4 Easy Ways to Make Money As a Blogger

how to make money as a blogger

I’ve talked about ways to make money from blogging a lot lately, but for some reason, bloggers still think their Instagram following is their money maker. This idea couldn’t be more wrong. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, etc. are all ways to build brand awareness, not an income.

Bloggers have this misconception that making money is hard but it’s really not, if you know how to do it right and work at it on a consistent basis.

utilize affiliate links

Affiliate linking is the most well-known and easiest way to make money as a blogger (read the Beginner’s Guide to Affiliate Links first). It’s not invasive nor is it a sleazy car salesman approach to making money. Affiliate links are like “hey here I am if you want me, but you don’t have to buy anything if you don’t want to”, which is refreshing from the overwhelming self-promotion bloggers do, like “follow me here, click that, subscribe to this”.

Affiliate links add value by offering your readers products you actually use and/or have purchased without coming across as a sellout. Because technically no one is paying you to post these things. I think affiliate links should have a higher CPC (cost per click) because it’s still advertising but in a subtle, natural way versus a blatantly sponsored post.

Regardless of how “on brand” a collaboration with a blogger is, I can always spot the sponsored stuff because it’s usually with a brand the blogger has never featured before. Like, come on.

At least do collaborations with brands you wear on a consistent basis. Although, would there be any point to paying a blogger to wear something she already wears?

When a brand creates a loyal customer base it’s free advertising so unless they’re trying to reach a new demographic it would be silly to pay a blogger for stuff she already wears. But a nice “thank you” in the form of some gifts every once in a while would be nice!

I guess the most upsetting part about sponsored posts is after the collaboration is done we usually don’t see much from that brand again so how many conversions really happen? I digress…

create a product line

Don’t let the idea of creating a product line daunt you like I mentioned in one of my latest posts on Zanita, it doesn’t have to be a physical product at all. It can be a digital download of some sort like a checklist, template, eGuide, etc.

If you’re not tech savvy then maybe a physical product line is the way to go. Chiara from The Blonde Salad did this with her shoe line, Rumi from Fashion Toast did it with her clothing line, and Shea from Peace Love Shea did it with a swimsuit collection.

If you’re seriously considering turning your blog into a business you should diversify your income the way you would with social media: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. One of the most financially stable ways to do this is by creating a product line that sells, (see here and here for more on how to market a product). Once you have multiple passive income streams like affiliate links and products, you can focus on other ways to make money, because let’s be honest… it’s never enough!

provide a service

Selling a service is something that can add to your blogging income stream but it’s not passive income that’s for sure. I mean, I guess with the right systems in place it could be but usually, when you sell a service you’re offering your time and skills.

A service could be something you charge hourly for or a flat rate for a finished product depending on what your service is. For example, The Skinny Confidential and Fashionlush have a website design company and they don’t charge for their time but instead, charge on a per project basis. Lush to Blush sells a similar service in addition to blog consulting.

Before you commit to selling a service you have to commit fully and be readily available to your clients 24/7.

sell digital ad space/sponsored posts

Selling ad space on your blog or sponsored posts is the hardest of the easiest ways to make money as a blogger because a. ad space is fleeting, (how many people do you see using Google Ads anymore?) and b. you have to have a decent following for brands or companies to pay you to promote their stuff.

You have to have a huge following if you want to make a living solely on promotional/sponsored posts. Once you get there you could be looking at $5-10K per Instagram post! I only know this because one superblogger (Get it? Like supermodel?) spilled the beans last year. Crazy.

If you’re a micro-blogger you could be looking at $20-30 per post. You could go even a little bit cheaper and beat out your competition too.

Key takeaway: create a nice passive income stream first and build out from there!

Tell me in the comments what steps you’re going to take TODAY to start making money from blogging. I’ll comment back and help you get there.

xx

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8 Comments

  • Reply
    Kherington McFarland
    08/30/2016 at 6:40 pm

    I like your point about selling a service. I originally wanted to use my blog to sell mine/my daughter’s gently used clothes + have totally strayed away from that. + on another note, I used to do closet consultations for a company that paid me, but even after I stopped working for them, people still ask me about it! Is that a service that people would want/need? Should I get back into that + feature it via my blog? Another informative post, as usual!

