Secrets to Making Money Blogging

A while ago I was reading blogs and came across

a blog that said, 

"How often do I blog? As often as I can afford too."

That resonated with me and I got to thinking,

people actually make money blogging?!

Like real money?! 

Really?

Then I set out to research it.

First of all lets just say that every day I am 

finding out more and more info on "how to make money blogging."

I say "secrets" because, I have not found

one place that tells you all of these ways... well, now there is.

Secrets no more.

Blogging takes up a lot of my time for sure,

you have to calculate in the networking factor, 

and the pictures or videos if you take them,

the editing. The tutorials, the wit, I mean, the list goes on and 

on people. Blogging can be a full time job, or even more,

I blog, or do blog related stuff at least 40+ hrs a week, 

(good thing I enjoy it) and could easily do more

if I didnt have responsibilities (ie, a family.)

So what have I found?

There are multiple ways of doing it, from hosting multiple

blogs and filling them with "hot" content. 

Content that gets searched a lot, for example,

"how to make money blogging"

Or putting google ads on your blog and hoping

you get clicks, or getting people to pay money

to sponsor your blog, (ie buy ad space.)

Now, what I have concluded through my research is

that most people make money through

affiliate programs.

Affliate programs are programs where the 

host, for example Amazon,

pays you when you link a product

to a sale.

Like lets say, I went to the Bahamas on my honeymoon,

(true story)

And I posted pics

(my real pics)

And then I said

Our trip was so amazing, and my camera was even more

amazing, this is the camera I was using.

(not really my camera, ours is the old version of this, and not pink,

but hey..)

And then if someone clicked on my link and

bought this camera, I would get a percentage 

of the purchase price.

Awesome right?

You can sign up by googling "amazon affiliates program"

or "amazon associates."

Ok, ok so Amazon's affiliate program is super great,

but what else is out there?

Shopsense for Shopstyle.

Shopstyle is website that hosts

a lot of your favorite stores,

for example, Anthropologie.

(my fav)

Same idea as Amazon's program,

but directly from that store.

So, I say, 

"Oooooo, I love this Anthro sweater, AND it just went on SALE!!

Hooray!"

Not Your Boyfriend's Cardigan

You click on it, and then I get paid.

You do have to reach a minimum payout of $100,

before you get paid using this program, and most clicks

only generate like 10-15 cents, but 

Shopstyle is so easy to use! 

I really, really love it and have high hopes for it.

Then there is SocialSpark.

I just found SocialSpark and L-O-V-E it! 

Like, seriously.

It is so easy to use and I have read a ton on it

and found that very sucessful bloggers use it

and have written reviews on it.

How it works is, you sign up and set your

price on how much you will charge companies to 

write a blog post about their product for them. Then companies

(ie advertisers) approach you to blog about their 

product or store on your blog. You accept,

write the post, and then, you get paid.

How awesome is that?!

How much you charge is up to you, but 

SocialSpark gives you an idea of what "you're worth"

based on your blog traffic.

Here are some testimonials I have found.

"I work full time so I don’t really blog for money. However, I do take advantage of easy affiliate programs that provide residual income – in other words, I earn money blogging with opportunities that require little effort and allow me to earn without actively posting stuff all the time so I can focus on writing about what I like.

That’s why I love Social Spark, a platform that connects bloggers with advertisers. I’ve earned $92 with Social Spark so far, which I just cashed out today and will be paid to me directly via PayPal."

-Rachel @Rachelsgiveaways.com

"If you are a blogger and you have a blog 90 days or older and haven’t tried SocialSpark yet then I suggest you sign up for SocialSpark.  Combine this with SponsoredTweets if you run a Twitter account and you could help earn yourself enough money to pay for some extra things around the house.  I will be 100% honest that when I signed up back in August 2008, by 3 months later I was earning $100 per month blogging and most of that was coming from SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets.  Now SocialSpark and SponsoredTweets alone still earn me around $100 – $250 per month but it fluctuates a bit and is a good addition to my other online earning programs."

-Dragon Blogger @dragonblogger.com

"When you work with Social Spark you have the control to blog about what YOU want, there is NO obligation to post if you don’t want to. I love that. I feel like I am in complete control.  You actually have a say in your prices,  and work with really great brands. "

-Mandi @vintagerevivals.com

And these are honestly, just to name a few.

Pretty inspiring right?

So, I hope if you are a blogger, or are thinking

about starting a blog, then this will

make it not only fun, but maybe a little rewarding too.

Can't hurt right?

Click here to sign up today!

Good luck to us all!!

Here's to dreaming bigger.