Short answer? Yes, it is still very possible for anyone to make money with blogs. In fact, there are more ways than ever to do so…
The beautiful thing about blogs (or even just online marketing in general), is there is an almost endless supply of topics that you can write about.
There’s just one important thing to remember, when trying to make money with blogs:
Although, yes, people may search for what you decide to write about…some topics are more profitable than others. Other topics may even be better to pass up, altogether.
For example, a fitness blog will very easily blow past a site dedicated to how to knit sweaters for your cat.
Obvious? Maybe. But some people insist on sticking only to their passion.
The best thing to do would be to make a list of topics you’re interested in and then work your way down that list until you find a niche you can write about.
Here’s the basic criterion for choosing a topic, when trying to make money with blogs:
1. Your market is social. They aren’t afraid to comment, interact with other members, etc.
2. Your market is passionate. Really, this is “marketing 101″…but it’s worth repeating.
3. The topic you’re writing about gets a worthwhile amount of traffic.
What you’ll consider “worthwhile” really depends on the niche and your ability to market within it. In other words, your term might only get a low amount of searches per month, but if there is a high-ticket product to promote then you may still be able to do significantly well.
4. Your market isn’t afraid to spend/invest money, especially online.
The topic is one you won’t mind having to create regular content for.
By taking those things into consideration, it’s very likely that your original list of topics and ideas will decrease in size.
Still, it’s better to do your research up front and actually be able to make money with blogs you create, as opposed to just writing your heart out and hoping to see a few bucks trickle into your bank account!
Of course, the real question is…
How Do You Actually Make Money With Blogs?
Honestly, I think it would be best to dedicate an entire post to show you specific options I’ve found to monetize your content. After all, I mainly wanted to write this article to address the fact that it is still possible to create an income with blogs.
But, for now, here is a basic list of ways to monetize your blog:
1. Membership Blogs
Having your own membership blog is essentially like having your own online magazine!
You can either choose to charge for access to all the content, or ask users to create a paid subscription for access to additional parts of the site.
2. Automated Advertising
Some marketers make money with blogs by making certain terms clickable in their content, which then directly link to a related affiliate product.
For example, clicking the link above will take you to a great site that lets marketers of all experience levels earn extra money online with blogs.
3. Paid Advertising
Once your blog gains popularity, you can charge other companies or product owners to advertise on your site.
You’ve probably noticed already that a lot of people make money with blogs by using ads, such as banner ads.
Sometimes, however, these banners may have been provided by affiliate programs and only earn the blogger money when someone clicks through and buy.
On the other hand, selling advertising space is great, because you only have to worry about hosting the ad itself!
4. Affiliate Programs
We’ve already touched on this one.
Basically, any of the major ways to monetize blogs (like above) can be used specifically for promoting affiliate products.
Some affiliate programs even allow you to earn 100% commission for each time you drive traffic and make a sale!
Really, there are many different ways you can make money with blogs. As I mentioned above, maybe I’ll create a post specifically about the different resources that you can use.
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