The thought of writing about something you love every day and getting paid to do it sounds like a dream come true for so many of us. There are thousands if not millions of blogs out there on every topic imaginable. If you are an avid or even occasional reader of blogs on topics that interest you, you may find yourself wondering, “Do bloggers get paid?”
The answer to your question is simple. Some bloggers make money from their writing, but most don’t. There are over 570 million blogs in the world, and only a small percentage of their authors are making any income at all.
However, some of those who have figured out the secrets to becoming a paid blogger make a pretty penny indeed and manage to support not only themselves but their families, too from their blogging income.
How do bloggers make money? There are a number of ways. The most successful bloggers harness several different ideas and use them together as a united force to help bring in big bucks.
Read on to learn about the tools and methods bloggers use to make their incomes. You may be inspired and may decide that you want to try it for yourself.
How Do Bloggers Get Paid?
There is no one secret to making money blogging. Ultimate success is the result of a fine-tuned, multi-faceted effort that draws income from a number of different sources.
However, before you start making money, you need to come up with a great topic and put your heart and soul into your content. Great content gets followers, and you will need quite a few followers before you can start making good, solid, regular money off any of the following ideas.
1. Sponsored Content
One of the easiest ways to make money from blogging is through the inclusion of sponsored content. Sponsored content involves a company paying you to write about their company or product.
There are two ways to get companies to pay you for sponsored posts. If your blog gets big and starts to get a lot of traffic to the point where people notice, you will likely get offers to sponsor content from companies via email.
On the other hand, if you are just getting started, take some time to think about the products you use and love that are related to your niche. Reach out to those companies with a personalized email and see if they would like to collaborate on sponsorship.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing works well on its own or in conjunction with sponsored content. This type of marketing can be very lucrative when it is done right. If you include links to a company’s product on your site, and people buy that product after landing there via your link, you can earn a commission or small percentage in exchange.
Of course, affiliate marketing relationships must be set up in advance for you to reap the benefits, but if there is a product you really believe in, and you can convincingly sell that product to your readers, this can be a successful and ongoing marketing strategy.
3. Membership Sites
If your site is in a very specific niche, or even a broad and popular one, you may be able to start a paid, members-only section of your site for your most hardcore readers. Membership sites are great because they continue to supply you with passive income month after month.
People love to become members of things that seem valuable and of groups that somehow seem elite. However, in order to keep members around, you will need to be sure to give your members special attention, special content, and very regular updates that help to make their membership fee worth it for them.
4. Ads on Your Blog
Selling ads at the top or on the sidebar of your blog used to be big business, but fewer and fewer people are doing it these days. However, you still may be able to make some easy extra money from ads of this kind.
This type of earning is easy because there’s not much that you need to do besides find the advertiser, post the ad and let the ad run. It is a very passive way of making money, but it works.
5. Sell an Online Course
If you have a skill that you think others would like to learn, you may be able to make money selling online courses. This is especially successful if you can frame yourself as an expert and can convince your customers that you have information that they simply can’t find anywhere else.
If your course is a video course, it also helps immensely if you are charismatic on camera. For those of us who are not, written courses often sell just as well, if not better.
6. Physical Products
The types of physical products you can sell through your blog are endless. What will work best for you will depend on your niche and your customers.
If you are a food blogger, a cookbook may sell well. For writers who write about pets, things like cat toys and dog leashes could work. If you blog about international travel, luggage tags with your logo on them may be a draw for your readers. T-shirts can work for any topic.
Since you are very invested in your niche yourself, think about what kinds of things you would want from a website you love, and sell those things.
7. Write and Sell eBooks
If your blog is successful, that means you found people who want to read what you have to say online. Naturally, then, some of those same people may be interested in reading a book that you write.
The easiest and most cost-effective way to publish a book is in digital format. Today, 92 million Americans are using e-readers – that’s a lot of potential customers for you. There are many platforms for publishing and selling ebooks these days, and you can learn how to use them in a very short time.
8. Consulting
Once you have a loyal following, chances are, people will begin to ask you for advice. If it takes you less than five minutes to answer their question, it is nice to just answer it for free. However, if they want and need more of your time, you should start charging for it. You deserve it.
Good Luck Making Money
As you can see, there are many ways that people can make money from blogging. There is of course more great information to learn, but now you know the answer to the question “do bloggers get paid” and know that you can get paid to blog too.
To get your blog rolling, start applying some of these strategies, and you will likely have a pleasant side income before you know it. Also be sure to check out our free online training center more great information.
Good luck!
If you ever need any assistance, don’t hesitate to leave your question or comment in the comments section below.
Want more great blogs about growing your online business? Check out the additional post on our WiFi Entrepreneur blog.