Let’s admit it. If you blog, you want to learn how to make money blogging. Yes, I very much enjoy sharing my projects, and reading about all the amazing things you guys do! And I LOVE all the awesome blogging friends I have met through my blog. But, a little money wouldn’t hurt. I do have a slight, ok, huge crafting and thrifting addiction!
We’ve talked about 12 Tips to Grow Your Blog, How to Grow Your Blog with Pinterest, and How to Grow Your Blog with Giveaways. Now, let’s talk about how to make money blogging. If you are just starting out, this is going to be great for you!
How to Make Money Blogging
This post contains affiliate links.
I’m breaking this down into three basic ways to make money blogging: Ad Networks, Affiliate Networks, and Sponsored Post Networks. Of course, you can always make money by having sponsors that advertise on your blog, but I thought I would keep this post more about networks you can sign up with to make money.
Ad Networks
You would place code from these networks onto your sidebar that would then show ads. You would be paid when people look at those ads and/or click on them.
Google AdSense
This is probably the most popular ad network out there. When I first started my blog, I really didn’t think all that much about ads, so they were just randomly placed on my blog. I have moved them to the top of my blog and it has really increased my clicks. They won’t payout until you have $100 in earnings.
This is another very popular ad network. You’ve probably seen these ads on the top of sidebars and the BlogHer TV roll above blog headers. Your blog has to meet certain requirements before you can run their ads and the ads must be placed above the fold. No other ads can be above the fold as well. I have signed up to be social influencer with them, but not an ad publisher yet. Go here for more information.
Content.ad is a related posts network. If you look at the bottom of my blog posts, you will see something that says “What’s Popular Now.” Some of those are my posts, some are other posts through Content.ad. When someone clicks on one of those other posts, I get a small commission. If someone clicks on one of my posts, I get another page view. Its a nice little win-win situation.
More basic ad networks:
Affiliate Networks
ShareASale
This network connects you with online merchants. Once you have signed up with ShareASale, you can apply to become an affiliate with merchants of your choice. There are MANY options, and good ones – one of my favorites on there is Wayfair. You can then place the merchants banners on your blog and insert links into blog posts. When someone clicks on an ad or link, your referral code will be embedded and earn you money if they make a purchase. Sign up for ShareASale here.
Amazon Affiliates
Amazon has pretty much any product ever made, so its pretty easy to find some to promote. You can create a widget that displays products of your choice, get banners, and create links embedded with your referral code to put in blog posts. Go here to sign up.
CJ Affiliates is very similar to Share-A-Sale. It has quickly become one of my favorite affiliate networks. It features some well known brands like CB2, Minted, World Market and more. Sign up here and use Referral Code 4390477.
Reward Style is another affiliate program that is one of my favorites. It is more geared toward fashion and home goods and includes brands such as Etsy, Target and more.
VigLink is a great affiliate network because with it, you don’t have to search for merchants to see if they have an affiliate program or not. You just put the regular old link in your post and if the merchant does have an affiliate program with VigLink, VigLink will automatically turn the link into an affiliate link. Sign up for VigLink here.
Paid Posts Networks
Clever Girls Collective
They connect brands with bloggers to do paid blog posts. I’ve seen brands such as P&G, Allstate, Hanes, etc. Go here for more details.
Sits Girls
They basically do the same thing as Clever Girls. I have not noticed as many opportunities with them as I have with Clever Girls, but its worth it to sign up. I have heard that when opportunities do come around, they are pretty good. Go here for more details.
After signing up with IZEA, you will receive leads to paid post opportunities. You can decide if you want to pursue the lead and negotiate price. The price the lead starts out is based on your numbers in Google Analytics. You have to have this set up on your blog before IZEA will accept you. There are many types of different brands. Sign up for IZEA here.
TapInfluence is one of my favorite sponsored post networks. They will send you direct offers when they think you are a good fit for a campaign. Almost all of the offers I have received from them have been perfect fits. You can decline an offer if you don’t think its right for you. Once more, they will require you to connect your Google Analytics account. Go here for more details.
READ MORE OF THE GROW YOUR BLOG SERIES:
7 Things Your Blog Needs to Keep Readers Coming Back
How to Grow Your Blog with Pinterest
You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.
Sign up to get my posts delivered to your inbox here.
Stalk Me Here:
Pinterest / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Bekah @ re·solve says
Great list; pinned to look at soon!
Kari at A Grace Full Life says
Found you via Hometalk and love this blog!
I am so excited too because my parents live in Chattanooga and we plan to move there in five years!
So am on the lookout for people down there to connect with eventually!
You have a new follower here!
Selene @ Restoration Beauty says
Thanks for all the choices you provided. I’m really interested in Social Spark and as soon as I hit my 3 month mark I will be signing up with them 🙂
Sumaya at Evocative Vintage says
This is a wealth of information Jenna. I have not given the idea much thought as my blog is still very small, but I am bookmarking this page for sure.
Thanks for sharing:)
~~ Sumaya
{ amy } says
Great tips!! Thanks:)
Samantha Horseman says
Great post! Thanks for sharing all of these sites…I had no idea about some of them and you cleared up some things I wasn’t sure about for others! Bookmarking this for sure 🙂
XO Samantha
Helen @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog says
WOW you linked up at a lot of places!! haha.
Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH for putting this post together! I’ve slowly been tipping my toe into this lake…but I haven’t actually wanted to put ads on my blog yet. We’ll see how it goes….still looking into it, but def checking out some of the links you have up there.
Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
Exercise Encouragement Group Blog
Julie Fagundes says
GREAT ideas! Thank you for the ideas and information on each..have a great weekend!
