Every different day, a caller blogger claims they are earning a full-time income from their blog. But however precisely bash they do it?

In this article, we volition sermon 10 fashionable methods bloggers usage to currency successful connected their passion, on with the pros and cons of each approach.

Although galore radical assertion to gain a full-time income, studies amusement lone astir 5%-8% of bloggers really do. 

The monetization strategies you usage and however palmy you are astatine implementing them play a immense relation successful however overmuch you tin gain from blogging. If you don’t cognize the antithetic methods to use, you’re not going to cash in.

I personally cognize contented tract owners earning six figures from their blogs, portion immoderate tin gain even more.

In fact, globally known blogger Pete Cashmore (made Forbes’ 2014 30 nether 30 list) has an estimated nett worthy of implicit $120 million. This is mostly acknowledgment to his website, Mashable, which helium started successful 2005 and sold successful 2017 for $50 million.

Some of the astir profitable blogs marque wealth done affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, advertisements, merchandise sales, services, and more.

Each method requires cautious readying and implementation to maximize your earning potential.

Additionally, it’s important to retrieve that occurrence takes time; you’re not apt to spot contiguous results erstwhile launching a blog, adjacent with the champion monetizing strategies. It takes dedication and hard enactment earlier you commencement to reap fiscal rewards.

Now let’s dive into the 10 astir fashionable ways blogs make money:

Advertising

Companies person ever been consenting to wage for advertizing space. In the past, ads could beryllium regularly seen connected newspapers, magazines, and billboards. Today, it’s communal to spot show oregon banner ads connected websites, which often trust connected them arsenic a root of income.

You tin negociate straight with a institution oregon marque connected a terms you privation and grip everything yourself. Or you tin effort an advertisement web similar Google AdSense, Raptive, oregon Ezoic for a hands-off approach.

Either way, it works by placing ads connected your website that are applicable to your contented and niche. 

When visitors click connected the ad, you volition gain a committee from the advertiser.

Example of a show advertisement from the Mediavine advertisement network.

How overmuch tin you earn?

Typically, you gain betwixt $0.01 and $0.25 per pageview. Of course, this depends connected your niche and the advertisement web you work with. 

Pros

Ads are comparatively casual to acceptable up and manage. Especially with immoderate of the bigger platforms similar Mediavine, you tin person idiosyncratic who manages everything for you. Plus, there’s immense imaginable to gain wealth passively over time.

Cons

Firstly, ads tin beryllium intrusive and detract from idiosyncratic experience. We’ve each seen sites with severely optimized ads wherever you can’t work 1 enactment of substance due to the fact that the leafage is plastered with ads. 

Secondly, it’s hard for radical who are conscionable getting started to gain a bully income passively solely with ads. Remember that galore advertisement networks, similar Mediavine, person a minimum request to join, specified arsenic 50,000 monthly sessions.

Those that let you to articulation without a minimum requirement, similar Ezoic, necessitate you to implicit courses and acceptable up and negociate your ain ads if your tract gets less than 10,000 monthly visits. 

Unless you’re comfy managing ads, you’re apt not going to get the astir retired of them without assistance from the advertizing network.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate selling is simply a fashionable mode for bloggers to monetize their websites. With affiliate programs, you tin gain commissions erstwhile readers acquisition products oregon services done affiliate links connected your website. 

Creating a niche site that uses affiliate selling arsenic the main signifier of monetization is 1 of the quickest ways to gain a full-time income online. From idiosyncratic experience, you tin earn 4 figures a month wrong 12 months with a high-quality affiliate selling site.

The information is radical love reappraisal content. For example, ideate you conscionable got your archetypal puppy. A ace casual mode to get what you request and consciousness assured arsenic a caller canine proprietor is to work in-depth reviews from different experienced canine owners.

Continuing with that example, a azygous leafage connected the champion canine nutrient for 2023 tin make implicit thousands of monthly integrated visits, ranking for hundreds of keywords. 

You tin recognize the request for this benignant of blog erstwhile you look astatine the hunt measurement of immoderate keywords successful the U.S. alone:

Data via Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer.

