5 Blogs That Are Making Money in 2023 (and How You Can, Too)

Neil Patel
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Author: Neil Patel | Co Founder of NP Digital & Owner of Ubersuggest

Have you ever wondered how to make money blogging about the things you love?

What if I told you it’s possible to write about your passions and make money with a blog? There are a variety of niches you can monetize in different ways.

Finding the right one can bring in a steady stream of income. The average blogger sees up to $1,000 every month.

I want you to aim higher. Let’s talk about how you can make money blogging.

There’s no one formula to creating a successful blog, but there is one common thread: Have a unique story to tell.

Blogging is not dead, and it’s not too late for you to start one.

Why Do Some Blogs Fail to Make Money?

Blogs fail to make money because they’re focused on the wrong thing. What are the right things?

You want to make sure your blog is interactive and informative. Your blog supplies something to your audience, so you need to bring value or you’ll be just another blog of many.

While quality of content is the most important factor in your blogger success story, let’s get you bringing in some money.

However, the money won’t come without earning your audience’s trust.

You want to build authority, right? You want to show you’re an expert in your field. Well, don’t treat this like a hobby or a side hustle.

After all, we know how important E-A-T—which stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness—is to ranking in SERPs.

Have a Plan in Place

Build upon a workable plan. Don’t just “wing it” and set yourself up for failure.

Some fail to learn how to make money blogging because:

  1. They don’t research the niche they’re blogging about prior to launch.
  2. They aren’t investing in their blog like the business it is.
  3. They aren’t building a team to assist them.
  4. They aren’t connecting with their audience.
  5. They aren’t setting actionable goals.
  6. They don’t measure their success.

You must have a clear purpose and intention with your blog. If you want to build trust in your niche, it takes a strategy.

Making money from your blog is possible, but it won’t happen if you set a blog post and forget it.

I’ll show you some success stories so you can focus on creating standout content that attracts and builds a community.

You can make money with blogs, and I’m going to show you how.

2022’s Blog Success Stories

Your blog may not be an overnight success, but you can spark interest in people to engage with your content.

Let’s look at some of 2022’s most successful blogs generating a sizable revenue.

Huffington Post: How Blogs Make Money Without A Product

A screenshot of Huffington Post's website.

I’m sure you’re not surprised by this one.

Since 2005, Arianna Huffington and her Huffington Post co-founders have been publishing news stories as they unfold. Thousands of readers daily rely on their articles. They’ve established themselves as not just one of the world’s largest websites but one of the most popular.

A graphic indicating the profitability of Huffington Post's website.

In June 2022 alone, HuffPost’s organic traffic of 6 million had a value of $1.8 million. Note that by organic traffic value, we mean the monthly equivalent cost of traffic from all the keywords that a given URL or website calculates for if the site owner was paying for it through PPC versus earning the traffic organically.

Not only does HuffPost make money with blogs, but its revenue consists of online ads and money from corporate investments.

Seeing the numbers above, it is easy to understand why they are among the top-earning blogs worldwide.

While no products are sold on HuffPost, they make money with blogs that speak to their value—creating trustworthy content that engages readers.

goop: Profit Through Lifestyle and Wellness Branding

A screenshot of goop's website.

goop is a wellness and lifestyle brand started by actress Gwyneth Paltrow as a weekly lo-fi newsletter back in 2008. Her slogan “Nourish the Inner Aspect” resonates with her audience based on the average 732K organic traffic.

A graphic depicting the revenue generated by Goop.

This traffic value is about $423K but wellness products are also sold on the site.

A screenshot of goop's website with a yellow highlighter circling the words "Shop Wellness."

Let’s look at goop’s third-largest revenue driver, “Are Mediums Real?” The reason it’s likely successful is because it’s thought-provoking. This is an edgy topic you probably won’t see on other sites, let alone the extensive research to support the ideas mentioned.

Other top pages that bring in organic revenue on goop are generally guides. They educate the audience aside from having product offerings listed on screen and ads from aligning brands. goop shows that when you’re true to your audience and provide unique content for them, you will see the return in numbers.

Yaro: Building Revenue Through Ad Space

A screenshot of Yaro Starak's webpage.

Unlike the last two examples, Yaro is written in “true” blog fashion. It’s not a true media publisher, and he makes money selling advertising space.

The data shows backlinks and the use of organic keywords drive this blog’s strong numbers. The majority of the high-ranking positioned keywords are non-branded.

What does that mean?

It means Yaro Starak provides solutions for those seeking his expertise on personal growth and success. He captures people searching for queries related to the space – not those specifically searching for this name.

