How to Make Money Blogging: 7 Strategies to Help you Get Started Immediately
You can make money from blogging. It can pay for your bills. It does work for everyone. There’s no secret and you’ll just really need to know how to get started and which blogging framework to follow.
It’s not a difficult process at all and this post will provide 7 distinct methods you can use to generate substantial income from blogging. These seven methods are strategies you can adopt right from the beginning, preferably before you set up your first blog.
You can think of them as guidelines which point out the different options you have, if you’re serious about using blogging as a method of making money online.
1. The “Flagship” or Big Blog Route
This is simultaneously the most profitable and most time-consuming blog venture. The flagship method directs all your focus on a few blogs in order to make them incredibly popular in their niche. Flagship blogs should have a large audience as well as high daily visitor traffic numbers.
These type of big blogs have a wide variety of monetization options with direct advertising sales being a big part of it. Know that not everyone can successfully create a big blog so attempt this route only if you absolutely believe that you have the networking skills, niche knowledge and marketing know-how that’s needed.
- Benefits: Fame as well as more monetization options/potential for your blogs, alongside personal satisfaction. Another advantage is that big blogs usually market or promote themselves automatically once a certain level of fame has been achieved.
- Disadvantages: Very time-consuming especially if you are not outsourcing the content creation or marketing duties. Expect a lot of work and experiment with creative promotional ideas if you decide to go this route.
2. The “Pay per Post” or Get Paid to Blog Route
This is rather simple. Set up multiple niche blogs on either your own domains or free blog hosts like Blogger. Maintain them over a period of time and focus on writing content and building up their Google PageRank, link profile and Alexa Rank.
Submit all of your blogs to multiple get paid to blog websites like Blogitive, Blogsvertise, Review Me, Sponsored Reviews, PayperPost, LoudLaunch and then start writing sponsored posts. I highly recommending using PayperPost as they simply have the largest amount of paid offers available.
- Benefits: The greatest strength of this method is that you don’t even need a large audience to make money. 20 people could be visiting and reading your blogs everyday and you’ll still be able to make at least $15 a day from each blog. If skillfully done over multiple blogs, this method can allow you to easily make over $1.5 K a month.
- Disadvantages: No passive income. You’ll need to spend time writing multiple sponsored blog posts, which can be boring and time consuming. Work will also be needed to maintain your multiple blogs, although that will be minimal after they have been optimized and running for some time.
3. The Automated Blogging or Splog Route
Automated blogging involves the setting up of blogs which automatically pull content from RSS feeds, search engines and news sources to serve as content on your website.
Some bloggers set this to pull partial excerpts of RSS feeds, which does go against some copyrights and one can choose to only include excerpts with a link back to the site in question. Monetization for automated sites is usually done through contextual ads like Google Adsense or affiliate programs.
- Benefits: Very little work needed to maintain these blogs as they do not need you to actively generate or write content. You might need to do a little SEO and regular maintenance now and then. Try if you are adventurous.
- Disadvantage: A weak potential for profit unless you understand the entire process perfectly and if you have quite a large number of blogs.I estimate that a fully automated blog will make you around $5 a month although the actual value depends on the niche and your skills. Assuming that this is so, you’ll need 1,000 blogs to make around $5000 a month. Splogs dwell in ethically gray areas as well.
4. The Text Link Selling Blog Route
The main bulk of your income through this method comes from selling text links to various webmasters and businesses who want to improve their site ranking in Google. While text link selling works for the flagship or other blog models as well, sites can be primarily built for text link sales as well.
The overwhelming emphasis here is on Google PageRank and niche relevancy so you’ll need to focus on these two factors. You can either convert a domain into a text link and sponsored post selling blog or you can purchase a domain with existing PageRank to sell text links for a quick buck. I suggest looking for link buyers directly through webmaster forums.
- Benefits: Selling text links or contextual text links is rather easy and doesn’t involve much work. Potential for profit will correspond to your Google Page Rank and niche. A site with a high PageRank and a profitable niche (mortgages, credit cards) will be very attractive to link buyers. Like paid review blogs, traffic is not a factor in these blogs as well.
- Disadvantages: Over Reliance on the Google PageRank algorithm means that your income may rise or fall depending on your actual Page Rank. There may also be a limit to the number of links you can sell which leads to an income ceiling.
5. The Made-for-Adsense or Made-for-Affiliate-Program Route
This involves setting up a blog around a specific topic with moderately high priced keywords (e.g. teeth whitening, car loans). You’ll only need to create around 25 keyword rich articles on the topic, optimize it for search, set up Adsense or affiliate programs and then leave them alone.
The main emphasis is on building links to the specific webpages, according to the long tail keywords you want to target. Search engine visitors will then find your blog and either click on the ads or convert on a product.
