Honestly, I had no idea it is possible to make money blogging. I started this blog in 2013 to keep track of my journey to financial freedom. Never have I thought it would to turn into a helpful blog for others in learning:
- How to live with a budget
- How to save money fast
- How to invest in the Philippines
- How to retire young and
- How to make extra income with a full-time job
This 2017 alone, SavingsPinay became one of the top resource blog in personal finance. I manage to create a community of almost 1000 members! The monthly pageviews is stable at 10,000 – 11,000 a month.
And above all the income is coming PASSIVELY.
It seems like all the hard work and sleepless nights I spent researching, writing, making photos, editing and publishing has paid off.
Related:
Your 2017 Guide on How To Start a Blog
5 Personal Finance Bloggers You Should Start Reading
Cofessions of a Personal Finance Blogger
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How I Started Making Money Blogging
In 2013, I had an impulsive idea to start a blog. I was caught in the financial mess, living way above my means. Upon realizing how bad my finances is getting, I consult Google and research topics on budgeting and saving money.
I will read different financial blogs to learn how to be better in handling my money. I will spend time on business and investment section of bookstores just to learn how others do it.
I found myself addicted in the idea of financial independence. Of having more than enough money to support myself and my dreams without relying to others. I feel blessed that I make money blogging a topic close to my heart – personal finance.
It led me to continually pursue my passion, meet other people, be recognized, and build a community of my own, influence and basically change my life for the better.
My goal in creating SavingsPinay is simple – I just want to track my own progress.
That’s why for the longest time I choose to remain as a free blogspot blog. It wasn’t until a company noticed me that I realized it is possible to make money with a blog in the Philippines.
I bought my own domain with Pangalan, revamped the whole look and feel of the blog and take everything more seriously. SavingsPinay grew pretty quickly and it shows in my latest recap and extra income report published every month.
In August 2017, I finally received my first Google AdSense payout. Now I’m earning a stable $15 a month in advertising alone. Other blogging income streams I do and will be trying in the coming years will be revealed later in this post.
The extra income I make is for sure low compared to others but I am still very proud of it. It is money I didn’t even knew I can earn. Money I earn on the side.
Here’s the deal:
It takes time to make money blogging.
But once you hit the sweet spot everything will run passively. Even as you take a short break blogging, there will still be money coming in your account.
You will be surprised how much money you can get blogging online.
How to Make Money Blogging for Beginners
1. Start a Blog
You can never make money blogging if you don’t have an actual blog to begin with. There are people who shy away from blogging because they are not a good writer.
Don’t worry. There is no need to be an expert in English language to be a successful blogger. All you need to do is narrate your story. Write as if you are talking to a friend. Cut the technical jargon and be as relatable as you can be.
I personally commit mistakes as a blogger even if I am doing it for four years and counting already.
Remember this:
The more you practice your writing skills, the better you will be in blogging. Soon you’ll find yourself enjoying the whole process.
If you need help in start your own blog please head over this tutorial. I wrote everything I know about starting a blog and condensed it into one post.
Another tip I have for you is to invest in your hobby!
I learned this valuable lesson the hard way and for the first four years of my blogging life I got satisfied treating it as a hobby. I became comfortable with a free blog.
There is nothing wrong the keeping your blog as a hobby but if you want to make money from it, you need to make some investments.
Invest in your own domain name
A domain name works as the main URL/address of your blog. Instead of being yourblog.wordpress.com you can be known as yourblog.com.
This is a good investment for your blog to be easily searched and remembered by your readers! I bought my own domain, SavingsPinay.ph, with Pangalan last year and it turned out to be the biggest turning point of my blogging career.
Because I am now known as Izza of SavingsPinay.ph, it was easier for me to be remembered. I was able build my authority fast. Having my own domain also increased my chances of getting paid sponsored posts, paid advertorials and a lot more.
Why I recommend Pangalan?
First, I wouldn’t recommend getting your own domain with Pangalan if I haven’t used it myself.
This blog and my other blog, IzzaGlino.com as well as my business website IzzaGevents.com are all hosted with Pangalan! I love patronizing local businesses and it makes me feel secured knowing they have a headquarters in Manila. If something bad happens, I can reach their office right away!
Second, you can start a blog with Pangalan for less than 500php per year.
