How to Start a Profitable Blog and Earn Money Online

Hi there! Did you stumble upon this article because you are interested in learning how to start a profitable blog? Do you want to earn money online? Are you a mom? 

If you answered yes to those three questions, you are exactly where you should be! In the post below I will dive deeply into how multiple mom bloggers have started profitable blogs and how they earn money online. It’s amazing to think about how far technology has come and that you can build a business and earn money from home. With today’s tools and step by step guides, starting a blog and building an online business is easier than ever.

The chart below sums up at a high level how much these moms earn with their blogs per month and how they do it. Read on to get into the details.

You have all the tools at your fingertips. It has never been this easy to reach thousands of people instantly through a few clicks online – the secret lies with you.

Will you do it? Will you invest time and energy into creating a profitable blog? If you want to do this, read on, and get inspired by these successful mom bloggers! But first, a little bit about these mommies. Who can you relate to the most?

*This post contains affiliate links.

Allison – Monthly Income = $3,000

Lifestyle blogger who started making money from her blog after 6 months through sponsored posts, affiliate links and virtual assisting.

Caroline– Monthly Income = $1,850

Parenting and motherhood blogger who made money through her blog in her first month!

Marie– Monthly Income = $1,864

Business blogger who started making money from her blog after 3 months through affiliates and ghostwriting.

Kandice– Monthly Income = $1,198

Organizational and efficiency blogger who started making money from her blog after 6 months by launching her own ebook!

Monica– Monthly Income = $2,870+

Monica helps moms transition from corporate life to work at home life and started making money with her blog after 8 months.

Bianca– Monthly Income = $1,482

Lifestyle single mother blogger who made money from her blog after 6 months through affiliates and promoting her direct sales businesses on her blog!

Krystal– Monthly Income = $5,279

Lifestyle blogger who left her non-profit desk job to blog full time about recipes and creating a happy home.

Arabah– Monthly Income = $6,101

Christian blogger who blogs about her passion and quickly monetized when the need came up.

Aly– Monthly Income = $8,000

Aly helps moms find the best things in life and started making 4 figures a month after only 4 months.

Jen– Monthly Income = $1,000

Jen encourages and helps moms work from home while raising a family and she made money from her blog after 6 months.

Christy– Monthly Income = $6,336

Home decor and interior design blogger who made over $37,000 in her first year of blogging.

How to Decide Your Blog Niche

WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT

• How to choose a blog niche.
• How to start a blog.

Share What You Know

To build a profitable blog, you need to provide value to your readers. Many moms share their own knowledge and experience with others to help them on their journey. “The best way to decide on a niche is to take a good long look at yourself and where your passion lies.”  – Caroline 

Ask your friends and family what you’re good at and what they see as your strengths. Sometimes seeing yourself through another person’s eyes makes a world of difference. Or think about the things your friends always ask you for advice on.

Are you the go to mommy for making crafts? Or is your home always immaculately clean? Or do you sing in the church choir and would love to teach others to sing as well? Let your passions guide you.  

Blog About What You Love

Krystal started sharing stories of products she loved, because to her it made sense to work with brands that needed bloggers. “I started focusing on food and DIY since it seemed like a good fit for my audience.

My most popular posts and campaigns have always involved recipes and content designed to create a happy home (DIY, organizing, etc.).” – Krystal

If you can’t stop reading about it, talking about it, and learning about it – then blog about it! As you blog and learn about your passion you will soon become an expert on the topic. Your blog will then stand out and become a library of resources for others.

This is what Caroline did when she started blogging about motherhood. “I find so much joy in learning and sharing about all things baby, breast-feeding, and mom life.”  – Caroline

Fulfill a Need

In all honesty, if you truly want to earn money online and start a profitable, money-making blog – you need to blog about something that people will pay for. But the good news is, people pay for almost anything. If you want to blog about crafts, think about the problems your audience encounters.

And then create a product or service to eliminate that problem. For example, you could create a shopping list of items on your blog so your readers can easily purchase all the supplies in one place.

Or suggest alternative products to messy items (glitter, play doh) or dangerous items (hot glue gun, scissors). If you’re a food blogger ask your audience what their pain points are.

