How I Get Paid Blogging In 2021
Best Ways to Get Paid Blogging
Would you like to know the many ways to make money by blogging?
According to the 2009 State of the Blogosphere report by Technorati, 77% of all Internet users read blogs and this number is increasing.
What this means for bloggers and those yet to make the jump is the opportunity to make real money from blogging is becoming more attainable for more bloggers.
Unfortunately, these opportunities are not always easy to find, which is why I decided to compile a list of 22 ways to get paid blogging.
The purpose of this post is to inform bloggers about the various ways to make money as well as point them in the right direction.
I have worked with many of the companies below and have seen some great overall benefits in doing so.
If you are serious about wanting to turn up the dial on your blogging and find ways to get paid doing so, then check out a few of the opportunities below.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate programs are set up so bloggers and website owners can promote other merchant’s products/services and earn a commission at the time of sale.
One of the earliest examples of this came in the form of banners being placed on websites. For example; An Internet surfer went to website X and clicked on a banner that sent him/her to website Y.
If said surfer makes a purchase at website Y, the owner of website X would get paid a commission for sending said surfer to website Y. Essentially, website Y is willing to pay others to send them business.
Affiliate marketing was one of the initial ways bloggers began to make money and it is currently a huge money generator for many bloggers.
1.
Amazon was a pioneer in affiliate marketing and runs the most popular single affiliate program out there.
They provide its members access to promote their entire product catalog (books, dvds, clothing, electronics, etc ), and have some of the most innovative marketing tools available.
You can promote Amazon products with rotating banners, product links, widgets, and even create your own online store using their products!
2.
eBay has an excellent affiliate program and has tons of marketing tools that can help you make money with your blog.
This program can also supplement and enhance the business model of any current eBay sellers.
This program allows you to market your eBay products on your own blog; increasing your exposure. If you currently sell products on eBay and you do not have a blog you are missing out on tons of money.
3.
Commission Junction is an affiliate network that brings advertisers and publishers (bloggers) together.
Instead of having to go to an individual online business to sign up for their affiliate program, you simply sign up with commission junction to get access to thousands of products from hundreds of different Companies.
companies you can promote include: Walgreens, Expedia, Match.com, Reebok, Travelocity and more.
4.
Share-a-Sale is another affiliate network and they are currently boasting over 2,500 merchant offerings.
Merchants who sign up with Share-a-Sale create their own marketing tools and allow you to promote them on your blog.
In addition to your usual banner and text ads, many of the merchants create video
advertisements which is a new and great way to convert watchers into buyers.
5.
Linkshare is one of the more evolving affiliate networks and it shows in their emerging media tools.
With these tools bloggers can use flash video, promote products via Twitter, RSS feed ads, Mobile commerce and more.
Linkshare allows you to make money by promoting some of the most recognized brands in the world including: WalMart, OfficeDepot, Enterprise, iTunes, Orbitz and more.
6.
ClickBank offers some of the highest commissions in the affiliate marketing world with many products yielding bloggers 50–75%.
One of the unique aspects about ClickBank is that all of the products you promote are electronic; non-tangible products.
Examples of these types of products include videos, memberships, eBooks and other products that can be downloaded immediately upon purchase.
7.
PepperJam is a relatively new affiliate network that is quickly becoming an Industry leader.
PJN has a wide selection of both advertiser offers and marketing tools, which gives bloggers of all niches the ability to make good money.
From contextual ads to eBay listings to CPA, you are bound to find something that fits your needs.
In addition, they have fantastic customer, which goes a long way with me.
8.
Click2Sell offers some of the highest commission splits in the affiliate marketing arena.
Many merchants allow bloggers and other promoters to earn up to 95%! Another great aspect of Click2Sell is that they allow you to promote digital (videos, eBooks, etc), tangible, and subscription (membership) products.
This kind of variety allows bloggers with different business models to find the right product for their needs.
Contextual Marketing
Have you ever noticed small text-ads on the various Websites and blogs you visit?
The ones that somehow match the content of the page you are viewing?
Those ads are more than likely contextual ads and they are probably coming from 1 of 2 places; Google AdSense and Chitika. The cool thing about contextual advertising is that there is relatively little effort needed to set this up on your blog. Once set up, AdSense and Chitika essentially crawl the current page and tailor the advertisement around the content so it is, in theory, targeted to what the reader is interested in.
9.
Google Adsense is the most widely used and seen advertising platform on the Internet.
In fact, many Internet marketing experts believe Adsense single-handily created a new era in making money online.
It is the flipside to AdWords and can be a great way to monetize your blog. All you have to do is insert some code into your blog and AdSense takes care of the rest.
10.
Chitika has arguably taken what Google did with AdSense and made it even better. Due to the way that Chitika formulates the ad results it shows, many people argue that the advertising is more targeted, thus yielding higher conversion rates.
Another cool feature with Chitika is that it can work in conjunction with AdSense, which can create a great 1, 2 punch! Contextual advertising is not for all bloggers but it should strongly be looked at due to its simplicity.
Paid Blogging Networks
These networks are becoming increasingly popular with bloggers for several reasons. First, it is another way to make money by blogging.
The general idea behind each of these networks is relatively the same; you get paid to write content for them and their affiliates.
Many of these opportunities include writing product reviews for companies who will pay you for that review.
Second, these networks are a good way to generate exposure to your blog and help to drive your personal branding efforts.
