If you will explore more into the lives of professional bloggers, you will see that they spend more than 80% of their time in blogging and promoting their blogs and services. That is roughly 12-14 hours every day. That is most often the reason they become huge in short time.
Another thing that I found in common of all successful bloggers is that major part of their earnings come from selling their services. Therefore, I thought of writing this article and tell you how successful bloggers earn money. But first, I would like to give you examples of professional bloggers and summary of their lives and how they became millionaires.
Table of Contents
Neil Patel
Neil Patel is a professional blogger. He is out there helping others to achieve their goals in the best way possible and as a result, he is earning a lot of money from it. Usually, we all see the end result of someone’s success and outlook the path he drove to reach theirs. Similarly, he did not just emerge as a blogger overnight. He paved his path by trying and failing a thousand times. Although, he was lucky to hit the sweet spot early in his life that doesn’t mean he did not work hard for it.
His story is kind of interesting. He started pretty early by selling black boxes in schools and cleaning hotel rooms. He also tried selling a $1600 vacuum cleaner door-to-door but failed miserably only to learn a valuable marketing lesson that $1600 vacuum cleaner is too much for an average American.
Turning Point
The life path that he chose led him to start a profitable internet marketing company with his sister’s boyfriend but that was not what he was born to do. He started another company called CrazyEgg which plays a big part to solve analytics problems with your website. It was not profitable in the beginning and no venture capitalist showed interest for CrazyEgg but instead of shutting it down they tried turning it into a profitable business model. And guess what? they succeeded. It’s a million dollar company now.
He did not stop even at this point. He wanted to go for that billion dollar company which he will put an end to his everlasting chase. So, he started another company and named it KISSmetrics. Yet another website analytics company aimed to solve even bigger problems.
If you are excited, go read his full story on his another website called Quicksprout. Yes, I know, he is a maniac. He earns money on a subscription basis from the software companies he built and constantly marketing it to the potential clients.
You know the good thing about him, he is really good with words. He has a gift to get all the eyeballs at the work he does, like a natural traffic magnet and his strategies could really help you grow your blog traffic if you follow him closely.
Melyssa Griffin
Melyssa Griffin is another successful professional blogger who constantly earns $1,00,000 every month. She writes about traffic building, SEO and how to make blogging your career. She earns money by selling her courses on how to grow your blog traffic and develop passive income. I have attended her webinar and she is really good. You will learn some useful insights about gaining blog traffic and more.
Her story is kind of motivating and could really lit a fire inside you to pursue your life purpose. Before she came into blogging business, she was a language teacher who used to teach English in a Japanese school. As she stated about her that she was not fully satisfied with her job as a language teacher and always wanted to do something else. It was like school teacher is not her ultimate calling. So one fine day, she left the job and chose to start a blog where she uses to share her graphic designs. And you see when you move one step closer to your life’s purpose, life opens up more for you. The same happened with her. People started appreciating her work and soon she found a client to buy her services. Then like everyone else she also needed more clients and the only way for her to attract more client was to increase website traffic. She taught herself SEO, digital marketing and now she is getting more than a million hits on her website.
Turning Point
So one fine day, she left the job and chose to start a blog where she uses to share her graphic designs. And you see when you move one step closer to your life’s purpose, life opens up more for you. The same happened with her. People started appreciating her work and soon she found a client to buy her services. Then like everyone else she also needed more clients and the only way for her to attract more client was to increase website traffic. She taught herself SEO, digital marketing and now she is getting more than a million hits on her website.
Amazing! Isn’t it? There are many bloggers who started with their passion, worked hard for it and then? BOOOM! A life-changing experience. You never know when this is going to happen with you. You just need to keep faith in yourself that it will happen sometime soon. Just keep doing what you are doing and learn from your mistakes.
Harsh Agarwal
Harsh Agarwal is a successful Indian Blogger who made big in the world of blogging. He earns money from affiliate marketing, advertising, sponsored posts and more. He helps people in starting their own blogs and getting freedom from a 9-6 job. Just like he did back in 2008.
His life story is inspiring and kind of exciting. He completed his engineering in 2008 and got placed in Accenture. He has a 2 month’s time before joining Accenture. Instead of passing his time waiting for his joining, he thought of earning some money. So, he joined a Convergys BPO to earn some bucks. He used to blog in other platform but never really made it a profession. He was a hobby blogger who use to blog on technology and kinds of stuff. People use to like what he wrote and slowly he made a small community of people who use to love his posts.
Turning Point
His life changed when he made the decision to opt for full-time blogging. As he mentioned in many interviews and his website that he did not have enough money to buy hosting and start his website. He had to borrow his friend’s credit card to purchase the hosting. I also remember his first hosting provider was DreamHost.
