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The Ultimate Guide To Making Money Blogging – How I Earn Over $50,000 A Month Online

Last Updated: December 30, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 181 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.

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If you want to learn how to make money with a blog, then you’ve come to the right place!

I started my blog in August of 2011, and it’s something that has completely changed my life.

Making money blogging is something that YOU can do. I earn over $50,000 a month with my blog and show you how to make money with a blog too.Back then, I never thought about making money blogging. I don’t think I even looked into how to make money with a blog back then, as it was never my goal. I certainly never thought blogging would drastically change my future, but I’m so glad I gave it a shot.

Blogging has allowed my husband and I to leave our day jobs, travel full-time, see family and friends more, meet great people, and have one heck of a great life.

Because of the great experience I’ve had, I love helping others make money blogging as well.

I never thought it would be possible, but here I am. Plus, I know many, many other bloggers in all sorts of niches who are making a great living online.

While there is no 100% guarantee that you will be able to earn a full-time living by blogging, I know many bloggers who are and are very happy with it.

Related articles on how to make money with a blog:

  1. How To Start a WordPress Blog on Bluehost – This article shows you how to create a blog. If you are interested in starting a blog, you MUST read this.
  2. 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.
  3. Why You Should Start a Blog – So Many Positives! – There are many benefits to starting your own blog. Check this out if you don’t believe me.
  4. 9 Helpful Blogging Tips For New Bloggers – Here are my tips for after you start a blog.
  5. The Ultimate Guide On How To Start a Blog – Here, you can find ALL of my blogging-related and how to make money with a blog articles in one organized place.

Below is my ultimate guide on how to make money blogging. I have answered the most common questions that I am asked about making money blogging, and hopefully all of you can start a successful blog as well.

Here is how to make money with a blog:

 

What is a blog?

A blog is a website.

Google’s definition of a blog is, “a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.”

A blog is content that is written on a website. It usually consists of articles, like the one you are reading right now.

What is a blog used for? Blogs can vary from person to person.

You may create a blog to journal, to teach on a topic, to sell something, to tell a story, and so on. There’s no exact rules about what your blog has to be used for.

You can learn more at: What is a blog?

 

Should my blog be self-hosted?

Yes!

If you want to make money blogging, the first thing you will need to do is make sure you have a self-hosted blog, such as through Bluehost.

I recommend you start on self-hosted WordPress (this tutorial will help you start your blog the correct way). I cannot say this enough, but I do not recommend Blogger or WordPress.com (you want the self-hosted version, which is WordPress.org – confusing, I know). Buying that $10 domain name from Blogger or GoDaddy does not mean you own it either.

Advertisers, companies, and readers will know you are still on Blogger or free WordPress, which can look unprofessional. Plus, your blog can be deleted at anytime and for no reason when on a free version, and it even happened to me. This can hurt your chances at earning your income online.

Seriously, just trust me. Go with self-hosted WordPress, and it will significantly increase your chances of monetizing your blog.

If you want further proof, take a look at my past income reports. You can tell that my income through blogging didn’t take off until just as I switched to WordPress. Right there is a lot of proof that being self-hosted on WordPress is the way to go!

So, to recap, the positives of being self-hosted on WordPress through Bluehost include:

  • You have a more professional website meaning you may be able to make more money on self-hosted WordPress.
  • The ability to have complete control over your blog.
  • You own your blog, and it can’t be deleted for no reason.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Bluehost, and will receive a commission if you sign up through my referral link. This is at no additional cost to you, and you will get great pricing and a free domain name for the first year through my link.

If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $2.95 per month (this low price is only through my link) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want to be self-hosted if you want to learn how to make money with a blog.

Do I need a lot of readers in order to make money blogging?

You do not need millions of pageviews per month to make money blogging, but it is something you will want to increase if you want to improve your income. If you want to learn how to make money with a blog, then this is an important step!

Every blog is different, but once you understand what your readers want, understand how to effectively reach out to companies for partnerships, and know how to charge the correct rate, you can make a good income online in many cases, regardless of the amount of pageviews you receive.

