What type of blogs make the most money?
Starting a blog is one of the first things that people think about when they start thinking about trying to make money online. This is especially true if you’re trying to start a side hustle, a way to earn extra income, or figure out a way that you can work from home.
But for most beginners they don’t know what type of blogs make the most money, so they get stuck and end up wasting a bunch of time trying to find the right fit.
And I’m going to cover all those types of blogs for you and show you examples of each one.
So, if you’ve been wondering what types of blogs make the most money, you’re in the right place.
If you’ve been trying to figure out a way to start a blog as a side hustle to earn some extra cash, or to replace your full-time income, what I’m talking about in this post is going to help.
What types of blogs make the most money?
Here’s the challenge:
You don’t want to spend 6 months to a year (or more!) working on a “passion” project, only to realize that you can’t generate enough traffic, or monetize your blog.
Nothing will drain your energy and enthusiasm for the project more than spending all that time and effort building something only to learn that no one really cares.
Starting a blog is a great way to build an additional stream of income, so let’s talk about starting a blog the right way.
Whether it’s because you’re looking to pay down debt, or your hopes and aspirations are to be able to leave your day job and be fully independent, starting a blog is a great way to start a business online.
So it’s vital that you start your new money making blog on the right foot and know what you’re going to build.
Here are the top types of blogs that make the most money:
- pet blogs
- foodie blogs
- business & finance blogs
- personal brand blogs
- niche topic blogs
- mom blogs
- lifestyle blogs
- DIY blogs
- health & fitness blogs
- travel blogs
- marketing and online business blogs
Do “Pet blogs” make the most money?
I’m 100% convinced that pets are family members.
No one will ever be able to tell me anything different.
And just like me, there is a vast population of people who are obsessed with their pets too.
If you’re one of those people then the pet niche might be for you because it’s one of the most popular blog niches out there.
The Bark is a great example of a well-done pet blog.
With content on nutrition, health & wellness, training, and activities and more it’s a fantastic resource for dog owners.
It’s an enormous niche with tons of opportunity. There are over 90 million pet dogs in the United States alone.
The American Kennel Club dog list includes 190 dog breeds. However, there are 360 officially recognized dog breeds in the world.
Similarly, cats are one of the favorite pets in many households. There are 40 to 70 cat breeds in the world – the numbers may vary depending upon the source. According to the Cat Fanciers Association, there are 42 pedigree breeds of cats, whereas the International Cat Association recognizes 71 cat breeds.
In addition, the research shows over 300 pigeon breeds and more than 390 breeds of parrots exist today.
These are staggering numbers that show the potential in this niche.
You can always explore the new pet niches and create niche sites around different pets, such as:
- Horses
- Fish & fishtanks
- Rabbits
- Chickens
- Doves
- And so many more
It’s a huge market to tap into from the blogging standpoint.
You can choose a pet category like dogs or niche down into a few specific types of dog, such as the pointer dog to create a niche blog.
And when it comes time to monetize your pet blog, there are numerous online pets stores that have affiliate programs, or you can sign up for Amazon Associates to promote pet products and accessories.
Do “foodie blogs” make more money?
The food niche is one of the most competitive niches to break into, but the opportunities make this a very lucrative category.
Rich Howard makes over $6,000 from his food blog called Meal Prepify where, among other things he curates recipes and publishes them on his blog.
And there are SO many opportunities:
- Meal prep
- Meal planning
- Restaurant recipe recreation
- Keto, paleo, low-carb, vegetarian, etc.
- Instapot Recipes
- Restaurant reviews
- Tasting reviews
- Coffee & drinks
The statistics from Health Careers show that there are over one billion coffee drinkers in the world.
There are millions of people who prefer milk tea over coffee. Plus, there are thousands of indigenous drinks in every part of the world.
It doesn’t end here – you can talk about continental food, Chinese food, Thai food, Indian food, or any other type of food.
Do “Business & Finance” blogs make a lot of money?
Finance is another lucrative blogging niche. The competition can be fierce, though.
These blogs could be about personal finance, mortgage, insurance, or business development.
