It isn’t easy to earn money from blogging, that much is clear, however, if you know what is possible and you implement a variety of strategies, not just one or the other; the chances of earning a reasonable income are actually quite high. In this article we dive into some of the best ways to monetize your blog this year and bring in some money for your writing efforts. 

 

Affiliate Marketing 

Affiliate marketing is the practice of partnering with an online business or retailer, such as hotel bathrobes. If your blog has a sufficient number of followers you might successfully apply to several affiliate partner programs depending on your niche. It will be your job to promote certain products on your blog that link through to the affiliate partner. If the user makes a purchase your will receive a commission.  

This is probably the best and most profitable way to earn money from your blog. It doesn’t require any specialist knowledge and you can earn money from sales without the need to ship them or stock them. Before being accepted to an affiliate program, however, you will need to have a sufficient following, so get blogging. Finally, it’s important to note that the more expensive a product is the more commission you will make, so choose your partner wisely. 

 

Advertising 

Advertising is the way most businesses and individuals earn money from the Internet and you can too, if you have a blog with a reasonable following. The way it works is you sell some space on your blog for advertising and Google Ads sets you up with company ads relevant to your niche. Like affiliate marketing, this can be a good way of generating some passive income. But it isn’t as lucrative as affiliate marketing. 

There are, however, certain criteria that needs to be fulfilled for selling ad space, similar to affiliate marketing. You will first need to have a good niche. Something like recipes, home businesses, fashion, or news work well. Ideally advertisers will be looking for high traffic niches. You will also need to have a good number of followers and be able to offer prominent ad space on your blog. If you think you tick these boxes you can easily monetize your blog. 

 

Ebooks

After you have blogged in your niche for a while you will have built up some expertise and authority in your niche area. This not only strengthens the quality of your blog posts, it also offers further opportunities to earn money. You probably have several topics you blog about often that could be consolidated into an ebook. If you do this you should consider holding some valuable features back to include as USPs. 

Writing an associated ebook for your blog is an excellent idea for promoting your blog and monetizing it. An ebook can be a hub for your blog containing the best information you have on a range of topics. Like blog posts, ebooks can also be creatively extended to make use of your knowledge under different headlines. When you have written your ebook, publish it and market it extensively on social media and with guest blog posts. 

 

Podcasts 

The Internet is changing as we move into the new year, the trends over the last twelve months have been in favor of more video and interactive content, which makes you think about what additional content you could add to your blog. A podcast is one such medium that not only provides value to your audience but can increase your visibility online and earn you money simultaneously. 

By the time you start thinking about a podcast your blog will have a dedicated following interested in what you have to say. Moreover, you will have a strong knowledge of your subject and be able to talk informatively about it. It goes without saying you will also have to be entertaining and compelling, something that should come naturally to you as a blogger. A podcast may not earn you money directly but it will increase your traffic and support your SEO. 

 

Your Services 

Once you have explored the ideas above for monetizing your blog the final thing you can offer is your services either through an online workshop or as a consultant. This is potentially an excellent earner for both active and passive income. Of course, as a mom, you may not have time to undertake this work extensively but it’s worth considering. 

Brainstorm your niche and think of ways you can offer value to people through an online course or consultation. You might have useful knowledge on how to monetize your online presence, how to create good SEO, or how to write for an online audience. These are skills many people are looking for these days and are willing to pay for your experienced guidance.  

Tell us your name and a bit about your family? When did you become a Mum and to whom?

My name is Victoria Sully, I’m married to Ben and we live in Gloucestershire with our two children.  I became a mum in 2012 and again in 2015 to Bella, currently six years old, and Reuben who recently turned four years old.   I’m a full-time blogger and I run four blogs.  I also have a few small side hustles such as website testing.  I love to make money online and always enjoy testing new ways to make my own money.  My husband Ben is an IT manager, but his passion is woodwork and creating custom built furniture which is his business in his spare time.

 

What’s your blog called?

I have four blogs in total.  My original and longest blog is called Lylia Rose.  I started in in April 2013 so it’s six years old.  I have a blog called Healthy Vix which I started in January 2018, Travel Vixta which I began in November 2018.  I also run the blog Wood Create with my husband and that’s around two years old.

 

Can you describe it in one sentence?

Lylia Rose – A UK lifestyle blog with a money angle for thoseon a mission to make and save more money

Healthy Vix – All things healthy from a plant-based diet to natural, eco-friendly living tips

Wood Create – Everything home and garden with inspiring DIY and woodwork tips

Travel Vixta – Family travel, days out and campervan adventures

 

When did you become a blogger and what inspired you?

