Make money blogging - one of the most searched keywords that has inspired many people to get into this whole blogging thing.
When a person gets on to Google and types in “make money blogging” the person clearly knows that there IS an answer to this question but he/she simply doesn’t know it, yet.
I mean, everyone who searches either knows or believes that one CAN make money blogging.
That’s why the search.
Yes there is not one buy many answers to this question. And YES it IS possible to make money online.
We see a lot of people jumping in to the blogosphere with this hope and dream of becoming rich overnight by starting and running a blog. I welcome them 
But there’s a whole lot of reality and yes, bitter truth behind the scenes - most people don’t know this until they experience it themselves.
OK, now in this post, I would like to provide my own insights on the topics discussed in these two posts:
Why Traffic Generation Cafe Is Not Making As Money Money As It Should and Ti’s reply to this post Why Traffic Does Not Equate To Money.
First of all, every blogger (and all those who comment on making money by having a blog) should understand that traffic is NOT equal to money.
This is what Ana and Ti say. And that’s what I say and have experienced too!
I have bought various courses that taught me that I can become rich if I can drive traffic to my website. They say more traffic = more money. That’s simply BS.
I agree that traffic is the life blood of a blog. We all need traffic and even more of it everyday.
But you cannot estimate a blog’s popularity, quality, and its money making capacity by the amount of traffic it gets.
The same is true with the size of the email list one has.
Well, it is common sense to assume that if we have more eyeballs on our content and newsletters, the probability that we will make more sales (compared to a blog that has much lesser readership and newsletter subscribers). But this assumption need not be true always!
Especially nowadays where there are TONS of blogs around readers always do not take the action we want them to take. They’ve become blind and used to certain things.
Let’s rewind 10 years back - you can put up a simple landing page with the image of an ebook, a few lines of copy and fields to enter Name and Email address. You simply drive traffic to that page via Adwords or other means. You can easily get signups and yes this number will surely be proportionate to the amount of traffic that page has got.
Now coming to the current age, can you expect the same to happen? Every blog and website has a newsletter sign up form, most blogs offer a free ebook or a course to attract signups!
OK now coming back to the traffic and money making equation…..
The key here are two things - Conversions and Income generation model
Let me discuss these two in a bit more detail.
Make Money Blogging: Conversions
Driving traffic is a skill and is one part of the whole story. Converting this traffic is a whole lot different thing. And this is something whose purpose differs for different bloggers and business models.
I mean, every blogger will have a different goal.
Some may want their blog to act as a email collection funnel - all they want their visitors is to enter their email address. The blogger can then have a strategic email marketing model to make money from his/her list.Some bloggers may want to sell their product via their blog. All they want their readers to do is to click the “buy” button.Some bloggers may want to attract consulting clients or clients to other services they offer.
Some bloggers want to make money from Adsense-type ads and they want their traffic to click on the banners.
Some bloggers want to make money from affiliate products.
As you see, every blogger has a different goal or a purpose with his/her blog and the traffic they receive.
If they want their visitors to take a particular action, the blogger must make sure that they have the right conversion elements in their blog(s) that makes their visitors take the required action.
Some bloggers may only get 100 visits per day but their website structure and copy could so be that they are able to make 50 people sign up for their newsletter everyday! The conversion rate here is 50%.
Some bloggers may get 1000 visits per day but they’ll only be able to make 10 people sign up for their newsletter every day. The conversion rate here is 0.01%.
So, do you see the crucial part here?
So is Ana not good at conversions?
I hear you asking I’m on her newsletter. I read her blog regularly. I read her Facebook updates. I watch her videos. Oh and recently, I learned that she has become a Slideshare addict and I watch her presentations as well.
Ana delivers extraordinary content that is top notch. Every blog post of hers is complete, in-depth and offers detailed actionable tips/solutions.
She is doing great at marketing - I silently learn and apply many of her “marketing” tactics.
So what’s missing? Here’s what I think could be the missing part of the pie:
1. May be Ana’s traffic is not targeted - I mean she wants to make money via income stream “X” and all those who visit TGC are not those “X” kinda people!2. May be she’s giving away too much for free!
