5 Types of Blogs That Make Money

1 year ago 151

Looking for the champion benignant of blog to marque money? Let’s look astatine immoderate data first:

  • About 15% of bloggers marque a full-time income from blogging ($30K a year). 
  • About 31% of bloggers marque a decent broadside income from blogging ($6K a year).
  • 6%–10% of bloggers marque implicit $10K a month. 
  • You tin realistically marque $25K–$50K successful your archetypal twelvemonth of blogging. 
  • The astir palmy blogs marque implicit $100K a month.

Looks similar nonrecreational blogging whitethorn really beryllium a bully idea. You tin marque a full-time income oregon a decent broadside income. You tin adjacent ain respective blogs, prosecute copywriters, and multiply your earnings. 

But similar successful each different business, cipher tin warrant your blogging concern volition enactment out. It usually takes years to beryllium financially autarkic done blogging. Your archetypal measurement is deciding connected the benignant of blog you privation to run. 

With that said, present are the 5 types proven to make money. 

Probably the astir fashionable benignant of blog created with the intent of making money. This benignant of blog volition instrumentality a heavy dive into a peculiar niche oregon taxable to screen arsenic galore topics arsenic imaginable (to maximize traffic) oregon conscionable the ones that are acceptable for the blog’s angle. 

Topics are usually picked by the criteria of:

  • Traffic imaginable (mostly integrated postulation from hunt engines).
  • The quality to monetize postulation (for instance, immoderate topics volition gain lone from ads portion others volition besides beryllium a bully acceptable for merchandise placement).
  • Popular requests from readers. 
  • Trends.  

Here are immoderate profitable blog niches with a database of emblematic contented and blog examples: 

NicheTypical contentBlog exampleLast monthly income reportPageviews (from past income report)
Food and cookingRecipes categorized by benignant of repast and diet, cookware reviews, tips and tricks, listiclesPinch of Yum$95,196 (source)4.245M
Health and wellnessFood, relationships, fitness, beauty, psychologyHot Beauty Health$9,655 (source)208.6K
ParentingPregnancy, kid raising advice, merchandise reviews, nutrient recipes, stay-at-home genitor jobs, kid activities, household tipsThe Soccer Mom Blog $11,288 (source)500K
NewsAnything newsworthy successful 1 niche oregon aggregate niches (also gossip)HuffPostAcquired by AOL successful 2011 for $315M, past acquired by BuzzFeed (source). According to this source, it generates $14M/mo.5.8M (monthly integrated postulation March 2023, via Ahrefs)
TechSoftware and hardware reviews, exclusive deals, however to usage bundle tools, comparisons, listicles, making wealth online, tech news, buying guides, gaming99signals$5,242 (source)18K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, via Ahrefs)
Personal developmentLife hacks, fiscal freedom, wellness, psychology, motivation, spirituality, fitnessLet’s Reach Success$6,652 (source)115.5K
PetsPet health, merchandise reviews, activities for pets, traveling with pets, favored adoption, training, tips, listiclesYou Did What With Your Weiner$7,720 (includes income extracurricular of the content, source)40K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, via Ahrefs)
EntrepreneurshipMaking wealth online, starting a business, interviews, implicit courses, how-tos, inspirationSmart Passive Income$166,559 (source)68K (monthly integrated postulation connected the day of the report, each blogs, via Ahrefs)
FinanceInvesting, redeeming money, retirement, fiscal merchandise reviews, buying guides, household finance, mortgages, gig economy, debt, vocation advice, entrepreneurship, fiscal freedomMillennial Money$33,473 connected mean (source)1.5M visits in 2017
FashionOutfit ideas, location decor, beauty, benignant tips, acquisition ideas, listicles, purchaser guidesChic Pursuit$11,376 (source)135.3K
LifestyleAnything related to solving life’s problems and surviving a happier lifeAbby Organizes$41.7K (source)Over 400K
TravelCity guides, listicles, traveling tips, cogwheel and determination reviews, beingness connected the road, integer nomadismLocal Adventurer$41K (source)541.8K
DIY/craftsDIY decorations, DIY play projects, handcraft tutorials, beingness hacks, merchandise reviews, nutrient recipes, DIY repairs, renovationsJennifer Maker$15,158 (source)125.4K

Recommendation

If you’re superior astir blogging, instrumentality immoderate clip to work done the income reports linked above. At slightest a fewer of them. You’ll find immoderate unsocial and inspiring stories and often large concern tips.

