How to make money with your blog

I’m not shy when it comes to talking about making an income blogging. I’ve published income reports, shared stats, talked about how I find sponsored posts and more. Money is often seen as a taboo subject, but honestly, I don’t see it that way. If someone reads this and it helps them make money from something they love, then brilliant.

There are many different ways to make money blogging, both passively and actively. Some of them take a long time to build up to. Some of them you can start almost immediately. Here’s a rundown of everything I know.

Updated September 2026

Display Advertising

Display ads (the kind that appear in your sidebar, between paragraphs, in your header) are the most passive form of blog income. You sign up to an ad network, add a piece of code to your site, and the ads appear automatically. You earn money when people see or click them.

Google AdSense is the most well-known network and the easiest to get started with — there’s no minimum traffic requirement to apply. The earnings per thousand views are low, though. Once you have consistent traffic (typically 25,000–50,000 sessions a month), it’s worth applying to premium networks like Mediavine or Raptive (formerly AdThrive), which pay significantly more.

The honest reality: display ads only make meaningful money at meaningful traffic. If you’re getting 5,000 views a month, it’ll be a few pounds. Focus on building your audience first.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate links are links that are unique to you. When someone clicks your link and makes a purchase, you earn a percentage of the sale. You don’t have to create the product, handle shipping, or deal with customer service — you just send people to it.

The most popular affiliate programmes for bloggers:

• Amazon Associates — low commission rates (typically 1–4%) but works for almost any niche because Amazon sells everything
• RewardStyle / LTK — popular for fashion and lifestyle bloggers, links to lots of brands
• Awin and Rakuten — affiliate networks with hundreds of individual brand programmes

The key to affiliate income is relevance. People buy through your links because they trust your recommendation. If you’re only recommending things you genuinely use and like, your conversion rate will be much higher than if you’re just throwing links at everything.

It takes traffic to make affiliate income meaningful — but you don’t necessarily need huge traffic, you need targetedtraffic. A small blog in a specific niche where readers are ready to buy something can outperform a large general blog.

Sponsored Posts and Brand Collaborations

Sponsored posts are posts you write (or have written for you) in exchange for payment from a brand. You keep the income, the brand gets content and a link. This is one of the most active forms of blog income — you’re trading your time and audience directly.

A few things I’ve learnt:

Most of my repeat work comes from the same people. Being professional, hitting deadlines, and creating good content leads to return business. That’s worth more than chasing every new collaboration.

For finding sponsored work: Blogger Opportunities and UK Influencer Opportunities Facebook groups are still good for finding smaller and mid-size campaigns. Get Blogged is worth joining. Instagram and LinkedIn DMs to brands you actually love is underrated — a genuine pitch often works.

Always disclose. This is not optional — it’s required by the ASA and CAP Code in the UK. I have a separate post on disclosure rules if you want the details. Mark it AD or Sponsored in your title and at the start of the post. Not in the footer, at the start.

Social Media Sponsored Content

Separate from blog sponsored posts, you can also be paid for Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube content directly. Brands pay for reach and engagement on social, and rates have generally gone up as platforms have become more important to marketing strategies.

Even a small, engaged audience is valuable to the right brand. If you have 3,000 genuinely engaged followers in a specific niche, you’re more useful to a relevant brand than someone with 50,000 disengaged followers.

The disclosure rules apply here too — Instagram now has a paid partnership label built in, TikTok has similar, and the ASA expects you to use them.

Digital Products

This is the one I’d push people towards most if they’re looking for scalable income. A digital product — an ebook, a template, a printable, a short course, a resource pack — you create once and can sell many times.

The barrier feels higher because you have to actually make something. But if you have knowledge your readers want, a digital product is often the most sustainable income stream.

What works: products that solve a specific, concrete problem. “How to set up your blog” workbook. Editable Canva templates for bloggers. An Instagram preset pack. A recipe ebook in your niche. Specific beats general every time.

Platforms to sell on: Gumroad is simple to set up. Etsy works well for printables and templates. Payhip is good for ebooks and resources. Your own WooCommerce shop if you want everything on your own site.

Newsletter / Subscription Income

More bloggers are now earning through paid newsletters, either via Substack or by building an email list and selling access to exclusive content. This is relatively new territory for most UK lifestyle bloggers, but it’s growing.

If you have a loyal readership who’d pay a few pounds a month for more of what you do — more personal writing, exclusive content, early access — it’s worth exploring.

Things Worth Knowing

It takes longer than you think. Most people who make real money blogging have been at it for at least three to five years. That’s not to put you off, just to set expectations. The bloggers you see making significant income have been building their audience and authority for a long time.

Diversify. Relying on one income stream is risky. Ad revenue can drop with a Google update. A brand partnership can fall through. Having three or four different income sources is much more stable than one.

Your niche matters more than you think. A very specific niche with a passionate audience is easier to monetise than a general lifestyle blog. Not impossible, just harder.

Frequently Asked Questions: Making Money Blogging

How much money can you realistically make from a blog?

It varies enormously. Some bloggers make a few hundred pounds a year from occasional sponsored posts. Others make a full-time income. The difference is usually traffic, niche, and how diversified their income streams are. Full-time income from blogging typically requires significant traffic (100,000+ monthly pageviews helps) or a specific niche with a ready-to-buy audience, or both.

How long does it take to make money blogging?

Most bloggers see their first small income (a few pounds from Adsense, a small affiliate payment) within six to twelve months if they’re publishing consistently. Making a reliable meaningful income typically takes two to four years of consistent work. It’s a long game.

Do you need a lot of traffic to make money blogging?

For display advertising, yes — you need substantial traffic to earn meaningful amounts. For sponsored posts, affiliate income, and digital products, you don’t need huge traffic, you need the right audience. A blogger with 5,000 monthly readers in a specific niche can earn more than a general blogger with 50,000 if their audience is ready to engage and buy.

Is blogging still worth it in 2025 and 2026?

Yes, but it’s more competitive than it was five years ago and requires more SEO knowledge and consistency than it used to. Blogs that provide genuine expertise, personal experience, and useful content still rank and earn. The bloggers who have struggled are those whose content was thin or easily replicated by AI overviews. Personal voice and real experience are more valuable than ever.

What’s the best way to start making money if you’re a new blogger?

Focus on growing your traffic first through good keyword research and useful content. Once you have an audience, affiliate links are usually the easiest first income stream because you don’t need a minimum following or traffic threshold. Once you’re earning something from affiliates and have consistent traffic, look at display ad networks and then sponsored posts as your profile grows.