3. May be she has optimized her site for one type of conversion, which is not very profitable for her kind of business while she has missed out another type of conversion which could do great for her profits.
4. May be Ana has not identified THE income model that works for her. I’m going to discuss just this, below.
Make Money Blogging: The Income Generation Model
Remember I said in the beginning that every blog has a different purpose and hence a different income model. Here’s a possible (short) list. You could make money blogging in any of the follow ways:
1. Affiliate marketing - sell other’s products and earn affiliate income.2. Email marketing - collect email addresses from visitors and then market products/services to them.3. CPC/CPM - drive traffic and make them click the ad banners.
4. Sell your own products.
5. Get clients for your services and earn money (warning: this is not passive income!)
Can you take a look at my blog and tell me what my top income sources are? Although I won’t reveal the exact figures for some very important reasons, here’s where my blogging income comes from:
1. Clients - 80% and here’s the breakdown of the 80% -> Blog Audit - 30%> Thesis customization - 20%
> WordPress blog (monthly) maintenance - 10% (recurring)
> Web hosting - 10% (recurring)
> SEO services - 10% (recurring)
2. Affiliate Marketing - 15% (partially recurring)
3. My product sales - 5%
Even though I get 80% of my income from my services part of it is still passive.
I don’t burn myself out and I also do take frequent holidays and spend a lot of my time with my family (I have a 3 year old mommy-centered son; I hear “mommy, mommy, mommy all day :)).
I simply see that I don’t take clients more than I can handle.
Make Money Blogging: Reply to Ana and Takeaway
Ana, I love you for what you do. You help people from heart. You don’t hold back stuff.
I know you’ve had tough times with your personal life and you still didn’t disappoint your readers.
You have a great website, you have great marketing skills, and yes you are GREAT at driving traffic. And yes YOU deserve more money!
May be you should review these two bits - conversions and your income model.
With the kind of quality content you deliver, I won’t say that you can’t convert people. May be you are converting the wrong people or may be you should try a different approach to converting the traffic you get.
And this could also be a very valid reason as well:
I too think so. When I come to TGC, I already have those products you recommend. When I didn’t have any particular product that you either reviewed or introduced me to, I certainly used your link (ya know it ;)).
But wait, for all those who suggest about product creation, I am with you on it, Ana.
Having a product (no matter how great it is, how smartly you market it etc.) will not guarantee a boost in your income. As you can see from my own income model, my products contribute to a very less percent of my total income.
Plus, the idea of putting a big chunk of time and effort into creating a product and then make sure its not outdated, market it and make money out of it is not my thing either.And I don’t have one but many products. It works for some and doesn’t work for some others - I have yet to figure out why.
I can have my product as one of the income streams - but I won’t depend on it. Or I won’t expect my next product to boost my income over the roof. This is MY kind of income model.
So go bloggers, figure out what income model works for you.
- Find out what makes money, and put more work and effort into that model.
- Find out what doesn’t make money and eliminate it from your equation; more importantly, stop wasting your time, efforts and money on something that doesn’t work or generate income for you.
What, you don’t have an income model? Oh please go ahead and figure out one now!
Hi Jane,
First of all - your son is SO adorable!
I found out about Ana’s post when I saw Ti’s post so I’m following along with this trilogy. I think it’s interesting to find out what the expectations are for earning money from our blogs. I never really had any expectations so any income I earn is a huge surprise and a bonus for me.
One thing you didn’t mention is your earnings from AdSense - are you using it on any of your blogs?
I’m using AdSense on Basic Blog Tips and on my YouTube channel and it is the only really consistent source of income that increases from month to month.
