How To Make Money Blogging In 2024

Do you love to blog and want to make some extra cash? Learn about 5 revenue streams used by professional bloggers who earn a full-time income through their website. Blogging is a small business idea with the potential to make thousands of dollars per month, whether by driving product sales for your own brand, earning commission from affiliate programs or creating a space for digital ad sales.

Blogging has high potential. Well-established bloggers who runs a blog about blogging can make up to $30,000 per month. Unfortunately, not every blogger can make millions through their website. The income potential of your blog depends on two factors:

A. Your Niche

Do people spend large sums of money on products in your industry? The software industry, for example, can be lucrative, since many companies pay recurring commission. Bloggers can earn small amounts each month, long after the customer made the purchase.

B. Your Monetization Strategies

Some blog monetization methods are off the table for new bloggers who want to stick to their core values like not being paid to post content you don’t agree with. This can impact earning potential in the short term.

So, not to waste much of your time I present to you 5 ideas on how to make money blogging.

1. Choose A Profitable Niche

A niche is a specific topic within a broad topic, such as vegan recipes. By choosing one for your blog, readers build an association with your site. They know exactly what they’ll get when visiting, improving your chances of being their first port of call when looking for advice.

“Before monetization, it’s all about quality and expertise if you want to stand out,” First, figure out what your niche is and why you should be writing about that, and make a persona for yourself to be who you are in that topic. Once that happens, you’ll build a following over time. Monetization follows later.”

You will find bloggers making money in a wide variety of niches, from business software to pet accessories. Though not all niches are good ones.

A profitable blog niche meets three criteria, it is something you are skilled at or interested in. Blogs need a lot of consistently high-quality content to build an audience and become monetized. Not only will it be more enjoyable to blog about something you have a genuine interest in, but you will increase the likelihood of generating money. It is easier to stick with a hobby we enjoy.

There is low competition. Popular blogs, brands, or forums in your niche indicate others are making money in it. Similarly, do a Google search to assess keyword ranking difficulty. It will be harder to drive organic traffic if big-name brands (with even bigger marketing budgets) are dominating the first page of search results.

There is clear monetization potential. Look at monetization opportunities for each niche on your shortlist. Do companies in that niche pay to advertise their products on other blogs? Are there many affiliate programs that sell products in that industry? Both are telltale signs of a profitable blog niche.

2. Build An Email List

To make money from your blog, you need loyal readers who value your recommendations. One of the best ways to do this is by building an email list for your own blog. When someone opts in to hear from your blog, you are given permission to reach readers in one place more sacred than all others: their inbox.

Encourage blog visitors to sign up to your mailing list using a pop-up box. The goal is to make anyone visiting for the first time to opt in to hearing from you using an incentive, such as Free checklists, Lists of resources or recommended products, and Blog content packaged in a PDF (such as printable recipes). Once they have signed up, continue nurturing that relationship with educational or entertaining content. You will build an audience ready to buy products off your recommendations.

You can also charge your email list for access to exclusive content. Many bloggers monetize through monthly subscription fees which grant subscribers access to extra content. You can use a platform like Substack to publish directly to your audience and get paid through subscriptions.

3. Write Sponsored Product Reviews

All businesses want social proof to show their customers that their products are worth buying. One way for them to collect that is by paying bloggers to publish reviews. Reach out to your favorite brands and ask if they are interested in sponsoring a review on your blog. If you use the product outside of the purpose of the review, this tactic essentially costs nothing. You are simply getting paid to share your opinion of a product you already own.

However, this monetization strategy gets a little murky. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Fashion Nova $4.2 million for suppressing negative reviews, even though supposedly a third-party service solicited them. The FTC has a whole set of guidelines that pertain to ecommerce merchants and, ultimately, the bloggers they are paying to write sponsored reviews.

If you are being paid to publish a review, for example, include the following disclaimer in the introduction of your article: “I’ve been paid to write this review and may make a commission if you purchase this product.” Being honest. Share the good and the bad to help readers make an informed decision about whether they should purchase the item you are reviewing. There is a reason de-influencing has become a trend.

4. Sell Advertising Placements

Companies are willing to pay bloggers for advertising placements on their websites. Lend them otherwise unused space in exchange for a fee. There are two routes to building this income stream for your blog, Negotiate with companies individually. Find companies in your niche and ask if they would be interested in advertising on your site.

This approach is more time-consuming and you will need strong negotiating skills, but done well, it can net the most amount of money. Use an advertising network. Prefer the hands-off approach? Platforms like Google Adsense, Mediavine and Raptive claim space on your blog and handle the billing of advertisers. Simply embed the code on your site and get paid to show ads.

To make advertising a substantial revenue stream for your blog, driving website traffic should be a priority. Ad networks like Google AdSense pay per 1,000 impressions (CPM), with the average CPM for display ads falling around the $1.25 mark. The more people exposed to the adverts on your blog, the more money you will make. Some platforms require bloggers to meet minimum page view requirements before applying to join the network. It is an investment that will pay dividends in the long run.

5. Join An Affiliate Marketing Program

Affiliate Marketing is the process of recommending products to your blog’s audience. You will receive commission when they purchase the product using your custom link. It is a great revenue opportunity for bloggers, since the content you share will already be influencing their purchase decisions. Make your blog a hub for educational content and you will build the know, like, and trust factors needed to make a sale.

The beauty of affiliate marketing is you don’t need to create your own products. Plug into an existing ecommerce business and become a virtual salesperson for them. There is no need to worry about producing marketing materials, shipping products, or dealing with customer service.

To make money blogging using this method, join an affiliate networks like ShareAsale or ClickBank. Browse available programs in your industry, apply to join them, build custom links, and track affiliate revenue through the dashboard. You can also search for high-ticket affiliate programs from merchants selling expensive products, such as electronics, jewelry, or software. Bloggers earn sizable checks when recommending those items to readers. Shopify affiliates; for example, earn 100% commission on the first two payments of any subscription plan.