Today we get into a real business talk, friends! We’ve already determined that huge following is not a must for your blog monetisation. The secret is in what services or products you introduce to your audience and what strategies you’re working towards. In this post, I’d love to discuss the importance of multiple streams of income with you all. I hope it will inspire you to really think out of the box when it comes to building an online business. Perhaps you can even take it full-time very soon!

The Importance Of Various Income Streams

Working online is loads of fun, but it can also carry a lot of risks. To minimise your chances of being late to pay your rent for the month, you should really focus on creating at least a few different streams of income. I personally have at least seven different systems I make a profit online from.

You may wonder WHY tho? Well, let me tell you…

First Of all, having multiple streams of income simply allow you to sleep better at night. Seriously, all of this online business comes with its ups and downs, so stress is a common thing that most of the online entrepreneurs have to deal with. By bringing various income streams, you will be able to manage where your money comes from. Thus, if one area is not doing that well one month, another one will be able to pick things up.

Moreover, creating different monetisation streams will allow you to grow and learn daily. This way, you won’t get stuck in one field. Instead, you will always have things to improve and areas to grow in.

Keeping yourself busy is always a great idea and it actually helps me to avoid stressful situations! I know, “business and “stress” seem to go hand in hand. However, when it comes to growing an online business having something to work on every single day keeps your mind productive instead of letting it focus on lack of orders or pageviews.

If you’re currently only focussing on a single way to make money from your blog or even if you’re not monetising your blog just yet, let me help you!

How To Make Money Online?

First things first, you will need a place on the internet if you don’t have one yet.  Start a blog in 5 minutes today and let’s get things going!

Then, go ahead and make sure to choose a niche you’re going to focus on. Working online is way easier when you have a clear niche. It is almost more likely to get sales if you introduce yourself as an expert in a certain field.

Don’t forget to look as professional as possible and take care of your blog design. It’s crucial. You don’t want your readers to leave your blog, just because your layout doesn’t look professional.

As for the social media – get on Pinterest. Seriously, do it NOW. Pinterest is currently my main source of referral traffic. The great news about it is that you have a chance to make your posts viral straight away. Learn more here.

It might take time for you to get on first pages of Google, thus for now make sure to use social media as much as you can for the time being & enjoy making new blogging buddies!

Of course, learning the basics of SEO won’t hurt.

Stay consistent. Have a clear posting schedule for your blog and social media and stick to it.

Do your research on other bloggers. Have someone you absolutely admire? Examine your favourite online creators and analyse their monetisation strategy. Do they accept sponsored content? Or perhaps they’ve created a product that is super useful for their audience? See what works for others, but don’t copy their ideas. Spend some time to decide what ways would work with your content and roll up your sleeves.

Need specific ideas on various ways to make money online, consider these:

Sponsored Content

The most common way for bloggers to monetise their blogs is by getting sponsorship from brands. The way this would usually work is you’d get paid to review an item or feature clothing in your outfit posts etc. If you’re blogging regularly, you should soon start receiving e-mails from companies that are interested in working with you, but you don’t necessarily have to sit and wait for the opportunities to fall out from the sky. It’s absolutely OK to reach to brands with a proposal yourself, learn more: How to Find Brands To Work With As A Blogger.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a way for a business to reward bloggers or online influencers for each visitor/sale brought by the blogger’s own marketing efforts. Basically, once someone clicks on the affiliate link and buys something from your advertised website you’ve shared- you will get commisioned.

Affiliate Marketing has been my second highest income source for the past year and it is seriously the best way to make passive income even while you sleep!

Check out Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course if you want to learn more about it! The course was created by Michelle who currently earns over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing, and she shares all of the best tips in this course. In this course, there are 6 modules, over 30 lessons, over 20 worksheets, bonuses, an extremely helpful exclusive Facebook group, and more, and she goes through everything when it comes to affiliate marketing. I was so happy to have found this course and learn from a real expert!

If you’re looking for fashion based affiliate marketing programs to join, Shop Style Collective and Reward Style are currently the most popular ones to use. They both seem pretty similar- you get to choose fashion items that you want to feature and you can then embed them over widgets or links. However, the way these two platforms pay you are actually pretty different.

In short, RewardStyle pays a commission based on every purchase that originates from your blog, whereas ShopStyle pays on a per click basis. Which basically means, RewardStyle only pays you once someone actually buys using one of your links while with ShopStyle, you will make money anytime someone clicks any ShopStyle links on your site.

Which one should I go with then? I’d say if you’re a beginner blogger- go with ShopStyle and start earning little extra income from day one. However, if you’re experienced blogger and have some kind of an audience built- I’d apply for Reward Style as their commision rates are usually way higher!

Google Adsense

Google Adsense is probably one of the most common ad networks to use. Now you might not see great results at first, but with your page views growing in time, you might be able to make decent passive income this way. The best thing is- you’ll be able to choose what type of ads you want to feature on your blog. Thus, if you’re running a fashion blog, choosing fashion/beauty ad types would be very relatable and your readers wouldn’t be bothered by flashy ads that do not have anything to do with your content.

Other Ad Networks

If you don’t feel like using Google Adsense is for you, there are plenty of other profitable ad networks for you to choose from. Just do your research, get in touch with networks’ representatives and find your match. Working with smaller ad networks can actually bring you more profit as you might be able to arrange a personalised commision rate just for you!

Consultations

If you’ve noticed like your readers are commonly getting in touch with the same questions, you should consider offering paid consultations on your blog. Whatever it is- successful blogging questions or style consultations- you might be able to create a service based business out of this. Perhaps someone needs you to put an outfit together for them or simply consult on which dress might suit their body shape best? Your readers are inspired by your style and they would be extremely happy to have you help them find theirs!

Become A Virtual Assistant

Are you tech savvy? Do you write kick-ass e-mails or consider yourself to be a pro in googling? You should consider starting your own virtual assistant business. VAs usually take care of the tasks that online entrepreneurs cannot find the time for such as doing research for them, booking tickets or answering simple e-mails. Basically, everyone can do it if you are ready to commit and have a few free hours in your day.

Not sure what exact services you can suggest? Gina put together a FREE list of 150+ VA services for you to pick from over here.

Social Media

Monetising your social media is extremely powerful. You can charge brands less for a quick insta-stories mention or include your affiliate links into your tweets. Make sure to avoid spamming your feeds too much tho & don’t forget to be transparent about your sponsored content. Your social media followers have the right to know which posts were sponsored, but it doesn’t mean they will be disappointed! We all have to make a living, right?

Sell Your Own Products

What about creating your own fashion brand? I know, I know it might sound scary, but it doesn’t have to be anything huge for the beginning. Perhaps offering something simple as t-shirts or totes with your own designs would be just what your audience is looking for! It might even grow into more products in the future, who knows! Check out Represent website for a very easy way to create your own merch and make sure to leave a link of your products in the comments, so we can all check them out and even order some. Alternatively, you can consider creating digital products that require little investments and can be very useful to your readers!

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Hope this inspired you to create extra income streams for your blog and online business! Let me know what ways you’re monetising your blog at the moment, I’d love to know what works for you!