The Ultimate Guide to When You Want to Start Earning Extra Income Through Blogging

If you ask me whether I'm a full-time blogger or not, I'm conflicted to answer. In a way, I spend most of my time sitting in front of the computer and check what I can do with it to be more attractive to read. Be it regarding the content, or the layout. But then again, I barely could live solely from my blog.

So, this post is not exactly about how you could earn six-figure in a month from blogging because it's not. This post is about how sometimes something could turn out alright when you least expected it to work even well enough.

My source of income is mainly from some remote works that I've got. I work as a freelance copywriter for some local Indonesian brands while I've also worked as Social Media Strategist for some local celebrity.

These jobs work well for me to at least pay my bills on time. But compared to my previous 9-to-5 job, it's more than half of my usual income. And the only good thing is that I no longer have to pay for the rent as I now live in my parents' house.

And one of the things that have turned out alright for me after I moved back in is this blog. Why? Because unexpectedly, this blog helps me to get some extra income every once in a while.

Table of Content

It's Not A Post About How to Earn Six-Figure Through Blogging

I've been blogging since around 2004 on LiveJournal. *lol*

It was only last year that I decided to actually expand my blogging skill and see if I could use a platform that would give me some extra income out of it. You may have read my previous post on some rookie mistakes that I've done in terms of blogging.

While creating this blog, monetizing it is not my main purpose.

My main purpose when I started blogging on The BeauTraveler is just so I can focus more on what I write, I've been blogging for a long time that my previous blog was so decluttered with some random post about mushy stuff or even meme. Albeit, a blog that is actually focusing more on traveling, beauty and dating tips.

It's been 1.5 years since I started this blog, and I know some bloggers who claim that they earn more than $1000 on their 6th month of blogging and I'm simply not one of them. It's 1.5 years and roughly, I usually only get one or two sponsored posts in a month that earn me 1/10 of those bloggers' claim. On some difficult month, sometimes barely. Hmm.

It kinda helps that I do this for my passion, and not solely for money. Because otherwise, I'd probably get frustrated and give up blogging for a long time. But who am I kidding? Extra income is always nice, in every way.

So if you're looking into the opportunity of getting some while at the same time, just like me, you're not that ambitious to actually focusing on monetizing your blog, I suppose this post is something that you may find useful later.

What I Do Differently Before and After Trying to Earn Extra Money from Blogging

As I mentioned earlier, money is not exactly the main reason why I run this blog. My mindset is something like, “If I could get money out of it, then great. Otherwise, I'm still going to write anyway.”

However, there are some things that I do differently compared to when I just blog for fun on Tumblr. I started to invest a little for self-hosted WordPress and put myself ‘out there' in a way that I could show people what I have posted. Something that I never did on Tumblr.

Start Promoting My Blog

I strictly don't promote my blog on my personal social media account for some reason. First of all, I want to make my blog authentic, in a way I don't want anyone to interfere what I write here.

I mean, let's be real here… But Facebook nowadays is all about that random aunt who would slide in the comment section asking you whether you went to church last Sunday. See, I don't need that kind of vibes on my blog posts. 😛

So, what I did is that I created a fan page for my blog and invite some people that I trust to have a neutral (if not supportive) opinion about what I do. For me, it was my sister who would criticize my first logo and header because she thought it looked really tacky. It was a constructive feedback, so I worked on it to make it more appealing.

On this fan page, I've shared all the updates directly from my blog, and it has gone quite well until now.

Start Engaging with The Blogging Communities

This is something that I wish I did it the firsthand. The engagement I've had with the blogging communities gives me a lot of advantages.

Not only does it bring me more traffic to my blog, it also gives me more opportunities to collaborate and earn some money through blogging. For someone whose first motive to blog is to run it by passion, money is just a bonus you can bring to the table while doing something that you love in the first place.

Since I am currently based in my hometown, I started attending some events created by some bloggers' community here. I also got invited for some press trip, as well as sponsored for some contents. The most recent sponsored post that I've got from was for my Indonesian blog, in which I got a sponsored therapy for Bell's Palsy and Facial Tics at Lineation Clinic.

For all of these, money is not even my #1 motivation, because my only motivation is just to create contents for my blog. And through such collaboration, I've got more opportunities to create content in various topics that are still through my niche.

