MAKE MONEY BLOGGING

This is where the magic happens: there are a million different ways that you can monetize your blog (some better than others!) and I want to walk you through a few of the ones that I think are the best and that I’ve had the most success with.

SPONSORED POSTS

Sponsored posts are the bread and butter for most bloggers making a mid-sized income. I know that at this time they are for me! To put it simply, sponsored posts are blog posts you write that mention a brand that is paying you. 

And sponsored posts are great so long as you are authentic and only working with brands that you genuinely like, and that fit your brand. I see so many bloggers straying off brand because it’s hard to say no. Trust me, I’ve been there. When a popular beer company offered me $700 for a sponsored post about tailgating in college I almost felt pain when I told them no. First of all, I’m under the legal drinking age, and second of all I’ve never had a beer in my life. Sure it’s something my college aged audience could appreciate, but it wasn’t something that aligned with me.

Sponsored posts vary greatly in how much you can make. I charged $40 for my first sponsored post (only because I had no clue I could even get paid to write much less how much I should charge. Now I say that you shouldn’t charge any less that $100 no matter your size, and I tend to charge around $400, though that varies depending on assignment.

AFFILIATE LINKS

Affiliate marketing is my favorite way to make money as a blogger. It is pretty passive (one post can bring in money for years) and it is really easy to do if you’re a blogger.

 Affiliate links are great because so long as the post you write is evergreen, you will continue to make money from them without added work.

There are a lot of different opportunities to become an affiliate, there are the popular options like Amazon Affiliates or Reward Style, but you can also become an affiliate for bloggers who are selling books or courses.

SELLING A PRODUCT

When you look to the bloggers who have ‘made it’ as a full time blogger bringing in more than a full time income, more often than not they are making a good chunk of their money selling something. Bloggers like Melyssa and Mariah sell amazing courses for bloggers looking to up their game, and other bloggers will sell e-books or physical product to make their income.

Monetizing a blog this way is great because you are in control. No matter how affiliate laws change or your traffic fluctuates you will always be in charge here and that is reassuring.