Do blogs make money? I see the questions all the time from new and emerging bloggers: “Does blogging make money in 2026?” The simple answer is yes. You can earn money blogging.
However, the truth is a bit more complicated.
Way back in the infancy of blogs, it was much easier to monetize your site. Getting found on Google was as easy as keyword stuffing.
Fast forward to now, and the rules of blogging have changed. There are more limitations and more competition.
So, is blogging still profitable? What should a blogger do before giving up completely?
In this post, you’ll learn a few strategies that work at monetizing your blog smartly and generating an income stream. You’ll have insights that will help you devise your monetization strategy.
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Does Blogging Make Money?
Yes.
But there’s quite a bit of hard work involved.
So if you’re not into slow growth to success through consistent work, then I suggest you may want to quit your blog. Or sell it (Flippa is recommended).
There’s also this perceived notion that blogging is a quick way to make money.
It’s been promoted by many who post Pinterest pins about how they made thousands of dollars within a few months of blogging.
Blogging full-time as a business can make you money in the long run. It takes time to build an online presence with a blog.
There are many who are successfully using blogs to sell digital products and more.
How Much Money Can You Make In Your First Year Of Blogging?
This is a tough question to answer because it depends on a few things:
- Your niche – some are more popular than others
- How much content you published
- How much blog traffic you’re getting regularly
- How you’re monetizing (ads won’t make you money, but selling digital products and services will)
The reality is that for many new bloggers, it’s great if they can break even to cover self-hosting costs and start-up costs.
It’s doable!
Since there’s much to learn and implement on your blog in the first year, much of your attention is not on monetization.
So, does blogging make money? Yes… But you need to have a solid blog foundation first.
| RELATED: How You Can Make Money With A General Lifestyle Blog
What To Do To Earn Money Blogging In 2026?
To earn money blogging, you’ll need to do two things:
- Tackle your obstacles for growth
- Diversify your monetization strategy
Key Obstacles To Making Money With Your Blog
To earn money blogging, let’s look at monetization challenges first, so that you can overcome them.
I’ll share with you a mistake I made way back in 2013 with my first blog: I obsessed over ads.
I thought that’s all I could do with a lifestyle-themed blog.
Part of it was a bad case of imposter syndrome.
The other was a fear of making money.
Guess what? Most new bloggers face the same issues. There’s this feeling of guilt about making money by selling your content or services. I believe it’s tied to imposter syndrome.
Tackle these and you’re going to be on the road to making money with your blog:
- Imposter syndrome – feeling that you’re not that smart in your niche compared to others
- Adopting a money mindset
- Not being afraid of taking risks and trying new things
- Leveraging networks and asking for support
PRO TIP: Update your blog theme to make a great first impression. If it looks outdated and doesn’t create a great site visitor experience, there’s a very good chance you’re losing conversions to sales. Check out my top recommended feminine WordPress themes.
Diversifying Your Monetization Strategy
Is blogging still profitable? Yes – if you’re using smart strategies to make money.
Now let’s look at diversifying your blog monetization strategy.
What would happen if you only have one way to monetize your blog – i.e. affiliate marketing?
Well, you’d probably make some money off of it over time as your blog grew and you focused on blog traffic.
But what if you had affiliate marketing, and let’s say an email sales funnel with a digital product you’ve created and are selling?
Or if you created a media kit and rate card, and started pitching brand collaborations?
Immediately, you’d have more options for an income.
Layer in more digital products, and more sales funnels, a shop, upsells, tripwire offers…
You get the picture.
The more ways you sell, the more potential opportunities for making money.
| RELATED: How To Create An Online Course To Sell On Your Blog
Make Money Selling Services
Are you really good at something?
Even as a new blogger, you can start building an offer with your services.
Perhaps it’s being a virtual assistant or a freelance copywriter. Whatever your top skill, you can start offering your services.
By adding services to your monetization strategy, you can bring in a higher income through your blog.
Typically, you can charge more for your services, meaning you can certainly make more when doing a coaching or consulting session, or a freelance project.
| RELATED: Starting An Online Coaching Business Checklist
Can You Make $1000 A Month Blogging?
This is dependent on several factors, including your niche and the size of your market.
For a blogger who’s been building their blog for about a year – yes, it’s doable.
With affiliate marketing and selling digital products, it may be very difficult, but with selling services, it’s more likely you can reach this goal.
As I mentioned, diversifying your income streams will help you get to that $1000 a month faster, even as a beginner blogger.
Bloggers who’ve been blogging full-time for more than three years, implementing monetization strategies, could easily be earning more than $5000/month.
The longer you blog consistently, position yourself as a niche expert and adopt a money mindset, the more successful you will be.
To help you get started on your road to getting that $1000, check out my 50+ Affiliate Programs that pay great commissions:
The Key Takeaways For Making Money Blogging
To answer the question “do blogs still make money?”, here are some of the essentials for success with a profitable blog:
- Overcome your obstacles, including impostor syndrome
- Adopt a money mindset
- Diversify your income streams
- Consider selling your services
- Keep growing your blog
- Become a niche expert and focus on personal branding
Most importantly, don’t give up!
I’d like to have fewer bloggers reaching out to me for one-on-one blog coaching services, asking me “Is blogging still profitable?”
One last tip I need to share: it’s extremely important to start and grow your email list. Learn about all the key reasons why you should focus on it and how to grow your newsletter subscribers.
Read more about monetizing different types of blogs:
How To Make Money With A Travel Blog
Make Money With A Lifestyle Blog
QUESTION: What do you think – does blogging make money?
It’s definitely not as easy to make money blogging as some bloggers make you believe it is but diversifying is key. It’s something I really need to focus on as well as promoting servies more.
Hi Margaret!
Thank you for this post.
I started my blog about two years ago and didn’t really focus on monetizing it yet. But things will change! 🙂 I signed up for your 50 Affiliate Programs for new bloggers; I’m pretty sure I’ll find something to fit my blog there!
Thanks again!
Linda
You’re most welcome Linda! I hope this is helpful for you.