Most bloggers never make money from their blogs. That’s why in this episode, I’m covering 10 ways to make money as a blogger indirectly.
10 Ways to Make Money As A Blogger
What’s up you guys?!? Famous Ashley Grant here, and today I want to talk about how to make money as a blogger. One of the common misconceptions about blogging is that you can just start one day and then make a boatload of cash. Now, believe it or not, this actually is possible. But it’s the exception and certainly not the rule! There are some new bloggers who hit the virality jackpot with their very first post and start making money right off the bat. Again though, these folks are MAJOR OUTLIERS… for the rest of us….
We have to get a little creative if we plan to make money as a blogger. And the truth is we may never make money from our blog itself. In fact, according to Blogging.org, 81% of blogs never make more than $100 directly from their blog over the blog’s lifetime. That’s why many bloggers who are making a full-time living actually are doing it indirectly.
What You Need to Know to Make Money as a Blogger
Before we completely dive in, there are a couple of things you need to know about trying to make money as a blogger. First and most importantly, is that it’s going to take work. If you plan on using your blog as a get-rich-quick scheme, then this episode definitely isn’t for you, and I recommend that you go ahead and skip it.
To Make Money as a Blogger Directly
- You can add affiliate links and Google Adsense to start monetizing right away – even doing this though, you won’t make a bunch of money right out of the gate
- You’ll need to figure out your niche – the bloggers that make the most money have a niche – in fact, a lack of a solid one is what has prevented me from hitting it BIG
- You’ll need to add LOTS of QUALITY posts
- You then need to start getting eyeballs on those posts and even that might not be enough
It might get frustrating at times because if you are like most of the bloggers I know, you’ll have days/months, maybe even years, where you’re not making as much money as you would like.
You might not make “real” money for months or even years – maybe not EVER 🙁
It has taken some bloggers years to make more than a few hundred dollars from their blogs
Pro Jon Morrow of Smart Blogger worked 80-100 hrs a week for the first several years, and even now usually puts in at least 60 hours – but he makes $100,000 a month now on his blog! I recommend you read his guide on how to make money as a blogger – HOW TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING (FREE GUIDE FOR 2020)
To Make Money as a Blogger Indirectly
1. Email marketing
If you’re smart you’ve started growing an email list — and that list means you have potential income opportunity. I’ve told you guys before, that I’m really bad about this. I don’t have an email list, even though I know I should.
Think about what product or service you could sell to your email subscribers. Whether it’s your own product or someone else’s for which you get a cut of every sale, you’ve got a chance to get paid.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- Superfans: The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business by Pat Flynn (affiliate link)
- 29 Simple Ways to Grow Your Email List
- 6 Strategic Ways to Actually Make Money with Your Email List
2. Podcasting and YouTube
And again, this is not get-rich-quick. Sure, with YouTube you could go viral, and suddenly be able to make an influx of cash. But, like with blogging, this is the exception and not the rule.
If you have a strong speaking voice and think you could reach a broader audience, podcasting might be a good fit for you. While some people believe that it’s just as hard to build a podcast following as it is to build a blog following, others believe podcasting is more appealing in our fast-paced society because no one takes the time to read anymore.
As for YouTube, people love watching videos, so why not leverage that platform to make a little cash? Of course, you will need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watched hours before you can monetize with Google Adsense, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start making money right away. Product links, affiliate links, and links for your services can all be added to your description box!
You could simply read your blog posts to your viewers, tell your viewers about your blog posts, or show what you are writing about. For example, if you have a cake decorating blog you could create videos of you decorating cakes. Craft blog? Create short how-to clips. When you have enough source material, edit the clips into a full-length video that you can sell.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- How to Start a Podcast: A Step-By-Step Guide
- How to Start a YouTube Channel – Complete Guide for Beginners
3. Speaking Gigs
Depending on your message and your blog’s niche, you could start making money from speaking at various engagements. Say you’ve got a knack to describing how to build the best chicken coops; you might just be able to land a speaking gig at a farming conference.
