7 Dumb Myths About Making Money as a Blogger (Busted!)

To help you sort fact from fiction, today I’m busting 7 big, dumb myths about making money as a blogger.

Because there’s a lot of information out there on how to make money online, and much of it is outdated, inaccurate, or only partially true.

I’ve been a full-time blogger for over a decade and during that time, I’ve heard some really silly things about making money as a blogger, that are simply NOT true. Had I believed them, I probably wouldn’t have become successful.

These 7 myths might just be holding you back from the success, profits, and freedom you set out to create with your blog — so let’s break them down!

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7 Dumb myths about making money as a blogger . . . BUSTED!

Let’s start with one of my personal favorites:

Myth #1. The only people who make money blogging are people who blog about blogging.

I understand why some people think this is the case, but here’s the deal.

The reason it seems like the only bloggers who make money are those who blog about blogging is because they’re the only ones talking about it. 

A travel blogger has absolutely no reason to share an “Income Report” on her blog. It would be completely off-topic and would confuse a lot of her readers.

But trust me, there are plenty of travel bloggers making money – I know this for a fact because I’ve worked with plenty of them! 

In fact, I’ve worked with clients and students in tons of different niches, including: 

• Cooking
• Parenting
• Literature
• Travel
• Hiking
• Writing
• And more…

And they’re all making money online! 

I truly believe that every blogger in every niche can successfully monetize their blog and business.

The key is to find your tribe and then to create an offer that they can’t refuse. 

Myth #2. XYZ is the only way (or the “best way”) to make money blogging.

For example: Writing sponsored posts is the best way to make money blogging. Or: Online courses are the only way to make money as a blogger. 

Here’s what I know to be true. There are lots of ways to make money as a blogger, and different methods will work better for different bloggers, different niches, and different audiences.

Your job is to figure out which strategies work best for your skillset, situation, and readers. 

To get the wheels turning, here’s a big list of different ways you can make money as a blogger: 

• Affiliate marketing
• Write sponsored blog posts
• Create sponsored social media posts
• Buying, fixing and reselling websites (blog flipping)
• Write and sell ebooks
• Place ads on your website
• Create and sell courses
• Offer freelance writing or ghostwriting
• Offer virtual services

The strategies I’ve personally had the most success with is by utilizing affiliate marketing, ebooks, courses, and blog flipping.

It’s important to not put all your eggs in one basket. You don’t want to rely on only one revenue stream.

Test out different strategies and find your winning combination.

Myth #3. You don’t need an email list to make money.

I mean, there are a few people who have done really well and who don’t have email lists.

But why would you want to even try? An engaged email list is your no. 1 tool for making sales online and bringing in the paper.

I’d estimate that 80-90% of the sales of my courses, ebooks, and affiliate products come from my email list subscribers. 

Case in point: After re-launching my Blog Monetization course recently, I noticed that 100% of students who joined the program were already existing subscribers on my email list.

Need I say more?

Myth #4. You need a ton of traffic before you can make money.

Totally false.

While some monetization strategies rely heavily on traffic in order to be successful (ad revenue, and to a certain extent, sponsored blog posts) there are a lot of strategies that don’t. 

Other monetization strategies that can work well without hundreds of thousands of pageviews are: 

• Affiliate marketing
• Selling ecourses
• Writing ebooks 

Myth #5. Selling online courses only works for some niches (and it won’t work for mine).

I really believe that online courses are the way of the future.

I mean, who doesn’t want to learn a valuable skill from the comfort of their own home, at their own pace, on their own time? I do! 

Yet I’ve seen a lot of comments about course creation along the lines of, “The only people who make money selling courses are people who create courses about creating courses”. 

If you currently feel this way, I encourage you to go back and re-read Myth #1. Because it’s the exact same thing.

The only reason you’re hearing about those course creators’ success is because they’re the only ones talking about it. 

Also, because you’re trying to learn how to create online courses, you’re in the “bubble”.

You’re seeing those people speak at webinars and summits, you’re reading their blog posts, and they’re targeting you with their Facebook ads. 

Courses can be sold in any niche and on pretty much every topic you can imagine.

You’ll see courses on everything from music to fashion design to astrology and more. 

Myth #6. You have to sell your own products in order to make money as a blogger.

The “new wave” of making money online is all about creating and selling your own digital products like ebooks, video tutorials, and online courses.

But as much as I personally love making money this way, it isn’t for everyone. 

Creating and launching online courses is by far the hardest, most intense and most time-consuming thing I’ve done thus far in my business.

You know what isn’t that time-consuming, or really all that difficult? Promoting someone else’s products. 

Enter: Affiliate marketing. 

Affiliate marketing is where you promote another company’s products and earn a commission from any sales made through your affiliate link.

The beauty of affiliate marketing is that you can get started with it right away and you don’t have to create something of your own to sell (unless you want to, of course!).

Related Read: The Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers

Myth #7. Your readers will like you less if you try to “sell” them something.

Here’s the reality. Your readers are coming to you because of your expertise, and they want you to recommend products to them that solve their problems.

They will only lose their trust and interest in you if what you’re selling isn’t both: 

a) Relevant to them and their interests

b) Something you genuinely love and believe in 

If you try to sell or promote something that you aren’t 100% crazy about, your readers and subscribers will see through it. 

Be picky about the products you create, the services you offer, and the affiliate products you promote.

Ask yourself: Is this relevant to my audience? Will it truly make a significant impact in their lives? If not, skip it. 

So there you have it! 7 dumb myths about making money as a blogger, busted.

Did you believe any of these 7 myths before reading this post?

What other big misconceptions about making money online have you come across?

Are you a member of our blogging community yet? It’s FREE!

You can also work with me 1:1, either:

• virtually via my group mastermind for bloggers
• or in person via my VIP Days, where I will fly to you and personally work with you to build a growth plan, funnel and content audit for your business!