Do Blogs Make Money? Do Bloggers Earn Real Money?

DO BLOGS MAKE MONEY? DO BLOGGERS EARN REAL MONEY?
It is the million dollar question. How do blogs make money? How does an average Joe make money writing? Most of us believe we have to be a well-known author, or a popular blogger to even begin to make any money through online writing. However, this is just not true. How do blogs make money is much easier than we think. Today, we are going to tackle that question, and give all the beginning writers the hope of making a living doing what they love!

OWN YOUR BLOG
One of the first ways blogs make money is through the blogger buying their blog instead of using free blogging sites. Free blogging sites offer you free domains, but are owned by the website, and not by you. If you go through programs offered on the internet where you pay a monthly fee, you own your blog. When you own your blog, you are the boss. You don’t have to ask permission for anything. You don’t have to ask “the man” what is you can and cannot do. You make the rules.

You can sell goods on your blog, promote whatever you want, and you are the one who gets paid. It can be described like this: Using a free domain site is like renting a home. Owning your domain is like owning a home. When you rent, you can’t paint, or redo the floors, or change the shutters. You can’t do anything without asking permission. Most of the time you can’t even have a pet!

But when you own a home, you can do whatever you want! It is YOUR home! In the same way with blogs, you want to be able to do whatever you want with your talents, your words, and your platform. Buying a domain is the way to go. In the long run, it is a small price to pay for something that matters so much.

SOCIAL PROMOTION “JUST GO FOR IT”
Another powerful tool in making money through a blog is utilizing social media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., are all great platforms for you to promote yourself. The more people see links to your blogs, the more they will want to visit it and find out what it’s about. Using these tools helps you not only get, readers but also followers, which then turns a profit.

Promoting yourself as often as you can in as many ways as you can get your name out there, and gets you noticed in more ways than one. Are pictures worth a thousand words right? So, use Instagram to introduce yourself. Show the world what you love, and who you are.

Make it personal! Upload pictures of your animals, your home, or whatever it is you’re working on. Use Twitter to share your thoughts on what is going on in the world. Use Facebook to keep up with followers, and to post updates, or whatever it is you have going on.

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?
Another tip that is useful on how blogs make money is having useful content in your blog. Writing something that is interesting to a specific audience is very important. Who are you targeting? Housewives? Musicians? Artists? Moms? Chefs? Even contractors or architects maybe? You need to know who you are targeting to make money in that field.

You can only give what you have, so figuring out what it is you want to give is crucial. What are you passionate about? What is your thing? Writing about something you are interested in comes through in your writing, and is of huge importance.

If you are not interested in what you are writing, why would anyone else be? Write something that is useful, interesting, and relatable. No one likes to spend their extra time being bored. So, choose what you love! From there, people that are like-hearted in your domain will flock to you.

Once you have your audience, and you begin to get readers, it’s important to engage with those readers. Build community with them. The money is going to come from the connections and networks you build with your audience.

It’s important to be personable, and easy to approach. The more approachable and relatable you make yourself, the easier it will be for your readers to connect with you. When people comment, comment back. When people email you, email them back. Send out thank you notes, and updates. Even if it is just a few followers, treat them with respect, and be grateful for them.

ADS IT UP
A very simple way a blog starts making money is through ads. Although it sounds daunting, sharing ads on your blog is easy money. Every time someone clicks the link on your blog, the blogger gets paid. It’s as simple as that!

You can create an account with add services on the internet, and make agreements to have your blog be used as a platform for whatever it is they’re selling. This is probably the simplest way to make some cash. You don’t have to do any promoting, or even talk about the ads. You just have them on your page, in the same way, Facebook and Instagram have ads. It just catches the attention of the reader, and then makes you some money. Simple, right?

AFFILIATE PRODUCTS

In addition to having ads on your blog, another way of making money is called “affiliate income.” All this means is that if you share a product from say Amazon, if that product sells, you will make a commission on that sale. How cool is that!

If you write a post about a specific product, you can try to have your readers buy that particular product by providing them with a link to buy said product. Say your blog is about gardening, and you have certain tools that you love to use in your garden. Well, sign up with Amazon as a hosting, and share that bad boy!

If your blog is about knitting, share your favorite products. DIY blogs are a great place to share everything it is you are using for your crafts. Affiliate income, just like ads, doesn’t require much on your part. Just put it in front of the readers, and let the magic happen.