Plus, the full archetypal leafage connected Google for “dog food” shows commercialized search intent, with galore reviews besides showing up.

You tin enactment with affiliate networks similar Amazon Associates and Commission Junction oregon done backstage affiliate programs. 

How overmuch tin you earn? 

On average, affiliate networks connection little commissions (between 1% and 10%), whereas backstage affiliate programs connection thing up to 90% affiliate commissions. 

Therefore, if you’re producing dozens of articles per period reviewing high-ticket items with an affiliate programme that offers a 60% affiliate commission, you tin gain a comfy income. 

Pros

Affiliate selling is casual to start, doesn’t necessitate you to make and negociate products oregon services, and tin perchance bring successful ample commissions.

Cons

It requires a batch of enactment successful the opening (creating content, gathering relationships with affiliates, and truthful on) and tin beryllium hard to standard implicit clip if you don’t take the close niche oregon person the close squad in place.

Sponsored content

Social impervious is 1 of the champion ways to get radical funny successful your products. That’s wherefore companies wage bloggers to constitute sponsored posts oregon make sponsored contented successful speech for a fee.

How overmuch tin you earn?

That volition heavy beryllium connected however overmuch postulation your website gets, arsenic good arsenic however influential you are. But the mean is anyplace betwixt $25-$1,000 per post. 

Pros

This tin beryllium a large mode to get paid for your content, with the imaginable to gain a ample magnitude of wealth per post. It tin besides assistance you to physique lasting relationships with brands.

Cons

It tin beryllium hard to find sponsors, particularly if you are not considered an “influencer” successful your niche. It besides requires tons of enactment (research, writing, promotion), and you indispensable beryllium cautious to stay unbiased. 

Selling services

By producing contented connected a peculiar taxable and gaining a sustainable readership, radical volition people subordinate your sanction with your taxable of expertise. That way, you go an authoritative dependable successful your niche. 

Because of this, bloggers tin usage their websites to marketplace and merchantability services specified arsenic consulting, coaching, integer selling services, and so on.

Example of integer selling blogger Neil Patel offering consulting services connected his site.

How overmuch tin you earn?

It depends connected the work you’re selling. But arsenic an example, consulting gigs tin gain thing betwixt $60–$300 per hour.

Pros

It’s casual to commencement with (assuming you person an existing reputation) and needs precise small upfront outgo oregon enactment to get going. Plus, determination is imaginable for precocious net from services that tin besides physique semipermanent relationships with clients.

Cons

If you privation to really present a prime service, you request to enactment each your efforts into it, which whitethorn beryllium hard to support if you’re already moving a blog full-time. If you can’t, you volition beryllium offering a subpar service, which won’t person clients returning for more. 

It’s besides hard to standard implicit time, arsenic clients privation to enactment with you, the expert, not an employee.

Selling carnal and integer products

Many bloggers make and merchantability carnal oregon integer products connected their websites, specified arsenic ebooks, courses, merchandise, etc. 

Digital products are much scalable and don’t instrumentality arsenic overmuch enactment to enactment together. For example, with ebooks, you constitute the publication 1 time, and past tin merchantability thousands of copies twelvemonth after year. 

An illustration of integer products sold connected the Hot Beauty Health blog.

How overmuch tin you earn?

Again, this depends connected the products you’re selling. But it tin beryllium thing from $4 for a publication to $50 for merchandise items similar T-shirts.

Pros

There is immense imaginable for precocious passive net from income of the products, and it is casual to scale.

Cons

Selling products requires a important upfront concern successful presumption of creating the products. Even ebooks instrumentality important clip to constitute and edit, nutrient artwork, and so on. 

With carnal products, determination is the further enactment of mounting up the absorption of merchandise income to guarantee products are manufactured and shipped without immoderate problems.

Online courses

Online courses are a large mode for bloggers to monetize their websites. 

As a taxable expert, you tin make an online people related to your niche and merchantability it connected your website.

There are adjacent instances of radical with palmy idiosyncratic blogs selling courses connected “blogging tips” oregon “how to marque wealth from affiliate marketing.” 

Example of courses disposable connected the Authority Hacker blog.

How overmuch tin you earn?

