Mark your calendar. Next Monday, my post ‘Full-Proof Way to Make Money Blogging’ is going viral. I’ve spent a lot of time crafting and editing it, to ensure you have all the information you need to prosper in the world of blogging. You don’t want to miss it. But before next week, I thought it would be good background to share with you how I personally make money.
Keep in mind, I have been blogging for over 9 years, which makes me an online dinosaur. Please no whining about why I’m able to monetize my blog and maybe you’re not. Try blogging consistently for 9 years then get back to me.
What I earn is not a lot, but it’s not chump change either. In total, I average a couple hundred dollars a month (revenue). I have expenses that need to be factored in, but the point is I actually get companies and brands to SHOW ME THE MONEY! I never thought it was possible.
My expenses include web hosting, graphic design, and virtual assistance, which reduce my profit, but I also have a full-time job outside of blogging, working for a Fortune 25 company. That means, I’m essentially making money from a hobby and also writing off my business expenses for tax purposes.
Key point: Bloggers make money in direct correlation to the business work that they put into it.
If I didn’t have a full-time job and if I had more time to devote to the marketing and sales of my brand, I would earn more. I’d have to work my ass off, but absolutely, I’d make substantially more than I already do.
I make money 4 ways, in descending order:
- Sponsored Posts
- Sponsored Tweets
- Free Product
- Advertising
Sponsored Posts
For me, monetization started when brands asked if I would consider sponsored posts. They set the rate and I just went with it, especially since I had never made money before. Then bigger brands contacted me, giving me the confidence to negotiate and command more.
Side Story: I attended a blogging webinar sponsored by a design brand. The Head of PR said she was looking for blogs that were well-designed with page ranks 3 and above. That’s not me. I shrugged and figured I’m not a design blog so I wouldn’t have been the right fit anyway. Hours later, the company contacted me about advertising on my blog. The takeaway? Don’t reject yourself before companies have the chance to consider you. Have confidence!
Sponsored Tweets
As a member of the BlogHer network, brands are interested in my Twitter following, of which I have 7,000+ followers. These are followers that I have cultivated over time which is considered massive influence. I’m paid $50 for my ad tweets.
Quick plug that my Tweets are really informative, stemming from the fact that I have an academic and entrepreneurial background, and I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to new technology, venture capital, etc. If you don’t follow me already, check out my Twitter feed and see for yourself.
Free Product
With a 60+ Klout score, I get a lot of free products because of my influence (Flip headphones, Braun thermometer, leather laptop case, etc.) in exchange for an honest review.
Advertising
Lastly, I make money through advertising (those ads in my sidebar and at the bottom of my site). I’m with Federated Media, one of the top ad networks.
Here’s the deal, what works for me won’t necessarily work for you. It drives me nuts when I read posts on blog monetization and they say, you gotta get on Pinterest, or you have to know SEO. It’s total bullshit. It’s all about marketing and selling yourself and cogently explaining what your strengths are.
Here are my selling points:
- Blogging for over 9 years
- MBA University of Chicago Booth School of Business; BA University of California at Berkeley
- Highly-educated, large income-generating followers
- Followers concentrated in metropolitan areas: San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and Chicago
- 7,000+ Twitter followers
- 60+ Klout score
When I say business work you put into it, I don’t mean that you’ll make more money by posting every day. For anyone who does this, PLEASE STOP! In fact, success must be inversely correlated to volume of posts because I personally am turned off by bloggers who post every day. It’s way too much and very overwhelming. STOP!!!
Things to consider:
- You get what you put into it, but you have to think like an entrepreneur. Your blog is a business. How are you going to make money?
- What are your selling points?
- How can you better market yourself?
- Does your blog look like a kid designed it? Or does it look professional?
- Don’t be afraid to ask or pay for help. You have to spend money to make money.
- Analyze the top blogs. How do they look aesthetically? What posts are getting the most comments?
If you were a business with a blog advertising budget, which blogs would you advertise on and why? The answer to this question is how you should be positioning your blog! Why would businesses want to advertise on your blog? You tell me!
Anyone can make money blogging. Come visit next week for my insight on monetization.
Catherine this is awesome! I’m excited to read more about all of the knowledge you have gained. I have been in this word maybe 5 months now and I gather it’s way different than 9 years ago! Hope you are well and how’s baby? Much luv Erica
9 years ago, blogging really was just like having an online diary! so funny how things have shifted.