Start Growing My Blog

So, here's the hard work is all about. Growing my blog means not only that I got to engage with more people through the blogosphere, but it also means that I have to do the whole promoting and marketing activities.

Well, some bloggers are lucky enough to hire a virtual assistant to do all the hard work on their behalves. Unfortunately, I'm too broke to hire one.

Besides, the fact that I'm not that ambitious to monetize my blog is also aligned with the fact that I don't fancy spending more money to grow my blog either. I mean, I know there are some paid platforms that I heard really recommended for bloggers, I don't use it simply because I don't wanna pay for it. 😛

The thing is, the less money you want to spend on your blog, the harder you gotta work. Just promoting it is not enough, because I think the point of growing your blog is also to grow other fellow bloggers as well. I've joined some pods where we help each other grow in a way we discuss things related to our blogging activities, support each other through sharing our recent posts, and also building links to increase our DA/PA. Sometimes we also guest post on each other's blog to expand our audience as well.

You think it's all fun and games, until you realize that at some point you know that you don't have time to do any of those when you've still got something else to do. And that, my friends, is also another reason why I don't exactly rely on my blog for a living.

How To Earn Extra Money through Blogging When You're Not That Ambitious to Monetize Your Blog

This, of course, is an unpopular opinion since most of you probably just want to monetize your blog, and full stop. But then again, sometimes you forget about the process and one's process could be different compared to the others.

When this celeblogger could earn a six-figure salary through blogging for a year, there are also bloggers like me who are happy enough to earn just extra $100 from my blog in a month. And we've been blogging for years. The thing is, never ever compare your result with others.

Because the whole point of this journey, just like life, is for you to enjoy the process. You can always step up your game if needed just so you can challenge yourself, but never get yourself stressed out just because you barely earn something through a sponsorship when some of your fellow bloggers claim they've got $2,000 through blogging only.

In blogging, I like to play it slow to give myself some time to breathe. I'm quite stubborn that I never really take anything personally whenever I read some blogging income post and whatnot. The reason is simply that money is not my priority.

So when some bloggers said they've earned $1,234 from their first trimester blogging through affiliate marketing, I'd tell myself that maybe affiliate marketing is just not for me. Good to have, but I definitely can't rely on it. If think we're on the same page, then I suppose you may want to read further.

1. Advertising

Well, there's always pros and cons when it comes to everything in life. Advertising on your blog is included. Some don't like it because advertising could be so annoying, especially when they're all over your blog. While at the same time, some still rely on this option to monetize their blog.

I'm currently using Adsense on my blog, and honestly, if you ask me how much I've earned through it in the past few months, then it's not that much. I've earned less than a penny daily, so if you look at the value of money earned through it, it's definitely a buzzkill.

So, then why am I still using it?

It's simply because I genuinely enjoy the process, the fact that the money earned is based on how many readers visiting my blog each day. Slowly, but sure.

I know some bloggers who give up Adsense all at once since they don't see the value of it, but I still keep it because for me personally, it's always better to wait, even for so long, with a result than earn nothing at all.

Some tips for Adsense:

My Adsense account has been approved on the second month since I started blogging with less than 20 posts in total. Some people got a hard time to get their blog approved for the platform when they wanted it so bad.

There are some things that I've done before submitting my application for Adsense account. These include original contents and organized layouts.

2. Sponsored Posts

I know a lot of bloggers out there often recommends affiliate marketing for monetizing. However, if you're a minor blogger like me, relying on affiliate marketing could be a struggle especially when you're too lazy to deal with the e-mail list and all that.

My most favorite way to monetize my blog is through sponsored posts, because not only that I could get a chance to familiarize myself with the brands, but also the fresh money that I potentially get from them.

Also, there are times when I got some kind of writers' block and the sponsored post opportunity rescued me because that way, I could get to write a new content as well. It's definitely a win-win.The

The guide to set the price per post:

The first and foremost to consider before you set the price for your potential clients is to actually know your worth. Don't sell yourself short, and know that time is money. So is the time you spend to create that sponsored post.

