If you are thinking about how to start a blog and make money from it then you are in the right place! Maybe you have some reservations or think it is too late to start blogging. Well I got you! Let’s talk about it.
I will tell you a little bit of my history and how to start a blog and make money from it. Show you what I have learned, what I would have done different etc.
How to Start a Blog and Make Money From It
Okay let me tell you a little bit about me! I’m a busy mom to two little boys. I love blogging because it lets me work when and where I want. I like being able to work late at night, during nap time or during the weekend. Now there are a lot of things that I have learned over the last 4 years of blogging. I have learned a lot and “wasted” a lot of time haha. And trust me it isn’t too late to start blogging. I just the last 6 months have been taking my blog seriously like I should and my money I make from it has grown by about 500%!
So when my first son was born I decided to blog to share about him and being a mom. It was fun and I knew I could make money from it but that wasn’t really my focus. When I did start making money I was growing my instagram and was really focused on doing sponsored posts on my Instagram and here on my blog.
While you can make good money doing that. It should only be an aspect of how to start a blog and make money from it. I honestly got burnt out and it took a lot of time to pitch and negotiate with companies. And if I wasn’t always pitching then I wasn’t making money. I had an assistant working from me during this time and could not pitch all on my own since it took so much time. She was so helpful! But all along I should have been focusing on other aspects of my blog.
Let’s talk about passive income and how you need that to make a money making blog that works for you!
How to Make Passive Blog Income
First thing is you are going to need a blog. Grab your domain and then you need hosting. Here is where I get hosting. I have had hosting with Bluehost 4+ years and never ever had a problem. My blog is fast and so user friendly. Their prices are amazing and their customer service even better. I have to say how nice it is to sign up and not stress about it after that. Check them out and you will be amazed at their prices. I am an affiliate for them because I have been amazed at their services and recommended them to many friends and family members. A nice thing is that if you use Bluehost and like them- then you too can be an affiliate for them and make money from your blog.
Let’s talk about affiliate links. If you are wanting to know how to start a blog and make money from it, then affiliate links is a great place to start. If you have a website or service you love. Then you might as well get paid to share about it! Most websites have a affiliate program under a tab or listed on the bottom of the webpage. If you don’t see one then don’t hesitate to reach out. Sometimes companies will even give you a discount code to share. Discount codes are awesome because people are more likely to use them and then in turn you get paid.
Affiliate Programs
The main affiliate program I make money from is Amazon. It is really easy to sign up for and basically everything can be found on Amazon and with amazing prices and customer service. It is so easy to link to products you own, use, have etc. For example in this post- I realized in the photos some of the products were bought on Amazon so I linked to them. Like this pink velvet chair I love.
Every day on the Amazon app there is a section that you can check your reports. You can see how many clicks, what has been bought, returned, the amount you earned etc. It is nice to be able to see your conversation rate and know where you can improve and what is working.
Another way that I make money is through ads on my site. Some bloggers do specific side bar ads from a company. You can always reach out and work that out with a brand. But I like just using general ads that are tailored to people so they are more likely to click on them. I have the Google analytics app and it is nice to check throughout the day how many views I have, ad money, Amazon clicks etc.
How to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Of course your site needs eyes and readers to make money. This can take time. It isn’t a overnight success. But the fun part about it is that you can always hit new goals and get more readers and then make more money. I kinda like the challenge even though at the end of the day sometimes it is hard that the work is never really “done.” Something I have learned is that consistency is key. You need to be writing posts regularly and creating fresh new content.
One of the main ways that I drive traffic to my site beside Google and SEO is Pinterest. I think Pinterest is still underrated and overlooked. Pinterest is amazing because it is a mix of a social media and a search engine. People go to Pinterest to search for something and to buy things. So that is where you need to be hanging out. The more hooks in the water the more eyes that are coming back to your blog. Canva is a great tool to use to make graphics to pin that is very user friendly.
