Despite the saturation of the blogging industry in 2023, there are still opportunities to generate substantial income from it. You can convert blogging into a profitable revenue source, earning thousands of dollars every month. This small business idea has various options to generate revenue, including promoting your brand’s product sales, earning commission from affiliate programs and creating space for digital advertising sales.
How much money can bloggers earn?
Blogging has tremendous possibilities. Established bloggers such as Ryan Robinson, who writes about blogging, can earn over $30,000 monthly. Adam Enfroy, who began blogging about the business of blogging as a side job in 2019, made $1.5 million from his blog just two years after.
Bloggers can earn money not only from their monthly revenue but also by listing their blogs for sale on marketplaces such as Flippa. Some of these blogs can be sold for high six-figure amounts, giving bloggers a chance to profit from their creative endeavors.
Regrettably, generating millions from one’s website is not a guarantee for all bloggers. The earning capacity of your blog is determined by two variables:
- Your niche. Do people spend large sums of money on products in your industry? The software industry, for example, can be lucrative, since many companies pay recurring commission. Bloggers can earn small amounts each month, long after the customer made the purchase. (More on this later.)
- Your monetization strategies. Some blog monetization methods are off the table for new bloggers who want to stick to their core values—like not being paid to post content you don’t agree with. This can impact earning potential in the short term.
How to make money blogging: 7 ideas
Are you seeking a unique way to earn additional income? Whether you are establishing a fresh blog or expanding a current one, here are seven methods for generating revenue through blogging.
1. Choose a profitable niche
Selecting a specific subject within a broader category is referred to as a niche. For instance, vegan recipes are a niche. This strengthens the connection between your website and readers. Your website becomes the go-to resource for your niche, increasing the likelihood of being the first option people consider when seeking guidance.
The Website Flip’s founder, Mushfiq, recommends prioritizing quality and expertise before considering monetization. He advises determining your niche and creating a persona that aligns with it to attract a following. Eventually, monetization will become a possibility.
There is a diverse range of niches where bloggers can earn income, from business software to pet accessories, but not all of them are advantageous.
To qualify as a lucrative blog niche, it must satisfy three conditions:
- It’s something you’re skilled at and/or interested in. Blogs need a lot of consistently high-quality content to build an audience and become monetized. Not only will it be more enjoyable to blog about something you have a genuine interest in, but you’ll increase the likelihood of generating money. It’s easier to stick with a hobby we enjoy.
- There’s low competition. Popular blogs, brands, or forums in your niche indicate others are making money in it. Similarly, do a Google search to assess keyword ranking difficulty. It’ll be harder to drive organic traffic if big-name brands (with even bigger marketing budgets) are dominating the first page of search results.
- There’s clear monetization potential. Look at monetization opportunities for each niche on your shortlist. Do companies in that niche pay to advertise their products on other blogs? Are there many affiliate programs that sell products in that industry? Both are telltale signs of a profitable blog niche.
2. Build an email list
Having dedicated followers who appreciate your recommendations is crucial for generating income through your blog.
Constructing an email list for your blog is among the top strategies to achieve this. When an individual chooses to receive correspondence from your blog, you acquire authorization to contact them in the most distinguished location of all: their email inbox.
According to Work Brighter’s founder, Brittany Berger, email marketing is the most profitable sales platform for her. She no longer focuses on selling directly through other channels, but instead guides people from social media, collaborations, and SEO to join her email list.
Utilize a pop-up box to urge the visitors of your blog to subscribe to your mailing list. The objective is to ensure that those visiting your blog for the first time receive an incentive to sign up and receive communications from you.
- Free checklists
- Lists of resources or recommended products
- Blog content packaged in a PDF (such as printable recipes)
After individuals register, keep fostering the connection by providing informative or enjoyable materials. This approach will cultivate a group of people who are willing to purchase items based on your suggestions.
Lily Ugbaja’s motivation for starting her blog FindingBalance.Mom was to be able to work from home, pursue her passion, and earn an income while taking care of her son.
Lily generated income from her blog after a fortnight by utilizing emails to market her own products and affiliated products along with engaging Facebook groups and tripwires. By integrating lead magnets on her website, readers were encouraged to sign up after reading her content. Additionally, rather than a success page, she offered a limited-time low-priced item at a discounted rate of $7.
Lily claims that although her blog received fewer than 1,000 monthly page views, she made over $100 in her first month, which eventually grew to a few thousand dollars.
Exclusive content can be offered to your email list in exchange for payment. A number of bloggers earn revenue by charging a monthly subscription fee, which allows members access to additional material. To publish directly to your audience and receive payment in the form of subscriptions, use a platform such as Substack.
3. Write sponsored product reviews
Every business desires to display social proof that their products are worth purchasing to their customers. One approach for them to obtain this proof is by compensating bloggers to publicize reviews.
Get in touch with your preferred brands and inquire about the possibility of them sponsoring a blog review. By utilizing the product beyond the scope of the evaluation, you are essentially not incurring any expenses. You are just being compensated for expressing your views on a product you already possess.
