How to Start a Blog and Make Money: Your Guide to Earning $10k+/Month in 2024

How to Start a Blog and Make Money – $10k+/Month in 2024 (Step-by-Step)

Is It Worth Starting a Blog This Year?

Is it worth it to start a blog and make money this year? Does blogging still bring a good income? These are common questions I asked myself five years ago when I was in your shoes. Fast forward to today, and I’m a full-time blogger, earning over $10,000 per month on average. I can honestly tell you what works in the blogging world today and what the fastest route is to grow your blog from scratch. So, if you’re contemplating whether to dive into the world of blogging, stick around! I’ll guide you through the steps to not only start a blog and make money but also to turn it into a lucrative venture that can change your life.

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The Cost of Starting a Blog

If you’re feeling uncertain about blogging, let me pose a question: How much do you lose if you try to start a blog? My business expenses as a blogger are incredibly low. Blogging is a business model with one of the highest returns on investment you can imagine. I manage this while working from home, allowing me to control my own schedule. This flexibility is essential for me, especially as I have a toddler. Being able to spend time with my daughter while she is small is a priority, and blogging enables me to do just that.

Step #1: Understand How You Will Make Money

In this post, I’ll lay out a step-by-step plan for you to earn your first $1,000 a month with your blog! If you’re eager to get started with this plan today, consider joining my free 7-day course to start your blog. You can find the link in the description below. Now, let’s kick off with the first step: understanding how you will make money from your blog. When I launched my blog, I made the mistake that many newbies do—I tried to apply to Google AdSense right away to run ads.

The Downside of Google AdSense for New Bloggers

If you’re thinking about doing the same, let me share some insights. While adding ads from Google AdSense or Media.net is one of the easiest ways to start making money with a new website, it might not be the best option for you. Typically, you need about 20 posts on your blog before applying, and here’s a little-known fact: you need a Privacy Policy page before you can even submit your application! In my opinion, you should avoid applying to AdSense if your traffic is low because the returns are dismal.

Why AdSense May Not Be Worth It

When your traffic is under 1,000 visitors a month, you’re looking at earning less than $10 with display ads. Yes, you read that correctly—less than $10 a month. For such a minimal return, it’s not worth sending your small audience away from your site. So, what should you focus on first when starting your blog? I highly recommend diving into affiliate marketing. This was a game changer for me and can be for you too!

The Power of Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is where you find products that align with your niche and promote them. While you can work with large affiliate networks, I suggest steering clear of Amazon Associates for your initial foray into affiliate marketing. Why? The commission rates are typically low, and there’s a significant risk of getting your account blocked without warning. You may find yourself making a mere $2.50 in a year! Instead, I recommend looking into networks like Impact, CJ Affiliates, ShareASale, and ClickBank.

Choosing the Right Affiliate Network

Now, which affiliate network will work best for you? That largely depends on your niche. For instance, ReWardStyle is excellent for fashion and home decor, while PartnerStack is great for software reviews. I know I threw a lot of names at you quickly, so feel free to pause or rewatch this part if you need to jot them down. Ideally, you should aim to join these networks after you’ve added a bit of content to your website and created an About page to establish credibility.

Partnering Directly with Product Sellers

Once you have some content, consider partnering directly with product sellers. Some products have high price points and generous affiliate commissions, often ranging from 30% to 85%. Such commissions are standard in the realm of digital products like eBooks and online courses. This is primarily because their profit margins are close to 100%, allowing them to offer substantial commissions per sale. You can find many lucrative digital products on ClickBank or Digistore24.

Making Money with High-Commission Digital Products

Think about it: if your content effectively promotes an affiliate product with a $100 commission, you only need to sell it to 10 customers to hit that $1,000 mark in a month. With a well-crafted strategy and the right audience, even a blog with modest traffic can yield significant returns through affiliate marketing. Now, let’s circle back to display ads and discuss the right time to consider them.

When to Consider Display Ads

I previously mentioned not installing AdSense right away and focusing on affiliate products instead. But is there a right time to consider ads on your blog? Absolutely! Once your blog traffic hits at least 10,000 monthly sessions, you can apply to advertising networks like Ezoic or Monumetric. This is also the moment when you should apply for AdSense because these networks often require you to be a part of Google AdSense.

Avoiding Potential Issues with Ad Networks

By bypassing AdSense as a new blogger, you can protect your site from potential bans or problems. Working directly with AdSense early on can be risky; it’s easy to make a mistake that could get your site banned. This could close the door on premium ad networks in the future, as they all work with Google. If your domain has a bad history with AdSense, it won’t be accepted by premium ad networks down the line.

