Make Money Blogging: Proven Ways That Actually Work

Last Updated on August 3, 2025 by Team Digital Web Verse

How to Make Money Blogging (Without the Hype)

So you’ve started a blog, or you’re seriously thinking about it — dreaming of working from home, earning a passive income, sipping chai while your blog quietly earns for you in the background.

Yep, I’ve been there too.

But here’s the truth: making money blogging isn’t some overnight success story. It’s more like a “keep showing up, keep learning, keep tweaking” kind of journey. The good news? With the right strategies (and a bit of patience), it does work — and it’s absolutely worth it.

Whether you’re Googling how to make money blogging, how to start a blog for free and make money, or wondering if it’s even realistic — you’re in the right place.

I’m going to walk you through five practical ways to make money blogging, even if you don’t have a ton of traffic (yet). These are the same methods real bloggers use every day to turn their content into consistent income.

Affiliate Marketing: The Beginner Blogger’s Goldmine

If I could only pick one method to recommend to beginner bloggers, it would be affiliate marketing — no question. Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money blogging — especially if you’re just starting.

Affiliate marketing is where you promote someone else’s product or service, and if someone buys through your special referral link, you get paid a commission. That’s it. No product creation, no customer support, no inventory. Just helpful recommendations that also happen to earn you money.

Why does this work so well for bloggers?
Because people trust personal recommendations more than ads. If you’ve ever Googled something like “best shampoo for oily hair” or “dog food for sensitive stomachs” — and clicked a blog post — there’s a good chance that blogger was earning affiliate income from that post.

Let’s say you run a blog in the pet care niche. You write a post like:

• “Top 10 Chew Toys for Heavy Chewers”
• “The Best Dog Food Brands for Allergies”
• “How I Stopped My Dog from Barking Nonstop (Tools That Actually Helped)”

In those posts, you naturally mention brands and products you use — and link to them using affiliate links from Amazon, Chewy, or Petco. If someone buys after reading your post? You get a commission!

Or maybe you’re in skincare or beauty. Your blog could feature:

• Makeup tutorials
• Skincare routines for different skin types
• Product comparisons (like CeraVe vs. The Ordinary)

Again, you add links to trusted products — maybe from Sephora, Ulta, or LookFantastic — and earn money when readers make a purchase. Plenty of bloggers in travel, beauty, and pet care make money blogging just by recommending things they already use and love!

What I love about this method is:

• It doesn’t feel salesy if you’re being honest and helpful
• You don’t need to create a product from scratch
• You can start even with a small audience — especially if your content solves a specific problem

One of my friends runs a blog in the home decor niche and makes a steady income just by writing about furniture, candles, and organization hacks — linking to affiliate programs like Amazon, Wayfair, or Etsy.

But don’t just slap affiliate links everywhere.
The key is to recommend things you’ve actually used, believe in, or researched properly. Write like you’re helping a friend — not selling to a stranger.

👉 Want a full walkthrough? Here’s my step-by-step guide to affiliate marketing

Ready to start affiliate marketing?
Sign up with HostGator and get up to 65% off hosting with code GATOR65 — it’s the easiest first step to setting up your monetized blog.

Display Ads: The Set-It-and-(Mostly)-Forget-It Method

Let’s talk ads. This is probably the most passive income method — once it’s set up, you don’t really have to think about it much. You’ve definitely seen these before — banner ads, in-article ads, and sidebar ads. They’re placed on your blog by ad networks like Google AdSense, Ezoic, or Mediavine, and you get paid based on views or clicks.

But here’s what most beginner bloggers don’t realize:
You need a decent amount of traffic to earn real money. If you’ve got under 1,000 visits a month, the earnings will be minimal — like a few cents a day. But once you cross 10K or 50K sessions/month, ads can bring in hundreds (or thousands) per month without you lifting a finger.

Still, it’s a solid long-term strategy.

Which AD networks to start with?

