Looking for ways to make money with your blog can be frustrating. Either you don’t have enough traffic or you are not sure what to do. That is why I have put together this list of 30 Real Ways to Make Money with a Blog“.
This post isn’t your average directory of money making tips either, it has summaries for what each element is, how to use it, and where to find resources. The blog earning tips are also divided into Beginner, Novice, and Problogger based on the differing qualifications and needs of each.
Making money online is mostly about customizing a monetizing formula for your blog. Depending on your skill level, network, and current traffic levels your blog has a variety of options. So find your blog’s formula below to maximize your earnings.
Beginner
You know who you are… Low levels of traffic, relatively new blog, little or no internet experience, no design or seo skills, and probably a sense frustration over the lack of earnings.
Some of the options in this section are better then others and matter of fact all of them can be used no matter what level you are currently at. Novices can use any beginner level monetization methods and Probloggers have the luck of using everything and anything they see fit.
PPC – Pay Per Click is an advertising program in which ads are placed on your blog and you are paid whenever your visitors click on the ads. It is the most common method bloggers use to make money online. It involves almost no effort and is so incredibly easy that many blogs have too much advertising on them. Money is maximized as traffic levels increase.
Resources: Google Adsense Chitika Yahoo! Bidvertiser Adbrite
CPM - Cost Per Thousand (“m” is roman numeral for thousand) is an impression based advertising system. This means advertisers place ads on your blog and you are paid based on how many times the ad shows up. This can be profitable for blogs with big traffic, and can start to bring money to even the smallest blogs. All you need is pageviews to increase this monetization method.
Resources: Value Click Tribal Fusion
Money Widgets -A very simple advertising system is easily integrated into your blog’s sidebar with widget advertising. Just embed the widget into your sidebar and watch the ads begin.
Resources: The Newsroom WidgetBucks ScratchBack SmartLinks
In-Text Ads – You know what these ads are. You have probably seen them all over small blogs and websites on the internet. They are links with double-lines below them. While sometimes useful for blog owners pockets, they eventually irritate and annoy most readers into leaving the blog and not returning/subscribing. In-text ads should be used with caution.
Resources: Kontera Vibrant Media
Parked Domains – Have a few domains you are planning on using soon but are not ready to start? Parked domains serve the purpose as advertisement and traffic redirection. This is perhaps the easiest way to make money, although in small doses, online. Just get a domain name and use the very easy parked domain programs.
Resources: Parked Google Parked
Donations – We have probably all seen the little button that says “donate” in someones sidebar. It is an easy and perhaps out-of-date way to try and earn some revenue. Many programmers use this still, but very little revenue is earned through the donation feature. For example have you ever donated? But still it is simple and if you don’t mind the button then go ahead and try.
Resources: Paypal – it really is the only major ‘donate’ resource around!
Affiliate Marketing – Perhaps the most lucrative process for earning money online is by using your blog to recommend useful and relevant products to your readers. The best examples are seen by the many bloggers linking to different themes, ebooks and other products. The best thing about affiliate marketing is that you are only marketing the product and not selling it. Just make sure the product is relevant and not over-used. Read more.
Resources: ClickBank Commission Junction Azoogle Ads Link Share
Text Link Ads – As your blog builds reputation and traffic your posts/pages become great places for links. Many people will even pay you to put their link on your website or page. While it has earning potential, be leery of this form of revenue as it may be detrimental to your blog in Google’s algorithm. So study it out before you make your decision.
Resources: Text-Link-Ads Text-Link-Brokers
Feed Ads – An easy way to increase the advertisement on your blog is by adding them to your rss feeds. The simplest way is to get Feedburner and set it up for your blog. Once you have done that then click on the monetize tab and Google Adsense will be added to your feeds in almost one-click!
Resources: Feedburner BidVertiser Pheedo
Paid Surveys and Polls – It is just what it says it is. You fill out surveys and polls or place them on your blog for others to fill out and earn money. In doing this option be careful to find survey or poll companies that have credible backgrounds as this is a source for scammers.
