Make Money Blogging: When Will You Be Making A Sustainable Blogging Income?

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Make Money Blogging

While I’m starting to write this post I have Market Samurai look for the appropriate keywords to use, but I know what I want to say, ask and suggest.

Because people who make a sustainable blogging income don’t blog around great keywords, they blog around what they know, what they’re passionate about. Because you won’t make a sustainable blogging income until you…

Find your passion

If you want to blog as blog business and make a living of it, of the sustainable and passive income kind, you have to find something you’re absolutely passionate about.

I mean, you can write a blog post each day of the week if that’s what you’re audience wants from you. The interest to research, watch trends, break new grounds, etc depends on how passionate you are about your topic/niche.

That’s what I did with my publishing blog. I found something that I liked, a lot, and I started blogging about it. I started interacting, connecting and learning (a lot).

And because of my constantly researching the niche, I managed to break a whole new industry, namely internet marketers and bloggers making money and becoming experts through self publishing their material. I started that movement.

Being passionate about this and breaking new ground, leading the way into a new industry or way to make money got me an award. I won an ‘The best…’ kind of award from internet marketers and bloggers who are my peers.

And that was great for me, not only about the recognition then, but it’s something no-one can ever take away from me as a blogger. Because of one, I naturally endeavor to win more. But if you want to make a sustainable income month-in and month-out you have to make it your focus to…

Drive traffic to your blog business

I’m doing things a little topsy-turvy. I got all the other marketing knowledge, built products and know what affiliate products sell.

I’m hooked into the right networks, have great mentors and I get the best stuff first in my industry. But the only thing lacking is great traffic; not just fast track traffic.

Sure, I have great days I call ‘flash-in-the-pan’-traffic. But, what you want is great traffic, consistently. As I said, I’m only really figuring this out now and the plan I’m using is far too comprehensive to post here, but you can see my action plan here.

Most of it is proven theory which I’m testing, and so far I’m happy with it. My problem is doing all of that, with each post, and finishing the cycle before I post again. But all that traffic is wasted until you are able to…

Capture leads

Many of the internet and blogging marketers I talk to or read, including Zac Johnson, John Chow, Ryan Deiss and Andy Jenkins say that they wish they started building their list (or any other way of building leads - be it social media) from the start.

You hack away at traffic generation methods, and even though at the end you keep what works and what doesn’t, keeping the best and throwing away the worst - you leave a lot of money on the table not capturing leads from the very beginning.

Every website I launch where I am somehow invested in it’s success, I build a lead capturing system into it from the beginning. Because if I’m doing Google/Facebook ads, CPA, PPC or whatever advertising model I am using, it’s really money down the drain if you don’t capture leads from the start.

And let’s face it, creating content is a way of advertising yourself and what you have to offer, so even with no money down, it’s still important.

Below are some quick tips you have to consider when it comes to lead generation.

  • Whatever you are giving away, be it a report, a webinar, a video series, coupons or whatever, make sure it’s targeted. It should capture the attention of your target market immediately, and it must be so valuable, relevant and important for your leads to get, that they won’t think twice about getting it.
  • Make sure that you build in a lead capturing form that get’s people’s attention straight away when they visit the site (for this, you will need an email autoresponder service like Aweber). Suggestions here would be a pop up capture form, a capture slider above the fold as you will see with Ana Hoffman’s site and Jane’s as well.
  • Recently, I see a lot of pro bloggers have a lead capture form at the bottom of every post, which I think makes a lot of sense (again you could easily implement lead forms automatically using a plugin like Immediate List Building Pro).
  • You could also have it in the sidebar, but I think this may be overkill and unnecessary if you’re using the other methods mentioned above.

Ultimate monetization for sustainable blogging income

Yes, I just made up that word, and if a bloggers dictionary ever get invented, I hope not only is it placed, but I am I also credited with coining it. What does it mean?

I would say it means the best and most lucrative way for you to make money from your blog. Let’s look at the model I’m working on right now:

  • Find one product (be it your own or affiliate) that you have tested yourself (so you know it’s great value) and make that the end of your funnel.
  • This one product you would know has the following characteristics: It’s a great product you bought yourself, it gives you a fair commission for you producing the lead (or it’s your own product that’s worth your time, and affordable), and it’s evergreen (meaning the information stays relevant).
  • Make sure you have your ‘customers’ caught in some kind of lead list. Then you give them an opportunity to become a member of your site, in which you offer them premium information and tutorials you DO NOT make available on your blog. Mike Filsaime says this is the best way to end your monetization funnel, because it’s forever.

