Last updated on August 2nd, 2018 at 07:40 am
How much do professional bloggers make? This is the question that most new bloggers want to know before they start investing time and money into their blog. We are going to take a look at how much some bloggers are making and how they are making their money.
Can Bloggers Make Good Money?
Absolutely bloggers can make good money, and there are several people who have decided to do this full-time. On the other hand, there are some bloggers who think this is a get rich quick scheme and end up quitting before they make a penny.
Blogging is a long-term strategy and while there are some people who make money within a few months. That’s NOT the norm for most bloggers.
This is why so many people say that you shouldn’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle. If someone has been blogging for 3 years and you’re just starting your blog.
By the time you get done reading this post and looking at some of the successful bloggers, you’ll stop asking the question “how much do bloggers make” and instead work hard to create your own blog revenue model.
Related: How to Deal With Blogger Comparison
You can’t expect to be at the same level of success as the person who has been blogging for 3 years. After all, they have more experience under their belt and they’ve gone through some of their own blogging struggles.
Unfortunately, there is a learning curve that comes with blogging. But I personally think that if you can overcome those hurdles, you have a good chance of making money with your blog.
How Much Do Professional Bloggers Make And How They Do It
Okay, now that you know it’s going to take time to start earning money with your blog and you shouldn’t compare yourself to these blogger’s, let’s introduce you to some professional bloggers.
All these bloggers have been blogging for several years. All of them have managed to turn their blogs into a successful blog that not only allows them to live their life on their terms.
But have turned their blog into a helpful resource for their audience. So let’s take a look at some of these bloggers so you can immulate their success.
After all, if they were able to create a successful online empire, so can you. As long as you are patient and don’t give up. Of course, it also depends on whether your in a niche that makes money or not.
You also want to pay attention to their blog revenue model because all these bloggers are making money through several different methods.
Whether you want to make $2000 a month blogging or $20,000 it’s important to focus on multiple income streams.
Making Sense of Cents
If you’ve been blogging for awhile you’ve probably heard of Michelle who started a personal finance and lifestyle blog. She started her blog without the intention of making money, in fact, she didn’t even know you could make money from a blog.
She started her blog to share her journey of paying off her student loans. She’s been blogging for over 6 years and in that short amount of time is now earning on average over $100,000 per month.
Every month, she shares her income reports with her readers, you can check them out here.
Pinch of Yum
Lindsay and her husband run a food blog and share some amazing recipes. At the time of this writing, they have been blogging for over 7 years. She left her teaching job in 2014 to become a full-time blogger.
The Pinch of Yum blog has been known to make $50,000 per month or more.
She started her blog so she could learn more about food, cooking, and photography.
While she doesn’t share her income reports anymore, you can read some of her past income reports to see how the blog has grown over the years.
Survival Life
This blog is all about survival, preparedness, and practical prepper tips. At the time of this writing, the blog has been known to make over $1,000,000 per month.
If you’re into the survival tips then you definitely should check it out.
Learning Herbs
This blog shares their experience by blogging about medicinal herbs. At the time of this writing, the blog makes over $20,000 per month.
They have monetized their blog using affiliate marketing and selling their own products. You can visit their blog here.
How Bloggers Can Earn Money
The cool thing about blogging is that there are so many different ways to make money from a blog. In fact, no two blogs are the same.
It doesn’t matter what type of blog you have, as long as you’ve chosen a profitable niche, you won’t have any trouble finding a way to monetize it.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common ways bloggers can monetize their blog.
Affiliate Marketing
As a blogger, you’ll be investing in products and services that you use to run your blog or grow your blogging knowledge. Whenever you find a product or service that you love then you can write about it in a review on your blog.
Share your experience of how it helped you accomplish what you wanted or how it made your life easier. It can help your readers make a purchasing decision to see if it’s the right product for them.
Every business savvy blogger does this. After all, why wouldn’t you promote products or services that you have used and loved? It’s a great way to make money with your blog.
If you need help getting started with affiliate marketing, I highly recommend this course. It will teach you everything you need to know to get started on the right foot.
