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Ways To Make Pennies, Hundreds or Thousands A Month By Blogging

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 105 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Ways To Make Pennies, Hundreds or Thousands A Month By Blogging (1)My monthly online income reports that I publish (where I show everyone how I make over $30,000 a month blogging) each month are some of my most popular posts. I love reading income reports on websites so that I can learn more about making money from blogging and it seems like all of you do as well!

Side note: If you are looking to start your own blog, please check out my tutorial How To Start Your Own WordPress Blog. Please keep in mind that it is usually much harder to make money on a free Blogger blog or a free WordPress blog than a paid WordPress blog, so I HIGHLY recommend that you switch to WordPress if you want to start making money from blogging.

Almost 100% of my income each month comes from blogging or services related to blogging. Due to this, many of the questions from readers that I receive are all about how I make money blogging.

That only makes sense, of course.

When I first found out that you can actually make money from blogging, I emailed a few bloggers who posted income reports as well. I knew I loved blogging, so if I could make some money from it without annoying my readers and still getting the same enjoyment out of blogging, then why not?

Blogging is something that I still love doing, and luckily it pays my bills now. I don’t know how my life would be right now if I never would have started blogging. As a reminder, I started my blog as a way to keep track of my finances and improve my life, and everything happened form there.

Like I always say…

Blogging is not an easy way to make money. There is a reason why most bloggers quit after 6 months and that is because most people do not realize how much work goes into blogging. Also, many people do not make a single cent from blogging, and those who do make money usually pour their heart and souls into being able to do so.

There is a reason why I named this article Ways To Make Pennies, Hundreds or Thousands A Month By Blogging, and that’s because some will only ever make pennies. That is the honest truth, and I’m not here to sugarcoat things. I made a very small amount when I first started out, but luckily I didn’t give up and it grew from there.

I will say that I love blogging. It’s something that you won’t know if you love or hate until you actually start. If you want to learn how to make money from blogging, you first need to start a blog.

Read these other blogging related articles here on Making Sense of Cents as well.

  1. How To Start a WordPress Blog on Bluehost – This article is more of a technical article about blogging. It shows you how to get started with your hosting, picking a domain and starting your blog. If you are interested in starting a blog, you MUST read this 🙂
  2. Blogger or WordPress – Tips on How to Move – I started out on Blogger, and around one year after that I made the switch to WordPress. I highly recommend that EVERYONE switch to WordPress. Don’t believe me? Read this article to find out about the many reasons.
  3. Tips for Beginner Bloggers Part 1 – The Basics – Everyone makes mistakes when blogging. Read this article to learn from my mistakes and improve your blogging skills ASAP.
  4. My Monthly Online Income Reports – I show you exactly how I earn a living each month along with valuable tips to help you along the way.

Below are different ways for you to make pennies, hundreds or thousands of dollars each month by blogging:

 

Affiliate income is great for those who want to learn how to make money with a blog.

Affiliate income is something that I mention in my income report each and every month. It is an area where I really wish I was more successful in each month.

How do you make money through affiliates? Affiliate income is where you place an affiliate link in a blog post and try to make money from people buying the product through your link. This can be a good way to make money because if there is a product out there that you love, all you have to do is review the product and hopefully others will be interested in the product as well.

This income can feel passive as well because all you need is a review article and hopefully people will read that article for years to come.

There are many different affiliate programs out there that you can check. These include Flex Offers, Commission Junction, EJunkie, Amazon, and so on. If you enjoy a product, there is probably some sort of affiliate out there for it.

Max Bounty – This is one of the largest affiliate programs that exists. Highly recommend!

OfferJuice – This is the affiliate program I use for a lot of the survey companies that I promote. Highly recommend them!

Avant Link – This is an affiliate company that I highly recommend. They have many different companies that you can sign up for.

EDIT: I recommend checking out my online course for bloggers, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I earn over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing and I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you’re a blogger (even if you’re a new blogger!), then you NEED this course. If you don’t have a blog yet but you are interested, then please check out my free blogging course first.