In less than 6 months, he started getting good traffic and in no time he found himself making more than 60,000 INR which was way more than what Accenture will pay him. He knew that very moment that he had made the right decision. He continued moving in the direction and now he earns more than $30,000 every month. Recently, he purchased his own flat in Mumbai. He is moving non-stop into creating a way to help more people to start with their own blogs, thus, motivating entrepreneurship in people.
His story gives another reason to start with the purpose for your life. Start doing what you are meant to do in this world and soon success will follow.
Ways Through Which Successful Bloggers Earn Money
I shared the story of three successful bloggers and how they made it big. I hope you have a clear picture how professional bloggers make money from their blog. Also, their stories are inspirational. But you see, they really worked hard to reach where they are right now. I have listed down the ways how these successful bloggers earn money from their blogs.
- Affiliate Marketing
- Advertisement
- Sponsorship
- Consulting
- Selling Courses
- Selling Ebooks
- Hosting Webinars
- Events
- Donations
- Syndication
- Selling Blog
- Coaching
- Podcast Advertising
- Video Advertising
Each of the above categories has tonnes of other subcategories. And if you could become an expert of any of the sub-category inside of these major categories then you will easily earn more than $10,000 every month. This is the potential of a successful blog.
I’m going to talk a little about the subcategories that come under each of the above categories. This will give you a good idea about each of the different ways you can use to earn money from your blog. After all, the more you explore the better you become. Also, it could help you to choose what is best for your blog and plan your strategy accordingly. Let’s start from the top of the list.
Affiliate Marketing
It is one of the best ways to earn money from your blog. Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by selling others product from your website and earn a little commission in between. This could be a great way to earn money from your blog if your blog talks a lot about social/daily stuff (specifically, any niche) and if you have a good targeted traffic which would be interested in buying what you are selling.
In simple words, you must have a niche blog which attracts people with a mindset of buying something. Usually, technology related niche does better in Affiliate marketing but it is not limited to that. People are earning money in all sorts of different fields and niche through affiliate marketing. I’m earning through affiliate marketing in this blog, although, I write a lot fewer affiliate articles the earning is still good that it pays all my website related expenses. What else a blogger need 🙂
How Affiliate Marketing Works
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by selling others product from your website and earn a little commission in between. This could be a great way to earn money from your blog if your blog talks a lot about social/daily stuff (specifically, any niche) and if you have a good targeted traffic which would be interested in buying what you are selling. In simple words, you must have a niche blog which attracts people with a mindset of buying something.
Usually, technology related niche does better in Affiliate marketing but it is not limited to that. People are earning money in all sorts of different fields and niche through affiliate marketing. I’m earning through affiliate marketing in this blog, although, I write a lot fewer affiliate articles the earning is still good that it pays all my website related expenses. What else a blogger need 🙂
In simple words, you must have a niche blog which attracts people with a mindset of buying something. Usually, technology related niche does better in Affiliate marketing but it is not limited to that. People are earning money in all sorts of different fields and niche through affiliate marketing. I’m earning through affiliate marketing from this blog, although, I write a lot fewer affiliate articles the earning is still good that it pays all my website related expenses. What else a blogger need 🙂
Top Affiliate Networks
There are various different types of affiliate networks, it is just a matter of picking the right one for your blog. I will list down a few of the sub-categories which are at the top of the boards when it comes to earning.
- Shopping Site Affiliate Network (Amazon, Flipkart?)
- CJ Affiliate
- Web Hosting Services Affiliation (Dreamhost, DigitalOcean?)
- Private Affiliate Networks
- Direct Affiliation
You can start exploring any of the above sub-categories, to begin with, an affiliate marketing on your blog. The strategy is very important if you planning to sell affiliate products on your blog. You must create a strategy before picking up any affiliate network in order to gain the maximum from it. You must not bombard your visitors with just random stuff and make them feel bad for landing on your page. Always try to provide value to your visitors. Respect their time and in return, they will respect your efforts.
Research Research Research…
You will have to make a lot of research before writing an affiliate article and that is the reason why I write fewer affiliate articles because it takes a lot of effort and time to provide the best value to my users. You must make a clear strategy as what to write and how to write and for whom to write. Based on your strategy, you must look for an affiliate network that would help you to make the most out of it.
Also, do not forget to read their payment terms before opting for any network. You can read more about choosing an affiliate network here.
Advertisement
This is one of the best ways to create a passive income from your blog. You can sell space on your website for some bucks. There are various places which you can offer to advertisers in order to host their advertisement.
Types of Advertisements
There are basically three types of ads:
Text Link Ads
These are usually the links which appear on your blog post. Whenever the user clicks on that link he/she is taken to advertiser’s website in return for a small amount that they will pay you. However, there are 2 big drawbacks for this type of ads:
1. It takes visitors away from your website
2. It pays you very less
I do not recommend this ad to anyone who is trying to build a readership. It could really take your visitors away and you will lose your readership as well. It is not a good strategy to take your visitors away for some cents. Not a good idea, do not go for it unless you have a solid reason to use it.