Another way that I get a lot of blog views is from my travel Facebook group. It is a really fun community where people post about bucket list destinations, giveaways, deals, funny travel memes and more. When I write a travel related blog post I post about it there and then bring over readers. Join the fun and share the love for travel!
Another Way I Make Money
A main way that I make money is another type of affiliate program. I am an affiliate for a wholesale travel site. It is so easy to share about since I am already sharing about travel. I love that I get wholesale travel deals for myself and I want to share it with others so they can travel more. Happiness for me is traveling with my family. I want people that want to travel more to be able to do so. The wholesale travel club is amazing because you can get true wholesale prices. As an affiliate you get free buddy passes to share with your followers/friends/family and that helps them travel for cheap and you get paid when they travel.
As an affiliate you even get a free trip once a year and all you have to do is pay the taxes. So really it was a no brainer for me. I have been an affiliate for over a year and a half and saved and made thousands. The potential is endless and it really is so easy to share about and link to on a blog. Highly recommend! I make a lot of my money this way.
If you want to check out other jobs you can do while traveling to make money- then check out this list!
What I Did Wrong
I mentioned earlier about how I was so focused on sponsored posts. Well while sponsored posts here or there can be great. It isn’t passive income. You do the post once and you get paid and it is done. And sometimes writing out a sponsored post isn’t the most fun haha.
But if you focus on affiliate links you can really post and write about whatever. You can also write about topics that are great for SEO and things that people are searching out. Just know it will all take time and you will spend time writing. Which I really do enjoy so I have fun with it. But from the start add affiliate links into all your posts. You never know what posts will really take off- especially on Pinterest.
For 3 years I basically just used my blog as a journal and I should have been linking the whole time just to get money back to pay for my site and expenses. So learn from me and enjoy it like a hobby but try to make money from the start.
Sell your own product, course or ebook or something. I am working on this. But the most successful bloggers I know sell courses. Think of this scenario. Of course with the more page views the more money you can make. For example let’s say you get 10,000 monthly page views. Even if 1% of your customers convert and you are selling a $20 product. Then that is an extra $2,000 a month.
Online Store-Another Way to Make Money
So you’ve probably thought, if I could have an online store I could make so much money. This is actually true if you do it right! There are a few e-commerce platforms out there but they charge you every month to host your store. Well for my readers I have a free platform that I even use myself for multiple e-commerce stores. It’s called GrooveKart. It seriously is free to use!
Another thing you’ll find out about other e-commerce platforms is that you have to install all these different plugins to make your shop better. This ends up being even more money. But with GrooveKart, those common plugins are included too!
So now you’re wondering what the catch is. There really isn’t one. The only thing that Groove makes you do is use their merchant service to process your credit card transactions in your shop. This is how they can offer the platform for free. Guess what though! The fees they charge for credit card transactions are very competitive with other merchant services and sometimes even cheaper! This really is a win-win for both you and GrooveKart. So what are you waiting for? Get your shop started! (Don’t have product? Don’t worry they integrate with different dropshipping platforms so you can get started selling right away!)
Blog Security
Security is super important! When you make a website you take on the risk of it being compromised. No need to fear though! I’ve found an awesome tool that will constantly scan your website for malware and for any potential vulnerabilities too. It’s called MalCare and it’s saved my butt a time or two.
Just recently my site was compromised with some malware that was redirecting my readers to different pages. Not good at all! After I discovered this was happening I went into panic mode! I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the malware (it’s not easy manually). That’s when I ran across MalCare. Not only do they scan for this bad stuff, if it’s found, it will clean it up too!! You can’t beat that! Ever since then I have been a faithful advocate for MalCare and I haven’t run into any problems again.
What are You Waiting For
If you are wondering how to start a blog and make money from it then I hope this helped! If you have more questions feels free to leave them below. While having a money making blog can take time it is worth it. Get started now and be on your way! Time will pass anyway so you might as well start now. I love having passive income that comes as I am a busy mom to two boys. I also feel like I am living my dream life and it is the best to make money while we are traveling. Make your blog here and be on your way!