- Benefits: Not a lot of time involved as you can usually contract an experienced writer to develop the keyword rich articles. Not much time is needed to update the blogs as well and new material can be added on a bi-weekly or even monthly basis.
- Disadvantages: There might be a lot of competition in a profitable niche and search traffic might not lead to sufficient income, unless you go for volume and set up dozens of similar websites in other niches as well.
6. The Blog Network or Contract Blogging Route
This involves joining a blog network and getting paid to maintain and create content for blogs. You’ll get paid according to the amount of pageviews, possibly receive a token base fee in the hundreds or a share of the blog’s ad revenue.
- Benefits. Relatively stable monthly income because of the base fee. Contract work usually leads to more freelance blogging or writing assignments because of your proven ability or association with a specific organization.
- Disadvantages: Why bother? If you’re that good at creating and promoting a blog, set up your own website and keep all the profits. However, it is useful to note that a lot depends on the type of network or contract agreement you receive.
7. The Blog-as-Marketing or Branding Route
This method will only apply if you own an online business or provide a freelance service like web design, copy writing or marketing consultation. A blog can be used to help promote your personal or business brand and attract more customers.
This is an indirect method of making money. Ideally, this sort of a blog shouldn’t be plastered with ads or paid reviews because it can tarnish the image of the brand.
- Benefits. A blog can help your brand or business to develop much more search visibility because it allows you to easily create more fresh content that caters to specific demographics as well.
- Disadvantages. Your blog will only be as useful as the quality of the service or product you are pushing. The amount of money you earn doesn’t entirely depend on the quality of the blog but the value of your service/product as well. Income is therefore indirect and can be inconsistent.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are several strategies you can choose if you’re interesting in making money from blogs. To ensure maximum success, be sure to pick one that suits your personal schedule, skill level and interests.
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Little bit of evil on the splog route!
Nevertheless valuable article.
Nice ideas Maki but I don’t like the sound of Splogs, a few people have used my sites in splogs and it was quite frustrating having to go and ask them to remove the content they stole.
always great post!
One of the best posts I’ve read here at Dosh Dosh Maki, excellent work. Since I first started making money online through a single website that was originally just a hobby, but eventually turned into a full time job, I’ve been very narrow-minded towards the first.
To me running a blog, or any website for that matter, is just as much about the personal satisfaction that you mention, as making money. Perhaps that’s the reason I’ll never become the next John Chow? I’ll just keep working on my blogs and websites for as long as I enjoy them, and when I eventually don’t anymore, I will most likely leave them behind for other things that gives me a better personal return, regardless of the money making potential they have.
Of course, if I was more serious about making money online, and dedicated enough time to it, I would probably see more long-term benefits, at least financially. The PPP-route is somewhat tempting, but it does indeed require a lot of time and dedication, and in the long run it’s bound to become extremely tedious.
You forgot number 8:
like I did yesterday when I switch to a new “shorter” domain name. It’s a “hit” on my ranking but better on the long run. It does gave me a chance to increase the main prize(up to $400) in my contest. 
Use the ProSense theme
Also, I’m following the number 7 partly. It’s a freeware media player that show the MIS specification(metadata product) on media files. I still need to make money until it’s sold and will rethink if I can reuse the old blog or split part of it.
Good list!
What would you classify Dosh Dosh as, Maki? Looks to me like you have a nice combination of 1, 2, 4 & 5. When my blog grows up, I want it to be just like your’s.
Bonnie,
I would say that I’ve going the Flagship Route for Dosh Dosh because I do spend a fair amount of time or energy on writing unique content for it.Your blog is already grown up, Bonnie… it’s got its own classy style already.
MISfan,
Good luck with your freeware media player project. And yes, the ProSense theme can help if you’re going the route of Made for Adsense sites as well. ^_^
Lars
Thanks for your comment. Glad you’ve got a firm grasp on what you want to achieve with your blogs.
I made inquiry regarding blogging for a popular blog network and was taken back by the base pay: $50 per month plus a tiny percentage of the visits per 1000. With Text Link Ads I make that amount myself — how could I possibly justify blogging for them? I couldn’t, so I don’t!
Great post, very informative. I just started my own blog, as a hobby and not for profit, but who knows what may happen down the road. Thanks.
I hope i can start blogging soon successfully…
Nice post… now we need a “what kind of blogger are you?” quiz so I can figure out what I am.
More useful content for new once who should know the advantage and disadvantages to get involve in this online business and to make money with blogging.
Hey Maki great article (as usual). After discovering I could make money blogging about a year ago I decided to research different ways to do it. I decided to use a few different types of blogs to generate income. So instead of just concentrating on just one strategy, I am using numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 with several different blogs. Each blog uses only one or two of the strategies. I firmly believe in the “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” saying.
