7 Ways You Can Make Money Blogging in 2020
Look, I get it. You’ve been blogging for a bit now but just can’t seem to understand how to fully make money blogging. You just know there is something you’re missing out on and sometimes feel like giving up.
Don’t worry, I’ve been there. But we’re going to fix that because you know what? YOU CAN MAKE MONEY BLOGGING. And you will. You’ll be able to finally leave your day job to spend more time with your family or travel the world in no time.
Here you’ll learn all the different ways you can make money blogging so you can begin implementing them today!
Disclaimer: Please note this post may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a commission if clicked at no extra cost to you. Though the opinions remain my own
Can You Really Make Money Blogging?
Um.. yess! I know this is a very common question many beginner bloggers have and for very good reason. But yes, you can definitely make money blogging.
In fact, there are actually 7 different ways in which you can make money blogging in 2020! So if one doesn’t seem to be working out for you, there are 6 more to choose from. And don’t worry, I’m going to cover them all below so you can choose the best method for you.
Ads
This one is by far the easiest yet the hardest way to make money blogging. Now why do I say that? How can it be both the easiest and the hardest?
Well, it’s easy in the sense that all you need to do is place some ads throughout your site and BOOM, you start making money just by having people visit your site. It’s the perfect example of passive income online as you only do the work once and then it generates cash flow for you as long as the ads are displayed.
Here are the most popular ad networks for bloggers:
- Google AdSense: no minimum page views required
- Monumetric: 10K blog views monthly
- Mediavine: 50K sessions monthly
- AdThrive: 100K page views monthly
Hmm… now can you take a guess as to why ads are also the hardest way to make money blogging? That’s right. Because to make a decent amount of money with ads, you need traffic. Lots and lots of traffic.
Oh but what about Google AdSense? There’s no minimum requirement there. Yeah well, that’s because the payout you receive in exchange for ads is extremely minimal. In fact, it’s not really worth it in my opinion as it will take a significant amount of traffic for you to even see any payments. And by then, you might as well switch to one of the rest.
So trust me my friend. Unless you have loads of traffic, let’s skip on trying to make money through ads.
Affiliate Marketing
Yay, onto the good stuff that will actually help you make money blogging in 2020! Affiliate marketing is by far my most favorite way to monetize a blog. It’s not super super easy but it isn’t so bad either.
But if you’re unsure what affiliate marketing is, here’s a quick definition and a post to go with it. Affiliate marketing is where you promote a product or service for someone else and make a commission off of it. And literally, every single niche has the potential to make money through affiliate marketing.
Here are some favorite affiliate networks and programs that you can apply to join today.
Ultimate Bundles
I absolutely love Ultimate Bundles as they always have a bundle for various niches. And the best part is that you get 40% commission off of every single bundle you sell. Oh but actually, if you contribute to the bundle, you will earn 70% commission off every bundle instead of 40%! Isn’t that awesome?? Click here to join Ultimate Bundles and learn more.
Share-A-Sale
Okay now Share-A-Sale is an amazing affiliate network. What does affiliate network mean? It means that they are partnered with thousands of companies to provide you a variety of partners to work with. It functions like a search database where you can either type in a company name or filter by your niche to find a partner to promote. So no matter what niche you are in, you are guaranteed to find an affiliate partner. Click here to apply to Share-A-Sale and for additional details.
FlexOffers
Now FlexOffers functions the exact same way as Share-A-Sale where you will have thousands of companies to select from. However, FlexOffers is partnered with quite a bit of the bigger brands so it’s definitely worth joining. And just like I mentioned before, this affiliate network also has something for every single niche. Click here to apply to FlexOffers and for additional details.
Amazon Affiliates
And lastly, of course you’ve heard about Amazon Affiliates. But why is this last on the list? Well, its because they actually have some pretty strict guidelines and are extremely picky for the low commissions they are. Not saying they are not a good program to apply for (I use them in my posts all the time) but just know you will have to read their policy very carefully and make 3 sales within your first 6 months to avoid being removed. The good thing about Amazon is that they are widely known by pretty much every online consumer, though still not my first choice.
I know affiliate marketing can be tricky, trust me. It took me a while to figure it all out but luckily, I took Cate’s Affiliate Marketing, Simplified eCourse which broke it down to me. I learned so much from the course and actually earned back what I spent on the course within the next month because you know, it was that good! So if this is something you’re really wanting to get into, I highly recommend you look into it. Click here for additional course details.
