I’ve been blogging since 2006, with my now defunct food blog, YummySF. At that time, food blogs were exploding online. Some food bloggers became celebrities and even got cookbook deals.
It was fun having my own blog and getting invitations to fun food events. But I couldn’t figure out how to make money with the food blog so I went into another direction and started this blog, Living Richly on a Budget in 2009.
Not long after that, I found a job and my blog fell into the back burner. After being laid off two times in a row, I decided to try harder to earn money online. At the time, being pregnant was a huge motivation.
After working hard for 3 years, I’m finally at the point where I earn a part-time income. My goal is to earn a full-time income by next year. And by full-time income, I mean enough to cover all of our monthly expenses and then some.
I don’t want to give you the impression that making money online is easy because it isn’t. After you get your blog up, work on SEO, and write good content, monetizing it is tough.
I’ve been blogging for almost 10 years and only recently have I learned to be more focused. I have stuck with it because deep down, I enjoy being creative. I enjoy creating things and writing.
It was a long time dream of mine to write books and I’ve made it happen. Now, I never pictured myself self-publishing but I love it.
Ways I Earn Money Online
1. Advertising
There are different ways to earn money with advertising. But first, your blog or website needs to have enough traffic coming in, at least 10,000 pageviews a month or more.
For my food blog, I barely made anything in the beginning. It took over 8 months to earn $100, which is pretty dismal.
I have used a mix of pay-per-click, cost-per-impression (CPM), and private advertising. Check out Google Adsense and BlogAds.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is when you earn a commission after a visitor clicks through a link on your site and makes a purchase. You have to earn a minimum amount before you get paid.
Popular affiliate marketing programs are Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, Linkshare, and ShareaSale. This brings in the smallest portion of income, sadly.
3. Sponsored Posts
I write sponsored posts from time to time but only if they fit with my blog. I don’t do these as much as I’m more picky about the content that goes on my blog.
4. eBooks
eBooks are hot right now. It gives you the ability to self-publish and earn a decent portion of the sales. And it’s a great way to start earning passive income.
My first ebook, Eating Organic on a Budget, was published on Amazon Kindle in 2012. And my second ebook, Eating Gluten-Free on a Budget, was published a year later in 2013.
I recently launched my 3rd ebook, Budgeting Made Easy.
How do you make money online?
6 Comments on 4 Ways I Make Money Online
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Thank you for this very honest reflection and clear steps on making money on a blog or website! I have had similar results as you have.
I began my website with the goal of providing my 15+ years of preschool lesson planning and information free to others who work with young children. I began my website in October of 2010 and it took 7 months to make my first $100, but what an exciting month!
I was not at home, but working out of the home full-time. The amount of time I had to put into the website was limited. 20-40 hours per month.
I began monetizing in March 2011 using Google Ads.
I currently added a workshop section to help preschool teachers find affordable trainings online (only one workshop to date, but working on it!). This is the only area on my website where I charge a fee…$10 per 4 hour workshop. Many tell me that it is too low, but I think more than that is beyond most preschool teachers’ budgets, considering they need from 10-20 hours per year (depending on the state/province they live in) and are not given budget money for this by most preschool centers.
I do have an Amazon Affiliate store but have not activated it yet. As you said, this is the smaller portion of an income for online businesses, but can be of value to visitors of your site or blog.
My goals for this school year are to add to my workshop section and to publish two e-books. Based on the research I’ve done, I completely agree with you that Amazon is the best place to publish and find e-books.
At this point, coming to the end of my 3rd year with the website, I am making a decent part time income, replacing half of my full time position and will be putting more time into the website this school year.
It does take time and patience and time management…and it is worth it to follow what you are passionate about!
Cheryl
Kudos to you Cheryl! Glad I’m not the only one who took awhile to earn money online. It takes time but I love earning passive income!
Let me know if you’d like to be part of my Work at Home Series.
Fanny
I have good luck with Google AdSense on my business blog and website – it does well. The Amazon Affilate I use across both blogs and website, it does very good. The thing is, it doesn’t do well if I don’t build links and use them. It is one reason I am happy to review cookbooks on my personal blog, I review, I link. It is neat to watch what people buy via my affilate account.
Awesome, Sarah! I will try doing more reviews. Now that I’m focusing on a tighter niche, maybe it will help.
You forgot to mention Google Ad Sense. It will pay you more money, when compared to other online jobs. You want to earn money online frequently, and then you must try Google Ad Sense. It is the easiest way to getting a large amount in a short period..
Thanks for sharing your ideas. There are so many options it can get overwhelming at times and the reason why I haven’t really gotten into advertising or affiliate marketing. I guess the focusing on one or two would be the way to go.