There are many different ways to increase the number of pageviews so you can make money blogging.

Here are my tips:

  1. Publish high-quality blog posts – Your blog posts should always be high-quality and helpful. This will lead to readers coming back for more and more. I always recommend that a blog post be at least 500 words, but more wouldn’t hurt either. The majority of my blog posts are around 1,500 to 3,000 words.
  2. Be active on Pinterest – Pinterest is one of my top traffic sources. I recommend creating great images, making sure the description and title of your images are catchy, pinning regularly, and only pinning long images. In case you are wondering, I use Picmonkey to edit all of my images and Tailwind to schedule them.
  3. Find other social media sites to be active on as well – Besides Pinterest, there are several other social networking sites you may want to check out. This includes Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Periscope, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, and others.
  4. Post regularly – For most blogs, you should publish something at least once a week if you want to make money blogging. Going for weeks or months at a time without a blog post can lead to readers forgetting about you.
  5. Network with other bloggers – Too many bloggers see other bloggers as competition. However, you should see them as friends and colleagues. This means you may want to interact with them on social media, reach out to them via email, attend conferences, and more. Of course, be genuine with it all, and give more than you take.
  6. Guest post – Guest posting can lead to new readers checking out your blog and subscribing to it. This can be a great way to reach a new audience.
  7. Make sure it’s easy to share your content – I love sharing posts on social media, however it gets frustrating when some blogs make it more difficult than it needs to be. You should always make sure it’s easy for readers to share your content. This may mean making your social media icons easy to find, having all of the info input that is needed for sharing (title, link, and your username), and so on. Also, you should make sure that when someone clicks on one of your sharing icons the title isn’t in CAPS (I’ve seen this too many times). No one wants to share a blog post when it sounds like you’re screaming at them.
  8. Create catchy headlines – The title of your post is a major factor influencing whether readers click over or not.
  9. Learn SEO – SEO (search engine optimization) is not something I could teach in such a small section of post. I recommend doing your research and learning more about what it is and how it can help you.
  10. Make it easy for readers to browse – If you want more pageviews, you should make it as easy as possible for readers to read other blog posts of yours. You will want to make it easy for readers to find your blog homepage, categories, tags, search bar, and so on. Also, I recommend including links in every single one of your blog posts, so readers can easily find related topics.

 

Where does blog income come from?

This is a question I have received many times lately when it comes to how to make money with a blog. Many of you are interested in blogging, but you are not sure where the income actually comes from.

You receive blogging income from whoever is paying you.

  • If it is affiliate marketing you are providing, then you get paid through the company whenever someone buys or signs up for something through your link.
  • If someone is paying you to place an advertisement on your website, then you get paid by them.
  • If you have display ads on your website such as with Google Adsense, then you get paid from Google or one of the many other thousands of companies.

There are many companies and blogging networks out there who are looking to pay for things on blogs!

You usually get paid either through PayPal or by receiving a check in the mail.

 

Can new bloggers make money blogging?

There is plenty of room for new bloggers to make money.

I’ve had many tell me that they started a blog because of my income reports and that they are able to make money blogging (awesome, right?!), this is proof that new bloggers are still making money. I also personally know bloggers who started a year or two after I did, yet they are making double, triple, or even 10 times the amount I am earning.

The world is a huge place, and the online world is just going to keep growing. Every blogger earns a living online in a slightly different way, and everyone has a different message/story. Plus, there are TONS of different ways to make money through a blog, and I expect this to keep growing.

Due to the reasons above, I believe there will always be room for more bloggers.

 

How long does it take to start making money blogging?

There is no one answer to this question.

As you can tell from my past income reports, I started earning a few hundred dollars a month from my blog less than one year after I started. After just two years of blogging, I was earning several thousands of dollars from blogging, which was all on the side of my day job.

I know some who started making thousands of dollars a month after just a few months of blogging. There are bloggers out there who began a year or two after me and are making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. There are also other bloggers who aren’t making any money.