Banner Ads
These ads are more attractive as they are images that could be placed anywhere on your website. There are various different positions where you can place the ad and charge the advertiser accordingly. However, this also requires your website to have a good traffic, otherwise, it is all futile and simply eats your page space. For ad placement position, refer below image.
Network/Script based Ads
Google Adsense is a Network-based ad. All you do is register your website to Google’s ad network. Once your website is registered successfully and approved, you are given a backend from where you can generate a script. You will have to embed this script somewhere in your page and everything will be taken care of by the script itself. This is what network based ads do. They take all the hassle of editing and displaying the ads by yourself.
The ads will be shown according to your post type and visitor’s interest without you getting involved.
This really sounds like a cool idea but it usually pays less. And on top of that, you need a lot of traffic you earn even a small amount. People who have traffic in millions can make use of this ad network in the best ways. If you have just started and have no more than 4k to 6K traffic then probably Google Adsense is not the best choice for your blog. Try affiliate marketing instead.
You might want to read more about these types of ads because what I have given you is just the broad generic category of ads. There are various different sub-categories under each of the above ad types which you should definitely explore before opting for it.
Make a Strategy
The advertisement must be chosen after lots of analysis keeping in mind the user experience of your website. You might not want to lose your visitors just because of earning a few cents of the website. Ad placement and ad type becomes very important and must be given high importance. You can check my website and see that I have only one advertisement and that too does not come in the visible area of the user. You can give it a try to find the ad on the page. I just want to provide the best user experience while you read my posts.
There are a lot of things that could be adopted to increase the revenue generate for your blog. This article is just to give you a brief idea about all the different things and you can use to earn money from your blog.
Sponsorship
I think you might be aware of earning money via sponsorship. Sponsorship is one of the best ways to earn money through your blog or channel. If your blog is famous and capable of attracting visitors of a specific niche then you might get sponsors who will give you their products to showcase on your website or channel. Almost every top YouTuber and blogger has multiple sponsors and relies on them to advertise their products. This is seen in major mobile review website where companies give mobile phones to be showcased on their website for honest reviews. This is a really good technique to earn money from your blog or channel.
How to Pitch Sponsors
Now, the important part is how to pitch sponsors. Well, the best way is by email. If you are targeting any particular product then I would suggest you shortlist companies that sell those products. Now, draft a beautiful email telling them about your website and statistics of your website. Also, tell them how your website can help them to reach potential clients/customers. If your email is convincing enough then you are sure to get a sponsor. This is only possible if you have a niche blog and have a decent amount of unique traffic.
There are so many ways to land a sponsor for your website or product which I will talk some other time. You just need to understand the earning potential that sponsors can bring to you.
Consulting
This is one sure way to earn money from your blog. If you are good at something then you can advertise your skills through your website and build your client list. This is one of the sure shot ways to earn money through your blog (sell yourself). I love to consult people about different pieces of technology that overwhelms any non-technical person from starting their website. Although, I have not started charging money for my services yet, sure in the future I will.
Who Should Start a Consulting Business
If you are good at something which you think can help people solve their problems in a better way then sure you can start your own consulting firm online. You do not need any physical presence. All you need is a reflection of yourself on your website that people would buy. That is all it takes to start your business online. If you will go and check Melyssa Griffin’s Website, the very first thing you will see his image looking at the things or resources that she has to offer to any newcomer. That is fantastic. A tagline goes a long way. Research has shown that a tagline can increase your conversion rate by more than 30%. That is amazing. Consulting is a sure way to earn money through your blog.
If you need help setting up a website then you know who to contact – ME. Yo!
Selling Courses
This has become a marketplace for anyone who has useful information related to any field and some good presentation skills. If you have something that people would pay to watch you then your blog is the best platform to sell your skills. You can create a marketplace just like any other marketplace (like Amazon, Flipkart…) only difference it will sell digital products. The products will be your complete and people will pay to unlock those courses and download them. Here are the two website’s that I find the best when it comes to grasping knowledge from tutorials. You can get a pretty nice idea from these websites as to how you can sell courses through your website or blog.
- Udemy
- The New Boston (free courses)
Who Should Sell Course?
I help people to create a website by giving them pieces of advice about the best architecture and technology that they can use to start with. You see to maintain such a website you need adequate knowledge of different pieces of technologies or at least you should have a person who is there to help you out in creating such a website, otherwise, you can spend lots of money and still don’t get the result you expect for. The above two websites that I showed you is created from scratch by the owners of the website. They are software developers and they used their skills to create such a platform.
If you are starting out, I would suggest you sell your course on other course selling platform to learn the basics and create a client base. Once you have a sufficient knowledge, you can create your own standalone platform and begin from theirs. This is by far the most efficient way to earn some quick bucks from your website.