I began my first blog at Lylia Rose in April 2013.  I had started the website before this, but it was originally an online store selling jewellery and fashion accessories.  This was my first business idea and I started the blog to try and get more people to my website and to hopefully get more sales.  I first started blogging about business related things to do with the shop and items I was selling, but I rediscovered my passion for writing (I always liked writing as a child, but stopped as an adult) and the blogger in me was born!

I decided to show more about the person behind the business and it quickly turned into a lifestyle blog.  After three years I managed to turn the blog itself into a business and as I am now so passionate about making money online it has changed into a lifestyle blog with a money angle.  Showing others that it’s really possible to make money from blogging and other methods at home inspires me to write.  I still love trying new ways to make money and sharing them with my readers.  It amazes me that it’s possible nowadays to make money from home and the internet, so I find this inspiring in itself.

As I love blogging and writing, and of course being able to make money from it, I set up the other blogs to not only expand my blogging business, but also to have dedicated blogs where I write about the things I am passionate about and to keep those blogs more focused.

 

How do you manage working around your children?

With great difficulty!  It’s definitely a challenge as I work full-time hours on my blogs and then some.  There’s also no strict routine as the workload can fluctuate greatly from one week to the next, so all of a sudden I can be totally inundated with work and deadlines and it’s just me to tackle it.  This can mean I have to work immediately when my husband gets back from work and staying up into the early hours.

My children are six and four at the moment.  My eldest is in school and youngest is at two different pre-schools.  This means I get the school day from 9-3 each day to work.  It’s never enough time though as it’s only around 5.5 hours after the school runs, plus take off a lunch break and it’s only 5 hours.  Ideally I need a full 8-9 hour working day, so at the moment I do have to continue to work when the children are in bed.  Or if I’m swamped as I mentioned above then I’ll jump straight back into work once my husband gets back from his day job.

I was regularly working at weekends, but now I really try to avoid work on Saturdays and Sundays.  I might do the odd hour here and there, or a whole day if I am really busy, but most of the time I will try and keep my blog work to Mondays to Fridays and do other side hustles at the weekends or justtake a break from trying to make money and have family time!

In the school holidays I use a local holiday club usually for four days a week, unless my husband has booked time off work.  If we do have a day together or family days out/holidays then I will keep an eye on my emails during the day and complete any work in the evenings.

If the children are ill then I have to work at home whilst they are here so I will put a film on or let them use the iPads so I can work.  Luckily most of what I do is via email and I rarely need to talk to anyone.  It’s a lot easier for emails to be interrupted than when I have to talk to someone!

Ultimately I try to have a work routine of working whilst they are at school and again when they are in bed.  I’m hoping once Reuben starts school we will make use of some after school clubs and I might be able to get more work completed in the day, or all of it.  It can be quite stressful sometimes to stop work at 3pm when I’m in the middle of conversations, emails or writing a blog post.  I really need an extra couple of hours!  It will also be great to switch off at 5pm and then not think about work until the next day like when I was employed!  Though I don’t think that ever happens when you are self-employed as I think about my business and have ideas approximately every two seconds!!

 

Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?

Every day is different, but the bulk of my day is probably made up of emails and applying for blog work.  I get 100-200 emails and notifications a day.  I have several email discussions going on at once to arrange paid collaborations. Ialso get a lot of cold outreach emails each day which are often not suitable, but it can take some back and forth to get all the information out of a company or individual before realising it’s not even suited to me.

I also get a lot of notifications to my email inbox, so I’m rarely out of my email inbox!  I get payment notifications and also notifications from websites and Facebook about paid blog opportunities.  If these look interesting to me then I’ll click through to the websites and apply.

A lot of my day is spent searching and applying for blog work.  I search on social media for paid work opportunities and also in blog networking groups and various websites.  Some work gets snapped up quickly so I look for work every day.  I factor this into my day and spend at least one hour looking for paid work and applying.

I have payments coming in and out daily which I like to stay on top of, so a part of my day is updating spreadsheets and checking bank accounts.

The smallest part of my day is writing blog posts!  Some days I don’t write any at all, but others I could write four or five.  The admin of running a business, sourcing work and tweaking my websites takes up the bulk of my working days.

If I get paid work then I will always prioritise this and the admin can then wait!  If all my paid work and admin is up to date then I have a list of blog post ideas and I’ll write one of these.

 

What challenges have you faced in with your blog and how have you overcome them?

Time is always the biggest challenge.  There is never enough time to do everything and I’m always coming up with new ideas or time-consuming website tweaks!  I struggle to find enough time to do everything in the day, so I have to work every evening.  I’m hoping this challenge will be overcome once both my children are at school and we have the same childcare options for them both.