As you can see, blogging is not a get rich quick scheme. However, if you are serious about it, you never know what it may turn into.

It all depends on you, the effort you put into it, whether you have the time to learn how to monetize your blog, and more.

 

What ways can a person start making money blogging?

There are several ways to make money blogging. These include:

  • Affiliate marketing
  • Blog sponsorships
  • Display advertising
  • Ebooks
  • Staff Writing

I have further discussed the different ways below.

 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate income is my most favorite way of earning a living online. Just a year ago, I was barely earning anything from affiliate income, but now I’m earning around $50,000 a month from it!

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, then you NEED this course.

Affiliate income is when you place an affiliate link in a blog post and try to earn 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 buying it as well.

Affiliate income is great because you can create a post, review, etc., and that post may earn you money years down the line with minimal work needed to maintain the article. It can be somewhat passive, which is what I love about it.

I believe it’s best to recommend products you believe in. A lot of my affiliate income is from my How To Start a Blog post, because I include everything a person needs to know about blogging in that tutorial.

There are many different affiliate programs out there to check out. These include Awin, Max Bounty, OfferJuice, Avant Link, Shareasale, Flex Offers, Commission Junction, Amazon’s Affiliate Program, and so on. If you enjoy a product, there is probably some sort of affiliate out there for it.

Below are some of my tips for increasing your affiliate income:

  • Use the Pretty Link plugin. I use this for all of my affiliate links. It makes them look cleaner when it looks like “makingsenseofcents.com/bluehost” instead of the long links that affiliate programs usually provide.
  • Provide real reviews. You should always be honest with your reviews. If there is something you don’t like about a product either don’t review the product at all or mention the negatives in your review.
  • Ask for raises. If you are doing well with a particular affiliate program, ask for a raise. The worst thing that can happen is that your affiliate manager says no. The best is that they say yes!
  • Form a good relationship with your affiliate manager. Your affiliate manager can supply your readers with valuable coupons, affiliate raises, and more.
  • Publish tutorials. Readers want to know how they can use a product. Showing them how to use it and how it can benefit them can be very helpful.
  • Have a recommendations page. I always like checking out recommendation pages on blogs. It can be a great way to list valuable products and services that readers may need or want. Here’s mine as an example.
  • Don’t go overboard. There is no need to include an affiliate link 1,000 times in a blog post. Include them at the beginning, middle, and the end, and readers will notice it.

 

Can blogs get sponsored?

Paid blog posts and advertisements are when you place an advertisement 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.

You can either reach out to advertisers yourself, sign up for advertising networks (some include Izea, Find Your Influence, or companies/advertisers may find you. There are many, many companies out there who are looking to advertise on blogs, so it is usually relatively easy to find blog sponsorships once you have a website.

If you want to learn how to increase your advertising income, I recommend taking my Making Sense of Sponsored Posts course. Learn how I made my first blogging income, and how I’m now making $10,000-$20,000 a month with sponsored partnerships!

 

What is display advertising?

Display advertising is when you place an advertisement on your blog in the sidebar, below a blog post, below your header image, or in some other location on your blog. Then, for every so many views that advertisement sees, you will earn a certain amount of money.

It’s an easy way to make money blogging as all you have to do is insert the code provided to you. In general, the more page views you receive, the higher your income from ad networks will be.

You can receive display advertisements for your blog from companies such as Media.net (this is a very popular one) Adsense, BlogHer, AdThrive, and many others.

What is Adsense exactly? Adsense is what many bloggers use, as it’s very easy and you can input Adsense advertisements on your blog starting from the very beginning. 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 you want on your website. You are then paid per-click and per-impression.

 

Making money blogging is something that YOU can do. I earn over $50,000 a month with my blog and show you how to make money with a blog too.

Is making money from an ebook realistic?

I haven’t written an ebook yet, but I am hoping to finish my first one before summer of 2016.

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 you are interested in writing.

There are quite a few people making thousands and tens of thousands of dollars each month from writing an ebook.

