Does blogging actually make money? It’s a common question that I get asked and it’s one that I’m excited to answer. I started my blog just over a year ago and I can tell you that I’ve learned a lot in that time. From the technical aspects of setting up a blog to the business side of things, there’s a lot to learn. But one of the most common questions I get is, “Does blogging actually make money?” And that’s what I’m going to answer today. So, if you’re wondering if blogging can actually make you money, check out the rest of this article.
My first year of blogging yielded an income of $2,92664
I know what you’re thinking! $2,92664? That’s not a lot of money! But I didn’t start blogging with the intention of making money. I had a hobby that had grown into a passion, and I decided to monetize it. And I actually made money! Who knew?
I started my blog in November 2010
I started my blog in November 2010 and in December 2011 I made my first $100. I was thrilled! I had been blogging since October, but I didn’t start making any money until December—I was really proud of myself.
I was inspired to start a blog after reading about other women who were making money from home
It doesn’t matter if you want to start a blog because you love to write or to make money – it’s perfectly fine to start a blog for both reasons! Whatever your reason, you should know that starting a blog can be an incredibly rewarding experience. When you start a blog, you get to express your thoughts and ideas to the world. You can write about your journey through life and the struggles you’ve experienced. You can also use your blog to promote your business and services, or simply to help others.
I chose to focus on photography because I had a natural interest in the field
As a result, I developed a following on social media and Instagram, where I would share my photos. People would comment and ask questions, and I would respond and help them out. It wasn’t until I added an e-commerce aspect to my website, however, that I started to see growth in my business. I set up a subscription box that was customized to each customer based on what they had asked for, and they would pay me to send them a box every month.
I learned how to develop and process my photos before I started my blog
We all know how important quality photos are in content marketing. Before I started my blog, I spent hours learning how to edit my photos. I invested in a DSLR camera to take better photos, and I invested in editing software. I even attended online courses to learn how to edit videos and take better photos.
I began a daily photography blog in June 2012 and then later transitioned to a twice-weekly photography blog
As a result, I earned $1,936 in the first year of my blogging. This covered the cost of my camera, editing software, business card printing, website fees, hosting, and advertising. This income, however, isn’t exactly a huge sum—it’s enough to cover the cost of my hobby. But because I was building a brand and following an editorial calendar, I knew that my income would grow as I promoted my brand and built my audience.
I didn’t make that much money on my first post, but it’s the first one I had ever written
Have you ever written anything for the first time? Writing a blog post is similar to writing a term paper or a first-time email. It might take you a long time to learn what works and what doesn’t, and you might even start to believe that no one will read your blog. The truth is, you can make money blogging even if you aren’t a writer. The trick is to create content that people find valuable and share it with the right audience. But before you start writing, do some research to find out how you can make money blogging. There are tons of options, and some will work much better for you than others.
Writing a successful blog post can take time
Once you’ve written your post, it’s time to promote it. You can promote your post on social media so it will get more exposure, and you can write guest posts for other bloggers to help you gain exposure. The more exposure you get, the higher your page ranking will be, which means more traffic to your blog. If you want to make money from your blog, you need to consistently gain traffic to increase your revenue.
You need to understand your audience and what they care about
The number one reason why people don’t make money on their blog is because they have no idea who their audience actually is. You have to know who your audience is so you can provide them with what they want. If you don’t know, it’s incredibly hard to create a successful blog. The first step in figuring out who your audience is is to read your comments and find out what they’re interested in the most. Then, you can start creating content that they’re interested in. The more that you do this the easier it will be for you to create a successful blog.
Make your content relevant
If you write about fitness, you’re going to attract people who are interested in fitness. If you write about makeup, you’re going to attract people who are interested in makeup. But if you write about how to get a job in your field, you’re not going to attract people who want to be sales associates. You need to figure out what your audience is interested in and write about that. You can do the same when you promote your content. Relevant content gets you more shares, which can increase your traffic.
Write your post with passion
It might sound obvious, but if you don’t passionately write about whatever your topic is, people won’t care about it and you’ll lose them quickly. If you’re not interested in your topic, why should other people be? To gain an audience, you need to care about what you’re writing about. Otherwise, people won’t want to read your content.
