If you like reading income reports from other blogger’s you might know that the secret to earning money blogging is diversifying your income. Now there are multiple ways to earn money blogging and the sky’s the limit, but I recommend you check out the following ways.

I discovered not too long ago, maybe just 4 years ago that the secret to becoming a full-time blogger is to create a full-time income by using multiple monetization strategies.

How well they work often change, so prepare to be flexible with this.

Don’t stick with things that don’t work. Just like any other branch, it’s important to stay up to date with industry trends.

Right now, I’ll explain some of the ways that work now. I’m not a big fan of the ways that promise you the gold now, because they often feel (and are) scammy.

I’m in it for the long-run, and we should all treat our blogs like businesses, so keep that in mind when doing your own research. I noticed that often the income strategy that takes longer are more profitable after a few months or years and should not rely on other platforms.

Also, what might work for another blogger sometimes doesn’t work for you or your niche, and that’s ok. Just know that all of the strategies discussed, ARE working for a lot of bloggers, so that should give you the motivation not to give up as soon as you don’t see results now.

Some of the different ways to monetize your blog:

• Running ads on your blog
• Using affiliate links to generate affiliate income
• Selling your services as a freelancer
• Selling your own products
• Working with brands on sponsored blog posts
• Working with brands on sponsored posts on your social media

Now each of these categories offers a wide range of different possibilities. You might feel overwhelmed, so let’s just pick 3 that you can get started with today. If you want to learn more about the other ways, check out the Ultimate Guide To Blogging.

Here are 3 income streams you can add to your blog TODAY:

1. Content sponsorship
2. Affiliate Marketing
3. Selling your services as a freelancer

1. Content Sponsorship

When balanced, this option to make money blogging is one of my favorite ways. However, when I overdo it, I no longer feel authentic and I feel like an advertisement board.

I’m doing about one collaboration a month, sometimes a few more if they fit into my schedule authentically.

A sponsored post doesn’t mean you have to write it like you work for the company or that you’re writing a review. It means that it blends into your content naturally, however, you always have to tell your audience that you’re getting paid for something.

I love sponsored posts because I like the challenge. I also like to get paid for my creative work, which is exactly what featuring an item in your content means.

So hurray for sponsored posts and brand collaborations!

Here is an Instagram example of a sponsored (Instagram) post I did for Lipton:

See, you don’t always need to make a sponsored post super ‘sponsored’. I did a road trip, took a photo of the sight and included the brand naturally, I was actually drinking that after a hike. I tagged the brand in the photo and used hashtags, that’s it!

Sounds good? Let’s get to the pros and cons:

Pros

• You get paid to work with brands and products you already use
• It challenges your brain, you’re basically a tiny ad agency
• It pays well, expect between $75 (to start with) and $20.000 (well, that’s if you have millions of followers)
• You get free products
• You get to make money with your influence and hard work, by doing what you already did for free: writing about things

Cons

• You need to have some influence already to get started. Although micro influencers are on the rise, you will need a following to some degree to get started. Often that’s 3000 followers or 5000 unique readers.
• You have more chance of collaborations if you charge the bare minimum, which doesn’t do true to what you’re worth
• People might see you as a ‘sell-out’.
• It takes a lot of time to come up with creative collaborations, you don’t want to just publish a photo that shows the products, that’s not creative and actually proves that you’re just selling out.
• It’s possible that you lose some of your creative freedom. Often brands want to see the posts before they go live and may request changes.

Working with brands on sponsored posts on your social media

I think this is a different way to monetize as a blogger because often blog sponsored posts are a lot of work, while social media posts sometimes just mean ‘retweet’ a tweet or visit an event and create an Instagram Story.

If you don’t know where to get started, download this list with 20 of my highest paying influencer agencies + apps that have landed me multiple sponsors for both my blog and Instagram. 

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2. Affiliate Marketing

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing comes down to promoting products online to get a commission whenever a sale is made through your recommendation link.