If you are looking for additional ways to make money by blogging and increase traffic to your blog then definitely check out a few of these networks.
11.
PayPerPost is one of the more popular paid blogging networks. It is an online marketplace that essentially connects bloggers with advertisers.
You get paid for writing sponsored reviews about products, services and websites on your blog.
The more appealing part of PayPerPost is that bloggers have total control over which advertisers they work with and can negotiate prices. If paid blogging sounds appealing then start here.
12.
Smorty has two ways for bloggers to make money but for purposes of this post I will only cover one.
With Smorty you can write opinion articles on your blog and get paid for doing so. Each day Smortys offers hundreds of new tasks to write about, which covers a vast array of topics.
You simply pick the task you want to write about, submit it for review once finished, and get paid directly to your PayPal account.
13.
A LinkPost is a paid blog post written by a blogger within the LinkWorth community.
Where LinkPost differs from other paid blog networks is how much control they give their advertisers.
In order to get paid for writing a review, you have to meet specific requirements provided by the advertiser. Although reviews are scrutinized more closely, the payout is relatively higher with blolggers earning up to %70 for each LinkPost written.
14.
ReviewMe has a similar business model in that it pays bloggers for reviews but it differs in a couple areas.
First, anybody who posts a review on their blog has to reveal that it is a paid review. Second, you do not even have to write a positive review in order to get paid.
So long as you are honest with your review, whether it ends up being positive or negative is irrelevant. Current payouts are anywhere from $20 — $200 per review.
15.
About.com has two ways for bloggers to make money. You can become an About.com Guide, which essentially gives you more of an editorial role.
The other route is to become a Contributing Writer where you write about subtopics underneath larger topics.
Both options give you two ways to get paid; a monthly salary and incentives through pageview growth. This process is more formal than the other sites but the rewards are greater.
16.
eHow allows bloggers to chose from an array of topics including: fashion, business, sports and more.
Most writers for eHow span a spectrum of backgrounds from the professional journalist to the stay-at-home mom.
The articles written for eHow are bit unique in that they are informative and instructional; the idea being to write content that helps solve a person’s problem or help them with a project.
Most writers earn about $20/hr when writing these articles.
17.
Shvoong brings a bit of a twist to its business model. Shvoong is only interested in bloggers writing abstracts and reviews of previously published content such as books, articles, existing website, academic papers and even movies.
In fact, they do not even accept original content. So, if you love to read books or watch movies, you can make some good money and gain exposure to your blog.
18.
BloggerWave runs the same “write reviews on your blog and get paid” business model as many of the other paid blogging networks.
Bloggers can chose between jobs at hand, read the description for each job and write the reveiw. One benefit with BloggerWave is that, unlike many paid blogging networks, bloggers do not have to submit a bid and wait for a response.
This allows bloggers to claim the opportunity and start blogging.
Web 2.0 sites
These sites are relatively new on the scene and put a unique twist on the paid blogging networks concept. Web 2.0 sites are unique in that they are more community-oriented.
These sites encourage two-way communication and interaction between writer and reader, using various rating systems so members can rate each other’s’ articles.
This is valuable because the community controls what content becomes popular.
When you write a piece that the community likes, they reward you by rating your wonderful article and are now more likely to check you out further, including your blog.
19.
Squidoo is a relatively new way for bloggers to make money and promote their blog.
Squidoo is the brainchild of Seth Godin and offers a unique mix of opportunities: ability to make money, platform for personal branding, and networking.
The genius behind Squidoo is that it really promotes community-building and interaction. Squidoo is a brilliant concept which will continue to flourish, and I highly recommend it to bloggers.
20.
HubPages is similar to Squidoo in how you can make money (Google Adsense, Amazon, eBay, Kontera, etc), but lacks the community-building aspect which is very important to beginning bloggers.
With that said, HubPages is still an excellent place to get noticed. Bloggers need to establish a prescence on the Internet outside of their blog, and HubPages is another legitimate way to do this.
21.
Helium writers have the opportunity to make money in several ways. They can write for other businesses, enter writing contests, earn upfront payments, earn bonuses by writing essays to “empty”titles or titles provided by the site that have no articles yet written, and more.
Helium, in my opinion, is a bit of a cross between HubPages and many of the paid blogging networks, which makes it comparatively unique.
Create your own way
More and More bloggers are creating their own products to sell. Some of the more common products being made are informational videos and eBooks.
In fact, with new eBook readers like Amazon’s Kindle hitting the market, eBooks are quickly becoming a popular alternative to the traditional book.
People can now aggregate hundreds of books on a single device and this trend has not been missed by professional bloggers.
Creating an eBook is easier than most people think and is quickly becoming a great way to make money from your blogging efforts.
22.
eBooks. Learn how to turn your blog posts into an eBook. If you have been blogging for a while then you probably already have enough content to create your first eBook; it’s just not in eBook form yet.
This is a great way to leverage content that you have already written, and get the most out of your blogging efforts.
Again, these are just a few options on a growing list of ways to get paid blogging and the list is growing.
The opportunities for bloggers to make six figures are real, and becoming more realistic for more bloggers.
If you have not checked out some of these sites then I strongly encourage you to do so.
Have you had some good experiences with any of the above opportunities? Perhaps you have another site that is making you tons of money. If so, please share as I would love to add to this list.
Thanks for reading, now go make some money!