• AdSense – easiest to join, low payout
• Ezoic – requires 1,000 sessions/month and typically pays better than AdSense
• Mediavine – amazing earnings, but requires 50K monthly sessions

How it works:

You sign up for an ad network (like Google AdSense or Ezoic), place their ad code on your blog, and they automatically display ads to your readers. You get paid based on impressions (RPM) or clicks (CPC), depending on the network.

AdSense is the easiest to get started with — you can apply with a small blog. But the earnings are low in the beginning.

Ezoic is a better option once you start getting 1,000+ sessions/month. They optimize your ads, test placements, and often increase your earnings by 2x or more compared to AdSense.

Why do bloggers use display ads?

• 100% passive once it’s live
• Scales naturally with traffic
• Doesn’t require selling or promoting anything

👉 Read Ezoic’s monetization guide for beginners for more details.

But again — don’t expect much if your blog is brand new. I usually tell beginners to focus on content and affiliate marketing first, then add ads later when traffic picks up. Once your traffic starts growing, display ads can become a reliable way to make money blogging passively.

Sell Digital Products: Scale Your Knowledge Into Income

This is where things get exciting. Selling digital products is hands-down one of the best ways to turn your blog into a long-term income stream. You create something once — and sell it again and again, without lifting a finger every time.

Selling digital courses or products is a great way to earn money from blogging without relying on page views or ads. And no, you don’t need to be a “guru” or have a massive following to do this. You just need to solve a real problem your audience faces.

Let’s say you blog about fitness for busy moms. You could create:

• A printable 15-minute home workout planner
• A healthy meal-prep guide for beginners
• A digital eBook with low-impact exercises

Or maybe you’re into travel blogging. You might create:

• A “2-Week Thailand Itinerary” PDF
• A packing checklist for solo female travelers
• A budgeting spreadsheet for backpackers

Skincare and beauty bloggers do this really well too — selling:

• Skincare routine trackers
• Product pairing cheat sheets
• Makeup tutorial bundles with before/after photos

What’s awesome about digital products is that they:

• Require zero shipping or inventory
• Build authority in your niche
• Often lead to email signups and repeat visitors

Why Digital Products work:

• No physical shipping or overhead
• Instant delivery = instant satisfaction
• High profit margins
• Great for growing your email list, too

Tools to try:

• Gumroad – Simple, flexible, and free to start
• Sellfy – Great for selling product bundles and subscriptions
• Canva – Ideal for designing templates, planners, and guides (no graphic design skills needed)

I know bloggers in the parenting niche who make solid incomes just by selling chore charts, printable activity kits, and homeschool trackers.

🎯Want to create and sell digital products easily?
Gumroad takes care of the tech — you just focus on making something helpful for your audience.

Freelance Services: Fastest Way to Make Your First Dollar

Let’s say your blog is still new and not getting much traffic yet. That’s totally okay. Offering services is a fast, low-risk way to make money blogging while you grow.

When you start sharing content in a niche consistently, people naturally begin to see you as someone who knows their stuff. That opens doors to offering services, even if you’re just a few steps ahead of your readers. In fact, many people make money blogging by using their blog as a portfolio to attract freelance work.

For example, if you write about natural skincare, you could offer:

• 1:1 skincare consultations or routine planning
• Ingredient safety analysis for customers (huge trend now)
• Product review services for indie beauty brands

If your niche is personal finance, you might offer:

• Budget setup or debt payoff planning
• Freelance writing on finance topics for other sites
• Coaching for people trying to save or invest better

Or if you’re in nutrition or healthy living, you could offer:

• Custom meal planning services
• Grocery list audits (seriously — people pay for this)
• Recipe development or food photography

The key is to align your services with the content you’re already writing about. Even if you’re not an “expert,” being a few steps ahead of your audience is enough to offer value.

How to get started:

• Add a “Hire Me” or “Work With Me” page to your blog
• Share what you offer, who it’s for, and how it works
• Offer testimonials if you’ve helped friends or done trial runs
• Mention pricing (or say “custom quotes available”) to set expectations

You can still use Fiverr or Upwork to gain practice, but your blog is a far better platform for building trust and attracting quality clients.

