Making Millions Blogging: How Average People Make Money Online

Blogging has become one of the most popular ways for everyday people to make extra money, or even a full-time living, working online. While becoming a millionaire blogger might sound out of reach, it’s not as uncommon or difficult as you may think. In fact, there are lots of average, ordinary folks running blogs that earn six and seven figure incomes.

So how do these regular people make millions from blogging? What are their secrets to success? This comprehensive guide will walk you through the various monetization strategies, traffic growth tactics, and tips utilized by high-earning bloggers to build an income source that allows for financial freedom and location independence.

How Much Money Can You Really Make Blogging?

To start, it helps set proper expectations around income potential. Here are some statistics on how much bloggers make:

• The average blogger earns $157 per month (Orbit Media).
• Top earning bloggers make between $240,000 to $960,000+ per year (Blogging.com).
• A blogger with 100,000 pageviews per month can earn ~$60,000 per year across different income streams.
• Bloggers with 1 million+ pageviews per month can earn $100,000+ per year.
• Bloggers with 5+ million pageviews per month have the potential to earn $1 million+ annually.

As you can see, there is huge upside potential. While most bloggers make some extra pocket change, those who grow their audience and effectively monetize can earn life-changing income.

Next, let’s look at the key strategies and best practices millionaire bloggers leverage to earn so much money online.

Choose a Profitable Blog Niche

Your niche will determine how easy it is to earn income from your blog, as well as your upper income ceiling. Some niches simply offer more monetization opportunities and high paying options.

Here are some lucrative blog niches to consider:

Personal Finance – One of the most profitable niches, you can make money promoting financial products/services, credit cards, insurance, ecommerce affiliates, etc.

Business and Entrepreneurship – Tons of potential to earn income through digital products, coaching, consulting, affiliates, etc. High searcher intent for paid offerings.

Travel – Big opportunity to earn commissions from hotels, accommodations, tours, cruises, airfare, luggage, and other travel affiliates.

Relationships and Dating – Can earn affiliate commissions and sell digital products around improving relationships, dating advice, marriage counseling, etc.

Health, Fitness and Wellness – Huge market for supplements, diets, workout programs, gear, beauty products and more. Lots of buyer intent.

Cooking and Recipes – Utilize affiliate links for kitchen tools and appliances. Promote cookbooks and paid recipe services.

Parenting and Family – Diapers, strollers, toys, clothes, etc. provide various affiliate opportunities. Also can sell courses.

No matter your niche, aim to blog around topics with strong monetization potential. This table outlines examples of profitable niches and related monetization strategies:

|Niche|Monetization Strategies|
|-|-|
|Personal Finance|Credit cards, insurance, loan affiliate offers, advertising, ecommerce, digital products|
|Business and Entrepreneurship|Info products, coaching, software affiliate offers, brand partnerships, advertising, consulting|
|Travel|Hotel booking affiliates, luggage affiliates, tour package affiliates, airline/cruise offers, resort partners|
|Relationships and Dating|Digital products around dating advice, marriage counseling products, couples therapy|
|Health, Fitness and Wellness|Diet/workout programs, nutrition supplements, fitness gear/apparel, beauty/anti-aging affiliates|
|Cooking and Recipes|Cookbooks, recipe boxes, kitchenware affiliates, food brands, meal delivery services|
|Parenting and Family|Baby products like strollers, diapers, clothes, etc., ecommerce affiliates, parenting books/courses|

How to Monetize a Blog

Once you’ve chosen a profitable niche, the next step is determining the right mix of monetization strategies to earn money from your blog traffic.

Blog monetization options include:

• Affiliate Marketing – Earn a commission promoting other company’s products.
• Display Advertising – Get paid by ad networks to place ads on your site.
• Sponsored Posts – Get paid by brands to create branded content.
• Digital Products – Sell your own online courses, ebooks, coaching programs, etc.
• Service Offerings – Offer consulting, freelancing, agency services, etc.
• Memberships – Provide exclusive content or offers to paid members.
• Physical Products – Sell shipped products like merch, handmade crafts, etc.

Let’s explore each of these in more detail:

Affiliate Marketing

This is one of the most utilized methods for monetizing blogs. It simply means you recommend products or services, and receive a commission when readers purchase through your links.

Affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, ShareASale, FlexOffers, Impact Radius and more provide access to thousands of offers across every niche.

Tips for earning the most income:

• Only promote products you would recommend without incentive. Provide honest reviews and value to build reader trust.
• Transparently disclose affiliate relationships. Don’t try to hide that you earn commissions.
• Promote offers in contextually relevant posts to increase conversion rates.
• Utilize affiliate links across old posts to continue earning revenue.
• Regularly test new offers and rotate poorer performing ones out.

With affiliate marketing, you can earn commissions from a few dollars into the hundreds of dollars depending on the vertical. It adds up fast, especially as your audience grows.

