Any new Mom would be drawn to the idea of blogging and earning money from home talking about the absolute love of her life. It’s an appealing choice in the world of making money from home – especially when you get to share your love and passion for parenthood and earn money to care for your kids. However, it’s not enough to be passionate about it – you need to understand first how to monetize a parenting blog and what’s involved.
How to make money from a parenting blog – what do you need first?
As with any blog niche, there’s some basics you need to know and some steps to follow.
- You need to be sure that you’re truly passionate about this niche. If you can’t immediately think of 20 blog posts to write, then this isn’t likely going to work well long term for you.
- Make a list of all of the products you’ve used and the problems those products have solved for your family – this will aid you in making great recommendations in posts later.
- Before you even think about naming your blog or buying a domain name, do the research! Make sure there’s not a similarly named blog out there (especially in the name niche) that yours could be confused with.
- Self-host a WordPress software blog. I highly recommend Lyrical Host – they’ll get you set up quick!
- Put your effort into writing amazing content – the kind you would search for and read. It’s the first key in learning how to monetize.
- Learn how to take and edit great pictures. This niche heavily relies on personal images.
Is the Parenting niche over saturated? – Maybe.
You might think of Parenting, “Mommyhood” and Kids being a niche that’s overly saturated. That’s entirely a fair assumption considering the sheer number of new Moms who have made blogging their full time job (outside of their parenting role of course). It’s true… this is a more difficult niche to compete in. But it doesn’t have to be.
Like any niche, it’s important to put your best foot forward and to focus on creating quality blog posts that share your perspective and voice. You’ll see this phrase (in some form or another) said in blogging groups on Facebook…
“I want to write _________ kind of blog, but it’s been done before.”
That’s the wrong way of thinking. After all, you’re reading a blog post right now from a blogger blogging about blogging – an obviously unoriginal concept made mine because I have my own methods of teaching, writing voice, experience, and perspective to share. You just need to do the same.
Get awesome stock images for this niche from Ivory Mix
Finding your Mommy Blog voice
The cool thing about parenting blogs is that no two “Mommy Bloggers” are alike. Some have parenting methods and beliefs that they feel strongly about blogging about – like Amber’s Imperfect Mommyhood who focuses on embracing the imperfections of being a Mom. She’s super into crunchy aspects of parenting like breastfeeding, cloth diapers, child lead weaning, etc. – but she teaches in a gentle way that makes you feel like it’s really okay if you’re a human being and mess up.
This is a very different approach from Lindsay’s Paperclips & Pacis which has a more lifestyle feel to it… #MomLife to be more specific. It’s written as a look inside of her life as a Mom and entrepreneur – but obviously very focused on the lifestyle it’s providing for her family.
Just like there’s more than one way to parent, there’s more than one way to parenting blog.
Decide on how you want to monetize
Did you notice a difference between those two blogs I mentioned? They have similar, but also totally different monetization styles. Both work… but you have to decide what would be best for you.
Affiliate Marketing
Haute Stock has some cool stock images for the parenting niche as well.
Amber focuses on affiliate marketing (by the way… she’s totally one of my students and I know she’s rocking at this!).
She uses her parenting experiences, fun activities with her children, and personal stories to share the benefits of using the products her family regularly uses and loves. She’s using affiliate marketing to make money from her blog posts.
There’s lots of personal, well-lit images of her activities, steps, lists of products you’ll need, and plenty of tips and tricks along the way. That’s her monetization method – and it works great! Someone looking for these kinds of posts (especially if they are in need of help with the problems her content solves) are likely to purchase what they need from her links.
Sponsored Posts
Neat mockups can be found at Haute Stock.
Lindsay utilizes some affiliate marketing as well, but she has a heavy focus on brand partnerships where brands provide her with products to share on her blog in exchange for her unbiased review. She’s paid to share things like subscription boxes, health care products for Mom, etc – keeping in mind that she gets to also provide her experiences with those (good or bad). She furthers these efforts with a YouTube channel where she and her kids unbox certain products.
Every brand partnership is different, but in general it works like this: You collaborate with a brand who offers their product and payment in exchange for certain actions and promotions – usually a blog post, social media shares, etc.
Which method is better?
The difference between these two? Well, affiliate marketing isn’t a lot of work but it can take time before a blog post really takes off and earns you money. Writing sponsored blog posts is much more involved, comes with a lot of rules from the brand supplying the products… but it can earn you a decent chunk of up front cash.
I recommend a healthy mix of both!
5 Affiliate Programs to partner up with
With so many affiliate programs out there, how do you choose the right ones for the parenting niche? Truth is, it’s going to be different for every blogger. Choose programs that reflect your story, parenting philosophies, and products you know and trust.
But to get you started with some ideas, here’s a short list of my recommendations:
1. Amazon
While Amazon has quite a lot of competition, it’s the obvious first choice. You can buy practically anything you’d need from Amazon – likely most things you’ll recommend on a parenting blog.
But did you also know that you can earn some serious quick cash if you pay attention to the Special Bounties section? Parents will love clicking on your link to get a discount on Prime shipping, or a free trial for Amazon Family where they can get 20% off diapers along with free 2-day shipping and other really cool benefits exclusively for parents. And you earn $3 every time they sign up!
2. Etsy
Join the AWIN network and apply to be an Etsy affiliate. There’s lots of wonderful handmade shops (and parents like you!) that you can support – all while earning money to support your family as well.
It’s a great way to support small businesses and forge strong partnerships with other Moms too. Collaboration efforts where they send you a free sample in exchange for a blog post work really well – plus you still get to monetize those blog posts through the use of your Etsy affiliate links. It’s a huge win when you work together!
3. Ava Science (the Ava bracelet)
If TTC and struggles with fertility were ever part of your journey, you might have heard of and used the Ava bracelet. If that’s you, check out their lucrative affiliate program where you can earn a whopping $20 per sale.
It may seem a little icky… the idea of making money off of women who are struggling in their journey. But as a woman who has struggled myself, I know I welcomed the inspirational stories and information about products like this one. If these women are part of your audience, they will appreciate your transparency and that you were willing to end the stigma and share your experiences.
4. Lillypost Kid Books Box
Give your children the gift of books with the Lillypost Kid Books Box subscription and share the love to earn $20 per sale! This would be a great time to sit your kids down for a fun unboxing video to really drive the sale (plus get in some extra snuggles and reading time).
You will need to Join the AWIN network to become an affiliate.
5. Minted
You’ll love the attention to detail that Minted provides its customers – from their designer holiday cards to gorgeous prints. Moms love them too! You can join the affiliate program and earn 15% of each sale (which is actually quite a lot of money because people tend to place larger, more expensive orders).
Bonus Pro Tip:
Earn extra money by recommending your readers sign up for Ebates (now Rakuten) where they can earn cash back from their purchases. You get $25 every time you refer someone!
How to monetize a parenting blog – conclusion
You should be super excited about starting your own parenting blog and learning how to monetize it. This niche may feel saturated, but there’s plenty of room at the table for you!
For more help with affiliate marketing, check out my course Affiliate Marketing for Bloggers where you will learn the tricks pro bloggers use to make sales quickly.
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