5 Ways to Make Money Blogging

Blogging is one of those things  you can do as a hobby or as a job.  Those for whom it is a hobby blog to connect with those of similar interests or as an outlet for creative expression.  Those who do it as a job want to make money.  There are even some of us who blog mostly as a hobby but who wouldn't mind making money.  That leads to the question:  How can bloggers make money?

Advertising 

Like the owners of any other medium, bloggers can make money by selling advertising on their site.  Some are able to cut deals directly with advertisers for space; others belong to networks like Adsense which place the ads and pay the blog owners.

 Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are posts an advertiser pays you to write, like this one was intended to be. (I sent a copy of the article to the client for review and payment prior to publishing and never heard back from them) Usually bloggers are asked to write a post that fits with the theme of the blog, and to mention the client a certain number of times, and to use the provided links.  Mel wrote a great post that mentioned programs that match bloggers with companies that want sponsored posts. 

Affiliate Marketing

A lot of businesses will pay a sales commission or provide things of value to bloggers who refer new business to them.  One such business is Amazon.   Associates are given codes which are integrated into the URLs of products on Amazon's website.  Bloggers write posts that suggest the purchase of the products or advertise the products on their sidebars.  If a reader clicks the link and buys from Amazon, the blogger gets a commission.  As with many other commission-based sales programs, the more you sell, the higher the commission rate.  

At one time becoming an Amazon Affiliate was as easy as filling out an application.  Recently Amazon has cracked down on what they consider to be spammy websites.  Also, they require that affiliates sell something within the first six months.  If you are approved, Amazon offers a variety of products and its links are easy to include in posts.

I had been an Amazon Affiliate until my state's tax laws disagreed with Amazon and Amazon dropped all residents of my state.  Amazon has since agreed to collect sales taxes and while Louisiana residents can now become Amazon Affiliates, my most recent application was turned down.

A lot of companies have affiliate programs of one sort or another.  Here are some that will pay me if you click the link and do as noted:

Motif:  This stockbroker sell baskets of stocks, which it calls "Motifs" for $9.95 per basket.  Use this link   to get a free 3-month trial of Motif, a smart way to invest for people who care. Motif makes it easy to build an investment portfolio that aligns your financial goals with your personal values. With this free trial, you will get access to their Impact accounts as well as their powerful trading tools.

Stockpile:  Stockpile is an online stockbroker which charges a flat $0.99 fee per trade, and which sells fractional shares of stock.  If you are looking for a different type of Christmas present this year, Stockpile offers accounts for minors which allow them to buy and sell stock, subject to your approval.  If you use this link, you get $5.00 worth of stock to begin your account with them, and I get $5.00 too.  I wrote a full review of Stockpile a few months ago.

Robinhood:  Robinhood is a commission-free stockbroker which, at this time, can only be used via smartphone (they are in to process of developing a website).  If you use this link to open an account with them, you and I will both receive a free share of stock.  Here is a link to my review of Robinhood.

Ibotta:  Ibotta is a smartphone app that offers you coupons and tracks your purchases.  I just downloaded it so I can't tell you a lot about it except that if you use my link, you get $10 and I get a reward as well.

Personal Capital: Personal Capital is a robo-advisor that offers free financial tracking through its website.  You can read my full review here.   If you use my link to sign up--no purchase necessary, just link your accounts so you can use (or not) the tracking features--we both get $20.00

Selling Your Own Products

Some bloggers make money by developing and selling a product such as an e-book, or in the case of some really big names (think Pioneer Woman) actual physical products.  Other bloggers use their blogs as a way to publicize an ongoing business.  From what I can see, most of the bloggers who are making big money from their blog are doing it by selling products. 

Review Products

Some companies will offer complimentary products to bloggers who agree to review them.  This is especially prevalent in the worlds of book blogging and mommy blogging. While some products are given with the understanding that they will not be sold (like review copies of books), and some will be consumed in order to review them, still others can be sold by bloggers or given as gifts.

Blogs with large readerships generally qualify for more and better review products.  Some can be obtained through tour groups and sometimes company publicists will respond favorably to a request for a review product or even a giveaway product --and giveaways can be a great way to increase readership if you are willing to promote them. 

Have you found any ways to make money blogging that I have failed to mention?  

