Working remotely on a beach while sipping a mojito is everyone’s dream. Best of all, it’s not impossible to achieve. How do you make it a reality, you say? With a blog!

We’re not saying it’s an easy path to take, especially in the beginning–otherwise all the beaches would be packed right now. To make a business out of your blog you will need:

  • A unique or niche topic
  • Awesome, regular content
  • Lots of passion
  • Hard work
  • Good ol’ patience

Once you’ve accepted the requirements above, it’s time to find out how to make money with your blog.

 

1. Set up ads on your blog.

One of the most popular ways to make money with your blog is to set up ads alongside your content. When you visit other blogs or publications, you may have noticed they have ads running. Blog owners make money from ads based on the number of clicks they get.

Ads can be set up using Google AdSense. It’s fairly easy to sign up for a Google AdSense account:

  1. Fill out their application with your information.
  2. Add the code snippet they provide to your website’s code.
  3. Choose the ads you’re interested in displaying on your blog.

It’s important to keep your pay-off expectations low with ads, especially in the beginning. The amount you make depends on how many visitors your blog gets. This means you’ll need a lot of traffic and clicks before you get your first cheque from Google (which starts at $100 USD!)

Be mindful of the type and amount of ads you display. At the end of the day, you don’t want to be cluttering your content and annoying your visitors.

 

2. Become an affiliate marketer.

You may have noticed on other blogs that some writers include links within their content that lead to the products they are talking about, on a website such as Amazon or eBay.

Linking to external companies is called affiliate marketing. When the link leads to a purchase, that’s when you get a piece of the profits.

Affiliate marketing is most successful when you already have these things going for you:

  • You produce popular, regular content.
  • You have a decent-sized following.
  • Your readers trust and check out the content and links you share.

It’s also important to note, that like with Google Ads, you should find relevant companies to work with and only incorporate links that make sense. For example, if you have a travel blog, including links to hotels, excursions, and luggage (that you’ve tried and enjoyed) are good products to promote to your audience. If you run a blog on technology, including an affiliate link to your web hosting company works too.

Are you a Canadian Web Hosting customer? Join our affiliate program today!

 

3. Sell your products.

Another way to make money with your blog is to use it as a marketing tool to sell your products.

You can create an online store on your website in just a few simple steps using WooCommerce on WordPress. If you run an arts and crafts blog, you can sell your own handiwork in your online shop. If you run a travel photography blog, you can sell prints, stickers, posters, and calendars printed with your photography. You get the idea.

Many bloggers sell information products that are natural extensions of their brand: eBooks, tutorials, courses, presets, templates, etc. If you already have a lot of knowledge about a valuable topic–like SEO, editing, video production, design, etc.–then you should try creating an information product and listing it on your website. This route will take time and work–this is where repurposing content will come in handy–but it will build your brand’s authority.  

If your content is unique, informative, and well-presented, your audience may consider paying for it. You can also choose to accept payments by donation, or ask for a newsletter sign up to collect leads instead.

 

Make your blogging dream a reality.

If blogging is your dream and you’re passionate about what you write about, you can make money with your blog. Try the three recommended ways above to start making an income with your blog and keep these pieces of advice in mind along the way:

  1. Don’t expect things to happen overnight.
  2. Set realistic goals for yourself.
  3. Post regular, well-written content.
  4. Share your content with your friends, family, dog, and on social media channels and forums.

Most importantly, have fun; you’re doing what you love after all. Good luck!

Are there any ways we missed to make money with your blog? Do you have experience with ads or affiliate links? We’ve love to hear if they work for you.

Photo by Christine Roy on Unsplash