This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more information.

 

I made this post on how to make money with a blog for beginners to be jam-packed with awesome techniques you can use TODAY!

 

Are you ready?

 

Alright, so you know most bloggers publish their monthly income reports showcasing how they are earning money from blogging.

 

Even as I scroll through Pinterest on my phone, I see the same pins. They usually go like, “How I made $X,XXX (*inputs crazy numbers here*) blogging” then maybe add “In X (*inputs another crazy number*) months” or “while working full-time”. I’m always so tempted to click and see how they make their money.

 

I can’t explain it but there is a distinct appeal to income reports. These people are able to achieve the lifestyle people could only dream of. The dream of waking up in your pajamas, blogging for a few hours then have fun for the rest of the day and make thousands of dollars!

 

In fact, I even wrote a post showcasing some top money making blogs with their income reports. In that post, you’ll see how much those bloggers make each month! It’s crazy.

 

Now here’s the thing.

 

Sometimes income reports you see from bloggers don’t show exactly how they made their money. All you see is the sources of income, expenses and maybe a few things that are happening during the month.

 

Just ask yourself this simple question,

 

“How does this income reports help me to grow my blog?”

 

If you can answer confidently that income report is great. However, if you can’t, more than likely it just keeps you motivated that someday you’ll be like them.

 

Let’s take a look at what a typical income report looks like for example.

 

Income

Surveys: $320

Siteground website hosting: $545

Affiliate courses: $170

Product sales: $425

Other affiliate income: $490

AdSense: $250

Total income: $2,200

 

Expenses

ConvertKit: $29

Tailwind: $180

Total expenses: $209

Net income: $1991

 

Then you’ll think, “Woah this blogger makes some decent money with their blog. I could blog and make money like that too.” The report then goes on to discuss different activities which happened during the month, upcoming posts, plans for the future, etc.

 

After you read it you keep believing in the dream in which you could actually make thousands of dollars from your blog, experience the true life of passive income and all that good stuff millionaire blogger wannabees tell you.

 

By now you should realize those income reports don’t help you with making money and growing your blog. What you want is a post showing you the steps taken to make every dollar in blog income. This is how my post was created.

 

 

The Money I Made From My Blog

 

I made a grand total of (cue drumroll please)…$245 in about 4 months with my blog.

 

Yup, that’s it.

 

Making money blogging is not as easy as people make it seem. However, it’s a start.

 

I wish I had more time to focus on my blog but I have a full-time job and I’m very active in sports so my time each day is very limited.

 

Traffic is difficult to get as well which may account for why I haven’t made much money but I’m implementing a new Pinterest strategy which seems to be slowly working.

 

Pinterest is one of the best ways for a new blog to get traffic by the way.

 

Don’t bother putting in too much time on other social media platforms. Just focus on mastering your Pinterest strategy. This is important!

 

Now onto how I actually made my blogging income.

 

 

Here’s Exactly How To Make Money With A Blog For Beginners

 

 

I Became An Affiliate For Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing Course

 

A few months ago I purchased a course about affiliate marketing since I always read it’s the easier way for new blogs to make money.

 

I was reading a post from Michelle over at making sense of cents and she had a course on it. Seeing that she consistently makes thousands of dollars in affiliate income each month I figured she has some tips which could help me out.

 

Little did I know simply purchasing the course was the first step in making money. Read on and you’ll see what I mean.

 

Step 1: Purchase the making sense of affiliate marketing course

 

So I went through the course and implemented her strategies. Then I became an affiliate for her course. This means I will earn a commission when someone buys the course through my link.

 

Check out the Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course 

 

 

Step 2: Create a post on your blog

 

I created a post about affiliate marketing (link below) sharing some of the material from the course and used my affiliate link in one of the steps to direct readers to the course page. If they bought the course I would make a commission on the sale.

 

Read This Post: Affiliate Marketing For Dummies: Easily Make Money From Bed [Like I Do]

 

 

Step 3: Create pins for Pinterest

 

I created a few pins using canva to share on Pinterest. These pins are constantly repinned onto group boards on Pinterest to drive more traffic to the page.

 

Related Post: How To Create A Pin On Pinterest That Drives Blog Traffic [Easy Steps]

 

 

Step 4: Use the affiliate link in emails to your subscribers

 

I believe this was one of the most important steps since I would send an email to let my subscribers know when the course goes on sale. Whenever someone bought the course using my link the course was on sale. This shows you how crucial it is to have an email list.

 

To send emails to my subscribers I use MailerLite. I also used a timer in my emails which I created with MotionMail so anyone interested in purchasing the course would know how much time they have left before the sale ends. Don’t worry, it’s FREE!

