How I Make Money On My Blog

[pinit count=”horizontal” url=”https://www.addicted2decorating.com/how-i-make-money-and-how-much-i-make-on-my-blog.html” image_url=”https://www.addicted2decorating.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/blogging-help-how-i-make-money-blogging.png” description=”I’m giving details of how I make money on my blog, and I’m even sharing how much I make with each method.”]
Hey everyone! Today I want to tear away the shroud of secrecy and let you in on some pretty sensitive info. I’m going to tell you exactly how I make money blogging, and I’m also going to tell you how much I make using each method. Let’s start with a little intro video:

Alrighty! Now that we have the introductions out of the way, let’s get on to the details…

Actually, before we get to the details, we’ll need to put this info into perspective. After all, the amount of money you make on your blog will be directly correlated to the amount of traffic you get. So I could tell you all day long about the different methods I use to make money blogging, and how much I make from each method, but without putting that info into perspective, it won’t do you much good. So here are the stats:

My blog currently averages 8,400 visitors per day, with about 17,000 page views per day. Now because every traffic tracking site tracks a bit differently (and sometimes they’re drastically different), it doesn’t really do any good to compare numbers unless you use the exact tracking site that I use. So a more consistent, universal tracking site is Alexa. The current Alexa rank for Addicted 2 Decorating is 73,269. (Alexa ranks websites based on traffic. The lower the number, the higher the traffic. For example, Google has a rank of 1. It’s not perfect, but it can give you a general idea of how your site is doing in comparison to other sites.)

Okay, so now that you know that info, let’s talk about the different ways I make money (that you can use, too) and how much income each method generates for me with my current traffic.

1. Pay per click (PPC) advertising

Pay per click ad networks are probably the most common way to make money with a blog. The most commonly-used pay-per-click ad network is Google Adsense, but if you search “PPC ad networks”, you’re sure to find others like Adbrite, AdClickMedia, etc.

PPC (or pay-per-click) advertising means that a visitor to your site has to actually click on an ad for you to be paid. The amount that you’re paid per click will depend on the amount that the particular advertiser has agreed to pay Google (or other ad network) for the advertisement, the key words they’re targeting, etc. So the rate of payment per click can vary greatly.

Google Adsense is the most commonly used because, in my experience, it pays the most of any other PPC network. It’s also good at delivering relevant ads that fit the topic of your site, where other PPC ad networks more commonly deliver ads that are completely irrelevant to your site’s niche.

Pros:

PPC ad networks are generally open to anyone with a blog that’s at least three months old, regardless of the size of the blog or the traffic generated by that blog. Because of that, it’s an option for small, newer blogs.

Cons:

The amount of income that you generate from a PPC ad network is directly correlated to your traffic (as with many kinds of advertising). So if your blog is relatively new, and/or you don’t get much traffic, you can’t expect to make much money on PPC ad networks. But there’s certainly no harm in trying! You might be surprised! Do be aware, however, that these companies generally have a threshold that you have to meet before they’ll pay you any money. With Adsense, I believe that threshold is $100.

My personal experience:

I’ve used Adsense for years. For a while, I tried out other PPC ad networks, but I came back to Adsense because it always delivers way more (e.g., higher quality ads, relevant ads, and higher payout) than the others I’ve tried. For a long time, Adsense was my main source of income on my blog, and I gave my Adsense ads the premium spots on my blog. When I was averaging about 6500 visitors per day, I could expect anywhere from $700 to $950 per month with Adsense ads filling the premium ad spots on my blog. I currently use another ad network to fill the premium spots but I use Adsense “below the fold” on my blog. With my current traffic, and with removing Adsense from the premium spots, I currently make anywhere from $19 to $40 per day with Adsense, with the average about $27 per day.

2.  Ad networks:

Ad networks are generally ones that you have to apply for, and often times they’ll have specific requirements that you must meet to be a member of the network. These can often be niche-specific, which means that the ads will be highly relevant for your site. There are ad networks specifically for diy/home improvement bloggers, food bloggers, etc. A few that I know of off the top of my head are: BlogHer, Rivit, Lijit, Federated Media, Haven Home Media, Gourmet Ads, Fonadu, Foodie Blogroll, plus many others. I’m sure there are hundreds more, so it’s just a matter of doing your homework and finding the right one for your site.

Pros:

If you join a good one, these ad networks can be your biggest money-maker, and many of them offer other benefits, such as promoting your posts.

Cons:

The best ad networks often have very stringent qualifications that you must meet to become a member. Some of them also accept only a certain number of bloggers at a time, so if they’ve met their limit, you might be placed on a waiting list until a spot opens up. Many of these ad networks also have very strict rules regarding exclusivity. In other words, if you use their ads, they may require that any other ads be placed lower on the page, or they may require that you use their ads exclusively. Finding the right ad network for your blog can sometimes be a challenge.

My personal experience:

Ad networks have been my biggest source of income. I’m currently in two different ad networks, and my income from those two averages about $115 per day.

3.  Text Link Advertising

Text link advertising is a link that is placed on your site that directs to an online business that is looking to improve their search engine optimization and Google rankings by having high quality, relevant websites link to their site. If you don’t want to sell text links directly, there are ad networks that will place text links for you. Two that I know of are Infolinks and TextLinkAds.