 

 

Paid posts/advertisements/sponsorships for making money from blogging.

Paid posts and advertisements are where you place an ad on your blog in exchange for money. This might be in the form of a sponsored review, a guest blog post, a sidebar link, an advertisement within a newsletter, and so on. There are many different forms of paid advertisements on websites.

There are advertisers out there who want to gain new customers and just want no follow links. But there are other advertisers who just want link juice and purely want do follow links. If you are interested in paid posts and advertisements, head on over here to read further.

 

Use Izea if you want to learn how to make money from blogging.

IZEA is a company I used a lot when I first started blogging. If you already have a blog or social media accounts such as Twitter, then signing up for Izea is a great way to make some extra money. All you have to do is sign up and wait for opportunities to come your way. It’s easy, but if you have any questions just shoot me an email and I can try my best to help you out.

With Izea, you are getting paid for whenever a company wants to advertise themselves through your blog and/or social media accounts (such as your Twitter account). You get paid electronically, and they always pay. They partner with big name companies such as Marriott, Netflix, Walmart, Kraft, Lego, and more. It’s an EASY way to make money through your blog, so I highly recommend you check Izea out.

Click here to sign up for Izea. It is free to join and free to use. To get started, sign up, connect at least one social media account, and validate your email so that you can start earning extra cash.

 

Use AdSense if you want to learn how to make money with a blog.

AdSense is an ad service that I have always used, but haven’t really seen results until recently. There were several months (over a year) where I only earned pennies each month.

It felt like it took forever it reach my first payout (that happens once you have $100 accrued). However, once I reached my first payout, it was very exciting. I have AdSense ads on many of the websites that I own.

What is AdSense exactly? AdSense is an advertising network within Google that allows website owners to place advertisements on their websites. These ads are picked out by Google, and you just place the size and type of ad widget that you want on your website. You are then paid per-click and per-impression.

Where should I place the ads? This is a question I often receive. I am no expert when it comes to AdSense. However, I do know that each and every blog/website out there is different, and different placements work for different people. I would experiment and see what type of AdSense layout works best for you if you want to learn how to make money from blogging through Adsense.

 

Write an ebook to start making money from blogging.

I haven’t written an ebook yet, but it is something I am working on.

If you are an expert in an area or have something to share that you know others will read, then an ebook may be something that you are interested in. However, I will say that most people do not profit largely from an ebook because so much time needs to be devoted into creating it. An ebook though can be a good way to expand your audience, offer a free product to your readers, and so on.

There are a few people out there who makes thousands and tens of thousands of dollars each month from writing an ebook though.

Are you interested in learning how to make money from blogging? How are you currently making money from blogging? What tips do you have on how to make money with a blog?

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. Christine Berry - Wealth Way Online says

    Awesome break down! This is one of the most comprehensive I’ve read online 🙂 I make a pretty decent income from blogging, but I didn’t for AGES. That’s the thing, those who are successful a) believe it’s possible and b) keep chugging on through all the lows.

    I would like to diversify my income. I make $0 in affiliate income which is a bit of a bummer. I’d also like to write an Ebook but I need to think of a unique story first 😉

    Great break down – especially for someone who’s contemplating starting a blog to hopefully earn an income

    Reply

  2. Alberto Rendon says

    Hi Michelle,
    It’s a great encouragement to read your post with your report. I am new to blogging and thank you for the nice and impressive blog post.

    Reply

  3. Ricky Willis says

    Fantastic post! Although I’ve only been blogging 9 months I am now starting to implement things that are bringing a trickle of income. I believe you should try as many ways to earn an income as possible and then concentrate on the ways that shine.

    Just last week I made my first affiliate commission through Amazon and it has motivated me to implement a proper strategy. Diversification is the key.

