrative way to monetize your blog by promoting products or services that align with your content and audience interests. Here are a few industries and the types of affiliate programs that might be available:
- Travel: Promote hotel bookings, travel insurance, tours, and travel gear. Popular programs might include Booking.com, Expedia, or World Nomads for travel insurance.
- Technology: If your blog focuses on tech, you could link to sites offering software, hardware, or tech gadgets. Think of affiliate programs from Microsoft, Apple, or Best Buy.
- Fashion and Beauty: This industry offers immense potential with programs from clothing retailers, beauty products, and accessory shops. Look for programs from companies like ASOS, Sephora, or Nordstrom.
- Health and Fitness: Promote fitness equipment, supplements, or health courses. Programs from Myprotein, Nike, or even specialized yoga or fitness course providers could be beneficial.
- Food and Cooking: Affiliate offers could include kitchen gadgets, gourmet foods, or subscription boxes like HelloFresh or Blue Apron.
To find these programs, register on affiliate marketplaces where you can connect with numerous brands in your niche. Some of the main affiliate marketplaces include Impact, ShareASale, and Commission Junction (CJ). These platforms offer a centralized location to manage your affiliations and track your earnings efficiently.
3. Books and Ebooks
Love writing? These days it’s easier than ever to publish a book online whether a physical book or an ebook.
What a fantastic way to get your message into the world, grow your profile, impact as many people as possible and make money blogging!
Popular travel blogger Nomadic Matt has published both guide books and books documenting his travels.
And the awesome Yaya & Lloyd, creators of the travel blog and brand Hand Luggage Only have published a book on exploring their home country of Great Britain.
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