Pros:

It’s easy money, and once you get your traffic and rankings to a certain point, you’ll have endless opportunities to place text link advertisements on your site.

Cons:

If you link to low quality, irrelevant sites, Google will punish you for it. Sadly that means that most of the text link opportunities that come your way will have to be declined, unless you’re willing to risk it with Google.

My personal experience:

I allow contextual text links to relevant, quality websites. I charge $180 per text link per year, and I never place text links in new blog posts. I require that a post be at least 15 days old before I put a text link in it. I generally place between 2 and 4 text links per month.

4.  Sponsored Guest Posts

The purpose of sponsored guest posts is the same as contextual links. Online retailers are looking to get links to their site from quality, relevant websites in order to improve their rankings with Google. The difference is that rather than simply providing a link to be placed in an existing post, these companies will provide the entire post with the links included.

Pros:

Again, it’s easy money. All you do is copy and paste the article to your blog, and then get paid. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Cons:

Just like with contextual text links, if you link to low quality, irrelevant sites, Google will punish you.

My personal experience:

I accept sponsored guest posts, but I never let it take the place of my own content. In other words, I only post them on the weekend, which is when I wouldn’t normally be posting anyway. I charge $180 for a sponsored guest post with up to three contextual links, and generally place 2-3 sponsored guest posts per month.

5.  Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are ones that a company requests that you write about their product or service in exchange for money or products. Some ad networks (like BlogHer) will provide these sponsored post opportunities, but many companies (or their PR agents) will also seek out blogger partnership independently. Sponsored post prices are generally set by the company, and you can agree to write the post for that price, or you can pass up the opportunity if the price is not adequate for you.

Pros:

These are great opportunities if the product is one that you really, sincerely like, and you’re happy to pass along the info to your readers.

Cons:

These opportunities are tempting, and it’s very easy to fall into the trap of completely pimping out your blog (and not in a good way) so that sponsored posts take over and completely overshadow your own original content. If you let that happen, you’ll lose credibility, and in turn, you’ll lose readers.

My personal experience:

For the reason I just mentioned, I turn down about 95% of the sponsored post opportunities that come my way. I end up writing about 1 or 2 sponsored posts per month, with each posts paying between $150 and $200.

6.  Direct sale of button and banner ads

No doubt, you’ve seen these on many blogs. They’re generally under a sidebar heading that says “Sponsors”, and are small buttons (125px square up to 150px square) or banner ads that advertise products and services. These ad spaces are generally sold on a monthly basis, but some bloggers may sell these spaces in three- or six-month increments.

Pros:

This is a great way to generate income on your blog, while also bringing relevant products and services to your readers. I find that as a reader, I often enjoy discovering new online shops via the button ads on other blogs.

Cons:

Again, you just want to make sure these are relevant to your site. Linking to something that is completely irrelevant will hurt your standings with Google.

My personal experience:

Sadly, I haven’t had nearly as much success with these as other bloggers have. I average about $200 per month with direct ad sales.

7.  Nrelate

I would bet that many of you use Nrelate to show related post thumbnails and links at the bottom of your blog posts, but did you know that you can monetize Nrelate? Once you’re approved to show sponsored posts, you can choose how many “related posts” to show at the bottom of each post, and then you can choose how many of those posts will be sponsored posts. When a visitor to your site clicks on a sponsored post, you get paid.

Pros:

It’s a handy feature that can not only generate a little income for you, but it can also increase page views on your site since it also links to your own posts.

Cons:

You’re not going to get rich off of this, but hey, every little bit helps, right?

My personal experience:

I can generally expect about $5 per day from Nrelate. Like I said, I won’t get rich from it, but even those small, steady amounts add to the bottom line.

8.  Affiliate Sales

When you become an affiliate of a company that sells a product or service, you receive a percentage of every sale that they make from a referral you send to them. One of the most popular affiliate programs for bloggers is Amazon. As an Amazon affiliate, you can place an affiliate link to any product that is sold on Amazon, and if a visitor to your site clicks through to Amazon and makes a purchase, you will be paid a small percentage of that sale.

Pros:

This is a great way to make money promoting products that you like, use, and want to tell your readers about. If you’re willing to put the time into selecting really great products to promote, affiliate sales can really generate a nice income.

Cons:

I really can’t think of any. As long as you’re promoting products that you genuinely like, affiliate programs are fantastic.

My personal experience:

I am an affiliate with Amazon as well as HostGator. I don’t spend much time or effort promoting affiliate products, so I only average about $50 per month.

So that pretty much sums up the ways that I make money on my blog.  If you have any questions about any of these, please don’t hesitate to ask, and I’ll help you if I can!

I had intended to include some other ideas that I don’t use myself, but could be helpful for you.  However, I think I’ll save that for next weekend.  So stay tuned for more ways to make money on your blog!

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173 Comments

  1. Krist, do you know how awesome you are to write this post?! Seriously! I really appreciate the time you took to put this information together.

  2. Being completely in the dark about monetizing my own blog, I appreciate you sharing your information, in context with your pages views. Otherwise, it’s all sort of meaningless. I read every little bit. Thank you!!

  3. Kristi,
    Thanks for lifting the veil of secrecy. It’s amazing how many people closely guard their info – so I appreciate this post! Guess it’s one of things people don’t discuss: politics, religion and money!!!
    Kelly

  4. Thanks so much for your honesty and hard work in putting this post together. It is so helpful to a new blogger like myself. I am looking forward to seeing your page view numbers one day …. a dream!