Manisha - you are correct - the important thing is to still provide great content that others are looking for.
That is very interesting article and good information about make money with blogging.
Good to know.
Maki,
As U mentioned writing unique content sure does take time and energy and IMO it is worth.
VIJAY
Good Post with lots of information. Does Dosh Dosh do a combination of these? Do you have any sponsored posts on Dosh Dosh to see an example of the “Getting Paid to Post” idea? Also, does Dosh Dosh have other blogs?
And you can use life optimization tips and tricks like GTD ( Getting Things Done ) to dramaticaly increace profit from your blog regardles of strategy it use.
Good solid advice that is compiled in a way I never seen before. A great starting point for those who have questions about what to do and where to start.
hi…i am really having a hard time trying to get paid for blogging for specific products…for one, i don’t maintain my own blog because i’ve got school and all so i am only up for the job where i do not need a blogsite of my own…second, i am from the philippines and paypal is not available here just yet so whether i sign up for whatever blogging-for-pay, it would be futile because i have no means of getting my self paid…can u possibly suggest any options that i have? i am from the philippines and blogging is more than a hobby to me?
Thanks for this roundup. The blog network approach looks like a good one. The earnings don’t look big, but it seems that there are more and more of these starting up and “getting in on the ground floor” could be advantageous. Also, it’s a way to become better known even if you aren’t making much money.
You definitely have a great post over here! I am starting to understand better how making money using blog works. Thank you.
Hi a very well written and researched article. I have been reading your other articles too on this site. Find them very informative. Thank you. a quick question: are there any sites that one can join to give paid reviews on websites. Just like we have paid reviews for products. are there sites that enable paid reviews for websites?
If you’re going to do number 5 on this list, you better have a lot of love for those high priced keywords. If you don’t, you’ll get burned out very fast.
Maki - You’ve got some fantastic ideas. I’m new to the whole blogging thing so I’m trying to find my groove still. Your list is excellent. Thanks for the info.
Great effort sir. No wonder you are highly popular.
I have a question.
Google penalized many including me for running text link ads and paid blog posts.
Do you have a solution for this?
Thanks.
Realy good article, there are really many ways and strategies of making money online.
This is a very good overview of the major methods that one can use to make significant income from blogging.
There is one thing that I noticed you did not mention, however. What about the recent “Google slap” problem of Google penalizing the PageRank of PayPerPost blogs because of link selling? It seems like this should be included in the disadvantages for #2, especially since these types of programs usually use PageRank as their main indicator of how much a blogger can get paid for writing review posts.
This has put paid posters in a difficult position because if they disclose their paid posts to Google (or Google somehow finds out anyway), then their PageRank gets reduced, which greatly reduces the income potential of this method. The alternative is for paid posters to “fly under the radar” and avoid obvious disclosure, but this limits a blogger’s income too because many of the paid posting programs seem to mandate some type of disclosure that could eventually be discovered by Google. It’s a classic case of being stuck between a proverbial rock and hard place.
always great post!
Maki - You’ve got some fantastic ideas. I’m new to the whole blogging thing so I’m trying to find my groove still. Your list is excellent. Thanks for the info.
That is very interesting article and good information about make money with blogging. I personally developed an online store of security stuff. Camere IP Supraveghere DVR si CCD CMOS. Nice looking anyway.
Good to know.Keep it going!
gee thanks for sharing. very helpful tips! (:
I love tips! Thanks
As always, nice blog.
I found a fun free money maker online. TheRaiser.com has a treasure hunt on their site everyday. The winner actually receives money.
Pretty neat if you ask me!
Great post again, you have so many useful posts, I’m very excited to read this article, I’ve found that make money online is a hard things to do, but I hope after read this I can make an improvement.
Great Post! The world wide web has changed the way we work and make money from home forever. If you are serious about making money online, you must register a domain name, have your own website built, implement some type of income generating system, medium or method; be it affiliate marketing, ad publishing, etc. Update your site regularly and promote it like crazy. - Javier.
A very informative article, thanks! Got something to think about today. I’m off to make some omprovements myself! =)
Seven useful tips, eh?
Stop trying to beat me!
Great post. Keep it up!
Hello
Your Blog is a Great Blog, Congratulations
Thanks for the tips
Hello Maki,
This is an interesting breakdown of the different money making strategies when it comes to blogging. I definitely learned a few methods here I hadn’t thought about previously, such as the get paid to blog options!
Thanks for the great resource.
These are great tips for someone like myself who recently started blogging about earning money online. I had 148 views yesterday which was nice and I’m trying to make some money from my blog from affiliate marketing and from people to go green for me.
http://www.projectpaydaymentor.com/
Wonderfull list. Especially for us new to blogging.
