I don’t blog about blogging. So how can I make money blogging?
“I don’t blog about blogging. So how can I make money blogging?” How many times have we heard other bloggers say this or even said it to ourselves? In the world of blogging, it is a truth that we all know: the big, well-known bloggers out there making five and six-figure incomes each month are blogging about blogging! And selling books, and e-courses, and access to mastermind private groups—all to teach the little blogger how to make money blogging.
So why doesn’t everyone that buys these items turn into a millionaire blogger? I can’t honestly say, because, well, I’ve never actually paid for any of these books, e-courses, or private groups. But I have taken a bunch of free webinars and courses and found quite a bit of good in those. Now, I’m definitely not bashing anyone who makes money from teaching others how to be successful in this industry—that’s the beauty of a free market!
But sometimes, it just seems that the only way to make money as a blogger is to sell blogging resources. I can’t be alone in this feeling, can I?
How to make money blogging:
So can a small blog or a medium-sized blog make money?
The answer is: Absolutely, YES! Okay, great…. But how?
Ads
I’m going to go ahead and get the most obvious one out of the way first. If you’ve been blogging for even five minutes, you have probably figured out how to set up Adsense. Keep in mind, until you have a lot of people visiting your blog, ads won’t bring in much revenue. Of course, there are other ad networks to join, like Mediavine or AdThrive. As you may notice, I don’t have a ton of ads on my blog just because I think it detracts from the user experience— I don’t like trying to read an article and having ads popping-up or slowing down the page when I am the user, so I try to think of that when formatting my own blog…
Affiliate Links
You can sign up as an affiliate through several Networks to partner up with several companies:
This is only a few, but it’s a good start… With affiliate programs, you can embed links to products that you have an affiliate relationship with and get paid a commission when someone clicks through to purchase. The good news is that it doesn’t cost the buyer any extra than if they were just shopping on their own, but you get paid a fee for sending over the referral.
Or you may just come across products that you love and they ask for you to refer other people to them and they will give you a “thank you” for referring new customers (you don’t even need to have a blog to find these, but if you are a blogger, you can incorporate these types of links into posts as well!)… one of my favorites is Home Chef.
Of course, if you’ve been blogging long enough, you know there are affiliate links for blogging tools as well. Such as Tailwind for boosting Pinterest engagement, Milotree to gain social media followers, and Bluehost for website hosting.
Sponsored Posts
Once you have been blogging for a little while and have built up your audience, you can actually apply for paid opportunities to write sponsored content. These are product and campaign specific, you need to make sure that you are applying for campaigns that fit into your blog niche.
Yes, you want to make money, but every post you write should also be building your blog’s brand.
There are several places that you can go to get sponsored posts. A few of my favorites are:
Working with Brands
Of course, once you have been publishing content online long enough, you may get contacted by various companies looking for freelance work or sponsored content for specific clients or projects. Most companies that reach out to you will probably be within your niche of writing because they are looking for bloggers and freelance writers with an audience to help spread the word about a product or service that they are looking to sponsor content about. Obviously, not everyone that reaches out to you will be a fit, so don’t feel bad about turning down a sponsored post opportunity. You are much better off to stay true to your personal brand and your blog’s brand rather than feeling like you are “selling out” just to make a few bucks.
Become an Affiliate for a Specific Product
You can take the time and energy to create your own product, but you certainly don’t have to! There are a ton of great products already out there and you can sign up to be an affiliate with them. I would suggest becoming an affiliate for products that you have used and love and can somehow incorporate into your blog posts or a newsletter easily.
Here are some examples of products that I have signed up to be an affiliate for:
Social Warfare plugin—this is for social media sharing on your blog. I found out that I needed this because it is one of the only plugins out there that can actually recover your social share counts on blog posts after implementing an SSL certificate on your website. It’s something that I use and have found useful, so I am confident recommending it to others.
Pinteresting Strategies by Carly Campbell—Carly has used Pinterest to drive so much traffic to her blog and I can say that she has truly mastered Pinterest (or at least in my opinion!). Regardless, this book is a great resource for bloggers and is relatively inexpensive, so it really is worth the investment to help you grow your blog.
Bloggers Tell All Facebook group—this group has lots of resources. There are lots of tips, tricks, and advice from some very successful bloggers, so it is a paid group. But, you can also make a bit of money as an affiliate for referring other people to the group. Check it out and see if your blog grows. Okay, I know I said I never paid for any of these things—and that was true until I decided to try this group. I had lots of blogger friends recommend it, so I’ve been a part of it for two weeks now and really like it (but the good news is that you can cancel at any time if you decide to…)
Promote Your Own Business
I decided a few years ago that starting my own side business was something that I wanted to do. Of course, I realized that it wouldn’t make me rich overnight, but it is something that I can build over the years to help make my retirement a bit more comfortable. I also like that fact that building my own business is actually something that I can pass on to my kids someday… so I started two businesses—both are completely done online. So my initial investment was extremely low and so are the on-going costs. First, I found companies that I already loved the products. If you personally like something and can personally recommend it to others, then you may as well get paid for it, right?! Then I decided to partner with them directly to earn money.
My first business is Juice Plus+ . I absolutely love these whole food supplements and plant-based protein shakes! Not only do I take them, but my entire family does—even the kids love them because they have chewable gummies that really tasty! If your kids are like mine, you will have to cut them off from eating too many at once! This is something I believe in because I have seen and felt the changes in my own body (migraine free for over 2½ years now!!) and I just know that this helps bridge the gap in our diets of not getting enough fruits and vegetables.
My second business is Rodan+Fields. Again, I use and love these products—especially the ones for anti-aging! They work for my skin and I have had great results, so I am able to share them very honestly with others. Of course, they have several product lines to help with all types of skincare needs. And again, I am able to grow my own business this way.
I definitely think that everyone should have a their own business on the side… you may want to check out these Side Hustles that will Actually Give You a Full Time Income for more great ideas on how to start your own business with very little start-up costs…
Referral Links
The reason that I love referral links is because you don’t even have to be a bloggers to take advantage of these! But the nice thing is that with a blog, you can probably incorporate them into posts for further reach. These are links that you can get from companies that you already buy from and love, so you can get account credit or money off on future purchases every time you refer someone to them who makes a purchase. Some of my personal favorites are:
This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Please know that all opinions are mine alone.
When I’m getting ready for a cookout, I shop at Giant Eagle because I can get everything that I need
Recently, our family went to Niagara Falls over spring break, and before going, I took the car to the Walmart Auto Care Center. For only $44.88, I was able to get an oil change with 
The boys sat in a section of seats from Progressive Field, which is home to our Cleveland Indians! So it was kind of fun to see that little piece of history at the Baseball Hall of Fame commemorating the longest running record of game sell outs.
This pizza place didn’t disappoint either… yum!
And Derek even lost his 2nd baby tooth at the restaurant while we were waiting for our pizza, which makes him the only one to have lost a tooth in a different state! That’s a pretty special accomplishment for a 3rd child… they never get to be the “first” to do anything!
We even got a little behind-the-scenes tour of the warehouse for online orders (and you are definitely going to want to check out their 
So they pretty much have EVERYTHING apple (and lots of other stuff too), but you will definitely want to try their own in-house apple wine…
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