Is it really worth it to start a blog? How is it possible to make money blogging? Is it really possible to monetize a blog with multiple income streams?
I hear these kinds of questions all the time.
My response: blogging is not only worth it, it's essential for growing an online business to its fullest potential. Blog posts are a great way to promote your business, boost SEO, and engage your audience. Blogging also gives you the freedom to combine multiple income streams, meaning there are many ways to make money as a blogger.
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure for more info.
Why Should You Start A Blog?
You own an online business and want to increase your traffic. How can you drive more traffic to your website? Create more content. Search engines favor long-form content which means blog posts are great for boosting SEO. Writing blog posts also gives you more content to share with your social media followers.
You need more money. Duh! Couldn’t we all use more money? Starting a blog is the perfect side-hustle because you can work whenever and decide how you want to monetize your blog. The only thing required is an internet connection.
You hate your job. Your boss sucks. Your body hurts. Your hours are ridiculous. These are just a few reasons why you might be sick and tired of your current job. Starting a blog and building up an income online is a great way to work toward finally being able to say “peace out!”
You’re a stay-at-home mom. You love being home with your kids and you don’t want to go back to work. In fact, it may not even be worth going back to work when you consider the cost of childcare. With an online business you are the boss. You make the rules. You choose the hours. Working on your blog during naptime and after bedtime is a completely doable (and smart) way to start your business.
You’re worth more. You have a job you like but you’re not getting paid fairly for all you bring to the table. Starting a blog is a great way to get your feet wet and see if you could step away from your current employer and provide services to your own clients. If your blog is in a niche that aligns with your services, then you could successfully begin offering them through your blogging website.
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How To Make Money Blogging With Multiple Income Streams
I'm a dreamer, always thinking-up new business ideas. My blog allows me to link all of my ideas and offerings together on a single website. My blog is the hub for everything I do.
Blogging is a must if you are multi-passionate. There are no limits and you can tie everything together in one place. Starting a blog and writing content about all of your interests is a great way to show your expertise and build a following. Rather than juggling multiple websites for your different passions, you can combine all your traffic into a single website which becomes the hub for your business.
Passive Income Streams
How can someone juggle multiple income streams without becoming completely overwhelmed? The answer is passive income. Passive income is income you earn without being actively involved. You put in the legwork one time and continue making money long-term. Blog posts are an example of passive income because you write the post one time and can continue making money from the post forever. Passive income makes it possible to create multiple income streams because once you create something it continues working and bringing in money with little maintenance required. Once you have an income stream working, you can begin adding more. Some maintenance will be required, but the majority of the work will be handled by the automated systems you put in place.
What Is Passive Income?
Imagine checking your phone in the morning to find that you made sales while you were sleeping. Customers might go through a series of emails and sales sequences before making a purchase... and all of it will be automated. Automated sales funnels help business owners connect with customers and make sales on autopilot. This allows more time for writing content, creating more products, and spending time doing what you love.
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9 Ways To Make Money Blogging - Multiple Income Streams
1. ADS
This is where a lot of bloggers start. Putting ads on your website is a way to make money blogging right away however, the payout for ads will be minimal until you increase your page views. Many bloggers wait until they are established to start working with an ad network. Sometimes ads can come off as spammy and it's important to build up the valuable content of your blog before using ads that many visitors could find annoying. Some people might leave a website if they are bothered by ads but will be more likely to stay if the content they are reading is awesome. Many bloggers also wait until their traffic grows because there are better ad networks available when you have more page views.
Here are a few ad networks to consider:
Google ads ( for low traffic)
Media vine (requires 25k unique visits per month)
Ad thrive (requires 100k pageviews per month)
Is it passive income? Yep. Passive income doesn't get easier than connecting with an ad network and getting paid for your traffic and clicks.
Am I doing it? Nope. I prefer not to clutter my pages with advertisements. I try to write valuable content that can teach something new and ads could distract my readers. I do sometimes manually place ads into my blog posts but only if they are relevant. Even though I could get paid for ad clicks, I don't want to encourage people to leave my website. I'd rather have them stay, read more blog posts and hopefully sign up for a course or subscribe to my email list.
Should you do it? Maybe. It depends on your blog niche and offerings. Ads are a good way to make a supplemental income with little effort.
2. AFFILIATE MARKETING
This is one of my favorite ways to make money blogging! Affiliate marketing is when you share another person’s product link on your website and then receive a commission for any purchases made through your link. You can make money with affiliate marketing through shopping sites (amazon), affiliate networks, and private affiliate programs. It's important to promote products/services your target audience will enjoy learning about. You can promote affiliate programs by writing a product review, linking to a product in a relevant post, or placing an affiliate banner on your site.
Is it passive income? Yes. You write a blog post, monetize with affiliate links, and can potentially make money from that post forever.
Am I doing it? Yep! Affiliate marketing currently makes up about half of my blogging income.
Should you do it? Yes. It's one of the easiest ways to monetize your blog.