I would like to add to all this that making money online is not something that happens miraculously. You will have to work for it. Just as anything else in this world.
Of course, some people get lucky and find a hole in the market. But most people just have to keep going and keep working. Don’t worry, it will pay off in the end. But the biggest mistake when trying to make money online is giving up. And a lot of people do give up.
I still found it easier to lose money online than to make some.
Hello, I just want to say that we both have our 7’s. You have your “7 tips on make money blogging”, while I have my
“7 sturggles of a new blogger”. Hope you’ll check it out. Please say any suggestion that can make my blog better. Thanks.
http://ex-pressed.blogspot.com
Thanks for the article! I am a beginner and just trying to understand the process. CheerS!
Maki,
I think u should update this post. Niche video blogging is also one of the profiting methods.
Really informative article. From what I’ve read the affiliate market seems to earn bloggers a lot of money.
Thanks for the helpful info. I have a blog about how to make money online doing surveys and such. This will help
Hi Maki!
This is a great list to give the overall picture. What about the quite narrow Niche/Adsense slot that Grizzly and Court are pushing? This is your number 5 I guess, but I believe there are an unlimited number of niches out there, given the wonderful diversity of human activity.
I suspect that if we could all get off the obvious, popular themes like MMO and it’s satellites, there is an almost untapped wealth of potential - from tooth whitening right through to Fashion Shades for grizzly bears.
You gave No 5 a thumbs down in the ‘Disadvantages’, but if the Gurus mentioned above are to be believed, then an income is possible from a quite small blog stable.
That really was very informative,the description of every step is very easy to follow.
I have being trying to start for some time,but I want to get as much information as possible,before entering this adventure.
I am glad I get dosh.dosh rss feed and, am able to get the information I need,I will keep on reading and getting my “feet wet” ..thanks jessem.biz
Yep thanks Maki, you really help us all to get to the right spot!! I added some other method to make some money easily, on my blog, they are guaranteed and efficient, tottally worth to give a shot!! especially in the social network rubric,, that’s totally new!!
Look here, moneycracy.blogspot.com
Cheers for your great advices and total respect for your involvement!!
I strongly disagree with #3 and suggest that you remove it from your article.
It’s not in an “ethically gray” area. It’s criminal to steal someone else’s work and try to make money off of it. In fact, it’s criminal just to steal someone else’ content, which is what you are doing if you have not got permissions to reprint it.
I’m shocked to see this suggestion on Dosh Dosh.
This is a very informative article, one that every blogger should have a copy of. I’m relatively new to blogging and I’ve been scouring the web for something exactly like this. And now that I’ve found it I would really like to share it with my small yet ever increasing audience. Can I get your permission to post it on my blog? Naturally, I’ll give you full credit for the post as well as provide a link to this site My blog URL is alittlebitofeverything86.blogspot.com and you can reach me by email at naquaneb@hotmail.com
@ Rhys
You’re right in saying that there’s a large amount of niches to choose from…and yes, income is possible from a collection of sites but my personal experience is that it doesn’t make a lot of money for me (when compared to a flagship style blog). Personally, I think a lot depends on your skill levels and how you implement the sites. It’s quite possible that I don’t have the time to grow each of them, hence the slow increase in income.
I wrote this post many months ago and right now, I’m purely operating flagship style blogs and very little small niche/adsense sites
@ MoneyEnergy
It’s sleazy but note that if you only use excerpts of the feed instead of the full feed, you aren’t violating copyrights and stealing content from the web publisher. This is especially the case since each of these excerpts (of a few lines) will be linked to the full entry on the content owner’s site. This is what most people do on sites like Digg as well actually. It is fair use unless the web publisher bans even the use of excerpts.
I don’t like splogs. They clog up the search engine indexes and I don’t think its a good way of making money at all. But I had to include it in because it is an option that many have pursued. However a lot of them are doing it the wrong way but ripping the entire feed and reposting the entire post, that is plagiarism and shouldn’t be done.
@ nicholas brown
Would it be possible for you to post an excerpt of this post and then put a link to the original post instead? BTW thanks for asking!
@ Everyone else
Thanks for all your comments!
Thanks maki. I posted an excerpt of this great article on my blog and provided a link to yours. (no need to post this comment)
Nice post. Invaluable to new comers like me.
Great article, I have to say I prefer blogs which aim to give real quality to the reader. In my experience in the last 10 years, blogs that just give information with no real persnality attach tend to have shorter lives.
If you aim to write well structured informative articles that list more than just the ABC of your topic then you’ll see more visitor interaction, which means a more productive blog for you in the long run.
If you feel you aren’t caple of writing so your visitors will stick then pay some one to do it for you.