Starting a blog that brings in a passive income is one of the most thrilling endeavors you can take as a writer and creative. It is the blending of art and business and it is 100% under your creative control.
Wait… I guess I should back up a second here. Yeah — you can make money writing and doing what you love to do. And it can actually be quite simple and more importantly, fun!
I’ve been blogging [with a purpose] for just under two years now. In the last 3 months, however, I have grown my influence, written more compelling work on a consistent basis, and made over $10,000 doing what I love. I made this money either through direct deposits into my Paypal business account, selling my originally created products and through referral payments.
The best part? I’m only getting started…
Since accomplishing these feats, I’ve realized that in order to achieve one of my biggest goals — positively impact and help change our culture for the better through blogging, creative industriousness and entrepreneurialism — I need to share these discoveries!
I am confident you can make strides to make money through your blogging in the next 30 days just like I did.
I do want to clarify though, just because it might be fun and exciting doesn’t mean any of this will come easy. In fact, it’s going to take a LOT of work on your part. Even if you do automate your tasks, you still need to create and promote your content, build your community, and put in the work to improve your blog. You’re not going to achieve success overnight, but you can certainly take one (or two) steps each day to work your way towards it.
But where would be the fulfillment if it all came easy?
Let’s get started…
1. Build a blog people cannot resist
I know, I know…it is easier said than done.
In fact, building a blog that people want to come back to over and over is probably one of the toughest things you need to do in today’s blogging arena. But with hard work, determination, strategy and a touch of luck, you will make it happen.
A lot of what makes a great first impression on your blog is giving someone something of value just for coming to your site, checking it out and giving you their email.
Furthermore, a lot of people are preaching that you don’t need a blog anymore and that you can use sites like Quora and Medium for your blogging success. While I think there is extreme value in both Quora and Medium (heck, I went from 0 to over 2.5 million views with my content in a matter of months using these two sites!) free services are limited in what they can provide in terms of email list building, product hosting and a general landing zone for all of your original content.
Owning your own domain and blog is still King.
If you are ready to finally take your blogging seriously with your own hosted domain and site, I recommend using a service like Bluehost.
Blue host allows you to create you create your own domain, with free SSL service, 24/7 support and a 1-click installation with WordPress. Use this link for a special discount for half off!
After setting this all up, there are plenty of design services to help you get the right look for your site.
2. Partner with the optimal affiliate program for your mission
This might be the best way to make money with your blogging in the next 30 days.
There are hundreds of companies that are looking to give you money just for giving them a shoutout of their product/service.
Affiliate marketing is when you partner with companies to promote their product. You’re given a special link, and if someone makes a purchase through that link, you receive a commission.
It’s a simple way to make money blogging because you don’t have to create your own product and market it. You just have to work on the marketing for that post!
If you haven’t pin-pointed your niche but believe in a number of products that you’ve already purchased, try the Amazon Affiliate Program. You simply apply to partner with them and if you can promote and sell a product through the link they provide you, you make a percentage.
Cha-ching!
If you aren’t fully immersed with what affiliate marketing is by this point, I came across a comprehensive article through Jon Morrow:
Once you start developing your niche and mission, make sure you are promoting products and services that are in line with such! Your reputation is on the line…
3. Join websites that connect you with sponsors.
You could also join websites that connect you with sponsors. If you have a growing social media following, it’s easier to get collaborations (Social is something I definitely need to work on…).
Some websites give you the opportunity for you to make money even with a small following.
- Linqia: Connect your social media accounts and Google Analytics to get started with Linqia. Then, brands will reach out to you to collaborate on a sponsored post.
- Activate by Bloglovin: Once you get your profile set up with Bloglovin, you see a queue of campaigns. You can read through the campaigns and apply/pitch to the company to collaborate on a blog post or social media posts.
- Izea: Connect with advertisers to promote their articles, products, etc. on social media (Twitter/Facebook).
4. Interlink your posts with each other.
Are you interlinking your posts together?
A simple way to increase revenue from your blog is by interlinking relevant posts with each other. If you interlink posts in a way that encourages others to click to other articles on your blog.
You are encouraging readers to stay on your site .
With this, the longer they are there → the more information that is absorbed →the more they begin to trust you →the more they are willing to pay for what you are offering!
This does a number of things:
- Increases ad revenue (If you are working on that — I don’t have much experience here)
- And, increases the likelihood of affiliate sales due to seeing these links pop up in more places.
If someone visits your blog and loves the article they read, make it effortlessfor them to find other similar, amazing content you wrote.
Your blog tells a story, and there are likely older posts your newer readers haven’t read. You can easily connect your posts together by linking to other posts each time you write a post.
Linking to your other posts in articles will decrease your bounce rate, increase your viewership, and make it easier to earn money from your blog.
5. Create a resources page.
Another way to make passive income is by creating a resources page for your blog. A resources page is a collection of products and services you use. This is similar to affiliate links, however it’s pretty much the “home base” for all of them.You can do this for any niche.
- If your niche is fashion, take a look at what this blog is doing: The Viva Luxury has a full page dedicated to nothing but great product recommendations(I assure you they’re not making all of these clothes…)
- Managing a leadership blog? The famous, Michael Hyatt has himself a “My Tools” page chalk-full of great recommendations of tools you can use to further your leadership progression.
- The same goes if you’re a writer who created a writing blog. Take Jeff Goins for instance with his “resources” page. He blankly points out that some of the links are free, some aren’t. He’s making a killing with these links!
Resources pages are useful for your readers because they get access to the products you use and they see on their social media feeds. And they’re useful for you because if someone gets inspired by something you list, you can make money from it.
Do some research in your niche of blogs you look up to in order to see what can work for you!
6. Create a product to sell to your audience.
This is probably my favorite of the list (which is why I saved it for last). This is the money-making endeavor that allows you to showcase your creativity and originality. You are literally creating something that wasn’t there before that can benefit your following all while making money doing so. This can take more time depending on the type of product you create.
- If you’re an organization guru, you can sell speaking opportunities to different organizations.
- You can write about your experience and expertise in an ebook or ecourse. Example: The Creative Penn
- Or, if you’ve worked in a specific career field for a long period of time, you can write educating others about your career choice and any advice you have. A hot one nowadays is online coaching.
Remember to tailor the products you create to your audience. Even though I have worked in restaurants for many years, it would be random if I tried selling cooking products to my audience of people who want to make money online. So think about your audience, their problems, and their needs as you create a product for them.
Not sure what to create? If you have an engaged email list, ask them! Ask for feedback. See what struggles they are dealing with. This is a great way to do market research and help them with their problems.
Two birds — one stone.
I did this when I wrote my ebook “How To Generate Viral Blog Traffic”. While I wrote this book, I constantly asked my readers what they wanted to know and where they struggled most. Their answers ultimately helped me create content for the book — because I wanted to directly answer their questions about growing blog traffic and making money blogging.
All of these different methods are here to help you build the independence you are looking for.
Again, none of this will come easy — but that’s the point. Every good thing in life takes a considerable amount of hard work and determination.
As a writer, we probably share similar dreams… Being able to write what you want to write, inspire people, create a community, travel, and get paid for it all.
With these methods, you can start your trek towards that.
I can’t tell you already what blogging has done to me both professionally and spiritually.
- I have learned management skills they didn’t teach me in college.
- I have met unbelievably inspiring people both in-person and online.
- I have built a viable income for myself.
- I have learned [rudimentary] graphic design.
- I have learned online marketing skills.
And this is all just the beginning…
It’s a fulfilling journey to say the least — I hope it is for you as well.
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