Sponsored Posts
This is where you work with companies to write content for them and promote it on your blog to your audience. Many lifestyle bloggers have been known to write sponsored posts.
If you’re considering getting started with sponsored posts, here are some companies that you can get started with.
Companies
Digital Products
As a blogger, you have the opportunity to show your expertise and create your own digital products. If you are using a self-hosted WordPress site, there are plugins like Easy Digital Downloads that makes it so easy to sell your own products on your blog.
I am actually using it to help me sell my own ebooks, you can check them out here.
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial that will show you how to add your eBook to the bottom of your blog posts. It’s a great way to get more people to see your eBooks.
After all, we all know that people have to see your product or service at least 7 times before they buy.
Ads
We have all seen those annoying ads that are plastered on blogs. You might find them annoying, but the truth is that those ads have been known to make some bloggers quite a bit of money.
As your blog starts to grow and you have tons of content published, you will realize that it just makes sense to monetize your blog with ads. Especially, if you want to create multiple sources of income.
Blogging Is A Career
It’s actually hard to believe that blogging can be a full-time career. After all, no one really knows if they’ll be able to make money from their blog when they first get started.
Most of us have no clue that it’s possible to write a blog entry and eventually it might make some residual income.
If people ask you what you do for a living and you say I have a blog, then you have probably encountered these beliefs:
- Strangers think that blogging is just a hobby.
- Family and friends think of a blogger as an unemployed bum.
As a matter of fact, my brother asked me the other day when I was planning on getting a real job. They tend to think that this blogging thing should just be a hobby, not a full-time business.
Why I Blog
Truth be told though, I love my blog and I started this blog with the full intention of sharing my blogging journey and experience with others. This means that I spend a lot of time researching and sharing my own opinions to help you realize that blogging isn’t that challenging.
Yes, it does take time to build traffic to your blog. But as long as you stay consistent and don’t give up, I truly believe that you will be able to achieve the lifestyle you desire.
I can not imagine having to go out and get a job. As a matter of fact, as I write this post, I am sitting in a coffee house in Tennessee drinking a coffee.
Blogging has provided me with the ability to work from anywhere I want and not have to worry about an employer telling me I can or cannot do something.
How to Make Money Blogging for Beginners
Now that we’ve seen what’s possible with a blog that actually gets targetted traffic, you’re probably wondering if it is possible for you to make a money making blog?
Well, if you have been thinking about starting a blog, check out this guide on how to start a profitable blog. It will walk you through step-by-step on laying down the proper foundation for your blog.
Once you get your blog up and running, be sure to sign up for this FREE 12-Day Blogging Bootcamp Course. You’ll learn the exact steps that it takes to start building your blog.
The Truth About Blog Income
Most new bloggers tend to believe that if they start their blog today, they will make money by next week. If you look at all the blog’s that I mentioned above, you’re going to notice two things.
They all make their money in different ways.
All of these bloggers have been blogging for more than 3 years.
Most of them started their blog as a hobby. They had no clue that they could make money with a blog.
Blogging for A Living
Anyone who tells that you grow a blog is quick and simple is just lying. Yes, you can earn money from a blog, and you’re more likely to earn faster if you choose from the blog niches that are known to be profitable.
However, I truly believe that you can earn money from any niche as long as it has people that are willing to spend money. So now I want to address some questions that you’re probably thinking “how much do bloggers make?”
- Some make less than $1,000 per month.
- Others make more than $3,000 per month.
- A very small few make $100,000 per month.
- There are even fewer bloggers that make 1,000,000 per month.
I am still currently working towards being a full-time blogger. Right now, most of the income still comes from me being a WordPress freelancer.
But I am working hard on changing that.
What You Need to Do
If you have the entrepreneurial bug and want to earn money with a blog, then you need to get started now. As I mentioned above, I truly think that any blog can earn money.
One of the biggest reasons that most people don’t succeed is they give up before they reach their goals. When you decide to become a blogger, you’re going to realize that there is always a lot to learn.
