How You’ll Get Paid for Blogging

When I tell people that I get paid to write for blogs, they’re usually interested to know about how that works, exactly. Writers who’ve been around the block a few times have likely seen this information before, but for those new to the field, I thought I’d share the different ways you can get paid to blog.

Image: sxc.hu

• Ad Revenue

If you decide to run your own blog, this is typically the way you’ll get paid, unless you have an investor. You can use affiliate ads (where you get paid a percentage of every sale from clicks through to their site), Pay-Per-Click ads (where you get paid every time someone clicks on the a link), and basic ad space sales (where you get paid by selling an ad spot on your blog for a set amount of time – usually a month). Some clients who hire you to write for them may also want to pay you based on ad revenue – usually a percentage (60/40 is usually the split).

At first, you aren’t going to get money from these ads…unless maybe you’re a celebrity and your blog is super popular right away. Working for someone who pays you based on ad revenue isn’t something I recommend. It isn’t really fair to the writer, because the client could decide to reduce the number of ads or report revenue falsely to pay you less money. In general, it’s not a good route to go.

• Traffic

Many clients wanting blogs and professional blogging networks pay ou traffic instead, which is easier for you as a writer to control. You’re paid based on a CPM – which basically means that you’re paid a certain set amount for every 1,000 visits to your website. CPM number usually range from $1 to $10 – it depends on the client and the subject matter. Clients like to pay bloggers this way because it encourages good writing, more posts, and at least little attempts at promotion. Is it fair? That depends on the CPM you’re offered. Before you sign up for something like this, ask to see the site’s history of traffic so far.

• Pay Per Post

In my opinion, the best type of payment plan offered to bloggers is the flat fee, where you get paid per post. Sometimes the client also offers you a flat fee per month, and you need to commit to a certain number of posts at minimum. With flat fees, there are often rules, such as word counts you have to hit for each post or the use of pictures.

To be honest, the most common payment plans you’ll find for bloggers (after the jackasses who want you to blog for free) is a combination of pay per post and CPM or ad revenue. I think that’s fair – you’re ensured you’ll be paid for your work even if no one reads it, kind of like a kill fee. At the same time, you’ll be rewarded for working hard to write great posts and promote the blog. More traffic = more money, and that’s quite an inspiration!

Please, though, be careful to understand your commitment before you sign a contract. A lump sum per month might seem like a lot until you break it down by hour and the ad revenue they “anticipate” many end up being pennies – literally – at the end of the month. Do your homework before taking any blogging job!

Do you blog for a client? What do you think is a fair payment method?

Like what you’re reading here? Sign up for Allison’s One Prompt, One Product weekly newsletter.