Professional writer.
That’s a title that eight years ago, I wouldn’t have given myself. I don’t think I would have had the audacity to even think those words. Although it had been a lifelong dream of mine, I had never taken the leap.
Until the military forced my hand.
I was jobless and searching for a career that could move with me when I realized that Jo, My Gosh! — a passion project I was doing on the side was actually turning into a portfolio I could use to launch a writing career through freelancing and my blog.
Seven years later, I’ve been able to do just that.
If you’re thinking about freelancing or blogging as a profession, the great news is that it can be done. It’s a lot of hard work, research, networking, and–did I mention?– hard work, but it can be done. And the really wonderful thing about
These are the tools that I use to help reach my audience and keep everything ticking on Jo, My Gosh! I hope you’ll be able to use them on your website, too! Here’s how to monetize a blog:
1. Tailwind
Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduling program that offers a suite of tools to help make your Pinterest game stronger. Primarily thanks to Tailwind, my niche blog’s Pinterest account has more than 27,000 followers and anywhere between 800,000 and 1.4 million monthly viewers, depending on the month.
2. Tailwind Tribes
Tribes are groups of bloggers and content creators that are committed to sharing other members’ content, which means you’re able to get your content in front of similar audiences. Before you request membership into a group, read their rules and look at the meter that shows how engaged and active the tribe is. You do not need to have a subscription to Tailwind to participate in Tailwind Tribes.
3. PinGroupie
Type niche keywords into this search engine and find Pinterest group boards you can join. It’s free and easy.
4. AdThrive
AdThrive is honestly the best thing that’s happened to the passive income monetization of my blog. They place, manage, and optimize the advertisements on your blog (including video) so that you can worry about creating content and not fighting with ad placements and code. If your site gets 100,000 pageviews or more, you can apply. If you’re not quite there yet, there are other organizations such as Media Vine, that offer similar services.
5. SoFluential
Niche bloggers can make good money working with brands… it’s just how you go about it! If you’d like to monetize your blog and social media through sponsored campaigns, check out SoFluential. They specialize in connecting niche and micro-niche bloggers with major brands. (And they’re dreamed up and owned by a military spouse!)
6. New Blog Hosting
If you’re looking to monetize your blog in a meaningful way, you need to own your domain. I had a Blogspot address and wish I had just ponied up for my own .com at the very beginning. I can’t say enough good things about David—the owner of New Blog Hosting, his team, and his service. If something goes wrong (which is very, very rarely does), I can contact David and rest assured that the issue will be taken care of quickly. There’s no sitting on a 1-800 line for hours or nameless, faceless customer service reps. And the price of hosting is exceptionally reasonable when compared to virtually any other hosting service.
7. Amazon.com
No matter the size of your blog or following, you can earn money by becoming an Amazon Affiliates partner. With a little bit of creativity, you can craft blog posts where your affiliate links make sense and are a value-add to your readers… not just a painful sales pitch.
8. MailChimp
I use MailChimp for my weekly newsletter, but there are many newsletter options out there. MailChimp does offer free service if your newsletter list is under a certain threshold, so you can try it out to see if it works for you. If you offer meaningful, interesting content in your newsletter, you can grow your audience, drive click-throughs, and generate interest and engagement.
9. PicMonkey
I’m a writer, not a graphic designer… but blogging is highly visual, especially when it comes to promoting your brand and your blog on social media. And hiring a graphic designer for small projects can quickly add up. Easily create beautiful memes, social media tiles, and blog graphics with PicMonkey. The annual membership fee pays for itself every year just in the templates and volume of graphics I’m able to produce to draw readers to my blog.