It’s not as simple as writing content and sitting back and waiting for people to visit your blog. Nope, you’re going to have to get busy and work hard at growing your blog.
The best piece of advice I can give you is to find a niche that you’re somewhat familiar with. While it’s true that you don’t have to be an expert in your niche.
However, I personally think that it will be a lot easier to write content if you know something about the niche.
Yes, it’s possible to do your research and write content. But you’re going to need a lot of content and the last thing you want to do is spend hours researching topics to write about.
Remember, as a blogger, there’s always something that you will need to do to grow your blog.
Related: My Blog Growth Updates on How I Am Growing My Blog
It’s Funny
I’ve seen a few “finance blogs’ and it sounds like the blogger has no clue what they are talking about.
If you don’t know anything about the niche, you’re going to have a challenging time writing content. People will know when you are just adding fluff to your content.
Your readers are real people and they will be able to tell whether you are knowledgeable about the niche or are just interested in making money.
Is Starting A Blog Risky?
It still amazes me at how many bloggers want to start for free. For some reason, they tend to believe that they can build a profitable venture on a free platform.
Yes, you can start a blog for free, but if you’re serious about building a business, you’re going to have to stop being cheap and invest in your business. There are not a ton of blogging costs for a new blog.
The best part is that it can literally change your life if you stick with it.
Here are some of the reasons that some bloggers fail:
They expect overnight results: It’s so funny when I see a new blogger ask why they haven’t made any money with their new two-week-old blog. This isn’t a quick get rich overnight scheme, no matter what anyone tells you.
They don’t know their niche: You don’t have to be an expert in your niche, but you better be willing to learn more about the niche if you want to succeed.
Fear stops them from starting: For some reason, some bloggers are just too scared to hit publish on their blog. They let fear stop them from pursuing their goals.
They procrastinate on things that don’t matter: I’ve seen some bloggers spend months trying to find the right colors for their logo or waste time trying to find the right theme.
Related: How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Yes, you want a blog that looks professional, but if I am being serious your the quality of your content if going to play a huge role on whether you succeed or not.
How to Ensure Success
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of success in the blogging world. However, with that being said, I do believe that anyone has the chance to succeed if they follow these tips.
Work Hard and Smart: There is no magic bullet so don’t believe it for an instance. Spend time on the things that will provide an ROI and let go of the things that don’t matter.
Provide Lots of Value to People: If your blog actually helps your readers solve their problems, you’re likely to succeed online.
Don’t Give Up: It doesn’t matter if it takes you 3 years or 8 years to reach your $10,000 per month blogging. It’s a lot better than the alternative of working for someone else for the rest of your life and not living your life on your terms.
Final Take Away
I hope that I was able to answer your question of “how much do professional bloggers make” and helped you realize that it’s possible to make a living doing what you love.
Just remember it isn’t going to happen overnight. So whatever you do, just keep at it and keep building your online empire.
Hand Picked Articles for You
- How to Make Money Blogging At Any Level
- What Kind of Blog Should I Start for The Confused and Clueless
- 5 Types of Blogs to Start If You Want to Make Money
Did you start your blog with the intention of making money? Let me know, I’d love to read about why you started your blog.
Great post, Susan. In fact, I already schedule it for posting across social channels. Blogging is fun and when you’re making money from your blog, the feeling is beyond imagination. As you mentioned, there are many, many ways to make money blogging. Affiliate marketing is for me the best and easiest way to make money blogging. Michelle is making incredible money on her blog each month, I know so because I’m subscribed to her newsletter. And to talk abiut others like “Survival Life” who is making an average of $1,000,000 per month, that is super duper. I actually haven’t heard of this survival life site, but it goes to show how people are making money on their blogs. Which effectively means that anyone can do it with the right mindset, tools, and investment.
Thank you for sharing.
Hey Moss,
You’re definitely correct when you start making money, it’s amazing and doesn’t feel like a pipe dream anymore. Although it does take time to actually start making money.
Yeah, some bloggers are making a killing online. You’re right, if you see another blogger doing it so can you.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment and taking the time to share it.
Have a great day 🙂
Susan