If you want to learn 3 ways to make money blogging, keep reading. In this article, I’m sharing how you can make your first $100 blogging.
If you are new to blogging, you may feel as if you have to work your way up to monetizing your blog. You might have even given yourself certain goals.
“Once I hit 50,000 page views per month, I’ll make money by doing sponsored posts!”
And while that is true, it’s important to understand that you don’t have to wait. Making a full-time income from blogging takes time. But nothing is stopping you from making money from your blog right out the gate.
Partnering with brands to create content for sponsored posts is not the only way to make “real” money with blogging. Sure, getting paid to help a brand highlight their products directly with your audience is an excellent stream of income for your blog.
It’s the kind of work most bloggers dream of when deciding to make their blog a business.
But it is not the only viable income option, and you shouldn’t wait until you’re at that level to start making money. It takes time to build the nice sized, engaged audience needed to land sponsored post deals.
There are ways that you can start making money from your blog while you work on building that audience! Your first $100 can be made pretty early in the blogging game, assuming you are creating solid content that gets people reading.
1. Apply for Google Adsense
Full disclosure— you can actually apply to any ad network, not only Google Adsense. Media.net is another option for bloggers and can be used in conjunction with Google Adsense. That being said, Google Adsense is the most “new blogger” friendly option.
Each ad network has specific requirements for eligibility that includes having a minimum amount of page views per month.
Google Adsense has no minimum page views requirement, making it a good fit among newer blogs. But, like every other ad network, it does have other requirements that you’ll want to ensure you are meeting.
Be sure to check what the requirements are for each ad network before determining which is right for you.
The amount of income you receive from ad placements can vary, as there are many factors that come into play, including how many of your readers click on the ad. But, I’m sure you’ll agree that some income is always better than no income, right?
Also, if your blog receives at least 25,000 sessions monthly, (usually around 30,000 pageviews) I highly recommend applying to Mediavine.
This is the ad network I use, and I love them. You’ll earn a lot more money with your blog through an ad network like Mediavine than you would with Google Adsense.
Note: Google Adsense requires that you earn a minimum of $100 before they send you a payment.
Recommended Article: 5 Proven Ways to Make Money Blogging
2. Affiliate Marketing
One of the reasons you became is a blogger was probably because you love to share what you are most passionate about with other people.
If so, you may enjoy affiliate marketing, which is simply highlighting products and services by other people directly with your built-in readership.
In exchange for bringing the “affiliated” company sales, you are given a small commission when someone makes a purchase through your affiliate link.
When sharing affiliate links with your audience, it is extremely important to disclose that you will earn a commission if they choose to make a purchase.
The FTC has a great FAQ page to help bloggers with disclosing affiliate links.
Some popular choices for affiliate marketing are Amazon, Target and Share-A-Sale, and more. Finding programs that match your niche is the first step to creating a great passive income for your blog.
I really recommend taking the course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, by affiliate marketing expert Michelle Schroeder-Garnder.
This course is one of the best investments I’ve made for increasing my income. You can read my interview with Michelle here.
3. Create Your Own Product or Service
Now that you’ve created your very own blog and have a true niche, you have most likely figured out the type of content your audience responds to best. It may even be possible that your audience associates something specific with you, such as a quote or hashtag, being an expert in one particular area.
Once you are known for something, you can turn that into a product or service.
For example, with products, you can decide to sell physical or digital products. Setting up a print on demand store, like Shopify for e-commerce, could be the perfect extension to your blog. Or maybe you are an artist or great at crafting.
You could offer items for sale that you create yourself or digital prints they can download. Another option is hosting live events.
Your audience may be interested in hearing you speak or having a night out to create art or craft with you. The possibilities are truly endless when you create your products or offer a service.
Free Resource: How to create a simple product to make your first dollar online.
Make sure you read my article, The Ugly Side of Blogging Bloggers Don’t Share for some great advice on determining what to offer your audience. Also, here are some digital products you can sell on your blog:
- Music
- Patterns (crochet, sewing, etc.)
- Printables
- eCourses
- eBooks
- Meal plans
- Photography
- Plugins
- Membership site
- WordPress themes
So, now that you have three solid strategies for making your first $100, it’s time to get to work! The best is that you do not have to limit yourself to choosing only one of these money-making avenues. You can choose to do all three!
I mentioned before the possibilities are endless, and that remains true when it comes to the diversification of streams of income for your blog. Don’t pigeonhole yourself and before you know it, you will have far surpassed your first $100.
But, we all must start somewhere. Where will you choose to start? Or, if you’ve already made your first $100 blogging, did you use one of these methods?