Monetizing Your Blog What You Need To Know

Last updated on November 29th, 2018 at 11:03 am

You’ve started a new blog and have your first 5 blog posts published.

Now you’re wondering when is the right time to start monetizing your blog? If this sounds like you then read on, I am going to share what your realistic expectations should be and what your focus should be on if you’re a new blogger.

Before we get into what your expectations of “how long will it take me to make money from my blog.” I first have to tell you a little bit about myself.

Why?

It’s important because without knowing what my story is, you’re NOT going to listen to what I have to say.

What I Learned From Monetizing My Own Blogs

This isn’t my first blog, nope it’s probably my 4th blog. I’m no stranger to setting goals and quitting before I reach them.

It’s not something that I’m proud of. It’s just the road that I had to take to learn what it takes to create a successful blog.

In fact, I’ve monetized several blogs in the past and have some success. Here I am again, doing it again with a brand new blog.

My current method of monetization for this blog is going to be product creation, affiliate marketing and for a short time I also offer my limited WordPress services.

I’ve failed in the past, and I’m not ashamed to say it. However, in the process of failing I’ve learned a lot. While I won’t share what I’ve learned from monetizing a blog in this post, I’ll save that for another day.

Today, I just want you to realize that it is possible to make money with your blog. As long as you’re willing to stay patient and keep the course.

Keeping Your Monetization Expectations In Check

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with monetizing your blog as soon as you hit publish. Every blogger will have different opinions about when it’s the right time to monetize.

But the truth is that those are their opinions. It all comes down to when you want to start monetizing your blog.

Related: Should Monetizing Scare the Crap Out of Me

You’re going to have to realize that you probably won’t make any money from your blog right out the gate. Yes I know you’ve probably read stories about some bloggers who make money in their first month.

However, the truth is that it’s different for every blogger. So you can’t compare yourself to other bloggers.

I know what you’re thinking, but I started my blog because I want to create financial freedom. I am tired of working a JOB.

That’s why so many people start a blog. That’s actually, why I started my first blog several years ago. I was tired of working for someone else.

After all, why would someone choose to start a blog and work this hard. Especially, if they don’t have the goal of creating a business?

I’ve been blogging for over 7 months now. If I was to put a value on my time that I’ve spent blogging, let’s just say that I wouldn’t even be making minimum wage.

That’s actually why I am still freelancing full-time outside of this blog. Working as a WordPress freelancer is what’s paying my bills right now.

I still remember my first experience with WordPress like it was yesterday. It took me over 8 hours to set up and install my first self-hosted WordPress blog. Luckily today, there are tons of blogs that will teach you the basics of WordPress.

I can’t remember how long it took me to earn any money from my past blogs. All I can remember is reading people’s success stories talking about how easy it is to earn money from a blog.

Their stories made me think that I was doing something wrong. After all, if they can earn money in a week or a month, why was taking me so long?

Don’t fall for those types of stories. Unfortunately, blogging takes time. While you may get lucky to earn a quick sale here or there, it may take you a while to earn a consistent income from it.

I’ve yet to make any consistent income from this blog.

What am I saying?

There are much faster ways to earn a side income, than blogging. You could go out and get a part-time job or you could start selling stuff on eBay.

Heck you could offer WordPress services on your blog. Regardless of what your business plan is for your blog, you need to take into account that it’s going to take a lot of hard work.

I am NOT trying to deter you from starting your own blog. Heck I even wrote a blog post that will help you how to start a blog step-by-step.

I want you to start your own blog. That’s why I spend a lot of time creating my WordPress tutorials. I don’t want anyone to struggle setting up their first self-hosted blog like I did.

It’s a terrible feeling to start a new venture only to find yourself struggling with the technical aspects. So use my blog to help you set up your self-hosted blog. You won’t find any advanced tutorials.

But then my goal is to help the non-techie start, grow and monetize their blogs. I also share and document my own personal experiences and strategies.

If you need more advanced tutorials, you can check out these sites.

• Genesis Developer (this site has some awesome tutorials for anyone who is using the Genesis Framework)
• Engage WP ( Ron Ventura shares a lot of his PHP code that will help you accomplish things on your own site.)
• Carrie Dils ( Another great site that I’ve used to help me accomplish things on my own blog)

These are just a few of the sites that I’ve personally turned to whenever I need help with some code on my site. As you can see, there’s no shortage of information that will help you accomplish what you need.

So the answer to your question…

When You Should Start Monetizing Your Blog

Most bloggers opinions will vary on this issue. Some people will say that you should start monetizing a your blog as soon as you publish your first post.

Basically, you should start monetizing as soon as you want to. I know that’s a vague answer and probably not what you want to hear.

But the truth is that it’s your blog. If you’re on a self-hosted blog, you can monetize as soon as you hit publish. You get to decide when you’re ready to monetize your blogs.

If you decide to go the affiliate link route, I highly recommend that you cloak your affiliate links.

The important thing to remember, is that you can’t realistically expect to make money right out the gate.

What You Should Focus On When You’re Starting Your Blog

If you’ve just started your blog, your main focus should be creating awesome content. It doesn’t matter which types of monetization methods you use, if your content sucks you won’t make money.

So instead of constantly wondering “when will my blog make money” focus on creating content that helps others.

The more people that you help, the more money you’ll end up making down the road. If your only purpose of starting a blog is to make money, you’re going to have an uphill battle.

You may even end up failing before you see the success you want. Don’t worry, I did and I’m NOT ashamed of it.

It took me a while to figure out what it actually takes to create a successful blog.

Will Monetizing My Blog Scare People Away?

No monetizing your blog should not scare anyone. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with monetizing your blog. If you’re providing awesome content that is helping people, there’s absolutely nothing wrong for getting paid for your knowledge.

Now you don’t want to shove affiliate links down people’s throats or have sponsored ads all over your blog. There’s a lot of people who don’t like visiting sites with a bunch of ads on their blog.

I personally hate it when I visit a site that has a ton of sponsored ads. The ads tend to distract me from the content and to tell you the truth, I usually end up leaving before I read any of the posts.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything wrong with trying to monetize a blog. Heck I monetize my own blog.

However, my goal is to provide you with awesome content first. I hope that my content helps you start, grow and monetize your own blog.

Your main goal should be to help others first. If you focus on that, the money will come, just be patient and give it time.

Final Take Away

Hopefully, this answered your question of “when should I start monetizing a blog?” You now know that you can monetize right as soon as you hit publish, or you can choose to wait.

Everyone is different and the truth is that it’s your blog. You can choose to run it the way that you want. No one can tell you what’s right or wrong. That’s the beauty of having a self-hosted blog.

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What To Do Next…

Keep focusing on providing awesome, helpful content for your blog. Promote your new blog posts and network with other bloggers.

Related: Social Warfare Plugin Why I Use It, Set Up Customization Tips

Don’t give up even though it’s a lot of hard work. Keep your WHY you’re blogging in front of you everyday. I’ve personally found this to keep me motivated to keep working towards my goals.

Let me know when did you start monetizing your blog? Did you monetize as soon as you published your first post? If not how long did you wait before you started monetizing your blog?