Ileane, sure he is adorable - he’s one of those souls that cheer me up every moment and is the sole reason I do what I do
By the way, yes I missed out Adsense - that was and is one of the failed experiments at least to me. I use it on some of my blogs; I earn just a few dollars each month - but always get direct advertisers to contact me for 10 times or even more rates for those ad spaces. So I always make the switch and make room for direct ads! Great to know it works (and consistently grows) for you
Jane your son is cute
thanks for the income break up it makes lot of new bloggers to think.
every blogger thinks just posting some info will get them huge bucks
cheers
Jane,
That’s really cool.
I get contacted by advertisers all the time but I never think to find out if they are the same one’s that show up on AdSense.
How do you check that?
Ileane, actually the direct advertisers are not the same ones as the adsense ads
I meant they contact me direct for the ad spot!
Personally, the income model I am trying to use for my blog would be direct ads. Although, since I don’t have much traffic compared to other bigger blogs, I’m trying to build it. I’m on a specific niche, country specific to be exact so I probably have a bigger chance of getting direct advertisers if I have decent traffic.
Hi Ileane,
Google Adsense is one of the simple way to earn money, however you generally make less earnings. That’s what I heard from various bloggers. Do you have any tips that help to earn more from Google adsense.
Hi Aasma,
I have a few posts on my blog with tips for increasing AdSense earnings. If you do a search over there I’m sure you will find some good ones. You can start with the one that I’m leaving in CommentLuv.
Let me know if you have more questions.
Hi Ileane,
I keep visit on your blog regularly, would certainly search there. Now I’m going to watch your mentioned YouTube video. Cheers!!
Ileane thanks for helping the folks here
I’m checking out your video as well! Haven’t got much success with Adsense!
I love this post. It is honest and true and makes the very important point that blogging is a long term strategy. Too many think they can blog for 6 months and make a fortune. But like you say it’s hard work. It’s about building a strong following, delivering quality content, defining your niche and putting your stamp on the world.
You’re right Celia. And there’s very less number of people who understand this whole thing before jumping in.
That really makes sense. Blogging without business orientation counts as something out of order. But people try to do their best forgetting that they are dealing with real people and not only search engines, right. As you wrote there are lots of ways to gain a traffic to your site but every blogger should stop and listen himself - what HE wants and HOW he wants it!
Evan well said - “out of order” - yes we put in a lot of time and effort just in vain if we don’t have a clear picture of what we want!
Hiii JaneSheeba, I think that selling products through blog, it can be easy to earn money And You gave me some useful info here. Thanks.
Selling products is not an “easy” way to make money Khadeer - I never said that
No doubt google adsenses is one of the simple way to earn money. I appreciate you on your this work.
Hi, Jane:
I loved this response post. I just discovered it as I was scrolling through the BizSugar submissions.
I appreciate you taking the time add your insights to this topic and divulge your income model.
It’s important for those new bloggers to see posts like Ana’s, yours and mine to get a clear understanding of what it takes in order to generate income from blogging.
As you read, as of right now my primary income model is affiliate marketing, however, that will be changing soon as I’ve recently gotten inspiration to create a product of my own.
I’m excited about it and eager to see how it pans out as an income source.
Again, job well done on this post; and thanks for the link love.
Ti
P.S. Your little boy is ADORABLE!!
Thanks for stopping by Ti. Looking forward to your new product. It will rock for sure
Jane,
I truly appreciate the thought you put into this post, and I think you brought up a couple of VERY good points.
Conversion: it’s my observation that the bigger a blog grows, the harder it is to convert the visitors simply because many of them are not my target market, as you rightfully noted.
It happens a lot when a blog gets ranked for more and more keywords that are “accidental” rankings and don’t really reflect what my blog is about.
For instance, a while ago I used song lyrics in a title of my post and ended up ranking for that (very popular) song.
I had to strip the post of any reminders of the song and it still took forever for that traffic to trickle down.
And the second good point you make is the type of income. What works on one blog might not work on another. I don’t like offering services, and I am very weary of spending too much time creating a product that might turn to be a bust.
I’ll just have to continue looking for what works for me and my readers.
Meanwhile, thank you so much for taking your time to write this.