For that low price you can now start a professional blog. They even have promos if you really want a domain on a budget.
Third, amazing customer support.
Newbie bloggers especially those who, like me, have no interest in the technical side of blogging will definitely love Pangalan.
Their customer support really works. If you have questions on getting started or setting up your new domain now, you can get help quickly and easily over phone, Messenger or email.
Lastly, reliability
My experience so far with Pangalan is pretty smooth sailing. I didn’t experience any downtime on my blog even if there is a massive traffic.
Pangalan is current doing an Octo-Best Deals! Don’t miss out this chance to buy your own domain! Click here to reserve your name!
Invest in your gears
It is ideal to have the best tools for your blog. If you are using a slow computer to write then you won’t finish a blog post on time. I personally believe that investing in your equipment as a blogger is important.
I bought a better camera last year to help improve my photos and it paid off for my beauty and lifestyle blog. My Instagram Feed also improved because I am using a good camera already.
You can find a lot of tips online on how to be better in blog photography even with a normal smart phone camera.
I highly suggest getting Canon EOS M3. This is the camera I currently use. It takes quality photos and HD videos at the same time. Plus, this camera is easy to use! And did I mention you can flip the screen and take a selfie?! Cool.
Invest in yourself
If you can attend writing or blogging workshops, why not? You can also find a lot of good online courses for as low as $10 on Udemy! I purchased a Complete Digital Marketing Course before and it helped me be better in handling all the promotion side of my blogs.
Spend time reading your favorite blogs and see which part of their blogging process you can identify with. I honestly look up to Sir Fitz of Ready to be Rich, Sir Omeng of Smart Pinoy Investor and a whole lot more good personal finance bloggers.
Reading their blogs gave me a clear understanding on what I want to achieve as a blogger myself. Invest in yourself. and improve your craft.
2. Create a Blog Business Plan
Create a business plan for your blog. If you want to make money blogging, then you need a clear outline on how you will blog.
It doesn’t have to be a complicated document so as long as it can serve as a guide for you and your blog. I created my first business plan as a blogger in mid-2016, when the blog is finally getting noticed.
It was seriously helpful in managing what I want to achieve out of this hobby and how I want my blog to be perceived by my audience.
Here are some questions you can ask in order to come up with a good blog business plan:
1. What is the mission of your blog? Try to identify who your blog is for and how your blog will be helpful to others.
2. Who is your ideal blog readers?
3. How do you plan to grow your blog traffic?
4. What services/products do you want to offer? Are you using ads, affiliate links or sponsored posts? How much do you aim to gain in each income streams?
5. How will you promote your blog in social media? What will be your schedule? How will you balance writing blog posts and promotion?
6. Enumerate your blog goals in six months, 1 year and 3 years from now. How do you want your blog to be?
As soon as you started your blog, create your business plan. This is necessary so you don’t get lost in the middle of your blog life.
3. Publish Quality Content
For the first two years of SavingsPinay I made a bunch of crappy content. Basta may mai-publish na lang talaga.
I had zero idea about SEO and didn’t know how to implement it on my blog. Through constant research and reading I now understood that quality content matters.
Your blog has to be valuable to your visitors. It should become a source of information on the blog topic you’ve chosen. The more high-quality content you produce and publish, the more traffic you will receive. And that traffic would enable you to make money blogging from the start.
To create a high-quality content on your blog, you need to:
Choose a topic you can be an expert of
Something you easily talk and write about. Although your blog can be anything and/or everything, if making money is your aim, having a niche matters a lot.
Here are some money making blogging niche you can try:
– Travel
– Freelance Writing
– Personal Finance
– Makeup and Skincare Reviews
– Gadgets/Tech
Have a running list of blog post ideas
It is so much easier to write when you know exactly what you will be writing about. That’s the reason why a running list of blog post ideas is a good idea to have.
I personally maintain mine in my Google Calendar. I keep that updated almost every week so I can easily plan ahead of the post that I need to publish.
Learn about SEO
Search Engine Optimization or SEO aims to make your content seen/viewed on the first page of search engine. Each of your content should include a focused keyword and this said keyword must be placed strategically throughout your blog post.
I took SEO seriously in May 2017 and it helped improve traffic and AdSense earning of SavingsPinay. You can read that on my May 2017 Recap and Extra Income Report by the way.
