How bloggers make money is a mysterious question which is most often answered with “They don’t.”
With that said, there are some ways I’ve attempted to make money in the last 6 years of blogging that are fairly typical to how all bloggers monetize. I’ll share those with you here.
Affiliate Sales
Bloggers make money through recommending products to their readers. If the readers click and purchase those products the seller sends the blogger a small (typically 4-8% of the purchase price) affiliate commission.
Here at MountainMomandTots.com I include affiliate links with all my gear recommendations in blog reviews and at mountainmomandtots.com/gear. Typically those are gear items we have purchased on our own or begged companies to review and loved so much we think you’ll love them too.
I always disclose when I use an affiliate link because you deserve to know when someone is financially compensated for recommending a product. Plus that’s the law.
The easiest affiliate marketing program to get started with is Amazon Associates. If you ever buy anything from Amazon.com (not just outdoor related gear – anything) please click on the amazon ad below this paragraph first.
By going through my affiliate link you send a small commission to MountainMomandTots.com that will help me continue providing content for helping families explore outdoors AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU.
Advertising
Bloggers also make money through advertising on their site. If I can get thousands of eyeballs to read my blog posts or watch my videos then companies will pay to get access to those eyeballs.
In order for this blogging income stream to be most successful, bloggers must have consistent unique monthly page views (people reading their posts) in the 50,000 -75,000 range.
I’ve never had that and therefore do not use advertising partnerships like Google AdSense or MediaVine to advertise on MountainMomandTots.com.
Any ads you see on my posts (like the one in this section) were placed there by me and are affiliate links.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts or giveaways are another way bloggers make money. Typically a company will provide a product and a fee in exchange for the blogger talking about or advertising that product to their audience.
I’ve done some stand alone sponsored posts occasionally in the past, but prefer to connect them with my Monthly Outdoor Challenges. Here’s an example where Tree Top Apple Sauce sponsored my July 2018 Monthly Outdoor Challenge.
In my opinion outdoor gear companies prefer to only send gear, not money in exchange for reviews on blogs. That may be different in other industries like in the food blogging or DIY world.
Creating and Selling Products
Creating and selling products is a fun way bloggers make money. I like it because it’s most closely aligned with traditional entrepreneurship. Bloggers can find a need in their audience and provide a solution for a fair price.
Products bloggers create may include ebooks, online courses, printables, curriculum, live events, and more.
If done well, creating and selling products is a Win/Win for everyone. Bloggers provide information or a service for a fair price that helps their readers with whatever problems they have.
Membership Sites
The final method bloggers make money is my favorite – Membership sites. With a membership site the blogger provides exclusive information, videos, how-tos, printables and other content in exchange for a monthly fee.
Think about Netflix or your Cell Phone bill. You pay each month in exchange for a service. Bloggers can create the same membership model, assuming the service or product they provide is worth the monthly money for you.
I use this method to attempt to cover my MountainMomandTots.com expenses each month through my patreon page.
What is Patreon?
Patreon is an online community where people can give financial support to their favorite bloggers and creators.
The idea of patronage is as old as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michalangelo receiving financial support from wealthy land owners that in turn allowed them to keep making their art.
Only nowadays with Patreon you don’t have to be a wealthy land owner to enjoy your favorite creator’s art. Patrons can give as little as $1 per month to help their favorite creators continue creating.
I use patreon to manage my Monthly Outdoor Challenges. Participation in my monthly outdoor challenges is FREE, but anyone who wants to be eligible for the monthly gear prize must be a $3 per month or more patron.
That $3 per month is SO valuable to me. Yes, it allows me to provide prizes when I can’t russle up a sponsor and cover costs associated with shipping. But more than that, it allows me to connect better with YOU. It helps more families explore outdoors by allowing me to devote more time to MountainMomandTots.com.
My patrons are my favorite people in the world, and not just because many of them are my family and personal friends. Patrons of MountainMomandTots.com want to explore outdoors as a family. They value nature and family and enjoy spending time with their children.
I want to support that group and those efforts!
What are Tiers on Patreon?
A unique aspect of Patreon compared to other membership sites is that it allows patrons to support their favorite creators at different financial levels.
If you can only afford to send $1 per month to your favorite creator – GREAT! If you can support at a higher level, typically $5 – $20 even better. Each patron tier offers unique benefits for that level.
For example, I have a $1 per month Spare Change tier set up for people who just like helping families explore outdoors and don’t want anything else in return. It’s like a virtual tip jar.
My $3 per month tier is designed for people who want to be part of my Monthly Outdoor Challenges. These are the benefits:
- Eligible for Monthly Outdoor Challenge Prizes.
- Monthly kid-friendly nature printable.
- Ability to vote on future challenges.
- Exclusive discounts on gear
NEW THIS MONTH I just launched my Adventure Buddy tier. $8 per month Adventure Buddies get all the previous benefits AND:
- Early access to 360 videos of our travels.
- The chance to explore together IN REAL LIFE.
- Monthly postcards from my children to yours. Everybody should have a penpal sometime in their life.
Patreon allows creators like me to deliver special content for each tier. It’s an easy way to provide value and help more families explore outdoors.
How Bloggers Make Money
While bloggers CAN make money in many different ways, not many ACTUALLY make money blogging, especially in the outdoor family field. I typically earn maybe $200 per MONTH which equals out to about $3.33 per hour.
I’m aware of only two outdoor family bloggers (out of HUNDREDS, myself included) who are making enough money to support a family exclusively on their blog work. And by support I mean making maybe $35,000 – $45,000 annually.
And while we all may know a full-time content creator or two making a killing they are by far the exception not the rule.
So if anything I’ve ever created has inspired you to explore outdoors PLEASE join me over on Patreon. It’s like an in-app purchase for your life.
Or if you plan to purchase a product based on a recommendation you read here or anywhere else online PLEASE click affiliate links and help creators turn their passions into paid work.
Thanks for all you do! We’ll see you in the outdoors!
~Mountain Mom