3. SPONSORED POSTS & SPONSORED ADS
If you have enough traffic or email subscribers, you can get paid for writing sponsored posts, such as product reviews. Companies want to get their brands in front of a new audience and will pay bloggers to write a review or feature information about their products. As a blogger, you might receive free products in exchange for writing a blog post or you might charge the company a fee. Another possibility is to charge a fee to display an advertisement on your blog. This would often be displayed in your blog sidebar and would remain there for an agreed-upon length of time. One thing to remember is to feature products relevant to your niche so your audience will be more engaged with your content and more likely to share your posts with their friends.
Is it passive income? Sometimes. You'll likely only be paid for writing a blog post once. If you find a company wanting to display an ad on your site long-term, you could receive monthly payments for an extended period of time.
Am I doing it? No. If I am writing a review about a product/service it is most likely because I use it in my business and have loved it enough to become an affiliate partner.
Should you do it? Sure! Many bloggers and influencers get free stuff in exchange for promotions. Most times the freebies are in addition to the fee bloggers charge for writing the post or displaying the ad.
4. PHYSICAL PRODUCTS
Selling physical products can go hand-in-hand with your blog. If you already run an online shop, then writing blog posts will be a strategy for increasing your traffic and sales and adding another income stream to your ecommerce business. You can make money blogging by promoting physical products to your current readers or by writing reviews and featured posts about the products you're selling. You'll want to sell products that align with your blog's niche whether you decide to start a boutique or start a dropshipping business.
I recommend using Shopify for starting a boutique or for connecting with dropshippers. There are a couple different ways to connect your online shop to your blog. 1. Your shop can be connected to your blog by creating a shop link in your blog’s navigation. When clicked, the link will open your store's website in a new browser window. 2. Another way to link your online store to your blog is to use the embed code found in your Shopify dashboard. You can create a shop page on your blog and then instead of having the nav link open a new window, you embed your shop products directly into that page on your blog.
Is it passive income? It can be. If you use a dropshipping option then all shipments will be handled by a third-party.
Am I doing it? Yes. I have a page of products on my blog and I sell on social media.
Should you do it? Sure! For some this will be the part of the business they are most passionate about because they can connect with customers in a special way by sending physical packages.
5. DIGITAL PRODUCTS & COURSES
You can make money blogging by creating and selling digital products such as ebooks, graphics, printables, courses, or literally anything that can be sold digitally. These products can be sold on their own web page, by being featured in your posts or sidebar, or through an automated sales funnel.
Is it passive income? Yes.
Am I doing it? Yep. I offer multiple downloads and courses. I'm also working on an ebook I hope to release very soon.
Should you do it? Yes. The possibilities of digital products are endless. Creating a simple art print can be a good way to get started.
6. SERVICES
Do you have a service you can offer to your blog readers? This can be things like design, branding, copy writing, coaching, or business consulting. It's easy to create a page on your blog to promote your services and rates. You can promote yourself by writing informational content about your expertise in your blog posts. Running an online business can be lonely at times but offering services gives you the chance to be social and build relationships with clients while you make money.
Is it passive income? No.
Am I doing it? Sometimes. I will offer services in my sales funnel when my time allows for it.
Should you do it? Yes. If you have an expertise you use to help people, you definitely should.
7. MEMBERSHIPS
Creating a membership website with a monthly subscription fee is a great way to deliver valuable content while keeping it fresh by delivering something new each month. A successful way of doing this is to offer a private community exclusive to VIP members. This community might feature premium content, downloadable workbooks, exclusive videos, or even coaching calls with you. Members would enroll in your monthly subscription in order to access this content.
Is it passive income? Kind of. You probably have to create something new each month. If you've created it in advance then you will simply have to add it to the site when necessary. A membership site will require maintenance but you decide what that business model will look like.
Am I doing it? Not yet.
Should you do it? Yes. Once you have a large enough following, memberships are a good source of recurring income.
8. EVENTS
Planning an event and selling tickets is another way to add an income stream to your business. Some bloggers host online summits or workshops with live video lessons. Hosting an in-person conference or retreat is another option to consider. I've heard of live events being hosted for subjects in many different niches such as yoga retreats, social media conferences, woodworking classes, meditation retreats, and marketing workshops. The possibilities are endless!
Is it passive income? No. This will require a lot of work from planning to execution.
Am I doing it? Not currently.
Should you do it? Yes! And please invite me!
9. FEATURE YOUR OTHER BUSINESS
You might be able to increase your income by incorporating an offline business into your blog. Okay, so this income isn't directly coming from your blog but you'll be using your blog as a tool to promote your offline offering. An example of this is a direct sales business. Many bloggers feature their direct sales business on their blog by having a page dedicated to it or by writing blog posts about the products they are selling. They may even include a contact form for anyone who might be interested in joining their team.
Is it passive income? Probably not.
Am I doing it? I have not yet linked my offline business to my blog, although it's a possibility for the future.
Should you do it? Yes, if it makes sense.
Ready to start your money-making blog?
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