  5. This information was so helpful to me. I’ve been thinking about diving into the the diy blogger world. This gives me hands on info. to evaluate whether or not it would be beneficial to our family. I realize it probably takes a lot of time, but it does help pay the bills. Thanks so much!!

  6. THANK YOU! Holy cow, I had no idea this could actually generate enough income to, well, live!
    You have shown me it’s (eventually) possible…..thanks for sharing!! My goal is to re-imagine my career, starting this year!! My blog is all me, part cooking, part DIY, part crafts:

    http://www.re-imagined.org/2012/04/harbingers-of-spring-part-i-rhubarb.html
    http://www.re-imagined.org/2012/04/funky-rental-kitchen-re-do-for-almost.html
    http://www.re-imagined.org/2012/01/gettin-crafty-with-birdhouse-gourds.html

  7. Great info! Perfect timing too since I was looking at posts on this topic! I have a blog that’s about 2 months old so I’m not in a place where my content is in high demand but with hard work I’m sure I’ll be using this info in no time!

    Thanks for being brave!

  8. Thank you so much for writing this post. I am still trying to learn the tricks of the trade and I appreciate your guidance and honesty. This is a great resource post and very helpful to new and upcoming bloggers. xoxo

  9. What a great post! With so many options – including your own products – this is very helpful!! Thanks for the honesty – it’s great to know how much to expect with your great traffic you get! Bookmarking this post.. thanks again. Christine

    1. Hi Christine~
      So sorry it’s taken me this long to respond! I’ve been blogging about five years, but it wasn’t until about the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010 that I really started taking it seriously. I’m convinced that if someone was serious about it from the start, they’d be able to achieve my traffic numbers in about two years, as long as they’re posting quality content, and posting consistently.

      My top suggestions: (1) find other blogs in your niche, get to know those bloggers, and leave comments, and if they have link parties, by all means get involved!! (2) set up a Facebook page, Twitter, etc., for your blog and start inviting people, (3) make sure that all of your posts have at least one pinnable picture so that it will be pinned and shared on Pinterest.

  10. I am so glad I read your blog today. This is such good information and well organized. I need to develop more traffic to my site, but would really like to try these things when I get further along with this. Right now I use Adsense.

    I definitely need to seriously work on relevant content and consistency first. It is inspiring to see what you have done.

  11. Wow, refreshing to learn this priceless information. Thank you so much for sharing the mystery with us all! Though I’ve been blogging for a little over a year, it has been sporadic and not regular. I really do love it and I’m at the point where I want to take blogging more seriously…you are such a big help!

  12. Thank you so much for putting this info together! It’s very helpful to a new blogger like me, who feels completely in the dark when it comes to this topic {and many others!}. I still have a long way to go but this will give me direction when I get to that point. I wonder if you might consider doing a post on how much money you put INTO your blog? And where it all goes? I know with more money coming in, more must go out!! Thanks so much, Kristi! I really appreciate your honesty. 🙂

  13. Thank you! I’ve been blogging for a few years now, and recently introduced ads via ad networks. I was a bit discouraged to only be making roughly $40/month, but like you said, every little bit helps. Some have been bigger, some smaller. It’s been nice to afford to do a few extra projects and pay the hosting fees. I think we’re all so appreciative to get any help we can, and this post just goes above and beyond! Thank you again!

  14. FINALLY, a straight-forward, easy to understand lesson on this. People either don’t want to give out this information (which I understand), or they put so much technical gargon in there, you just can’t make sense of it. Thank you so much. Enjoy ALL of your work.

    Missy

  15. Thanks so much! This post has been probably the most clear and helpful on “pro-blogging” that I’ve ever read. Your honesty and helpfulness is so appreciated!!!

    Bobi

  16. What an amazing amount of information you have given us! Thank you sooooo much. So glad yo put this information in a video format. I’ve been blogging for a few years, but have just recently joined a blog ad network. The information you’ve put togther will definitely help me to grow my income.

  17. How nice of you to share all that info with us. I do have one question, how much time do you estimate you put in for that return? I know it’s a full time job, but the rewards are there.

    ~Bliss~

  18. Thanks so much for this post! I am just getting started and it’s all great info.

    Now I have a sort of stupid question but it’s something that’s been bugging me for awhile now. I use Adblocker. I use it all. the. time. on every website I go to. In fact instead of disabling it for a bit on FireFox to see the adds on blogs (placement, amount, type) during research for my own blog I just opened the site in IE where I don’t have Adblocker.

    Here comes the question part…obviously I don’t see your ads to click on them, on the ads you might have that are based on impression does my visit still count? Do you find that your revenue has gone down due to people using Adblocker etc.? I honestly want to help support my fav. blogs and hope that when I get mine going people will want to support mine so I’m thinking of disabling the Adblocker on the blogs I visit. I am just so used to not seeing the ads now that when I do they really detract from the design and content for me..

    Sorry this got so long. I’ve just been curious about Adblocker and if my fav. blogs still get support due to them.

  19. Thanks so much for the information first of all. Very few bloggers will share how they generate income from their blogs. I have a question though. I’ve been blogging since September 2011, so not very long, but my following has come a long way since then and I’ve been asked by a few of the companies that I have worked with on reviews and such how much I charge for advertising space. I have rates on my blog but I’m not sure if they’re what they should be. I don’t want to undersell myself or oversell myself. How do you determine ad rates?