Here are ways I implemented SEO on the blog:
a. Install Yoast SEO Plugin so I can easily improve the SEO score for each of my blog posts.
b. I created a better, longer, more comprehensive and SEO-approved updated version of my low-performing posts. I then removed the old version to not distract the attention that my updated posts receive. Currently, my average word count is 2,500 words.
READ: 40 Financial Habits for Life and 10 Most Important Lessons in Personal Finance.
c. I started including a smaller blog images instead of full-size like before. I also put it to the right to make my readers stay longer on my website.
d. I am making all of my content readable. I started using shorter sentences with the aim to make my session time better.
e. I only post valuable content that I know my readers will actually read.
f. I focused on keywords that I want to rank high.
Write with your readers in mind
Realize that everything you publish online can be seen and will be read by your audience. You want them to go back to your blog and read your next post, right? Make each post you make useful.
Something that your readers can easily follow and relate to. Think about what your readers wants.
Hey, if you have time I would ask you to take this short reader survey which will help me create better content for your moving forward. Make sure to answer the reader survey!
Spend quality time writing your post
Looking back, those posts I spent a ton of time researching and writing about, were the very post that my audience keep on coming back. Your audience can see through you if what you have published is good enough or more than good enough.
It will show in the way you compose each and every thought in the blog post. Making money blogging is pure hard work. You need to spend time researching and writing so you can produce a high-quality blog post, which in return will help you establish your own tribe.
It is pretty hard to get noticed in the blogging community so writing useful content is your best strategy to get noticed.
4. Promote your blog
Now that you already have quality content going, your next big move is to promote your blog to the public. There are different ways you can market your new blog such as, but not limited to the following:
- Social Media
- Network with others
On Social Media
Establish social media presence from the start! This is by far the best and the cheapest way you can promote your new blog.
Here are some ways you can promote your blog on social media:
Create a Facebook Page for your blog and link your best blog posts. You can also interact with your followers through questions and announcements.
Build your own community with a Facebook Group. This is a good idea if your blog is within a specific niche. If you have a travel blog, you can start a Facebook Group of Newbie Travel Bloggers. This will gather like-minded individual who shares the same passion as you. You can even create a vague like Philippine Travel for example.
If you are looking for a community where you can share your journey to financial journey and learn from others as well, I encourage you to join the SavingsPinay Community on Facebook.
Pinterest is another booming tool in promoting content. It works as an active visual search engine to find inspirations online. You need to create graphics specifically meant for Pinterest. These photos should be enticing enough and must answer what the searcher needs.
For more idea you can follow me on Pinterest.
If you have time you might want to create a YouTube channel as well. This can be time-consuming but the benefits are worth it. Even though I stopped making YouTube videos I still earn humble amount of money with my channel. The audience I reach with a YouTube video is significantly wider than with just a blog.
On Networking with others
Another good way you can promote your blog is through proper networking. Make friends with other bloggers within your niche and ask if there is a possibility for you to collaborate with each other. Guest posting to authority websites will also create a dent in your traffic.
You can also try leaving comments to spark a conversation between you and your favorite blogger. Joining events is also a good idea to mingle with other bloggers. I have attended various events before and those events led me to get to know some of the best in the industry of personal finance.
5. Stay Consistent
When it comes to growing your blog and building an audience you need to stay as consistent as possible with your actions as a blogger.
This is the single, best way you can make money blogging.
How to practice consistency when it comes to blogging?
Establish an Editorial Calendar
Plan your content ahead of time, ideally on a monthly basis. Make it your goal to be at least one month advance when it comes to choosing the topics you will blog about.
Choose a posting schedule and follow it
If you can only blog once a week, then so be it. As long as you stay consistent. Do not engage in daily blogging if you are not ready and committed. Having a posting schedule will help your readers know when to visit your site for fresh content.
Follow a similar style or format on each posts
Try to create a format in how you publish each of your posts. If you look at SavingsPinay, I will always introduce my post with a short story and overview on what you will learn.
This is followed by my content-opt in or freebie. Then each of my main topics is introduced with a header for easy understanding. I also always end my post with a Final Notes or a conclusion.
A good and consistent post template will help your readers familiarize with your writing style. This is important if you want to build readership.