Marketing is also a big challenge.  I love to write and would love to just write blog posts all day, but when running a blog as a business, this is not practical.  Not only do I have to market myself to companies to work with me in a competitive market, but I also have to market myself to the readers of my blog and potential readers to ensure my blog does have a readership.  Again, time is a factor here.  It takes a lot of time to market a blog with so many different social media sites out there to utilise and then spend time on each one building a following there too.  I’ve not found the solution to this yet, but it’s probably a social media manager!

 

What’s the best thing about being a blogger?

For me it’s the freedom to create websites and write about things I am passionate about.  I love having my own space on the internet and websites I am proud of.  I love to write and express myself through writing, so it’s ideal.  Of course, turning it into my full-time career has probably been the best thing that’s come out of blogging for me.  It is challenging as a job, but it’s also very rewarding being able to make my own income.

 

What are your plans for the future?

I plan to build my newer blogs up with more content and increase their metrics so they can bring in more income.  It would be amazing to earn enough so my husband could leave his day job and pursue his passion in making and selling custom built furniture, whilst helping me out too!  In fact, we can help each other with each business.  I guess that’s the overall dream, to be more financially secure and continue working for myself and enabling my husband to work for himself.

What advice would you give for someone just starting out in blogging?

My advice would be to stick at it!  If you are hoping to make money from blogging then it can take time.  Everything takes time to build up – content, readership, social media channels, followings.  Nothing is instant.  Well, some people are lucky and go viral or grow really quickly, but for most of us it takes a lot of persistence and determination!

If you’re thinking about blogging or always saying you’re going to start a blog, then just do it!  If it turns out to be a passion or career, then your only regret will be not starting sooner.  You can even set up a free WordPress blog to get a taste for blogging if you’re not sure you want to commit.

 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I think I’ve waffled on far too much already, so just thank you for having me!

You can find me blogging at my four blogs:

www.lyliarose.com
www.healthyvix.com
www.travelvixta.com
www.wood-create.com

Or connect socially at:

www.twitter.com/lyliarose
www.instagram.com/lyliarose
www.pinterest.com/lyliarose

Tell us your name and a bit about your family? When did you become a Mum and to whom?

I’m a mum to two daughters – Ella is almost 15, Ruby is 12. Ella has Asperger’s syndrome, diagnosed aged 8, has a remarkable memory and is doing phenomenally well at school. Ruby is vibrant and energetic, a fabulous dancer with a huge heart. I live in the East Midlands with their Dad – we’ve been together for 19 years now!

 

What’s your blog called?

My main blog is a home interiors site called Love Chic Living. I also blog about 40+ women at Style Brief and furthermore I run jenstanbrook.com, my Pinterest coaching business website and blog.

 

Can you describe it in one sentence?

Love Chic Living provides style and design for a family home.

 

When did you become a blogger and what inspired you?

I’ve been blogging for about 8 years. Initially I used to write about baby signing – I used to run a small franchise business – and loved it so much I decided to combine it with my other passion – home interiors.

 

How do you manage working around your children?

It’s become much easier to work around them now they are both at secondary school. I start when they leave about 8.30am and break again around 4pm. Often I do a school run, or take them to an activity so will pick up working again around 6pm when they eat.

 

Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?

So I now spend a lot of time away from my home. For around 5 years I loved working on my own but have found myself becoming increasingly isolated so I use a coworking space, café’s and freelancer mornings to work with others. It’s been a fabulous experience.

Usually I plan out my blogs for the week and work around that. I send out a couple of newsletters per week, schedule my pins and Instagram posts and spend some time replying to emails.

 

What challenges have you faced in with your blog and how have you overcome them?

Challenges I’ve faced have included being hacked several times which was stressful, but moving hosts resolved that quite quickly.

Managing admin has always been tricky for me (it’s not my favourite task) so turning the business into a limited company was a great idea – it saved me tax and gave me more of a routine with my book keeping!

Keeping up with an ever demanding skill set is daunting but challenging. I love learning new skills so SEO, photography, graphic design etc have all been tasks to overcome. Some I’m better at than others!

 

What’s the best thing about being a blogger?

The diversity and the people. I’ve met some amazing people including other bloggers, PR agents and brands, and I love the constant changing face of the industry.

 

What are your plans for the future?

To continue to grow. To build more brand partnerships and to do more filming with brands. It’s a big love.

 

What advice would you give for someone just starting out in blogging?