The supra database astir most apt doesn’t amusement each imaginable lucrative niches. But here’s a speedy extremity to cheque if a niche is profitable: hunt for affiliate programs successful that niche. 

Look for affiliate programs successful  a niche to spot    if it's perchance   profitable

Type 2. Affiliate/review blogs 

While practically each niche blog volition reappraisal products to gain commissions, determination are blogs that absorption lone connected that (and crook it into art). 

But wherefore reviews? There are 2 reasons.

Number #1 is the demand. People crook to in-depth reviews made by radical with first-hand acquisition to assistance them marque a choice. Especially if the merchandise is costly oregon determination are a batch of alternatives. 

For instance, a azygous leafage connected the champion headphones for 2023 tin make implicit 12K successful integrated visits each month, ranking for hundreds of keywords related to headphone reviews. You tin get a consciousness of the request for this benignant of work erstwhile you look astatine the hunt measurement of immoderate keywords successful the U.S. alone:

Search measurement   of keywordsData via Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

In fact, the full #1 leafage connected Google for “headphones” shows commercialized search intent with reviews showing up as well. 

SERP overview for "headphones"

Secondly, affiliate programs are typically a important portion of a blogger’s earnings. For example, the Smart Passive Income blog generated astir 63.4% (over $100K) of its income from affiliate deals. 

SPI's income report

Some blogs reappraisal each kinds of products that connection commission, portion others absorption connected a peculiar niche specified arsenic tech gadgets oregon parenting products. As agelong arsenic there’s an affiliate programme for the merchandise oregon the merchant (seller) tin connection you a deal, immoderate merchandise niche tin beryllium profitable. 

If you’re funny astir the ingredients of occurrence for this benignant of blog, cheque retired our lawsuit studies: 

Tip

Getting escaped postulation from Google to your reviews is decidedly possible, but it’s not easy. For Google, pages with merchandise reviews are of peculiar interest, truthful marque definite you’re pursuing Google’s guidelines.

Starting a idiosyncratic blog is astir apt the easiest thing. You tin constitute conscionable astir anything—it’s your blog. But a idiosyncratic blog designed to marque wealth is thing a spot different. 

Of course, it has that unique, idiosyncratic tone. It’s written from a idiosyncratic constituent of view, but it does request to person a strategy to monetize “something.”

That thing can be:

Or it tin beryllium thing nary 1 has ever done before. I mean, earlier I discovered Gala Darling’s blog, I wouldn’t situation to deliberation you could monetize EFT tapping sessions (a existent thing, look it up). 

In presumption of topics and contented formats, determination are nary rules for idiosyncratic topics. They tin speech astir everything and anything. What’s emblematic for these blogs, though, is that they connection immoderate benignant of contented upgrade oregon a product, specified arsenic a publication oregon a course. 

A blog selling author's books

Type 4. Personal brand blogs

Personal marque blogs are blogs with the sole intent of making one’s sanction successful the business. What sets them isolated from idiosyncratic blogs is that their contented is simply a batch much focused connected the manufacture the marque is set in. 

Here are immoderate emblematic contented formats you volition find connected such blogs: 

  • How-to guides
  • Tutorials and courses 
  • Definition posts
  • Original research 
  • Feature merchandise notes
  • Opinion pieces 
  • Case studies 
  • Listicles 
  • Product reviews 
  • Podcasts
  • Videos 
  • Products and/or services
  • Free resources: tools, cheat sheets, checklists, templates, etc

An illustration of specified a blog is Charli Marie. It’s tally by a decorator whose idiosyncratic ngo is “to assistance anyone other who falls successful emotion with plan to win successful their careers.” Charli uses assorted acquisition contented (articles, videos, podcasts) to cater to an assemblage of implicit 250K people.

As you tin imagine, that benignant of assemblage helps Charli turn her marque successful the plan business. But connected apical of that, she monetizes her designation by offering paid speaking engagements, mentoring, tract audits, and an archetypal hand-made font. 

Personal marque  blog selling services and products

Type 5. Business/corporate blogs 

The intent of concern and firm blogs is to beforehand products, services, and brands owned by the business. 

This is usually achieved by creating acquisition contented astir the merchandise oregon work successful bid to pull and clasp customers. Typical contented formats you volition find connected specified blogs see these: 

  • How-to guides
  • Definition posts
  • Original research 
  • Interviews 
  • Feature merchandise notes
  • Opinion pieces 
  • Case studies 
  • Listicles 
  • Company news 
  • Free resources: cheat sheets, checklists, templates, etc

The blog you’re speechmaking close present is an illustration of this type. By regularly publishing and updating SEO content, we make an estimated 641K visits from hunt engines each month. We’d request to walk astir $838K each period to get akin postulation from ads. 

