When I first started my blog, it was actually a health and fitness blog. I quickly realized that those two topics often lead to people messaging you ’round the clock about how to lose weight and burn fat. That was the exact opposite of what I was going for. I wanted a place to encourage others to live a life that fit their needs and boosted their health naturally. I kind of gave up on the fitness side and just started writing about our lives. Downsizing and debt payoff and you know what? The blog took off! I started blogging in hopes of making money from home, but I had no idea how I would do that when I was encouraging people to buy less, live simpler and spend less time in front of screens!? So how did I start making money with a minimalist blog while still staying true to the minimalist in me? Keep reading and I’ll tell ya all about it.
*This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission on my recommendations at no cost to you.
The absolute first step to success with anything is to just get started. The same holds true for running a successful minimalist blog. You can’t make money if you don’t get started.
When I started my blog I chose BlueHost as a host because it is one of the best hosts and also one of the most cost-effective.
One of the biggest things that hold people back from starting a minimalist blog is that they have no idea where to start. If that sounds like you, grab my How to Start a Blog tutorial.
No matter what, no matter what kind of blog you operate, it’s so important to be authentic to who you are. If you don’t know the first thing about a particular topic, chances are no one is going to want to learn from you or read what you have to say.
The great thing about a minimalist blog is if you are practicing it in your day to day life then you will always have something to write about!
One of the best ways to let your audience see your authentic side is through Facebook and Instagram.
A major way to start earning money right away with a blog is through affiliate marketing. When I knew I wanted to talk about minimalism and money I had no idea how I was ever going to make money. Minimalism, after all, is all about buying and owning less, right?
Affiliate marketing is often mistaken as being
When you find a high paying affiliate, don’t just start peddling it out in your posts hoping to make money.
Create quality posts that you know your reader wants to hear about. Then, see where an affiliate recommendation might fit in naturally.
My favorite places to gather ideas for good blog posts are:
No matter where you find your inspiration, do your best to keep it focused on your readers and not on you. If you only write about your life and what you’re doing, people are going to quickly get bored.
Join my free online training to learn how to scale into a money-making blog!
There are a ton of other minimalist bloggers out there who are thriving. Find them and start to build a relationship.
This is probably the part of blogging that makes me the most uncomfortable. I did not want to reach out and “find my tribe.” No sir. But slowly, we all found each other and I hope to keep collecting more along the way.
Finding a like-minded group of bloggers can give you the support system you need and give you some potential places to share guest posts.
Guest posts are talked about a lot but not everyone talks about why they are so important.
Not only do guest posts help expose you to a different audience who might not be familiar with you, but there are search engine benefits as well.
Search engines like Google see quality blogs linking to your blog and it gives your blog a boost. It’s as if this other blog gave yours a quality stamp of approval for Google.
Naturally, the same benefit happens when you have guests who post on your blog and link back to their own!
When I learned I could make money through advertising on the blog, I was hesitant. After all, I’m promoting a simple living, clutter-free, debt-free way of living. I didn’t want my site filled with stuff telling people to go buy a ton of junk they don’t need!
Things got especially rough when I heard inspiring people like The Minimalists talk about how they don’t do ads. It made me feel like I would be failing as a minimalist.
Here’s the break down of why I have ads:
Ads have helped bring in a rather consistent income for my blog which has helped allow me to purchases courses and training that taught me how to better myself and improve my blog/business.
Oh, did I mention the best way to earn an income through your blog? Creating your own courses!
Once you know what
I dive into this area of blogging completely in my course, Stay at Home Blogger as well as many other areas of running a money-making blog.
So what kind of things can you create?
Depending on your type of minimalist blog and your readers you can come up with a huge variety of potential products to create.
Just make sure you give your blog some time to grow.
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Tiffany Hanenburg | 25th Jul 19
Renee,
I LOVE your blog!
Renee | 28th Jul 19
Thank you Tiffany!! That means so much! I love seeing you inspire others every single day!