Thousands of blogs are started each day (If you’re thinking of starting yours, here’s a quick 1-second Bluehost web hosting hack that’ll save you huge). Most have hopes of someday monetizing them. Before you start envisioning all the dollar, dollar bills, let's focus on making your first $100. Here are 100 ways to help you earn money blogging and make your first $100.
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The best help on the web to make an income blogging:
- The course that got me to my first $100
- The hands-down best blogging investment that helped me earn beyond that first sale and sustain a 4-figure monthly income from blogging while working a full-time job and being a new mom
- The Pinterest strategy instrumental in getting my eyeballs to my blog and hence, chances to make money
Why pick $100?
As you probably already know, blogging is not something you go into and make money from right away. Almost all successful bloggers who are able to create a sustainable income (meaning making a decent sum of money month after month) started off not earning even a penny for months (or even years) before any income came in.
But once that first income started rolling in, they kept building and building until they earned thousands (and sometimes much more than that).
If you only think about jumping from $0 to thousands a month, it can be daunting, and when you don't reach that for a long time, utterly frustrating.
Instead, break it down and pick a smaller, more attainable goal, like $100. Bloggers say the first $100 is the hardest, so when you do reach that threshold, build on that process and momentum to increase your blogging income beyond that $100 and continue to grow from there.
Also, there are many moving parts to blogging that you will need to take care of if you want to make your blogging successful, such as writing quality content, promoting on social media, networking, among other things. This list is not meant to demonstrate how easy it is to make money blogging, but rather give you ideas for how to hit the first $100.
Overview of Main Ways to Earn Money Blogging
Three major ways to monetize a blog are through:
- Advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Own products/services
Advertising
Let others use your site for advertising. You can do this by applying to programs like Google Adsense or MediaVine where they set the rates. Or you can rent out your site's real estate and set your own rates.
Another form of advertising is doing sponsored content, either getting paid to promote a product or receiving a product and sharing your experience with it.
Affiliate Marketing
Promote someone else's product and getting a commission for selling it. You can do this through affiliate networks like Share-a-Sale, Max Bounty, Amazon Associates, and Commission Junction, which opens you to many different merchants. Or sign up individually for specific companies or products.
This course talks all about affiliate marketing strategies to boost your income, by a blogger who does this to the tune of $50,000+ a month (and that's not counting all her other streams of income).
Own Products / Services
You can create your own products to sell, which can be physical products or digital ones. You can also offer services, which can be customizable based on your client's needs.
Now let's get on with the list of ideas, shall we?
The First Thing You Must Have in Order to Make Money
Traffic.
Ain't no money to be made if people aren't coming to your site.
The fastest and easiest way that has been proven time and time again by many bloggers is via Pinterest.
If you are not yet a believer, then it's probably because you don't know how to use the platform successfully. I swear by this Pinterest book like a bible. It helped me skyrocket from 1,000 to 200,000 pageviews in the span of 2 months, which translated to a consistent 4-figure income per month since then.
100 Ways to Make Your First $100 Blogging
Via Blog / Website
- Write a detailed review focused on product that you've used as a blog post
- Compare different companies or brands offering a similar service and your experiences using two or more of them
- Create a resources page that lists the various products and services that you highly recommend
- Sign up for ads through programs like Google Adsense or Media Vine that have set advertising rates
- Set up personal advertising
- Place ads / affiliate products / own products / services in the sidebar
- Put text and banner ads within your blog posts
- Write a case study of someone who achieved awesome results from a product you recommend or created
- Create a round-up post of related products (eg. gift guide of 20 of the best gifts for animal lovers)
- Create a Hire Me page so brands and collaborators can contact you
- Write a blog post according to the brand / product you're working with / promoting
- Interview the author / creator / owner of a product and share their personal experiences / expertise
- Write a tutorial showing a product or service in action
- Create an online shop within your blog showcasing your products / services
Email List
- Use an email course to recommend products you use (eg. how to declutter your home course can link to specific products used to keep house organized)
- Use an email to funnel to a product/service at the end (eg. you're own recipe book)
- Send emails to your list to promote a certain product
- Send emails to have your list opt in to a free webinar or product, and earn a commission if they end up buying
- Advertise a product / service in your email signature
- Link to your latest blog post on a particular product in your email signature
Facebook Page
- Use your business page sign up button to direct a visitor to a specific product / services page