 

Can a blogger make money writing for others?

Lastly if you want to learn how to make money with a blog, your blog can also be used as a platform for other projects, such as for staff writing on other blogs.

If you want to staff write for others, I highly recommend having a website of some sort so others can find your work and hire you. It’s much more difficult to get your name out there without your own website.

Staff writers usually start out between $15 to $25 per article, and as you gain more experience, you can usually command higher prices.

I know some writers who are making thousands of dollars a month from writing for others, and it all started because of their blog. In fact, I recently secured a staff writing gig for $1,500 per article, which equates to around $2.50 per word. I never would have received this offer if it wasn’t for my blog.

Are you interested in making money blogging? What other questions do you have for me on how to make money with a blog?

If you are interested in learning how to make money with a blog, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, at only $2.95 per month (this low price is only through my link) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want to be self-hosted if you want to start making money blogging. 

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181 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Career, Extra Income Tagged With: Blog, Career, Extra Money, How To Make Money With a Blog

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. Veronica says

    August 6, 2016 at 8:03 pm

    How does this work exactly…I mean how do you earn money blogging when you have to pay to set up the blog?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      August 7, 2016 at 12:11 am

      You can make money blogging in many different ways, as described in this blog post (advertising, affiliate marketing, creating your own products, etc.). You have to pay to set up your blog because it’s your website and no one else’s.

      Does that answer your question? I’m not sure if I entirely understand your question, though, so perhaps I didn’t. Can you explain further?

      Reply
      • Tarun Kumar says

        October 8, 2016 at 12:31 am

        Well I had a similar question in my mind. I think I’d make a good writer writing from unique perspectives about a variety of subjects ranging from non-controversial to controversial. But I dont even know ABC of internet blogging. How much it pays to set up a platform (or if it is necessary, I heard it can be done free). I have been advised about certain platforms like WordPress, bloggers etc. There are some that say make the right first choices or you will be stuck with them. I dont understand these things. Generally it is the question about the chance of success that lingers on in the mind, You dont want to work too hard setting up something if its going to require even more work to maintain and very little chance of measurable success.

        And then there is the option of just writing for some websites that want writers to write articles. Would that be a better option for some? I dont think it is so easy to get accepted or hired by those sites because it is their website and we are required to meet their expectations just to get hired; let alone get paid regularly.

        Reply
        • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

          October 8, 2016 at 11:14 am

          I recommend checking out my free blogging course – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/freecourse

          Reply
      • Courtney says

        June 26, 2017 at 7:20 am

        Absolutely in love with your blog. I have been following you for a while now and watched you grow as a blogger. Thanks for all of the great info!

        Reply
  2. Rakib Hossin says

    August 20, 2016 at 2:16 am

    Awesome post! I’m another blogger with zero supporters yet and just two blog entries (I just began around 2 days prior) I was pondering, with associated projects, do I need a set measure of viewers to my site before they’ll work with me? Do I need more blog entries up before I join with member programs?

    Reply
  3. ReBecca says

    August 27, 2016 at 5:58 am

    Good day,am a newbie to the scheme of monetizing a blog am getting negative vibes from a lot of people and the whole over-saturation thing about blogging and stuffs but i really want to enter the online work force…(am thinking of freelance writing and blogging) but i have a problem with the payment method because my country(Nigeria) is not supported for receiving money from other countries through PayPal is there any other way i can get around this please?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      August 27, 2016 at 12:18 pm

      Sorry, this isn’t something I’ve looked into.

      Reply
    • Coleen Stanley says

      January 27, 2017 at 10:19 pm

      Have you looked into stripe.com I believe they support most countries!

      Reply
    • Paul Uduk says

      February 19, 2019 at 1:03 pm

      Hi Rebecca,

      Are you aware of First Bank’s alliance with PayPal? I guess you need to visit FB’s head office to find out if you live around Lagos. Everyone doing online business in Nigeria is struggling with this PayPal’s obnoxious policy regarding Nigeria.

