10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog
Every day people ask me “how do you make money with your blog”, so today I wanted to go over my top ways to monetize your blog.
First thing you should know is if you want to make money with your blog long term, then you will need more then one way to monetize it. You know the old saying mom used to say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” lol who knew moms advise would come in handy with my blog 
You need to understand that “blogging” alone will not make you money, but using some or all of the ways I share below will get you on track to making money.
My list includes some fast to start ways and some long term with a little effort ways to monetize your blog. So regardless of where you stand with your blog today, you can see results. 
Also the list will help you whether you have a lot of traffic or not so much traffic.
Ex: Google Adsense will make you more money if you have a lot of traffic.
But selling an ebook with a high converting rate will make you money even with a small targeted amount of traffic.
Your goal should be to drive HUGE amount of traffic, because then even a small converting percentage will still make you a good amount of money.
Top 10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog
1. Google Adsense
This is the easiest way to start making money with your blog, and it is very simple to set up. But the two biggest issues I have with Adsense is.
It takes a lot of traffic to make some decent money with Adsense.
If your selling your own product or affiliate products then you want to see what is being sold in your Adsense ads, chances are it will be in direct competition with your product.
I go into more detail on why this is bad here Stop Stealing Your Own Sales
What I have used instead that I am happy with is Chitika Ads
Cool thing about Chitika ads is they look similar to Adsense but they ONLY show up for traffic that comes from search engines.
So your regular readers never see the ads, great Adsense alternative.
2. Banner Advertising
Ok, I have a love hate relationship with selling advertising on my blog. I do it and I do pretty well with it, but at the same time selling ad space is not the best long term way to monetize your blog. I much rather you sell your own product and use the ad space to promote your own products, this way you will make more money and won’t have to worry about always attracting advertisers.
Banner advertising also needs a big following on your blog to attract the big advertisers and make decent money.
Another issue with selling ads is it can be a pain to track all your advertisers and when they need to repay or end an ad. Unless you use something like OIO Publisher that will control all your ad selling tasks automatically, they even find you advertisers in their marketplace.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of my favorite ways to make money. Affiliate marketing works like this… someone has a product and they let you sell the product for a commission and the best part, is they have marketing material and websites for the product that you can use, also they do all the follow up and or customer service needed.
This is the best and fastest way to make money with your blog, and you don’t need a big following to start making good money. As long as your product is targeted to your blog readers you can get a decent conversion and you will be in the money.
I talked about this on Breaking Into Top Internet Marketers With No List
Best places to go to find high quality affiliate products is ClickBank or Commission Junction
4. Sponsored Reviews
Getting paid to write a sponsored review on a product or website is another great way to make money with your blog. Some people have issue with this because a review should come from honest use of the product or service, others who have no issue with this do very well.
I have written a sponsored review and see no problem as long as you have at least reviewed the service or product and feel it is something you would review any way, and that you state that it is a Sponsored Review so your readers know this up front.
Sponsored Reviews and ReviewMe are two places you can get set up to do sponsored review posts.
I recommend you offer this as a service on your blog and collect all the commission.
5. Selling an eBook
Selling ebooks on your blog has been around for ever and there is good reason…It Works!
I Launched My First eBook a few months ago, and have been very happy with the results.
I suggest that you first build some success and have proof of that success before you set out to write and sell an eBook. Selling an eBook that is solid and helpful will make it much easier for you to sell to those visitors again in the future.
6. Selling WordPress Themes
This is something I am working on releasing soon. Once you have a nice theme or brand you can them build a WP theme around it and offer it up for a small price.
There are 3 BIG benefits to selling a WP theme…
You make money
It is a great way to build backlinks to your blog. Since each theme sold will have a link back your blog as a reference.
This is also nice way to get some free advertising and traffic.
Nice 1-2-3 Punch…right?
7. Offering Consulting Services
Once you see some results with your blog then you can start to offer consulting services to help people get the same results you have gotten.
Again I have to emphasize that you need to FIRST have some success and proof in the service you are offering.
This is a great way to offer support to your readers and also get paid for your time.
I offer my services offline, since most offline business don’t have a blog or social media presence, so taking it offline has big potential for you..
8. Build Your Email List
We all know how powerful email marketing is and will continue to be. Once you connect and build that relationship with your list, it is the best way to make money online…Period!
Building a list takes time and patience, but great way to help the process go faster is to put that sign up box right in your readers eye balls over and over.
Make it the first thing they see and the last thing they see… Guys think of it as a hot girl, you know what we see when she walks towards us, and you know what we see when she walks past, right? Lol Ladies this works for you to ha ha.
Now that you have visitor’s seeing the list form, you have to be offering something so good they have to opt in. Keep your offer very targeted to your blog, and make it great… this will be your first impression to new opt ins, and this will make or break your ability to sell to them in the future.
