The No B.S. Guide to Earning Money as a Blogger

With the increase of remote workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now more difficult than ever to break into the competitive blogging world. You will have to compete with countless writers, who are just like you if not better, with blogging. Did I scare you? Good. You need to work twice as hard as before and spend this time to become a unique fish in the vast sea of bloggers (okay, that metaphor sounded better in my head).

The "You Need Experience Myth"

I started blogging and achieving other freelance duties when I was in high school. When I applied to jobs, I was competing against older and more experienced individuals in the writing industry. Imagine that - a pimple-faced teenager typing away at the keyboard as she snatches jobs from veteran bloggers.

You may feel as though you have to either sell yourself short or you can't apply to certain jobs because of lack of experience. Obviously, there are some jobs such as those who need experienced medical writers or bloggers in a specific industry, but don't be afraid to apply to general blogging gigs.

Cheap Gigs? Absolutely not

I wish someone told me this beforehand. When I started out, I was afraid to sell my services for what I naturally deserved. I have a gift for writing; I frequently won awards and recognition for my writing. I didn't deserve to be getting paid $5 for an article, which is what I settled for at the beginning of my freelance writing career.

Sell your services for what you deserve! If you are a great writer, charge what great writers charge. You may not have as much experience when you start, but charge what you're worth. That brings me to the next section: how does a client know to pay you based on your skills if you don't have much experience?

Set up your blog or website

If you want to be a successful blogger and earn money, this is a no-brainer. You absolutely need a site that either showcases your portfolio or blog. You may be a beginner blogger, but show clients you are an excellent writer by revealing your writing style - and essentially your worth - with your website.

For example, you apply to a job where the client states, "I am looking for a blogger that can increase my SEO and search rankings for my website."

You apply to this job with your resume and a link to your website. In your blog, you have developed posts about search engine optimization, so you send a link to one of these posts. By doing so, you establish yourself as a reputable source or reliable candidate who understands how to blog with SEO keywords and tactics.

Earning from your site

Although you would earn later down the road, you can definitely set up your website or blog for success. If you have a site - don't just have any blog. You need to establish a nice. If you are a beauty blogger, apply to blogs within your niche to establish yourself as an expert. Clients or business owners are more likely to hire a blogger who t specializes in a specific category. Sell yourself as a beauty blogger in job profiles, your website, and other platforms. Use target keywords like "beauty blogger" or more specific such as "hair salon blogger" so potential clients can also visit your site by searching up those terms.

Here are ways you can earn from your site:

• Sell products or serves
• Affiliate marketing (Earn commission by joining Amazon Affiliates program or working with businesses or individuals who sell products
• Advertising (Pay per click, Google Ads, etc.)

Job Boards

If you are starting out as a blogger, take advantage of job boards to find work.

I highly recommend:

• Upwork
• ProBlogger
• Freelance Writing Gigs
• Freelance Writing Jobs

If you are a beginner, you can also find freelance work with Freelancer.com, but I wouldn't encourage you to stay there for long. Freelancer has millions of freelancers willing to sell themselves short, and clients on this job board are often submitting jobs for writers to get paid $5 for 1,000-word articles. There are also tons of scammers with Freelancer.

You can also apply to internships that allow you to get your feet wet in the blogging world or gain some expertise. There are excellent internships, including paid available on Linkedin or Indeed.

As you gain more experience with blogging, move away from job boards like Upwork and into more professional spheres like Linkedin. Here are some more professional and better-paying platforms to earn freelance blogging gigs:

• Linkedin
• Simply Hired
• Indeed
• Craigslist
• Glassdoor
• MediaBistro
• ProBlogger (good for intermediate and not just beginning bloggers)
• ZipRecruiter
• Facebook Groups (search, within the category labeled Groups or even Jobs, for gigs in your specific industry)

Cold Pitching

Besides applying to freelance writing gigs, I highly recommend cold-pitching. Individually email businesses or websites that interest you. Send them a cover letter, with your website and resume, and effectively sell your services and, well, you.

Be Unique; You have to stand out

Establish your brand and sell that to people. Are you an SEO expert? A blogger witty and fun with his or her blog posts or words? Do you add humor to your blog posts? Sell yourself in your emails or job applications. For example, if I were to connect with Elna Cain, who is famous in the blogging world, I understand her personal branding and what makes her unique. She is a mompreneur who specializes in copywriting and blogging. Like other successful bloggers, she teaches - her websites cater to other mompreneurs as well as general freelance writers who take her courses.

Look for the Careers or Work with Us pages on your favorite websites or blogs

What better way to make money blogging than to do it with websites you frequently visit. When you scroll down in many online magazines or blogs, you can find a Careers, Work with Us, or Join the team section.

In fact, on Jerrick Media, which is the head category of Vocal Media and other platforms, there's a Careers section! If you're here, they are hiring copy editors and others.

If you want to make money from blogging, you truly have to put in the work. It took me a while; I had to do a lot of assignments, attend several workshops, and read about blogging to finally earn a good income. The whole idea of "working from home" is a dream until you put in the work to ensure you excel.