Blogs truly are a great way to bring in extra or, if you are particularly dedicated, even full time income. The reason that so many people scoff at the idea is that blogs–no matter what anybody tells you–are not a great source of passive income. You have to work really hard on a blog for it to even begin to bring in money. You have to constantly update it with new content, interact with readers and you have to find the right revenue streams to ensure profitability.
Possible Revenue Streams
Not every type of blog-based income generator is going to work perfectly for you. The methods you choose to turn a profit from your blog are going to be based largely upon your niche and your audience. That said, here are the most common methods that other bloggers have used to bring in the big bucks.
Sidebar Ads
Almost every single site you see online these days, blog based or not, has sideline advertising. The great thing about selling space in your sidebar is that it’s easy and it doesn’t interfere with the rest of your content. There are a lot of great services that you can join that will even choose the ads and manage the money for you. All you have to do is copy a snippet of code into your blog’s sidebar and viola! Ads.
Of course, when you join a service you can expect to pay a portion of your advertising revenue to the service itself. That’s how they make their money. If you hate the idea of service fees, you can always block out space for ads and then sell the space yourself. This, however, is a ton of work and, unless your site is hyper-local, you might not generate very much money.
Tip Jars
Some bloggers are content to simply put up a tip jar somewhere on their website and link to it from their individual posts. A simple “like this post? Consider kicking in a few bucks to keep the site going!” works well. It is important to understand, though, that a simple tip jar isn’t going to rake in the cash. You might make coffee money, but you won’t make “pay the electric bill” money.
Crowdfunding
Think of crowdfunding as the ultimate tip jar. Kickstarter and IndiGogo are a great way to drum up revenue for larger projects but if you want to create lasting revenue for your blog, you’ll need to set up your own Patreon. Patreon is great because it gives you a chance to, essentially, invite people to subscribe to your blog for extra and exclusive content without your having to manage all of those details yourself. A lot of independent creators have had fantastic success with Patreon–and not just big names like The Doubleclicks or Amanda Palmer!
Of course, in addition to finding ways to earn money via your blog, you’ll want to make your site as tightly managed as possible. The lower your out of pocket costs to run the blog, the better your profit margins will be. Take some time to hunt down a good and affordable host and to learn how to use open source content management systems. For example, Bluehost offers a WordPress setup that you can manage yourself. Or, if you don’t want to mess with the code yourself, you can join their Bluehost WordPress program that takes care of all of the backend stuff for you. Check around to find out what kind of deals and services you can get for your own budget.
Remember: blogging isn’t a fad anymore. It’s a real thing. Some people have even managed to turn their blogs into full time careers!