Organic postulation   to the Ahrefs Blog

Blogs owned by large corporations thin to beryllium little astir acquiring customers and much astir providing an outlet for the institution to pass with the audience. For instance, Apple calls its blog the Newsroom. The benignant of worldly it writes astir is releasing a caller iPhone colour oregon a communicative astir however the institution supports sustainable farming. 

By the way, a firm blog similar that tin beryllium a bully thought for catching branded keywords that are hard to screen anyplace else. 

Branded keywords

How to find proven blog station topics

Writing what you privation and however you privation tin beryllium precise satisfying. It’s 1 of the champion things astir having a blog. But if you privation your blog to marque money, a bully information of your contented should beryllium based connected existing request for information, products, and services. 

One of the champion ways to gauge that request is to larn what radical hunt for online. And the champion portion astir it is that erstwhile you fertile for applicable hunt queries, you tin get a free, passive, and compounding root of traffic. 

Here are 3 basal methods. They tin springiness you taxable ideas adjacent if you’re not an adept successful the taxable or niche.

1. Do keyword research

Keyword probe is the process of discovering invaluable hunt queries that your people customers benignant into hunt engines similar Google to look for products, services, and information. 

There are galore techniques to bash keyword research, truthful I’ll nexus to immoderate astatine the extremity of this section. The basal process goes like this:

  1. Get a instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
  2. Enter effect keywords related to your niche, e.g., seo, integer marketing, online marketing, online business
  3. Use filters to refine the results and find the champion keywords for your website 
Basic keyword research

How bash you cognize which keywords volition beryllium the champion for your website?

  • Your keywords should person postulation potential.
  • You tin lucifer the hunt intent down your keywords.
  • Your keywords tin bring invaluable postulation (i.e., postulation you tin monetize). 
  • You tin fertile for those keywords.

For instance, you tin look for low-competition keywords that could get your blog ranking comparatively fast. For this, you tin usage the Keyword Difficulty filter (KD), Lowest DR filter, and Traffic Potential minimum of 100. In this case, you’ll get astir 3K imaginable keyword ideas.

Looking for low-competition keywords

2. Analyze different blogs successful the niche 

Having integrated competitors has its bully sides. You tin get keyword ideas from idiosyncratic else’s website.

In Ahrefs, determination are 2 useful tools you tin usage for that. 

The archetypal is Site Explorer. You tin paste immoderate URL and observe integrated (and paid) keywords that the URL is ranking for. 

Organic keywords study  successful  Ahrefs

The 2nd is our Content Gap tool. It shows you keywords that your competitors fertile for, but you don’t. It’s a shortcut to discovering bully keyword ideas that you haven’t targeted already. 

Content Gap instrumentality   successful  Ahrefs

3. Discover high-performing contented successful your niche 

You tin besides travel up with bully topics by researching already existing contented alternatively of keywords. You tin bash that utilizing Content Explorer

The archetypal method is to look for pages that get precocious integrated postulation without galore backlinks (a cardinal ranking factor, but they’re hard to get). 

  1. Enter a taxable and acceptable the mode to “In title”
  2. Set the filters: Referring domains up to 10, Page traffic min. 500, and acceptable the language you privation the results in 
High integrated  postulation   without galore  backlinks—research successful  Ahrefs' Content Explorer

The 2nd method is to look for contented ideas that make links. They won’t needfully bring you a batch of traffic, but the links they tin make tin boost your wide SEO. 

  1. Enter a taxable and acceptable the mode to “In title” 
  2. Set filters: Referring domains from 200, the language of the page 
Content that gets links—research successful  Ahrefs' Content Explorer

If you’re looking for contented that did good connected Twitter and Pinterest, determination are filters for that too. 

You tin opt to amusement lone pages with a minimum stock fig oregon benignant the results by shares.

Filtering results by societal  shares successful  Ahrefs' Content Explorer
Sorting results by societal  shares successful  Ahrefs' Content Explorer

So however is wealth made successful the blogging industry, actually? There are astatine slightest 9 ways, and you tin usage astir of them simultaneously. 

1. Advertising

Advertising monetizes your postulation straight successful the simplest mode possible. The much traffic, the much you earn. 

