How was I able to turn this blog into a job? First of all, I started treating it like a job. Then, also money arrived.
I woke up one day and reckoned that since I had been regularly writing on this blog for almost 10 years, I could turn it into more than a pastime and make it part of my job. I also owe this decision to my friends who gave me advices and suggestions. Therefore, I started studying and mainly read the suggestions of those who “had made it”.
(get more fast tips on blogging by following me on Instagram and watching my Insta Stories)
Now, two years after that morning (or was it afternoon or evening, I can’t remember), I make money off my blog too.
Not (yet) much to be able to do nothing else and keep my vices at the same time, like making a few trips.
Guess what I do now?
Before telling you about how I started “making money” (read WORKING, and hard) with my blog, let me tell you what really didn’t work about the suggestions of other bloggers and that I honestly don’t think will work well with other people who have a blog with the same features as this one, that is:
- run by a single person
- not supported by any editor or group of feature writers (clearly underpaid or not paid at all)
- with less than 100,000 visitors daily traffic
- totally based on principles of ethical behaviour and the respect for its the readers.
Let’s begin:
People will tell you about the Adsense and related links to gain some money
Many posts I’ve read referred to Google Adsense first.
It’s actually easy to sign up for the program and include advertising spaces in every article or on the main pages, if contents are enough and the blog has been regularly updated for a while.
Yet, it will be hard to get to the necessary views required to make at least 10 euros, let alone getting to 50 euros in order to redeem one’s “money price”.
I haven’t earned more than 100 euros a page with my blog yet, and I think I will remove the Adsense shortly (you know, I always dream of waking up with one million views a day. If you hope that too, go ahead).
They’ll tell you about the Related links.
You know when you visit a site with many views, which deals with gossip or fake news that appear on your Facebook or under the galleries you would like to watch (but that you always find it difficult to go through), and there you find articles such as “Find out how this celebrity was able to lose 10 kg in a month” or “Plastic surgeons hate this seaweed”?
Well, such links refer to other blogs and related articles, which have a questionable scientific value and, in my opinion, a poor ethic too.
By relying on such programs, you’ll sell your blog soul for a few cents per click, and you’ll might end up losing all your credibility for such a generous reward.
People used to make deals with the devil once, at least they got good rewards. Today, we risk everything for nothing.
I’ve given Link we love a try: upon registration, you can select a range of preferences about the topics you and your readers are mostly interested in, such as “spare time, travels”, just like I did.
The articles that go with yours and direct visitors away from your blog (something that a blogger must do everything to avoid) should supposedly focus on such topics. It NEVER happens, though.
What happens is that you find the above articles in your blog that deals with totally different topics. Are you writing an article about responsible travelling in Botswana? Be aware that, at the end of your post, there will be a link to give you advices on how to get the same ass as Bélen (well then, were they at least useful advices…). I obviously signed out of the program after a week.
They’ll tell you about money with membership programs
Membership programs are online systems that connect companies that would like to promote themselves on blogs to increase their online credibility and bloggers (or publishers) who do not refuse the idea of earning some money through company promotion.
So far, nothing that makes your skin itch. I’ve been a user of Tradedoubler and Seeding Up, but you’ll find more in many bloggers articles. To be able to sign up, your traffic must be medium high, yet the compensation is often equal to a few cents per click.
To be clear: I have a traffic of about 15,000 single visitors per week and I’ve earned 50 euros by including an advertisement of Trivago on my blog… just because my dad clicked thousands of times a day on it.
Tradedoubler basically invites you to join some advertising programs, to allow you to publish advertisements on your blog. You don’t make money out of a single view but – per click – or per thousand views (in terms of money, 0,70 cents per 1,000 banner views, if you’re lucky).
Then, I tried Seeding Up: through this site, you can decide what price to assign to a sponsored post. In my case, an advertiser (car rental) asked me to publish an article with 3 backlinks for 30 euros. I accepted their offer and wrote the article. The article was accepted.
Small problem: the article will be paid in 12 instalments.
Another small problem: Seeding Up sometimes sends automated e-mails stating that there’s something wrong with the link in the article (that you’ve never modified by the way) and that if you don’t fix the mistake they couldn’t explain, your payment will be interrupted.
So, you have to start sending e-mails to their customer service until you lose your temper. Needless to say, I interrupted the program by leaving to Seeding Up the rest of my 2,50 euros a month instalment, namely 20 euros. 
Well, what can be done then?
In this pays-per-click and Euro cents chaos, aimed at promoting companies with multi-million-euro turnover that often don’t even pay their taxes in Italy, more than finding a solution it was the solution that found me. We have actually chased each other.
1 – Take care of the followers
Create a solid and loyal traffic of visitors who frequently come back to your blog and comment your posts. In case you find it hard to achieve this naturally, join the Facebook groups of other bloggers to bring them on your blog. I started just for fun, and I later realized that this method helps reduce the bounce rate while increasing authoritativeness and traffic.
2 – Besides traffic, think of your page authority
Remember, don’t be selfish and self-centred. Write comments and share the articles of other blogs. Not just because sharing is fun; every comment given by registering with your blog URL on other people’s blogs actually increases your web authority on the topics you deal with.
