How the Heck Do I Make Money on My Blog? (A Surprising # of Ways to Monetize)

When we consider the idea of building an online business, so many start off with reservations thinking it’s not a legitimate business, not like a brick and mortar business anyways.

The physical or ‘brick and mortar’ business is one that has been around for so long that to everyone, this is the ‘real’ way to start a business. Brick and mortar is a great way to create a business and sometimes our minds just find it easier to see how the results come, but don’t let ‘the norm’ or what others deem ‘real’ stop you from seeing the benefits of online business.

An online business is actually not much different than a Brick and Mortar business, but you can do it from home or around the world and you can often make just as much, if not way more money. Franchised brick and mortars make tons, but the small businesses, little coffee shops, etc are all businesses that tend to not make nearly as much money.

There are certain businesses that need to be brick and mortar; I like my coffee shop and the ambiance, I can’t get my teeth cleaned by a computer, a computer can’t (at this time….maybe in the Jetsons) make my dinner for me and clean it up.

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One of the biggest reasons I love online business is because of the flexibility and freedom of location and for the most part you have very little overhead.

Brick and mortar can be quite tough to start with high overhead in both leasing/buying space and the stock needed to get going. Startup costs can be anywhere from $50,000+.

When you start a Blogging Business (or most online businesses) you are able to start for as low as $100 (Hosting and theme included). If you want to start strong then you can add about $200-$3000 for programs and maybe another $1000 for marketing, but these expenses aren’t necessary and could be factored in after you’ve gotten your blog started. (Especially because we’ve put together a free email course to show you how to do it without all the big expenses).

One of my Blogging ‘soap boxes’ is to not allow yourself to stray too far from your current stage in business development. By this I mean, it can be overwhelming and very distracting to try to learn and understand everything about this business all at once or before you even get started.

Don’t let the rabbit hole of information on the web steer you from your goals.

This has been my downfall in the past and I know it to be true for many others. It’s like a swirl of information or like trying to get your 4-year bachelor’s degree in 1 year. It’s just not a good idea and you will find it much harder to make it.

 So, in light of this I am putting together this list in stages.

When you begin your blog and you want to monetize it, there are certain ways that are best to begin with and then there are some ways that you can adopt once you’ve gotten off the ground and you have found some success. This is by no means an in depth study of these methods, but a brief idea of how they can help you make money in a legitimate way. If you want to learn more about them, then try to focus on the ones that are best for your stage right now. (If you haven’t read my blog about the Stages of Blogging, then consider reading it and coming back here.)

MONETIZING IN THE PRE-STARTER/STARTER STAGE:

These are some great options that you may want to implement while you are building your blog and so may need to know more about them before you get too far into your blogging journey.

Google Ads:

For a long time I was not an advocate for Google Ads and truthfully I still don’t think that you can make much money with them, but that could change once you’ve reached a good audience number. Google Ads on their own may bring in $20-$100 per month (after a long time), it’s pretty weak in comparison to other methods and often Google Ads can be ugly or completely irrelevant to what your blog is about because it doesn’t populate ads based on subject.

However, after your audience reach is around 50,000 a month, then you will have an opportunity to start with an ad management company like Mediavine or Adthrive, where many bloggers make a good chunk of their monthly income. Ad Managers often use Google Ads, but will populate your website with ads that actually make sense with your subject (more on this below).

So, I advise to start with Google Ads and consider where you can put these on your website that will give you the most exposure on your page (Tip: Above the fold is always the best, but you may want to use that space later on for your own product/service advertisements, your right sidebar is also a great spot and throughout your articles). If you implement them now, then you will have the space for them when using ad management companies.

Affiliate Marketing:

Basically, Affiliate Marketing is when you put links in your blog that direct your readers to programs, services or products that were created by someone else. You would get a percentage of each sale if that person purchases the product because they came from your specific link.

It’s important to only put in Affiliate links to products, services/programs that you have knowledge about and experience with, otherwise it could be a dud and your reader will not thank you for that. Also, make sure to add in a disclaimer on your website (on each blog or in your footer area) to let people know that you are doing this, that you believe in the products you refer to them and that it’s one of the ways that you keep your great blog going.

If Affiliate Marketing interests you, then consider implementing links into your blogs from the beginning (this might be the hosting you used, the theme you used, a program you took, a product you love, etc). This is also one of the best ways most blogs make money online, so I highly recommend it.