Related Post: My First Quarterly Blog Income Report of $1,651
Sponsored Posts
This one is another one of my favorite ways to make money blogging as the payout is typically much higher. However, this one is a bit harder as you are now pitching to a company and requesting to be paid. Yup, a sponsored post means that a company or brand is paying you in exchange of a blog post. And in this post, they will usually give you requirements on what they want included and how they want the post structured.
Now, don’t get discouraged as you don’t necessarily need tons of traffic or followers to land your first one. In fact, I had way less than 500 followers and 1,000 page views when I landed mine about 2-3 months into blogging. I used a Media Kit similar to the one included in this bundle here to help pitch to companies that fit my brand.
You can easily make $100 per blog post with this method and eventually a lot more! So this is a not only a great way to make money money with your blog but it builds your partnership portfolio.
Related Post: How I Earned $1,651 My First Four Months Blogging
Bonus Commissions
Did you know that some affiliate partners aka companies listed in Share-A-Sale or FlexOffers may agree to give you a bonus commission? A bonus commission is when an affiliate partner will pay you a small amount in exchange for the blog post.
And no, this is not the same as a sponsored post. There are two main things that make this different. For starters, the payment amount of a bonus commission is significantly lower. But it is compensated in the sense that you can add your affiliate links throughout the blog post, giving you the opportunity to make more. You also get a bit more freedom on how to write the blog post.
However, this is not something affiliate partners promote to the public so you do have to reach out to them to ask. Either way, it’s a great way to make a few quick bucks.
Related Post: EBMS Bundle: Create a Unique Blogging Schedule to Blog Smarter
Create Your Own Digital Products
Before you start telling me you don’t know how or what to create nor why you would, hear me out. I was on defense for a long time as well because just like you, it’s hard to know what to create and what to sell. But once you figure out this first step and follow through with your digital product, making money through your blog and products will be endless.
Plus, you will no longer be making only a percentage of the product you are promoting nor will you have anyone giving you guidelines or requirements on how to promote it. Why? Because it’s YOUR PRODUCT! I mean, how many eCourses and eBooks have you taken throughout your blogging career? I assume quite a few.
And why did you take those eCourses or eBooks? Well, because you had a problem and the digital product was going to help you solve it. Now imagine you being the person solving a problem for YOUR reader. How cool would that be?
I think it’s pretty awesome. And if you need some guidance on creating your very first digital product, The She Approach has this super awesome eBook Bestseller Bootcamp to walk you through becoming an author to your own eBook. And why an Ebook? Because honestly, I think it’s much easier to create an eBook as your first digital product so check it out here and become a bestselling eBook author for your niche.
Or another option is starting your own Etsy shop and selling printables. In fact, I recently started my own Etsy shop, CheerfulPrintablesCo, selling printables for moms and kids.
Related Post: Writing an eBook Simplified With This Bootcamp
Sell Your Services
No matter what your niche is, there may be a service you could offer to either your readers or two partners. This is another great way to make money blogging in 2020 as people are turning to the online industry more than ever.
Here are some examples of services you could offer on your blog:
- Freelance writing
- Virtual Assistant
- Coaching services
- Consultations
- Social Media Manager
- Pinterest Strategist
- Travel agent
The list could actually go and on depending on your niche. And since this is a service you are offering, you’re the one that would set the price as well. And if you’re not sure if you have a service you could offer, check out this post here to get some ideas of services you can do from home.
Related Post: Work at Home Bundle Favorites for Bloggers
Blog Flipping
Imagine being a real estate agent… but for blogs! Yup, this is a real thing. And if this is your first time hearing this, you probably have the same look on your face that I did when I first heard about it LOL! Even my fiance was shocked when I told him how much some of these blogs could sell for, some in the six figures!
Now, I am definitely no expert in blog flipping nor have I ever sold a blog before. However, I wouldn’t be opposed to this in the future as I currently manage three blogs with a 4th one in mind. So if that ever gets to be too much… yeah, you better believe I’m selling!
And no, you don’t have to sell YOUR blog. You can do what many house flippers do which is buy a blog to improve it and then sell it for a profit. So if either one of these sound interesting to you, you should highly consider enrolling into Blog Flipping Masterclass by Chelsea Clarke who makes thousandsss by blog flipping. Click here for additional course details.
Time To Go Make Money Blogging
So yeah, don’t ever let anybody tell you that you can make money through your blog. These 7 different ways to make money through your blog can be done by anyone, even beginner bloggers.
So it’s time to go make some serious money blogging!
Which of these monetization methods are you going to try first? Are there any you have tried and have worked for you? Please share your thoughts below as I would love to hear from you!