    Some of the things I have planned for the next 6 months are more freelance writing, collaboration with high profile brands in my niche and the creation of a give-away eBook for new subscribers. My plan is to grow my list to a point where I can sell sponsorship of my newsletter.

    Thanks for writing an awesome post. I’m sure it will motivate and inspire everyone who reads its.

    Reply

      • Ricky Willis says

        Hi Michelle, thanks, It’s brilliant!

        It’s made me see that the options and possibilities of the affiliate model, and if you have killer content, you can make a killing!

        We are so lucky to live in an age where you can you can make money from the comfort of your own home. It’s true that it isn’t easy but if you are determined, you really can make a success of whatever niche you are in. The world is our oyster so to speak.

        – Ricky

        Reply

  4. Thomas @ i need money ASAP! says

    Hey Michelle! Thanks for the great tips. I just recently started blogging myself and last month made enough to cover my expenses (which I thought was very exciting!). Your advice is great and very much appreciated. I would like to make some money from my blog eventually but I know it’ll be a lot of work before that happens. Thanks again!

    Reply

  5. Nicola says

    What a helpful and informative post 🙂 maybe one day I’ll make a few pennies from mine but for now I’m really enjoying the process of blogging and connecting with others 🙂

    Reply

  6. Suburban Finance says

    First of all, nice redesign! I like the clean look with similar color tones from the old design 🙂
    Second, my goal is to be able to work full time online, so I’ve also been looking into it. One way that I always read is to make money from the mailing list using affiliate programs. I’m still researching about it but it seems like what many big bloggers (according Pat from Smart Passive Income) regret in the past was that they started collecting subscriber emails quite late, so I guess this is also a nice income channel.

    Reply

  7. Kate @ Money Propeller says

    You really made a good income on June Michelle! Right now, I’m still enjoying my work as a freelancer, but I’m thinking maybe in the future I would have my own blog too. Anyway, I really do enjoy reading your blogs because I learned a lot from you guys!

    Reply

  8. John @ Wise Dollar says

    Great overview Michelle! I think many think it’s easy and thus is a big part as to why so many give up around the six month mark. My main income driver is affiliate as well as some freelance writing on the side. It didn’t happen overnight and requires regular attention, but it’s well worth it. 🙂

    Reply

  9. Stephanie@Mrs.Debtfighter says

    Love the title! That’s me, the pennies stage! 🙂 Thanks for sharing the breakdown and sharing your monthly reports, they are definitely encouraging!!

    Reply

  10. Brittany says

    I’ve been blogging for 9 months now, and I’ve made a whopping 32c (that I can’t access). In my defense, though, I haven’t really tried. I blog just for the fun of it. BUT blogging has led me to becoming a virtual assistant and to writing for other bloggers, and I love it. Sure it isn’t thousands a month, but going to writing for free to writing for profit was a big raise in my book!

    Reply

  11. Lisette says

    As someone who offers Blogger to WordPress migrations, I wholeheartedly agree that WordPress is the way to go to monetize and grow your site! Excellent points.

    I would LOVE to earn what you’re earning per month. That’s amazing!

    Reply

    • MomCents says

      The great thing about Amazon affiliates is you get commission for that entire session….not just the particular product. In the past, someone linked to Amazon from my old site, shopped around and bought some other stuff (not related to my article mind you) and I was able to reap the benefits.

      Reply

  15. Julie @ The Family CEO says

    I am someone in the hundreds category who would like to move to the thousands category, so I thank you for this post. I think I’ve read on your blog that you’re in the St. Louis area. I’m in Kansas City and my son is starting at SLU in the fall. Maybe someday we could arrange a quick coffee date to talk blogging if you’re up for that. Congrats on your success!

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Thanks Julie! I hope you are able to make it into the thousands category, and I’m sure that will be of no problem for you.

      Yes, I’m from the St. Louis area. Yes, a coffee date sounds great. Good luck to your son at SLU – I have a ton of friends who went there and loved it. I took a few classes there as well (there was a partnership program with my college with SLU) and loved it.