      Reply
  4. J says

    September 10, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    Thank You for this information!

    I am in need of a stream of income. I truly appreciate your willingness to so freely share your knowledge.

    Reply
  5. Wendy Tomlinson says

    September 17, 2016 at 3:55 am

    Thanks so much for sharing all of this information. I’ve definitely noticed a difference since getting active on Pinterest. It’s proving to be time well spent. My adsense income is starting to increase now and I’m focusing on using affiliate links to monetize more and more. You’ve definitely given me plenty to think about.

    Reply
  6. Sowjanya says

    September 23, 2016 at 12:34 am

    Hi there!

    Awesome post! Thanks for listing out all the possible income streams for bloggers. Will give a try!

    Reply
  7. Suzy says

    September 26, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    Hi,

    Thank you for this informative article! I am currently making a few thousand dollars a month blogging on my interior design site. I have it monatized through sponsored articles and banner ads. I would like to take my site to the next level but I just don’t know how. I’m kind of stuck at this level. I read you make money through affiliate links. What company do you use for these affiliate links?

    Any help would be appreciated, thank you so much!

    Reply
  8. Tiff at 18thavenuemom says

    October 18, 2016 at 8:17 pm

    You are such an inspiration to so many bloggers! Thank you for writing this post, and for being honest about the fact that blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Exactly – we have to take the time to learn how to monetize. The ones who just hit it off from the start are few and far between.

    Reply
  9. heather says

    November 24, 2016 at 12:13 am

    great article. I have a lot to learn. xo

    Reply
  10. Charlotte says

    November 26, 2016 at 6:07 am

    Michelle I joined Bluehost under your affiliate link but had issues with them after only 3 months. I had to switch to a different host. They are giving other people issues too. Have you considered Siteground as an affiliate?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      November 26, 2016 at 10:31 am

      Hey Charlotte!

      Yes, I am always open to new hosts. I personally use Bluehost on one of my websites and haven’t had any problems but I will switch if I ever do have problems with them. Personally, there is no perfect host.

      Reply
      • Charlotte says

        November 26, 2016 at 10:44 am

        That’s good you haven’t had issues. But Siteground is worth checking out. Their customer service is one of their best qualities.

        Reply
        • Sara says

          May 3, 2017 at 9:16 pm

          Thank you for all this GREAT information. I have been researching and looking at info for blogging professionally. I plan to have my blog up and going shortly. I have done some blogging in the past, but only on blogger, so wanted to do my homework this time. I am so glad to have great sources like your blog for help. I have looked at Bluehost, but based on reviews, it actually does look like Siteground is slightly better, so I think I will try them (at least starting out). Thanks again and I look forward to more of your great content in the future. I hope you will check out my blog once it is up and going.

          Reply
        • Peter R. Bain says

          February 18, 2019 at 4:10 pm

          I personally use WPXHosting, and have never been happier. Even Matthew Woodward rates them number one.

          Reply
  11. Nick Ross says

    December 2, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    Great Read! I just started a blog a little over a month ago and absorbed some great information from this!

    Reply
  12. Karin says

    December 15, 2016 at 1:05 am

    Hi Michelle, I’m a college student and this post really inspired me to start blogging! I’m really interested in starting a blog to earn extra money for college. Do you have any tips or suggestions on how I can start my own blog and earn money from it? Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      December 15, 2016 at 7:23 am

      I recommend starting with my free blogging course – http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/freecourse

      Reply
  13. Jenny says

    January 2, 2017 at 7:03 pm

    I loved this! So many good options and great info for each option =) I’ve been learning SEO and trying to figure out how to make the most of it!

    Reply
  14. Cedar and Cypress Designs says

    January 3, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    WOW! Thank you for sharing, this is some wonderful information. I took a few day and followed up with many of the websites you suggested. This blog was a great tool for me. I can’t thank you enough. Here’s hoping it turns into something!!! Many many thanks!