Selling Ebooks
This is something almost each and every blogger does in his/her career. The ebook does not have to be the best seller to make you rich. It should be something of value that will make people buy it and thus you will earn money. There are people in this blogging industry who are making more than $4000 selling the ebook and that too on the consistent basis. The blog “Just a girl and her blog” earns more than $30,000 every month. They have also shared their income report that I would want you to take a look at -> Just a girl and her blog income report.
Important Thing to Consider Before Writing Ebook
One thing that you need to keep in mind before writing an ebook is that it should provide value to your users. If you are not providing value to your users then it’s is not gonna happen for you. I love to experiment these stuff and see how things work and work not. So, you can check at the bottom of the page you will see that I’m giving away free e-guide to backup WordPress. This was just an experiment to see whether my book is working for me or not. Whatever subscriptions I got, I got from the WordPress & SEO category and not from any other page. This made it very clear to me that ebooks are very targeted based on the preference of the user. The book is required only by people who are into website development or are little techy, so it is obviously not everyone will want it even though it is free.
Collect Stats and Device a Strategy
I would suggest collecting data about your website before starting to write an ebook and see the demographics of your users. Which type of users visits your website? What is their mindset? How do they find your website on the internet and stuff like that? This will give you a clear idea of what people are expecting from your website and will help you to create the most powerful lead magnet for them to subscribe to. You offer should be an irresistible one. It should be like as soon as someone sees, their heart must pound to get it quickly, I think we all should work on perfecting our skills to understand the needs of our users.
Hosting Webinars
Another great way to earn money from your blog is by hosting seminars. The seminars could be a great way to sell something of value that you already have learned. For the ones who are not familiar with Webinars, well, it is nothing special but just a seminar over the internet. How to know if you are good for hosting webinars. Well, you must have these qualities before you can host an addictive and engaging webinar.
- Good Communication Skills
- Fluent English (or any other language you are targeting)
- Subject Matter Expertise
- Authority (a good to have)
- A Compelling Message
- Targeted Attendees
- Straightforward Call To Action
The good thing is that anyone can learn and develop these skills and audience and deliver an engaging webinar. However, I wouldn’t suggest webinars to someone who has just started because of two main reasons:
-
Not much people are going to attend it
I’m sure if you are not a celebrity or someone with a good fan following, then you might not have a high number of followers from the start. You must concentrate on increasing your audience first and then think about earning from your blog. If you will directly jump to the higher stage, chances are that you will fail and then leave blogging because it did not work for you. I know people from blogging industry, for ex Harsh Agarwal, who has a great fan following, yet he has not started with the webinar because he knows how much it takes to deliver it. Therefore, my first advice would be that you earn to increase your fan following first and then try something advance.
-
It takes a lot of effort to deliver the best
You will have to put a lot of your efforts for hosting just one webinar and if it didn’t work out for you, it will make you go low. It also requires money to host a webinar. Therefore, I would suggest you to start building your traffic first before jumping into something like this.
Hosting Webinar is one of the most productive ways to earn money from your blog and following. There are multiple platforms that offer you the power to host your own webinar series. Anymeeting.com is an online platform that helps you to host webinar series. You can look for their pricing here -> anymeeting webinar pricing.
Donation
Okay, this is a hard way to earn and also the easiest way. A donation is simply asking money from the people if they found anything of value from your article. If they are highly satisfied with your article and they want to show gratitude, then they can do it in the form of a small donation.
Who Should Ask For Donation
You must ask yourself before proceeding with this option.
Does your article provide value to the users that they would pay you for it simply by asking them?
If you think, Yes, you have written a great article and will provide value to the users then sure go ahead and add a donation button on your website.
Adding a donation button is really very simple and easy. All you need is a Paypal Account. Once you have registered and linked your bank account with Paypal. You can go to Paypal Donation Button and create yourself a donation button. Just like the one I have embedded below,
By the way, this button is fully working and might help you on your income tax 😉
Here’s a quick link to Financial Literacy.
I wrote this post just to give you a summary of what is there for you in the world of the blogosphere. You can always find your opportunities in this world and those opportunities can take you to places you have never even dreamt of. I read a beautiful article of smartblogger.com where they interviewed multiple bloggers and asked them how did a blog helped you to become what your are today. And their response is simply amazing. Here is the link to that blog -> OMG! Opportunities that blogging made it happen.
There are infinite opportunities for everyone in the world of blogging. The good thing, you all are welcome.@vs_shrivastava #bloggingtips
? Varun Shrivastava (@vs_shrivastava) June 10, 2017
What do you think about the ways I shared in this blog post? Let me know how do you earn money from your blog? Also, if you know any secret, ping me on my facebook page. I’m always available 🙂