I have been blogging for nearly 10 years (GASP!) and through those years I have learned a lot. I started out building my own blog by watching YouTube videos and relying on google. Thankfully, I have grown a bit and have discovered much easier ways to do things.

That being said, the blog you are looking at has provided for my family for nearly all of those 10 years. That means, I have used this platform to create multiple revenue streams and build a business. And, guess what? You can do the same thing.

Today, I want to take you out of the coupon world and into the blogging world. Not just any blogging world, the blog to business world. It’s here where freedom is found but don’t be fooled, that freedom does not come cheap. It will cost time and effort and a little money to make your blog grow but if you have a little faith, it can happen.

10 Ways to Turn Your Blog into a Business

1. Start the Blog: Well, you can’t grow something you don’t have. My favorite blog starter advice giver on the planet is Amy Lynn Andrews. Check her site out and you’ll find everything you need to know. I feel like I have lived and breathed her website for many years now. She has an ebook out too, there’s a link at the bottom of this post to that.
2. Build the Brand: This is important and this takes work and time. Make sure your branding is catchy, appealing and it matches the overall theme of your blog. Simply speaking, the title of your blog, logo and overall branding need to match and it needs to make sense. If you start a blog about retirement but you call it Sally Savings, that makes no sense. Or if you have a travel blog and start blogging about make-up, that doesn’t flow very well. You want it all to make sense, you are building a brand think Kim Kardashian here.
3. Get Social: Get on the social media platforms your customers (readers) are using. If they’re on Snapchat, start snapping, if they’re on Twitter, start tweeting, etc. Go where your audience is at not where you just happen to be at, you might have to expand your horizons a bit. This does not mean you need to be on every social media platform out there, it has more to do with being on the right platform for your audience than anything else.
4. Study Your Niche: This can be tricky, if you look too hard, you might become a copy cat and ain’t nobody got time for that. You want to see what works and what doesn’t in your niche. Learn from others and don’t make the same mistakes.
5. Think Outside the Blog: Try to get traffic to your blog from out of the box places such as television media or magazines or advertising your blog at the next coupon swap, homeschool co-op, etc. The most loyal readers you will ever have are the ones you meet in real life. Build a base of loyal readers and they’ll grow your blog for you.
6. Seek Out Successful Bloggers: This is a BIG deal, I have taught workshops over the years and I have bought a million ebooks and taken online courses on this subject. In fact, I took a course this spring that cost more than $2,000. Trust me, this is a BIG deal. Successful bloggers have been there and done that so you don’t have to and many of them have written ebooks or published online courses. You want to get ahold of those. Right now, I’m going to recommend the very best resource I have ever seen and you can only get it between now and November 1, 2016. It’s called the Genius Bloggers Toolkit. It contains more than 62 ebooks & e-courses from top bloggers and it is freaking amazing!

   
   I can tell you right now, it’s the best resource I have found on the internet and it will teach you how to start a blog, grow a blog and make money doing it. Hurry though, the Genius Bloggers Toolkit won’t be around long and right now, it’s 98% off meaning it’s only $97 which is FAR less than the $2k I paid this spring.

7. Write an ebook: Ebooks are a big deal for bloggers, they’re easy to write and easy to sell. Amazon helps with this and ebooks can also be featured in bundles such as the Genius Bloggers Toolkit (assuming they are about blogging and are decent, of course). If you have an audience, an ebook can be an instant source of revenue.
8. Teach Classes: This has been key for me over the years. If you’re a food blogger, teach a cooking class. If you’re a money saving blogger, teach a coupon class. This is another wonderful revenue stream, promote your classes by using your blog and promote your blog in your classes, it’s a win-win. The best place to teach a class is at your local continuing education center or you can simply reserve a room and hold your own workshop.
9. Sell Local Advertising: A long time ago, the main revenue stream for this blog was private ad sales. I don’t do as much of those now simply because I don’t have the time however, it is a great source of revenue if you have a blog that can appeal to local businesses. If you’re a foodie, a local restaurant may be interested in advertising with you either by ads or a sponsored post. Just remember, the ads that work are the ads that match your blog content.
10. Contact Big Brands Directly: Most bloggers use services to help connect them with bigger brands and in many cases, you have to do that. However, some of my best advertising deals were made by me contacting a brand directly and bypassing the middle man all together. You will make more money that way if they want to partner with you. I am not talking about local brands and business, I’m talking about major brands. Think about the brand of makeup you’re always blogging about, the clothes you where, etc. Reach out to those brands directly (once your blog is built and you have an audience) and see what happens. Never be afraid of getting a “no” there’s always a “yes” coming too!

As I said earlier, I do believe the Genius Blogger’s Toolkit is the best resource out there right now. The toolkit contains over $5,000 in resources including 62 ebooks & e-courses dedicated specifically to starting a blog, growing a blog, growing your social media, content creation and monetizing your blog. This is a BIG deal and it’s only $97 that is 98% off if you were to buy these ebooks individually. This deal expires November 1, 2016, please check it out. It’s worth it, I believe it’s worth it and it will make your blogging life SO much easier! And, yes, Amy Lynn Andrews ebook is included in this bundle too!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate with the Genius Blogger’s Toolkit however, my opinions are 100% my own. I would not promote this product if I did not believe it in trust me, this is an AMAZING deal.