Display Advertising

Another common way bloggers make money is by joining display advertising networks like Google AdSense, Media.net, Ezoic and more.

These platforms allow you to quickly monetize your website by placing their ads on your site. When visitors click through and take actions like completing an offer, you earn revenue.

Pros of display ads:

• Very fast and easy to implement. Just add a few lines of code.
• Requires less effort than affiliate offers or content creation.
• Payments are passive once ads are set up.

Cons to be aware of:

• Lower earnings per visitor compared to other options.
• Can clutter up the user experience if too many ads are placed.
• You don’t control the advertiser or ad creative.

Overall, display advertising is a simple “set and forget” way to monetize blog traffic without much ongoing work.

Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts mean you create blog content promoting a brand, product or service for a fixed fee. This content appears just like your regular content.

Brands may pay you directly, or work through dedicated sponsored post networks like HypeFury, Content Blvd and more that connect bloggers with advertisers.

Benefits of sponsored posts:

• Provide brands access to your audience. Increased demand as you grow.
• Can charge premium rates, from hundreds up to thousands of dollars per post.
• No sales required. You simply create the content.

Downsides:

• More effort than passive monetization like affiliate links or display ads.
• Need to maintain editorial caliber so quality doesn’t suffer.
• Your audience may dislike blatant ads disguised as articles.

When done right, sponsored posts can become a lucrative income stream without requiring constant content creation.

Digital Products

One of the most profitable ways top bloggers earn income is through selling their own digital products like:

• Online courses – Teach a skill or provide expert insight.
• Ebooks – Share your knowledge in a book format.
• Premium email newsletters – Provide exclusive value to subscribers.
• Video training series – Record educational video lessons.
• Templates and tools – Offer downloads like spreadsheets, checklists, etc.
• Memberships/coaching – Charge for access to you and extras.

Benefits of digital products:

• High profit margins. Keep most of the revenue, aside from platform fees.
• Can charge premium prices, from $20 to $500+ per product.
• Earn passive income from existing products.
• Position yourself as an expert.

Challenges to be aware of:

• Requires significant effort to create products.
• Need technical abilities for setup and delivery.
• Marketing required to drive traffic and sales.

Digital products are powerful because they allow you to leverage your expertise while earning at scale. Products can actually out-earn ad revenues over the long run.

Service Offerings

Offering professional services related to your niche is another way for bloggers to earn income directly from readers.

For example, if you run a business blog, you could offer consulting calls to help startups develop their strategy. Or if you have a health blog, provide personalized nutrition plans.

Service offerings include:

• One-on-one consulting or coaching
• Freelance writing/design/social media help
• Agency services like PR, web design, etc.

Pros:

• Leverage your expertise to help clients one-on-one.
• Hourly fees of $100+ mean high earnings per client.
• Position yourself as an expert and authority.

Cons:

• Inconsistent income depending on workflow.
• Time intensive working directly with clients.
• Administrative needs like contracts, invoicing, etc.

Still, services can become quite profitable after you build your reputation and audience.

Memberships

Memberships are a way to charge your audience a recurring fee to access exclusive content, tools, discounts and more. This creates predictable, recurring revenue.

For example:

• A fitness blogger could offer customized workout plans.
• A food blogger could provide special recipes or meal plans.
• A business blogger might share in-depth guides or templates.

Benefits of memberships:

• Predictable income you can count on monthly.
• Higher engagement from subscribers who pay.
• Allows you to provide premium value.

Challenges:

• Requires valuable exclusive content.
• Need capabilities to handle subscriptions.
• Marketing needed to attract members.

Overall, memberships allow bloggers to tap into recurring, scalable revenue from their most engaged readers.

Physical Products

Some bloggers also sell physical products readers can order online and have shipped.

Examples include:

• Apparel like t-shirts, hats, hoodies with custom designs
• Handmade crafts, ceramics, jewelry, candles, soaps, etc.
• Books, planners, journals, or prints you’ve created
• Accessory products like bags, mugs, phone cases etc.

Pros of physical products:

• Tap into demand from loyal audience.
• High profit margins on owned products.
• Can use platforms like Shopify for easy setup.

Cons:

• Requires carrying inventory or production.
• Fulfillment and shipping add costs.
• More effort than digital products.

For the right niche, physical products provide another way to serve your audience while earning solid income. But it does require greater effort than digital monetization models.

The 80/20 Rule for Monetization

In most cases, you won’t utilize all these monetization strategies. The key is identifying the 2-3 that align with your blog and provide the greatest return on effort.

A good rule of thumb is the 80/20 principle: 80% of your income will likely come from 20% of your monetization strategies.

For example, a fitness blogger may earn:

• 80% from affiliate promotions and digital products
• 20% from display ads and sponsorships

Focus on excelling at the high-impact money-makers for your niche and audience. Don’t spread yourself too thin trying every option.

How to Grow Blog Traffic

Monetization only works if you have an audience to sell to. The greater your traffic, the higher potential revenue.