    Reply
  15. Erika says

    January 6, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Hi. I recently created a new blog on bluehost with WordPress like you suggested in your free e-mail course. However, I am having trouble navigating WordPress and really figuring it out. Can I just use Weebly instead? I’m much more comfortable with their drag and drop features. Will it seem unprofessional and/or affect my ability to generate income? Thanks

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      January 6, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      I don’t recommend Weebly. WordPress is the top platform.

      It does get easier to manage. Once you’re done designing it too, you don’t really need to mess with it much because you’ll just be mainly writing afterwards on it.

      Reply
  16. Skyler says

    January 7, 2017 at 10:02 am

    Awesome post! Thanks for sharing all of the useful information! I just started my blog (freedomfinancialcoach.com) and hope to be able to apply the lessons you’ve outlined above soon. Thanks again!

    Reply
  17. Dan says

    January 13, 2017 at 1:57 am

    This is awesome, thanks for taking the time to write it. Literally just started my own blog (www.MakingtheJourneytoWealth.com) to help me start planning for my family as i’m about to get married. This is a huge help.

    Reply
  18. Jess says

    January 15, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    Hi Michelle! I’m launching a book review blog on March 1, and while I’m not launching it purely for monetization purposes, I do want to earn money from my blog. I’ve heard that book blogs are the hardest to earn from, as there’s controversy around whether you should charge for reviews. Do you have any advice on that controversy specifically or on how to monetize a book blog? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      January 15, 2017 at 5:41 pm

      Hello,

      I don’t know anything about that specific controversy, but a book blog could make money through affiliate marketing (such as linking to the books), display advertising, paid book reviews (such as if the author asked you to review the book), and so on.

      Reply
  19. Bill says

    January 26, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    Thanks Michelle, great information! I am currently making my way through your affiliate course which also has tons of great info in it. I was wondering, do you think it’s better to start off making affiliate income through Amazon, or to try and set up relationships with each individual company? Or is it just a matter of judging it case by case?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      January 26, 2017 at 9:54 pm

      I think you should first determine what your readers want 🙂

      Reply
  20. Maria says

    January 26, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    Hi, do you recommend to use Wix.com instead of WordPress? … I have used both and Wix is easier to handle and prettier.

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      January 26, 2017 at 9:53 pm

      I always recommend WordPress over Wix.

      Reply
  21. Natasha says

    January 27, 2017 at 1:16 am

    Hi Michelle, wonderful blog! I am a photographer (mainly travel/studio) and have recently set up my website using Zenfolio (starflowerphotography.zenfolio.com) allowing clients to purchase direct (this is still a work in progress). I also wanted to add a blog to the website to help increase my income.

    I already have a free wordpress blog (starflowerimages.com) but I’m not sure if I should transfer my blog over to Zenfolio or switch to a paid wordpress site? Ideally I’d like to increase the traffic to my Zenfolio site to increase purchases as well as make money from blogging like you do, so would like to have it all in one place but WordPress doesn’t have the direct eCommerce setup for photographers like Zenfolio. Do you have any recommendations as I’d like to follow your tutorials to make money from blogging?

    thank you so much

    Reply
  22. Candy says

    January 28, 2017 at 3:36 pm

    A lot of great tips in here. This is definitely helpful for those who are just starting out in the blogging world 🙂

    Reply
  23. The Savvy Couple says

    February 17, 2017 at 7:09 am

    Talk about an EPIC post! Love the content on your website! Extremely helpful to learn from someone that has had so much success. We are spending between 3-5 hours a night after we get out of work, working on our site. We absolutely love blogging and should have started years ago. My goal (Kelan) is to become 100% self-employed this year.

    Thanks for putting out such amazing content. I am sure we are not the only bloggers benefiting from it.

    We run TheSavvyCouple.com a personal finance blog for Millennials. =)

    Reply
  24. Redopalooza says

    March 23, 2017 at 4:42 pm

    This is a very informative post of which I will make great use! Thank you so much for taking the time to break it down like this.