Create a quick ebook or email course to solve that issue for them. Maybe they never know what to cook for dinner, why not set up an auto email responder to send them three easy meal ideas every morning? The ideas are countless! If you can solve a problem for our audience, you can monetize the solution. 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GROW A PROFITABLE BLOG

AND EARN MONEY FROM BLOGGING

• How to make money with a blog
• How to start a blog.

Making Money with a Blog Requires A Strong Foundation

Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme. You are building a brand and a business. With each reader, you are establishing a relationship. And just like in normal life, it takes time to build a relationship with another person. You woo them, give them gifts, spend time with them and consistently stay in touch.

Blogging is a way to build trust with your reader so that they want to buy your products and use your affiliate links and read your posts. “For the first four years, I didn’t want to monetize my blog. Then, last year, our family was placed in a situation where I needed to monetize my blog.

Fortunately, I had a strong foundation already laid and monetizing came quickly.” – Arabah

Think of each blog post as laying a brick in the foundation of your relationship with your reader. Each post needs to help, entertain or educate your reader. If you focus on this initially, you will build a super strong foundation to make money with your blog.

“I did not try to make money until 2016. I spent Feb-May building the foundations to make money and my first income month over $1k was August 2016.” – Monica 

“I would say somewhere in 2012 it became clear that my blog could bring in income. However, it wasn’t until 2014 that I was bringing in an income that rivaled my non-profit desk job. This was when I left my day job to blog full time!” – Krystal

Growing a Profitable Blog Could Happen in Months

And of course, there are bloggers who make money fairly quickly with their blogs. Because of their passion for learning and discipline to building their blog, many bloggers can make money within a few months of starting a blog.

“I made money the first month of blogging thanks to Google AdSense and affiliate marketing through Amazon Associates.” – Caroline 

It took Marie merely 3 months before she started making money with her blog and turning a profit. “3 months. Since I started my (second) blog with a clear idea of my niche and how I could help them, I had nearly 7,000 pageviews in my second month. Plus, I started my email list right away and was sure to use lead magnets that would be of special interest to my target audience” – Marie

Aly started to earn over a thousand dollars a month from her blog after 4 months. “We started earning small change from our affiliates right away, but it took 4 months until we were earning 4-figures a month.” – Aly

And Jen, Bianca and Allison created a profitable blog after 6 months. “I made a few dollars right away. I made my first $1,000 six months into blogging!” – Jen 

These ladies worked hard, had a vision, niched down and focused on helping their readers. It’s amazing what they have done to grow their online businesses and earn money online!  

How do you earn money from a blog?

Earn Money Through Virtual Services

Many bigger bloggers no longer have time for normal blogging tasks such as creating pinnable images, blog post writing or answering emails. Offering to write blog posts, create pinnable images or schedule a bigger blogger’s social media could be a great way to make money online initially, and help you learn the ropes of blogging.

But you do need your own blog to showcase your work and skills. Once you establish yourself a little bit, you can reach out to bigger bloggers in your niche through Facebook groups and offer your services.

Allison makes money in multiple ways, but mostly through virtual assisting.

“I do sponsored posts, affiliate links and also virtual assisting. 

The bulk of the money I make comes from the virtual assisting aspect of my blog, I offer social media services, as well as other VA services. The majority of my VA income comes from Pinterest services. I maintain other bloggers’ Pinterest accounts and help ensure they are optimized so that they are receiving a large amount of traffic to their blogs from Pinterest.” – Allison 

If you have a skill to help bloggers get traffic, answer emails efficiently or you’re a budding graphic designer, you can quickly build up your brand and blog through virtual services.  

Do Sponsored Posts to Make Money with Your Blog

Sponsored posts are exactly what they sound like. Blog posts that are sponsored (paid for). You can either reach out to companies yourself if you have a niche they are interested in, or you could apply to the various services listed below that will connect you with sponsors.

“Sponsored posts have always been my wheelhouse, but it wasn’t until 2016 that I realized that my ad revenue was truly taking off. I started selling a course on and off again in 2014 which bring in about $1,000 every time it launched, but it was draining. I put a lot of time and resources into it. 