Blogging About Blogging

I've been blogging a lot longer than most people.  I started my first blog, This That and the Other Thing in 2005. I had no real focus (bet the title gives you some clue about that) but I liked to write and thought it was neat that I could put up a blog and people would eventually find it and read it.  My first readers were a few online friends who were also trying out this blogging thing.

In the Beginning

When I started blogging I had a dial-up internet connection, no digital camera and no real idea of how to format posts or do much of anything, and if you look at those early posts, it shows.  I posted sporadically in 2005 and 2006, sharing links to interesting websites, giving my opinions about current events or writing about my faith.  In late 2006 I discovered book blogging and I gradually became a book blogger, at least most of the time.

Much of my early on-line activity was with a Catholic moms group on AOL and while I've never been one of those bloggers who talked about faith in every post or really set herself up as an online religion teacher, I did (and still do) have posts about my faith and for over five years I hosted a Catholic bloggers link-up. 

Different Types of Blogs

Over the years I've participated in a lot of blog link-ups and other blogging communities.  I find it interesting to compare and contrast the various types of blogs I read. 

Book Blogs

While reading is generally considered a solitary hobby which is enjoyed by introverts, book bloggers are a very community-oriented group.  Many bloggers regularly participate in one or more of the "book haul" memes like "It's Monday, What Are You Reading", and  "Mailbox Monday" .  "Library Loot" is on Wednesdays.  If memes aren't your thing, maybe book challenges are.  Most of these start in January, but some start during other seasons.  Bloggers write posts about how many books of what type they will read, and link up their original posts and follow-up posts.  

Of course the main thing book bloggers write about is books.  Book review posts are mainstays along with author interviews, chapter excerpts and book spotlights.  

While book bloggers may have ads on their sidebars and Amazon affiliate links in their posts, most book bloggers are not in it for the money, they are in it for the books.  Anyone who has had a book  blog for any length of time and who has evidence that her (and most book bloggers are "her") blog is read by others will be able to get review copies of books at no cost.

While there are a number of programs and publicists which send out hard copies of books for review, more and more of them are moving to digital review copies.  While I sometimes miss the days when the mail carrier brought me two to three books a week, the fact of the matter is I now no longer have to figure out what to do with all those books.  While I could have sold some of them, from what I could see, the little money I would make was hardly worth the trouble.

While there are many self-hosted WordPress book blogs, there are plenty of us on Blogger and the free WordPress site too.  

Mommy Blogs

These seem to mostly be written by stay-at-home-moms of small children.  These bloggers seem pretty community oriented and tend to participate in link-ups.  Some are clearly just showing off their kids and trying to meet other moms.  Others seem to be trying to make money--or at least to score offers to review good products.  

By the time I discovered blogging, my children were beyond the super cute stage and I didn't want them to be embarrassed if a friend found my blog, so I haven't written a lot of "cute kids" posts though I have talked about my son's  struggles with autism and my struggles parenting him.

Financial Blogs

Financial Blogs are all about making money.  They have ads, sponsored posts and some of them seem written as much for search engines as people (nope, not naming names).  There are some link-ups, like Financially Saavy Saturdays on Broke Girl Rich and people do read a comment on each other's blogs but I don't generally see financial blogs (except some dividend investor blogs) that advertise other blogs on sidebars.  Financial bloggers do not seem as fond of link-ups and memes at book bloggers and mommy bloggers.

There are definitely more professional bloggers in this area tha professional book bloggers--unless you count authors who use their blog as a personal public relations page.  I suspect there are as many professional mommy bloggers as professional financial bloggers, its just that there are so many hobby mommy bloggers out there, whereas I'm one of the weirdos in the financial blogging world who has no intention of putting enough time or money into my blog to make it into the big time.

Religious Blogs

Depending on the people, I've found (and this is my experience which may not be true for all) religious bloggers to be some of the nicest bloggers, often rallying around each other and supporting each other's efforts or some of the nastiest.   

Why Do I Blog?

I blog because it is the ultimate in vanity press.  At no cost (because I'm one of the few financial bloggers who hasn't used on of those handy-dandy links on every financial blogger's "how to blog" post and gone self-hosted) I can write what I want, and hope someone reads it.  I like to read, I like to write and if I can make a few dollars (and yea, its a few) and get free books (more than I can read) then I'm happy.

