How to monetise a blog: a five-stage process

Executive overview

Most bloggers try to monetise too early or in the wrong order, leaving consistent income on the table. A sequenced five-stage approach — starting with affiliate marketing and ending with a potential site sale — builds compounding revenue while diversifying risk.

Build affiliate traffic first, layer other revenue streams on top as traffic grows.

Stage 1: affiliate marketing

• Promote other companies' products; earn a commission on each referred sale.
• Start here because it produces consistent monthly income fastest.
• Use keyword research to find affiliate keywords: best-of posts, reviews, comparisons.
• Filter for low keyword difficulty (≤10) to rank in a reasonable time.
• Build backlinks to affiliate pages to accelerate rankings and commissions.
• Repeat the cycle until traffic and commissions are stable month over month.

Stage 2: display advertising

• Join higher-paying networks (AdThrive, Mediavine, Ezoic) rather than Google AdSense alone.
• AdThrive requires 100k monthly page views; Mediavine requires 50k sessions per month.
• Ezoic has no minimum, so it can be used from day one as a bridge.
• Display ads do not meaningfully reduce affiliate commissions (per Dom Wells' tests — run your own to confirm).
• Add informational content at this stage to capture ad revenue from non-buying traffic.
• Use the questions tab in a keyword tool to find informational topics at low difficulty.

Stage 3: own products

• Once traffic and an email list are established, sell direct rather than as a middleman.
• Options: white-label physical products, ebooks, online courses.
• Own products increase total revenue and hedge against affiliate policy changes or traffic drops.

Stage 4: sponsorships

• A healthy niche blog with a subscriber base is an asset advertisers want access to.
• Formats: sponsored posts, sponsored emails, sponsored videos, sponsored events.
• Optional but high-upside; audience quality and size determine sponsorship value.

Stage 5: selling the site

• Selling is not required, but can produce a large one-time payout.
• Best time to sell: after 12–24 months of consistent upward metrics.
• Routes: broker (Empire Flippers, FE International), marketplace (Flippa), or direct outreach to buyers.
• Brokers and marketplaces charge commissions; direct deals avoid fees but require more effort.

Email list: build from day one

• An email list is an independent asset separate from search traffic.
• Add opt-in forms to the homepage, sidebar, and within posts.
• Free tools: Mailchimp or ConvertKit to start.
• A growing list supports product launches, sponsorship pitches, and site valuation.