  20. This is so helpful! As a new blogger, I’m totally overwhelmed by all the possibilities…so I really appreciate that you presented this info in such a clear, well-organized and honest format. Thank you!

  21. Thank you much for sharing all this information! It is really helpful, as I just started blogging.

  22. I’d like to ask a question: Have you noticed any changes in your blog due to Google Penguin? Has their updated algorhythm caused you to reduce the number of posts that you place on your site, or how and if you backlink to something? (I know this question sounds pretty geeky, and I barely had even heard of Penguin and still don’t fully understand it, but my hubby and I happen to write SEO content for a company, and we’ve basically lost most of our work due to this recent change by Google, so I was curious what your thoughts are, and if you have any tips that we should be applying now to our blogs in light of this? If you can kind of put it in layperson’s terms, it would be really helpful. Thank you!

  23. Thank you so much for this fabulous post, Kristi! I have shared it on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, pretty much everywhere! I was most surprised at what you said about text links. I have been approached several times by companies asking for this service, to which I have simply refused outright because I had heard that it hurts your rankings in Google. Thank you for clarifying the fact that it will only hurt you if the links are irrelevant or disreputable. Would you mind sharing an example of these? I’m just curious how you work them into your existing content without being intrusive.

    I think the most important lesson to learn from this post is that bloggers don’t just sit back and get rich, they work HARD! Thanks again, Kristi, you’re great!

  24. Hi,

    I am not a blogger, but look forward to receiving your blog in my inbox. I think you are very kind to share your knowledge with everyone.
    Nice work.

    cheers
    margo on Vancouver Island

  25. Thanks so much for shedding light on this often shrouded topic. I’m slowly piecing it all together and you just gave me a big handful of pieces. Thank You!

  26. Thank you so much for this post! It was very informative and I love that you used videos rather than just writing about it (not that writing is bad, but videos are fun!).

  27. Hi! I just wanted to say I loved this article to much and read it 3x! THANK YOU for your honesty!! You are awesome for sharing this….I’m always wondering how to make more $ and how others do it…..I’ve been to 2 blogging conferences and no one has shared a 1/10 of this info 🙂

    Lina
    Fancy Frugal Life

  28. Hi! I just wanted to say I loved this article to much and read it 3x! THANK YOU for your honesty!! You are awesome for sharing this….I’ve been to 2 blogging conferences and no one has shared a 1/10 of this info 🙂
    Lina
    Fancy Frugal Life

  29. This is great information. I originally started a blog in design school as a school project and am now looking into furthering my blog to promote my designs. The idea of generating an income from my blog as well as generating traffic to my designs is definitely something to be considered as I start “building my empire” as I call it. My goal is to build my business to a point that I can cashflow my daughter’s college when she graduates in 3 years. I appreciate you candid honesty!

  30. Wow this is so awesome! I came across this via Pinterest. I just recently started a blog and was curious how some people make a business out of it. I will definitely be applying some of this to my own blog in the future! Thank you so much for this great info!

  31. Great post Kristi! I LOVE that you share your numbers….I’ll admit to being extremely curious as to what other bloggers make, lol. I do have a question…what ad networks are you currently with? I currently use Pulse Point and Rivit, but was looking for something that paid a little better.

  32. Thank you for posting this! I am a fairly new blogger and it’s good to know what the options are and how much traffic I need to have before I could begin to make any money doing this. My blog is my creative outlet but it would be nice to make something to fund my crafting 🙂 Thanks especially for the tip about placing an ad above the fold.

  33. Thanks for the great information. I have only been blogging now since the beginning of the year. I do already implement most of these strategies. I will have to look into Nrelate and some Ad networks. Thanks again from the webmasters here at http://www.homeinformationguru.com Are site is all about short and sweet tips and tricks for Home and Garden. Thanks again.

  34. Hi Kristi!
    It seems to me that the secret to the sauce is being a good writer, posting great topics, and engaging your audience to generate good viewing numbers. Then, and only then, is there money to be made. I am happy for your success. You are all the things I just mentioned and you are real and transparent as well. Plus you are a rarity, encouraging others to take a share of the pie.
    Blessings!

    1. Diane, you really did hit the nail on the head. The key to blogging success (and therefore, to making a decent income a blog) is quality content, as well as consistent posting (at least in the beginning). There really are no shortcuts around those things. Blogs with poor content, inconsistent posts will simply not do well no matter how many ads are scattered all over the blog.

      And thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂

  35. Thank you so much. I found this post through a link on pinterest. I really appreciate all the great information and the fact that you gave us real numbers. Thank you!

  36. I hope that you took a bow after writing this post. Seriously, I should take you out for ice cream to celebrate such an awesome, honest, inspiring and overall perfect blog post. I’m pretty new to blogging and my little blog has grown WAY faster than I would have ever thought – which I am so thankful for! The only downside is I’ve been trying to get a crash course in html, ads, templates, guest posting, managing twitter and facebook fan pages! I’ve been searching for WEEKS about building brands, monetizing, and setting up your blog for business. So when I saw your post on Pinterest I about cried. It was better thanall of thethings I’ve found during the past 2 weeks of searching…combined. So thanks so much for helping this girl out. I had your video up and playing while I was moving ads around my blog and signing up for ad networks. Thanks thanks thanks!