Edit, edit, edit
The biggest mistake I made when starting a blog was not editing it enough. There is no worse feeling than writing an article that sounds unprofessional and makes you feel embarrassed. Before you post, make sure to proofread and edit everything. Even spell check isn’t enough, and you definitely don’t want to post an article that has spelling and grammar mistakes.
I didn’t have any ad revenue in place
If you want to turn your blog into a business so you can stop working a full-time job, you need to have some sort of revenue in place before you start blogging. After all, if no one is buying your products or services, then you won’t have a business! And in order to get people to buy from you, you need to advertise. Advertisements can take many forms, whether they’re displayed as banner ads, sponsored posts, or in your email newsletters.
Without any revenue in place, your Google My Business listing will be inactive
If you don’t pay for a Google My Business listing, Google will mark it as not verified. This means it won’t show up in Google search results and its information won’t be displayed on Maps or in the Google Assistant. To fix this, you’ll need to verify your business listing. Once it’s verified, it will show up in search results and on Maps.
If your listing is inactive for a certain period of time, it will be deactivated, and you will not be able to reactivate it until you earn ad revenue
AdSense will automatically deactivate your account if it hasn’t been used for a certain period of time. When the account is deactivated, you will not be able to see any of your earnings or manage your account. If you want to reactivate your account, you will need to have earned $100 in the last 12 months. If you don’t earn $100 within the first 12 months of setting up AdSense, you will be locked out of your account for a year.
Your listing will also drop to the bottom of the list in the local search results
Not only will your content appear lower on the results page, but it will also lose the ability to rank organically for the related search terms that visitors used to find your website. To fix this, you’ll need to optimize your local SEO. We suggest that you optimize your local citations, your business listings on directories, and your content. If you have a brick and mortar location, make sure to add your address, hours, and phone number to your Google My Business profile. You can also add a link to your website so that it appears in Google Maps.
If you do not have any ad revenue in place, you will get a low quality score from Google
If you are wondering why your AdSense account hasn’t been approved yet, it could be because Google is checking your website for quality and authenticity. If you don’t have enough high quality content on your website (or if you have spammy content on your website), then you are going to have a difficult time building an audience through AdSense. This is because Google will want to make sure that you are not using AdSense as a way to make quick bucks.
If you do not have enough ad revenue, you could have other issues with your listing and Google could remove it altogether
The other issue with no ads is that you could lose your entire Google Adsense account. The Google Adsense program allows one person to have multiple accounts. If Google suspects that you are trying to game the system, they will lock you out of all of your Adsense accounts. So, you definitely do not want to run into this issue. Adsense allows you to set the amount of money that you want to make off of each Adsense site. So, if you have five sites with Adsense, you can set each site to make $20 per month. If you do not have enough traffic to make $20 per month, you could lose that Adsense account.
I had a lot of expenses that year
You’ll definitely want to think about all of your expenses before starting a blog. Did you need to pay for childcare? Will you need to pay for office space? Do you need to replace your laptop or pay for software upgrades? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you definitely want to make sure you budget for them.
My electricity bill went up because I had to pay more to heat my new apartment
There’s no way around it. There’s no way to make money without using energy. And when you’re first starting out, you’re going to use a lot more energy than you would if you had a full-time job. If you decide to move to a new apartment, there will be additional expenses related to things like buying new appliances and paying for more utilities. These are all just expenses you have to deal with when you’re first starting out.
My water bill went up because I had to pay higher rents
If you live in a building, such as an apartment or house, you are responsible for paying the utilities for that space. So, if you live in a large apartment complex, you’ll pay for the electricity and water that are used by all the other tenants as well as for your own use. If you recently moved into an apartment that you didn’t pay for as an independent adult, you might have to pay a higher rent to account for the increased utility costs.
My gas bill went up because I had to pay higher gas prices
This one is pretty easy. Of course, you’re going to pay more in general if the price of gas goes up. But let’s be honest: gas prices are still way lower than they were just a few years ago. This means that you’re going to have to drive less and be more willing to carpool or use public transportation. If you really need to drive everywhere, you may want to look into bike riding or scooter riding. You’ll save money on gas, and you’ll also be more environmentally friendly.
In conclusion, if you’re thinking about starting a blog, go for it! It can be a great way to earn some extra money. Just be sure to do your research and set realistic expectations for yourself.