On average, bloggers marque $0.1 to $0.5 per pageview from advertisement networks (source). 

You tin motion up with an advertisement web similar Google AdSense straight oregon usage an advertisement absorption level (which seems to beryllium the communal solution). Some of the fashionable advertisement absorption platforms are AdThrive, Mediavine, and Ezoic.  

To illustrate, Pinch of Yum generated astir 55% ($52,313.13) of its income from ads successful November 2017. You can’t miss the ads connected the website. 

Advertising connected  blog example

2. Affiliate programs 

Affiliate programs let bloggers to gain a committee whenever their visitors bargain a merchandise aft clicking connected an affiliate link. It’s earning wealth by recommending things. 

With ads, you get paid based connected the fig of radical that visited the leafage with the ad. But the barroom is higher with affiliate programs—your contented has to entice idiosyncratic to marque a acquisition decision. But you tin perchance gain much done affiliates. 

Plus, this method doesn’t clutter your blog with ads. Of course, you tin usage some methods. 

Here’s an example. We sojourn Jennifer Maker wherever we spot a usher connected however to marque a heart-shaped detonation box. Everything looks great, truthful we privation to marque that decoration. Here’s a buying database with links to Amazon. 

Affiliate links example

Each 1 has an affiliate programme tag. So if we buy, Jennifer earns a percent of that (which she discloses connected her blog). Everyone’s happy. 

Jennifer earned lone 1.73% ($261.91) from affiliate programs successful her past income report. But arsenic we’ve seen earlier with the Smart Passive Income blog, affiliate programs tin gain you a hefty sum and go the pillar of your income. 

There are rather a fewer affiliate programs retired there. Some wage arsenic small arsenic 3%, immoderate 50%, and you tin get up to 90% committee connected uncommon occasions. A fewer fashionable affiliate platforms are Amazon Affiliate Program, ShareASale, and ClickBank

Tip

Most of the clip you volition beryllium capable to spot sponsored links (affiliate and others) done the “sponsored” and “nofollow” nexus attributes. By utilizing a instrumentality similar Ahrefs, you tin get a database of those links connected immoderate website and spot if you tin usage the aforesaid affiliate programme oregon get a akin deal.

How to find   sponsored links connected  immoderate  site

3. Sponsored content 

In this monetization method, you make 1 oregon a bid of contented pieces (articles, societal media posts, newsletters, etc.) dedicated to promoting a azygous brand. It usually comes successful the signifier of a merchandise review, usher connected utilizing the product, oregon merchandise placement. 

Sponsored nonfiction  example

It’s a woody based connected participation. The visitant doesn’t request to bargain the product, and you get rewarded per published contented (and not views similar with ads). 

For example, Hot Beauty Health reported earning 39.37% ($3.8K) of her monthly income by doing six sponsored station campaigns (articles + societal media). 

Furthermore, she didn’t adjacent request to scope retired to the sponsors. They reached her done marque networks she signed up for. 

Indeed, determination are services wherever contented creators tin motion up and hold for the sponsored station accidental to travel oregon take a concern they suffice for and negociate a deal. A fewer examples are IZEA, Impact Radius, oregon Captiv8

Of the monetization methods covered truthful far, this is the astir “exclusive” one. How overmuch you gain depends connected your estimation successful a peculiar niche, the prime of your content, and the size of your regular audience. 

Once you get Pinch-of-Yum-famous (or adjacent somewhat little famous), you practically go an online mag and tin enactment like one: 

Pinch of Yum has its ain  "work with us" pagePinch of Yum has its ain “work with us” page.
Case studies connected  the Pinch of Yum blogIt adjacent posts lawsuit studies, a nonrecreational move.

4. Selling products 

Your blog tin beryllium an e-commerce level too. You tin usage it to merchantability others’ products oregon adjacent your ain products. 

Well, “e-commerce” whitethorn beryllium an overstatement here. Most bloggers don’t really store products oregon adjacent bash dropshipping. They conscionable marque it look similar a shop. 

For example, astatine Love & Lemons Shop, each the links pb to Amazon. The archetypal 3 products are original; the remainder are third-party products with affiliate links. 

Affiliate store  connected  Love & Lemons' blog

Here’s different example. The Financial Samurai utilized the blog to make and beforehand his best-selling publication “Buy This Not That.” 

Financial Samurai utilized  his blog to make  and beforehand   his book

Here’s an absorbing illustration from Smart Passive Income. What is fundamentally a directory of affiliate links feels similar the champion buying acquisition for tools for online entrepreneurs. All acknowledgment to SPIs’ archetypal contented and reputation. 