Note: In lieu of cash, some speakers are paid with tickets and hotel reservations for the conferences or expos they’re participating in. That’s as good as cash to me, baby. Am I alone in that? Tweet me at @AshleyisFamous and let me know.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
4. Books
Develop a large enough knowledge base and you’ve got the opportunity to organize and distribute your knowledge in book form. Thanks to the joy of online publishing platforms like Kindle, Lulu and others, you don’t even need a publisher. You could also sell your book as a PDF downloadable directly from your website. Of course, you’ll use your blog to promote the books you create.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- How to Self-Publish a Book: 7 Simple Steps to Success
- How to Publish a Book in 2020: A Step-by-Step Guide for First-Timers
5. Hosting Workshops – live and virtual / Teaching Courses
It’s been said that it takes as much effort to write a book as it does to plan and sell a course. Why not do both? Take your lessons from your book and create videos with visual elements and combine them with group coaching to walk your students through every step of what you know. Bonus points if you get an outside sponsor to help subsidize your costs. You get more bonus points if you film everything that happens at the event and then sell the digital sessions. Ah, multiple levels of income potential from one event — it’s a beautiful thing!
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- How to Make Money With an Awesome Online Course
- How to facilitate a virtual workshop – Howspace
- Automated Webinar School – FREE
6. Consulting Gigs
As a blogger, you have set yourself up as an expert in your chosen field. You could become a consultant in your area of expertise. You might even look into consulting about blogging (although if you’re not making any money at it, you might want to give that potential income stream a pass until you are). Of course, some topics are more profitable than others, but if you’re interested in giving one-on-one advice there might be someone out there willing to pay you for your time.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- How to become a highly paid freelance consultant
- How to Get Started as a Paid Consultant to Companies
7. Social Media Management
As a blogger, you’re already learning how to use Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This is a valuable tool that many business owners are looking for. Perhaps you can manage their social media feeds for them and get paid while you do it!
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
8. Creating Digital and Physical Products
I’ve seen bloggers create everything from journals to planners, custom aprons to lipgloss, essential oil blends, spice kits, budgeting planners and so much more. You can easily create digital products with just your laptop and have them ready to sell as fast as you can create them. While physical products will take more time and resources, you can certainly develop those and make money too.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- 8 Steps to Creating and Launching Profitable Digital Products
- How to Create and Sell Digital Products: A Roadmap With 6 Ideas to Get You Started
- 101 Digital Products to Sell Online in 2020
- How to Make Money Selling Physical Products
- How to Succeed in Selling Physical Products Online
9. You Could Land A Swanky Nine to Five Gig
Perhaps the skills you have learned from running your blog make you a perfect candidate for a new “real job.” Your blog might be the ideal resume. Should you choose to go back to the dark side 9-to-5 world, you could keep building your blog on the side while bringing in a steady paycheck. If that’s how you want to roll, more power to you!
What are your favorite ways to make indirect blogging income? Please tweet me at @AshleyisFamous and let me know because I’m ALWAYS looking for additional revenue streams!
10. Ghostwriting and Freelance Writing
Now, before you tell me you’re not a writer, take a look at the number of posts you’ve written on your blog. If you’ve formed coherent thoughts into complete sentences, you’re a writer my friend. Maybe not a good one, but a writer nonetheless. With the decent portfolio your blog posts comprise, you can find yourself some freelance writing gigs — becoming a ghost blogger like me or pitching magazine, newspaper and website editors to write content for their outlets with your own byline.
Recommended reading if you want to use this method to make money as a blogger:
- How to Become a Ghostwriter for Beginners (Step-by-Step)
- How to Become a Ghostwriter, So You Can Land Ghostwriting Jobs
More Resources I Recommend If You Want To Make Money As A Blogger
— How Much Do Bloggers Really Make?
— Blogging Bullsh*t: Why Do Bloggers Keep Lying About Money?
— How Bloggers Make Money Blogging
— How to Make a Full-Time Income From Your Blog
— Can You REALLY Make Money Blogging? [7 Things I Know About Making Money from Blogging]