Ana, yes the accidental ranking - that skews a lot of our analytics! And, I know that you don’t want to sweat it all with client work. But when I started to know about you initially, you were doing FREE blog audits and that’s what put you in my radar.
I was actually hoping that you are going to build a business merely based on these kinda consultation services! But you know, everyone has their own preferences and working style.
Thanks for stopping by.
wow nice post and also great tips that really helpful.I think blog is a deep knowledge about particular topic and even it can make popular yourself and your products thanks for post.
Hi jane,
I like your tips how we earn money blogging. It is really useful for me. I always inspire with your tips. You offered us so many interesting ideas and thoughts, that I have to think a little bit about this stuff.
Thanks for share me.
You’re very welcome Deepak!
Conversion is the most important aspect of traffic.
If you don’t work on this part of the traffic, you can put all of that traffic into the trash bin because it isn’t going o do anything.
Even though you can’t directly tell your traffic what to do, you can on your part influence them to make the right decision such as creating effect call to actions and beautiful opt-in boxes.
You made a great response to Ana, Jane
Thanks Sam. Yes we always need to analyze and keep tabs on what methods convert best and what kinda audience convert best. Otherwise our efforts will go waste, no matter how great they are.
Really nice post written by you. We all know the answer behind money blogging, just want to know answer by Google. Don’t have courage to try it.
Hello Jane,
You really did pass some great information and a good lesson for bloggers to learn from. The way i make money from my blog is through CPC/ CPM and i also render my services to others in need. i feel this way is less stressful and very easy to perform. and also the income is much better. Thanks
Hey Baba yes, having it all in services will really burn us out. We need to have some sort of passive income. CPC/CPM is good!
I have always say it, but I will repeat again. If the main purpose to be online is to make money, then blogging is not the right thing to do, go straight for e-commerce or try selling your own product. During the years many of my web projects have generate income from carefully selected niche with average conversion ration 41:1, I mean 41 visits equals one sale. With blogging probably it is 2000:1 with twice as much efforts.
Hey Carl, thanks for sharing what works for you. But I should say blogging really works great for many others, including myself!
I’ve been following all three of you ladies on this very interesting discussion.
Jane - thank you for breaking down the different ways you derive your income. What I really like about this is how you are all being open about the different ways/strategies there are. This has certainly helped to clarify a few things for me - a relative newbie.
Jane,
Great post. I have read Ana’s and Ti’s version on this same topic, too. I read a lot of blogs, but I rarely comment, hence, my first time here. (I guess that has to change.) I genuinely appreciate your breaking down your blogging revenue. And specifically, your call to action: figure out your income model if you haven’t one already.
Again, great post.
PS
Your little boy is truly adorable.
Hi, ive been reading and knowings bits of blogging that it will be hard. I’m glad to find your post as they are clear. Pardon that im poor in words and i’m looking into ecommerce blogging though. Thanks for your efforts.
I’m coming here from Ana’s blog and I must say that I’m sold. Very good and useful post.
Making money on the net, who doesn’t want it and who gets it? Strange as it seems on my last post I touched sligthly the same topic and the answer is that whatever gurus and experts say it’s hard and it takes time.
On my own blog I use Adsense and a couple of affiliate links, results are decent but it seems that Adsense has done its time and also a lot of visitors have ad blocking extensions or use mobile which for ads are killers. Having people to open the wallets for products is difficult too especially given the economic crisis where every dollar counts.
The answer isn’t easy but I think that the review-affiliate product model has lost a lot of its power. Now everyone knows that a review is usually a way to promote an affiliate product and as you correctly say either one already has the product or is not interested. Not many who begin to blog are interested in spending tens of dollars for professional products which 90 percent of times have a free alternative. And you can’t every month or so try to sell a new product to the same visitor because how many themes-plugins-services do I need to blog effectively? How much money do I have to spend for a blog which might earn me pennies for years?
Or for products that could be slayed by Google with the next update?
The problem hasn’t an easy solution. But this post is well thought and explains it well.
Do I have to add that I’m a new subscriber?