Expanding Your Ad Network Options

Once you reach about 20,000 monthly sessions, consider applying to the She Media network. When you hit 50,000 sessions, you can look into Mediavine, which is a premium ad management company. They typically pay about ten times more for the same traffic compared to AdSense. Keep in mind, however, that about 80% of your audience needs to come from the United States to be accepted into Mediavine.

The Importance of Traffic Sources

This is where Pinterest traffic can become a valuable asset for you. Pinterest is significantly more popular in the U.S. than in other regions, and when I started my blog, I quickly realized that trying to get traffic through Google SEO was a slow and painful process. Instead, I pivoted and focused on Pinterest traffic, which paid off. By the end of my first year, I had enough traffic to join Mediavine, with a staggering 93% of that traffic coming from Pinterest.

My Success with Mediavine

Once I joined Mediavine, I earned my first $1,400 in a month, all thanks to free Pinterest traffic. I want to clarify something here: I’ve heard people say that Pinterest traffic isn’t accepted by Mediavine and other premium networks, but that simply isn’t true. Pinterest is a completely valid traffic source. In fact, your RPM (revenue per mille) can sometimes be equal to or even higher than what you’d earn from Google SEO traffic.

Engaging with My Audience

If you’re finding the information I’ve shared so far helpful, please give me a thumbs up and subscribe for more blogging tips. Don’t forget to click the bell button to receive notifications when I publish new content. If you have any questions, the comments section is the best place to ask me! Now, let’s talk about selling your services alongside your blog.

Offering Services to Supplement Income

When you first start a blog, it’s common to put in months of work without seeing any income. During this time, it can be advantageous to offer your services through your blog. You might reach out to established bloggers and offer to write content, edit posts, or serve as a virtual assistant. Alternatively, consider promoting other services you can provide remotely—like voiceovers, translations, graphic design, or any other skills you possess.

Finding Success with Service-Based Income

These services can span across any industry. For example, I know a successful legal blog run by Amira, where she sells legal templates for bloggers. Her blog, A Self Guru, showcases how a well-executed blog can lead to substantial income. In fact, her income report showed that she made $78,000 in a single month, with a whopping $67,000 of that coming from her legal template sales.

The Income Potential of Selling Services

Many beginner bloggers find that they generate most of their income by selling services during their first year or two. And you know what? That’s perfectly fine! You can work from home and potentially earn enough to replace your 9-to-5 job. Your blog serves as a fantastic marketing tool for your services. Personally, I leveraged my blog to sell my 1:1 Pinterest management services for quite some time.

Transitioning to Scalable Income

While I no longer provide those services, I want to share why. The beauty of blogging is that it allows you to build a career and increase your income exponentially—far faster than you could in a traditional corporate setting. I genuinely believe I would never have reached my current income level if I had stayed at my day job. Although it requires hard work upfront, if you push past any limiting beliefs, you can scale your business rapidly.

The Limitations of Trading Time for Money

However, if you continue trading your time for money by providing 1:1 services, scaling becomes incredibly difficult. It can be challenging to turn down client requests when you’re used to saying yes, but ultimately, if you don’t make that shift,

you’ll find it hard to grow. After building my blog and monetizing it through affiliate marketing, ads, and digital products, I stopped taking on client work altogether.

Digital Products: A Game Changer for Income

If you’re interested in creating digital products, I strongly recommend starting with an eBook. It’s relatively straightforward, and you can leverage existing blog posts or free resources to help. Additionally, consider creating video courses to sell, as they can provide significant passive income. Alternatively, you can develop templates or guides tailored to your audience. The sky’s the limit!

The Reality of Blogging Income

While many bloggers earn substantial income, it’s important to remember that most will not make $10,000 per month right away. I’ve been doing this for over five years, and I’m still learning and growing! That said, with a dedicated strategy, you can begin making money relatively quickly. If you’re motivated and willing to put in the work, you can find success in the blogging world.

Conclusion: Start Your Blogging Journey Today!

So, to wrap up this comprehensive guide, if you’re ready to start your blog and unlock the potential to make money from home, I encourage you to take the plunge. With the right approach, you can build a successful blog that generates a substantial income. Whether you choose affiliate marketing, ads, services, or digital products, there are countless ways to monetize your passion for blogging. Start today, and who knows? You might just find yourself earning that $10,000+ monthly income sooner than you think!