New Strategies for Making Money as a Blogger in 2022

When I first started a blog in 2009, it was a straightforward process. You wrote, you published and you put the world on notice about your latest masterpiece with an email blast and some search engine optimization. If well-established, you might be paid for your content, and with good traffic your Amazon affiliate links could make you decent money. And maybe you’d turn your love of writing into a nonfiction book or novel.

Writing was king. Fast forward to 2022 and I know many bloggers who barely blog at all and yet remain highly successful. How so? Because they are using a lot of different tactics to create income.

If making money with your blog in new ways is a 2022 goal, here are some ideas for doing that. Before I get started, my thanks to Intellifluence for sponsoring this post.

Rethink Your Affiliate Strategy

First, decide on a small number of affiliate sites, the ones you are already promoting the most, and which fit your blog’s niche. I get thousands of pitches every year from brands asking if I’d like to join their program. Commissions can be high, with offers of 10 to 20% (or more), but if no one ever clicks the link I share, then I’m wasting my time…and theirs. I only join programs that I’m eager to share on a regular basis, and that I know will be helpful or interesting to my readers.

My consistent top-earners over the years have been Amazon, cloth diaper shops and Twigby discount mobile phone service (see sidebar).  Your list will look different from mine.

Make sure you’re tracking the links to see what’s working and what’s not.

Also, check your site this year and remove all dead/inactive links. Go back through your perennially popular posts, and insert some relevant affiliate links in there.

And remember that not all affiliate links are for products. If you use services like BlueHost or ConstantContact or Shopify, those have affiliate programs, too.

Get Paid to Write

Some things never change, and getting paid to write is one of them. I strongly recommend putting a Media Kit on your blog with a price schedule and share it with people who reach out to you with requests to share products, resources, links, etc.

And here are some sites you can apply to for paid blog posts and freelance opportunities:

• Intellifluence
• Clever Influencer Marketing Agency
• Writers Weekly
• List Verse
• Izea
• TapInfluence

Leverage Social Media

There are lots of things you can do with your social media accounts to make money. Most brands want to have an active, engaged audience on social media and you can help them!

• Host a giveaway for a client on their platform of choice
• Create a sponsored post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Create a video on You Tube, Rumble, TikTok, etc.
• Do a Facebook Live video or a Facebook Reel for a brand
• Start a podcast
• Create buzz/interaction around a brand’s existing post
• Add a brand’s social media links to a giveaway or blog post
• Create a customized email blast for a brand
• Apply for the job of managing a brand’s social media channels

Create Your Own Advertising

Offer paid space on your blog in the form of banners, buttons or links. Create a static page on your blog with sizes and price schedules and terms, and share that with prospective clients, even if they aren’t initially asking about advertisements. I avoid Google like the plague (see last week’s blog post), so even though it can be lucrative, I have never used AdSense. There are other ad networks out there.

Create a Job Board

Keep the traffic coming to your site with an online job board. Charge a set fee for listings of different durations (30/60/90) and create a steady income with not a lot of work after the initial designing and publishing phase.

Become an Ambassador

Many companies regularly compensate Ambassadors to create an online buzz about their product, and bloggers have an advantage in applying because of their higher social media scores. Search the brands you love best and would enjoy representing and inquire about possible ambassador programs.

Sell Your Photos

Most bloggers are taking pictures on a regular basis for publishing and social media, but those photos can also be sold to sites like Shutterstock and Adobe Photo for extra cash. You get paid a percentage every time someone downloads your image.

Sell a Digital Product

Create and sell almost anything – a small eBook, an app, graphics and clipart, online courses or custom digital products. One example: influencers and bloggers can pay you to create a Media Kit graphic that they can share with clients and post on their blog.

Here’s a good recap of ten things that bloggers are doing right now to make a successful business out of their site.

Charge a Membership Fee

Many smart bloggers are selling memberships to give subscribers access to extra or premium content. Before you go this route, make sure you’ve got a lot of high quality free content, to encourage readers to want more.

Paid memberships can include things like bonus recipes, access to extra printables, a bonus hour of your podcast, shoutouts for businesses in your blog posts or videos, etc. Oh and make sure the content you’re selling is not something people can easily find for free somewhere else!

Be a Coach or Consultant

If you’ve been blogging for a while, are well-versed on certain topics or have some valuable skills, make money teaching others. This can take many forms, including consultations via email, chat, Zoom or phone, and online video courses or guides that you sell.

Working harder to monetize your blog means you’ll be a lot busier this year, but there are smart ways to find balance.

Let me know what your blogging goals are for 2022 and if you have any questions!