Try to be yourself. Don’t measure yourself against those who’ve been blogging for a long time, it’s not a fair comparison and will steal the joy. Focus on doing what you love.

 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

Influencers and bloggers get a bad wrap these days, but there are a huge number of valid, honest and authentic ones who have a place and platform for inspiring others. Don’t write everyone off!

 

http://lovechicliving.co.uk

http://stylebrief.co.uk

http://jenstanbrook.com

http://instagram.com/jenstanbrook

http://pinterest.com/jenstanbrook

If you’re interested in blogging to create an income, check out the Parent Blogger Secrets course.

Tell us your name and a bit about your family? When did you become a Mum and to whom?

My name is Heather and I have three children – 2 boys and a girl – my oldest will be 11 in May so I guess that means I have been a mum for 11 years!  We live in Yorkshire and are very settled here, loving the mixture of countryside and city life. I must admit I am looking forward to my daughter starting school in September – she is almost 4 and very much ready for a change.

What’s your blog called?

My blog is called Mrs Mactivity – it actually also doubles as a primary resources subscription site, but I definitely view myself as a blogger as I’ve been involved with the blogging community since 2011 through my various blogs over the years. People come to my site to get learning and play ideas from the blog, but also to download the resources to either use at home with their own children, or in their classroom or setting if they’re educators. I have a fair amount of home educators who also use my resources which is brilliant. I love being helpful to people and making their lives easier in any way I can, whilst also supporting children’s learning and making really high quality resources for a super low price. I don’t want to be rich from it, but I get immense satisfaction from seeing children enjoying the resources.

Can you describe it in one sentence?

Mrs Mactivity is the home of exciting, hands on, activity based printable learning resources.

When did you become a blogger and what inspired you?

I became a blogger in 2011 after following various other well known blogs at the time, and since I love writing so much I decided to give it a whirl. I remember attending Cybher and feeling really inspired by the other mums there who were making a living out of blogging. At the time I was working as a primary school teacher and really struggling under the strain of bringing up two very young children and trying to do my job to the best of my ability. In the end, something had to give!

How do you manage working around your children?

The way my site works is that most of my members are online in the evening, so I do as much as I can during the hours of 9-3 whilst they are school and preschool, then when they’ve gone to bed, I go online again. You do have to be very careful, especially if you work from home, about drawing the line between what is a reasonable amount of time to spend online and what isn’t. I don’t think I’ve got there quite yet – or so my husband tells me.

Can you describe a typical day, what tasks do you have to get done, how do you manage your time?

I try and do something for myself after school drop off time, as it’s a bit stressful dropping off three children at three different locations. Sometimes I go for a swim, sometimes a coffee or meet a friend for a chat. Since I work from home, and have done for a long time, it can get very lonely and isolating, so it’s important to plan things into your day when you get chance to mix with other adults. After that I usually spend some time photographing and uploading new resources. The photography aspect is very important and something I am not naturally good at, but that I keep working at. I’ve learnt a lot from other bloggers especially people like Maggy at Red Ted Art who is a tremendous support to me. After that I spend time scheduling posts, looking for ideas for new resources and interacting with people in order to build awareness of my site.

What challenges have you faced in with your blog and how have you overcome them?

The main challenge has been around spreading the word about the website. It’s not as easy these days as any time you link back to your site on facebook, the post has barely any reach. I am always looking for alternative ways to build traffic and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m better spending my time focusing on SEO and Pinterest as it’s less work than constantly coming up with new ideas for Facebook.

The other challenge, which I’ve already alluded to is how to switch off. Since my phone and laptop are always there, it’s difficult to put them down sometimes, especially in the evening and I do get really tired sometimes. But then I love what I do – it’s difficult to stop!

What’s the best thing about being a blogger?

For me it’s been about the amazing friendships and opportunities that have presented themselves. I have made friends for life within the blogging community and now have a lot more confidence in myself and what I can achieve.

What are your plans for the future?

To grow Mrs Mactivity and help teachers and parents all over the world!

What advice would you give for someone just starting out in blogging?

Find your niche – and stick to it. But make sure it’s a niche people are interested in! Spend time lurking around other people’s sites, checking out what works and then think about what you’re passionate about and naturally interested in. If you try and fake it, it will show!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

I am always looking for other bloggers to review Mrs Mactivity, so if you’re interested please get in touch.

www.mrsmactivity.co.uk

https://facebook.com/mrsmactivity

https://twitter.com/mrsmactivity

https://pinterest.com/mrsmactivity

https://Instagram.com/mrsmactivity

If you’re interested in making a living as a parent blogger, check out our review of the Parent Blogger Secrets Course.