      Reply

  16. Katielake says

    You have a knack for getting my motivation going. I have blogged on and off since 2006. I finally switched to wordpress and implemented Adsense about a year and a half ago. I was doing okay and really growing. Now I am so busy at my “real” job that my brain is fried when I get home. It is all I can do to stay awake! I have been thinking of taking a few vacation days so I can spend some time cleaning up (I need to do a few design tweaks) and writing about a months worth of posts to schedule (maybe 3 a week?) but I’m afraid I will fall behind at work ha!

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Yeah it can be hard to manage both a day job and a blog life. My best tip would try to get as far ahead with your blogging as you can. Scheduling posts ahead of time is a lifesaver!

      Reply

  17. Joshua @ CNAFinance.com says

    I don’t make a ton of money through my blog. Most of my money comes from businesses my blog helped me invest in; but I do make a few thousand a month…which works for me. I remember my first adsense check…that was awesome. Now the ad checks just seem to keep rolling. I think you hit the nail on the head. It’s all about determination, sticking with it, and loving what you do!

    Reply

  18. MomCents says

    Yes I want to make money blogging and I am so encouraged and inspired by those that do. Some make enough to quit their day job, and other enough to private extra income – but either way, a lot of work goes into it so it’s nice to get something out of it.

    I had a blog a few years ago that was starting to make money. Due to time, and (insert a million other excuses here) I didn’t keep up with it. I eventually sold it, which, looking back was very short sighted (I’m trying hard not to use the word regret).

    Now I’m back with a new name, new blog, and a slightly different focus/niche. So starting over is kind of rough, but at the same time, there where some things I learned from the first go-round that I don’t have to re-learn.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

      • MomCents says

        Thanks!
        I think the difference this time is I can build on the things I’ve already learned and I’ve set milestones. Last time I just started, without and end goal in mind. This time, I’m tracking a 3 year plan — the the plan is for the blog to least AT LEAST that long.

        Once that goal is met, I’ll access, create another intermediate goal, and go on from there.

        Reply

  19. Kayla @ Shoeaholicnomore says

    I totally understand now how much work goes into blogging. I haven’t seen any return yet and I just don’t have the time to committ to my blog to get affiliate income and my stats aren’t good enough yet to get paid advertisements either. Sigh! One day at a time 🙂

    Reply

  20. Hayley @ Disease Called Debt says

    Thanks for this helpful post Michelle! You know you are my inspiration when it comes to earning extra money! I think you’re spot on with your point about bloggers giving up before they’ve had a chance to make money. I’ve had my blog running for 18 months and it’s only in the last six months that I’ve started earning a little from it. I still need to look at affiliate marketing as I’ve not done much with this. I can see how repeating this formula over several blogs would work well – but it’s just having the time to work on more than one site at once that’s an issue. Because building up a blog does take a lot of work! Like you, I love blogging though. 🙂 P.S. Your new blog design is fabulous!

    Reply

  21. Jason B says

    Excellent post. I’ve made money with Adsense. I also got made my 1st affiliate sale 2 months ago. It has motivated me to try different strategies.

    Reply

  22. Kim says

    AdSense took forever to get to the $100 threshold, but after that it seems to build much quicker. We’ve just started to make some affiliate sales, which is awesome. It seems like it takes forever to build up traffic so the penny analogy is correct. I would love to end sponsored posts at some point as well. Blogging had led me to thousands of dollars in writing and editing, so even when it’s slow, it opens doors.

    Reply

  24. Buttercup@BoldButtercup says

    Thanks for the inspiration Michelle. I started my blog back on October and was doing well for a while. My day job picked up pace and got extremely busy, so I didn’t have a lot of time to dedicate to my blog and it went quiet for a couple months. I am back on my game and really hope to start it back up the right way and figure out how to increase readership and possibly start making some money (even if it is pennies).

    I agree with you that writing posts well ahead of time is a lifesaver! But I’m terrible at it, so I really want to work on that.

