If you started a blog to make money…good luck. You can do it, and can sometimes make enough to quit other jobs and live off the blogging income alone. But for most of us, blogging is at best a part-time job (and many don’t make any money at all — it can be a great and fulfilling hobby!).
When you decide to monetize your blog, you can expect to work very, very hard and since it often takes money to make money, you may have to invest in yourself before anyone else will (take a look at this post to see where my blogging budget goes). You’ll certainly want to have your media kit ready:
I have talked at LENGTH about different ways to make money, including lists of opportunities with ad networks, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, etc. and have included dozens of links and examples in “Money: The Ultimate Hornet’s Nest.” I’ve also talked about finding and working with blog sponsors in two posts.
But wait, there’s more!
I have the good luck to be connected with several amazing organizations that offer opportunities to work with brands, amplify my work and pay me (in cash or other compensation. I can’t guarantee that all of these organizations will accept your application, but it’s worth checking out:
I have also had a lot of luck reaching out to companies on my own — preparing a proposal and then working with the brand to find something that fits. So don’t be afraid to ask!
Let me know if there’s a network or organization that I should add to the list. Now, happy job hunting!
About Katy
Great points Katy and thanks for the links.
I have found over the years and through all the training that I have done, that blogging in my opinion should not be the sole focus of the business but complement a business. For example blogging for income on it’s own, unless you are really lucky, and have an infinite amount of valuable, unique and amazing content, I think is going to be quite difficult to sustain over a long period of time, however if you have a business (in anything) then the blog complements your marketing strategy with it.
Just my two cents.
David Risely wrote a good post about it here “Reality Check: A Blog Is Not A Business”
- Blogs don’t make money. Businesses make money.
i think you will see (and probably can already) some of the bigger blogs petering out in terms of unique content, changes in advertising, saturation (newer bloggers coming in) keeping the interest of the reader etc, but with a dynamic business attached to it, they can really flourish.
Oops here is the link to his post http://www.blogmarketingacademy.com/blog-business/
Katy, you rock. Thanks
I have been fortunate in this aspect, and agree with all your advice. Love love love you.
I can always count on you for great advice! thank YOU Katy
Soooo many things to look at! Thanks Katy!!
Thanks, Katy! You always have excellent resources, and I’ve created a media kit that helped me get a sponsorship once for blogging.
I love blogging and definitely see it as a platform for potential business projects. This past month I started a series on making money from blogging, which is kind of an experiment with these projects: http://www.lisafine.org/my-blog/blog-income/.
Thank you for the tips. I love your blogging posts and always find them so helpful. Merry Christmas!
Great tips! Thank you for the links!!! This is really helpful!