Spencer Haws once shared a finance blog that makes over 7 million per year. So it tells us that you can’t write off the business and finance niche.
One of the big challenges with a blog in the business & finance niche is that there is so much competition.
But if you can find a unique approach like documenting your journey out of debt like Jeff Kosola of Deliver Away Debt did, there’s enormous opportunity.
Jeff’s whole approach was documenting his journey of getting out of debt by delivering pizza!
Do niche topic blogs make money?
If you’ve got a hobby or passion then a niche topic blog may be the one to choose to start your online business.
Niche site blogs are focused on providing solutions, answers to questions, how-to information, behind the scenes insights, among other things, related to its primary subject.
What makes niche sites incredibly popular is that there’s an audience for virtually any topic under the sun.
Here’s an example:
Dirt Bike Planet is a fantastic resource when it comes to learning anything you could possibly want to know about dirt bikes.
Riding tips, gear, how-tos, reviews and anything you could possibly want to know about dirt bikes can be found on that site.
Dirt Bike Planet makes thousands of dollars each month between affiliate income and ad revenue.
How do personal brand blogs make money?
I’m firmly convinced that everyone is an expert in their own right.
You have valuable knowledge, skills, and abilities that have helped you to get to where you are today in your career.
And one of the greatest ways to capitalize on all that experience is to create a personal brand blog.
Jasmine Star has a fantastic personal brand.
Jasmine shares her experience and helps her audience by sharing the things that she’s done to build the enormous success she’s had.
She’s monetized her site by offering her programs to her visitors and getting them into her sales funnels.
When you’ve got marketable skills, selling your own programs and training can really move the needle financially for your blog when you employ the right strategies.
Do “mom blogs” make money?
Mom blogs are blogs created and run by, well, moms, that focus on the issues surrounding motherhood and family life.
They cover all kinds of stuff related to being a mom and home-making.
But the most successful mom bloggers are the ones that build huge audiences of loyal fans that branch out into more areas of life.
If you’re a parent, you could create your own mom blog to share your journey, experiences, and the life lessons you’ve picked up along the way.
There is a multitude of people out there
You won’t believe there are desperate people out there who want to know the basic stuff like:
- How to do a pregnancy test
- When to go to the gynecologist after pregnancy test
- What’s the first trimester like?
- What can you eat during pregnancy?
- What food should you avoid during pregnancy?
- How to take care of a newborn
But then you can do even more with a blog of this type and talk about:
- traveling with your kids
- life as a working parent
- childcare
- homeschooling
- and more
The topic ideas are endless, and there are millions of people out there who want answers to these questions.
One of the best in this space is McKenzie Bean’s Moms Make Cents.
She’s monetized her blog via affiliate promotion and her own courses & products.
Do lifestyle blogs make money?
A lifestyle blog is one that’s centered around the creator’s interests that can include content on relationships, dating, advice, personal experiences and general daily life and interests.
These kinds of blogs are less focused on winning traffic via SEO, and more focused on telling their own stories.
Started by Emma Norris, A Girl In Progress is a blog that’s full of content on self-development, productivity, goal setting, dating & relationships, style, and money and career advice among other things.
A Girl In Progress makes money by selling their own products like mugs, planners and t-shirts, courses, and books.
How do DIY blogs make money?
There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you’ve rolled up your sleeves and built something when the project is complete.
Personally, I’m a huge DIY fan myself — just installed my own dog door in the wall this past weekend!
So it’s no mystery that DIY blogs are incredibly popular.
Your DIY blog could cover topics like arts and crafts, organization (hello Marie Kondo!), home renovations, creating lessons for teachers, and more.
So if you’ve got a passion for something where you can show people how to do it themselves, you have an opportunity to do some pretty incredible stuff online.
A great example of a great DIY blog is HomeMade Modern by Ben Uyeda.
He’s got tons of content on all kinds of home DIY projects, complete with everything you need to complete the project yourself.
HomeMade Modern has some great partnerships for sponsors, product placement, adsense revenue, along with monetizing his videos on YouTube that have netted him more than $200k in revenue (and that was of 2016!).