    Reply

  25. Maurice Finance Writer says

    That’s an awesome write-up. This blog post goes through all the points through which a blogger can make good money. I’ve gone through many write-ups that say about Blogging and making money. But what I liked in this blog post is that it is authentic and genuine. We all find trouble while getting money from Adsense and that’s a reality. Thanks for guiding us the ways of earning money.

    Reply

  27. Hannah @ Wise Dollar says

    Great job! You’re having a great income on June. I understand now how much work it takes to do blogging. These ways have given me the idea about it. I’m thinking of opening up a blog soon and these ways will surely help me. Thanks a lot.

    Reply

  28. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    I’ve made most of my income through Paid posts/advertisements/sponsorships. I think review-related posts for $ is one of the best ways to make money. I also make a fairly consistent amount from adSense. I don’t make much from affiliate links but ideally down the road that would make up most of the site’s income.

    Reply

  29. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    Great post, Michelle! I like how you are so honest about the number of bloggers who won’t make it. The truth is, it takes a ton of time to run a blog and it’s hard to invest that time when you’re not making any money!

    Reply

  30. Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter says

    I do make a decent amount with my blogs and have really focused on affiliate income to do so these days. Affiliate income is by far the most sustainable way to make extra cash, in my opinion, when it comes to blogging, and one of the safest ways.

    Reply

  31. Alicia @ Financial Diffraction says

    I don’t actively try to make money off my site because I am not willing to put the effort in that I feel it would require to make a decent chunk of money (my site just isn’t big enough). That being said, I do have one affiliate program on my site (that’s it) and I’ve earned $600 from it in about 8 months. Decent 🙂

    Reply

  34. Raquel@Practical Cents says

    I started my blog mainly as a hobby but every time I read income reports like yours I get motivated to earn some money. I added Amazon to my site and made a few pennies so far. 😉

    Thanks for the tips!

    Reply

  35. Karen Martínez P. says

    You did a great summary of the ways to make money blogging!

    I would add to the list memberships, courses and coaching. These methods are very popular now.

    I love your new design, btw 🙂

    Reply

  36. Lisa E. @ Lisa vs. the Loans says

    This is awesome! Not sure where my blog is going to end up, but I’m saving this for reference!

    Reply

  37. Charlotte says

    This is a really solid list, Michelle! As a newbie blogger, I have a lot of enthusiasm but don’t have any strategies to monetize my blog…yet. I’m definitely going to reference your pointers as I grow my blog. Thanks!

    Reply

  39. debt debs says

    Very interesting post, Michelle. Thanks for the tips! After moving from wordpress.com to self hosted (thanks for your help, again!) I managed to get Adsense set up on my site by myself. Wasn’t the most intuitive thing to do. I will probably do a post on it someday when I’m sure I’ve gotten the kinks out of it. Now I need to look into the affiliate advertising. So my first dumb question is how do you find the affiliates? Of course I only want to advertise on my blog things that I really support.

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Finding affiliates is easy! You can use any of the websites above (such as LinkOffers or Commission Junction). Or, you can go to specific company’s websites and see if they have an affiliate page. They usually do! 🙂

      Reply

      • debt debs says

        Thanks Michelle. I have applied at Link Offers and CJ.

        I was denied at Link Offers already, they gave a list of possible reasons why but no specifics i.e. traffic, a well designed site, proper contact information, etc. This was too bad as I wanted to do advertising for mbna credit card which I use. I don’t know if blogging anonymously has any impact, but possibly my traffic is too low at <10000 / month.

        Still waiting to hear from CJ, I chose Ancestry.ca because I liked their genealogy services and used them for about a year.

        I may try checking out individual companies that I support and go from there. Thanks again!

        Reply

        • Michelle S. says

          Yeah sometimes affiliates can be hard until traffic grows. I got turned down from one because they wanted 100,000 unique visitors each month and I am no where near that.

