So you want to start a blog and make an income from it? Let’s get into it. Bloggers and influencers make money for their businesses in several ways.
While some may make more than others in each category, these are some of the ways that bloggers make money in 2023. With ample opportunity to grow, influence and connect, you can be earning revenue for your business in no time.
How Do Bloggers Make Money In 2023
Sponsored Posts
A sponsored post is when a brand hires an influencer to create content for them. This can be in various forms too. Whether it’s a blog post, or an Instagram post TikTok or a Pin on Pinterest, the partnership options are really endless.
But the jist of these partnerships is that you the influencer, are being hired for the content you create to promote a product or brand. These can also be one off partnerships where you just post once and that’s it. And sometimes you can secure multi-month campaigns which is a great way to have more consistent income.
When working with brands on these types of partnerships, you’ll want to read the contract thoroughly so you’re clear on the expectations. You’ll also want to negotiate a fair rate for your work.
A few additional ways to make money from your sponsored posts are to charge for whitelisting and image licensing. While you can be hired to just talk about a product, you can also be paid for these add-ons.
No matter what size of influence you have, your time and expertise are valuable. Always be charging for your work!
You can learn more about how to price yourself with sponsored posts here.
How To Get Sponsored Posts
Getting a sponsored campaign can happen in a few ways. First, you can pitch yourself to brands and agencies to make connections and pitch ideas.
The second way is through partnership networks. You can read about some of our favorites here. But they range from LTK and Collective Voice who also run affiliates, to ones like Shoplooks, Ahalogy and Aspire.
Get our pitch templates to start pitching your brand in The Library. This is an exclusive members-only perk! Join here.
UGC Content
The UGC content world has definitely taken off ever since TikTok really solidified itself as a legitimate social media platform. Influencers will be hired to create what’s called user generated content for brands to then use as an ad.
These feel really organic because it’s just someone sharing what they love, but it’s an ad. They can be really quick to make too as they are typically just a short video clip.
UGC has really been around forever, it is in a lot of blog contracts but we more so see it as image licensing. So that the brand can then use that for ads.
But UGC has become a thing of its own and really anyone can do it. It doesn’t even require a following, you are just basically a model or actress directing your own content.
Affiliate Earnings
Influencers and bloggers make a large portion of their earnings from affiliate commissions. This is when an influencer shares an affiliate trackable link from a store or brand (this can be done through a platform like LTK, Collective Voice or Amazon) and then when someone buys something, you earn a commission.
Affiliate revenue can be HUGE. The larger your following, and also more importantly the more engaged your audience is and trusts you the more you can earn.
Where To Share Affiliate Links
Your affiliate links can be shared in many places making this a great opportunity to earn big. You can share your links in your blog posts, in your newsletter (this is one of the best ways to convert actually) and your Instagram stories and link in bios.
Want to grow your affiliate earnings? Enroll today in The Affiliate Academy to see your earnings grow year over year and learn how to use the top platforms for influencers in 2023. Enroll today ?
Ad Revenue
If you have a website, you can also make money as a blogger through ads. We have a few on our blog that you are seeing now. These ads are being displayed with the help of an ad network like SheMedia or Mediavine (you can see our list of ad networks to consider joining here).
When ads get displayed, and people click, you earn ad revenue. The more pageviews you have, the more ads that get displayed, the more tailored your topics are, the more you’ll earn.
Digital Products And E-Books
As you grow your following, you can potentially get into digital products. The ideas are really endless. Depending on what you currently create you can expand on that and build out digital products.
If you’re a style blogger, you can create a style guidebook to sell. If you’re a travel blogger, maybe create a travel guide. There are tons of ideas here.
Sell Physical Products
This is definitely something that comes with a bit more risk, but we’re seeing it more and more. Whether you sell clothing, or home decor, or anything in-between, you can use your influence and audience to kick off physical products to sell.
With a built-in audience that you know converts, you can truly launch a product or brand as an extension of your blog with a bit more confidence.
With an ever changing industry, ways to make a living as a blogger and influencer can ebb and flow. But having a community that trusts you and your recommendations is going to allow you to build your business over time. Authenticity and consistency will always benefit your business at the end of the day.