9. Merchandise
This is a simple way to make some money with your blog, you won’t get rich, but any money is nice.
Selling t-shirts with your blogs logo can work and if you use a site like Zazzle.com they make it very easy to design sell and even set up your own store front… very cool.
10. Donations
Yes asking for a donation does work, again this won’t make you a huge amount of money, but even if you made enough to cover gas each week it would be helpful.
If your readers enjoy your content and learn something from it, then they will be more motivated to donate.
I have used tipit.to on this blog and on my other sites before and have made enough for my DD Ice Coffee addiction each week…lol
So set it up and place your “Donate” button on your blog and see what happens.
Ok so that’s my small but loooooong list of ways you can make money with your blog.
Like I said earlier, there are many ways to make money, just try not to focus on just one way.
Your goal is to get to the point where the only things your sell or promote on your blog are all yours. So that way you can make 100% of the commission.
Have any different ways to make money? Let me know in comments.
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- Tags: adsense, Affiliate Marketing, banner ads, blog reader retention, ebooks, Google adsense, how to make money with a blog, make money, make money blogging, Make Money Online, make money with a blog, making money, making money blogging, money blog, sell tshirts, sponsored post, sponsored reviews, wordpress themes, zazzle
- Category: Make Money Online
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June 9th, 2010 at 6:55 am
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June 9th, 2010 at 9:46 am
Hi John Paul,
I have heard to monetize the blog as soon as it is set up and have also heard to do it one step at a time. Like make a product first, then build a list, then affiliate…you know, become experienced at one thing before you try another.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks for the info on the traffic, too!! Appreciate all of your help!
Lisa~
P.S. Your comment box is only showing 1 line at a time and it's hard to read
June 9th, 2010 at 7:58 am
< strong>10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog…
10 Ways To Make Money With Your Blog Every day people ask me how they can make money with their blog, so today I wanted to go thru my top ways to make…
June 9th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Lisa with a new blog you want to focus on content and traffic and building your list. Then I would move to affiliate sales, since it is the easiest to get started with.
Once you are doing that you want to work on your own product and hopefully sell ad space .
The comment box looks fine here.. the simple box id Disqus new look. lol
June 9th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Gert TY for the comment. Yea the donations button is fine.. just don't make it super annoying and big.
Like I said in the post, I was making enough to buy my ice coffees all week, and I drink 2 med a day
June 10th, 2010 at 4:57 am
Great job on this post. This is the best post I have seen on monetizing a person's blog. I will be applying some of your tips to my blog. Thanks again!
June 10th, 2010 at 5:20 am
Elle TY for the comment. I'm glad you liked the post, I hope it helps
June 10th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Damn this is good info Paul. I really think more people should know about this. Gotta go spread the word now…
June 10th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Wilson..TY for the comment. I'm glad you liked the post.. hope it helps you.
Spread away buddy
June 12th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Great post Paul!
Hesham was right about you. I'll definitely be stopping by regularly!!!
CJ
June 12th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
CJ TY for the comment. Glad you liked the post. Yea, Hesham is a good guy
June 13th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
[...] 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog | Money Dummy Blog Related [...]
June 13th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
LOL OK so have you really made money with donations? And are you going to take me to Dunkin Donuts when you come to Blog World (are you coming to Blog World)?
Anyway, this is great advice and why I listed you as the blog money guy.
Very informative. I will have to check out Chitika. Good luck with your theme!!! I made a few back in day. Don't have the patience for it any longer.
June 14th, 2010 at 4:36 am
lol yea I used it on here for 6 mnths.. button was pretty big.. made me a lil money. Dumped it because edited the look and button wasn't fitting.
Do you have Dunks in Arizona? if you do them we are def visiting,,alot,,lol
I'm trying to get there.. so we will see what happens.. if I do, Ill let you know,, so we can go together.
June 16th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I find that affiliate marketing and direct ad sales are better than services such as Adsense. The only time I'd use Adsense is on a niche blog, on my current blog I don't have any advertising due to the fact that I want to create the best possible experience for my users.
June 16th, 2010 at 10:11 am
TY for the comment. I agree, Adsense only works well on sites with either Huge traffic, or on a blog that you don't have “all” the info the reader is looking for, that way they have a reason to click a link and leave.
June 17th, 2010 at 5:19 am
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June 17th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
John Paul,
The point that I think too many people don't take advantage of is building up your mailing list. Here you are building up your readers where you can be sure pretty much that you will be connected with them. Here is the opportunity to really connect with your audience and gain benefits on both sides. (rewarding on all levels)
June 17th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Derek,, TY for the comment. Yea building your list is been covered 1000 times the past few months, if your a blogger and not building your list, then you need to rethink what your doing.