This way, companies, press offices and membership sites will get in touch with you themselves. I’ve found out the level of my Page Authority thanks to a brokerage firm that reached out to me for a sponsored post 
3 – Post and comment regularly
A good ranking on the search engines is clearly necessary to increase your credibility and the number of visits to your blog. In order for this to happen, you should regularly write articles that are consistent with your topics, at least once a week (even if it’s not that much).
The higher the regularity, the higher the ranking. A better ranking will provide more traffic. Yet, to do this, you need good plug-ins for the SEO, you know that don’t you? In my case, everything changed after reaching 15,000 views a week and once my page authority passed the threshold of 25/100.
Companies started getting in touch with me and came up with links that are perfectly in line with my topics; they actually wanted me to write articles or publish stuff edited by other people in return for a compensation ranging from 30 to 100 euros. More than lucky, I feel satisfied.
And a blogger life mostly relies on this.
27 Comments
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emman damian
These are honest and great information. Last year, I was struggling with my ads and revenue from my sponsors. Now, I decided to focus more on content rather than quantity. I got more money out of blogging now. Also, it’s all about smart scheduling!
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Renata Green
Oh my gosh, car’amica, you so nailed it! Of course I was thinking about advertisement on my blog, too, but as you say, I don’t want to mess up my beautiful blog design with ugly, obnoxious advertisement to make 50 bucks! Just as I do not want to ruin my articles – thoroughly researched info, witty writing etc. – with affiliated links that just shout at readers: You are nothing but clicking cattle to me! I’m not editing my photographs for hours to put terrible pix from amazon next to them…I’m coming from journalism, so to me journalist standards and ethics are crucial. If I don’t make one cent from my blog – fine. I prefer having a day job and writing and designing my blog exactly the way I like it. Great post – beata te!
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
Renata you got the point! Fortunately there are tons of other ways to make money and work with a blog! if you help your DA over 25 you can earn something too but only if you want. the best think of this story is that… making money with a blog is possible, but not compulsory! 😉
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Michele Dennis
This is some really great advice for bloggers! As a relatively new blogger myself, I am just now really learning about SEO and page authority. I personally started using affiliates after my blog turned 3 months and so far is working well. It’s not a fulltime income of course, but I am pleased with my blogs growth in just 9 months. It is a lot of work though!!😊
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kartika nair
Really great advice . Even my blog is 4 months old now and I think about earning money through which won’t be possible for now as don’t have much traffic on to my site . But I’m trying hard to make it work . Surely taking you advice to grow it more . Thanks!
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
It work as a job if you treat it with the same determination of your own business. But if you live it as a hobby it can be also and always very (can we also say “more”) funny indeed.
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Sigrid Says
Great tips! I, too, am earning from my blog in different ways. It’s not a full time job for me, it’s something I do on the side and also earns me favors for my children’s needs and activities. Love this lifestyle!
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Jennifer Prince
All of these ideas are really good! So many bloggers feel competitive and don’t share, but I really appreciate you doing so. <3
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
Well, there’s no need to waste energy in competition since, I think, the blogging world gives room to anyone. The most important thing is to give the best of ourself and having fun
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Anna
If I want to be honest, monetizing a blog works for 1 in 100. I can only make money with it, because it’s connected to my job (I’m a makeup artist) so people find me through it and hire me, but the site itself generates no money. I hate adsense, it ruins the design of a well built blog, and also the content it provides rarely correlates with that the actual sit tries to represent…
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
I mean… in a world full of professionals, full of make up artists, people find and hire you by your blog… and you say you’re not making money out of it? Well, I don’t agree. You are making money from it because you work well both with the blog and with your make up artist profession 🙂
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Geraline Batarra
These are a great guide. This will really help especially those who are starting with blogging.
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London Mumma
A great article with some amazing and truthfully inspiring tips, that I will be implementing.
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Autumn Murray
This is great information, thank you! Google Adsense is definitely not working for me.
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Mellissa
Thank you! This is such an informative article. I have noted a few tips down and will follow you on Twitter!
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
Thank you melissa <3 keep on following to be reading more about the subject
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stephanie
I use Adsense and it is a great way to get an extra $100 a month but other than that I have tried other things that proved to be too difficult for me. The stress took the fun out of writing for me.
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Dalene
I’m now getting inspired. For a blog that is yet to make money like mine, it is just normal to feel confused about how the whole scheme works and yes, some companies get to mistreat bloggers with peanut pays and much more. I’m definitely going to work on building a solid blog first. Glad you shared this.
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Sabrina - In My Suitcase
The post might look like… a bit negative but actually I say there are thousands ways to make money with a blog, and the most common are just those who are the hardest to work! Happy to be helpful!
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Alison Rost
This is all so true. It’s not easy to get income from blogging contrary to what other bloggers would say. It’s also hard work as you have to pitch to companies that you’re interested in.
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sarah-mae
This is a super interesting article! Great advice for earning money while still being a credible blog, which is something that I feel is super important!
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Komal
Great advice! I’ve been doing it for 3 years and have yet to make money because I don’t want to use ads and stuff on my page. There is always a way!
Akamatra
I have never used ads and don’t know the sites you mentioned but I do make some money with sponsors on my blog. It’s important to remain true to your ethics I agree 100%