Blogging Basics: Making Money with a New Blog

I get a lot of emails from new bloggers each week and it’s my favorite part of running Samanthability! Blogging has become a big source of income for me in my three years of blogging! It’s exciting to be able to make money using something I love. Since I receive so many emails about blogging from my readers, I’m going to start sharing some of my blogging tips and experience on this blog through Blogging Basics posts. Today, I’m going to share easy ways to start making money with a new blog!

Let’s start by addressing some of the biggest myths a lot of new bloggers face!

I need to wait until I have boatloads of views before I can make money blogging.

False! You can start making money day one of blogging. I’m not saying you’re going to make millions in a week. In no way will you get rich overnight. But, it’s completely reasonable to start making money as soon as you start blogging!

It’s really hard to make money blogging.

Nope. If you have basic computer skills, you can start making money blogging. It’s often as simple as signing up for a network or service and adding a small code or link to your website.

It takes a long time to make money blogging.

If you have an audience, you can make money blogging. There are a lot of tools you can use to start making money instantly with your blog! While it certainly helps to have a greater number of page views or a dedicated readership (both things that come with more experience), there is no reason you can’t start making money right away.

Ways to Make Money

Blogs use a couple of different methods to make money. Here are the most common ways bloggers monetize their blog:

• Sponsorships
• Affiliate sales
• Advertisements
• Products

For this post, I’m going to focus on the ways that apply to new blogs. The main things I’ll be covering are sponsorships, affiliate sales, and advertisements.

This will be a basic guide to getting started with monetization, but I have a FREE in-depth 5-day e-mail course for those of you interested in getting serious about blog traffic and monetization. Sign up below! (P.S. when you sign up, you immediately gain access to my top-secret list of blogger resources!)

Start Your Own Blog

Before you can start making money, you need to set up your own blog! I have a step-by-step guide here for starting a blog for less than the price of a cup of coffee, so you can start making money quickly with the methods below! Learn more about how I personally make money blogging by reading my latest income report!

Related post // Online Jobs for College Students and Recent Grads!

Sponsorships

The first way I made money blogging was through sponsorships! I remember being so excited to get free products in exchange for posts and social shares! Looking back on those early months, I wish I knew to ask for compensation. I was afraid to ask for money in the beginning because I felt I didn’t have anything to offer which just goes to show how false those myths I shared earlier are!

If you’re getting started with affiliate marketing, I urge you to always request more than you’d usually expect. While it might feel uncomfortable at first, you’ll never know if it’s possible if you don’t ask, right?

The easiest way to find sponsored post opportunities as a new blogger is through a network. Here are the ones I recommend for new bloggers:

• Izea – I like Izea because it’s open to all levels of bloggers, and it’s connected me to major brands. I will say that the best opportunities I’ve participated in on Izea have been through Direct Offer. However, it’s super cool that you can bid on opportunities ranging from social shares to legit posts!
• BrandBacker – I got my first ever blog sponsorships through BrandBacker! Like Izea, BrandBacker is open to all levels of bloggers. Once you’re on the platform, you can apply for different campaigns. I’d recommend spending a lot of time perfecting your profile to land more gigs.

Affiliate Sales

Affiliate sales might sound complicated at first, but trust me they’re super easy, and they’re a great way to make money with a new blog! The best part is affiliate sales are usually as simple as adding a link to a post and forgetting about it. If that isn’t passive income than I don’t know what is?! Affiliate sales mean that for every sale that happens through your link, you’ll get a percentage of the commission.

• Amazon Associates – This is by far the easiest affiliate network, and the most trusted. Everyone knows and uses Amazon, so odds are your readers won’t hesitate about clicking through to an Amazon page. If you ever share your favorite products on Amazon, include an associate link to earn a few extra dollars!
• Maven – Maven is basically like Pinterest but you can make money. Promote cool products you find on the web on your blog or social channels and make money when anyone clicks through.
• ShareASale – It’s easy to get started with ShareASale, and they have a lot of cool brands you can work with to start earning a commission!

Advertisements

Honestly, advertisements aren’t going to make you a lot of money unless you have tons of traffic. Regardless, they’re an easy way to earn a few extra bucks with your blog for minimal effort. If you’re just getting started, I would suggest you only place ads in really unobtrusive places to make money as a new blog. You don’t want to scare your readers away with annoying pop-ups!

• Google Adsense – There are no requirements to get started with Google Adsense, and they have a variety of options so you can control how the ads appear on your page.
• Propeller Ads – I’ve never personally used this network, but I’ve heard positive things. There are no requirements to get started, and signing up is easy.

Making Money with a New Blog

You can start making money immediately with a new blog if you use the services above! While you probably won’t make a lot of money overnight, you can continue to earn as you gain traffic and readership! For more tips on monetizing your blog, sign-up for my free 5-day course below! You’ll also gain access to my favorite resources for beginning bloggers!

This post uses affiliate links. To learn more about my affiliate policy, click here.