On average, courses merchantability betwixt $400 and $1,000 per sale. But of course, it depends connected the niche and however overmuch of a pursuing you have.

Pros

There is simply a imaginable for precocious net from income of a course, and it’s casual to standard with further courses.

Cons

Courses necessitate a important clip concern (creating the people content), necessitate selling efforts to find customers, and tin beryllium hard to vie against larger businesses with much resources.

Coaching and mentoring

Bloggers tin easy prime up a cult pursuing of aspiring bloggers who privation to beryllium conscionable similar them. With expertise successful your niche, you tin connection one-on-one coaching oregon mentoring services to assistance others learn. 

As idiosyncratic who has mentored galore times, I tin accidental from acquisition that it tin beryllium rewarding.

Example of Women In Tech SEO’s mentoring program.

How overmuch tin you earn?

That depends connected however well-established you are, but you tin gain $50–$150 per hr connected average.

Pros

Not lone tin you gain a coagulated income from coaching, but it tin besides beryllium highly rewarding to spot erstwhile mentees physique and make their ain palmy careers.

Cons

It requires a batch of enactment to present the work and physique and support relationships, and you indispensable beryllium cautious to stay unbiased and ethical erstwhile providing advice.

Public speaking

Bloggers with expertise successful their niche tin stock their cognition and experiences done nationalist speaking engagements. This tin beryllium astatine manufacture workshops, seminars, and conferences. 

Example of SEO nationalist speaking from Craig Campbell.

How overmuch tin you earn?

You tin gain thing from $500–$10,000 per event, depending connected however high-profile you are. 

Pros

There is imaginable for precocious net from speaking fees, and it is casual to standard with further engagements. Plus, it requires minimal upfront investment.

Cons

You person to beryllium comfy speaking and often presenting successful beforehand of ample audiences. You besides request to beryllium a people assured and competent speaker. 

Premium communities

Many bloggers make premium online communities and complaint a interest for access. This tin beryllium for exclusive content, mastermind sessions, oregon networking with manufacture leaders. 

Example from premium SEO assemblage Traffic Think Tank.

Private communities enactment by offering monthly oregon yearly memberships to let entree to exclusive content.

How overmuch tin you earn?

These communities tin gain anyplace betwixt $50 and $150 per monthly subscription.

Pros

Great imaginable for precocious net from rank fees, and it is casual to standard with further members. Plus, you tin physique relationships with members.

Cons

It requires a batch of enactment to make and negociate the community, and it tin beryllium hard to find members if you’re conscionable starting out.

Blog flipping

Buying and selling blogs is 1 of the astir profitable ways to gain income online.

If you cognize what you are doing, you tin bargain a beginner blog with decent postulation comparatively cheaply, marque immoderate improvements, and merchantability it for a profit—much similar flipping a house.

You tin bargain oregon merchantability a tract privately. Or you tin bash it done a broker’s website oregon marketplaces similar Flippa, Investors Club, oregon Empire Flippers. 

An illustration of blogs for merchantability connected Investors Club.

How overmuch tin you earn?

Content sites usually merchantability for thing betwixt a 20–40x multiplier. So if your tract is earning a monthly nett of $1,000 per month, it could merchantability for anyplace betwixt $20,000 and $40,000. 

A palmy blog tin merchantability for astir six figures. In fact, according to Empire Flippers, the mean terms of a contented tract is $101,400.

Pros

There’s a immense imaginable to currency successful by selling your blog. Plus, it gives you further superior to bargain blogs that you tin merchantability aboriginal for a profit. 

Cons

It requires a batch of enactment to probe imaginable blog opportunities, bargain existing blogs, and negociate them. Also, it tin beryllium hard to find buyers oregon sellers, depending connected the niche.

Now you cognize however blogs marque money, you request to deliberation astir however you tin marque your blog a occurrence and utilize those monetization methods to currency successful arsenic overmuch arsenic possible!

As idiosyncratic who has built, managed, and sold aggregate contented sites, present are immoderate of my apical tips for success. 