- Use your business page sign up button to direct a visitor to your email list / opt-in
- Post about your products / service
- Post about your freebie, which leads to a paid product
- Pin a post about your product / service / freebie so whoever visits will see it right away
- Create posts that lead directly to your affiliate links
- Create posts that lead to blog posts that speak further about the thing you are promoting
Facebook Groups
- Promote your product / service in promo threads
- Post about your freebie, which leads to a paid product in promo threads
- Answer member questions about products / services with your affiliate / product link
- Do a survey in a Facebook group to find out your potential next product
- Share your affiliate program in collaboration threads
- Create your own Facebook group and promote your freebies that lead to a paid product
- In your own Facebook group, post direct links to affiliate products
- In your own Facebook group, post direct links to your product / service page
- In your own Facebook group, link to posts that talk about the product you are promoting
- Run a Facebook Live leading to a product you are promoting
- Have the website in your profile link to a specific product page
- Have the website in your profile link to your email list / opt-in
- Tweet about your products / service
- Tweet about your freebie, which leads to a paid product
- Pin a tweet on your homepage about your product / service / freebie
- Have tweets that lead directly to your affiliate links
- Have tweets that lead to blog posts that speak further about the thing you are promoting
- Bid on sponsored tweets
- Do a sponsored tweet if a brand reaches out to you
- Participate in Twitter parties / chats with prizes
- Host a Twitter party or giveaway
- Have the website in your profile link to a specific product page
- Have the website in your profile link to your email list / opt-in
- Post about products / service
- Post about your freebie, which leads to a paid product
- Pin a tweet on your homepage about your product / service / freebie
- Have posts that lead directly to your affiliate links
- Have posts that lead to blog posts that speak further about the thing you are promoting
- Bid on sponsored tweets
- Sell a shout out to your audience on behalf of a brand
- List your services on site like Grapevine
- Sign up for campaigns with brands
- Have the website in your profile link to a specific product page
- Have the website in your profile link to your email list / opt-in
- Create multiple pins about products / service
- Create multiple pins about your freebie, which leads to a paid product
- Create multiple pins that lead directly to your affiliate links
- Create multiple pins that lead to blog posts that speak further about the thing you are promoting
- Create boards dedicated to products/affiliates
Podcast
- Reach out to brands to do shoutout before or after your main podcast
- Have brands reach out to you for airtime in your podcast
- Interview an author / creator / owner of a product you are promoting
Videos
- Run ads in YouTube videos
- Focus YouTube video on an interview with an author / creator / owner of a product you are promoting
- Do a step-by-step tutorial to teach others how to use a specific product / service
- Use your video description to drive viewers to your freebie, which leads to a paid offer
Own Products / Services to Create
- Ebooks
- Printables
- Ecourses
- Membership sites (recurring monthly/annual subscriptions)
- Exclusive access to private communities
- Coaching
- Auditing/Consulting
- Hire for services (eg. social media manager, freelancing)
- Create physical products
- Speaking services
Other
- Get paid to guest post
- Post for another site as a freelancer / ghost writer
- Sell your blog
- Contribute to a conference / summit / bundle and sell it
- Collaborate with others to host a giveaway and get subscribers to sign up for a funnel
- List your ebook on Amazon Kindle
- Create software or an app
- Offer a private package if someone approaches you for assistance
Ways to Increase Sales
- Lead into a free product or free trial before asking people to commit to buying your product
- Hold special sales throughout the year
- Bundle your products at a discounted rate
- Add bonus(es) for your products
- Offer bonus(es) for an affiliate product
- Do a deadline funnel for a deep discount on a product
- Do a deadline funnel with a BOGO offer for two of your products
- Run a beta version of your product or service at a discounted rate to a select group of your email list
- Have affiliates advertise your products
Ready to make that first $100 (and beyond)?
Now that you have the "how," you need the "what" to turn these results into a strategy that will bring you this income consistently.
Like I mentioned before, the road to the first $100 is the hardest step. But once you figure out how to get there, then the next $100 and so is much, much easier. You could try to blaze the trail on your own, or, save yourself the time and frustration by learning from someone who has experience and is willing to provide the guidance.
That guiding light for me was this blogging community.
Yes, I was lucky to make $100 in my first month, and learned the tactics to win on Pinterest, but it was the guidance I received that taught me what I needed to focus on to continue to build my blog for a steady future with a consistent four-figure income that has only grown month by month.
Give these ideas to help you make your first $100 blogging a try. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to make money blogging. When you do, I would love to hear which of these tactics helped you hit that first major milestone, as that one is the hardest to achieve.
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