The monetization approach becomes unclear as of late. Fashion Nova was fined $4.2 million by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for allegedly hiding negative reviews, despite these reviews being supposedly acquired through a third-party service.
There are a set of ecommerce guidelines by the FTC that are applicable to merchants and the sponsored review bloggers they hire.
Prevent your blog from getting into trouble by:
- Disclosing whether you’re incentivized to write the review. If you’re being paid to publish a review, for example, include the following disclaimer in the introduction of your article: “I’ve been paid to write this review and may make a commission if you purchase this product.”
- Being honest. Share the good and the bad to help readers make an informed decision about whether they should purchase the item you’re reviewing. There’s a reason de-influencing has become a trend.
4. Online Courses
Those who possess teaching experience might find selling courses as a lucrative online income source.
There are several factors that could motivate a blogger to think about selling digital courses:
- Scale the business. A chance to go from teaching only a few people in a class to hundreds of students worldwide.
- Increase income. There is no limitation on how many people can join an online course. The more students attend the course, the more money can be made.
- Reclaim time and freedom. Another great thing about online courses is that teachers won’t necessarily need to be present after setting up their courses.
In 2020, Ryan Robinson generated more than $2,000 per month from selling a course on how to begin a successful blog and establish a profitable side venture. He is a blogger himself.
To initiate the process of selling digital courses online, these are the essentials that you must acquire:
- Presentation software
- Screen recording app
- Webcam
- Microphone
Online courses are created and sold by a lot of bloggers through platforms including Coursera, Skillshare, and Udemy.
For individuals who aim to generate income from a WordPress blog by marketing an online course, it is recommended to use plugins such as LearnDash and AccessAlly.
Apart from that, here are some tips for generating and vending online courses:
- Incorporate interactive elements. Use animation, games, images, or audio to make the course more engaging.
- Build a relationship with clients. Knowing how to connect with potential and current clients can increase the chances of them purchasing the online courses.
- Add a pop-up to a blog. Encourage visitors to buy the course by adding a pop-up with a discount message.
5. Guest Blogging
Suppose you want to earn money through blogging and increase your online presence simultaneously. In that case, writing for other websites can be a great option. As a guest blogger, you can earn anywhere between $50 to $300 per post.
Elna Cain is among those who earn income through guest blogging and managed to substitute her full-time earnings by freelancing as a blogger for half a year.
Guest blogging not only enables individuals to make money on the internet but also provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in the field, particularly when they contribute to dependable labels. Consequently, this could enhance traffic to their personal blog, boosting their reliability and conversions.
Below are some suggestions for beginning guest blogging:
- Look for sites that accept guest posts in blog directories such as AllTop, Technorati, and Popurls.
- Pick websites or blogs with strong online authority and the target audience you want to reach.
- Pitching a post in a way that gets you the gig.
- Make a publisher want to work with you again by constantly delivering well-written guest posts on time.
6. Publish eBooks
Bloggers often earn money from their blogs by selling eBooks. Make a Living Writing and TheSheApproach are two successful examples of blogs utilizing this method.
By utilizing this revenue-generating technique, a blogger can create an eBook only once and receive ongoing passive income as long as it remains available online. Additionally, individuals with a substantial quantity of online material can transform their blog entries into book chapters.
In addition to promoting and selling an eBook on a blog, it’s worth exploring the possibility of publishing and selling it on Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Doing so is a simple, speedy, and cost-free process.
Bear in mind that the digital book must have original and practical information. It has to offer worthwhile benefits to be well-received and generate income.
These tips can simplify the process of eBook creation.
- Before starting to write, figure out your target audience’s problem and try to solve it in your eBook.
- Use free eBook templates to structure and design your eBook with ease.
- Find an editor on sites like Reedsy and Ebook Launch to edit the eBook.
7. Sell Products
Adding an eCommerce store to your website may be beneficial if you have ideas for products to sell. Your active blog can help establish customer trust and drive organic traffic, while the online store can generate revenue.
Adam Enfroy earned a monthly income of $1,221 in 2020 by vending digital products on his website, exemplifying a blogger who prospered. His effectiveness stemmed from identifying and fulfilling his audience’s demands.
If you’re looking for popular items to sell on the internet, check out websites such as Think with Google and Trend Hunter.
Remember that when selling tangible goods, you must select your business model. If you opt to purchase items from wholesalers, you’ll require storage room. On the other hand, if you choose to create the products yourself, a workspace may be necessary.
One other possibility aside from marketing tangible goods is to initiate dropshipping. This method enables a blogger to market merchandise without having to manage the inventory or oversee the shipping process.
If you’re searching for a blogging method that is less time-consuming and requires minimal maintenance, opting for digital product sales could be a wiser decision. Compared to other options, creating digital products involves lower initial expenses and less production duration.
Outlined below are a few profitable digital products that can be marketed:
- Photographs
- Worksheets
- Video tutorials
- Printable planners
If you want to start an online store on your blog and sell digital products, consider utilizing eCommerce solutions such as Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce, which offer all the necessary features for a fully operational store.
You might want to think about switching over to WordPress WooCommerce hosting in order to ensure that transactions on your website are secure and that users have a smooth experience.
