How Do Bloggers Make Money? The Basics

In this day and age, you have probably heard about bloggers and what they do. They are online writers who find happiness in putting down their ideas and thoughts through writing.

At least, this is what we all think about them until they start treating their blogs as a business and living off it.

Well, blogging has offered thousands of people job opportunities that they never dreamed of. Yes, I’m talking about making that kind of money that can afford you a vacation in a luxurious hotel far from home.

So, how exactly do they do it? There are numerous ways of making money from blogs, but the best ways depend on the amount of traffic you command and your niche.

How Do Bloggers Make Money?

Some of the most common monetization methods used by bloggers:

1. Affiliate Marketing.

In between your reading routines, you must have come across the term “Affiliate Marketing” and wondered what it means or perhaps how it works. So, what exactly is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is an online marketing strategy used by companies to increase sales of their products and services by partnering with bloggers and other online marketers who refer visitors or readers to their products using unique affiliate links assigned to them. In return, bloggers earn commissions when a particular product or service is bought using their affiliate link.

This is one of the most favorite and passive monetization methods used by most bloggers.

Generally, bloggers make money using these three main approaches to affiliate marketing:

• Private affiliate programs – This approach involves signing up directly with an individual or a company that you want to promote their product or service. This is actually my favorite.
• Affiliate Networks –These are sites that host a large number of affiliate programs for various companies. They are convenient affiliate networks for bloggers because they provide a platform that allows bloggers to sign up for different products or services using a single account. This way, they can have access to thousands of services and products to promote. A good example of this is the JVZoo affiliate network.
• Affiliate shopping sites –This approach involves partnering with online shops to promote their products and services. For instance, if your blogs involve writing reviews on particular products, then online shops like Amazon could be a great money-making tool for your blog. In this case, Amazon associates is an amazing affiliate shopping site.

2. Selling Digital Products.

Whereas most have settled on advertising and affiliate marketing as their main income source, other bloggers make money by selling digital products.

Selling digital products is an amazing way of earning from blogs because it does not require any inventory and the bloggers have access to full payment instead of commissions. However, for a blogger to successfully harvest from this venture, they have to understand the market demand from their readers and then develop a digital product that meets their needs.

One of my all-time favorite bloggers is Michelle of MakingSenseofCents. She is making a considerable amount of money selling her affiliate marketing course. You should check it out.

• Examples of digital products that bloggers can develop and sell include:
• E-books
• Photos
• Audio and video contents
• E-courses
• Apps and Themes
• Membership sites

3. Ad Networks

This is one of the most popular ways bloggers make money and perhaps the easiest monetization method by bloggers. Generally, there are two types of the most popular ads commonly used by bloggers, namely:

• CPM Ads: CPM Ads, also known as cost per 1000 impressions, are ads that pay bloggers a certain fixed amount of money based on the number of people that viewed the advert from business entities. The higher the number of views, the higher the amount of money paid to bloggers.
• CPC or PPC: Cost per click, also known as pay per click, are sidebar, footer, header, or inside post banners that display third-party advertisements. Any time a reader clicks on the advert, the blogger is paid for that click. Some of the most popular networks for placing these ads are Google AdSense and Mediavine. With these types of networks, bloggers have no direct contact with the advertisers. How it works is they will place advertising banners or buttons all over your blogs’ relevant content and when someone either clicks or views these ads, the blogger gets paid. There are several other ad networks and bloggers are at liberty to hop from one ad network to another if one does not work for them.

4. Direct Advertisement.

In addition to the ad networks, bloggers make money by selling direct adverts. Depending on the amount of traffic a blogger commands, advertisers can directly contact bloggers and ask them to place their ads on their site.

Bloggers, too, can reach out to advertisers and ask for advertisement contracts. Unlike ad networks, bloggers working on direct advertisement have direct contact with the advertisers. They can negotiate rates and agree on the type of advert to air depending on whether or not the adverts are fit for their audience consumption.

The advantage of a direct advertisement system is the flexibility and control bloggers have over certain things. Some bloggers prefer direct advertisement to ad networks. However, with both, traffic is the key to the bloggers’ success.

5. Selling Personal Products and Services.

Although it is not the most popular practice amongst bloggers, there is a significant number of bloggers who actually make a lot of money from selling personal products and services using their blogging platforms.

Blogs offer a perfect platform for creative bloggers to sell their products and services. Thanks to the direct contact they have with their clients, who in most cases happen to be their readers.

With the readily available market, bloggers can earn from selling manufactured products, e-books, and even homemade products, among others.

Besides selling products, bloggers can also make money from selling their services. Of course, everyone has a skill that someone else or business requires; hence offering services in your area of expertise is a great way to make money from blogging. Unlike selling products, bloggers make high profits from selling their time and expertise. Some of the services bloggers can offer include:

• Consulting and training.
• Web designing.
• Freelancing services.
• Virtual assistance.
• Event management services.
• Public speaking.
• Social Media management.
• Online coaching.
• Sponsored Content.

5. Posting Sponsored Posts

A blog-sponsored post works similarly to sports sponsorship, TV shows, and all other sponsorship deals where companies pay bloggers to write content about their products or services and promote it to their readers.

This can be a form of permanent advertising and some more experienced bloggers with high traffic blogs earn thousands of dollars posting sponsored content.

To get started, one is required to put together a media kit that shows traffic statistics, audience demographics, social media following, or any other data that is likely to spark the interest of advertisers.

He or she can then approach various companies and negotiate for a sponsored deal. However, there are rules governing sponsored posts and one may be required to disclose if a post is sponsored or not.

In closing

Blogging is a lucrative venture and there is no limit to what you can offer using your blog. However, it requires a lot of patience and perseverance, especially if you are a new blogger. There is no guarantee that all these monetization methods will work for you, but the key is testing. Consider doing what you think is related to your line of expertise and start from there, hoping that it will pay off in the long run. Over time, you will master the skills and identify which monetization methods work best for you.

There are other ways bloggers make money and I will discuss them further in my next posts.