I cannot wait for your post next week and will say I never thought I could make a living blogging from home, but like you (definitely being doing it less years) I do make a good amour of money monthly doing this now and still kind of pinch myself thinking about it somedays. And this is my source income being that I don’t work out of the home and still not going to lie love that I do make money and get to be home with my girls while doing it. And seriously am really excited now for your upcoming post!! 🙂
janine, you are the pro! we can all learn from you…as you’ve got both a money-making blog and design business!
Such great information, Catherine. I’m looking forward to your next post on the topic. I’m not sure where I’m going as far as monetization yet, but it helps to learn from someone who has been doing it for a long time. Nine years? Wow.
i know 9 years…it is crazy. i started soon after i finished my mba. time flies.
Love your take. I can’t even look at the term “SEO” without getting a little frustrated. I do things a certain way and I can’t totally change them just for money!
Of course it would help.
And wow, I’ve been doing this nearly four years and I thought I was a dinosaur! Really only one year since I started blogging to anyone other than my mom!
SEO drives me crazy. i actually don’t even think it’s that important, but hey, that’s just me! i am double the dinosaur that you are, tamara! haha!
I don’t even know what a klout score is and SEO still makes my head hurt!! And you are the first person I have ever said don’t blog every single day. I couldn’t agree more!! I have enough difficulty finding time to read blogs as it is without every blogger posting a million times a week. It’s interesting to see tips from…how do I say this…non cookie cutter blogger who follows all the blogger trends and gets most of their followers via giveaways. That’s a compliment!! 9 years as a consistent blogger is great!! I’m also with Federated but I don’t think I’ve earned anything for ads. Boo. Oh well; I certainly don’t actively try too hard to make money so I’m fine that I don’t make much.
cece, we’re on the same page. i know that if i tried harder, i could make more money, but for now, this is what’s right for me.
Nine years?!?! That is fabulous. I have done nothing regarding monetization and am not sure when or if I will. But I’m filing away all of your tidbits of advice just in case.
mo, specific advice for you: ask your favorite wineries if they would consider giving you bottles of wine in exchange for a sponsored post. that’s actually how i started making money. i got a lot of wine…DAMN GOOD WINE!
Woohoo – will be back next week for that 🙂 amen to that blogging everyday nonsense, Omg I can’t even keep up some people want to do that like its a good thing – it’s not its EXHAUSTING! I blog 2X a week and that makes me happy that is sufficient. Great information Catherine! Have a great one 🙂 -Iva
i want to throttle people who blog every day. who has that kind of time? i sure don’t!
You definitely know what you’re doing. I’m not ready to monetize my blog yet but need to start putting these tips into place so I’m set up when I do become ready!
kate, you have advertisers. you are definitely ready to go!
Vixen, loved this blog and passed it on to my youngest daughter who might be interested in blogging. I’m always impressed by your dedication and intelligence.
serg, you are so sweet! do you know d’andre from the artery? big daddy d? a bunch of us went to his 70th birthday party the other weekend. it was so fun! artery/burning man peeps are the absolute best 🙂
Very Interesting. I learned something. I have never thought about using my blog to make money. For me, it is the creative part that I do it for. I might have to look at this from another angle here.
patrick, you should ask local businesses to sponsor you! i’m sure so many bay area businesses would be interested in getting a shout out on your blog!
Wow, 7,000 Twitter followers! I don’t even know if I have even met that many people in real life who would care what I say. 🙂 I love your perspective on just focusing on producing high quality content, instead of being super nit-picky about formulas and blogging craziness. Looking forward to next week!
thanks diane! anyone can make money. i’m excited to share my perspective.
Great post, Catherine! Thank you for telling people to stop posting every day. What a relief to newbies like me who were killing themselves to fit someone else’s mold. What freedom! 🙂
i see these bloggers who post every day and their posts just keep building up in my bloglovin feed…MARK AS READ! i just can’t handle it. it’s so overwhelming.
Awesome post! I post every day on my blog and it works for me 🙂 For those folks that don’t want to read they don’t have to, but I have definitely seen a spike in income since I got on a consistent 5 days a week schedule. This blogging this is fun, but its fantastic when you get checks for it too. 🙂
wow, nellie, i actually didn’t realize you posted 5/days a week. maybe it’s because your content is so good, it doesn’t annoy me. ha! but a bunch of bloggers who do post every day, it’s nothing really insightful so it starts to grate on my nerves.