And remember, there is always something to be happy for… Cheers to blogging! What are you cheering to today?
Lucy
Thanks for these great tips on making a bit of money with a blog. I’ve been really focused on getting content onto my blog and now am ready to branch out a bit. Many blogging tips are written in a techy way and can be difficult for a Newbie to make sense of. I appreciate your straight-forward ideas!
Great info….I’m new at this so I appreciate the tips!
Lucy great post! I’ve been blogging over a year and still didn’t know about some of these!
LOL! Well I’m glad to have been able to help you learn something new
Thanks for the detailed blog post! I a very new blogger and am still trying to understand, well everything haha. I am still working on getting traffic to my blog thelovelybrunette.com, If you can offer any tips I would greatly appreciate it!
Of course, I’d be happy to help! C’mon and join my Facebook group here as I post weekly blogging tips and updates all the time! Plus you get to ask questions whenever 🙂
We’d love to have you join us! ♥
https://www.facebook.com/groups/newbie.and.expert.bloggers.unite/
Awesome tips! Blog flipping! brilliant! never heard of that before!
haha right?! it is pretty cool 🙂
These are all great ideas. I’m looking into creating my own digital products at the moment, but still trying to decide on the ‘what exactly’. Thanks for sharing.
Yes that’s actually the hardest part but once you’ve figured it out, you’ll be golden. My next post talks about an amazing resource that can help you figure it out so be on the lookout 😉
Thanks for this neat breakdown! It’s good to know a bit more about how these payments work.
no problem! 🙂
Great post! I’m working hard on affiliate marketing along with SEO right now. I took adsense off because it made my blog look ugly so I’m waiting for Media Vine or another one once I get my page views up. This post has some awesome information. Thank you!
If you’re pairing up affiliate marketing with SEO than you are headed in the right direction to making some money blogging for sure! And I did the same with AdSense, I didn’t like how they looked and slowed down my site as well. Great plan and best of luck!
These are great tips on making some extra cash. I’m working on affiliate marketing, but the ad idea intrigued me. I will he investigating this idea for the future.
Yes for sure! Ads are a great source of passive income so once the traffic is there, definitely look into adding some 🙂
Great blog post. I am starting with affiliate marketing and also looking to sell my own digital products. I need passive income due to my chronic health conditions.
Yes for passive income, affiliate marketing and creating your own products is definitely the way to go so you’re on the right track
Didn’t really know much about blog flipping, but have an idea now. Thanks 🙂
no problem, I hadn’t heard about this until a few months ago either. it blew my mind haha!
Thanks for the thorough post. There are several avenues I had never heard of that I will be signing up for.
awesome, so happy it was helpful to you!
Awesome post! I will definitely be referring back to this!
thank you so much!
I love these tips! I haven’t made any income off my blog yet, but I’m really working towards it! It’d be a dream to be able to blog full time!
just keep at it, it’s definitely possible to make money from your blog and even your first few dollars is such an exciting feeling so just keep learning and growing!
Great post Lucy! I’ve been blogging for months now and haven’t made a cent. It’s kinda discouraging but I’ll keep working at it. I’m thinking of purchasing an affiliate marketing course but they all really expensive.
Anyway, thanks for the cool tips
So many ways to earn from blogging! One day, I hope to make money from my own products. MediaVine/AdThrive would be nice too 🙂
yes Mediavine is the ultimate goal as I hear their payouts are extremely well! best of luck! ♥
Thanks for these awesome tips! You have some real gold nuggets in here that I haven’t seen in other blogs so I will definitely try them out.
that’s good to hear, I try my best to go above and beyond for you guys haha
I love your post, especially the affiliate marketing part
Awesome tips! Never heard of blog flipping before, but if might be something I’d want to do in the future. I also manage more blogs, like you do, and it’s hard to keep up. X
Thanks for all the great tips! Been loving your Facebook group too
aw thanks Lauren, I’m so happy you’re enjoying it! ♥
LOL OMG it’s soo hard to keep up with haha so at least we know we have a way out
thank you! glad to hear it
Great ideas for how to make money blogging. I’m doing ads and affiliates and have my first sponsored posts lined up as well. I think offering a service is the fastest money-maker but a product could be the most profitable if it sells well.
Super perfect ideas for bloggers! I really love these tips, especially the affiliated marketing. I think it is the great way to make more money. Thank you for sharing!
it really is a great way and you can start with affiliate marketing right away!
wow congrats on having your sponsored posts lined up, you’re doing an amazing job! and yes, each person just needs to find which works best for them