This Site is affiliated with CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a CafeMedia (“CafeMedia”) for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and CafeMedia will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about CafeMedia’s data usage, click here: www.cafemedia.com/publisher-advertising-privacy-policy
This post is one that I have been meaning to write for a long time.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of how I make money blogging, I want to back way up.
Going back to when I started blogging I had no idea it would turn into a job.
I blogged because I wanted to be able to share things I made with family and friends easily by having it all in one place. Kind of like an online scrapbook of sorts.
Pictures of my kids, my pets, and my family. Pictures of projects I had made with instructions on how to make them.
This also proved to be very helpful for me because if I ever forgot a step to one of my projects, I could easily look it up for an easy reference.
Shortly after I started blogging, I started sharing more photos of my own home and ways to add character to the home through thrifting and diy’s. I would post pictures on HGTV’s Rate My Space {who remembers that?}
I got such good feedback that it made me more confident to start sharing even more.
That is when I started helping friends and friends of friends, rearranging their spaces and suggesting pieces that might look good in their homes.
Things took off quickly from there and I started gaining more followers and readers on my blog.
At this point I think I had been blogging for around 7 + years.
Brands started reaching out to me to see if I would post about their products. In the beginning I didn’t make any money, I would just trade for product.
I remember feeling so lucky that I could get a free candle, one that I already loved, for free, just for liking to it in a post, or writing about it on my facebook page!
Really, those were exciting times.
One thing that I never did then, and still don’t do, is agreeing to advertising a product that I didn’t or don’t truly love.
You can believe that anything I link to or talk about, I stand behind 100%.
Then Instagram happened and my numbers grew even further on my blog. {thank you everyone!}
Fast forward to present day, and the topic of how I make money blogging & answering questions I get asked often.
“HOW DO YOU MAKE MONEY BLOGGING?”
The first way is through ads. Ads appear on my blog on the header, the sides, and sometimes in the middle of posts.
While these ads might be obtrusive to you, they are a small way I can make a bit of money.
Every time someone clicks on an ad I get a small {very small, talking cents not dollars} payment.
While this number is very small, there are a lot of you readers out there and if you all click, it adds up!
I am in no way asking you to click on my ads, in fact, if they bother you, you can X out of them.
how I make money blogging & questions answered
Advertising.
Another way I made money is through links.
Every time you see bold type like in the photo below, and click on it, AND make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
You don’t need to buy that exact product. I can make money off anything you buy from that site, regardless if it is the product linked.
Again, the percentage is small, but it adds up! So, thank you again!
The same goes with if you click on any of the places I shop on my blog {see photo below} and make a purchase.
And finally, LikeToKnowIt. This is actually one of my favorites. I personally love looking at peoples Instagram posts and getting inspired. A lot of times the user doesn’t mention where their items in their home are from. But with LikeToKnowIt, all you have to do is look for all the items in one place.
All you need is the app on your phone {it’s free!} and then you can get items sent directly to your email if you screenshot anyones Instagram post that uses LikeToKnowIt.
Here is one of my photos of our living room. Underneath it are little pictures of items in my room that I have linked to. Just like clicking on bold type products in my posts, if you click on one of the items, AND make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. It is as simple as that.
For signing up for it you will not receive any spam emails or anything annoying like that.
“WHY DO YOU MAKE MONEY BLOGGING?”
I put a lot of time and effort into my blog. I have been posting 5 days a week Monday through Friday for as long as I can remember now.
I try to bring fresh content and a variety of content.
I include everything from decor to recipes to crafts, you name it.
In doing so, besides the time spent, I spend a lot of money of my own for blog content.
I buy ingredients for recipes I share with you all, I buy new products for my own home to be able to show you all fresh creative space ideas. I spend money on DIY project materials, not to mention gas driving to places to photograph for my blog. I spend money on camera equipment to bring crisp clear pictures to my blog and my social media.
I spend a lot of time keeping up on social media. Pinning ideas to my Pinterest boards, updating fresh content to my Instagram account, and updating my Facebook page every morning, Monday through Friday with my most recent posts.
Do you have a job? Have you ever had a job? I think of this blog like a job. Would you work for your job for free? Well I did. For years and years I blogged without making a dime. I think it is wonderful that blogging can bring in any amount of money, as it should!
“DO YOU HELP PEOPLE WITH THEIR OWN HOMES?”
Another way I make money though my blog is through e-design. If you have a room, or several rooms that need a facelift, feel free to email me with your questions. My rates vary per project, so please email me for specifics. My email is lakeliving4@yahoo.com. I have transformed many spaces over the years for homes that aren’t anywhere near me. However, if you are local to the Seattle area and need help, I can also come to your home for a face to face design. I can shop for you, with you, or just suggest products for your space. If you have a limited budget, I am happy to rearrange and use items in your home to freshen up your space.
First and foremost, this blog brings me so much joy. The smiles on your faces when you see your spaces transformed, or the emails I get with pictures of projects I have done that you have tried, I could go on and on. So thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for following along, leaving me comments, clicking through my links, or my ads, thank you immensely!
xoxo, Melaine
Chloe Crabtree says
Well stated. It is interesting how people want to read our content and be entertained by it, gather information from it, and yet, they resent the fact that we might make just a little bit of money from our blogs. Hang in there, better days will be coming.