4 Ways to Make Money Blogging
Have you ever wondered how bloggers make money? The truth is there are a lot of different options! You don’t start making money just because you publish a few posts though… there’s a bit more to it than that. So today I’m sharing some of the different monetization strategies you can use on your Squarespace blog that I’ve learned during my experience as a lifestyle blogger!
Join Affiliate Networks
If you regularly mention brands or products in your blog content, then affiliate marketing could be a good option for you. How they work is you can become an affiliate and then you will include their links into your blog posts and you’ll be paid a commission if someone clicks or buys a product (depending on their pay model). While some brands offer direct affiliate programs, affiliate networks are great because they allow you to link to multiple retailers all from one place. There are a ton of different networks, but here are a few that I’ve used over the years.
ShopStyle Collective: ShopStyle Collective was one of my first experiences with an affiliate network. One of the biggest perks is anyone can join it. Some others require approval, so if you’re just getting started with blogging or affiliate marketing this is a great place to start. They used to have a pay-per-click model where you were compensated by how many times your audience clicked on links but last year they shifted to a CPA cost-per-acquisition model where you’re paid a commission if someone purchases from one of your links. They also have a wide range of available retailers mostly including fashion and home decor brands.
LTK (formerly known as RewardStyle and LIKEtoKNOW.it): This is another very popular affiliate network and currently the one I’m using. This one does require approval though so you may want to wait until you have consistent content on your platform before applying (they recommend at least 4 months). If you know someone on the platform they can also refer you which can help your chances of being accepted. There are a few reasons why I switched to RewardStyle:
The first being that they had more home decor and improvement retailers. Specifically, they have partnerships with Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Overstock — where ShopStyle didn’t
They also offer tools to monetize your Instagram content if you would like
Both of the interfaces are pretty similar though, especially now that ShopStyle has changed to a CPA format, so I recommend seeing which has more of the retailers you link to.
Amazon Associates: If you find yourself linking to Amazon more than anything, then going straight through their affiliate program could be a good fit for you. It’s really easy to apply and their biggest requirement is that you have 3 sales within the first 180 days to stay in the program. They offer a few different options too, you can do product links, banner ads and you can also join their Influencer program to add a Storefront. I should also note that Amazon is apart of ShopStyle and RewardStyle too, but you’ll have access to more options natively.
Share a Sale: Another option I’ve used for a few specific companies is Share a Sale. They’ve been around for 20+ years and their interface is a little more old-school but they also work with different types of brands — I was specifically interested in the home and software companies. They also allow you preview more of them before joining so you can see if they could be a good fit before applying.
Create Sponsored Content
Working with brands and creating sponsored content is another avenue you can earn money on your blog. Throughout my time blogging, I’ve worked with a number of brands in creating content. Because blogging has always been more of a side hustle for me, most of these brand partnerships were secured by them reaching out to me, but you can also directly reach out to them. No need to sit around waiting for them to come to you if you’re serious about making some money! Especially when it comes to working with brands you really love and would be an organic fit.
The basics for this — whether you’re reaching out or being pitched — is having your pricing in order. I recommend having a media kit ready that you can send to brands or reply with if they reach out to you. Some of the basics you’ll want to include are:
Overview of your blog and who you are
Topics you cover
Target audience
Analytics for your reach
Past brands you’ve worked with
Pricing outline for content (can use starting rates if you want)
Having this will save you a lot of back and forth on seeing if it could be a good fit and also help expedite any pricing negotiations. When you’re doing sponsored content, I recommend having an agreement outlining the deliverables, timeline and payment too. If you want to make money on your blog (even as a side hustle) it’s important to treat it as a business so make sure you cover your booty with a contract!
Add Ad Networks
Another option is adding ads to your blog. There are a couple of different pay models for this but two of the more popular are pay per click (PPC) or cost per click (CPC) and cost per mille (CPM) or cost per impression. You’ll see both names thrown around for each. Essentially the difference is either you’re being paid per click or per impressions. So CPM is actually paid based on being paid for every 1,000 impressions. So you’ll want to pay attention to what the networks use before signing up to see what makes more sense for you.
Ads are generally more effective when you have larger audiences too because the rates are generally pretty low. Some networks also require a minimum number of impressions each month just to get started too so that’s another important thing to consider. I don’t personally run ads on my blog currently but here are a few networks I have used or considered in the past:
Sell your own Products or Services
Last but definitely not least is you can also launch your own products or services! This is especially convenient on Squarespace since you automatically have the option to add an e-commerce shop to your website. This can be a very lucrative option especially as you grow your audience and start to see what content people are most interested in. Food blogger? Maybe you create an e-book with exclusive recipes or hey, you could even self-publish your own book. DIY blogger? Maybe you want to sell a DIY kit or an online workshop. Travel blogger? Maybe you sell travel guides as digital downloads. There’s A LOT of different options you could try. Here are a few more just to get your wheels turning:
Worksheets
Digital downloads
Workshops
E-books
Recipes/meal plans
Stock photos
Digital or physical prints
Coaching or consulting services
Design or marketing services
Membership community
The key here is, there are so many different ways you can start monetizing your blog it’s just about finding out what makes the most sense for you. Don’t be afraid to try more than one or integrate several options into your strategy too! Throughout my time blogging I’ve used a mix of all of these at some point and the great thing is Squarespace makes it super easy to do all of them. If you have any questions about blogging or could use some help designing your blog, give me a shout!
Anna Osgoodby
Founder of Going Bold Studio, Anna Osgoodby is an award-winning designer and social media marketing expert. With over a decade of experience, she specializes in helping small businesses with their social media, branding and Squarespace website design.