Andrea very welcome to my blog and to my newsletter
I’m so glad I could be of help! Google’s updates is something that adds to the complexity of the make money blogging equation! Convincing people to buy is also too hard these days!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your insights.
Hi Jane,
I’m reading this trilogy originated from Ana, replied by Ti and now your answer, Jane.
MMO is a theme that many people read very popular blogs, you know them, and take as example but this worked for them in the past, today things are different for “normal” bloggers.
SEO is changing every day, isn’t reliable as a source. Email lists are good because lets you to avoid the fluctuation of the SERPs, but they should be with the correct subscribers.
Having your own product is an idea that perhaps works, or not. I didn’t have time to make mine but I’ve the same fear of losing time to end in nothing.
Blog conversion is a must, in my case I spot foodies and several of them aren’t in buying-mood only looking for recipes 😉
I tried to sell foodie-books with no much luck. I started to see sales when I shifted my blog to be more technical and today I’m going to this equation.
I’m trying to convert better and to laser target my traffic. I agree traffic with conversions is useless unless you’ve a click-banner model.
Thanks for sharing your breakdown; I notice it is most technical.
I visit, when I can, your other blogs; are they have the same conversions and models? I’m talking about the diet & fitness or the one relationship-related; are they more banners oriented?
Cheers,
Gera
It is true that people search for that keyword and get inspired. But I think its the reason of some people’s Frustration too. Means they just have the motto to earn money. That’s the reason the get failed and leaves blogging. BTW nice Article Jane Mam.
Hi, insightful post! I think affiliate income can be a really difficult revenue stream. I get a lot of click throughs to affiliate products but very little to no conversions!
People have to see you as a ‘trusted advisor’ before buying products based on your recommendations. But it’s also that some people just simply remove your affiliate code before purchasing. These are two pretty common reasons I come across for not generating enough (or any ) income through affiliate marketing. I am sure there are more.
cheers
Jamie
Hi jane,
Thanks for share me your useful and informative thoughts. I will definitely follow your rule
Thanks for the article Jane. I am a firm believer that the greatest achievements in life are hard earned. This goes the same for me in blogging. Hard work and the right information are always the keys to any type of success.
hey its a really and useful post .making money blogging is useful and beneficial idea .thanxx for sharing such useful idea
More traffic equals more money? Of course, but you have to do your best to make your blog even more interesting and popular. Thank you for that brief eye opener, I may have revise that mantra of mine that says more traffic equals more income for me.
Hi, Jane. I found your post through Ana’s site and I was tickled to see my quote!
AdSense didn’t bring me anything in a year, so I dropped it. I’m trying affiliates while I finish my book (product), but that’s slow. Like Andrea said, I forget that ads in the sidebar don’t show up on mobile devices. Your comment about the time it takes to build a product and then it might be out of date is good food for thought.
I’m still trying to figure out that income stream.
I’m been researching on how to make money online since I spend a lot of time on the internet. You offered a lot of helpful insights. Thanks for the information.
Your son is just a darling! I’m on my last trimester and I can’t wait to see my little bundle of joy. I’m sure he’ll be as cute as yours. By the way, another great post. Thanks for forever sharing your knowledge with us.
Very good post. All you write is logic. I love read your article.
My blog still new..make money from blog not my priority. I more concentrate on quality article. But in same time but I still received a request in the form of advertorial or product reviews.
In fact, my blog has no advertising or banner. I agree to make money from blogs is not easy and very important point that blogging is a long term strategy.
I really enjoy read your article .. will keep follow your site..continue writing dear
Great information. This post really great help me. Amazing tips for earing money through blog.
Jane, That was really a inspired version for newbie’s like me but How can I make my revenue not just by Adsense. I mean how to get affiliated mediums?
Wow! your son is a cutie and keeper! This post was a great reminder how important conversations and keeping those conversations going. I personally feel you have to engage those conversations and really sometime pull those conversations out of people.
Also, very interested in sharing your income stream, it’s always nice to be vulnerable and helps others to open up as well.