A graphic depicting the revenue generated by Yaro.

Yaro drives success through meeting search intent. By having the answers that people need, he is able to increase his rankings, which in turn, increases the value of the ad space he sells.

Yaro’s blog is a good example if you want to make money with blogs using a more organic method. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you stay true to your audience and site goals.

Abby Organizes: Relatability As A Marketing Tool

A screenshot of Abby Lawson's blog page.

Abby Lawson took to her blog to create a space where she could share inspirational tips on organization. Her hobby has grown into a six-figure family business, helping others with productivity and home décor tips along the way.

Her content is relatable and covers the bases for those who, as she puts it, don’t have the “organized gene.” She’s likely earned her audience’s trust by helping address this issue for many other hard-working families.

A graphic depicting the revenue generated by Abby Organizes.

Her organic traffic is reflective of her traffic value. More than 175K backlinks show how credible others deem her site and information.

We can also see this broken down in her URLs and keywords. Lawson’s top keywords— branded and non-branded—include reviews from supporting sources and printable templates. There’s value in what she’s offering that is tangible for her audience.

With so much to offer her target audience, she gains more income from ads, affiliate marketing, and various sponsorships. Because Lawson’s audience trusts her, they are likely to support and trust her paid recommendations.

This is a great way to foster your community online.

A Beautiful Mess: How Helpful Content Makes Money

A screenshot of "A Beautiful Mess," a lifestyle blog founded by sisters Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman.

Founded by sisters Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman, this lifestyle blog resonates with those looking for an ideal DIY project. It’s one of the largest DIY style blogs in the world. You name it. They’ve probably already made it.

A graphic depicting the revenue generated by A Beautiful Mess.

A Beautiful Mess has garnered over 4 million backlinks, showing just how many sources find the site credible. The road to 4 million backlinks takes work.

High-quality, or link-worthy, content is what gets you there.

Why?

Because backlinks are like testimonies for your web page(s). Backlinks are some of the most important SEO ranking factors. The more high-ranking URLs link to your page, the more domain authority you gain.

Besides the huge number of referring domains and backlinks, Elsie and Emma offer skills to their audience. This is key to relationship building with an online community.

How these sisters mix in products, affiliate marketing, and ads works because their audience trusts them to educate them. They’re all about getting creative, and their audience is looking to get creative—whether it’s in the kitchen or through a project.

The keywords they use put them in the position to make money while blogging. What’s especially ideal is their branded and non-branded keywords are ranking equally. From Elsie and Emma’s results, it’s clear that their site is who Google, and other search engines, deem the authority in the DIY and recipe space due to their keyword dominance in those important positions 1-3.

How You Can Start Making Money with Blogs

You know how to start a blog, but have you grasped how to make money blogging? There are many strategies bloggers use. Some are more demanding than others.

The majority of blog revenue sources depend on varying factors like search engine algorithms and brand budgets. Therefore, I strongly advise you diversify your income by utilizing a variety of sources like ads, products, or sponsorships.

When it comes to income potential, your blog feeds off two variables: your niche and your revenue sources. Once you know your audience, you can explore monetization strategies.

You know what makes sense to them and what benefits their needs as well as yourself financially. You don’t want to be paid for affiliations you don’t agree with. So, stay true to your brand and your audience will stay true to you.

But in the beginning, you need an entrepreneurial mindset.

Income does vary from blogger to blogger. However, as the money trickles in, you can experiment with ideas to see what is working in your favor.

Turning your blog into a moneymaker isn’t a linear process.

Focus on building content that converts to develop that loyal following — and the monetization opportunities that come with it — and you might just end up as successful as HuffPost or goop.

Conclusion

The bottom line is starting a blog can be fun and profitable.

But it won’t come easily.

You’ll wear a lot of hats getting your footing through an ever-changing medium. However, you can replicate what’s working once you see fulfillment and success.

So, ask yourself: Am I blogging as a hobby or in a way that yields income?

There are different strategies for simply running a blog versus monetizing a blog. Your endgame is to go from content for content’s sake to being able to consistently make money blogging.

Once you find a reliable host for your site, you’ll be ready to start building credibility and trust with your audience.

Always stick by what works, remember your audience’s needs, and the money will come.

Have you considered making money by blogging? Are you seeing the results you want, or have you hit a plateau? Let me know about your experience.

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Neil Patel

About the author:

Co Founder of NP Digital & Owner of Ubersuggest

He is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.

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Neil Patel

source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/blogs-that-are-making-money/