    • Reply
      brittany
      08/30/2016 at 10:25 pm

      Hey Kherington – I think selling your clothes as an extension of your blog isn’t the worst idea. When Tictail first started I used that and got some hits from it actually! I would definitely suggest still doing it, what do you have to lose? Also I just wrote a post on how to turn the questions you get asked into answers for a business. I’ll let you know when that’s live and hopefully that’ll shed some light on making a decision. In short, I think trying anything is great. See what sticks and drop what doesn’t. As always, thank you SO much for reading. I love your comments. xx

  • Reply
    Lauren
    08/31/2016 at 10:16 pm

    Hi Brittany,
    I am so new to blogging (like 3 posts in new) but I am a small business owner, photographer and designer and have started writing about small businesses in my area (The Adelaide Hills, South Australia).
    My grand idea was to start a blog to 1. Raise awareness to unknown small businesses in the area and 2. Charge a small amount to be featured on my blog. In return my clients would receive stylised photography of their business / service and exposure to a different audience than what they may be used to advertising too.
    So far the response to my blog has been great, but no business has been willing to make the financial commitment to me to be featured (only when I offer to do it for free, which I have for a few to get the ball rolling).
    As I am so new the steps I have decided to take so far are to create a bit of a following first and offer my services for free, then introduce the pricing later. I feel this is wrong and would love any input 

    Absolutely love your blog!

    Lauren x

    • Reply
      brittany
      09/08/2016 at 5:52 pm

      Hi Lauren! First of all, what a great idea! I love it.

      Second of all, at first, especially since your blog is in such infant stages, you’re definitely going to have to do some things for free. You need to build your credibility, following, and portfolio. We’ve all been there. Once local businesses start reaching out to you instead of you reaching out to them, that’s when you know you can charge for your services. And if they say no, you move on to a business who will pay.

      You could also still insist on financial payment for a feature, however you will get a lot of nos, which is totally normal. I’ve gotten plenty of nos! Another idea is to try and write for someone who does have that credibility and following and then you can definitely charge a fee. Also, take a close look at your fee. Make sure it’s in the bracket of your following, at this point in the game I wouldn’t charge more than $20 for a feature if I were in your shoes. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I’m always here!

      Thanks for reading love. xx

  • Reply
    JordanLaurelle
    09/14/2016 at 9:33 am

    Hi Brittany,
    Thanks again for such great and helpful content! Your posts on blogging have been incredibly helpful to me and many others (I’ve shared a few of your posts in a blogging group I’m in on Facebook, and people have really appreciated them! They answer so many questions about things that aren’t often talked about!) Thanks to your post on affiliate linking, I signed up for ShopStyle a few days back and have made just over a dollar! It’s the first bit of money I’ve ever made blogging, and it’s incredibly exciting! 🙂
    I have almost 2k on Instagram, and oddly enough, I have stopped recieving requests for collaborations.( I received about 5 when I still had around 500 followers.) I’m realizing I need to start reaching out more, but don’t know where to start! I hung out with a blogger recently, who said she emails PR companies of brands she likes? Is that something you would recommend, and how would you write an email like that? Thanks so much for your help!!

    JordanLaurelle
    http://www.bellebylaurelle.com

    • Reply
      brittany
      09/20/2016 at 1:13 pm

      That’s amazing Jordan! I’m so happy to hear that. Thank you so much!

      So what I’ve realized about collaborations is they come in waves. I received a ton before NYFW and now it’s slower. There is no rhyme or reason that’s just the way collaborations go, they’re not the most steady income stream so I recommend having other things up your finance sleeve like affiliate linkS and products which I wrote about here: https://www.notanotherblonde.com/blog-tip-tuesday-beginner-guide-affiliate-links/

      and here: https://www.notanotherblonde.com/branding-101-how-to-promote-your-product/

      If you’re going to reach out to brands make sure you’re not reaching out literally with your hands open expecting gifts. If you want to work with them, explain what you can do for them and how they will benefit from your services. You could say something like, “I noticed you don’t seem to have a blogger outreach program I’d like to help get that started for you by…” then explain x, y, and z of what you’d do. These brands get approached so often it’s important to stand out. A lot of bloggers’ emails go unread so make your subject line POP!

      I hope this helps Jordan – what great questions! If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂

      xx

  • Reply
    Savannah Martinez
    11/17/2016 at 11:49 pm

    Incredibly well written. 👏👏👏 I like it.

    • Reply
      brittany
      11/18/2016 at 9:23 am

      Thanks so much Savannah! If you ever have any blogging questions please don’t hesitate to ask. xx

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