Blogging is a fun hobby, but it’s nice to make money doing something you love. Did you know you can make money from your blog, even if it’s a new, small one? There are many easy to monetise your blog, some of which you can start working on straight away. If you want to turn your blog into a business, here are some ways you can monetise your blog!
Things To Know About Making Money
Making money on your blog is exciting. It opens new possibilities and allows you to work with your favourite brands. But there are things to consider before you start monetising your blog. Hobby blogging is simple, but when you start making money, there are some legal things to consider. Here are some key things you should know about making money on your blog
- There is a £1000 hobby allowance, but if you’re making regular blog income or going over the allowance, you need to register as self-employed. In the UK, you must declare your earnings and pay tax where applicable. For bloggers elsewhere, you should look into your tax laws and see what you can and can’t do.
- Being a digital nomad is exciting and means you can travel while working. But some countries require you to have a visa if you’re working abroad for long periods and making money while you’re there. Consider your visa type if you’re looking to travel and work abroad.
- Disclosing sponsorships and affiliate links is required and can be done using “AD” or “Sponsored”. You need to disclose your relationship with a brand when working with them. Where possible, use a no-follow link and avoid working with brands wanting a do-follow link.
- Don’t rush into making money. Your blog is your brand, and you want things to be consistent. While some people need the money, it’s worth considering what taking every opportunity does to your blog and its trust. Does the collaboration align with your views, and are you willing to stand by the brand?
Sponsored Blog Content
Sponsored blog posts are one of the most common ways of making money on your blog. Businesses will pay bloggers to write a post that their websites to gain backlinks and traffic. Where possible, you should only accept sponsored content that matches your blog niche and beliefs. There’s no point getting paid to promote a link for gambling if you don’t gamble. There are two main types of sponsored posts: whole blog posts, pre-written content and link inserts.
Blog posts are where a brand will ask for a dedicated blog post. For example, a yoga mat brand might ask for a blog post on the benefits of yoga. You’d write a blog post on the benefits while promoting and linking to their mats while you write. Pre-written content is where a brand will give you a blog post to publish on your blog. You get paid for hosting their article, which links to their products. Finally, a link insert is where you add the business’s link to a post you have already written. They might notice a blog post is doing well and want their products linked to in your post. These are all sponsored content, but the amount of work and price you charge will vary.
How To Charge For Content
You don’t want to be undercharging yourself for content. When a brand wants to pay for a link insert or sponsored post, you’ll want to consider a few things. If you have a higher traffic and DA score, you can increase your prices as the link will be more valuable. I surveyed over 150 bloggers to see what they were charging for their blog posts. The post also shares more about sponsored posts and collaborations for smaller bloggers. I’d recommend at least £50 for a sponsored post, but as you progress and grow, you can raise your prices! It’s also good to test the waters. You might be surprised to see brands paying more if they really want to work with you. I know bloggers who get thousands per blog post. Want to learn more about making money from sponsorships? Here are some other blog posts which can help!
- How to make a killer media kit that brands will love
- Guide to pitching to brands as a new blogger
- How to turn your blog into a full-time business
Affiliate Marketing
Anyone can make money from affiliate links. Affiliate marketing is where you use a dedicated weblink to promote a product or service on your blog. When a reader clicks the link and purchases something, you earn a commission for the sale! You can use affiliate links in any blog post. For example, you could write a gift guide and share the products you’d like to purchase. There are many affiliate schemes, and one of the easiest to start with is Amazon Affiliates. Amazon affiliates accept most bloggers, so it doesn’t matter what niche you write. Research different schemes to find ones that pay a higher commission and work best for your blog.
Many brands will have “become an affiliate” at the bottom of their website. So you might get a commission from some of your favourite brands! Most affiliate schemes will pay out monthly once you reach a certain amount in your pot. Unfortunately, affiliate marketing can be slow to start. Most places will only pay a small percentage of commission per sale you make. I’d recommend cashing out your earnings as soon as you reach the minimum or giving yourself a monthly payout. You don’t want cash sitting in an account if the brand closes your account or goes bust.
Avoid spamming your content with affiliate links. If there are lots of links, it can put readers off and look spammy. It also looks like you’re trying to make a sale rather than promoting something because you love it. Your readers trust your judgement, so only promote links you would purchase from yourself.
Sell A Product or Service
As your blog grows, you might have a service or product relating to your content that benefits other bloggers. It could be a course, a workshop or even a digital product with extra, exclusive information for paying customers. Put in the time to research your idea and see how it stands out against what others are offering. You can sell your services or products on your blog, through Shopify, Gumroad or even Etsy. There are many ways you can extend your free blog content into something people are willing to pay extra for. Here are some ideas for each niche that you could try!
Travel
- Offer holiday planning services.
- Sell your travel lightroom presets.
- Create a travel planner.
- Create cute wallpapers and prints from your travels.
- Sell your photographs.
Fashion/Beauty/Health
- Make and sell your fashion/beauty line.
- Offer styling or makeup services.
- Create jewellery that goes with everything.
- Offer personal training/ workout planning services.
- Have meal planning services.
- Create printable workout trackers.
Crafting
- Create craft kits and host a crafting class.
- Create cheat sheets and printables for your craft.
- Design printable colouring pages.
Lifestyle
- Offer personal growth/life coaching.
- Give freelance services to help other bloggers.
- Create educational/homeschooling printables for parents.
- Create a planning pack for “New Year, New Me”.
- Create a mindset guide.
Finance
- Create cute Excel budget spreadsheets.
- Design a budget planner.
- Offer budgeting or bookkeeping services
- Create a small business course/make money online.
- Create budgeting printables.
Home/interior
- Offer an interior design service.
- Sell your flipped furniture.
- Create home design/moving printables.
- Create a homeware line.
- Sell candles or other homemade decors.
Food
- Have a small catering service/make cake on the side.
- Sell meal prep/meal planners and printables.
- Create a recipe book (digital or physical)
- Sell your food photography.
- Create ads for food brands.
Advertising On Your Blog
There are two ways you can advertise on your blog and make money. The first way is using a third-party site such as Adsense or Mediavine. Display ads are a passive income as you don’t need to do anything. You get paid per click and impression on your content, so the more traffic you have, the more you make. Most ad signs have requirements for joining, so you’ll need to build up your blog and traffic before applying. I’d aim for around 25K page views a month, which seems to be the minimum for most sites and can offer you a good payout.
The other type of ads you can offer is ads for other bloggers. It’s where you build a package and promote bloggers for a month. For example, you could offer a backlink, social media promotion and a sidebar link for a month. Most bloggers have advertising for upwards of £5 a month. It’s not the best way to make money as a blogger, but if you offer five slots a month, you’ll make £300+ extra a year! Look at what other bloggers offer and be competitive. Most bloggers promote the same things for £5 a month, so it may be hard to get bloggers at first. Try to stand out and create a package that is different and beneficial. You could also share different package levels at higher prices.
There are lots of ways to make money blogging. You need to find something that aligns with your views and interests. There is no point in doing sponsored posts for brands you don’t like or selling printables if you wouldn’t use them yourself. Blogging can be lucrative if you put in the time and effort and stick with it. Unfortunately, you may not make money overnight. You may make £10 here and there, but a consistent income will take time to build. Don’t be put off if it’s not happening instantly. What are your favourite ways to make money blogging? I’d love to hear of the unique ways you’ve made money with your blog.
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