Many bloggers have implemented this strategy already and I cannot wait to show you how to turn your blog into a money-making machine with affiliate marketing!

So before we get into the actionable steps, make sure you read the pros and cons of promoting affiliate links on your blog and social media:

Pros:

• You don’t have to have a product. You don’t have to invest a lot of time. Just sign-up and start promoting
• You can monetize already existing content. Ever written a review about a product? Just add the affiliate link to that product and receive a small fee when people purchase the product via your link
• You get to monetize your influence and the products you love
• The more traffic you have the more you’ll earn
• It’s the fastest way to come even with your business expenses. Use a tool, promote it and make that money back. Month after month.
• You can easily take this strategy to social media

Cons:

• You’re promoting someone else’s product
• If you overdo this you’ll come off spammy
• You need to constantly rethink your affiliate strategies to keep it as authentic as possible, and not just throw in affiliate links everywhere it doesn’t make sense.
• The more traffic you have the more you’ll earn
• You actually need an affiliate marketing strategy
• You might think of it as an easy way to earn money – quick. And it is, but it’s not a ‘business strategy’ in my opinion because my definition of a business is ‘being a person (or business) that sells something’. This can be products that you have in stock (or not, hello dropshipping!), a service or content for example. I don’t think ‘promoting someone else’s product’ is a business model that will build a long-term business.
• You have to do research on the ‘legal’ part. You have to get a disclaimer and always read the (sometimes very long) agreements before you start working with a company.

I suggest you start with this list of recurring affiliate programs to generate some monthly recurring income today. Also, check out this great resource and download the guide below for more tips. 

Download my guide to building a profitable blog in 30 days for free here:

3. Selling your services as a freelancer

If you have some skills, make sure you offer them as a service on your blog. There are always brands, e-commerce stores and people looking for someone who can help with (and knows a lot about) blogging, tech things, social media etc.

Many bloggers offer services and even when you don’t have time right now, it’s smart to put up a page that lists your services. You never know…

I’m not a big fan of bloggers offering ‘blog coaching’ when they’ve just been blogging for a few months, it’s like ‘teaching people how to become a millionaire’ while the teaching is secretly your way to become one. It just feels like, you’re making money while doing something that you’re not a practitioner of. I’m a big fan of being a practitioner and I think it’s better to offer something that you learned either by doing (it for many years) or that you studied for. But it’s up to you. Stay in your lane, if you write about food, offer services that are food related like ‘I’ll create a 8-course menu for your dinner + include a complete grocery store list’. That makes more sense for your readers when you’re a food blogger than offering ‘services to work around the house and redo your bathroom’.

Like all the other ways of earning money blogging, there are a few pros and cons:

Pros:

• You can build a professional portfolio
• It’s a good way to earn income while working towards a profitable blog

Cons:

• There’s no freedom in working for others, and as a freelancer, you still work for others
• The competition is fierce and landing a job can be a full-time job
• You’re not working on your own ‘business goals’, you’re doing work for someone else
• You have to manage the clients, send out invoices and keep track of leads… it’s a full-time job

The thing you can do today to start selling your services is put up your ‘work with me page’ on your blog. More on freelancing here.  

If you want to learn more about building a profitable blog with a small audience, download the free guide below to read more:

Download the ‘Blueprint to a profitable blog in 30 days’ below to get started today

Things you will learn by downloading the guide:

• How to earn money blogging with a small audience
• Actionable steps to build a profitable blog in 30-days
• How to evaluate your blog (or business) to see where you are right now.
• How to prepare to build a blog business
• How to create your own blueprint to a profitable blog
• How to get started with your own products
• How to create passive income
• How to do revenue planning
• and more!

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You might also like to read:

• How to make money blogging for beginners: the ultimate guide to diversifying income as a blogger
• Essential details for setting up a business
• Income report December
• Blogging Wave Training: building a profitable blog as a micro influencer
• Blueprint to a profitable blog in 30 days free guide