How About You?

What kind of blogs do you like to read?  Are you a blogger?  Do you have more than one blog?  Why did you start blogging?  How long have  you been blogging?  Are you still blogging for the same reason you were when you started?

2017 Blogging Goals

Tis the season to set goals.  In my personal life, losing weight is my goal and I'm taking some concrete steps (or steps on a treadmill) to accomplish that goal.  My blogging goal is to increase readership and earnings and I'm going to take some concrete steps to accomplish that goal.

Create a Blogging Calendar for the Year:

More than a few of my posts were cranked out on Friday evening with no thought about how they related to the overall structure of my blog.  I'm going to sit down this month and plan a blogging calendar for the year with planned topics for at least a few weeks each month.  I can always move topics around but I'd like to do a little more SEO and that doesn't work well on the fly.

Create One or Two Blog Series

On that blogging calendar I'm going to try to come up with some sort of recurring topic or multi-post series of posts.

Publish at Least One Kickfurther Merchant of the Week Post Per Month

I've reduced the amount of money I have invested in Kickfurther so trying to come up with weekly posts is tough.  However, if I pursue the vendors I can usually get one per month who is interested.  Especially if I offer giveaways, these posts do well. 

Guest Post at Least Once 

I'm looking for the right blog on which to guest post, and trying to think of topics to offer.  I'd be interested if someone would like to trade guest posts.

Approach at Least One Potential Client Per Month About Sponsored Posts, Affiliate Linking or Advertising

The worst they can tell me is no--and maybe I can start making a few dollars from this blog.

Comment On At Least Three Blogs Per Week

I do get traffic from blogs on which I comment and I do usually comment on other blogs; I just need to do so consistently.

Write At Least One Substantive, Multi-Paragraph Comment Per Week; Preferably on a New-to-Me Blog

A lot of my comments are short, sometimes just friendly, sometimes more substantive.  I'm going to keep my eye out for at least one blog post per week to which I can add a substantive comment, and do so.

Revise at Least Ten Posts Per Month on My Book Blog

I have had a (mostly) book blog for over ten years. Most of my posts have old Amazon Affiliate links.  Amazon has changed the format of their affiliate links and the old ones don't work anymore. 

 Also a couple of years ago Amazon and my state had a disagreement about whether Amazon had to collect sales taxes for my state; therefore Amazon, in an effort not to have a business presence in my state, discontinued affiliate agreements with all residents of my state.  Therefore there was no money for me in putting in the new links.

Well, starting January 1, Amazon will start collecting sales tax from residents of my state and will allow us to be affiliates again.  I'm not sure whether I'll be able to re-activate my old account or whether I will need to get a new one.  In either case, I'm going to start with my newest posts and work my way back, fixing the affiliate links.

Do you think my goals will help me with my overarching goal, which of course is to gain more readers and earn more money from my blogs?

Why I'm Not Making (Much) Money Blogging

I've been blogging longer than most people.  I've had my book blog, This That and the Other Thing since 2005.  I've been writing here since March, 2015.  Over the years I've gotten lots of review copies of books (some of which I'm sure I could have easily sold), some products for review including mixing bowls, dog toys, a breast pump  holder and a stuffed animal.  I've earned about $250 from Adsense, and gotten about $10 worth of credit in my Kickfuther account because of referral links.  If I was counting on blogging to pay the bills, I'd be sorely disappointed.  However, for me, blogging is a hobby.

What I'm Doing Wrong

I've read lots of posts from other people about how to make money blogging and I've realized what I'm doing wrong.

• My Posts Aren't Search Engine Optimized.  Instead of using various tools to discern which keywords are "hot" right now and then writing posts based on those keywords, making sure to use those keywords in the first and last paragraph and in at least one subheading, I write about what I want to.
  
• I Don't Use "Pin-Friendly" Images.  My images are size "medium" on blogger; they are not cropped to be long and thin, like images shown to do well on Pinterest. I haven't gone to Canva and created my "look" that is just like most other people's with a translucent square that goes over my image and holds some writing about it.  I haven't invested the time in learning how to make images like that, and I don't pay anyone to make them for me.  That must be why my posts are never re-pinned and why I never get traffic from Pintrest.
  