Resources: VizuAnswers
Pop-up Ads – These pesky and annoying advertisements may be great for some of your niche blogs or sub-domains. Not worth putting on blogs you actually want to build a community on, pop-up ads offer decent revenue to blogs looking to exist but not grow significantly. But be aware that it is annoying to the reader.
Resources: Adbrite Tribal Fusion PayPopup PopupAd Adversal
Audio Ads – “You are a winner”, “You may have just won a free Ipod”, etc. These audio ads can be very targeted to your traffic and very successful or completely useless. For instance, many surfers do not even have their sound on while they surf to avoid such advertisements. I would recommend not using this sort of advertisement for long-term projects.
Resources: NetAudio
Article Marketing – A two-edged sword. You get both quality backlinks to your blog and its posts while also creating earning potential. I use Squidoo and Associated Content personally and earn enough money to support my blogging efforts and some advertising. It’s also very easy through the simple resources available to you. Using this blogging income source is both potentially lucrative and excellent marketing.
Resources: Squidoo Hubpages Associate Content
Novice
Now that you are novice you have more experience and a lot more traffic. Because of the increase in visitors the potential to earn more is also greater. Here is a few extra things you can include into your earning formula from the beginning level. Again, make sure to find what is right for your blog.
Direct Banner – With ppc and cpm advertising there is potential to make money, but direct banner ads bring advertising on your blog to a new level. It takes a little more work but you can find yourself making much more money and doing it pretty quickly. I use OIOPublisher and it is a premium plug-in that completely rocks. It even offers affiliate incomes to others who will try to get advertisers for your blog. Read more.
Resources: OIOPublisher , Ad Rotator Plug-in
Premium Content – Great example of premium content is SeoMoz. They have lots of great content on seo for free, but to get the ultimate seo resources you have to pay a monthly fee. To make premium content on your blog just creat a post or page usign Wordpress. Then in the publish toolbox click on “edit” on the “visibility” option. Then choose “password protected”. Set your password and publish. The only to do then is create a lead page that explains the premium content and allows people to pay, using paypal or another source to get the password emailed to them.
Sponsored Reviews – These are reviews of products through direct contact by the product owner or through a review site. A good example of a product review is WP Content Robot. It is easy and you usually get to try out some pretty cool products for free.
Resources: ReviewMe Sponsored Reviews
Sponsored Post - Like a sponsored review these are posts paid for by others. What this usually looks like is a post created about a specific website or allowing the post to link to another blog with very specific and targeted keyword links.
Resources: PayPerPost
Theme or Template Sales – To get this money making product going you first need some serious design skills or the money to pay for someone to develop it. Once a unique design is created premium themes can go from $19 -$200. There is great earning potential in creating themes and another very advantageous bonus. When you create your theme a link is put into the footer of the theme with your blog’s url. So the more themes that are used the more backlinks to your blog.
Resources: StudioPress DIY Themes
Private Forums – Creating a private forum is a great way for bloggers to capitalize on their contacts and build a tight-knit and motivated community. Some of these communities can be used for social media manipulation and many other “secret” and “exclusive” means. You can make the fee yearly or monthly if you wish and start to build a steady income through member participation.
Resources: vBulletin Simple Machines Forum phpBB Vanilla
Site Flipping - The process of site flipping usually involves the creation of design, content, and some traffic to then go and sell the blog. The easiest way to do this is by forming a partnership and getting someone to design the blog while the other writes content and markets it. For more about Site-Flipping.
Resources: Digital Point Sitepoint (both are great for selling your site)
Plug-in Sales – Warning: programming required! If you can develop or know someone who can develop a plug-in for wordpress then you have the potential to make and sell premium plug-ins. The first step is to find something extremely useful and unique. Then create an affordable plug-in to assist bloggers in their task to rule the blogosphere.
Resources: How to Create a Wordpress Plug-in
Email Newsletters – These are becoming extremely popular. The purpose of the email newsletter is to build up a mailing list of email addresses and then use the emails you send to drive traffic, sales, or income in a variety of ways. Creativity is the best way to use this revenue source. Additionally it is important to start building your email list as soon as possible. But be warned that most newsletter services of any value cost money (but not a lot).