Can health & fitness blogs make money?
If you’re one of those people that’s passionate about your body being a temple and that you should maximize its capabilities to maximize your life then a health & fitness blog just might be the one for you.
You see, there’s so much more to health & fitness than simply sharing exercise routines or healthy recipes.
Those things are great too, but you want to find a spot in the niche where you can carve out your own place in the competitive world of health & fitness blogging.
One of the best out there is by Jessi Kneeland.
She’s doing her best to help her readers overcome body image issues, and tear down stereotypes and myths that keep people from finding satisfaction in life.
“People think body confidence is about liking the way we look, but it’s actually about liking ourselves no matter *how* we look.”
Talk about an incredible message!
She’s monetized her site by her coaching services and the courses and products she offers through her website.
Do travel blogs make money?
If there ever was a niche where you could really make your own mark and be completely unique it’s a travel blog.
I LOVE travel blogs.
There’s no shortage of cool stuff you can do with a travel blog.
You can create a blog documenting your trek hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Or you can create a travel blog sharing your favorite travel hacking tips.
Or you can create a travel blog on your nomad lifestyle living out of a RV.
Or you can build a blog on your European backpacking adventures.
There is literally no limit, and endless possibilities.
And there will be people out there like me who are dying to consume your content!
My absolute favorite is Sam Chui’s blog.
Sam primarily creates content for YouTube, that’s where I found him, and he’s an aviation enthusiast.
Ok, “enthusiast” is an understatement.
He’s obsessed with planes and flying.
He’s been on the most luxurious planes in the world and documented it all.
Sam has books, swag and more on his site, not to mention his monetized videos on YouTube.
Do marketing and online business blogs make money?
Want to know what’s an incredibly crowded and competitive niche?
Online business and digital marketing.
That’s my niche with this site.
And to say that it’s competitive, is a vast understatement.
But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t opportunity for you to break into the digital marketing blogging world.
One of the best ways to to approach this niche is to document your own journey of how you’ve found success for your online business, or how you’ve helped others (once again, my approach).
That will always have a unique approach because it’s YOU who achieved the results.
And that will ALWAYS be interesting.
You can create content around what’s new in the digital marketing world, how-tos and tutorials, how small businesses can use digital marketing strategies, and more.
One of the best parts is that you have all kinds of possibilities when it comes to monetization:
- Affiliate income
- Done-for-you services
- Courses
- eBooks
- and more
When you’ve been successful helping others get results online, this is a great opportunity to spread your message and show the world your expertise.
Another of my favorites for the longest time has been Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn.
Pat has long since graduated to the upper echelon of high-profile online influencers, but he didn’t start that way.
Pat once marketed himself as the “crash test dummy of online marketing” as he documented his own journey to online business success, and used to regularly publish income reports documenting how his business was making money through affiliate promotion, his own products, and more.
How to Monetize Your New Blog
So by now you should have an idea on what type of blog you want to create.
So how can you monetize your new blog?
Here are the most common blog monetization options (if you want to learn more about how beginner blogs make money click here):
Display Ads: These are the contextual banner ads delivered by the ad networks. The popular ads networks are Google AdSense, Ezoic, Mediavine, and AdThrive.
Affiliate Marketing: In affiliate marketing, you earn a commission when a visitor purchases a product through your affiliate link.
Sponsored Posts: A sponsored post is a paid blog post from a brand.
Info Products: The info products are ebooks, online courses, and audiobooks.
Next Steps
I’ve shared the top-notch blogging niches that you can cash in on right away. I’m sure you’d find all those examples motivating.
You can always discover more niches along the way, but taking action based on learning is the way to go.
It took me years to figure all this out.
Now I’ve got my own blogs in several of these different niches.
Now it’s your turn; answer this question:
What type of blog would you start in 2021?
It’s time for you to decide what you’re going to choose.
Have any questions about any of this? Just leave me a comment below.
OR
If you’d like some help implementing what you’ve learned here I want to invite you to join my free Facebook group, Digital Marketing Mastery – would love to have you over there.