  37. There is one HUGE drawback to Amazon Affiliates- you can’t be one in several states. I live in CO and because of our tax laws, Amazon won’t let us join. Huge bummer! 🙁

      1. Yea- I only knew because in my past life I was a lobbyist and worked on the bill here in Colorado. If your state allows it, I know it is awesome!

        Great article I shared and pinned! 🙂

  38. Thank you so much! I have a long way to go until I can monetize (if ever) but you have given hope to me and I’m sure, many others.

  39. What a great post & I so appreciate you taking the time to put all this information together for us all. Would love to know what you do to drive the traffic? Did you start out doing things like blog hops or something else to originally generate the traffic flow. What did you do to get your traffic to the level that it’s at today & how has your strategy & tactics changed as your blog has grown?

  40. Thank you Kristi! Such a great and inspiring post! I have a lifestyle blog and have had a PR company contact me to do reviews for products. I only do it if I feel like it would fit with my readers and then I write an honest post. It looks like you charge for this? I have often wondered “what’s in it for me” other than free product. I don’t want to sound selfish because I am honestly excited that they even contact me at all! Just thinking about it as I go forward and gain more readers.
    Is this were a media kit comes in? Do you have one? I honesty don’t know much about them!

    1. Whether or not you charge for those reviews is completely up to you, but you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to write a post reviewing a product free of charge.

      I don’t have a media kit because I have all of the pertinent information on my Advertise page. But some bloggers don’t like to make that info public on their blog, and prefer to make a media kit that potentials advertisers have to request via email. I just prefer to make things easier, and having to deal with fewer emails makes things easier for me. 🙂

  41. Hi Kristi! This information is so valuable and helpful, especially to a new blogger like me! I came across your post via Pinterest today, and just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your help. Thank you so much!

  42. Pingback: Blogging. Learning. Earning. | How to Paint
  43. Pertaining to text links, are you required to disclose that the links are sponsored? I get these requests quite often, but they never want me to disclose.

  44. Thank you very much for sharing this information, I have been blogging for a few months and recently became curious about how bloggers are making money and how many views they need to get a certain amount of money and you just put it all out there. This was extremely helpful and enlightening. thank you!

  45. This is so great! I am just starting out on my blog and I always wondered how to make a decent income doing blogging. Thanks for the helpful tips!! I will click on some of your ads for you!! haha

    1. That could be the topic of a blog post all on its own. 🙂 My top suggestions: (1) find other blogs in your niche, get to know those bloggers, and leave comments, and if they have link parties, by all means get involved!! (2) set up a Facebook page, Twitter, etc., for your blog and start inviting people, (3) make sure that all of your posts have at least one pinnable picture so that it will be pinned and shared on Pinterest.

      There are a thousand other ways, but those are probably my top three. Hope that helps!

  46. Do you need a business license? And how do I get started. I have partially started a blog but want to get more into and bring more traffic to my blog.

    Thanks!

    1. You’ll have to check the requirements in your state. I personally operate my blog as a part of my interior decorating business, Kristi Linauer Interiors, which I have registered with my state as an Assumed Name (as a sole proprietor), and I’m required to have a sales tax number and file sales taxes with my state. (I’m in Texas.) The requirements are different in each state, but if you’re making money on a blog, you do need to treat it as a business and follow all of the requirements of your state.

  47. Thank you very much for being so honest and open our eyes to new opportunities. God bless you

  48. Thank you so much for sharing. I am nowhere near those kind of numbers but I do make money on my blog, mostly through sponsored posts and campaigns. I am looking into ad networks and I am looking at nrelate now, thanks.

  49. Hi Kristi!

    I’m so glad you made this post, and that Lauren Frank and Titus and Tea Parties pinned this so that I saw it!

    Thanks for taking the time to put this together! We are a fairly new blog, that has been seeing a great deal of traffic, and would like to monetize. My hubby is a programmer, and has worked on ecommerce sites, so with his knowledge and my researching I had already found a lot of what you had talked about, ad networks, adsense, traffic, sponsored content and more to be true, but it was sure great to hear it from a successful bloggers mouth -literally. Nice touch with the videos. I totally agree, that sometimes it is hard to convey exactly what you’re trying to say in writing.

    Just want to let you know that we’re in the works of revamping our blog, adding adsense, applied to blogher, and working with guest posting and giveaways… so so much to do, but so grateful I have the time to do it. It’s always fun learning new things, and it would be wonderful if we could monetize enough to help the family out that is struggling in this economy.

    Thanks for all the solid info, and especially for your time! I hope everyone else realizes how amazing this is to be getting this for free and all in one spot, and how amazing you are for doing this 🙂

    Take Care!

  50. Hello there! I have been to a few of the ad network websites to sign up or apply but can’t seem to find where to apply. Is it possible that you could point me in the right direction?
    Again, thanks for all the great tips!

  51. Thanks so much for this. I’m a retired teacher blogger and I”m baffled by all this. Your post helps a lot and I’ll need to read it a few more (hundred) times to get it. I didn’t know there was so much money to be made with blogging.