Resources: AWeber PHP Autoresponder MailChimp
Ebook Sales – Writing an ebook is a great way to establish credibility and expertise in your niche while also providing a handsome income. The way it works is that you provide a very useful resource – like an electronic book and then others buy it. The best way to understand the process is by learning how to write an ebook and then how to sell it.
Resources: E-Junkie WP E-Commerce (2 great ways to sell your book)
Freelance Work – Once you have established yourself you can start consulting, writing, designing, and offering other services through your blog. I have had a lot of experience with consulting and it is a great income and a lot of fun. So use your blog to showcase your skills. Blogs are the ultimate portfolio.
Resources: Paypal WP E-Commerce (ways to sell your services)
Membership Site – If you have the drive to make great lessons, tutorials, classes, or other content worthy of a membership site then you should definitely do it. They are all the rage right now and show a great way to earn a regular income. With new products online, the set-up has never been easier. I would definitely check out the resource if you have ever thought about a membership site.
Resources: Wishlist
Problogger
So you are an expert at getting traffic and building your blog. The next thing you need to do is apply all the right things from the list above and use your traffic to leverage the new moneymakers below. You’re the expert so get started!
Job Boards – Big blogs and bloggers have realized that there is great money in job boards. A great example of this is Problogger’s job board. He gets a monthly fee just to post the job opportunity and creates a lot of buzz for his blog with it too. When you become the place for people in your niche to come to, start a job board.
Resources: JobThread Web Scribe Job Board SimplyHired Job-o-matic Jobbex
Event Sponsors – Having events on your blog is a great way to get more traffic and revenue. For example hold a blogathon (blogging marathon), contests, featured story, giveaways and other events to bring traffic and get sponsors to pay you for. A good example would be to have a webinar that is extremely publicized and then to get a relevant company to sponsor the event. Thus you are getting more traffic and money in one big hit.
Selling or Renting a Single Page – Doing this is difficult but far to under-utilized. The process invovles building a great blog with good traffic and especially good pagerank and then selling internal pages/posts to anyone willing to pay. They get a sales page or whatever on a great blog and you get an income. A good example of this is Pagerank10
Marketplaces – Sitepoint is the best example of a marketplace. It is just like it sounds, a place for everyone to sell products, sites, domain names, services, etc. on your site. You get the traffic and links along with commission in many cases while the user gets to buy or sell. Traffic or a very unique niche is a must to succeed with this income earner.
Hardcover Book - After you have established yourself in your niche as a leading authority you can now publish a book on your topic of choice. Some publishers even go from blog to book with almost no effort. So if you are interested in seeing your book in the flesh (paper flesh) then look into these resources.
Resources: Blurb Lulu Self Publishing iUniverse WordClay
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Thank you for posting this article on a Sunday. It isn’t just useful information, it’s inspiration!
Very extensive list of moneymaking ideas – thanks for posting! I think it’s worth mentioning, though, that some of these techniques can be used by at very different times in a blogger’s career. For example, many A-list bloggers still seem to make quite a bit of money from e-book and other information product sales. Most people also recommend that you start building an email newsletter list fairly early on.
If you had to put together a “timeline” of ways to make money from a blog, what would it be?
Jeffrey Tang´s last blog ..Best Wordpress Design of 2009 Contest
I think you are right, and I said so. The timeline works like this… beginners can start using any of the techniques in their category and continue to use them throughout their blogging. The novice category can do all the beginner elements and now the new stuff. The problogger can do all 30 of the money making elements.
Because of traffic and authority all of the elements would work for a problogger.
Just what I needed! I’ve been running from blog to blog trying to put it all together and here it is. Thanks!
Really good list, I can’t see anything that needs to be added to the list.
Plus it is easy ways to follow these steps..
Thanks! It is important to find the elements that work for you.
Seth,
You gave some great options for each way to earn money, but I’d love for you to hightlight which is your fav in each category. Any chance?
my journey´s last blog ..Do you Develop and Utilize The Talents and Functional Skills of Friends and Family?
My favorite in Beginner’s is Article Marketing. You make money to cover your blogging expenses, build solid links to your blog, and start to make connections all over the internet.