4 Ways You Can Make Money Blogging
Success in blogging is purely based on how much hard work you are willing to spend. That’s why although there are millions of blog online, there are only a thousand few who makes stable money to go full-time.
Now that you have a blog, a business plan for it, high-quality posts, on-going promotion and consistent in your blog workflow, monetizing will come easy.
Making money blogging is a combination of all five steps previously discussed.
Here are the different income streams you can try with a blog.
1. Advertisement
With the right traffic you can make money blogging through advertisements. This is an income stream dependent how much pageviews you receive in a month. The bigger your reach is, the better your advertising income would be.
You can put advertisement on the side, at the top or within every post on your blog. Every unique impression and click your display advertisement make, will have a corresponding income on your side.
How do you start selling ads on your blog?
If you are a beginner you might want to try Google AdSense. My latest recap and extra income report will show you that I earn $10 to $15 a month on Google AdSense. This is not bad at all considering the fact that when I started blogging I had no idea I can make money from it.
Media.Net is another great tool to make money on advertising display. Unlike Google AdSense that uses a combination of text and image, Media.Net intelligently displays related keywords based on what your blog post is about.
Nuffnang Philippines is the biggest advertising network in Asia. It works similar with Google AdSense but aside from display advertising, Nuffnang will also help connect you with an advertiser. You will get a notification once a company is interested to work with you for a sponsored article.
What’s good about placing advertisement on your blog is that it can generate income passively in the long run. As long as you maintain good amount of traffic every month, you can expect to earn few dollars on the side.
Other similar advertising networks are ClickBank, Chitika and Infolinks.
Tips:
1. Choose the best spot/s to place your advertisements. Try to experiment which part of your blog have enough traction. Looking at my Google AdSense record over the years, placing advertisement inside my blog post made the biggest impact on my income. I also find placing a 300 x 600 ad on the top right corner of my blogs beneficial.
2. There is always a con in placing too much advertisement. Keep a good balance between your content and your ads.
3. Use a heat map to know exactly where you should be placing your ads. I love using Sumo for this because it is available for free. Place your ads on the parts where you get the most clicks.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Here’s how affiliate marketing works as a way to make money blogging:
Simply put an affiliate link of a product or company on your website/blog post/social media post/newsletter. You will then earn a commission for every successful purchase made through your link.
I don’t know about other Filipino bloggers, but I seriously find it harder to earn money through affiliate marketing. Unlike advertisement, you need to be proactive when it comes to making money blogging using affiliate links.
More than the traffic, you need to be build trust with your readers to generate income. Although I have yet to find success in this income stream, I am constantly learning.
Here are some affiliate products and programs I recommend:
Pangalan
I have mentioned this over and over again how getting my own domain with Pangalan was the biggest turning point of my blog! Having my own domain increased my credibility as a personal finance blogger, made my blog easier to search and to remember. For Php 350/ year you can secure your own domain too! Graduate from a .blogspot.com or .wordpress.com today and build your own name in the internet.
Related: Your 2017 Guide on How To Start a Blog
TravelBook
Looking for budget hotels and accommodation can be very daunting. Thankfully, TravelBook is there to provide me with the latest budget-friendly hotel and accommodation. One I have tried is Al Del Rio, a perfect homestay if you are going to the Caramoan. They also offer no credit card needed, pay at hotel stays for conscious travelers.
Related : The Ultimate Guide to Caramoan Island Hopping Adventure
Lazada
Online shopping has never been this easy thanks to Lazada. You can almost buy everything in this A-MAZ-ING market place. I am always on the look-out when they have flash sales especially for lipsticks, skincare items, tech gadgets and the like. This site is perfect to find and buy gifts for your loved ones. Did I mention that I bought my Diva Ring Light in Lazada for less than Php 5,000!
Tips:
1. Focus on 2-3 Affiliate Products first and grow from there
This is important especially for beginners. Your sole focus should be building readership before actual monetization.
2. Only promote affiliate products and services related to your blog
I, for example, promote books related in personal finance that I know my readers will benefit from.
3. Review the affiliate product or service for your audience
Your audience will surely listen to you as long as you give an honest recommendation about a particular affiliate product or service. You may remember my review on Al Del Rio, the homestay we stayed during my Caramoan trip last August 2016. I used my affiliate link to promote Al Del Rio to the public.