👉 Upwork’s freelancing guide for beginners is a good starting point if you’re new.

Sponsored Posts & Brand Deals: When the Brands Come Knocking

This one takes a little longer to unlock — but it’s worth it.

Once your blog starts gaining authority, brands will start to take notice. Sponsored posts are when brands pay you to write about their product or service. It could be a full review, a mention in a roundup, or a tutorial using their tool.

Some bloggers make thousands per post. Others start with $50–$100 for smaller deals. What matters most is alignment. Brands want to work with blogs that match their niche and reach.

You don’t need 100K views to land a sponsor. Even bloggers with 1K–5K monthly visitors can land small brand deals if they have an engaged niche audience.

How does Sponsored Content work?

• A brand pays you to write a blog post about their product
• You might review it, show how you use it, or include it in a roundup
• You disclose the sponsorship and include the brand’s preferred links

How to get started on Sponsored Content:

• Reach out to small brands you genuinely like
• Pitch them a simple collaboration (you’d be surprised how many say yes)
• Join influencer platforms like AspireIQ, Influencity, or Collabor8

This works especially well in niches like:

• Travel (hotel and gear sponsors)
• Beauty (skincare brands)
• Parenting (toys, apps, courses)
• Tech (gadgets, apps, tools)

Extra Tip:
Don’t wait for brands to come to you. If there’s a brand you love and already use, pitch them directly. Keep it short and friendly:

Subject: Collaboration Idea from [Your Blog Name]

Hi [Brand],
I’m a blogger at [Your URL] and I write about [topic]. I came across your [product] and love what you’re doing!
I think it could be a great fit for my audience, and I’d love to explore a sponsored feature or product review.
Let me know if you’re open to chatting more 🙂

Keep it short, friendly, and focused on how it helps them — not just what you want. Sponsored posts are another way to make money blogging once you build authority in your niche.

Bonus Tip: Build an Email List From Day One

If you want to make money blogging in the long term, your email list is gold. It’s the one thing you own — no algorithms, no SEO updates, just direct connection with your readers.

Seriously.
Platforms change. Google updates happen. But your email list? That’s your direct line to your audience. It’s where you can build trust, share updates, and eventually promote products or services — without relying on social media or search rankings.

You can use your list to:

• Share new blog posts
• Promote affiliate links
• Launch digital products
• Build trust and repeat visitors

Start small with a lead magnet like:

• Offer a freebie (e.g., a checklist, mini guide, planner)
• Use a simple opt-in form on your blog
• Send a welcome sequence with helpful content

If you’re wondering “how to make passive income” — this is a big piece of it. Your list can convert over and over again as your blog grows. Your email list can be one of your strongest assets when it comes to scaling how you make money blogging.

I recommend MailerLite — it’s free for up to 1,000 subscribers, super easy to use, and has automation built in.

👉 Explore MailerLite’s email marketing blog for inspiration.

FAQs: Real Answers for Beginner Bloggers

Final Thoughts: You Can Make Money Blogging

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to how to make money blogging. Some methods take time. Others can start working right away.

The key is to pick what fits your blog and your strengths — and take action.

Quick Recap:

• Affiliate Marketing: Start earning with trusted recommendations
• Display Ads: Easy passive income with traffic
• Digital Products: Sell your expertise in a scalable way
• Freelancing: Fastest route to consistent income
• Sponsored Content: Great once you have a niche audience

Don’t worry if you’re not making money yet. Almost every successful blogger started from zero — writing in silence, tweaking things, wondering if it would ever pay off. If they can do it, so can you.

👉 Need help setting up your blog the right way? Here’s my full guide to starting a blog — it walks you through everything from picking a niche to launching your first post.

There’s no single way to make money blogging — the best approach is to combine a few strategies based on your niche and comfort level.
Let me know if you want help choosing your monetization path — or if you’ve got questions on anything we covered. I’m here for it. 💬