Novice becomes more difficult. It all depends on your skill set. I think developing and selling a theme is awesome, but you have to know design and programming. My personal favorite because of my skill set is Freelance Work. I have used my blog to leverage a lot of consulting jobs that pay very well.
Problogger: I love the concept of selling or renting an internal page. This can only be done when you have a pagerank of 6 or better. Then it becomes a gold mine for developing great money, if you have the right set-up. You can even offer affiliate links to the bloggers with a portion going to you.
If this does not work, event sponsors are huge too! It is all because of the traffic load. Probloggers also get a very large monthly salary from direct advertising on their site!
Hope this helps!
Hey Seth! This is an awesome list! I can tell you put a lot of work into it. I think sponsored giveaways are the best way for big blogs to make money. If you have enough traffic, you will get free stuff, one or more of your readers will get free stuff, and the sponsor will get lots of publicity. Everyone wins!
To get your opinion, at what traffic level would you say you could start charging companies to host free giveaways of their products?
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Not Every Business Owner is an Entrepreneur
I feel like novice is the best time to really start monetizing your blog, but if you can convince sponsors at the beginning stages, by all means go for it!
Fantastic. This is definitely my favorite post on Blogussion. I will continue to check back on this post when I need ideas to make money blogging.
Jake | Web Journey´s last blog ..Vipre Antivirus Review
Thanks! That is the purpose of the post. Bookmark and share it too!
Yea, I bookmarked it and tweeted it. (well I think I tweeted it, I need to check)
Jake | Web Journey´s last blog ..The Thesis Revolution (Why It’s Good)
Great article.
Never heard of audio ads. What’s that?
~Igor
Igor Helps You Succeed´s last blog ..Stalking McDonalds and Coca-Cola: Branding 101
audio ads just play when you load a webpage. They are usually something like, “You just won a free ipod”. Then it repeats twice or something and goes off. They are connected to a ppc ad usually so it still is based on getting the clicks.
Another super article from you Seth. I will include ‘infolinks’ along with Kontera and Vibrant. People like Mochi ads now have in-game ads and there are many ‘video’ ads sites too, I am sure one can explore those for ‘certain’ type of blogs.
Jeet´s last blog ..Manual Directory Submission
Seth, you blew my mind. So many cool resources and tips…so little time. I guess I need to step up my game fast. I am stuck in the Beginner phase and need the push. I will evaluate what the heck I am doing wrong and re-focus. Thanks a million
A comprehensive list, but as John Chow said, “You should not consider your blog as a money making setup; consider the backend of your blog as one”.
That simply means that you should not plaster adsense ads, affiliate links, etc all over your blog. Increase your reputation online with a blog, but keep a lookout for other streams to make money online, such as site flipping, CPA Programs, etc.
Richael | Domain Marvelous´s last blog ..Domain Name Promo Codes for August
Really good compilation and resource Seth. You’re getting really good
Cheers!
Liane YoungBlogger´s last blog ..Unarguably the Easiest Tactic for Bloggers to Build a Newsletter List
Thanks… I tried to make this a post that you could bookmark and keep coming back to over and over again if you have questions or need some ideas.
Hi,
I am a novice to blogging and this post is a gem for me . please provide some tips on setting up a WP .
Those blogging earning tips are very usefull.
I a beginner and I am certainty going to implement your advice.
Nowadays while we can feel the recession anywhere, one can use this method to support the business.
Definitely… Blogging has a lot of potential. Especially if it is something you love doing anyways. I really enjoy writing and so blogging is a natural and fun way for me to make some extra cash and help people. Hopefully it will become a career at some point!
What a great post Seth. Out of the 30 there are about 10 that I have never even considered. I bookmarked for future reference. I am also going to include this in my Top 10 Blog Posts of the week round up on Sunday.
Tycoon Blogger´s last blog ..Promote your blog with rsshugger
Thanks. I think there are a lot more ways to consider that I did not even get down. Also, there are so many ways to market and monetize these different options that you really can customize your revenue streams.
