Find out how I make money blogging and how this website grew from being a small, craft hobby blog to my full time income!
Why I Started This Blog
When I first started this blog almost 10 years ago, I had no intention of making money with it. At the time, I had my own yarn dyeing business. We had a small alpaca herd and my main business was creating, hand dyeing and marketing my own line of luxury alpaca yarn.
The only online presence I had was my Etsy shop and a Facebook page. But, I figured out very quickly that I needed my own website. This, however, was not getting much attention at all! If you’ve ever tried to get traffic to a website, you will understand how hard that can be.
After doing some research about online marketing, I came across an article which talked about using blogging to draw people to your website. The internet thrives on new content and a never changing, static website just can’t compete without paying a lot of money for advertising. Well, I didn’t have any money for ads. What I had was time and knowledge.
My blog was born! Not this FiberArtsy version but a simple, free WordPress page where I shared tutorials and articles related to my yarn business. I started gaining followers and thought I may be onto something.
Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links which means if you click and buy,
we may receive a small commission. See full Disclosure for details.
Can You Really Make Money Blogging?
A few more years and loads of research later, I realized I could make much more money writing the blog than killing myself with my very physically demanding yarn business. It was by no means an overnight success … no, honestly it took years. But, I also didn’t know what I was doing!
Fast forward and I am now making my living with this blog. Yes, it is absolutely possible but realize that making money blogging is not easy and takes a lot of time.
There is so much hype about blogging and you’ve probably seen the posts “Make a 100K in your first six months blogging!”. “Earn $10,000 a month working 2 hours a week!” Well, I’m sorry but that is just not realistic. Has it been done, sure. Can it be done again, maybe. But, it’s very unlikely.
What is very possible, though, is making a decent side income or even full time income with a blog. And, if you are passionate about something, you are already a step ahead.
How This Blog Makes Money
My blog currently has 2 income streams. Ad Network revenue and Affiliate income. What the heck does that mean??
Ad Network Income
My main source of income comes from the ads you see on the site. Some are in the sidebar, some within my tutorials and there is one long ad at the bottom.
How much I earn depends on a lot of different factors: number of visitors to my blog, time of year (or month), holiday seasons, etc. so my income can vary a lot.
Affiliate Income
In a nutshell, this blog earns a commission or affiliate income when someone clicks on a link and buys a product or signs up for something.
Since this is a craft blog and therefore the majority of my posts are how-to’s or tutorials of some kind, I promote a lot of craft related products.
For instance, I am affiliated with a yarn company and I share links to some of their yarn products in my blog posts. If a visitor clicks on that link and buys yarn, I earn a commission. The yarn doesn’t cost the buyer any more money but the company pays me for the referral.
There are tons of affiliate programs no matter what your niche is. Amazon, of course, is the big one but there are lots of smaller companies and affiliate networks, as well.
Shareasale is an affiliate network with many different companies, no matter what niche your blog is in.
Other Blog Income Possibilities
At this time, those are my two avenues of blog income. There are, however, many other ways your blog can make money.
Sponsored Posts:
A sponsored post is an article or post where you receive some kind of compensation such a money or a free product. For instance, if you are a lifestyle blogger, a laundry detergent company may pay you to write an article about their product. Some bloggers make a ton of money on sponsored posts!
Selling Your Own Product:
Another great way to make money with your blog is to create and sell something. This can be an E Book, a Membership to a Forum or a Course or Workshop of some kind. Again, there is a lot of income potential in selling products on your blog. I am planning to create a workshop in the coming year.
Are You Ready to Make Money Blogging?
If I haven’t deterred you completely and you are ready to give blogging a try, head on over to How to Start a Blog. This article will show you the logistics and first steps of starting a blog or website.
How to Make Money with a Blog for Beginners
