Wondering how to make money blogging?
Maybe your goal is debt payoff or you’re looking for extra cash.
For me, I wanted to make money online so I could stay at home with my kids.
Blogging is the best way I’ve found to both be a stay at home mom AND earn extra cash from home.
It’s flexible & fun, allowing me to build up passive income streams & make extra cash with my websites.
And you can can absolutely learn how to make money blogging.
You won’t find success overnight, but you will find success if you take one step forward today & just get started.
So, how do I make money online?
Below I’ll show you how I’ve made over $100,000 online.
How to Make Money Blogging: My Story!
Let’s start at the beginning…
I”m not very good at following other people’s rules.
I actually failed out of my first attempt at college, because I had zero interest in my major or my school.
It took getting a 0.4 GPA (not a 4.0, but a ZERO POINT FOUR) & getting kicked out of college for me to get real.
I ended up living back at home, feeling like a loser – because let’s face it, I sure was acting like one.
Once I decided to do it on my own terms, everything improved.
During the next few years I:
- Got a part-time job that I loved
- Paid for my own apartment & car
- Put myself through undergrad
- Landed my dream job in consulting
- Quit consulting to return to grad school
- Graduated with my MBA
- Moved overseas, working & living in Europe for 10 years
- Married an amazing man
It was an incredible 15 years.
I loved making money & working & feeling financially secure.
Because these things are very important to me & a huge part of my identity & independence.
So how did I end up blogging?
In 2010 I become a mom & everything changed.
My kids became my priority.
I didn’t feel like I could juggle work & kids – and honestly I didn’t WANT to have to juggle, choose or sacrifice.
After tons of research, I started my first blog in 2013.
Did I start a blog & make $100,000 one month later?
Of course it didn’t happen that fast.
I was still making almost no money after nearly 2 years blogging!
What changed?
I found a free guide called 7 Ways To Boost Your Blog Income Overnight.
The author seemed legit, so then I bought her book.
Finally, I took a leap of faith & bought her course (to get access, you need to join the waiting list here).
So, how did I finally start making money blogging?
How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
Time to get to the numbers!
I’ll break it down a few different ways.
First, here are my blogging income reports by year:
- 2013 – not tracked, but pretty close to $0
- 2014 – $1,273
- 2015 – $8,430
- 2016 – $23,641
- 2017 – $52,625
I haven’t finished adding it up yet, but by summer 2018 I’d made $28,912 which put me over $100,000 total!
Imagine how much faster I would have started making money if I’d enrolled in Elite Blog Academy sooner…
So why didn’t I?
Honestly I figured since I had an MBA, making money blogging would be a breeze.
Looking back – that’s crazy.
OF COURSE I would be able to jumpstart my blog if I had an exact plan to make money online from someone who had done it already.
DUH!
I’m just glad I didn’t quit, because I was about to.
After nearly 2 years working hard as a blogger with nothing to show for it, I was FRUSTRATED.
I will be forever grateful to Elite Blog Academy for saving me from having to go back to a “real job”.
OK rant over.
Back to the numbers.
Here’s how this blogging income breaks down by income stream:
- Advertising: $950 (1%)
- Affiliate Marketing: $63,684 (55%)
- My Own Digital Products: $30,611 (27%)
- Referral Marketing: $3,701 (3%)
- Sponsored Posts: $15,818 (14%)
So what do these different blogging income streams look like?
Let’s dig into how to make money blogging for beginners.
How To Make Money Blogging For Beginners
The opportunities to make money online are endless & your potential is massive.
But for beginners, that can feel overwhelming.
So while I make money online in MANY different ways, I’ll focus on where I first started.
If you want a deeper look into each one, join me for the Boost Your Blog Income Challenge.
With Affiliate Marketing
I’ve earned more than $63,000 with affiliate marketing alone.
This is probably the best place to begin when you start making money online.
Why?
Because you can make money without having to create & sell anything of your own.
Related: Learn more about affiliate marketing here.
With affiliate marketing, you get commission when someone buys a product using your affiliate link.
Most bloggers use Amazon affiliate links – so you’ll get a commission on ANYTHING bought after clicking on your affiliate link.
My favorite way to make money with affiliate programs is by working with other bloggers – promoting their products & courses.
For example, I’ve made more than $10,000 in commission from them with my posts about being an Amazon seller.
I recommend Ultimate Bundles as the best place to get started with affiliate marketing.
You can earn up to 70% commission & they have bundles on a variety of fun topics.
Related: Learn more about Ultimate Bundles here.
With Your Own Products
Probably the biggest potential for making money online comes from creating & selling your own digital products.
I’ve made more than $30,000 selling courses & printables.
Related: Find out how I quickly create & sell printables here.
It’s easier than you think to create an online course.
What should you teach about?
Stick to what you already know!
Have your own catering or party planning business?
Teach others how to start & manage their own catering or party planning business.
Run a profitable talent show for your kid’s school?
Start selling a course showing other PTA / PTP moms how to do it.
Love flipping houses for extra cash?
Teach others how to do the same thing.
Think of what you know how to do & how amazing it would have been if you had a resource to shorten your own learning curve.
Related: Join the Creator’s Challenge here (limited time only)
With Sponsored Posts
With sponsored posts I make money blogging in 2 main ways.
First are sponsored blog posts, where I get paid to talk about brands or products on my blog.
Nearly 100% of my sponsored blog posts are through this one network.
The second way I make money with sponsored posts is through…
Wait for it…
Twitter!
I bet you weren’t expecting that, were you?
Yes, I get paid to tweet.
And not pennies, but thousands of dollars.
Crazy, right?
And before you start thinking “hey, why should I start a blog, when I can just start a Twitter account & get paid”.
You should know that I get paid to tweet because I’m a blogger.
But yes bloggers get paid a TON of money just to post on their social media channels.
Related: How I Make Money With Twitter
With Referral Marketing
Even though I’ve “only” made $3,700 with referral marketing, it’s worth mentioning.
Why?
Because referral Marketing is an excellent way to for beginners to start making money online.
I’ve used both my blog & social media accounts to make money with referral marketing.
This is my #1 source of income for referral marketing.
How To Start A Blog
Now you know how I’ve done it, what do you think?
What do you have to lose?
What if you DON’T start a blog today?
NOW think of everything you have to lose…
Imagine two futures for yourself & your family:
- OPTION 1: You take that one step forward by starting a blog today.
- OPTION 2: You do nothing & nothing changes.
The answer is obvious isn’t it?
If you’re still reading this, I know you’re hearing that little voice inside your head telling you to GO FOR IT.
Click here to get your blog setup in just 10 minutes.
You can set up a blog for less than $5 a month, which is an insane opportunity.
Start a blog for 10 minutes and $5 a month – what have you got to lose?
Of course it’s not 100% free, but really – you wouldn’t expect to start any business for free, right?
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
I would love nothing more than to help you along in your blogging journey.
Need help?
Leave your email here & let me know what you need.
Blog Income Challenge
Ready to BOOST your blog income in just 5-days? Then join the challenge here!
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