Blogging can be one of the most flexible businesses around because there are so many ways to make money. Not only can you blog from anywhere, but many of your blog’s income streams can be turned into passive income. 

Starting a blog is fairly simple, but when you start to monetize your site, realize this requires some time, energy, and a great strategy. 

Whether you’re looking for a part-time or full-time income with blogging, here are some ways to make money online blogging with WordPress in 2020. 

1. Online Ads

Many bloggers make money from their sites with online advertising. You’ve probably visited a site that has ads on it somewhere and I’m sure it seemed normal to you. 

This is such a great way to make money with your blog because once you set it up, passive income can start flowing in. The key is to earn more money from ads involves doing two things. 

1.) Be sure to set up display ads strategically on your site. Place them in areas where visitors can see them but they still aren’t very distracting. Some good places to put your ads may in the sidebar on your blog and within popular blog posts. Some people do pop up ads but this can be very distracting to readers and just make them a little frustrated when they come to your blog. 

2.) Boost your traffic if you want to earn more money from ads. Some are Pay Per Click (PPC) or Pay Per View (PPV). With either of these ad types, the traffic you have coming to your blog will directly impact how much you get paid. For example, with PPV display ads, you can expect to earn typically around $1 to $2 per 1,000 page views.

Some ad networks pay more than others but if you’re just starting out, consider using Google Adsense or Media.net. It’s easy to get set up and there are no strict requirements to meet. Google Adsense sends you a check or direct deposit once you’ve reached a minimum of $100 in ad revenue. 

2. Affiliate Marketing

Have you ever tried out a product that you absolutely loved or dined at a restaurant that you couldn’t stop raving about? Maybe you told your friends about this or even the clerk at the gas station because you were so excited about sharing this gem. 

Imagine if these people bought the product or service you recommended and you actually got a kickback for referring them? This is what affiliate marketing can help bloggers do. 

Basically, affiliate marketing allows you to obtain your own unique and trackable link that you can use to promote products and services you love on your blog. A few of my favorite affiliate networks are MaxBounty, Panthera Network, and Amazon Associates.

Whenever a reader buys the thing you’re promoting or signs up for something, you could earn a commission. Affiliate marketing is a great way to share your best resources with your audience while also earning some semi-passive income.

When choosing an affiliate program to work with, consider any brands or products that you’ve used before and know would help your audience. Many brands and businesses have an affiliate program these days so you can simply sign up online to get your unique trackable link. Be sure to read the rules and disclaimers about promoting your affiliate products.

To market your affiliates, write detailed blog posts, share reviews, and write how-to or success story articles to answer common questions and demonstrate how the product or service works. 

You can also consider sharing your affiliate link(s) to your email list or on social media. 

Make sure you disclose that you have an affiliate relationship with the brand in all of your content so your audience is aware of this. 

3. Sponsored Posts

Another type of advertising you can do to make money online blogging is publishing sponsored posts. A sponsored or ‘paid post’ is when a blogger partners with a brand or website to come up with unique content around a product or service. 

For example, if you’re a food blogger, you may partner with a meal delivery company and write a sponsored post about your experience with their products. In the post, you can share pictures and details about the food you received, what you cooked, and your thoughts about the overall process. The company will pay you to put up the post and you must disclose that the post is sponsored.

This is just one way to write a sponsored post. You can really take the reigns and come up with whatever concept you want so long as the brand agrees. Just make sure you let readers know upfront that the post was sponsored but all thoughts and opinions mentioned in the content are yours. The best-sponsored posts are honest and relatable so don’t feel like you have to talk the company up a lot or fabricate any of the details. 

To find sponsored post opportunities, you can pitch companies directly or sign up for an influencer network like Upfluence, AspireIQ, and Clever Collective. Create a profile on these networks to easily connect with brands that may be interested in partnering with your blog.

4. Your Own Products

Some bloggers make money by selling their own products. Once you find out what your readers truly need help with, you can provide the solution in helpful blog posts along with paid products that offer advanced guidance and information. 

Consider creating an ebook, a digital course, workbooks, or even a physical product that you can sell on your blog. Gumroad makes it super easy for creators to sell their own products online.

You can also ask your readers what type of products and content they’d like by surveying your email list. This is one of the best ways to validate a product idea before you start working on it.

5. Offering Services

Your blog can also serve as a platform to help you market certain services. For example, some bloggers offer coaching in their area of expertise because readers enjoy their content so much or want to get similar results. 

If you create great spreadsheets and share them on your blog, someone may want to hire you to develop a custom spreadsheet for them. Other bloggers offer public speaking services for people who want to book them for live events.

Wondering How Much You Can Make With Your Blog?

After reading these top 5 ways to make money online blogging with WordPress, you may be wondering how much you can make with your blog. Quite honestly, the sky is the limit. You can earn as little or as much as you want with blogging. 

It involves a lot of strategic work, but as you can see blogging can provide you with a very diversified income. Diversifying your income is a must in today’s society because you don’t want to put all your eggs into one basket. 

Start focusing on one of these monetization methods at a time to get a system going and do a little each day to grow your blog.

If you haven’t started your blog yet, what are you waiting for? Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to get set up in just minutes and be well on your way to making money online.