How Do Bloggers Make Money?

There are three primary ways that bloggers can earn money; affiliate links, sponsored posts, and selling their own content. If you're just setting out on your blogging voyage this can be really confusing, so I'm going to break down these three income streams for you.

Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are how most bloggers get started making money and for some it remains their primary source of income. This is especially true of fashion bloggers who frequently share outfit photos on their websites. But, what is an affiliate link exactly?

Say you share a photo of your favorite outfit on your blog. You'll probably want to share the links where your readers can purchase the clothes your're wearing. Instead of linking straight to Old Navy website and sending 100% of the profit their way you can use an affiliate network, such as Share A Sale or Shop Style Collective, to create a link that tracks their purchase back to your blog. Now when Mary Sue in Topeka buys that awesome pair of jeans you're wearing Old Navy will send a small portion of that sale to you.

But that's just one kind of affiliate link. The other type is called "pay per click" and it's exactly what it sounds like. Instead of you only making money when Mary Sue buys a pair of jeans using your link, you get a few cents every time someone clicks on that link whether or not they buy anything.

Sponsored Posts

Even though affiliate links can be an important source of income for bloggers, landing sponsored posts is where the money is at. This type of post is different from an affiliate link because you are paid a lump sum by a brand to feature one of their products.

How much you get paid depends on a lot of factors including how much traffic your blog receives, your social media follower count and how well your content aligns with the brand.

There are three ways for bloggers to get sponsored post opportunities and those are to apply for them through an influencer group (like The Sway), pitch your idea directly to the brand or wait for them to approach you. If you want to make blogging a serious source of income you obviously don't have time to sit around and wait for brands to come to you, so Erica, blogger at Coming Up Roses, created an e-course all about how to pitch yourself to brands - Bosspitch. 

Selling Content

The last way to make money as a blogger is to create your own content and products to sell. Many bloggers choose to sell access to e-courses that they have written - just like Erica mentioned above. But, blog tips aren't the only thing you can sell in an e-course. Audrey, long time fashion blogger at Putting Me Together, generates some of her income from selling access to her seasonal style challenges.

This is a good way to make a lot of money, but it also takes A LOT of work. If you don't have good content to sell you can't expect anyone to pay to see it.

5 Bloggers Share What They Wish They Knew When They Started

There is so much information floating around about how to be a good blogger. I've touched on a few of those topics on this blog already, but today I'm doing something different.

There's a lot to learn from more experienced bloggers, so I've rounded up 5 things these bloggers wish they knew before they set out on their blogging journey.

1. Allyssa Barnes 

"We're wired to follow in the footsteps of successful people. You want to be a success, they're already where you want to be, so you do what they're doing in hopes that someday you'll be in their place. While that's a great way to learn and it'll most likely put you on a path to some success, don't get hung up on copying the techniques of others.

You need to think about your goals first. How can you accomplish them? If somehting another blogger is doing will help you get there, then great. But if you're using an expensive tool because everyone else is, but you're not seeing any results or it's not relevant, then what's the point?

Do you. You and your blog are unique. And there isn't just one path to success."

2. Stephy Lately

"Authenticity is key. Don’t cover up who you really are. I am not saying you need to air your dirty laundry -just be you. That is what people want from a blog. The rest of the internet is peppered with commercials and airbushes and sugar-coated everything, we have enough of that. We want someone real, someone we can relate to."

3. Refined Relvelry

"Blogging is without a doubt more work than I thought it would be. It requires more hours of work than I thought it would. It's more stressful than I thought it would be. My first few months of blogging, each post took me 15 minutes, at most. That was if my graphic was super fancy. Now, blog posts take me far longer than that. It's not unrealistic to work on a blog post for an hour or more, significantly more if the post requries photography. It can be draining. It takes more oraganisation than I would have dreamed. It's just a lot of work. "

4. The Mostly Simple Life

"There is SO much you can do to try to get more people to read your blog. It's not all worth your time.

I was constantly busy trying to market by blog, but it wasn't productive busyness.

