Starting a blog is easy. Earning money as a newbie blogger is not. Here are a few quick tips to start earning money as a newbie blogger!
by Kimberly Pangaro | Kimberly is a mom of four daughters and the owner of the lifestyle parenting media company Atomic Mommy. When she’s not running her company or momming all day, she’s writing about family life.
Affiliate Disclaimer: This is an honest review and I have not been paid for my review of the products mentioned. However, if you click on the links below, I may earn a commission. To learn more about how affiliate links work, please read my affiliate disclaimer here.
Blogging as a full-time career is quite tiresome, overwhelming, and at times, can feel as if it’s not worth it. If you left your 9 to 5 to be a blogger, thinking you’d have freedom and more control of your income, then your thinking was both right AND wrong.
Here’s why.
There is freedom in being a full-time blogger. You don’t have to clock in. No one is ordering you around. Any deadlines you have, are the deadlines you set for yourself. And you get to choose what you write about.
But… And that’s a big but, you are your own boss.
That makes you in charge of everything from marketing, to acquiring new clients, outreach, targeting old and new readers, building an email campaign list, getting advertisers on your site, pitching sponsorships, pitching writers, accounting, web design, and bringing the creative, and that’s just the beginning of it.
That’s a lot of hats to wear for one person, especially if you cannot afford to outsource all of these tasks. But the truth is, anyone can start a blog. The questions you need to be asking yourself is whether you should and if you’re up for the commitment ahead.
The reason you need to ask yourself these questions is because not everyone is built to be the boss of their own lives AND a business. There’s only so much stress a person can handle.
So if you’re looking for an easy way to earn money as newbie a blogger, then this article is not for you. For those of you who have already begun this blogging journey full-time AND want to do whatever it takes to earn more income, then this article is definitely for you!
#1 Sign Up To Be An Affiliate
In the beginning of your blogging journey, your website traffic may be small. That’s okay. Some affiliate marketers don’t care about this aspect of your site. Rather, they just want another blog to market their products. The good news about this is that with each sale you make from your site, you get a commission. This commission is usually a percentage, set by the affiliate company, and collected by you.
Be mindful that each affiliate company has their own policies and their own pay schedules. If you earn a commission today, you could end up waiting 30, 60, or even 90 days to see that payment in your bank account.
Affiliates welcoming newbie bloggers: Awin, Share-A-Sale, and Amazon Affiliates.
#2 Google Adsense
Google Adsense is a great way to start earning some much needed funds. How it works: Google monitors your domain’s analytics, and bases the earnings off of that. But the only way to get your site on Google Adsense is by owning your own domain. So, if you’re using a free website from WordPress or Blogger, then you’ll need to make sure you buy your domain before you apply for Google Adsense.
Keep in mind that while you don’t need a certain amount of readers to be accepted to use Google Adsense, you won’t make any money until your readership grows. Plus, Google’s payout works only when you’ve reached the threshold.
Tip: Google Adsense places ads on your site once accepted into their program. The more unique visitors you get, the more money you’ll earn. Focus your site’s posts on using natural SEO keywords placed within, to reach real readers and not bots.
#3 Apply For Acceptance Into Ad Agencies
There are many ad agencies that specialize in placing ads on your site. Some pay better than others, and others have less-intrusive ad options for your site. How you choose one will be entirely up to you.
Some of the ad agencies require a minimum number of monthly page views, some asking for a minimum of 10,000 while others ask for much higher like 50,000. You can take your pic, but again, you do need to own your own domain.
Tip: Look into She Media, Ezoic, and AdThrive, as they require much less in terms of page views or sessions. Mediavine is on the higher end of requirements.
#4 Link Inserts
Link inserts are probably the easiest method to start earning money as a newbie blogger, but it can be the hardest to build this kind of pipeline. This is because you not only need to have strong analytics, you also need to have worth. Worth is tricky to define to strangers who email you to have their guides, pages, or infographs added to your site.
The best way for a site to express its worth is by using its analytics, social media followers, demographics, and CTR (clickthrough rate). Here’s the best part, you won’t always have to apply to companies for the opportunity to have link inserts added into your posts. If your SEO focus keywords are strong, many companies will find you. When they do, you’ll need to be firm with your prices per link insert as this will cause them to negotiate with you. Once they starting negotiating a price with you, then feel out where you think you need to land. Remember, you want to create a lasting partnership with each company, so make your price agreeable enough where you’re both happy.
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#5 E-Commerce Store
An e-commerce store is a great way to earn extra income as a new blogger. The best part is that you don’t actually have to be good at making things yourself! There are many print-on-demand sites that allow you to upload your very own digital creations and place them onto objects like bed sheets, couch pillows, mugs, t-shirts, hats, tote bags, and more! All it really takes is a little marketing to your social media followers, friends, and family. And it’s super easy to design your very own digital ideas by using Canva. Just make sure you sign up for the Canva Pro version so you gain access to every design element, as you will definitely need it for this aspect.
Tip: Our favorite print-on-demand sites are Printful, Printify, and Printed Mint.
The Takeaway
There are plenty of ways to start earning money as new blogger, the trick is to diversify your income streams. Don’t settle for just one method, use as many of the ideas above you feel comfortable with committing to. Just be sure to make a spreadsheet of all of your income streams, as you will definitely be needing that type of information during tax season. Happy blogging and good luck!