Can’t wait to read it! 🙂 Making money at blogging is definitely the best!-Ashley
ashley, you guys have a ton of readership so i’m not surprised you’re making money! i’m sure you have your own perspective as well that you can share!
Can’t wait to read your post next week! I am looking to bump up this year and so I am anxious to hear what you have to say!
hi michelle, it’s actually not very earth shattering advice, just basic sales and marketing..but with my personal spin. i hope it’s helpful because it really does boil down to pounding the pavement and creating your own opportunities versus waiting for them to fall into your lap.
I’m a firm believer in pounding the pavement and very little that has happened to me has fallen in my lap. However, it’s always good to hear another perspective and see what you may have missed, so I am looking forward to reading your post. 🙂 Plus you always have great information.
You rock, my friend! XO! ~A~
thanks amber, hope you’re having a great weekend!
Consider me a student of your blog and blog tips. I’ll be here next week…me and my empty wallet.
andrea, it’s basically sales and marketing 101 with a little vixen advice thrown in. i know my post would have helped me when i started blogging years ago. glad to share my perspective.
I love how you have a short, concise list of selling points! Looking forward to your blog post next week.
gracielle, i’m excited to share. i know that i would have gotten a lot out of my own advice, if someone had given it to me way back when. i could have been making money long ago!
This is just what I needed to read right now. Thanks for sharing, this is good food for thought. Cheers
thank you gary, stay tuned tomorrow for more insight!
I LOVE that you are writing about this. I am really trying to bulk up my blog income this year and get an increase of advertisers/sponsored tweets–I do take on some sponsored posts, but am trying to minimize it because I felt I was doing too many there for a while. This is such a great series and I really appreciate you going into depth about it (not to mention I TOTALLY forgot about my Klout score. And my page rank. You know, things I kind of need to know to get ahead in the blog world). 🙂
XOXO
i felt the same way about sponsored posts, but it actually doesn’t bother me anymore because we gotta make a living somehow! also, it’s so easy to just skip posts labeled “sponsored posts” so i’m even less bothered.
You get what you put into it is great advice. I’m not sure I have it what it takes to market myself in that way. Looking forward to your next post though. Maybe I’ll have an aha moment. 😉
yes, kenya, everyone can make money blogging. i promise!
Great post and great info, Catherine! I can’t wait to hear more. And, wow, blogging for nine years! That’s amazing. So is 7K followers on Twitter. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’m following you on Twitter. Off to follow…
hi rachel, i’m happy to oblige. haha, i’ve been doing this for a long time!
This has been really helpful. I haven’t ventured into money blogging since I started last 2009. I don’t even know how to start so I’m gonna wait for your post about it. 🙂 I actually just enjoy writing for now.. You have an impressive background and wonderful selling points so I can see why you’re successful..
rea, i want you to know you’re one of my very favorite bloggers that i’ve recently been following. you always have such insightful posts. keep it up. i’m really loving your site.
I’m at a 56 on Klout and I feel like it took forever to go up that last point from 55. Can’t wait to see what 60 might bring!
stefanie, you’re right there with me! klout’s great because they give a lot of free product away.
I make a little money on my blog but don’t do Klout and maybe I should. Honestly, I rejected most of my review offers at first because I didn’t like them. I’m glad I did because I got much better ones!!! I still do not do sponsored posts, and would like to ask – how much are you able to control the content?
for sponsored posts, it’s usually a collaboration between me and the sponsor, and it totally depends. some brands are more draconian and others are more lenient. but i’ve never felt uncomfortable with anything i’ve said in a sponsored post, if i did, i wouldn’t post it.
Hi Catherine! Such a great post — love that you emphasize the importance of marketing blogs as the businesses they are and encourage direct outreach to brands you love. Natural advocacy is highly valuable to brands & marketers. We saw that in spades during our years of producing BlissDom – where bloggers and brands could connect in meaningful ways.
Our One2One Network brings bloggers and social media “mavens” opportunities for sponsored posts as well as sampling parties, social media promotions/contests and other fun activations. (new bloggers and non-bloggers welcome!)
We’ve just unveiled a new website and campaign systems that is going to rock! Would love to have you and your readers as part of our community. Join us! http://members.one2onenetwork.com
Congrats on all your success and kudos for sharing your talent and insight with others looking to make this business make business sense!
Krista Carnes
Blissful Media Group
I think your first point is right on – You only get out of your blog the amount of work you put into it. Once people get past that the rest will fall into line.
– Bryan