I participated in blog link parties quite often. Those parties took up a chunk of my time to properly participate in but I hardly got any traffic or readers because of them. 

When you're trying to get your blog going, it's important to use the time you have wisely. It'y always good to try new things but if those things are paying off for you in the way you would like, they;re not worth your time."

5. Gillian Perkins

"There are only two ways you'll ever possibly stick to a blogging niche. 

1. Choose a blog topic about something that interests you, but accept from the get go that you aren't obsessive about it and never will be. But ONLY do this if it's a profitable niche and your blog is part of a much bigger monetization plan.

2. Blog about an underlying theme in your life that's been there for a long time. For me, those things are "success", "entrepreneurship", "personal development", and "how to make money".

Alternatively, if you aren't hoping to earn money with your blog, then write about whatever the heck you like. Or have ten different blogs on different topics and post on each of them only when you feel like it. This won't make you rich or famous, but it can provide and enjoyable creative outlet."

3 Things to Consider When Naming Your Blog

1. Is it Flexible?

It's not uncommon for a blog to change it's focus over time as you discover what topics you enjoy writing about. A good blog name is flexible enough to accommodate those changes.

Choosing a flexible name will also leave you more room for working with brands in the future. So, don't box yourself into a set role with a name that is too restrictive.

2. Is it Unique?

There are thousands of blogs out there and you want to pick a name that stands out. The easiest way to do that right from the start is to choose a unique name. One of my favorite ways to do this is to use one that incorporates your own name in a fun way, such as Kait Hanson's blog CommuniKait or For the Love of Coffey by Kristin Coffey. 

A common, but in my opinion VERY overused, strategy for naming your blog is to choose two seemingly random words and stick them together.  It worked for Cupcakes & Cashmere and Southern Curls & Pearls because they got started on the ground floor of blogging many years ago. Every time I see it now I die a little inside. Use the infographic below to get some better ideas or use a domain name generator like Name Boy, Wordoid or Panabee. 

How to Come Up With the Perfect Blog Name - I Can Build a Blog

3. Does it Resonate with Your Target Audience?

Take some time to think about the kind of people you imagine reading your blog. How old are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? Why do they come to your blog? 

Choose words that will relate to your readers, whether they are moms, aspiring chefs or passionate about sustainable living. The name you choose should connect with your target audience, so put some thought into how they will feel about it. 

Does Your Blog Really Need a Niche?

What is a niche? When it comes to blogging your niche describes what you write about. That can be budget fashion, luxury travel, Korean culture, basket weaving, etc., etc. One of the first decisions you have to make when starting a blog is whether or not you want to confine your writing to one niche.

There are two opinions here - yes, your blog absolutely needs a niche to be successful or no, as long as you have quality content a niche isn't a requirement. I'm going to cover the pros and cons of each to help you make the right decision for your blog.

There are several benefits to limiting your blog to a specific niche. The first (and probably most important) is that your blog readers will know what to expect. Lets say you start a blog on organic kid friendly recipes. Every week you share great recipes that your readers love, but then decide to start posting about your job in medicine. Will some of your most loyal fans stick around? Probably. But, for the readers that follow your blog just for organic recipes they may lose interest and migrate to a different site.

Having a niche can also increase your opportunities for sponsored posts. When you build a community of people who share a common interest brands will take notice and they might approach you to feature their product. Companies know that their product is getting in front of the right potential customers because you have them all in one place.

If you do decide that your blog would benefit from having a niche Melyssa Griffin has a great post on how to choose the right one.

On the other side is the argument that a blog doesn't need to have a niche in order to grow a following. In this case it's more about selling yourself and your story as opposed to your expertise. When you cover a variety of topics people will come to your blog because they like you. If your blog doesn't have a niche one idea is to brand it after yourself, ie. firstnamelastname.com.

Now for the ultimate question - does YOUR blog need a niche? That's really up to you and what goals you have for yourself.

More Resources

Is it Okay To Not Have a Niche Blog?

Yes You Can Blog Without a Niche

Why You Don't Need a Niche (And 11 Simple Alternatives)