  52. Thanks so much for this info….love your blog too!
    I’ve been on hiatus from my blog for a few months…due to a bit of writers block and I want to restructure and define it’s message and purpose a bit. I have always wondered how to make money blogging….and as with everyone else’s comments….NO one will tell other bloggers how. Thank you for being so open and honest and helpful!!

  53. So much great information! If a large relevant company offers to do a guest post with one text link and is paying, do you collect the money first? I really need to sit down and formulate my policy on advertising. You gave us a lot to think about.

  54. This is such great info! I’m really wanting to start monetizing my new blog. Honestly, if I don’t make a whole lot of money, that’s ok. But any little bit counts! Thanks for the info 🙂

  55. Putting mention of this blog post on Pinterest was brilliant. Months later, I found it today! I’ve shared it with friends who blog. If you want to learn about how Keep can help you merge decorating with blogging and boost your affiliate program, please contact me.

  56. Hi! 🙂
    I’m not a blogger (yet!) but what you did is really helpful and answered all my questions! So thank you for the time you spent to do it!
    If you like you can like my new Page on Facebook. Funshion is the name. Yes, the fun part of fashion 🙂
    https://www.facebook.com/funshiongr

    PS: I can see in your eyes you’re a nice person and I’m happy for your success! Keep going! 🙂

  57. Great info especially for me the new blogger trying to figure it all out. Do you have any great tips for growing the number of visitors to a new site or for gaining page views? Just curious as you have a large following!

  58. Wow,

    What a totally thorough and comprehensive review on what is working for you. I have been blogging for a number of years, but have just started a new much more focused site and I am amazed what a big difference being niche specific has in terms of making more money.

    Thanks for sharing,

    Beth 🙂

  59. I can’t even tell you how your blogging help section has helped me with my blog. I started mine in Oct. and had not a clue what I was doing. I literally take notes on what you have here and use it on a regular basis. Thank you so much.

    1. I’m so glad to hear that, Nicki! And congratulations on your new blog! If you have any ideas for topics you’d like me to write Blogging Help posts about, feel free to send them to me!

  60. Hi Kristi,
    Thank you so much for this wealth of information! Even though I have been blogging for a few years, I haven’t focused much on monetizing until recently. You have helped a great deal with this blogging help post. Thank you again so very much!

  61. Thank you so much for sharing – “Between Naps on the Porch” suggested your article for more information on blogging….so here I am! You are so helpful and a great writer for those of us just interested or newly starting out. Thank you again!

    Geneva

  62. Thank you! I’m looking at the end of ANOTHER job in October of this year (contract work). I’ve tried blogging but really didn’t know what I was doing. Thank you so much for sharing the information! Even friends that I know personally just smile and won’t tell me how to make some profit with my blog. I know what I’ll be working on in the next few months before my paycheck expires!

  63. Thank you so much for all of the awesome & detailed information! I clicked on everyone of your advertisers’ links, because I felt like your info was so valuable, I wanted you to get paid!!!

  64. Hi Kristi,
    Thank you so much for such a great post! This is so hard to find online and very encouraging, I feel like we got to have a great chat.

    I wanted to know if you could share a bit more about google’s policy on follow/no-follow links if you are paid? I had been under the impression that any links/ads that are paid must be put as no-follow links? Is this not the case?

    Thanks so much for your insights!

    Dani

    1. Dani, you are absolutely correct. And wow…I was definitely unclear on that, wasn’t I!! I obviously need to go back and make some edits on this post!!

      Yes, anytime you get paid to link to another site, whether it’s a text link, a button advertisement, a sponsored post, or a post that you’re writing in return for free product that you’ve received, those links have to be “nofollow”.

      You can read more about Google’s linking policy here: http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=66356

      1. Okay awesome! Glad I wasn’t misinformed on that. It’s funny I was just trying to explain this stuff to my husband last night and he threw up his hands in frustration because I “speak in code gibberish” to him. I sent him the link to your post today!

  65. I’ve been blogging for awhile but never have really done anything to monetize my blogs. I have used a few affiliate links but have never made anything. I definitely need to work on traffic. I do have traffic on my real estate blog that gets a fair amount of traffic (not as much as you!), but I never wanted to put ads on the website and clutter it up since the goal was always to promote my day job (I’m a real estate agent). I think I might re-think that.

    I’ve got 2 questions.

    How do you change a link to no-follow? I am on WP.org and know how to paste html in the right spots, but don’t know the code myself.

    Do you have a disclaimer page that talks about all of the advertising? I saw in one of your comment replies that you have a blanket disclaimer saying that you have sponsored links, but what about affiliate links, guest posts, etc? Also, do you ever use affiliate links in a post yourself as a text link (such as if you are talking about a product that you used in a DIY and people could buy that product on Amazon).

    Thanks for all of your tips! You’ve inspired me!

  66. Finding no-nonsense info on how to monetize my blog and what the potential earnings could be has been like trying to find a white cat in a snow storm. This post is exactly what I have been looking for. Thanks!

  67. Hi! Thank you so much for this information. This is exactly hat i as looking for. I’ve only been blogging for to months but one day hope to have an amazing blog like yours!

  68. Wow, just found this post on Pinterest. I must commend you on being so generous with information. I have been blogging for a short while and have only just recently been thinking about getting more happening on my blog. I’ll definitely be bookmarking and Pinning your blog. Thanks again.