 

Related Post: Explode Your List! The Key Steps To Growing An Email List As A New Blogger

 

 

Step 5: Put a link on your resources page

 

 

I placed a picture and a little information about the course on my recommendations page as well so people can find it there too.

 

I used these exact steps and looked what happened. $130 in the bank!

 

 

 

 

 

I Became An Affiliate For Grammarly

 

There is a way for bloggers to get $25 if they write a post about Grammarly. I snagged that $25 using the following steps:

Step 1: Join the Shareasale affiliate network

 

I went on Shareasale (popular affiliate network) which I previously joined and searched the “Merchants” section for Grammarly.

 

 

Step 2: Apply to become a Grammarly affiliate

 

On Shareasale, apply and get the Grammarly affiliate link.

 

 

Step 3: Create a post on your blog

 

Next, I created a post reviewing Grammarly and its features. Grammarly is free and I started using it before I created this blog so it was easy to talk about why I loved it. The affiliate manager even gives you a month of Grammarly premium to use for free so you could create an honest review.

 

Related Post: The Ultimate Grammar Check For Sentences [Automated Proofreading]

 

 

Step 4: Email your affiliate manager

 

After the post was finished and published, I emailed the affiliate manager with a link to my post. She loved it! Boom! Easy $25 into my Shareasale account. Guess you can say it was like my first sponsored post.

 

 

I Promoted Surveys Sites

 

These are a great way to make affiliate income with your blog. They are free for anyone to sign up and it’s an easy way to make extra cash or get gift cards.

 

I earned about $15 so far thanks to the post below which showcases some of the best survey sites to make extra money.

 

See This Post: Find Amazing Surveys That Pay Cash And Gift Cards [Extra Income Idea]

 

I constantly share this post on Pinterest to get traffic.

 

You can find survey companies on:

• FlexOffers (e.g. Swagbucks)
• Shareasale (e.g. American Consumer Opinion)
• Maxbounty (e.g. Survey Junkie)
• iGain (e.g. InboxDollars)
• OfferJuice (e.g. Pinecone Research)

 

In addition to my post, I recently created a page with my recommended list of legit survey sites to make extra money.

 

 

I Promoted Website Theme Sites

 

The next way I earned income was from being an affiliate of a WordPress themes site, Restored 316 Designs. You can see my payment below on my Shareasale account.

This income came from either of two places:

• One of my posts
• My How To Start A Blog course

Onto the steps I took.

 

Step 1: Join a WordPress themes site’s affiliate program

 

Become an affiliate for WordPress theme sites. There are many cool sites to apply to and most I’ve found are on the Shareasale affiliate network. Those affiliate programs are Pretty Darn Cute Designs, StudioPress, and Beautiful Dawn Designs.

 

 

Step 2: Write a post related to website design

 

I wrote a post about customizing a blog with some of the best sites to find themes. As you will see I promoted other sites in the post where anyone could find awesome themes. Check it out in the link below.

 

Read Next: Best Premium WordPress Themes To Make Your Site Stand Out [In 2018]

 

 

Step 3: Create a “How To Start A Blog” course

 

I created an email course for those interested in starting their own blog. On different days I teach my students how to accomplish several tasks involved in starting a blog. Check out the link below to learn more about the course.

 

Related Post: How To Start A Blog With Ease: 10-Day FREE Course For A Successful Blog

 

On day-4, I included a few links to the WordPress theme sites I recommend. To set up an automated email schedule you should check out MailerLite. It’s what I use for my course and it’s FREE under a specific number of subscribers and it’s easy to use!

 

 

I Earned Money By Just Blogging

 

The next way I made money on my blog wasn’t done on purpose.

 

A guy reached out to me and asked me if he could write a post on my blog. What got me really interested was when he asked, “how much do you charge per post?”

 

After picking up my jaw and about a half cup of saliva off of the floor I quickly replied back.

 

All I had to do was publish the article and he paid me $60. Basically, I was paid to click publish. You can see the article below.

 

Related Post: Is Debt Consolidation Really The Key To Managing Your Debt Effectively?

 

You may not get opportunities like that until your blog has a decent following. Until that time comes you should check out Linqia. You can use that site to find sponsored post opportunities. Also, for every person that signs up using your link, you can get $5. How awesome is that?

Learn more about Linqia here.

 

There are soooo many ways to make money from your blog. As you may have noticed I gained most of my income through affiliate marketing. I didn’t have many posts, traffic or time to even blog but I still made money.

 

Making money on a blog is tough but using these steps should put you in the right direction.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Ready to talk about Making Money Blogging? Comment below!

 

Some questions for you:

How much do you make on your blog?

What are you currently doing to increase your blog income?