ORGANIZED SPONSORED EVENT

Another way blogs make money is by hosting events. It can be an event teaching the trade you blog about, or a book event, or a group of bloggers meeting. The way you make money is to either charge people to come to the event, or to find a sponsor for the event. You can host events for fellow bloggers, or for people that are interested in whatever it is your blog is about.

Or you could host an event for your readers. Once you get enough followers, without a doubt, people are going to want to meet you. Don’t be afraid to use that! That just means that you are inspiring people that were once just like you, only dreaming without doing. It is okay to market yourself, that’s what a blog is!

PROMOTE THROUGH YOUR BLOG

Using your blog to promote other businesses is also a great way to make some cash. An advertisement is costly, and offering it to businesses will be sure to get money in your pocket. Making deals with local businesses to promote whatever they offer is a great way to make connections, along with making money.

If you think of your blog as a small business (which it is), this option becomes even more personal. It is so important to make connections that are not only worldwide, but locally. Having a community behind you is a priceless gift.

OFFER SOLUTIONS AND BE NEEDY

Something else many bloggers do is offer services to their readers. They can offer life coaching, counsel, design, photography, etc., and charge a reader for it. This would be more of a client-based way to make income, but very effective. Once you have a reputation on the internet, you would be surprised at the number of people that will want to meet you, or just talk with you via email, if they are interested in the topic or topics of your blog. This is where self-promotion comes in again.

MONEY IS IN THE LIST

Another great tool is to target your readers, and the audience that is trickling in, and convert them into email subscribers. What makes you special as a blogger? What could you offer in a monthly email chain? Sell that, and make money doing it. Give your readers an incentive. What is going to make them want to come back? And not only that, what will make them what to subscribe perhaps? A free t-shirt? A free work of art? A free CD? All three maybe? Reel them in with what they’ll get as subscribers. People love free stuff! Find a way to market yourself through products, like t-shirts or mugs, and then offer them to loyal readers.

LOCAL BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENT
Connecting with small business in your area and doing giveaways is another way to make money. You could charge small business owners a fee to do advertising on your blog, and then host a giveaway! This not only makes you money, but it brings customers into local businesses. When you sit back and think about it, we’re all in the same boat together. To help each other out is the least we can do.

Among trying to sell yourself, sell your fellow businessmen. It’s true that what goes around comes around. Promote your local coffee shops, bakeries, shops, and farmers. People relate to other people. Make yourself relatable and the content of your blog relatable.

DRAW AN AUDIENCE INTERVIEWING CELEBS AND LOCAL LEADERS
Another way to make money through your blog is to feature important people. What connections do you have? How can you get someone well known, or semi-well known, on your blog? It will catch people’s eye. Maybe you know someone in an office in your country or even your state. Maybe you have connections to a musician that is just coming up but is known more than you are. Local artists, chefs, and so many others would be a great way to readers, and then subscribers, and then from there, make money!

CREATE AN ONLINE STORE
Another option is selling your own stuff. Are you an artist? Are you a musician? A caterer? A designer, or freelance worker? Sell yourself! If you make something that people will buy, use the platform of your blog to sell it. Maybe you are a musician, and you could cover someone’s wedding music. Sell it! Maybe you are a photographer, either experienced or up-coming, and you can offer family portraits. Sell it! Maybe you can offer lessons in art, music, or trade. Sell it! There are so many great options for this type of marketing.

Opening an Etsy store with whatever it is that you make is a great way to make extra money. If you like to thrift, opening a small online business can be a great way for you to sell vintage things, and make some money. Using your blog in that way is beyond smart and easy. You can just add a “my store” sort of tab, and get the customers rolling in!

WRITE CONTENT FOR OTHERS
Another option of selling your work is to offer to write articles for other people. Magazines, papers, schools, local business, etc. are always looking for people who are willing to write articles for a small price. Offering your talents in this way is a brilliant way to not only market yourself, but your blog for other people to read and use for them. Websites like Buzzfeed are always looking for this sort of outsourcing. Market your writing! If you have a blog, it’s what you love to do. So, use it!

IN CONCLUSION – HOW DO BLOGS MAKE MONEY

As you can see, blogging is not a joke and can be so much more than just a hobby. It can be a living if you want it to be. Using all of this information can take your dream of working from home and make it a reality. Find out what you are passionate about, and do it. If that is blogging, go for it! The opportunities in “how do blogs make money” are endless. Don’t be scared! Go for it!

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