I focused just on sponsored campaigns and ambassadorships throughout 2015 along with affiliate sales to bring in regularly $3k to $4k a month. My strategy for 2016 included consulting and ad revenue so that I could do more of what I love!”- Krystal 

Sandy from Sandy a la Mode started her blog in 2010 and makes an average of $3,000 per month mostly through sponsored posts. As a fashion blogger sponsored posts makes a lot of sense! And even with her lowish page views of 30K per month, she is bringing in a full-time income!

Popular Blog Networks that provide sponsored posts

• Blogher
• The Blogger Network
• IZEA
• Sandy from the above list of bloggers uses Mode Media, Collectively, Social Fabric, Acorn Influence, Socialstars, and The SITS Girls

Here is another post on how to make money with a blog with examples from small, medium and large mom bloggers.  

Sell Physical or Online Products

You no longer need a physical store that requires rent, a contract and a long commute to sell products. You can sell anything from the comfort of your home. I am still blown away by this.

The opportunities to provide value and make money from home are endless, you just have to be willing to learn and keep trying new ideas.  

Monthly Craft Fairs

I remember going to the monthly craft fair with my aunt when we lived in South Africa. She would spend the entire month making little ceramic figurines, painting every single detail and glazing them in the kiln again to make them shine. Then she would rent a spot at the local monthly fair, pack up all of her inventory and spend the entire day sitting in the hot sun hoping for a few buyers.

Fast forward 20 years, and now any stay at home mommy can turn her craft hobby into a booming online business with sales coming in any time of the day or night. Just think about the cost of starting a business a few years ago, now all you need is a self-hosted blog which becomes your online store and marketing department. Kandice started selling her products on Etsy and used her blog to drive traffic to her Esty listings. 

The two work beautifully together because she can direct traffic to her products through her blog and also get additional traffic from being on the Etsy platform.

“I have always been an Etsy Seller, even long before I was a blogger. Some of the Etsy listings were actually my first blog posts! As a wedding coordinator, I started creating worksheets and digital downloads, which I would sell on Etsy.

I then write a blog post explaining how to use the worksheet or an article about how to solve a problem and, by the way, here is this helpful worksheet to get you through it.

The then started doing the same thing on my Mom blog. Crock Pot freezer labels were the first thing I wrote about as a problem solver. I have a post about preparing for your first weeks home with a new baby and freezer meals being a great efficiency and time saver. I then link from my post to the Etsy Listings.

So the Etsy Stores and the Blog have always been very linked. Eventually, I began filtering in Amazon Affiliate Links and became Affiliated with specific brands to market. But Etsy sales will most likely remain the root system for my online income.” – Kandice

Direct Sales

So what about direct sales? Could your LuLaRoe business benefit from having a blog? Yes! Bianca drives traffic to her Rodan + Fields direct sales businesses from her blog. She makes over $1,400 per month from blogging about her direct sales businesses.

“I was a direct sales consultant and needed a way to get more exposure other than just my personal social media accounts.  

On a blog post I can write a lot more details and it has a permanent place that I can reference people to by simply giving them the url. I make most of my money for the companies I promote (Rodan +Fields) I also make some money with affiliate sales Ebates and Amazon” – Bianca

Digital Products

Ebooks, courses and digital downloads are very popular and easy to make. I create my ebooks in Word and convert them to PDFs. My digital downloads or printables are all created in PowerPoint. 

And my courses are hosted on Teachable. Both Arabah and Jen have digital products that provide them with monthly incomes from their blogs.

“All my income comes from my own ebooks, printables, and affiliate promotions.” – Arabah

“I make money from my blog through my signature program, Find Your Tribe Online. It’s a program that shows bloggers how to find their people, build their tribe, and get loads of traffic. I also make money from 3-5 specific affiliates. I have also made money through my coaching and 1:1 services.” – Jen 

Here are more ideas how to make money from a blog and benefits to selling digital products online.

• Digital Products You Can Create in an Afternoon
• How to Sell Digital Products
• What to Name Your Digital Products

Build a Profitable Blog Through Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a technique you can use from day one to start building a profitable blog. Many companies offer affiliate programs which allow you to get a commission from every sale you generate.

Once you sign up to be an affiliate you’ll receive a special link. And if someone makes a purchase through that link, you get a commission. What I love about affiliate marketing is that you are in control of how you promote the product and which products you choose. I only promote products that I’ve used and love myself.

