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how to make money blogging

The laptop lifestyle sounds pretty idyllic doesn't it?  Especially in comparison with your crappy 9-5.  The unforgiving schedule, your manager who just doesn't get you and the endless office drama... If you could JUST find a way to make some money online, you could spend more time with your family, you could TRAVEL! Perhaps you could even really make an impact instead of just plugging away forever in the thankless corporate grind.

So you start a blog.  You've heard tons have people have struck it rich that way.  Here comes that 7-figure salary!

... only it doesn't...

You get your site set up, you start throwing up a few posts - you even get your Facebook page in order!  

... but still nothing. 

Ok, what IS it that these rich bloggers have been doing? What's the missing element?

Actually, there are a ton of ways you can make money blogging - but what the majority of the '7-figure salary crowd don't tell you, is that they all take WORK.

Blogging can absolutely be your main income - your ONLY income.  It can even make you a lot of money.  But it ISN'T a get rich quick scheme.  So if that's what you're after - you've jumped down the wrong rabbit  hole, my friend.

IF however, you're up for some work and you're ready to hustle, as the cool kids say, then this post is going to lay it out for you.  Read on, and I'll take you through the 3 simplest ways that you can start to make money blogging AND I'll tell you what to do - and what NOT to do, to succeed. Oh - and don't go without your free gift at the end! 

Ready? 

Affiliate Sales

What Are They?

In a nutshell, this is when you promote and sell other people's products on your blog.  For each sale, you'll receive a commission, usually equating to a percentage of the sale price.

Are Affiliate Sales for You?

If the idea of 'selling' makes you feel a bit queasy, then you'll probably love affiliate sales.  Done right, it doesn't feel salesy at all!  Your affiliate links can fit naturally into your posts and will feel much more like adding value than being pushy or sleazy.

What to Consider

  • Affiliate sales work best when they can be weaved into your blog posts so consider carefully what products you want to promote and ensure they compliment your niche and will be interesting  to your ideal clients.
  • Think about creating your own Resource Page, listing the tools that you use and recommend to your readers. Again, these should relate to your niche. Eg. A photographer might include cameras, lenses and other equipment.
  • Don't forget, the higher the price of the product you're promoting, the higher the commission you'll earn.  Have a think about what 'high ticket' items might work well for your own particular niche.
  • Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY - you need to tell people when you're using an affiliate link! That's the law so please don't miss this out.

Sponsored Posts

What Are They?

Once you start building a following, businesses may be interested in paying you to write about their products or services.  The most common form of sponsored post is a review.

Are Sponsored Posts For You?

If you have just started your blog then you'll need to work on increasing your brand visibility before approaching businesses about any sponsored post opportunities.  They want to make use of your audience to sell their products, so if you don't have one at the moment, then they won't be interested in working with you just yet.  

Things to Consider

  • Businesses will often use your Domain Authority (DA) as a way to assess whether you blog is big enough for them to work with you. Your DA is calculated by Moz and they have a great tool that you can download which allows you to monitor yours - as well as see the DA of other sites too.
  • Be wary of brands offering to pay you in products or 'exposure'.  This is a pet-hate of many bloggers (and rightly so!) You want to make MONEY blogging, remember? Know your worth and don't bother working with brands who aren't willing to pay.
  • Before agreeing to a sponsored post, be really honest with yourself about whether it is a good fit for your blog and for your readers.  Ultimately, your readers should be your number one priority and if you're not creating content that is of value to them, then you soon you won't have any.  

Selling Products or Services

What Are They?

Ok, well this is pretty self-explanatory, but in this instance, you can use your blog as a platform to sell physical or digital products or services. 

Is This Right For You?

Well firstly, do you have anything that you could sell?  The options are huge, so chances are that you do!  Here are a few examples to give you some inspiration...

Physical Products

Jewellery

Cards/Prints

Clothes

Digital Products

Online Courses

SaaS (Software as a service)

E-books

Services

Coaching/Consulting

Web Design

Photography

Things to Consider

  • Do your market research first.  Is this something that people will actually buy?
  • Choose your pricing carefully. Consider any costs involved in creating your product or service and ensure the overall cost leaves you with profit! 
  • Lastly, make sure that you love what you're selling.  It's very difficult to sell something you're not passionate about yourself. Plus, this is meant to be an online business doing what you love, right?!

You're invited! Join my Facebook group today! ⬇

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What About Advertising?

One of the go-to money making schemes for bloggers is to sign up for Google Adsense and give up some of their valuable blog real estate to paid advertising.

Here's why I recommend that you DON'T do that...

  • You need a LOT of traffic to make any kind of meaningful amount of money this way.  I mean a LOOOTTTT of traffic.  It ain't gonna make you a living for a long time. Sorry.
  • The space on your blog is MUCH better used to promote your own stuff.  Instead of wasting it on 3rd party ads, use that space to promote an affiliate product, to promote one of your OWN products or lead magnets (ahem *points to sidebar of this post* ahem) or even to promote one of your social media channels. Seriously, that's way more beneficial than the pennies you'll earn from ads.
  • Ads on your site are going to impact your brand - and not in a good way.  Do you want your readers to feel like you've got their best interests at heart or do you want them to think you're just in it for the dosh? 

Fired Up & Ready to Start Making Money Online?

Yessss! Then you really should grab yourself a copy of my 11 Ways to Make Money Online.  It's completely free and it'll give you a ton of ideas to get you started - well, 11 to be exact! 😉 

Oh, and it's completely FREE (Did I mention that?).  Watchya waitin' for?

PIN THIS! ⬇️

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About the Author

Colette Broomhead

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