Make Money From Blogging
I've noticed more and more stay at home moms looking to make money from blogging. Maybe it’s because being at home all day we want to stay productive and provide a source of income. Now this post isn't just for moms, it’s for everyone who wants to start up a blog or make their blog more profitable. As a new mom I've noticed more mommy bloggers and am gearing this post towards you!! I hope this post leaves you inspired!
If you want to learn more check out my free e-course 'Start A Mommy Blog'.
Time
Set aside time during the day to work. Now it may sound crazy but blogging takes up a lot of time and effort. The majority of my day is spent nursing or burping Jane while at the same time writing and working on my social media platform.
Stay focused
It's so easy to get lost online; I do it all the time. I’m pinning new DIYS on Pinterest or reading blog posts on whatever I was drawn to. Also, with the dog and the baby I am constantly getting up to take him out for a walk or to change Jane. But to be productive you need to be able to stay focused and be able to juggle everything. Between scheduling and editing posts, to making supper and helping with homework, it is easy to get side tracked.
Related: 10 Tips For New Bloggers
Stick to it
The hardest part about staying in business is sticking to it. You need to have the discipline to work on something and maybe not see any results. If you're an all-star (which I know all of you are) then your blog might just hit the ground running. But for the most part, it takes time to build up an audience andget people visiting regularly.
*This post contains affiliate links
1. Set a Goal
Before jumping in and starting a new blog or website you should look at what your end goal is. Are you wanting to make money from blogging? Are you going to sell products or services? Who is your target audience going to be? It’s easy to start something willy-nilly and hope that down the road your blog will find a direction or purpose but If you're wanting to make any kind of income you need to focus in and find a target market. People you cater to and your blog will grow organically from there. You can read how to grow your blog in an upcoming post.
2. Do something you love
Make sure your sticking to your passion. If you start an online business or blog that you aren't in love with it’s easy to give up. I love blogging and I am very passionate about supporting small local businesses. Because I love my blog I continue to do it! It's that simple.
If you're exhausted from being up all night with the baby and your dog is driving you up the wall (hmm I wonder who I could be talking about) then the last thing you will want to do is sit down and work on something you're not passionate about (especially if you're having a slow month and become discouraged). Choose something you can see yourself doing every day and can get excited about.
Related: Five Fundamental Steps to Starting a Business
So now that I've done this how do I make money from blogging?
1. Product Reviews
Doing product reviews is a great way for you to build up income and make money from blogging. Companies like momcentral.com, momdot.com, and momselect.com are great for stay at home mom bloggers. (There are many sites out there not just mommy review sites). The great thing is you receive their products for free! You’ll get products from great companies like the ones listed above as well as large name brand companies and even small shops. The opportunities are endless and all you have to do is sign up/apply to become a sponsor then talk about the look and feel, safely, utility, materials, price etc.
How it works – There are two was you can receive money from doing a product reviews. You can either get paid for the review itself or get paid for how many clicks the item receives. Companies like Adsense and Amazon will pay you every time someone clicks on their product, purchases it, or is connected to their website from your review. For example if you review a stroller and the reader clicks the link to go to Amazon but instead of buying the stroller they buy a car seat you will still get paid from the car seat sale because you were the reason they went to the online shop and made a purchase.
If the majority of your blog focuses on reviewing products your readers will keep coming back to you because they trust your opinion and see your website as a go to place when they are looking to purchase. Once you've built up a few reviews you will start to notice that the majority of people who view your site are either shopping or are in the mindset to buy. You can use this to help you sell e-products or items of your own!
Remember that everything takes time. Once your blog has grown, all of these sources of income will gradually keep increasing over time. The more content you have, the more reviews you do, the better it is for your wallet.
2. Affiliate Advertising The second source of income you can use on your blog is advertising. If your site is receiving enough traffic you can attract advertisers that want to be associated with your blog or website. If you can get a single advertisement from the right contributor you can generate thousands of dollars a month. Even with something small on your sidebar.
Here's a list of a few great affiliate companies to get you started:
ShareASale
Amazon
SiteGround
Ebates
BlueHost
3. Services and Products
This is where you get to share your expertise. Similar to writing reviews, you are providing a service for people. This is a great way to make a long lasting source of income. You get to share something you're passionate about or good at with others. If you're a great cook or a chef share recipes or share a cooking class online. If you're great at meal planning and running an efficient household you could share worksheets or schedules on your meal plans or share tips on how you juggle getting from soccer practice to dance lessons while still managing to pick up the dry cleaning.
Create an e-course, an e-book, worksheets, or host a workshop. I will go into what each of these are later on in my blog posts but as an example an e-book is basically just that, a book online. You can share high quality content similar to your blog posts that share specific strategies on whatever topic you choose. Like a recipe book, or how to create an indoor garden. It can be on anything you would like to share and think that will be helpful to someone else.
The great thing about this type of income is it can be catered to you and what you're good at. And if you put your advice and a personal touch on it you'll see that people are genuinely interested. If you're providing value to your readers you will find they will be active purchasers and happy , returning customers.
Still Skeptical?
Ramsay from BlogTyrent.com provided these numbers to help paint a better picture..
- Get 100 visitors per day (very easy after two or three months)
- Convert 5% of visitors into email subscribers = 1825 subscribers per year.
- Sell an eBook for $37 to 20% of your list = $13,505 in your first year.
That’s just from selling one e-book. If you work to grow your readers and increase your subscribers your numbers can skyrocket! You've got it in you!
Now this post isn't a step by step guide on how to start a blog and make money but is to inspire you to go for it and to let you know that it is possible to make money blogging. If you know any moms or moms-to-be who you think would be interested in learning more about making money blogging I'd appreciate it if you emailed this to them, Pinned it or shared it on Facebook. Thanks!
Related: Stop Letting Fear Hold You Back From Building a Blog
Need help starting a blog? This awesome course and e-book will show you step by step how to start a blog, especially if you need help with anything technical.