4 Easy Ways 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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