I have taken a while to figure out the above monetization plan, but I have found the right product that pays me handsomely for my traffic. It has numerous ways of hooking people into the funnel and they even pay me for my leads. It’s great, and the comm is great.

Sustainable blogging income: Why this question?

I asked you a question in the title, and what I mean by that is this: A lot of people are starting to write candid posts on their blog, especially about how they’re struggling and how they’re not making as much money as their fans and readers think they’re making.

For instance, read Ana’s post on the topic here >> Why Traffic Generation Cafe is not making as much money as it should

and Jane’s reply on for the topic (plus she shares her income streams) >> Make money blogging: Insight, Reply to Ana and Ti and My Own Income Streams.

This is important to note because it means a couple things:

  • You may not be doing as bad as you thought. Be encouraged and work out a plan for you to make the most of your blogging efforts.
  • The rosy pictures that may have been drawn about blogging, and online business is not as fairy-taley (another made up word) as it seems. You CAN make money blogging from home, but you need multiple income streams, like: a product or favorite affiliate product, a membership portion on your site/blog and perhaps an amazon ebook.
  • You can still make a great success of your blog business. For more on how I do that, read my post on Basic Blog Tips titled ‘Why you should make your blog a business’. Don’t be demotivated, not everyone is doing great.

I asked this question because only once it’s a goal you chase everyday does it become something you can reach. We all would like to blog full time, but until you have a plan to have it overtake the income you get from our day jobs, does it become sustainable.

So, how can you do great? When you focus on getting a sustainable income from your blog. Don’t be like a dog chasing it’s tail, or a chicken running around with it’s head off. Get direction as follows:

  • Research the best and latest methods (on anything).
  • Test, test, test.
  • Analyze, keep what works, change what doesn’t.
  • Rinse and repeat.

So, when will your blog become sustainable? (That’s your cue to comment)..

Ivin Viljoen helps the South African unemployed set up home businesses by working online with his home business startup report, he’s the Editor-in-chief of Authopublisher and recent father of a beautiful baby boy.

Name: Email: 0 subscribers We respect your privacy Email Marketingby GetResponse Jane Sheeba has an excellent understanding of blogging ~ Annabel Candy
  • http://www.thetraveltart.com Anthony

    Sustainable blogging income is one of the hardest things to accomplish - not many others have been successful. I think the key is to keep trying, testing and measuring, and eventually it wil come off. Surely it’s possible to gain a sustainable income from the billions of internet users out there!

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Yeah, I mentioned in the post I referred to that you need to try and localize what you have to offer and become an expert locally.

  • Aasma

    Hi Ivin,

    You’ve certainly wrote an honest post here. I mean nobody can guarantee you a time when you start making money or sustainable income. You have to research and analyze yourself what’s working for you and what’s not. Make changes and see the difference, only then you can make consistent earning.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Hello Aasma. When you work hard, success comes quicker, speed that up by working smarter and you have a winning formula.

  • Sarah

    For a sustainable income you’ve to follow non-stop working formula. It is simple as that “Keep Working, Keep Earning”. isn’t it?

    • Ivin Viljoen

      You have a good point there Sarah. I think the biggest challenge is getting a steady income, because doing an affiliate sale this month and selling an ad two months later is a great demotivator. I would say find out who are your current supporters, target more of them and find out what problems they have that you may be able to solve. I think that’s how you’ll become more sustainable.

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/ashran Ashutosh

    Wow nice post Sir ,
    Everyone want money there a lot of way to earn it but a right way give us money pleasure and satisfaction .

    • Ivin Viljoen

      That’s right Ashutosh. It’s all about research and testing and putting in a little more work.

  • http://www.templatesreview.com Evan

    Great post, I really like this, however, it is not that easy to get to that level where you can make money out off your blog if you cannot be persistent enough. This is because discouragement will surely come around and if you can’t stand it, you will definitely give up. Blogging need more than passion to generate enough money, you got to be determined, no matter what comes your way.
    The point number up there is the one that really makes the most sense to me as a person. If you can create your own product, then you can make much through blogging couple with adsense when you got enough traffic.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Yeah,. I’ve never tried Adsense and I don’t think I will. I think it’s because as a South African I always struggle with them .