Wow that’s a comprehensive list of ways to make money through blogging! When I first started off, it was almost disastrous that I was putting in too much effort but too less income. Fast forward 2 years later, everything seems to be much easier now.
This list still works!
Daniel Richard´s last blog ..The Essential Motivation Handbook Now Gets Its Own Site!
Yeah time and wisdom will do a lot towards making money online. You gain a lot from trying what does not work and learning how to make things work in your niche. Congrats on your current success!
This is a great round-up for those of us out here trying to find ways to turn a hobby into a profession. There are lots of tips here that I had not previously considered as potential ways to earn money from my blog. Thanks for the tips Seth!
Jacob Stoops´s last blog ..Local Search Engine Ranking Factors
hi seth this is mani from india, a small suggestion – you can add also Infolinks in (in text ads )….
your article is very nice and useful
manikandan k´s last blog ..Cheth Studios – Entrecard Contest and Win Free Domain and Web Hosting | cheth Studios
This is the first time I have been to this site and this is the first post I have read on it. Seth… this is one of the most thorough and thought out posts I have ever read. Just a ton of great information for any level of blogger. Great post!
I am printing it out and leaving this one on my desk for future examination
Doug Dillard´s last blog ..MrBlogging.com is For Sale!
Well we are so glad that you liked this post and blog. We hope you come back and enjoy many more posts!
How much is the minimum to get paid from Adbrite?
They say just $5 but my account now more than $5 but still not get paid.
V.C´s last blog ..Buying the Correct Size Baby Clothes
Thanks for this list, so many things I didn’t know about. Will be nice to try out some of it.
I go for affiliate marketing. I have proven it myself. I’am doing pay per click before but sadly it only gives me a penny, not enough to the effort I exerted and I discover the secrets in affiliate marketing. It is really effective.
Thanks for the other tips you discuss. I will try some of them. 
I’m helping my wife create a blog, and we’re at the beginning stages. This was a very useful tutorial for us.
It seems that many of the beginner/novice suggestions are text-based ads, akin to AdSense. What I remain confused about, however, are the source for the 125px square graphic ads that are all over wordpress sidebars in popular blogs. I would have imagined that there would be an AdSense clearinghouse of sorts that would serve context(SEO)-sensitive graphic ads that pay either CPM or per-click rates. Is there not such a thing (or did I just miss it above)?
Well so far i am not making good bucks.. hope will make some by your tips. Thanks alot
Video Game Blog´s last blog ..Saphira Vs Greater Krayt Dragon Vs Deathwing the Destroyer
Indeed a very complete list @Seth but i would add HubPages to this list,in my opinion is way better than Squidoo.
Nice Blogger´s last blog ..Digg Added NoFollow on All External Links
actualy this page consists of a lot of stuff collection ,
any search pages too could added to this na , what u think about it
Word around says Google penalizes for Paid Links which is why I ain’t using Text Link Ads. I tried InfoLinks and didn’t find the double underlining funny/attractive so I got rid of it. Besides, the ads it was popping up were pretty useless in my opinion.
Paid surveys were the first thing I did online and I got bored after been declined access to various survey offers. I ended up using sites like Cashcrate and Inboxdollars to shop online 4 less.
I just started article marketing so as to aid another rise in pagerank and garner some extra traffic to my site. I’m planning on writing for Howhub.com in the future so I can cash in on the use of google adsense on their articles.
For now, I’m working affilaite marketing and google adsense. Hopefully I’ll start seeing great earnings from these two mmo niches.
Good list! I have been meaning to make this list as soon as I got some time. But you did it for me, thanks!
That’s some great stuff and I really like the unique approach you took by breaking it up into skill levels. Some ways to make money online need to be approached after you have had some experience – and this post outlines that very well.
BigManta´s last blog ..6 of the Most Professional (and modern) WordPress Real Estate Themes
Thanks, we tried to make it as useful as possible by breaking it into realistic levels of achievement.
I really appreciated how you divided the article into categories. It helped me to be able to quickly find the suggestions that would help me out. It is great to see the more advanced methods as well.
bloggerspayback Dan´s last blog ..Blogging – Simple Method to Make Money Online by Blogging
I am a beginner, but want to make money online. This blog helps me to some extent. I want to know how to make a blog for me from which I may earn money.
