Cash strapped students are turning to a variety of ways to make extra money to fund their studies. The digital economy and the start-up economy means it is easier than ever before for people to start their own businesses. Students fed up with unsociable hours, low pay and zero hour contracts are getting savvy and using their skills in the most imaginative ways. One of these is blogging. Here are several ways you can make money sitting in front of a laptop.
Use a Freelancer Site
There are a number of sites you can use to apply for web writing jobs. Be warned though, that on Freelancer, Upwork and others you will have lots of competition and your success depends on your skills, demand and cost. It could take months to get your first contract. However, you will get paid for writing for others – small businesses for example, artists, charities and so on. You will generally receive a one off payment per article. This is a direct method of making money through blogging.
Monetising a Blog
This is an indirect way of making money. It can potentially net you hundreds or thousands depending on content value. Note the “potentially”. First you need an idea and a blog site (for example, Wordpress) and a subject (for example, travel). You then must spend a lot of time and effort acquiring and maintaining an audience. This is not easy as thousands of new blogs are set up every day. Once you have an audience, and it reaches sufficient size, some businesses may be willing to pay you to place advertisements. The modern digital economy will pay PPC (pay per click, they pay you how many times their advert gets clicked) or CPM (costs per impression) where you will get paid per view of the ad.
Selling a Service Through a Blog
This is another direct way of making money without having to rely on third party vendors. Taking the same hypothetical travel blog above, you could write ebook travel guides. If writing is not your thing or you don’t have the time, then you could sell photographs of your travels. High quality digital downloads can be a great and fun way of making money. Again though, you will need to put in the hard work to raise your own profile.
Whichever Path Your Try...
It won’t be easy. For every successful student who makes money blogging there are hundreds that do not. That is why it is important to go in with a business plan, just as you would as a start-up. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses, and research market demand. It is never going to be a get rich quick scheme, and it will require a lot of hard work on your part. If you are committed and willing to make the sacrifices, you too can make money blogging.