I also only try to promote products that I know will benefit my readers and that are in line with my niche. If I started blogging about this Godsend espresso machine or my favorite baby carrier, it may sound a bit odd. So be sure to choose products that are in line with your niche.

Marie took a course that taught her how to make money from affiliate marketing. Another great idea is to implement the strategies from this ebook written by Carolina, a mommy who makes over $1,000 per month from Amazon’s affiliate program.

“I make money from my blog in two ways (so far). I took a course that specifically taught me how to develop and implement an affiliate marketing strategy so one way I make money is through affiliate commission. 

The other way I make money is through ghostwriting for a variety of clients and websites. I use my blog as a portfolio for potential clients to get an idea of my writing style and my knowledge base (many of the clients I write for are marketing and SEO) agencies” – Marie 

Aly started making over four figures with her blog after a short four months. She’s on fire! And she does it mostly through affiliate marketing.

“Our main source of revenue right now is affiliate marketing, but we just introduced ads at the beginning of the year. We also bring in some money with sponsored Instagram posts.” – Aly 

Caroline below shares products that she is passionate about. You can even hear the passion in her answer below. Adding personal experiences and emotion to your blog posts will drive much higher conversions. No wonder she’s making almost $2,000 per month with her blog.

“Affiliate marketing is the greatest source of income for my blog. As a mom, I rely on ALOT of products to make my life easier. There are some products that I couldn’t imagine mom life without! I share the links to those products through my post and receive a kick back when readers purchase them. I link all the products that I use! If what I use is not available on Amazon, I will do research to find one that is comparable in price and quality and let the readers know about it. The same goes for my Amazon Bounties.

My obsession with Amazon Family and monthly subscriptions is on the verge of not being healthy! I love using it and blog about the convenience it provides for my family quite often. Anytime I write about it, I have a link to sign up for the services below. 

Each time someone signs up, I receive a small referral fee. It isn’t much, but it adds up!” – Caroline Companies that offer affiliates are:

• ShareASale.com – Companies like Shutterfly and Tailwind (best tool to schedule your Pinterest pins!)
• FlexOffers.com – Companies like Bloomingdales, Macy’s and Priceline
• Amazon.com – Millions of products

Place Advertisements on Your Blog

Ads are not the most popular form of making money with your blog, but it is very passive. Once you set up the advertisements on your blog you can continue to blog and drive traffic and make money in the process. 

Christy is a phenomenal example of how quickly a blog can grow in one year. She blogs about home decor, interior design and remodeling. Her gorgeous blog has taken off and made her over $37,000 in her first year of blogging. Now she averages around $6,000 per month. 

This is proof that any niche can become super profitable!

I personally do not love ads, but Caroline below uses them strategically to make money with her blog. Once you pass 100K page views per month I could understand that not putting ads on your blog is leaving a lot of money on the table. But most beginning bloggers do not start with 100K page views.

“I also have ads on my page. When I began blogging I was with AdSense and placed each ad on my page strategically. I made sure to always have at least 3 ads per page, but never anywhere that it would inhibit the reading experience. I usually placed them on the side bar and above the post content. I also made sure to edit the types of ads that were allowed on my page to subjects that I believed my readers could benefit from.

A reader of a mom blog probably doesn’t want to see an ad for a palm reading service, but she probably does want to see one about a great deal from a children’s clothing store! 

By tailoring the ad types to your readers, you have a higher interaction rate, meaning more income from your ads!” – Caroline

Ad companies: easy to apply with no requirements

• Google Adsense
• Sovrn

Companies that manage your ads for you (100K page view minimum)

• The Blogher Network
• AdThrive

Invest in Multiple Streams of Income

In the end, diversifying your income streams will make your blog become profitable the fastest. I currently have three strong pillars supporting my blog, digital products, services (blog reviews) and affiliates. Monica has three main pillars and is working on a fourth one. Smart momma!

“I currently have 3 main pillars of monetization and I will be moving into 4 main pillars in 2017. The first is affiliate marketing. I recommend resources to other working moms such as FlexJobs, which is a natural fit for my audience. The second is contracting and freelance writing.

