How Freelance Bloggers Can Make More Money (No Clients Involved)

The process of finding and building up relationships with the right influencers and clients takes time and patience. Very rarely will a publication knock down your door begging for your expert insights, or clients line up outside your office looking for content.

So in the meantime, in between sending and waiting to hear back on client proposals, there is a range of ways bloggers can build up a steady income, without having to do too much in the way of work to get started.

You can use the internet to fund your own internet addiction, no clients required. This post will show you how.

Sell Products Through Your Blog

Whether it’s an informative eBook or your own novel, selling your writing through your blog will help you raise your profile and make a steady stream of money.  There are many ways to self-publish your own title and you can advertise your book on Amazon, Kobo, Google Adsense and Facebook to help you draw in more readers.

Becoming an ebook author, as well as a blogger, will help you diversify your writerly brand.

Even digital products like planners, worksheets, and calendars can be harnessed for monetary benefit — think about how you can repurpose all your awesome blog content in a format that people are likely to need (and buy).

For those looking for solutions that involve minimal time and effort, branded t-shirts and blog merchandise can help you advertise and bring in support for your blog.

Start A Vlog

Youtube vlogging has come a long way in recent years, coinciding with the rise in podcasting and long-form audio. No longer is YouTube the reserve of cat videos and juvenile pranks, some of the most popular vloggers today are just ‘normal people’ talking in front of their webcam about interesting subjects.

As a blogger, you already have an online platform and necessary expertise and knowledge — why not take this to the next level and start capturing short videos?

For bloggers who may be camera-shy, you don’t need to look like a celebrity to impress. You can even vlog from behind an avatar or persona if you wish — many funny videos and concepts have come about this way.

Not techy? Don’t worry: you can find free video editing packages and get your videos uploaded in a few hours. If you practice your script ahead of time, you could even attempt to share your ideas in one take!

Monetizing your videos through YouTube is easy enough with video ads, and you can also get lucrative sponsorship deals.

Build Stock Photo Libraries

If you have a decent camera and some photography skills, you could take a batch of stock photos and start selling their usage rights online. Many photographers have caught onto this as a passive income source, but as a blogger, you can also leverage your awesome photography skills.

If you have ever had to search for an appropriate image for an article, you will appreciate how little choice there is in imagery for certain subjects. Do the wider blogging community a favor and provide some sought-after photos for these lesser-spotted terms.

Sell Creative Products

Platforms like Etsy allow vendors to sell digital downloadables like logo graphics, digital templates, icon illustrations, customized fonts and much more. If you are artistically gifted, you can create a downloadable package and start selling through the platform immediately.

You may need to invest in some advertising to get the word out, but on the whole, this is a very low-cost, low-maintenance way of making money online. Start messing about with graphic design tools to see whether you’ve got the creative skills required to make this work.

Run Online Tutorials

If you have a specialized professional skill or knowledge base, consider sharing your expertise on an online tutorial site like Skillshare. With platforms like these, you get paid for the number of people who sign up to watch your teaching series.

You can also run your own online tutorials and webinars through social media or your blog — just make sure that you don’t get caught out by any tricky tech issues. You can also create resources, checklists etc. to provide your learners with supporting materials.

Consider teaching others what you know best: blogging. There is a huge market out there for bloggers who are able to pass on their top tips to the next generation of bloggers.

Manage An Ecommerce Business

The easiest way to run an online store? Dropshipping. Dropshipping is an emerging ecommerce trend for those who wish to start a business on a shoestring budget.

Dropshipping is where you only pay for the goods after you have sold them through your site, and a third party handles all the storage and delivery of your goods. This means that you do not have to buy in bulk, and you can quickly change your product offering if your chosen merchandise fails to sell.

As you’ve got no stock, it’s a very low-risk business model, and you can focus on what you do best: content and community management.

If you don’t fancy yourself as a web design ‘whizz’ you can go to a site and purchase a store that is already set up, branded, and ready to go. There are plenty of great dropshipping websites for sale on there, meaning you can pretty much step into immediately running your own business.

Try Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding has been the secret to financial success for many brands and bloggers. If you have true product-market fit, crowdfunding is a great way to ride on the wave of enthusiasm for your idea, product, or service.

A crowdfunding campaign, when executed well, takes up a lot of time, but the return on investment can be huge. Just make sure that potential investors are given good enough incentives for supporting you, and that you’re communicating the value of your offering. You may want to learn from the best before you launch your own.

Test Out Affiliate Marketing

If you like writing review content, why not step into the realm of affiliate marketing? Whilst helping people choose between platforms, products, and services, you can also earn a nice tidy income (if you have the right amount of web traffic of course).

Look for brands that tie into your reader’s interests, and don’t stray too far from your blog’s core topics. The best type of affiliate content feels entirely natural and native, not promotional or salesy. Loads of your favorite brands will have affiliate programs — it’s time to start shopping.

 

Finding work in-between clients, to keep your freelance blogging business ticking over needn’t involve masses of additional work. Dedicate some time every week to building up your ‘side hustle’, and quickly you will have built up a steady stream of income.