  • Rashmi Sinha

    Great insight into the reality of blogging IvinViljoen.

    Like any other thing in the world, blogging too needs passion and commitment. For me it is more than currency notes. It is what I love to do.

    Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Hello Rashmi. I like that you said it’s more than currency. It make a great deal of sense to be driven by passion and love for something and some say the money follows that.

      • Rashmi Sinha

        Yeah…I believe it is all about the effort you put in, rest will come along the way for sure. You just have to keep moving forward.

  • Pat Drummond

    At lot of people who don’t understand blogging will say it’s a great way to make money passively. However, keeping it sustainable and ensuring long term success really requires a lot of effort, some of which you mentioned here. It’s not only the writing part, but it’s the whole SEO thing, and it’s the part when you are trying to provide a value to your readers and build a following. This requires work. Connecting with your readers takes effort period.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Hello Pat. I also don’t see how you can say blogging is passive income. It’s very much active. Some of your posts, if they’re pillar content and evergreen my be passive earners, but not a blog as a whole.

  • http://www.squidoo.com/xml/syndicate_lensmaster/lofiegos Diego Martin

    Hi there Ivin, very interesting post indeed. I think that we all have to work harder than the old days to succeed. There is no such thing as a “passive income”. IMO, you have to work every single day and be consistent in order to succeed online. Just my two cents :)

    • Ivin Viljoen

      That makes a lot of sense Diego. Everyday maintenance is what it’s all about. You don’t necessarily have to post everyday, but a little love and attention once a day does everything(body) good.

  • John

    Really it is informative post. First thanks to author for sharing this valuable information. I am also a blogger, So it is very amazing post for me. I think every new/professional blogger needs this article, so please never delete it.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Thanks John. I don’t think we’ll ever delete it.

  • http://www.latesthunt.com/ Sudipto

    Hey Ivin,
    Nice post and Yes, sustainable blogging income is one of the hardest thing to achieve in the blogging and for this we have to makes lot of hard work in staring and update regularly our blog and makes link with other bloggers to achieve it. Thanks for sharing this post.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      I’ll tell you what the challenge is for me Sudipto. It’s that I make an awesome blogging plan, but then the daily contract work sometimes keeps me busy that I cannot do all I need to do.

  • http://emfastincome.com Enstine Muki

    You have surely created the word Ivin. It makes sense to me. It’s one thing to have a blogging income and another thing to have it a sustainable blogging income.

    I think testing before promoting a product that gives a fair commission is an important point Ivin. You make more money if you promote a product from experience (Not because you have read reviews or salespage).

    Impressive article from a big brother

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Thank you for your kind words Ernstine.

  • Andrea Hypno

    Not everyone is doing great. So much truth in a simple sentence.

    It’s a while that I’m going around the blogosphere and I must say that it took me one year to begin scratching the surface and beginning to understand blogging, especially because every two months Google changes its rules and what was advised or permitted becomes kinda black hat seo. Hint: ads above the fold.

    And I’ve understood that many bloggers have fake earnings, usually before trying to sell a course or an ebook teaching you how to make money blogging. At the end how can you check their earnings? 1.000 bucks from Adsense only! 4.000 bucks without Adsense! How to write your own ebook in a week and make 5.000 bucks per month on Amazon! And so on.

    Usually these are just baits to sell their own product to someone, or the product of their friends. I’m always amazed when a top dog of the blogging world comes out with a new product to see how many friends he or she has, all trying to push sales.

    The truth is that making money on the net is hard work and a bit of luck. Plus maybe years, like a normal business, just a little bit faster. But I think that those who really earn more than 1.000 dollars every month from blogging alone can be well below 1000 in the whole world.

    But, well, blogging is addictive so we simlply can’t stop trying, we might be lucky and hit a golden vein. :)

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Hello Andrea. I hate it when Google keeps changing it’s rules. I think there’s a lot more than 1000 making more than 1k, but I personally think blogging is an art that’s not the same (blueprint they can follow) for everyone. You need to find your place in the world and see what of the tricks and gimmicks work for you.

  • Pitzer

    I believe that the power to make money online relies on the traffic. Your website must have real visitors for it to attract clicks. Therefore, the point on ‘generating traffic’ is very much ok. Thank you for the article.

    • Ivin Viljoen

      Hello Pitzer, not just traffic, but targeted traffic. And you need to work the traffic, siphoning it off to build leads into a funnel. Not all traffic is sales traffic.