  69. Openness is always a plus. When it comes to monetizing blogs, there’s lots of talk and hardly anyone reveals what they make. Personally, I don’t plan on making money with my blog, but I’m pinning this as a reference. Thanks!

  70. Thank you so much for all of this abundance of information. I have been blogging for about 7 years now but never publicly. And today I finally decided to take the step into full-time blogging for more than just friends and family. All the ways to make it successful can be overwhelming. But after listening to your videos and reading this post, I know I can do this! Thank you again Im sure your helping lots of bloggers who are lost like I am.

  71. This is a wonderful post!! I am just starting to blog and found this article very helpful… However, I can’t get Adsense to work on my website (I use wordpress). It isn’t letting me validate my website. Any tips? I appreciate you taking the time to read this.

  72. Thank you SO much for this post and videos! Greatly helpful! You cannot know how much I needed your advice and experience!! Thanks for being so transparent!

  73. Thank you for sharing such valuable information! I’m particularly interested in the Nrelate. At the bottom of this/your post, there are four (4) articles about things that have nothing to do with your blog or decorating. They’re under a link titled YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE. The links are to Weight Loss, Eyelashes, Fibromyalgia, and Penny Stocks. Are these part of the Nrelate? Did you know these are at the bottom of your page? Just curious. thanks again!
    Tumaini

  74. Thank you so much for sharing all of this! It really means so much that you would be so open and honest. I’ve been blogging for 2 years but just recently finished my bachelors degree and my husband was blessed with a job that is allowing me to take the time to grow my blog!! I’m really researching hard on how to make this something that will work for me and your post was one of the only ones I could find that truly offered good information! I’m excited to get started and am so glad to be your newest follower!

  75. You are the best and I love how honest you are. It’s hard to find bloggers that talk about all of this as openly as you are.
    I’m currently trying to figure out how to layer the ads. And the HTML codes and tags are hard to figure out. Do you layer your ads as well? Do you know of any people who help with that?
    I was also told that if you let an adnetwork do the layering for you that they keep part of the profit, which the one is currently doing for me. I want to fix that and do it myself. But it’s so hard to figure out.

  76. Thank you for making this. I’ve always been so curious about the actual numbers involved. Also, you have such a cute voice! Love the addition of the video.

  77. I have had blogs in the past, one I even monitized with adsense. I gave up on the blog and forgot all about it until my MIL found a notice in the paper that I had an unclaimed check from pay-pay. (It was a whopping $147 for a blog that had been abandoned for 2 years) I love to write. So I have recently picked up the blogging habit again. It will be a while before I make the decision to monitize. I currently have 5 followers and have only had 195 views in the past 2 weeks so it’s too early any way. I just want to thank you for the information that you have provided. This information is not easy to find and I’m sure it’s not easy to publish. I don’t know if I could post my income online.

  78. Thanks so much for this informative post. I’ve been blogging for just over six months, and I haven’t attempted to monetize yet. It’s incredibly time consuming just to create useful content. I look at monetizing as a mountain in the distance, one that I’ll climb another day. You’ve made it seem manageable, though. It’s generous of you to share all that you’ve learned.

  79. wow…such honesty. how do you get such high paying paid blog post jobs. I get only $5 – $15 per post. even if I ask for $30 people try to bargain

    1. The amount that companies will offer is directly correlated to the amount of traffic your blog gets. The more the traffic, the higher the amount you’ll get for sponsored posts. I now get paid up to $500 for a sponsored post.

  80. I really need to help with this and don’t know where to start. I tried Amazon but did not work out for now. I might try Google Ad Sense. How hard is it to get with Blogher. Tried it once too.

  81. Hi Kristi,

    I want to start a new interior decorating blog and I’m trying to decide between starting on Blogger or WordPress. I’m familiar with WordPress.org but and I have a small Blogger site. It seems like you get more page views withough doing anything special (ad ons) with Blogger than you do with WordPress. So I’m wondering if it makes sense to build a following on Blogger first, then in time switch to WordPress.

    Any thoughts on this?

  82. Thank YOU for this post. So often how to make money blogging information you find out there is either to good to be true or so general in information that it leaves you asking more questions than you first began with when you read the article. I have had my blog for a few years but I would say more as a hobby than anything. Recently I have decided that I would really like to improve my site, content and start to earn a little money for all my time! Thank you again – this information was more valuable than any so far I have come across.

  83. What a breath of fresh air you are. You are right! Even though there is a lot of “how to blog” help out there, no one is really talking the dirt about the money. I started blogging a few months ago for fun. I have a full time job, so, my intention was never to earn money… at least not right away. I’m doing it for fun. I know this online community and information sharing is growing, so, by the time I’m ready to retire… and if I’m still enjoying blogging, plus I have a following, I hope to be able to earn money doing it. Thank you again for your candidness (that doesn’t look right, is that a word?)

  84. Hi, I just joined Big Idea Mastermind an signed on as a blogger. I am brand new and very much enjoyed your how to make money blogging Love Ya! Wish i knew you i am sure i could learn a lot. I tried everything on net all failed without a penny . Mabye now is the time

  85. Hello, Would you be so kind as to tell me what blogging platform you use. I am paying 25 a month for a new one(thinking i will dump it) and toying with googles blogger (free) Have any thought? I will be eventually selling a couple books on them my wife and i wrote after i help them do theirs. Thank You, Harry

  86. hello again, Ok let me ask this question a different wat way. I canceled my 25 bucks a month subscription i had before it went to second month. I now use blogger by google and have been getting hits. Now does anyone including our Kristi Linauer know what blogging platform she uses? [email protected] Thank You, Harry

  87. your posts are so easy to read! You really have a clear voice. I am currently working on improving my site traffic but, this will be invaluable information to me in the future!
    Thank You so much for sharing!
    Jessica

  88. Wow, I wish I had the income you’re making a month. Hopefully these tips will help me get there since there are some that I’ve never heard of before, so thank you!