I use my authority in the blogging world to connect with other people who need social media management, sales funnel help, or content creation and work for them on a contracted basis. Since I have an established blog, I also get contacted by other media outlets from time to time to work for them as a freelance writer as well. The third is products. I launched my first low cost product in June 2016, it is a family budget spreadsheet. I’ve made over $3k on a spreadsheet that I sell for $9.97 with very little promotion.

I also have an eBook called Busy Moms Building: 12 Steps to Running an Online Business for Busy Moms. The book’s packages include workbooks and video tutorials. I also have a business tracking spreadsheet that I sell. I have ads on my site but they are not a major part of my monetization strategy. The fourth pillar that I will be adding in 2017 is course creation paired with a group coaching program. This will be based on my eBook. I hope for this to be my signature program moving forward.” – Monica

As a new blogger I would suggest experimenting with what works for you and your audience. My readers benefit most from my digital products that help them step by step to build a professional blog. Christy’s audience loves affiliate marketing and they convert really well based on her products she recommends. 

No wonder she was able to make over $37,000 in her first year of blogging!

More Ideas to Earn Money Blogging and Personal Advice

A lot of people get discouraged because they think that only people blogging about blogging make money. And that’s just not true. 

As you can see above mommies in various niches are making a full-time income from their blog, and some even in their first year! There are so many niches where mommies like me and you can make money starting an online business.

The reason why many people feel that only business bloggers are making money is because they publish income reports. But most successful bloggers don’t feel the need to showcase their numbers. So, how do you earn money blogging? And how do you make money if you’re not blogging about business techniques?

I hope the examples above helped you, but here are a few more ideas that you can use! 

Share Your Recipes 

Chelsea from Chelsea’s Messy Apron is an awesome food blogger. Don’t go on her blog when you’re hungry because you’re just going to eat everything. Her videos are amazing and she makes a killing of her blog. In her first year of blogging on a food blog, she made over $40,000. 

Natural Baby Products 

Many bloggers love Amazon because if you sign up to become an affiliate for Amazon, you can recommend anything on their store and receive a commission. Carolina from MamaInstincts makes more than a thousand dollars per month just from Amazon. That’s amazing. Here’s a post on how she does it.

Teach Art Online 

You can create an online art class if you’re really artsy. You can teach people how to paint online. You can reach more people now than you ever could before. I strongly believe that education is completely going to change in the next couple years. People are going to learn more and more things online.

Why get in debt and go to college for years when you can learn so much of what you need online with other people teaching you for a fraction of the cost. 

Children’s eBook or Mommy Products 

You can create a children’s book.  You can create a step by step exercise videos for mommies that just gave birth so they can do it in the comfort of their own home so they don’t have to leave the house.

Think about your audience. Maybe there’s a type of person that can’t leave the house, who wants to stay indoors. How can you help them with their problems and issues? You can create an online course or an e-book. 

Teach a Language 

You can do online language classes. When I was in college, I skyped with two little girls in South Korea and I taught them English. You can do that today too. You can create a course that teaches hundreds of people English, French or Afrikaans or whatever language you know. 

Lifestyle Products and Services 

You can create a healthy recipe e-book. Or you can create online videos of how you organize your home. I would love it if somebody would do a live video with me as I’m cleaning my closet and holds my hand and tells me, “Get rid of that thing. You don’t need that in your life.” A personal ‘destylist’ helping you on the path of minimalism.

That’s what I would love. If you would like to create that, I’m your customer. 

Monetize Your Skills 

You can also have services. You can be a virtual assistant. You can do consulting. You can do proofreading, freelance writing, virtual playdates- there’s so many ideas. 

Virtual Playdates 

There are mommies that are stuck at home and they want to socialize with other moms. Why not organize a virtual playdate? A couple of different moms can all hang out while the kids are playing in the background. The mommies can chat a little bit and have a skype date and commiserate how motherhood is hard sometimes. 

Personal Stylist 

You can be an online personal stylist. If somebody can teach me how to do my makeup better, I would love that. Sure I can go on YouTube and get free tutorials, but if I can have somebody that is giving me advice 1 on 1, that’s what I would pay for.

Think about different ideas how you can reach people and help solve their problems.

There are so many awesome ways to earn money online and create a profitable blog.