  • http://www.moneyearningmethods.net PrIyAnGsHu

    Hi Ivin, I strongly agree with your points. Blogging is not a “get rich overnight” scheme, it takes some significant time to be actually able to make money out of a blog. We must at first curate and publish proper content on it, do search engine optimization, drive in enough traffic and finally monetize it to make some revenue out of it.

    • Ivin

      Hello PrIyAnGsHu. Whoever teaches you can get rich overnight (or with running autoblogs) is teaching the wrong thing. I believe SEO should not be your only focus, but it helps. But being so fickle you should never put all your hopes ion that one traffic basket.

  • http://www.blogsmartguide.com Phanindra

    List building definitely works out in long run which many people don’t realize in the beginning. When trust and good rapport is established List always creates sustainable income but only when right quality products are promoted.

    Many bloggers don’t realize this point and keep on promoting the products just to make out their affiliate marketing but ultimately fail.

    Regards
    Phanindra

    • Ivin

      Hello Phanindra. I am now teaching that to all my students. Build your list from the beginning. You shouldn’t monetize from the start, but definitely build a list.

      • http://www.technreviews.com vicky

        Hi Ivin,

        Thats a great post. I haven’t tried my hand yet in the list building and after reading your post, I regret that I may lost my customers and should have been doing it from the beginning. The journey is long but we have to have patience and keep on doing the right work. It will pay off ultimately.

  • http://www.protravelnetwork.com/ Jessica

    Great post, I really like this, however, it is not that easy to get to that level where you can make money out off your blog if you cannot be persistent enough. This is because discouragement will surely come around and if you can’t stand it, you will definitely give up.

    • Ivin

      Oh, I hear you loud and clear Jessica. There is lots of discouragement around in this game. Best to pull your chin up, buck up and onto the next post.

  • http://www.shareusall.com vishnu kumar

    Thank you Pal, I have never tried this tips, it was hard to implement. we have to put more efforts and non stop working for sustainable income. but after reading this article it might be quite easy implement

    • Ivin

      Glad you enjoyed the article Vishnu.

  • RIchard

    It’s interesting… I’m not sure that blogging with the goal of sustainable income can be accomplished by most. First, I think that it’s very hit or miss. It depends on your style, your content, and how you get the traffic….

    But… if you follow the view that you post about what you are passionate about the traffic will come isn’t exactly true. If you niche is SO small, you are always going to have a very small amount of traffic.

    • Ivin

      It’s definitely hard work, Richard. But a sustainable income is possible. Your funnel and business plan must just be set up to build trust with prospective customers and not focus on erratic traffic and sales.

      • RIchard

        Well, let me ask you this - what do you consider sustainable income?

        Let me put it differently. I think that a number of people start blogging thinking that they can make $10,000 a month doing it. While I’m sure it is possible, I think those who do are VERY few and far between.

        • Ivin

          Well, Richard. A sustainable income is one that takes care of your family and then some. It’s one that you build a business around. $10k a month is harder when you are already in the rat race, but it’s possible. I work on this full time, but I’m in Africa, so I need less to be sustainable. But my income is from a media company with many divisions.

          So, my dream is to become a full time blogger, and for that to happen I need my blogging to become sustainable. I hope it answers your question.

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/haran harish

    great post !!!very well described and justify the title,,,this is very helpful and useful for making money online

    • Ivin

      Thanks you Harish. Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with.

  • http://www.protravelnetwork.com/ Jessica

    Thank you Pal, I have never tried this tips, it was hard to implement. we have to put more efforts and non stop working for sustainable income.Thanks a lot for this post!

    • Ivin

      Pleasure Jessica. I hope you were inspired.

  • Sanjib Kumar Saha

    Now blogging has become a tool for get rich quick scheme and many gets into it without knowing the basic things of blogging. And now as you have said Blogging gives us sustainable income only after a sustainable amount of work done on it.

    • Ivin

      I like your reference to basics, because that is the only way this works, practicing the right basics and having that yield results. And your reference to a sustainable income is brilliant, it cannot begotten unless a sustainable amount of work is done.

  • http://writeclever.com Sue Neal

    Hi - you offer some very helpful advice here. At the end of the day, it’s all about having the right strategy and implementing it effectively - I think a lot of people dive in by setting up websites and blogs and even building a list, without working out exactly how they’re going to make money from it.