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:28 pm
I don't agree with donations. Asking for donations is like saying “I'm broke, give me money!”. If you have given some quality services, the average reader may do something else, of value, like buying your ebook, which will provide them with more content.
Otherwise, great post!
June 23rd, 2010 at 4:55 am
Joe..TY for the comment, glad you liked the post.
As far as donations, you see it as saying I'm broke, but most people don't see it that way. Steve Pavlina is FAR from broke, and one of his first links is a donate link.
A donation is something small, $1-$5, most people can afford that, they may not be able to afford one of your products.
It is just another way for your rears to show their appreciation for the great content and support you offer.
It works great on some blogs, and doesn't work at all on others.
June 23rd, 2010 at 10:28 am
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June 25th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Thanks for the clearing up of the subject
It really just depends on the kind of person you are. I think you should have to work for my money, therefore proving that donation links will never get clicked by me.
Once again, great article, and fantastic list!
June 25th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
It's not about you… you need to take yourself out of the equation if you want to make money online, even with donations.
Glad you like the rest of the list
June 27th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
[...] Paul Aguiar presents 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog posted at Money Dummy [...]
July 3rd, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Hey John, I've heard of most of these. I think the easiest for me to start with would be Sponsored review. DragonBlogger has some success with this service and so has Klaus from TechPatio. I think there are a few plugins that are good enough to sell also.
Thanks for the links and the encouragement!
July 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Ileane.. TY for the comments. Yes you won't make that much until you start to get big traffic, but it will be nice money to start with. I would recommend only throwing in a sponsored post once a week to many may turn off some of your readers.
Let me know how you do with it
July 3rd, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Ileane.. TY for the comments. Yes you won't make that much until you start to get big traffic, but it will be nice money to start with. I would recommend only throwing in a sponsored post once a week to many may turn off some of your readers.
Let me know how you do with it
July 5th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
This is a really creative post, Nowadays, consumers know what they want and what they need so it’s in our best interest to give it to them in the simplest form possible.
July 6th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
One thing I have issue with on here is selling wordpress themes. Basically, it would be much wiser to give away wordpress themes instead. By offering your wordpress theme on the wordpress extend page, you have a huge distributor to get your themes in hundreds or even thousands of hands. If you have a license to use your theme that requires the link back, then you can build massive amounts of your preferred anchor text which would result in first page Google rankings. You then benefit from the traffic that those rankings convert, and you would be able to sell to them.
July 6th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Brandon.. in the end your selling themes. Doesn't matter what steps you take to get to the point of selling themes, as long as you sell them lol
It is just another way for people to monetize their blogs, and get a nice back link at the same time.
Your plan is great, but for some it would be much easier to sell a theme on their blog, then rank for WP theme keywords and drive a whole new group of traffic to their blogs and include a link back within the theme.
But either way works.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Sponsored posts is my favourite way of making money. I also am starting to make a tiny amount from sponsored tweets on Twitter.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Thanks for the comment.. Yea sponsored posts are good way to make money, but don't go crazy with it, your readrs will see that and stop visiting. Keep a good balance between reg posts ans pson posts.
Yea I been doing well with twitter CPC for 6 mnths now.. so nice easy way to make some extra money for people.
July 17th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Thanks for the comment.. Yea sponsored posts are good way to make money, but don't go crazy with it, your readrs will see that and stop visiting. Keep a good balance between reg posts ans pson posts.
Yea I been doing well with twitter CPC for 6 mnths now.. so nice easy way to make some extra money for people.
August 4th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
The best info that I like the most is number 4, writing sponsored reviews. As a newbie to blogging, I think this is the best way to test the waters on how to make money blogging. Like building a house, laying out the foundation by learning the basics first is what will prepare you for the ultimate success in the end.
August 8th, 2010 at 3:55 am
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August 8th, 2010 at 4:05 am
All good ideas. One of the most important things with WP themes is offering good aftersales support.
If you've bought a theme the developers who create these themes offer excellent support. It is vital.
August 9th, 2010 at 7:48 am
James..TY for the comment. I agree that good support after you sell a theme is important, but support after selling ANY product or service is important
August 9th, 2010 at 6:42 am
[...] Paul Aguiar presents 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog posted at Money Dummy [...]
August 9th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
James..TY for the comment. I agree that good support after you sell a theme is important, but support after selling ANY product or service is important
August 11th, 2010 at 7:21 am
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August 30th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
[...] Paul Aguiar presents 10 Effective Ways To Make Money With Your Blog posted at Money Dummy [...]
August 31st, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Robi.. if you want to make money with advertisers on your blog, then you need a good Alexa score.. But you can make money with your blog other ways that traffic doesn’t matter to much.