Why am I telling you this? Because I once accepted a sponsored post on my Indonesian blog for barely even $5. My huge mistake. So, I've come to an idea that there are so many bloggers that wouldn't mind getting paid with that amount of money to write a sponsored post for that low amount of money.

Nowadays, I have increased my standard because my time is precious. I wouldn't mind receiving free products only. It's definitely better than just getting paid for $5 when you write a high-quality content without much experience to try the product.

For a start, you can always refer to Social Bluebook to know how much you can charge your potential clients for a start.

3. Affiliate Marketing

For this, I need to confess that it's actually not my favorite way to earn money through blogging. I mean, it's quite hard to earn any when the number of your blog visitor is not that high.

But still, I've applied for affiliate marketing for some platforms that I usually use. And no, I haven't earned any penny out of it. That's why it's my least favorite way to monetize. 😛

I'm not gonna try to demotivate you with my experience, but it's worth to try anyway.

Best sites for affiliate programs:

I'm currently an affiliate of Booking.com, Agoda, and a few local e-commerce websites as well. I used to be a part of Amazon affiliate programs as well but the result was kind of hopeless that they withdraw my affiliate status after quite some time. I heard that it would work well if you could settle with your e-mail list, I haven't tried so I can't speak much of it.

The Platforms I've Been Using That Give Me Opportunities to Earn Extra Money Through Blogging

Like I said, there are some influencer marketing platform that you can try to join. Some that I've joined in ~~but never really got any job out of it~~ include Blog Meets Brand and Blog Dash.

I can't really blame the platforms though, since there are many opportunities from the platforms, and the only reason why it's not matched with me is the fact that I'm currently based in Asia while most of the opportunities posted are for either those who are based in the Americas or Europe.

There are also some local ones like SociaBuzz, but then again, I'm just too lazy to deal with a $5 project. So, what platforms am I using to enable me earn some $$$?

1. Facebook Groups

For the love of God, I underestimated the ability of Facebook groups to legitimately monetize my blog back in the days. Most of the sponsored posts that I've got, I got connected with either brand or PR agency through Facebook groups.

After getting my first gig, I've joined so many Facebook groups for bloggers. I received my first gig in October last year, but that was the period when I had to rebrand my blog from Ransel Ungu to The BeauTraveler.

I had to reform my DA and my blog after my first gig, and my DA got back to stable in around February when I got another paid job through, again, Facebook group. So far, I've got at least 2 sponsored posts monthly, be it for this blog or my Indonesian blog. 🙂

2. Paypal

Most the payment for my sponsored posts is done through Paypal. So I use this platform for any financial matter related to my blog. It's pretty handy since I could also send an invoice directly on the platform as well. It's pretty cool.

For those who get used to Paypal, I think there's no biggie about it. However, if you were a newbie like I was, one thing that you might want to consider is the fee that might be borne to you by the client. For example, say if you charged the client $100, there might be around 2% transfer fee applied.

I mean, it won't hurt to make sure to your client whether it's possible to add some convenience fee for such case. That way, there's no need to lose money for transfer fee. 🙂

3. Canva

Canva is definitely my go-to site for any marketing tools that I've got for my blog. From a DIY logo that is currently used as my blog header, to even media kit and rate card, I've created everything through Canva. If you ask me what Canva has anything to do with earning extra money through blogging, then let me explain it to you…

It's important to look like you know what you're doing when approaching or dealing with your clients, no matter how clueless you are about it, or life in general really. 😛

And that's exactly why I've already created media kit long before I reached 1000 monthly views. I mentioned earlier that I like to create a personal e-mail to each brand, and that's exactly why I've got media kit. I want them to take me seriously, that when I reach out, then I'm actually keen to collaborate with them. Not just a bluff.

It also applies to when any agency reached out to me asking for my ratecard, I could just attach the media kit and ratecard for their consideration. So far, it works well for me. 🙂

As for now, I'm more than happy to receive three-digit into my account from my blogging activities. But maybe one day, there will come a day when I think I need more.

Whichever phase you've been through blogging, don't forget to enjoy the process. That's important.

So, are you in passion or money side when it comes to blogging?! Have you earned any penny through your blog these days? Do you find this post useful? Give me your most constructive feedback since I'm not that good at tutoring, especially when it comes to blogging. Cheerio!