          Reply

  40. Money Saving Dude says

    I’m definitely interested in making money online through blogging, I made my first earnings in my blog through direct advertising. I still can’t get my hands on a Google Adsense account though, so do you have any tips for me regarding that?

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Hmm are you having problems with getting approved for an Adsense account? I don’t remember what I had to do to get mine, so I don’t think I could be of much help 🙁

      Reply

  41. Syed says

    Great post I actually just received my first Adsense payout last month after 6 months of signing up with them. But the gains are looking better now so hopefully they will continue to grow. I am definitely looking to try affiliate marketing next. Thanks for the great info.

    Reply

  42. Steven says

    Good write up Michelle. I am still very new at internet marketing so doing all the reading I can on these blogs and forums. Lucky I have my tattooing business so anit too bad. Just love the idea of generating an income while your sleeping! lol

    Reply

  43. Jack @ Enwealthen says

    It’s interesting reading so many comments that paid / sponsored posts have paid off best for them.

    It sounds like I’m limiting myself more significantly than I thought by avoiding that income category. I’m writing content I like about products, investments, and money making ideas that I use myself, or am in the process of investigating, so placing paid content doesn’t fit well with my ethos, unfortunately.

    Perhaps I should reconsider and build a new blog focused more on generating income rather than sharing my experiences…

    Reply

  44. C@thesingledollar says

    Even though this post is old, I wanted to comment with thanks — I’m in the “less than pennies” category right now but I want to make some freelance income from my blog this year, whether it’s via writing for hire or via advertising, and this was really helpful.

    Reply

  45. Jenny says

    loved this article I have been wanting/thinking about blogging but am a little nervous about putting myself out there..I am going to read your how to get started and maybe I will get the courage. Again thank you ..if u have any further tips or advice I would love to hear it 🙂

    Reply

  46. Mathe says

    Hello! Great article! I am all the more inspired to make money out of my blog. I have been a web content writer many years ago and i took down a blog some five years ago. Had I carried on, I would be making money out of it by this time. But here I am, again trying to set up and establish my blog. Hope it goes well with me the way it did for you. 🙂

    Reply

  48. Anna says

    Hi Michelle! I’m surprised you make anything with IZEA. I’ve been signed up with them for over a year and apart from one tiny campaign they only sent me some very spammy offers. Same with Link Vehicle – did you have to apply for offers there? It doesn’t seem to let me to that 🙁

    Reply

  49. Leah says

    Hello Michelle! Thank you so much for taking to time to write all of the posts on how to start a blog, etc. I used your link to sign up through Bluehost. I am really excited about it but am also very nervous. Seems there is a lot to this “blogging thing” and I am already feeling a bit overwhelmed. I am sure it is just a learning curve. Did you feel the same way when you were getting started?

    Reply

  50. Monte says

    Michelle,

    I would love to be as successful as a blogger as you have become. It’s weird to say “I want to be a blogger when I grow up” but I mean it!–you have my dream job 🙂

    I appreciate your advice, I just switched to WordPress and I’m going to upgrade to a full account.

    Wish me luck, happy blogging to us both 🙂

    Reply

  51. Siegleen says

    Hi, Michelle. You wrote you didn’t make any money with Google adsence till after about a year. I was wondering now you able to look back why do you think that was or what was the mistakes that you might of made in the beginning? Starting a blog soon and hoping to start it right 🙂

    Reply

  52. Stacie says

    Michelle, thank you for your transparency and ask if the great info that you share. I’m thinking about starting a blog, and I love the layout of your website. Which company did you get it through, and which template is it, if I might ask?

    Reply

  53. Steve Rotter says

    Hi Michelle! What a great read! I’m a new reader of yours and may get your course. I have 3 YouTube channels and a blog. I write about all my interests: guitars, tech, photography. I know I should have one niche but I love it all. I link my YouTube videos as well and use amazon affiliate marketing in the YouTube channels and the blog. I’m only doing about $200 a month.

    Reply

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