Julie
Jen Nikolaus says
Thanks for all the info! I pinned so I can come back and sign up for some of these sites. I love your blog!!!
Best,
Jen @ Yummy. Healthy. Easy.
Jamie -Better With Age says
Fantastic tips, Jenna! Thanks for sharing!!
Hugs,
Jamie
Emily Ann says
Oooooo, I’m checking these out now! Thanks!
Selene @ Restoration Beauty says
Pinned!
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing this wealth of info, you Rock!! 🙂 michelle
Michelle says
Thanks for sharing this wealth of info, you Rock!! 🙂 michelle
Tina Milas says
Thank you so much for sharing this information! I am a newbie baby blogger so this helps bunches! =) Tina from Zoo Cutie Printables
Maria S says
Thanks for the info! New to blogging and learning the in’s and out’s.
Maria @. Keepingitstepford.com
Danielle says
Thanks for the tips! I’ve been trying to grow my blog and am starting to think about adding some ads to see if I can make a bit of money – every little bit helps!
Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above says
Good information.
Debi
Michelle Hargreaves says
Loving your Grow Your Blog series! Thank you for all your helpful insight!
Michelle
yagottahaveahobby.com
Nicki Parrish says
Thank you so much for this! I have already started utilizing some things! I am new to this and I feel like an idiot, it is so good of you to help a sister out!
Katie says
Interesting list! Lots of stuff I haven’t heard of before!
cmyfabrik.com says
Thank you so much for all these tips, I love how chock full of info your blog is. There are many great ideas to help everyone, no matter what level of blogging experience you have.
Di says
Thanks for the info! I look forward to reading your other tips for blog development.
Kathy Moody says
Fabulous list!! I just pinned. Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent. Have a Happy and Blessed Easter.
Hugs
Kathy
Christine says
Great tips!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer… From Dream To Reality last week! HAPPY EASTER!!
Stacey says
Great info! I have not done this yet, but would like to look into it! Where do you recommnend I start?
Thanks for linking up this week!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Kim says
Saw this on Designed Decor’s Talkin’ About Thursdays Blog Hop – thanks so much for sharing this information! I just applied to Clever Girls!
Shannon Hawk says
I love your series! Thanks so much-I love to learn:)
cassi says
Great ideas! I hadn’t seen the paid post networks before.
Steve V says
Nice list of companies that can help you make money online. My favorite is Amazon Associates. That have an awesome system set up for affiliates which makes it easy too add links to items on your site embedded with your affiliate tracking code.
Mel @ Trailing After God says
Do you have an update for Viraliti? Also, I use nrelate but haven’t used advertising with them. I worry about this because I don’t want them advertising anything that isn’t family friendly. Do we have any control over what they advertise? Thank you for sharing this list!
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Mel, I haven’t made much money with Viraliti. As for nRelate, I’m not sure about the ad options. Since writing this post, I have switched to content.ad for my related posts. You could check them out as well!
Mel @ Trailing After God says
Thank you so much for your quick response! I am totally new to monetizing. I think I will skip nrelate and just use it for related posts. I want control over what shows up on my site 🙂
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Totally understand, Mel!
Carrie @ Kenarry Ideas for the Home says
Great post! Thanks for sharing the list. We’ve put Google ads on our site and affiliated ourselves with Amazon. We haven’t explored the Paid Post Networks yet. Is there a recommended number of unique visitors you should have each month before you start adding these types of posts?
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Some networks do have requirements on the number of visitors – just check with them!
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
Great info. I had never heard of Viraliti but I am going to check it out. I also didn’t know nrelate did ads. Visiting from Thistlewood Farms!
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
I’m so glad it was helpful for you, Michelle!
Emily @ Table + Hearth says
Thank you so much for this series, it helps us confused newbies a ton! I am hoping to start getting ads/sponsors soon and will use some of your suggestions for sure. This is technical but I have been wondering… when we have a company that is willing to put an ad on our page (like on the sidebar), will they send us the code for their image and we just imbed it?
Thanks!!
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Glad its helpful for you, Emily. Typically, the company will send you the image and you will have to upload it to your site, then code it on your sidebar. You can email me and I will help you out with it if you need to!
Emily @ Table + Hearth says
Gotcha, I may need help with that so thank you!!
Antionette Blake says
There are of course others, but I’ve had success with Tomonson.
Tamara p. says
Great info! I’m re-pinning too. 😉
My biggest question/dilemma is when can I implement these. I mean is there one particular company/advertisement I can place right away or do I have to have more traffic to my sight before any type of advertisement can be added? Yeah, I’m green to all this stuff..ha!
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Hey Tamara! Different companies and ad networks have different stipulations. You just have to check with each. 🙂
Iryna says
Thanks for the useful info! Do you have to pay anything to run content.ad on your web-site? I’ve just registered but they require to add funds to my account. I don’t know why…
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Hey Iryna! Nope, I don’t pay anything to run content.ad. They pay me with ad revenue! 🙂
tonygreene113 says
I gave up on content.ad, earnings were horrid. I’ve done better with yarpp.
They’re I’ve been over $325. I also have a fb group where support each other.
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
I’ll have to look into Yarpp, Tony. Haven’t heard of them before! Thanks for the info. FB support groups are awesome for blogging! couldn’t live without mine!
Amy says
Thank you so much for all this help. I am a new blogger and everything seems a little overwhelming with growing your blog, giveaways, affiliates, taking better photos, etc. I appreciate your help with this post. My next goal is to try and host a giveaway.
Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof says
Awesome, Amy! Glad it was helpful!