Let’s explore proven strategies successful bloggers use to generate hundreds of thousands to millions of site visitors:

Create High-Quality Shareable Content

Consistently publishing excellent content optimized for organic search and sharing is the foundation for growing a loyal audience that keeps coming back.

Prioritize topics your audience cares about and include:

• Comprehensive guides and list posts (3,000+ words recommended)
• Trending topics and current events
• Addressing pain points, questions and objections
• Actionable tips and tactics they can implement

Optimize posts for on-page SEO:

• Include target keyword in title, headers, content, URL, meta description
• Format with subheadings, bullets, numbered lists and bolding
• Insert relevant internal links to other pages on your site
• Add related images and graphics
• Include outbound links to quality external resources

Promote your content:

• Share on your social media channels
• Pitch to other websites for backlinks
• Tell your email list subscribers about new posts
• Pay to promote high-performing posts with native advertising

The goal is to quickly become a trusted authority site readers bookmark and return to frequently.

Leverage SEO for Organic Search Traffic

SEO stands for search engine optimization. These are strategies that help your content rank higher in search engines like Google. Higher rankings equal increased traffic.

Tactics to improve SEO:

• Research and target low competition, high traffic keywords.
• Optimize technical elements like site speed, mobile optimization, etc.
• Build backlinks from reputable sites to boost domain authority.
• Refresh and expand old content to keep it evergreen.
• Audit and fix issues using tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush and Moz.

For most bloggers, organic search becomes the top referrer driving 30-60%+ of their traffic. So you can’t neglect SEO and optimizing content.

Grow Your Email List

Email is one of the most effective channels for engaging readers and driving repeat traffic. You own this channel, allowing you to stay in contact with subscribers.

Ways to grow your email list:

• Offer lead magnets like free tools, templates, guides etc. in exchange for signups.
• Promote your list prominently with opt-in forms and popups across your site.
• Deliver high value content exclusively to subscribers like market intel, discounts, special offers, etc.
• Advertise your list on social media, relevant websites, and newsletters.

With a healthy email list, you have a direct line to subscribers who actually want to hear from you. You can promote your blog posts, products and offers through email to generate sales.

Leverage Social Media

While social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Twitter can drive direct traffic, their main benefit is discovery. These platforms help new readers find and follow your brand.

Best practices for social media:

• Post your latest content and media frequently.
• Engage with your audience by liking, commenting and responding.
• Utilize hashtags and tag influential accounts to expand reach.
• Run occasional social media ads pointed at your content or offers.
• Cross-promote content across all your profiles.

Each channel also has unique optimizations. For example, use videos on Facebook, showcase visuals on Instagram and Pinterest, post snippets on Twitter, etc.

Having an active social presence will amplify all your other traffic-building efforts.

Run Paid Advertising Campaigns

Once you have great content and offers, paid advertising provides quick wins to grow your audience. Options like native ads, Facebook ads, Google Ads and more allow you to get your content and products in front of targeted new visitors.

Benefits of paid ads:

• Quickly scale and test new traffic sources.
• Target specific demographics or interests.
• Control your costs and ROI.
• Promote content, blog posts, landing pages, offers etc.

Of course, ads cost money, so you need to monitor performance closely. But used strategically, paid advertising can accelerate your growth and exposure.

Tips for Becoming a Successful Blogger

Beyond just monetization and traffic, implementing these best practices will set you up for blogging success:

Consistency and Persistence Are Key

Regularly create and promote content. It takes time and continual effort to build an audience. You won’t achieve results overnight. But compounding gains from consistent work over months and years is what leads to a high-earning blog.

Provide Value to Readers

Don’t just focus on conversions or making money from your audience. Provide honest value through your content that improves their lives in some way. This earns goodwill that pays dividends.

Be Unique and Distinctive

Figure out your unique voice, perspective and positioning. Don’t just blindly jump on trends or copy competitors. Differentiate yourself so readers have a reason to follow you.

Interact With Your Audience

Have conversations with your audience in comments, emails, social media, etc. Form real relationships that convert readers into loyal brand advocates.

Continually Experiment

Regularly test changes to your content strategy, SEO approach, promotions, monetization methods, etc. Analyze the data to determine what works, and double down on that. Optimization never ends.

Mindset Is Critical

Adopting the mindset of a successful blogger who provides consistent value while being patient with growth is just as important as the tactics. Stay motivated and don’t get discouraged by early struggles.

Frequently Asked Questions About Making Money Blogging

Still have questions about becoming a successful high-earning blogger? Here are answers to some common FAQs:

How long does it take to make money blogging?

Most bloggers don’t make significant income for at least 6-12 months. It takes time to refine your strategy, create content, and grow traffic. But earnings can compound quickly once things start to click. Consistency over an extended period is key.

Can you make a living blogging?

Absolutely. Once you have established processes for creating high-quality content, monetizing your audience, and driving continuous traffic growth, it’s possible to earn a