Can you make money from your blog? Yes you can. I am so lucky that I have made blogging my career over the last couple of years. I have been blogging for over seven years and in that time things have changed dramatically and now there are lots of UK networks offering sponsored posts for bloggers, so I am sharing how to make money blogging. But it is key to actually know your stuff and 101 training is a great place to go to for SEO training.

I earn from my blog in a number of ways including sidebar advertising, twitter parties, creating content for brands, public speaking, events, affiliate marketing and by sponsored content on Mum in the Mad House. When it comes to content here, I am very picky and always ensure that it is a great fit for my reader and produce evergreen, quality content than it an authentic fit with my blog.

How to make money blogging

Sponsored Posts

There are lots of amazing networks out there that offered paid for posts or posts in exchange for products including (in no particular order):

A lot of the time I am contacted directly by the PR company, SEO agency or brand and asked to work with them. This is why it is important to have contact details on your blog that are easy to find.

Working with a network gives you a good idea of what companies are willing to pay for posts and this means that you can work on your rates for any direct contacts. I think that it is important to remember that you are charging for creating original content and this is especially key where a craft or recipe is involved as it takes a LOT of time and effort.

Banner Advertising

I know not everyone wants advertising on their site and people find it intrusive, but I have only ever had other bloggers complain never a reader. But I am happy to have advertising on my site, passive income is fab in my opinion.

There are lots of companies that offer banner advertising. I am currently with The Blogger Network for my site traffic and mobile traffic and Padsquad for my tablet traffic (ny split is about 50/50 mobile to computer). I have seen a big jump in my income since moving from self managed Google Adsense. I also accept banner advertising directly and there are great ad creator sites to make them look good.

Books and EBooks

I currently don’t have any ebooks available, but Nurturestore has some amazing ebooks. You can either write them on your own or join forces with like minded bloggers and produce a collaborative one. Cass from Frugal Family, Becky from A Thrifty Home and myself did an ebook about having a frugal and fun summer holiday back in 2012. I am currently in the process of working with some other bloggers on a new book.

There are also a number of bloggers that are in print and have some ace and varied books including The Garden Classroom by Cathy James, Red Ted Art by Maggy Woodley, I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh and Coming Up Roses by Rachael Lucas.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is what you recommend a certain product and if someone purchases it through your link then you get a small payment. I am a member of Amazon Affiliates and often link to their products in craft tutorials.

Physical Products

There are plenty of bloggers who have physical products that they sell through their blog such as essential oils, courses, printables and books

Social Amplification and twitter parties

Most bloggers are digital influencers too. We have a real following on our social media accounts and brands are willing to pay for that. They may want to to socially amplify our posts by us sharing them on our social media channels and they are often happy to pay extra for that. Some people get paid to post images on Instagram or even take over a brand’s Instagram account for a period of time.

Lots of companies and networks host twitter parties and look to bloggers to co-host them. It is a great way of connecting with your audience and also finding lots of new tips and tricks.

Is a media pack essential?

I didn’t even know what a media pack was for the first three years of blogging, but bloggers are a lot more professional now and I would recommend having a media pack or at least knowing what your stats are each month and your reach over the various social networks and a regularly updated media pack is an easy way to keep all the relevant information.

Laura from Little Stuff did a fab post on Media packs.

If you are unsure of rates, then reach out to other bloggers and ask them and also take a look at the annual blogger benchmark survey that the Tots100 produce.

Always respond to emails

If you come away with one thing from this post then let it be this. ALWAYS RESPOND TO SPECULATIVE EMAILS. I really mean this. I have a standard response I send to each and every email I get, even the ones asking for a free guest post. You will be surprised at how many people come back to you. Even if your rates are too high for them, they may return in the future.

It takes me about 20 minutes to clear my inbox and respond to these emails each week. I use Outlook and have a quick part message set up. You really need to trust me on this one, or just ask Cerys from Rainy Day Mum. I suggested she did this and she got a holiday of the back of it,

It may be that a particular campaign isn’t for you, but there is nothing wrong going back and suggesting that you work with a company in an alternative way. Do not be afraid to pitch an alternative.

I would love to know how you make money blogging or if you have any questions. Just leave me a comment and I will come back to you.