    Thanks very much for giving us the benefit of your experience in this post,

    Sue

    • Ivin

      Oh, that’s a good thing to look at Sue, how will you make money? And your own product is probably the best idea. If you build your blog around what you expertise in, you’ll have no problem writing great, sticky, pillar content - and you’ll have no problem making one that’s valuable.

      Everyone has a product and a book inside of them, not everyone can make a product or build an eCommerce website. The best advise I can give anyone in this regard, is don’t try and learn to do everything yourself. Outsource it to people who know what they’re doing… I am able to do everything myself, but it took me 6b years to get to this point, whereas if I outsourced more, I would have had a sustainable blog business sooner.

  • Osho Garg

    To earn from blogging continuously is a difficult task if you are not active. A blogger needs to have a good plan to get successful in blogging world. A blogger must needs to apply new technique as everyday new websites are launching.

    Thanks for sharing some important tips.

    • Ivin

      Good point Asho, you gotta be active. And your comment on staying current on trends is also important. Just be careful of information overload as well as trying too many things and trying every new fad, Find things that work and build on them…

  • shafeeq

    I really like this, however, it is not that easy to get to that level where you can make money out off your blog if you cannot be persistent enough. This is because discouragement will surely come around and if you can’t stand it, you will definitely give up. Blogging need more than passion to generate enough money,

    • Ivin

      Hello Shafeeq. Being persistent is important, passion is great, but passion like faith needs action to bring your dreams to manifestation.

  • http://www.mindthenews.com/my-indian-idol-junior-2013-season-1-auditions-starts/ Ruchi

    Making money from blogging is not so easy as it sounds. You have given quite nice tips on the subejct though. If you hope to earn a good amount from blogging business, then you need to be patient enough to wait for many months or years.

    • Ivin

      It doesn’t have to be years, Ruchio, but that’s unfortunately how long it took me to learn everything I know.

  • Charles

    This information will be quite handy! Thank you. I have been designing websites for a few years and looking into starting my own blog. Just not sure how to do it. But, with the multitude of free web design programs, I think blogging is my next online venture. Do you suggest I start with a free blog theme, or should I start with a “bang?”
    I would like to generate some money eventually from this blog (since I am not making any w/ web design these days)! Thanks again for this much needed advice/article.

    • Ivin

      Charles, I also do web designing and I would go for premium theme. I have a good supplier where I pay a small subscription and have access to tons of themes, both for my blog as well as my design division. Contact me through my site and I’ll hook you up, ok?

  • http://www.bestlodge.blogspot.com chamal

    IvinViljoen,this is a great post.we have to work hard to get some money.Good works=more visitors=more money…
    Thanks for sharing your words with us…!

    • Ivin

      Thanks Chamal. I wish it was as simple as you explained it, but yes, that’s the gist of it.

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/deepran deepak mehra

    Hi jane,

    This is another one of the great article!! really it is great article. It designed so simle and unique!!

    Thanks for share with me!!

  • http://techbuzzes.com Mohammed Siadath Ali

    hey,
    thanks for providing such a wonderful information.
    i was wondering on how to make money using my blog, after reading your post i got an idea on making money. thanks for this wonderful tips.

    • Ivin

      Pleasure Mohammed. Remember to take action on what you learn .

  • http://www.crmsuccessplans.com MScott

    Kim Roach (Buzz Blogger and My Traffic Mentor) just ran a webinar yesterday talking about the big problem that many bloggers may fall trap to: They get pretty good at generating traffic coming to their site - but then they let most of it “leak away” by not doing all they can to capture it in one way or another. That really you can’t just throw up an opt in and a pop up here and there and expect to win…

    It takes more than that - a combo of things.

    So: multiple income streams AND multiple ways to funnel and keep the traffic!

  • Ivin

    Sounds like you got Mscott. It makes a lot of sense.

  • http://www.premiumessays.net Brown Williams

    I understand that blogging is not an easy affair. Most of the time I realise that I make peanuts from my efforts, however after reading this article, I am exuding confidence that I will make a better and substantial income from my blogging.

  • Doreen Dickens

    Blogging is something that requires a lot of patience and hard work. I believe in the initial stages, the idea should bot be about how much money one can make rather about how to establish oneself. This way you will not be frustrated when you don’t make any money. A great post this is. Thanks for sharing