  89. Hi Kristi,
    Thank you so much for all this really valuable information. It was great to see you talk about each of the different ways to monetize in your videos rather than read a really lengthy post on it all. Thanks again. V@Sprout’s House xox

  90. Truly informative post! So many of these “how to make money on your blog” posts are just fluff, but you really went above and beyond on this one! I actually LEARNED something and for that I am absolutely grateful. There were several ad networks you mentioned that I had never heard of and now I’ve applied for them. Thank you for sharing exactly how you monetize your blog. It’s a huge help for us newcomers!! Found you through Sverve!

  91. Thanks for the great advise for making money with my blog, I do really want to work from home hope I can Do this!

  92. This is a ton of great information. I am just starting out with this whole blog endeavor. I am so excited and am bursting with ideas for decor but also content for my blog. I just need to generate traffic, but to know my time and effort can be compensated is amazing. It gives me goals and hope of what I may be able to do one day. Thank you for all of the information

  93. Thanks, the pros and cons helped a lot! I had heard the good things about some of these but it helped a lot hearing the other side also.

  94. Thank you Kristi for this REAL “meat and potatoes” informational post – a genuine reference for a new blogger as I have just started as well. I have attended a workshop where the instructor blogger was recommending not to put advertising on the blog website until reaching a certain volume of subscribers or daily visitors. Relying on my memory as I write this, I believe it was not before 1000 subscribers – or was it daily visitors? What are your thoughts about that? I am excited about the number of shares my first few posts have gotten so fast -when really just doing the basics as far as social media is concerned yet-, and wondering if I should give it a go right away? I have started writing my posts with some “placeholder” words, where I know I can go back to and add affiliate links later by updating my posts. (I use WordPress platform but on my own domain). Thanks again for providing us newbies with free information online thats helps us gage what we are truly getting into. I am very appreciative. This is such an exciting adventure – you should have seen my happy dance when I got my first 100 Facebook website page likes just last week or my last blog post shared over 50 times LOL Good luck to everyone starting out here 🙂

  95. Thank you for sharing this information Kristi! I have just started blogging, after doing much research. I find so much conflicting information. Some bloggers say to monetize from day one and others say wait until you have higher stats. Thank you for your honest and insightful post!

  96. I get about 1,000 visits/1500 PV’s per day but I hardly ever get more than $3 per day on Adsense. I have them in my leaderboard ad, sidebar ad and in each post. How can I get these links to earn me more?

  97. Thanks for this detailed post about how you earn by this blog. It is very interesting. I used some of them Like Google Adsense, Infolinks, Direct ad sales, Sponsored guest post etc. But few of you mentioned in this post are new to me.

  98. I’m very new to this whole blogging thing. All this great info you shared provides me with useful information for when I am ready and generating some traffic. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  99. Hi Kristi,

    I’m surprised you didn’t put Qadabra on this list! I’m also surprised that you write “Some of these ad networks have very stringent qualifications that you must meet to become a member” because that wasn’t my experience with Qadabra at all! I got signed up immediately and started making money after only a few days.

  100. When I first started with the “blog thing” I felt really scared because I didn’t know what to do with ad networks. However, I looked up for information and found Adtomatik. I really wanted wolrdwide reach, and adtomatik had it. I really wanted revenues and high fill rates as weell as the best eCPM, Adtomatik also had that. Since then, I am using it and the results are the best I could’ve ever imagined!!! Totally recommended!

  101. Thank you for these great tips and your honesty! This is extremely helpful as I work to grow my blog every day and hope to start monetizing it a little more.

  102. Hi Kristi, thanks for this post, today I just did my first Gift Guide with affiliate links as an experiment. I’ve been traveling too much an $ has been a little stagnant which means my DIY projects have been backburnered. I’m getting DFP installed on my site even though conventional wisdom says I’m under 100K PV daily, I still feel that if I have a dayjob (income) I should do this now versus wait until later. I enjoy checking in on you to see how you run your blog like a business. I appreciate your candor 🙂 thanks again! ~ Jeanette

  103. Hi Kristi,

    Somehow I have came across you site and it was very insightful, and honest. Thank you. I have only been blogging about 2 months and I need all the information and help I can get.
    Thanks again!
    Camille

  104. Hi Kristi,

    Thank you for this informative post. I am in the process of making a blogging website but am not sure which website creator is the best option. I am looking at Weebly, GoDaddy, and Wix. If you have any other good options, could you please let me know? I understand that on Weebly, I must advertise on the top of my blog, which is not something that I want to do. Which website creator did you find to be most useful?

    Thank you!
    Radina

  105. This is a huge help for anyone looking for tips on how-to make money on a blog. I really loved the transparency you’re providing. It was great to have lots of videos throughout as well. Bookmarked! Have a great weekend, Kristi!