• I Don't "Get" Twittter.  I have an account.  Bloglovin tweets for me when I publish a new post.  I tweet about my posts sometimes.  However I don't see any traffic coming from Twitter.  I don't follow other people because I've never seen the point.
  
• I Don't Spend Enough Money.  According to many things I've read, I'm not spending enough money to make money blogging.  Here are the things I'm not buying:
  
• Web hosting.  If you want to make money blogging, you have to self-host, at least according to the things I've read.  Most of the time that helpful advice includes an affiliate link that will give the advice-giver money if I follow the advice to spend at least $4.00 per month on web hosting.
  
• A Premium WordPress Theme.  Not only can I not make money if I don't self-host, I have to pay for a premium WordPress theme as well.  I can buy the popular Genesis theme for only $59.95.
  
• Social Media Software.  There are product out there that allow you to automate the promotion of your blog on social media and those products cost money--or you could hire a virtual assistant to handle social media chores for you.
  
• Premium Photos.  I use Pixabay for most of my photos, just like thousands of other people, so they aren't unique.  Of course I didn't pay for them either...
  
• Classes on How to Make Money Blogging.  I'm showing my age, but once upon a time you could pick up the newspaper and peruse the want ads.  There were often ads about how to make money at home stuffing envelopes.  All you had to do to get started was to buy a starter kit for $X.XX.  What was the starter kit?  It was a mimeographed (see I told you I was showing my age) sheet telling you to take out an ad in the paper offering to teach people how to make money stuffing envelopes.  When someone responds, you stuff these directions in an envelope and send it back to them.  It seems the modern equivalent is a course in how to make money blogging that tells you to create a sell a course on making money blogging.
  
• Mail Chimp.  While you can get a Mailchimp account for free, and use it until you have over $2,000 subscribers, I'll bet the $10/month version is much better.  Since I don't collect my readers' email addresses unless they enter a giveaway, and I don't do anything with them, that must be a big reason I'm not getting rich blogging.

Why Am I Not Doing It Right?

You might ask why, if I know what I'm doing wrong, I don't choose to do it right.  

1. I don't want to spend the money and I'm not convinced it is worth it.  If I moved this blog to  a self-hosted WordPress site that cost me $4.00/month I would spend almost all the money I am now making on this blog.  By itself, would that move pay off?
   
2. I  don't want to spend hours on each post.  As I said earlier, this is a hobby.  Doing keyword reasearch, creating Pin-worth graphics and promoting posts on social medial takes time.  I have a job already.
   
3. I don't want to create a product to sell  The bottom line seems to be that in order to make big money  (like job-replacing money) blogging, you have to create and sell something that you use the blog to promote.  The blog is the hook but it doesn't get them in the boat--the content that you sell is what makes the real money.  

How Am I Doing?

This, That and the Other Thing gets about 3,000 hits per month, and most of my posts that are more than a week old have 20-50 views.  Racing Towards Retirement also gets about 3,000 views a month; however, most posts get over 100 views.  Some get as many as 700-800.  

As far as money-making, I used to get periodic sales from Amazon on my book blog, but since my state decided to try to tax internet vendors Amazon kicked its residents out of the affilliate program.  

I run a lot of articles on Kickfurther and they usually include my affilliate link.  I've made about $10 from that.  I haven't sold any ad space but I do get a few dollars per month from Adsense.  I still have more books than I can read. 

My blog has helped me land some freelance customers.  I've done alright with that but not enough to quit my day job. 

For now, I think I'll remain a hobby blogger.

How to Reduce the Costs of Your Hobbies--And Maybe Even Profit By Them

For most people, retirement is a time of more time and less money.  Now that you finally have time to engage in all those hobbies you put off over the years, you have less money to spend on them  Hopefully this post will give you ideas to support your hobbies.

Let Friends and Family Buy Your Materials

If your hobby produces things people enjoy having, let friends and family know that you are willing to "work" for materials.  If your hobby is needlework, perhaps a friend who is expecting a grandchild would love for you to stitch a piece for the nursery, and would consider the cost of the materials to be a bargain.  If gourmet cooking is your thing, give someone a shopping list, and prepare a meal at their house, or invite them to yours--a win-win.