3. Sponsored Posts
Bloggers who achieve high and stable traffic with strong readership may receive sponsored post opportunities from companies. This is actually one of the best way to make money blogging.
Sponsored blog post happens when a company agrees to pay a certain amount of money for a published in his/her blog. This post normally includes a link to the website or promo of the sponsor company.
Sometime the company will already provide the PR article and all you have to do is publish on your blog.
The money you can make through sponsored posts depends on the following:
- Your current readership – monthly pageviews, social media followers and email reach.
- Your charge per sponsored post – there are bloggers who chare $100 – $300 per sponsored post.
Sometimes a company will set the budget and it is for you to negotiate how much you are willing to take for a sponsored article on your blog. As I’ve mentioned before the highest amount I made was $100 for a single sponsored post. This is also the least amount of money I charge per sponsored post opportunity I receive.
Getting sponsored post opportunity is a big responsibility. You need to disclose to your readers whether a certain post is sponsored or not. Personally, I don’t partner with companies that aren’t related to what I’m blogging about. The trust of my readers is more important to me than anything else.
How to make money on sponsored posts?
Build your authority as a blogger. Most companies and PR agencies would want to tap up those who are considered authority on their chosen niche. This is the reason why you’ll most likely find the same sponsored posts published on top blogs.
Being an authority takes time and effort. The best way to start is making sure each content you publish adds value. Don’t forget to market your blog well in social media to be recognized.
There is also nothing wrong in talking to a brand first. If you find a company you wish to work with then send your proposal. I did this for BPI-Philam last year and they agreed. My post How Do You Picture Your Retirement Age was sponsored by them.
I also encourage you to join blog to business networking event such as Blogapalooza. I attended this event for the past two years and it has been a great experience for me. I get to know the brands I want to work with for possible advertisement placement or sponsored post opportunity. .
4. Sell Your Own Products and Services
Make money blogging and selling your own products or services to your readers!
Chinkee Tan, top influencer making money with his own books and merchandise as well as speaking engagements all around the world! This goes the same with Marvin Germo of Stock Smarts Series – which I read by the way and Randell Tiongson, author of No NonSense Personal Finance.
Books are not just the only way you can earn passive income. Here are other ideas:
- One-on-One or group coaching
- Online course
- Video tutorial
- Paid Membership Forum
- Your blog logo printed on mugs, t-shirts and Eco bag
This is the income stream I will be focusing more next year. I want to create my own products and make them available to the public. Currently I am offering my service as a freelance content writer. I specifically use blogging to promote this service.
Final Notes from SavingsPinay
When I shared the good news of reaching my first ever Google AdSense Threshold online I received a number of inquiry how. “How do you make money blogging, Izza”?
Four years ago I don’t have an answer to that question. I was barely making any money out of my blog.
Here’s a photo of my Google AdSense Payment Report during my first year of blogging. You will clearly see that I only earned $5 in one whole year! This is too low compared to the amount of work it takes blogging.
Now here’s my how my last six months of Google AdSense Payment Report shows:
As surprising as it ease I now earn $10 to $15 a month blogging!
So if you want to make money blogging you should;
1. Start a blog – secure your domain, your gears and yourself
2. Create your first blog business plan. Spend a day figuring out how you want your passion project to materialize.
3. Publish quality content. Make your blog a source of valuable information so you can build readership fast.
4. Promote your blog on social media. Select 1-2 social media you want to focus on promotion. I suggest Facebook and Pinterest, by the way. Aside from social media you might as well network with other bloggers within your chosen niche.
5. Stay consistent. Consistency makes a huge difference in blogging. If your readers find you relevant, they will keep coming back to your site. Aim to publish a new post at least once a week.
Then MONETIZE!!!
Trust me, your hard work will pay-off. Give your blog a chance.
Hope this post helps you!
Are you interested to make money blogging?
Follow the SavingsPinay FB Group and join the conversation at : SavingsPinay
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Follow me too in my Twitter account: Izza Glino
Subscribe to my Youtube channel: IzzaGlinoFull
Email me any question or topic suggestion at izza@wordpress-661740-2303377.cloudwaysapps.com
Or leave a comment below!!!