A great way to learn how to blog is by using our Blogging Guide.
Seth´s last blog ..4 Easy Ways To Increase Readership On Your Blog
I go for affiliate marketing. I have proven it myself. I’am doing pay per click before but sadly it only gives me a penny, not enough to the effort I exerted and I discover the secrets in affiliate marketing. It is really effective.
Thanks for the other tips you discuss. I will try some of them. :-
I knew there were many ways to make money online, but this list is an excellent attempt at putting them all together in a nice concise format. Personally Wordpress themes makes sense for us considering the line of business we are already into
I wonder which methods do not affect the SERP and page ranking.
scheng1´s last blog ..Reflection on blogging
As long as you kno what google wants and what they do not want, then you can execute those on the list securely without affecting your SERPs
Top Blogging Tips´s last blog ..Blogging Tips and Techniques
nice article about monetizing blogs.. thanks for sharing
Pavan Somu´s last blog ..Computer Training (Beginner To Advanced)
I am loving it! Mostly because you have categorised this post into different levels of Bloggers, like Novice, Beginners, So everyone has a good Idea to find the correct way for them.
Tech-Freak Stuff´s last blog ..Giving away Google Wave Invites For Free! Does anyone want?
i am still to get my first money from blog…sometimes i wonder till when i have to wait
Never give up!
Follow the points from this post and keep building traffic to your blog. Main thing is to focus and do not keep changing or jumping from one method to another.
For Bloggers Who want to Stop Writers’ Block
Great tips for moneymaking Ideas- anyway thanks for your nice post. I think your tips will be more useful to blogger for earning more money. After reading your blog, I think I will follow your tips.
This is a great list! It gave me lots of ideas and confirmed the direction I want to go in. I have a small blog, and don’t want to take up a whole lot of space with ads. I recently signed up for several affiliate programs in my niche and plan to begin promoting their products. One of my goals for 2010 is to try and write my first e-book.
Anyways, I found your blog a couple of days ago (I think from a link on problogger) and have spent quite a bit of time reading through your archives. You all have some great content and some great advice! I’ve signed up to keep updated.
cheers,
Mary
Another very useful post! Thanks for sharing. There is something for everyone there.
For Bloggers Who want to Stop Writers’ Block
Great post, Seth. I’m a professional web developer and I have a blog where I publish tutorials, etc. I don’t really care about monetizing my blog until some months ago when it reached pr 4 and it started making money via TLA
. I’ll surely follow your tips.
Thanks again for sharing!
anggie bratadinata´s last blog ..Scattered Gallery
Thanks, Seth. That’s a comprehensive list there.
Can’t help wondering though, wouldn’t a blog look very heavy with all ads and widgets? Would it slow down the loading process?
Need ideas for blogs and stop writers’ block
i agree with the first post. its more than a list but an inspiration.
great work!
MyPinoyOnline´s last blog ..Gilbert GIBO Teodoro: A Bright Future for the Filipino
Now, THAT was a useful education. You’ve opened my eyes to some very cool things with this.
Thanks a ton.
Chad @ Tech201´s last blog ..Passwords: You’re Doing It Wrong. Best Practices For Creating Good Passwords.
never knew that there are so MANY ways to earn money via blogging. For now I seem to get stuck selling banners.
TechChunks´s last blog ..3D TV: Is it too Early for the Manufacturers to Start Selling them?
a very comprehensive list….i will sign up with some of them ..thanks
I really enjoyed reading your article. I have used a few of your examples in my advertising, namely PPC and Article Marketing, and both have become effective ways to advertise my website. I will have to try the other ways to see if it’ll help! Thanks again.
Franksite1´s last blog ..Happy Holiday! Goodbye 2009
I complete love this list . Keep posting lists like this
Bookmarked it !
NiceBlogger´s last blog ..101 articles directories – PR human verified
Great list. Perfect for new to pro blogging
Definitely goes to my Evernote.
Kuswanto´s last blog ..Step by Step: Drawing Cute Anime Girl Face
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