How Influencers Monetize Their Blogs
Over 500 Activate by Bloglovin’ influencers told us how they’re currently making that cash…
Activate by Bloglovin’s network of over 130,000 savvy influencers spans categories from Parenting to Fashion to Beauty and everything between. These influencers also range from part-time bloggers who monetize their blogs for supplementary income to professional bloggers whose primary income is generated through their blog and social media accounts.
We polled a sample set of over 500 Activate Influencers to better understand the ways in which influencers monetize their blogs. The most popular monetization technique reported was affiliate links, a unique link used to track impressions and conversions which are credited to the influencer who then earns a commission based on performance. Over 61% of Influencers use affiliate links to earn money through their blogs.
Branded content is another popular way influencers are earning money through their blogs. 44% indicate that they publish branded content. Brands are especially excited to work with influencers to tell authentic brand stories and grow their social followers. As brands continue to work with more and more influencers across diverse categories and platforms, we expect to see this number continue to grow.
35% of influencers use banner ads—another affiliate-based compensation technique—to monetize, which is a relatively hand-offs technique used to generate income. Other notable forms of monetization reported in our survey included:
➤ Google AdSense
➤ Product reviews
➤ Selling eBooks
➤ Online workshops and coaching
Depending on an influencer’s approach to monetization, these techniques can be used solely or jointly (we found that 10% of influencers are using all of the above monetization techniques). Additionally, the effort to incorporating them into a blog varies from relatively passive (banner ads) to active (branded content). As the Influencer Marketing industry grows and expands, we are excited to see how influencers execute new monetization strategies.
Want to learn more about Bloglovin’ or Activate? Just drop us a note at research@bloglovin.com.
