Make money with blog, how?

Okay, we have been blogging (creating content) now for a while, what is the result?

Plus:

• satisfaction

Minus:

• tons of hours
• lost all of my friends
• 80€ for frlan.xyz server and domain name (valid for 3 years)
• frlanvandra is free, because I am promoting my host: frlanvandra.wordpress.com

This is all wonderful, but can you create web content and get paid for it? Let's find out how by checking other people's website.

• donation
• ads, affiliate links
• (e)books
• online course
• membership website
• personal coaching/guidance
• app/software (digital products)
• merchandise

donation

Post all of your content for free, tell your readers to donate, if they like and want to see more from your side. A method, that requires minimal extra work: install a donate button somewhere on the website, keep doing what you are doing.

crazyguyonabike.com is supported solely by donations from the users. It started as a content website, now the guy provides a service: a place for bicycle tourists and their journals.

All donations are publicly available on the website. From 2007 till 2022 crazyguyonabike made more than half a million $ averaging around 37000$ per year (cca 3000$ per month).

"I provide a service, this is (hopefully) for-profit business, and I would love to make a lot of money! I simply leave it up to the user as to how much they think the service I provide is worth, that's all." — Neil, founder, developer and administrator of the website.

Fun fact: I met this dude randomly 2016-07 in Tallinn Backpackers hostel. We were both on a bike tour, he was heading south towards Greece, me the other way towards Nordkapp. Dude was on a busy schedule: cycling, blogging, administrating 24/7 while I was goofing around as much as possible.

Most of Linux stuff works thanks to donations. I am using Linux Mint as an operating system. It is free of charge, backed up by community.

waitbutwhy.com creates decent-quality blog posts, they accept donations via ko-fi.com or PayPal.

Another donation based platform: freecodecamp.org. That is where I learnt how to code, built frlan.xyz by myself.

ads, affiliate links

There is nothing more annoying than random flashy ads somewhere on the website. It looks cheap, unnecessary distraction on the screen, you are selling random crap to your audience. No go.

Is there a book, a product, service that you really like, has been personally used, would be highly recommended even to your mother? I guess earning a commission via an affiliate link in this case is fair enough.

Henrik uses affiliate links in his blog post: How to Start a Successful Blog: 46 Tips That Got Me 1 Million Monthly Readers.

"Certain links on this website that go to products/services are affiliate links. That means that I may earn a commission for any purchases you make via such a link (at no extra charge to you)." — affiliate disclaimer by Henrik.

(e)books

Make some good content for free, make some more and charge it. (Quality) blog articles are for free, books are for sale. Sure, before selling, you have to write the book.

sive.rs, zenhabits.net, chrisbailey.com — they all do it this way. Leo (zenhabits) likes to experiment, he also runs a membership website.

Books are sold in various format (ebook, audio, paper), regular prices are around 5 to 20$. Sell it via your own website or pick your preferred book platform (Amazon, etc.). Translate to other languages to grow the audience.

Sivers sells directly from his website: Derek Sivers book store. Consistent strategy for all of his books:

• 15$ and you get the book in all digital formats (epub, mobi, pdf, mp3, html, etc.)
• 19$ for paper version (all digital formats included)

online course

Instead of a book, create and make money with an online course. The point is to produce quality content. Deliver it to your audience as a text book or as a video course, all the same just different format. Sometimes just different naming for marketing purposes.

Henrik, positivityblog.com likes to create courses. Let's see his version of a course:

• a written guide, audio version of the written guide, a worksheet (no video then)
• 27 to 37$ per course
• 60 to 90 day no questions asked money back guarantee (check the whole course, request your money back at the end, if you didn't like it)
• two delivery options: weekly parts via email, or download the whole course in one chunk

membership website

Create and publish some content for free, create some more and upload it on a membership website that charges a small monthly fee.

medium.com subscription costs 5$ a month. If you don't become a member, you only have access to three locked articles per month.

Pornhub has a Premium version. You get more content aka premium videos, better quality, always full length of a video. Premium membership costs 15$/month.

Leo created zenhabits.net, where all content is free (a couple of short text-only posts per month). Then he created Fearless Living Academy which is a membership website. A single payment of 400$ for lifetime access to FLA, you get: training videos, workbooks, practice guides, monthly live workshops, discount on future community experiences.

Create your own membership website or just create an account:

• onlyfans.com — where creators earn from exclusive content
• patreon.com — creativity powered by membership

personal coaching/guidance

Many people are too busy to read or need an extra boost, so you could offer them personal assistance, and that is where your money comes from. 1on1 or in groups, live or online.

nerdfitness.com has hundreds of science-backed free articles and resources about how to eat and train. Anyone can do the stuff on their own. If you feel like you need extra guidance, they offer personal online NF coaching for a monthly rate of 200$. They are smart: also making money with online courses (80-150$ per course), or become a member of NerdFitness Prime for 100$/year (instant online access to community, courses, mobile app).

David Allen wrote a book, has a website with free resources: gettingthingsdone.com, offers personal/team training and coaching. Not personally done by David — too busy, but his organization and partners around the globe.

Travel blogs? Make money by organizing guided tours: nature or city.

app/software (digital products)

stronglifts.com offers valuable training programs and exercise guides for free. By signing up, there is a daily strength and motivation tips available by email. The product to purchase is the StrongLifts app: 5$/month, 30$/year, or 100$ for lifetime access. Website info & email newsletter for free, making money with the app.

Any other downloadable digital products? gettingthingsdone.com shop: they sell GTD workflow map, organizers, templates in pdf format.

merchandise

Getting traffic with free content, selling merchandise to your audience.

waitbutwhy.com has it's own store button: they sell t-shirts (25$), hoodies (45$), mugs (20$), stickers, buttons, tote bags, plushies, posters (some cool posters!). If you don't like material crap, they are open up for monthly or one time donation. Or support for free simply by telling your friends about the site and share their articles on social media.

Does Pornhub has it's own merchandise shop? Of course they do! Running shorts for 50$, hoodies for 80$, bucket hat for 30$, slide sandals for 55$. PH logo everywhere!

Famous entertainer, Youtuber Ozzy Man tries to make few extra bucks by selling merch: ozzymanshop.com. Dude has got some creative ideas.