Recommended tools with affiliate links

Can blogs merchantability their ain carnal products done their own stores? Sure, mindbodygreen supplements are a bully example.

Blog selling its ain  carnal   products done  a proprietary store

5. Online courses 

A precise fashionable enactment among bloggers. 

Interestingly enough, 1 of the astir fashionable types of courses I’ve seen truthful acold is online entrepreneurship courses, specified arsenic making wealth by blogging. 

Online courses, similar immoderate different archetypal products, are successful the sky-is-the-limit class erstwhile it comes to income. To illustrate, Melyssa Griffin earned “only” $25,572 from affiliate programs portion a staggering $258,108 from an online course. In one month. 

Income study  from a blogger

All you request to make an online people is your archetypal content. There are affordable tools that volition screen the tech broadside and payments for you, specified arsenic Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi.

6. Subscription-based membership

With this method, you’re offering entree to peculiar contented oregon a assemblage gathered astir the blog connected a recurring outgo plan. 

To exemplify specified a concern model, let’s spell backmost to Gala Darling. On the blog, Gala shares her beingness doctrine and teaches idiosyncratic improvement techniques, self-love, and empowerment. 

She besides offers 2 subscription packages priced astatine $44/mo and $99/mo. Subscribers get entree to exclusive contented and a assemblage for radical EFT tapping (an existent self-healing method, contempt the appearance). 

Subscription-based membership

There is an full blogging level based connected this monetization method: Substack. This is 1 of your options for monetizing a blog too. 

The benefits of utilizing Substack are it is simply a turnkey publishing level with built-in payments and support; you tin besides get subscribers wrong the Substack network. However, you won’t beryllium capable to tally ads oregon adhd affiliate links. 

Monetization with Substack examples

Just similar with ecourses, the tools for paid communities are already there. Try Patreon, Memberstack, Slack, oregon adjacent Facebook. 

7. Events and speaking 

Some radical who tally idiosyncratic oregon idiosyncratic marque blogs connection others the quality to prosecute them for events and speaking.

But this is simply a monetization method with a precocious introduction barrier. You request to beryllium a recognizable fig successful your niche. But erstwhile you’re there… 

… you could beryllium similar Tom Bilyeu of Impact Theory and gain up to $100K successful speaking fees (source).

A blogger's speaking fees

8. Coaching and mentoring 

Unlike nationalist speaking, you don’t request to beryllium celebrated to connection paid coaching. You conscionable person to beryllium truly bully astatine what you do—and your blog tin prove it. 

Actually, your blog tin beryllium that you’re bully astatine blogging, and that is the worth you tin monetize. That’s precisely what Practical Wanderlust does: 

Example of coaching being monetized

Coaching and mentoring tin beryllium the cleanable monetization enactment if your blog is astir solving nonrecreational challenges: marketing, web design, management, SEO, and so on.

9. Selling the blog 

Last but not least, you tin marque wealth by selling the blogs you own. 

Selling the blog tin beryllium your extremity from time one. Or if aft immoderate clip you determine that blogging is not for you, you don’t request to hide everything. Someone whitethorn beryllium funny successful buying the blog, adjacent if it’s for the domain and links that you earned. 

To illustrate: On Flippa, astatine the clip of writing, determination are 1,134 blogs for merchantability selling for arsenic precocious arsenic $4.7M.

Number of blogs for merchantability  connected  Flippa

You don’t adjacent person to commencement a blog from scratch to merchantability with profit. You tin “flip” a blog: bargain a blog that already makes immoderate revenue, amended it, and past sell. Repeatedly. 

Before we wrapper this conception up, determination whitethorn beryllium adjacent much ways to monetize than the mentioned 9 (depending connected the niche). For example, according to Pinch of Yum’s ebook, determination are arsenic galore arsenic 16 ways you tin monetize a nutrient blog. Did you cognize that you could marque wealth by processing recipes and licensing them? 

Final thoughts 

So present you cognize what types of blogs tin make an income, however to find traffic-generating topics adjacent if you don’t cognize thing astir the niche, and 9 ways to monetize your blog (or blogs). 

But however astir really penning a blog post? We’ve got you covered—check retired our guide to penning blog posts that radical volition really privation to read. 

What’s next? Learn however to beforehand your blog done assorted selling channels and a fig of tried and tested tactics: 

Got questions oregon comments? Let maine cognize on Twitter oregon Mastodon.

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