6 Reasons You’re Not Making Money With Your Blog

Everyone says they want to make money from their blog, but few actually do. It’s not because they’re incapable – there are simply factors holding them back.

If you’ve been struggling to make money with your blog, or you’re just getting started and want to avoid failure, here are 6 mistakes to avoid:

  1. You aren’t tracking your expenses

If you don’t know how much money you’re spending, you can’t know how much money you’re making. Start tracking your expenses; include absolutely everything from the $7 drink you buy while you work to your webhosting and internet marketing software fees. Have a monthly internet bill? Include that. Use a cellphone or an iPad for business? Count those expenses, too.

After calculating your expenses, give yourself a reality check. Are you really making a profit? If not, you need to figure out why. Sometimes it’s a matter of making too many impulse purchases online, thinking they’re all justified business expenses. Or, it could be that you haven’t gained momentum yet. If that’s the case, identify the one thing you can do right now that will make the most impact on your business.

You might decide to run more Facebook ads or focus on creating more content. Maybe you launched before you were ready, and you still need to complete your website and connect your sales funnel components. Whatever you decide, do something that will have the greatest impact.

  1. You’re avoiding sponsored ads

Almost every blogger starts out opposed to accepting paid corporate sponsorship in the form of advertisements. Once they generate traffic and are approached by advertisers flashing money in front of them, they quickly change their minds.

Don’t ignore this option from the start. Sponsored content is a main source of income for millions of bloggers worldwide. There’s no shame in accepting money from advertisers. They have the money to spend, and if they want to put it in your pocket, open up!

  1. You’re overspending on internet tools

If you’re buying every blogging related WSO on the Warrior Forum, you’re just making other bloggers and marketers rich. Look for tools that are designed and advertised to get you the tangible results you really need. Stay away from the tools advertised to make you rich.

For example, if you need a plugin for WordPress that will parse RSS feeds, then buy one. If you don’t need to parse RSS feeds, and someone tries to sell you a plugin to parse RSS feeds so you can make a million bucks, run the other way. It’s just a marketing gimmick.

  1. You’re using blog income to pay your personal debts

If money from your blog disappears to cover your monthly debt obligations, you’ll never see any profit from your blog. If your blog is your business, and you’re taking it seriously, you should have a separate business account for your earnings.

That’s not to suggest you should skip making certain payments instead of using some of your blog’s income when needed. However, if your blog’s income blends in with your personal account, and you’re paying off large debts with it, you’ll always think you’re not making money.

It’s discouraging watching all of your money go out the window to pay old debts. If you’re serious about turning your blog into a money making machine, consider consolidating your student loan debt and working to pay off your credit card debt as fast as possible. Get your debt under control so you know what to expect to pay each month. Regularly set aside a percentage of your blog income in a separate account and watch it grow. 

  1. You’re afraid to charge people money for your services

If you’re afraid to charge a fee for the services you’re providing, you’ll never make any money from your blog.

You can charge whatever you want for your services, as long as the marketplace has shown that’s what they’ll pay. The problem is, if you charge too little, people will think you’re not as good as your competition. People aren’t necessarily hesitant to pay more for high quality services, but you have to be confident with your rates in order to make the sale.

  1. You’re not really into your blog in the first place

Only blog authors who are passionate about what they do can succeed and generate regular income. If you’re not passionate about your blog, you won’t see much success and you’ll have to work ten times harder to achieve minimal results.

Create a blog you’re passionate about and you’ll have more fun and more success.