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One of the most common questions I get as a blogger is “How Do Bloggers Make Money?”; they want to know how to make money off a blog. Deciding to become a blogger was a decision I made over time. Once I put my full attention into it, it became a means of lucrative income for me. Many of you have asked me to share how I do that. Since I have worked with several brands and companies at this point. I have some experience with collaborations, and I feel I can share that experience. How to start a profitable blog from day one. Please note: I am in no way a professional consultant, and still have much to learn myself. I am just sharing my personal experiences and what I have done to grow.
Let me begin by stopping you right here if your only intention in blogging is blogging for money. Although there are many successful blogs and bloggers out there who make a living AND SOME by blogging and working with brands to share their products, there are 10 times as many out there who do not make any money at all. Blogging truly is a JOB and you have to have that passion for it in order to be successful. Make sure you are willing to work hard. Be patient and love what you do before trying to make an income off of it.
CREATE CONTENT
When I first started blogging I remember going to my husband and asking him what I needed to do to get started. (My husband is a computer programmer and developer so I knew I could lean on him for this kind of help.) His response to me was “whats a blog? It is a place where readers go to get information, right?” … “Create Quality Content“. To this day he will still tell me the answer to all my blogging questions is to continue to “Create Quality Content”.
I remember being so annoyed when my husband would say this to me.
Because, yeah, duh I know I need to write posts, but like where do I get my domain from? How do I set up a shopping widget? Where do I place my email opt-in form…? All I wanted was the quick answers to get my blog up and running and growing. And even though I heard my husband’s advice I still pushed to get my blog looking pretty, live, searchable, and ready to be used. What I was missing was actually having that quality content ready to post.
Start your blog with the intent of actually sharing quality content with the world. You will hit the ground running with or without a pretty theme. Spend time being passionate about what you have to say. Do your research and create content for at least 3 full months before even launching your blog. I know this sounds so un-exciting, but I promise you this is the best thing you can do for yourself if you truly want to make your blog your business. Having consistent quality content will get you a growing organic audience from day one. That is the main thing brands and companies look for when deciding to work with a blogger. (If you are new to blogging and would like help starting a blog, DM me for more information and the steps to take to start a blog)
BE AUTHENTIC
DO NOT TAKE IDEAS FROM OTHER BLOGGERS! Google will see this and you will be penalized for it. Having a strong authentic voice is the best kind of quality content you can have. If you are here to make a difference and have a blogging business you can truly be proud of, then why wouldn’t you want that to be 100% your own voice? There are a lot of people out there who throw up a blog consisting of post after post of copied content. Not only is this illegal but it is just plain wrong and will get you nowhere as far as a reputable reputation goes. Any blogger who does this will not last long, and will quickly get shut down.
Google sees duplicate content as a red flag. You will be penalized for this, as well as you will be hurting the person who’s page you stole it from. This includes taking someone else’s ideas and rewriting it in your own words.
Do your own research and talk about things you have real knowledge about. Speak from the heart. This will not only get you noticed on Google (which is very important for gaining traffic to your blog), but it also will help to form your individual audience. Having an audience that is coming to read what you have to say over and over again is what puts value on who you are and what you do! Brands love this!
BE PATIENT
OK. So you have created several months of quality content with an original voice, you are trickling it out onto your blog a few times a week, and taking the time to be truly authentic in what you have to say. Now what? This is where your true colors show as far as being dedicated to being a full time profitable blogger. You MUST be patient. Landing collaborations and partnerships does not happen overnight. Blog traffic takes time to grow. Give your blog some time to spread it’s wings and introduce itself to the world wide web. Over time you WILL start to see steady growth!
There are some other things you can do while you wait. Start growing your audience in the social world too. Share your content with friends and family, post hype about your blog posts on social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are all great!), subscribe to forums and get involved in conversations, post honest comments on other blogs in your niche… All of these things and more are great ways to get people talking about your blog. (If you would like further details on how to share your blog DM me and I will be happy to send more in-depth information your way!) This is truly whole separate blog post of it’s own, but the point is to spread the word of your hard work.
ORGANIC COLLABORATIONS vs. OUTREACH
Once the ball is rolling you can either wait for companies and brands to reach out to you OR you can go out and contact them yourself. Some bloggers prefer to wait for organic collaborations only. That is usually because they prefer to be able to measure their growth organically through and through. Other bloggers like to do both, and really either option is perfectly fine.
My only advice to you if you do choose to reach out to companies, is to have your statistics ready. Be able to back up what you are asking for. Be true to yourself and only reach out to companies/brands that you truly love and want to promote to your readers. A good example of this is a brand of diapers I use on my daughter everyday, all the time. I already know the brand and love it, sharing that with my readers is something I want to do regardless of whether I get paid to or not. Brands want to work with those bloggers!
OTHER WAYS TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING
There are TONS of other ways that bloggers make money aside from collaborations. You can monetize your blog once you have good traffic through Ad Networks, Link Ads, Affiliates, Offer Networks, Sponsored Content Networks, Free Credits, Products Sales, Paid Content…and so many more. (If you would like further details on other ways to make money blogging, DM me and I will be happy to send you more information!)
This is an extensive topic, and takes a lot of time and work to get set up. But it can be extremely lucrative and a wonderful way to pull in substantial money once you are established.
GO ABOVE AND BEYOND
Once you have landed a collaboration with a brand/company, you will discuss requirements and agree on what you will provide in exchange for their payment. Often times that looks something like this. Brand will pay (such and such fee) for 1 blog post dedicated to promoting their chosen product along with promotion on bloggers social platforms. Every collaboration is different, but generally it is along those lines.
The best thing you can do is go above and beyond during and after the collaboration ends. It truly show that you are a reputable blogger. I love to promote the brand with an extra post on Instagram or Twitter a week following a collaboration. Just to show my appreciation and to show my good nature. Often times this will lead to repeat collaborations and building strong relationships. I have even had collaborations turn into ongoing partnerships!
SAY THANKS
I will leave you with one final tip, and that is to always say thank you! I find it so nice to receive a hand written thank you note from a company. Do the same by sending a had written note to the brand/company following a partnership. It shows real tact and often puts you in a special place with that company for the future!
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