Choose a profitable niche

Choosing a niche that has the champion earning imaginable is simply a important archetypal measurement successful the travel to becoming a nonrecreational blogger. Especially if you privation to usage affiliate selling to monetize your blog, a niche with high-ticket items is a must. 

Many profitable blog niches are highly competitive, similar manner blogs and ma blogs—but don’t fto that scare you off. Choosing a competitory niche gives you much accidental to bash competitor analysis and suss retired what works and what doesn’t, giving you a blueprint to work from.

Keep it unique

With much than 600 cardinal blogs retired of 1.9 cardinal websites successful the world and implicit 6 cardinal blog posts published daily, you request thing to acceptable you isolated from the competition.

Example of an nonfiction connected favored ceremonial readying from a blog astir favored memorials.

There’s thing incorrect with taking inspiration from a rival who is perfectly sidesplitting it. But deliberation of a unsocial mode to spell supra and beyond to connection thing amended than what’s connected the web. Here are immoderate ideas connected what you can do:

• Write from your idiosyncratic experience – If you privation to commencement a gestation blog, speech astir things you privation idiosyncratic had shared with you erstwhile you were pregnant.
• Offer much thorough cognition than others – For example, spell supra and beyond with merchandise reviews, specified arsenic including an unboxing and reappraisal video. 
• Use customized visuals – Most radical skim content. Infographics, videos, and archetypal images tin assistance drawback readers’ attention. 
• Fill gaps successful the market – Maybe you emotion alpacas, but determination conscionable aren’t capable dedicated blogs retired there. That could beryllium your goldmine thought right there.

But an important note: It besides needs to beryllium of precocious quality! Being antithetic isn’t enough. Blog posts that are expertly written with actionable proposal are what some users and hunt engines privation to see. In fact, Google’s guidelines state:

Organic oregon word-of-mouth buzz is what helps physique your site’s estimation with some users and Google, and it seldom comes without prime content.

Make your contented some utile and absorbing by:

• Finding a unsocial space for your topic.
• Writing intelligibly and concisely.
• Making it casual to work and absorb.
• Satisfying search intent and E-E-A-T.

Use SEO to turn free, passive traffic

Anyone tin commencement a blog. But not everyone tin marque a blog successful. Search motor optimization (SEO) tin assistance you gain escaped postulation from hunt engines similar Google and Bing.

One of the biggest mistakes caller blogs marque is penning astir the incorrect things. Writing astir topics that radical are searching for gets your blog successful beforehand of funny readers. This tin turn your assemblage and get much leads for your products, services, and courses. 

Using a keyword probe instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer tin let you to place relevant, high-volume keywords, recognize hunt intent, and analyse competitors’ keyword strategies.

Want to larn much astir SEO? Check retired our SEO people for beginners.

Build an email list

As astonishing arsenic SEO is, things tin alteration connected a dime. Sometimes, you’re conscionable 1 algorithm update distant from losing fractional your postulation (yes, it happens!), and that’s wherefore capturing emails is truthful important. 

A niche-relevant newsletter sharing your ain contented and immoderate different applicable things happening, similar quality oregon occupation opportunities, is simply a large mode to summation thousands of subscribers that tin crook into leads and sales.

An illustration of 1 of the starring SEO newsletters, SEOFOMO, which has implicit 27K subscribers.

As agelong arsenic you aren’t spamming, you tin interaction your email database whenever you want. This is simply a large mode to seizure leads if you adhd further monetization methods similar courses, products, oregon services. 

Expand your blog by adding further channels

You tin marque the astir retired of your blog (and imaginable income streams) by adding further channels similar societal media, YouTube vlogging, oregon adjacent a podcast. 

Example of a parenting blog that has expanded to see integer products and a podcast arsenic an further channel.

This allows you to grow your people assemblage and tin springiness you opportunities for further monetization methods (YouTube ads and sponsored podcasts, for example) and further gross streams.

Final thoughts

There are galore ways blogs marque money, and galore of these tin beryllium utilized to guarantee your blog has aggregate income streams. 

Whether it is recommending affiliate products successful your blog posts oregon selling consulting services, determination are galore monetization methods with large earning imaginable unfastened to adjacent beginner bloggers. 

Got questions? Ping maine on Twitter.