Blogging can be insanely lucrative. Still, building a profitable blog requires hard work, dedication, and wits.
Still, you must get some basics right from the get-go if you’re a part-time blogger looking to transition to full-time blogging and earn money while at it.
This post explores how you can make a living blogging. We’ll start with putting some myths to rest.
Myth #1: Blogging is the Easiest Way to Create a ‘Passive Income’
Make no mistake about it; you can create a blog that passively earns you a pretty penny.
On the flip side, monetizing a blog isn’t passive or easy. You’ll have to put in lots of work hours and grind to get there.
Is it worth it? Yes, 100%.
The point is that you shouldn’t start a blog thinking that you work “less” than your regular day job. Well, you might, eventually, but only if you work hard enough, especially during the first few months.
Myth #2: There’s Only Blogging One Formula That Works
You must have come across many blog posts and courses teaching how to start a blog.
The truth is, you can rely on ONE article formula and hope to succeed. You must be ready to experiment and test different strategies to determine what works for your target audience and their niche.
The best bloggers are open to learning new things.
To generate “enough” month after month with your blog, you must stay in the loop on what’s working and what’s not. It doesn’t hurt to look at what other bloggers are doing for some inspiration.
Myth #3: You Must Have a “Big” Blog to Make Living Blogging
Sure, drawing millions of visitors to your blog feels great. However, it isn’t a prerequisite to making money.
You can generate a decent income even if you don’t have hundreds of thousands of people trooping to your website. We’ll talk more about this in a short while.
Myth #4: Blogging is Dead
Some people like to argue that blogging is no longer viable. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Indeed, blogging isn’t what it used to be 10 years ago. But, the potential to earn money blogging is massive.
Consider the following figures:
- PerezHilton generates $41.3 million per year
- Moz generates $44.9 million per year
- HuffPost generates about $500 million per year
And thousands of other bloggers raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
We’ve established that, indeed, you can make money blogging, so there shouldn’t be any reason not to do it full-time. The next question becomes.
How Can You Make a Living Blogging on Your Blog in 2022 and into the Future?
You can leverage many strategies to LEGITIMATELY make a living as a full-time blogger in 2022 and beyond. These include:
Brand/ Agency Partnerships
Most new bloggers start making money online by collaborating with brands. As your traffic grows, you can work with advertisers who’ll pay to place their products or services in front of your audience.
Brand/ agency partnerships can take several forms, including:
Display Ads
As the name suggests, this monetization strategy involves getting paid to allow brands to display ads on your website, for instance, on the sidebar. Think of how magazines and newspapers sell ad space to advertisers.
The easiest way to get started with display ads is to sign up to an ad network like Google AdSense.
You sign-up for premium networks like AdThrive and Mediavine, which pay more if you attract a sizable audience.
One thing, though — manage your expectations with display ads. It can be challenging to generate a decent income from displaying ads ONLY.
If your blog isn’t generating enough traffic, you’ll not earn much or be eligible to sign-up for higher-paying ad networks.
Speaking of high-paying earnings, you can use this Google AdSense calculator to estimate your earnings.
Brand Sponsorships
Many brands and companies have marketing teams regularly looking for bloggers with a strong relationship with their target audience.
These teams may reach out to you for a sponsored post opportunity. You’ll then get paid to promote their products or service on your blog.
You can, for instance, write a product review for the product or feature the item in your native content.
And if you prove valuable, the brand might engage your blog in a longer-term partnership. The beauty of this is that brand ambassadorship pays handsomely.
You only need to ensure that your brands align with your brand.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make money online.
For starters, affiliate marketing involves recommending a product or service to your audience. You’ll then get paid a pre-agreed percentage commission of the sale when a customer buys the product or service through your referral link.
Affiliate marketing pays A LOT more than display ads.
How do you start? Look for high-paying affiliate marketing programs to promote. Then, sign up for one that best fits your niche.
Alternatively, you can simply type “niche + affiliate program” to view some of the affiliate programs you can join depending on your blog niche.
We’ve established how you can make a living as a full-time blogger. Still, you need to grow your traffic to generate income, which is our next point of discussion.
How to Grow Your Blog Traffic in 2022
As stated, how much you can earn with affiliate marketing and brand partnership primarily depends on how well you drive quality traffic to your website.
Here’s how:
Build Your Social Presence
Hang out on platforms where your readers are and participate actively.
You can engage your followers by leaving comments on forums, social media, and blogs.
Also, answer any questions your audience may have. Simply make yourself useful to your readers. After all, getting people to visit and engage with your website makes you visible.
Write High-quality Content
High-quality content that helps your audience solve their pain points can drive people to your website.
On top of that, you update your content regularly to give your audience a reason to keep coming back to your website.
How often should you update the content on your website? According to HubSpot, you should target to publish three to four times per week if you run a small blog.
News and larger websites should publish four to five posts per week.
Sure, that may sound like a lot of content, but you can leverage a writing tool to help you generate high-quality content quickly.
Write Guest Posts
Guest posting is an effective strategy to introduce your blog to a wider audience. It also introduces your website to new readers.
Other benefits of spreading your content across the internet include:
- It helps funnel traffic back to your website
- It enables you to expand your brand’s visibility and reach
- You can attract more qualified leads — which is good, especially if you’re monetizing your blog through affiliate marketing.
- When implemented correctly, guest posting can be a stepping stone to boosting your website’s profitability and popularity.
Pro Tip: Consider promoting your guest posts extensively on your social media profile. Think of it as a strategy to notify your current audience of the new content so they can share it with their networks.
Leverage SEO Tools
People will keep coming back if you create high-quality content that solves problems. Learning search engine optimization (SEO) and the tools can help you discover keywords your audience is searching for. That way, you can create content that addresses your reader’s needs.
Other SEO basics you can learn to help grow your traffic include:
- How search engines work
- Keyword research
- Content optimization
- On-page and technical SEO
- Backlinks and link-building
The Bottom Line
It’s not too late to transition from part-time to full-time blogging.
All you need to do is to have a strategy for how to do it. The key here is to keep learning and being patient. It’ll take some time before you can double or triple your earnings.
With the right niche, perseverance, and strategy, it’s only a matter of time before you turn your blog into a thriving business. To your success!