Thanks for sharing,
Eric
Hi Jane,
I also read Ana’s recent post and was astounded, particularly as the day before I’d read another post remarking on how amazing her Alexa ranking was for a one-woman blog. Just goes to show, traffic and rankings don’t necessarily convert into income.
I really appreciate the advice you’ve given here because I haven’t started trying to make money from my blog yet, though plan to explore ways to do this in the coming year. My original intention was to go down the affiliate marketing route, and I’m still attracted to this option - however, I’m increasingly convinced that it will be hard to earn much money this way from a stand-alone blog, so I’ve just embarked on a course to learn more about setting up affilate websites, with a view to building additional sites.
My other idea is to write some Kindle eBooks.
Thanks for sharing your own strategies and giving us some very helpful tips,
Sue
Hi jane,Thanks for share me your useful and informative thoughts. I will definitely follow your rule.Thank a lot,,,,,!
Becoming a successful blogger and earning money online cannot be achieved overnight. Things should be worked hard.
Hello Jane. I think if Ana has a great product that identifies with her readership, she should do great. I also think she knows how to drive targeted traffic, but with many blogs it’s hard to keep on writing on one subject as it will seem your beating a dead horse with a stick.
The key is good content as that drives traffic and will make a blog post more interesting and popular. Thanks for the great insights!
This is an interesting concept Jane and I must say you have definitely made a difference in how I view money-making schemes on blogs. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Jane
Making money online is hard now and the work has to be put in consistently. I haven’t read traffic generation cafe. Going to have a look .i think the key is to find something that works for your blog and then stick to it. Sometimes finding what works best can be a long process which we all desire to find.
Great insight lee
That was a detailed post Jane, loved the way you explained everything. Personally money was the sole motive for me to turn into blogging, later I realised making money from a blog requires hard work and patience. When I started getting enough traffic and comments, I got another realisation, that I’m becoming pretty good at this! Now blogging is my passion, and making money.. it comes second.
Hello Jane,
I have read several of your comments at Biz Sugar and TGC. We are part of the same circle of bloggers, so I thought that is time to start commenting on your blog. I love your blog and the content you produce.
It is also wise to let new bloggers know that traffic is NOT equal to money. Traffic is always good. I will not deny.
Keep up the excellent work and passing the knowledge to your dedicated audience.
Many Blessings,
Stacie Walker
Woman in Leadership
Some sobering statistics in the detailed description of where income on the blog comes from…
I’m somewhat new to blogging, concentrating on affiliate sales because I
don’t have a product…both of which are at the low end of percentage of income produced on the blog,
Think I must take a long look at what I am trying to do and maybe go in a different direction.
Thank you for the share. Thought provoking at the least!
Great blog, Jane!
I’ve seen this post mentioned on Ti Robert’s blog so I went here to check it out myself
Yes, Oksana (Ana) certainly deserves MORE money, In fact, much more. We had a little conversation on her blog and Oksana said that trying to make more money could hurt her website. I’m not sure about it, but the decision is entirely up to her, of course.
How much do you make every month, from this blog? (of course if you are comfortable sharing such information).
By the way.. those pictures in your post.. they are so unrelated 😀
Also.. what plugin do you use for social media sidebar? I really like it.
Best wishes,
Aleks
Wow, great post Jane. Your personal income model should be helpful to any blogger who desire to make money from their blog. Your income model is very clear and simple. It should help new bloggers decide on a blog income plan.
Sharing information and helping others has always been my passion, however, I chose to start blogging because it is supposed to be a great way to drive traffic to your website where you’re marketing your product(s). Some experts said that a blog is the place to share information and not the place that you should be really marketing your product.
I am considering affiliate marketing as an additional source of income.
Thanks for sharing this great information!
Unfortunately your mistake is in your title. There are now too many Blogs and not enough Blog-readers. So it is now no longer possible to make money online with Blogging. It is an over-subscribed arena.
Every one can blog but a few can do money blogging. This is the simple rule to understand how damn difficult to earn money from a blog. It is one of the few professions where no shortcult leads you to your goal.