    Reply
  25. Kelly H says

    April 5, 2017 at 9:02 pm

    Thanks so much for this very informative post! I’m just starting a blog and am learning as I go! I bought my domain from google and they offer free service with blogger. I haven’t gone any further . I seen where you don’t recommend them and advice WordPress . My question is if I go though self hosting instead can I keep the domain I purchased through google?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      April 5, 2017 at 10:23 pm

      Yes, I used to be in the same place as you and switched to WordPress. It is possible to make the switch 🙂

      Reply
  26. Shalaria LeNoir says

    April 22, 2017 at 9:12 pm

    I just started a new blog last month and I was looking for tips on how to get started and actually succeed. In the past I’ve always given up before seeing any success,but this has motivated me to keep going and I’m now, for the first time blogging about things I enjoy and every time I sit down to write I actually look forward to it!

    Reply
  27. Whitney says

    April 28, 2017 at 11:11 pm

    All of this information is awesome!!! I recently started a food/oils blog and i’m excited to get started making money!! But I love what I’m doing, so i’m enjoying every stage of the blogging process 😊

    Reply
  28. Elaine says

    May 12, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    You’re such an inspiration! Thank you for all your valuable information, and congratulations!

    Reply
  29. Kristopher says

    July 28, 2017 at 3:25 am

    awesome post ! Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  30. Dave Coss says

    September 22, 2017 at 7:42 pm

    Some great tips there.
    I love affiliate income. There are some products I promoted years ago that still give me some income.

    Reply
  31. Damn Millennial says

    October 22, 2017 at 11:04 pm

    Great information, I am going to bookmark this and try to slowly add more over time to my blog. When you were starting out how often were you posting content? One, two, three times a week? When you set up a Pintrest account can you set it up as your blog site? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      October 23, 2017 at 11:12 am

      I didn’t start my blog to ever make money, so what I was doing doesn’t really matter if you are trying to make money right now, haha. I as publishing every day back then and that’s because I had different goals than you probably do.

      Reply
  32. Millye says

    November 5, 2017 at 12:21 am

    LOVE!
    This was actually really helpful, with all the information about monetization and all! I’m starting my own blog, so I’ve been doing a LOT of reading lately. Sometimes I felt like I was just wasting my time, seeing other successful bloggers, I thought I’d never make it out there! But your story gave me a little spark that had gone missing for a while there 🙂 No wonder you are doing so well, you write really well and your blog is super helpful. I’m definitely saving this for later use, you helped a ton !

    Reply
  33. Matt Beatty says

    December 12, 2017 at 12:53 pm

    I am thinking about starting a blog for younger military members who might be lost with their personal finances, as that’s how I was about 10 years ago. Is there a way to target those people you are trying to reach or is social media and word of mouth the way to go? I really enjoy reading your posts, and I enjoy the fact you weren’t out to make a fortune but to help people, as I am trying to do since I love my “day job”

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      December 12, 2017 at 8:33 pm

      The ways you mention are great, also, you can create ads that specifically target those people.

      Reply
      • Matt Beatty says

        December 15, 2017 at 8:48 am

        Thanks for your reply, Michelle.

        Reply
  34. Sarah Dugo says

    January 2, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Thanks so much for this start! I will be launching my blog to help others this month.Do you need to form an LLC to collect affiliate marketing money? I have been asked for the EIN by several affiliates.

    Reply
    • Colby says

      January 12, 2018 at 5:19 pm

      Good question – I’ve been wondering the same thing. Would love to hear Michelle’s thoughts.

      Reply
      • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

        January 12, 2018 at 6:08 pm

        You don’t need an LLC but you may want to think about eventually starting one (legally, I cannot give legal advice).

        Reply
  35. Alicia says

    January 2, 2018 at 4:26 pm

    This is so helpful, thank you! It has inspired me to get my butt into gear and to really work on my blog and on networking with others. I hope that I can one day become successful too! It’s nice to know that there is still a place for new bloggers.