Sell the Fruits of Your Labor

Many people with gardens end up with far more produce than they can use at some point, and many give it away.  Ask the recipients of your largess to help pay for your expenses.  If crafting is your thing, look into getting a booth at a craft fair periodically.  The trick is to take on only as much as you can handle without it becoming work.  

Give Lessons

Is knitting your thing?  Would your local craft shop pay you to teach once a week?  Think about what you like to do and think about where you could give lessons.  Perhaps your local community education program is looking for teachers, or the local store that sells supplies for your hobby.  Can you trade golf lessons for green fees?

Write About It, or Make Youtube Videos

I know this is going to shock you, but most bloggers do not get rich from it.  However, depending on your hobby, a blog could do a lot to support it.  Book bloggers gain access to Advanced Reader Copies, which can be either physical books or digital.  NetGalley and Edelweiss keep my Kindle full, and all I have to do is post reviews on my book blog, This That and the Other Thing.  I get monthly mailings from Litfuse which offer me physical books.  Catholic Word and Pauline Media send me pretty much any book they sell that I request.  Most experienced book bloggers find themselves with daily offers of free books in return for a review.  While Advanced Reader Copies are not supposed to be resold, and digital copies cannot be resold, it is easy for a book blogger to end up with piles of books which can be resold if desired. Check out It's Monday What Are You Reading, Mailbox Monday or The Sunday Post to become familiar with book blogs and the wide variety of review copies bloggers obtain.   While other niches may not have the steady supply of review material that book blogs do, blogs that attract a readership can sell ad space, write sponsored posts, host giveaways and make money from AdSense or other advertising programs.  

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As far as blogging goes, my advice is different from what most people writing "how to blog" posts say.  If you are blogging about your hobby (as opposed to blogging as a hobby) hoping to attract enough readership to get review copies and make a few dollars via affiliate links or Adsense, I suggest starting with a free Blogger blog.  It will mark you as a not-professional blogger, but it won't cost you anything.  WordPress may be more powerful (and it has tons more things you can spend money on) and your own domain name makes some people take you more seriously (or so I've heard) and is better for Search Engine Optimization, but self-hosting costs a few dollars every month and unless you attract a substantial following, you aren't going to earn that much--and you aren't going to get the following unless you really work at your blog.   If your goal is to be a blogger, follow the blogger's advice on how to be a great one; if your goal is community and review copies, a free blog will work just fine. 

If your hobby lends itself to demonstrations, demonstrate on camera and upload the video to YouTube.  If you develop a following your videos can earn you money from the ads that play before the video, or you may be asked to use and advertise certain products.  

I get about 4,000 pageviews a month on my book blog and about 2,000 pageviews a month here, and I earn about $4.00 per month from AdSense.  I have more books than I can read, I secured a freelance writing customer and I've gotten some freebies like a nice set of mixing bowls, an Exergen thermometer, a dog toy and a grill brush.  I'm a very small player in a very big world, but my blog supports my reading habit.  

Enter Giveaways

Find blogs about your hobby and chances are good that you will find giveaways offering supplies.  You can even find giveaway link-ups.  Many of them are run via Rafflecopter and can offer dozens of entries if you have the patience to look at everything they want to you examine but you can find smaller giveaways with better odds of winning, though the prizes usually have a lower value as well.  I've won books, holiday decor and even an electronic prayer book.  

Don't Forget about the Library

Yes, it is easy for a reader to obtain free (or shall we say paid for by taxes) books at the local library,  but today's public library also offers videos, and access to a variety of databases.  Instead of buying cross-stitch patterns, check books out from the library.  If you want to build something, a book from the library may be able to tell you how.  The library has cookbooks galore and magazines on many different topics.  Instead of subscribing to Ancestry.com, go to the library and use their subscription.

Check Out Garage Sales and Secondhand Stores 

Whatever you enjoy, chances are that other people do too, and that still others have tried it and found it wanting.  As people de-clutter, all sorts of things make their way to the garage sale or to Goodwill. I know someone for whom the hunt for quilting fabrics is almost as much fun as quilting.  

While most of our hobbies will never be truly free, a little creativity can make them much less expensive.  What are ways you have found to save money (or maybe even make money) on your hobby?