Even though blogging isn’t really something “new,” it’s still something that a lot of people don’t take very seriously. Can you really make money posting content online?

The answer is yes.

As long as you have a plan, and you are willing to work hard, you can make money blogging.

How to Make Money Blogging

Start Your Own Blog

When you think of making money by blogging, it’s common to think of owning your own blog. You write on a subject you care about or know a lot about, and you build a following.

In order to make money this way, you will need some sort of advertising. Your options include (and you can do all three at once):

  • Pay Per Click: Make money from ads that companies like Google AdSense or Media.net place on your site. You get a commission when your site visitors click through and complete a purchase.
  • Affiliate marketing: You can join affiliate programs that place ads on your site. You can get paid per click, or you can get a commission on purchases made through your site.
  • Sell ad space: You can also sell ad space on your blog. There are those who might be willing to pay either a monthly rate or based on traffic to have an ad somewhere on your site.

There are some blog owners that sell text link ads, trading on their PageRank and other authority measures, but this is against Google’s terms of service, and you could be penalized in the search engine results pages for selling text link ads.

You can also sell your own product or service. Whether it’s an ebook, online course, web design or anything else you can think of, you can set up a shopping cart and even your own affiliate system to promote it.

Making money on your own blog requires months, or even years, of work as you build up your traffic and authority. Eventually though, you can build up to the point where visitors click through enough to provide you with tidy income.

Write for Someone Else

Another way to make money blogging is to write for someone else. Believe it or not, there are blog owners willing to pay you to provide them with regular content. You write about the subject requested, and you are paid for your contributions.

You can do this under your own byline, and use what you write as part of your portfolio to get more gigs. You are likely to receive money up front when you write for someone else. You don’t have to worry as much about traffic or SEO or other backend issues when you write for someone else.

The downside to writing for someone else is that you don’t have the same income potential. You are paid a set rate for your content (unless there’s a traffic bonus or revenue sharing agreement), while the sky’s the limit for income when you have your own blog.

Combine Approaches

Of course, you can always combine your approaches to making money by blogging. You can start your own blog, and while you work on growing the traffic, you can write for other blog owners. That way, you have some income to help support you while you work on your own blog.

This can be a great way to make money blogging while your own business gets off the ground.

What are your best tips for how to make money blogging?