How long does it take and can you still make Money Blogging?

When people find out what I do, the number one thing I get asked is, “so how do you actually make money blogging?”  

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The truth is, that is a question with many, many answers.  Today I thought I would share with you the most popular ways you can make money from blogging.

The other question that circulates often around the internet is, “Can you still make money blogging?”  At one point there were a few prominent figures in the media announcing that blogging is dead.  It is no surprise that people believed these influential people.

I’ve got good news for you.  Blogging is NOT dead.  I am making REAL money every single month that allows me to stay home with my children.  

It has allowed us to be a little more comfortable and I know I’ve yet to hit the ceiling in the blog world.
 

I never imagined my career would be “blogger.” But I love that I am able to stay home with my kids, write about things that I am passionate about, and put in work hours around life.

I’m not going to lie, when I first started blogging it all felt “over my head.”  I didn’t understand certain terms.  I remember early in the beginning wanting to cry one night because I just couldn’t figure out how to make a simple change to my blog design.

But I persevered, and now, a year and a half later, I understand a lot more.

You’ll notice I didn’t say “understand everything.”  Because the truth is, there is still a whole lot I am learning and there are still terms in the blog world that I just don’t understand.

That’s okay though.  I’ve realized I learn a little more each day.  I’ve also learned that as a blogger I don’t need to do all the things. That’s what great about blogging.  You get to pick your journey – no one else.  Personally, I’m a bit of a rebel when it comes to the common blogger rules.  I don’t always follow them, and I’m okay with that.  My goal here at Simple Life of a Country Wife is to be as authentic as possible.  Sometimes the blogger rules don’t feel like “me.”

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING?

One of the other questions people want to know when they start blogging is just how long it’s going to take before they see the money rolling in.

And they answer is, it depends.

I know.  Not very helpful, huh?  But there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all when it comes to making money blogging.  But I will tell you a few things to help you gauge how long it might take you to make money blogging.

The first is, stay away from anyone who says you can make money immediately.  Blogging is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.  And while I know it is possible, I would steer clear of people who say you can make money in your first month.  The people who HAVE made money in their first month are few and far between.  Is it possible? For sure. But the majority of people don’t.

I started making money on my blog at 4 months.  And it was 6 months before that first paycheque arrived because you get paid out 2 months AFTER you made that first dollar with ad revenue, at least with the company I am with.

4 months may seem long to you but it was actually quite early compared to many other bloggers.  I was very fortunate to have a post that did extremely well early on. I was also extremely committed and wrote 3 blog posts a week for the first year to get plenty of content up.

Many people go 6 months to a year before making any money. But the truth is, there’s no hard and fast rule.  Obviously the more time you devote to it in the early months the better your changes are of succeeded earlier on.  But it’s still not a cookie cutter equation.

How long does it take to make 500 per month blogging? Well, the same information applies.  By month seven I was making over 500 dollars a month and it gradually went up every month from there.

And what about number of posts you need?  How many blog posts do you need to make money?  I’d encourage you to not expect to pull in any money before 50 posts.  A new blog needs a good amount of content to get things going.

But I don’t want you to be discouraged.  Think about it.  Even if it took you almost a whole year before you saw the first paycheque, wouldn’t it be worth it if it meant that you made a decent income for years and years to come?

 

WAYS TO MAKE MONEY BLOGGING

Ad Revenue.  The most common way people make money, and usually the way people start with is with ads.  Now, I know that sometimes people will read a blog and feel frustrated that there are a bunch of ads.  However, I think that sometimes people don’t realize how much actual work goes into a blog.

It’s a lot more than writing a post (though that alone usually takes hours.) While there are some bloggers online who work a 4 hour week, most bloggers are putting in lots and lots of hours.  Some will work part-time, around 20 hours a week, where others will be putting in 60+ hours.  It’s often more than a full-time job and so I think it’s okay to get paid for that, even if it’s in the form of ads.

When you’ve reached a certain amount of views on your page, you can apply to various ad networks and they will pay you each month based on how many visitors were to your site.

Affiliate Marketing.  You’ll often see on blogs, (this one included) that a post may contain affiliate links.  That is when you have a link in your post recommending a product of some sort, and if the person clicks on that link and buys through that link, you make a commission off of that.  It does not cost the reader anything extra.

E-products.  Many bloggers, as they become more experienced start creating e-products.  This may be printables like I have in my shop, e-books, webinars, or e-courses. The list of what you can create is endless.

Sponsored posts.  This is something I’ve yet to do, though I’m sure I’ll try it at some point.  Sponsored posts are posts where a company hires you to share their product with your audience.  Basically, you are entering into a partnership with a brand and sharing that brand on your blog or social media.

ANYONE CAN BLOG

I truly believe pretty much anyone can have a successful blog.  However, the key to making it work in my opinion is absolutely being dedicated to stick with it.  In those early months you may not make a single dime.  I know you see posts online with people saying they made a bunch of money in the first month of blogging.  While I don’t argue that they did that, I would say that’s the exception.

Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.  I started making money 4 months in and that was actually quite early compared to some.  I was very blessed to be able to make money so early but even then it was a gradual build up.   It required me to post content every week, and to use the tools I had at my disposal to advertise my blog.

It’s easy to compare yourself to other bloggers making a bunch of money but what I’ve discovered is that when you look closer at those bloggers making super high incomes, it’s that they have been blogging for years.  They’ve hung in there for the marathon and they haven’t quit.

That’s what it will take for you to get ahead in the blogging world.  If you want a way to make an income from home and you think blogging is the thing for you, make a decision to be all in.  It won’t be easy money, but if you run the blogging marathon, in the end it will be worth it and the money WILL come easier over time.

When it comes to your domain, you want to think about it carefully as well.  A domain is your address of your blog.  So mine is www.simplelifeofafrugalwife.com .  You won’t want to change it once you choose it, so choose wisely!    Make sure the domain you choose gives readers an idea of what your blog is about.

Really, once you have those two things you are off and running.  You’ll need to write a bunch of content and then you’ll want to advertise that, most likely on Pinterest, to drive your traffic.  But one thing at a time.  Just get the blog up and running and then you will be ready for the next step on traffic.  For me, I learned how to grow my blog on Pinterest from an amazing course called Pinteresting Strategies.  You don’t need to invest in a bunch of courses at first.  I could only afford one small course, and that was what built my traffic at the beginning.  I highly recommend the course.

If you want to learn more about blogging, be sure to join my Blogging E-mail list at the top.  You can also ask all your questions and learn more about blogging from my Facebook page, Blogging for the ordinary, but fearlessly awesome person. (Yep, that’s you! 🙂 )