MONETIZING IN THE STARTER/LAUNCH STAGE:

These ideas may be better to prepare when you have populated your blog and are now considering your launching phase, but take a look at the brief descriptions as something to keep in the back of your mind as you consider the ways you feel most comfortable monetizing your blog.

eBook:

Creating an electronic book that compiles important information about your particular subject that is valuable and exciting is a great method to increase income to your monthly balance. eBooks don’t need to just be informational, they can be:

• Journals/Doodling Journals
• Colouring Books/Images
• Stories
• Educational Materials
• Reviews
• Spotlight (Industry leaders – their biggest mistakes, their best tips, their most motivational stories)
• Workbook
• Inspirational or New Thoughts (Write about where you think the industry needs to go, where it’s lacking, where it’s doing something right)

You can compile some of the information you have put together on your website or you may have thought of a great eBook while you were preparing your blog. Once you’ve completed the Starter phase of your blog and are considering your Launch, then this is a great monetization method to consider.

Consulting:

Consulting may be something you can start as you launch your website or it may be something for later down the road, it all depends on your experience in life/work at this point. If you have worked in an industry for a while and have valuable information and means to help/support someone as a consultant, then this may be something you want to get off the ground right away. It may be the central focus of your business: To offer a service that helps people in your field of specialty (counselling/teaching/marketing/etc).

If you’re interested in this method, but you don’t feel you are prepared for this yet, then you can reconsider it down the road when you are more confident about your abilities.

MONETIZING IN THE MARKETING/SUCCESS STAGE: 

Some monetization methods require that you have some success under your belt before you start them. Here are a list of some of those methods:

Sponsored Posts:

Generally sponsored posts are when you write a review about a product or service for someone else. You might get someone who reaches out to you to do this and please only agree to try their product and to review only if you feel confident in doing so. Don’t promise a positive review. And if you say you’ll look at the product, then please do so, these people are just trying to get their product off the ground just like you and will be waiting for your reply. If you aren’t interested in their product or don’t have the time, then just be honest with them.

Sponsored Ads/Ad Management:

Some companies will ask you if they can pay you for sponsored ads on your website. Lots of blogs do this and have some small pics on the right sidebar that advertise for others. Generally you can expect about $50/month for this service and it will only be interesting to companies if you have enough audience to make it worth their money (30K+ per month).

But truthfully, if you are considering this method and you have around 30K audience per month, then I would suggest going with ad management instead with companies like Mediavine or Adthrive. Their ads often look nice and are far more relevant to your website.

Online Course:

This, like consulting, may be something that you can create before you launch, but truthfully, even if you are an expert in your field, it’s incredibly difficult to ‘cold’ sell a course to someone. To get the best results for an online course, you need to build an audience that believes in you and believes that your course will be worth the money. They will need to have a bit of a relationship with you and trust you. Courses can be expensive and truthfully, the more audience you have and the longer you’ve been around giving valuable advice, the higher you can put your price point. Some start at around $197 and can go up significantly from there ($10K+)

Online courses should be created once you know what your audience is craving from you most or else you might create a course, spent that time and money, on something no one really needs.

Online courses can bring you a great income. They can boost your blog into expert level, help you go from 5 or 6 figures to 7 figures. It’s a great method, just make sure it’s the right time.

Private Member Area:

Private member areas can be for just about any subject, but offers a space that gives regular impactful information/content to its members with added perks. This might start with a course that has a member area attached to it (on FB, in a forum, etc) or it might be just the member area where the audience has access to you, the expert, that will help them in webinars, group discussions, etc to get their business off the ground or get the support they need in whatever area of expertise you offer. It could also be regularly updated products (photos, templates, classes, etc) Like the online course, the private member area could be created once you have an audience that trusts you and wants to learn your information above all others. Or perhaps this is the model you want to start with, in which case offering a free trial to get people hooked on the amazing content and support you offer is a good way to go.

Generally, people price the membership area anywhere from $1/month (I know someone who made $10K per month for a photo membership site that cost it’s members $1/month. He used his already large inventory of images as a photographer to get this started and the low cost in comparison to competitors drew lots of people to sign up) and prices can go up to $50+/month. Here’s a short list of examples:

• PencilKings: Learn to draw in this educational monthly membership for $19.95/month
• ReflexionYoga: Online yoga from anywhere, at anytime for as low as $9/month
• Leadpages: Use their great Landing Page templates to bring in more customers to your site for $48/month
• Guitartricks: Guitar lessons for any level for as low as $19.95/month

This list could be miles long, but as you can see, you can build a membership site for just about any subject.

Now that you have a brief idea of how you can monetize your business, you can get an idea of where you might want to go with your blog. Just remember, it’s not really a business until you are making money, otherwise it’s just a hobby.

Although many people don’t really understand online business or feel that it’s a ‘real’ type of business, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Even big successes like Marie Forleo have said that people she know don’t ‘get’ her business.

But, it continues to be a growing global industry that needs to be embraced and encouraged since it’s going to be around for a while. It can actually be pretty eco-friendly (take up less space, often only need a computer, many of your products are on the cloud and doesn’t end up in the dump, etc), it doesn’t require a degree and can bring a great income into the home.

Which of these methods do you like most for your blogging business? Tell us your ideas below!