    Alicia |

    Reply
  36. Sharie Heading Deal says

    January 17, 2018 at 12:20 am

    I think out of all the things I have read on here..and don’t get me wrong they are all awesome! But the biggest thing I keep looking for is something you have not covered, which I think should be huge is “What to blog about?” How does one choose what to Blog about? If you dont know that then you cant go forward. How do you decide what will be a profitable subject to blog about and how does that tie in to affiliate marketing links? I would think that would be a major topic and I don’t see that anywhere here?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      January 17, 2018 at 12:15 pm

      I cover what to blog about in the featured question here – https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2016/01/how-i-made-300000-in-2015.html

      Reply
  37. Ethelyn Schaeffer says

    February 8, 2018 at 8:53 am

    Is your money made from mainly affiliates or from selling your own?

    Reply
    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      February 8, 2018 at 10:47 am

      You can see exactly where my income comes from each month in my income reports 🙂 https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/category/business-income

      Reply
  38. Yemane says

    April 30, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    Hi there,from a branding perspective, commenting is worth it. I’ve had two people mention to me that they have seen my name pop up more often on industry-related blogs. And also will your comments will help you generate traffic, brand your business ? I would like to say thank you, for your informative blog.

    Reply
  39. Ashwin says

    July 8, 2018 at 11:36 pm

    So how many minimum words should an article have? 1000 2000 3000? On an average how much should it be?

    Reply
  40. kirianne @ work it women says

    July 25, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    I love following you and your blog journey. These are some great tips and I have to say that starting a blog about a year ago (with one of your recommendations!) was one of the best things that I have ever done. To make it successful, you have to have the mindset that it is a marathon, not a sprint. Good things take time and you are proof that it will come if we just keep working at it.

    Reply
  41. Rashmi Daryani says

    August 9, 2018 at 5:50 am

    Thanks for this great article. It helped me to gain lots of knowledge related to blogging. When do you know its time to put ads on your blog or use affiliate links?

    Reply
  42. eric says

    September 17, 2018 at 3:21 am

    I blogged way way back around 2006 and started earning by then. $10/link ad on my website. I wonder why I even stopped. Focused on other things aside from blogging.

    Reply
    • DNN says

      February 13, 2019 at 5:49 am

      Eric,

      Everyone blundered in affiliate marketing and blogging, including me. It’s a slow learning experience, but if you hang in there and keep going, eventually you’ll get it and adapt to content marketing consistency.

      Reply
  43. Andy says

    October 6, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    I currently run an urban lifestyle blog that gives reviews on products, restaurants and discusses daily living.
    I’ve earned a tiny bit from Adsense but not much. Many professional writers say that all my posts are written very well but I’m wondering if they are truly helping others.

    Reply
  44. kinjal says

    October 27, 2018 at 1:19 am

    I have started following your tips. Hope for the best for my blog. I am beauty and lifestyle blogger from India.

    Reply
  45. DNN says

    January 31, 2019 at 9:00 am

    I would never want to work in Politics and in Washington because those people don’t make no serious $ gUaP $. They go to college and get all those degrees to retire and only get less than $100k annually in pension money. I love the internet because you don’t need to go to a job interview, no references, no education credentials, and you can start your online career @ any age.

    Reply
  46. Paul Uduk says

    February 19, 2019 at 2:51 pm

    Hello Michelle,

    I heard about you and your blog at Quora and decided to check out. I must say I’m not disappointed. This blog posts, including this one, for instance, are written in very simple language that anybody can understand. Above all, they are devoid of endless self-promotion. Just to let you know that have a big fan in me.

    I see you like traveling. I like to travel too. So far I’ve traveled to about 35 countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Poland, Austria, Italy, and Spain to mention a few. About two years ago I wrote an article on EzineArticles extolling Nigeria’s tourism potential. If it’s ok, I can forward you the link. Best.

    Reply
  47. TheFrugalChoice says

    March 30, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    this blog post has so much useful information that will help me develop my own blog: thefrugalchoice.com where I blog about personal finance and mindful living to create an intentional life from the perspective of a 21 year old.

    Reply
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My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.
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