I’ve been working online in Canada for over 20 years, and I started earning money from blogging long before it was cool. For all but a few years it has been a full-time endeavor, but it makes a nice side gig as well.
The beauty of a blogging business is you can blog from anywhere and anyone can afford to do it. It doesn’t matter if you live in rural New Brunswick or Nunavut, you can be every bit as successful as someone in New York. You can have physical challenges, kids at home, elderly family to care for, or any number of obstacles to working outside the home and blogging will still work for you. You can have money to invest in it or have no budget at all. Blogging is open to virtually everyone and it can change your life.
It’s that potential that excites me about online business in general. The thought of empowering Canadians to take back control and improve the quality of their life (like I have) truly inspires me. So rather than tell you how to make money blogging in little tidbit posts that say nothing much at all, I’ve written this super-sized post to get you off to a roaring start. It’s written from a Canadian perspective and includes Canadian resources.
Contents
We’re covering a lot in this guide! If you need to know something specific about blogging in Canada, you can click below to skip down to the section you want to read.
Choosing a Profitable Blog Niche
Generating Traffic to Your Blog
How do Top Bloggers Make Money?
Compliance for Canadian Bloggers & Influencers
This is Your Business
[DISCLOSURE: We may receive compensation for links to products on this website.]
If you want to make money from blogging, your mindset is as important as anything else. You’re a publisher, this is your business and it has to be treated as such. Set it up like you would any business and approach it professionally. Use our Checklist: How to Start an Online Business in Canada to guide you through the business side of things.
That said, you don’t need to have a lot of money to start out. In fact, you could start a blog for free and still make money. There are free blogging platforms available online. However, if you decide to invest in anything in the beginning, it should be setting up on your own website on your own domain. Most free, hosted blogging platforms limit how you can earn money and that defeats the whole purpose of why you’re here. Don’t let it stop you if it’s your only option though. I started with zero budget and reinvested what I could until I reached a point where I could invest more. It’s slower, but it’s doable.
There is a learning curve, but it’s very manageable for most people and blogging software is designed for those who aren’t “techies”. I prefer WordPress, which many website hosting companies have ready to go with one click. Canadians have special considerations in regards to hosting and we cover them in our Checklist: Choosing a Website Host for Your Canadian Business. We host this website on GreenGeeks‘ Canadian servers. They have special WordPress packages designed to make your life a whole lot easier.
While you should always treat blogging as your business, that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it. Equating work and business with a soul-killing job is a mindset that comes from generations of labour being a necessary evil. You really can love what you do and make money doing it.
Choosing a Profitable Blog Niche
You don’t have to be the only person blogging on a topic, you just have to do it better than most. When you’re blogging for income, it’s critical to keep that in mind as you pursue your goals. There are many types of blogs that make money and choosing your niche (topic) can be tricky in an online world of so many bloggers. I (and my clients) have had the best results by finding a twist or angle on an already popular niche, or simply by making a Canadian (or French) version of it. Others have carved out niches that didn’t even exist before, often based on their own life experiences.
There are broad blog niche categories that have proven to be lucrative, such as health, personal finance, lifestyle and self-improvement. It’s no coincidence that these are also the most saturated niches. If you decide to try one of them, you’ll have to narrow one down to something that is both in demand but not as flooded with blogs. We help to address current demand with a post that we update every year based on our own experiences, called 10 Hot Online Product Niches for Canadian Sellers.
Niche saturation is a multi-faceted beast. If there are too few blogs about a topic it may mean there won’t be enough interest to sustain you. If there are a lot of blogs on the topic it can reflect the level of demand, but it may be tough to rise above the competition. You’ll need competitive intelligence and keyword data to make an informed decision. While you’re researching, you may discover an even better, more refined niche or blog post ideas, so it’s never a wasted effort.
The most important things to consider before settling upon a money-making niche are:
- If the niche addresses a need, problem, or otherwise draws people who are seeking answers and information.
- How much content you can create on the topic without running out of material or enthusiasm
- How much demand there is for the content
- How saturated the Internet is with blogs on that topic
- Revenue opportunities and estimated income potential
There is also a big difference between blogging for other businesses (B2B) and blogging for the general public, with the former often requiring more in-depth knowledge of the business topic and a higher level of professionalism.
Once you choose a niche, stick to it. If you repeatedly come up with other ideas that aren’t related to your current niche, it’s time to either rebrand or start another blog. I keep a text file and countless notebooks for jotting down ideas for posts, freelance article submissions, and so on. New blog niches can be born from these notes, or you can satisfy your urge to write about a topic by guest posting or freelance writing as part of your marketing strategy.
How to Create Blog Content
If you’re going to create content and profit from it, the first thing you have to do is get a good grasp on who your ultimate reader is. Narrow down the age range, hobbies, family unit, where they live, career, income, what they buy, and any other demographics that will provide insights and inspire you to serve them specifically. Analyze the search terms (keywords and phrases) they’re using to find you and blogs like yours. Keep that person in mind whenever you do market or keyword research, produce content or offer products. Ideally, YOU will be part of the target market and can use yourself as an example of what others are looking for in a top-quality blog.
You don’t have to be a literary genius to write a blog. However, it’s important to write well, at least in regards to spelling and basic grammar. The more you write, the more your writing will improve. There are many books and courses out there that will help improve your writing. Using free writing tools like the Hemmingway App will alert you to sentences that are difficult to read, alternative phrases, adverbs and excessive use of a passive voice. The Internet is also full of information about improving your writing skills, albeit in bits and pieces. For example, we have an infographic called Writing with Clarity Online. Don’t get too caught up in it all, you can learn as you go and perfection isn’t at all necessary.
High-quality, unique, original content is the key to success and it must be your main focus. Search engine optimization (SEO), quantity, sales conversions and other goals need to be reached without sacrificing quality. At its core, your blog is content and monetizing it is a form of content marketing, but your main goal should always be to serve your readers. When reviewing your content, always approach it as a reader. Would you find it helpful if you were looking for that information online? Would it stand out from other sites you found on your search?
If you don’t have the time or talent to write all of the content on your blog, consider hiring a talented freelance ghostwriter. You’ll find many writers online to suit virtually any budget, although some may require more editing than others. You can use Google or LinkedIn to find qualified writers, or try sites like Freelancer. Asking for recommendations in blogging groups (or even from another blogger who openly hires writers) can have the best results. You can also accept guest posts for your blog.
What you CAN’T do, is steal content from other websites. You’ll be penalized by the search engines and could find yourself in legal trouble. The biggest benefit from researching competitor blogs isn’t copying ideas, it’s finding out what they haven’t covered adequately and filling that need with your own blog. If you want to be absolutely sure that you (or your guest writers) haven’t plagiarized content, you can use free tools like Small SEO Tools Plagiarism Checker.
Focus primarily on content that is timeless (also known as “evergreen content”). These posts will bring in visitors and revenue for years if you keep it updated. Some of my top-earning blog posts are several years old. You can cash in on trending news and other content with a shorter lifespan, but you’ll find those are most useful for generating traffic short term.
Content doesn’t have to be written. In fact, both readers and search engines appreciate different formats, such as video (vlogging), podcasts and infographics. Double the impact by transcribing other media to accompany it in text format. Multimedia comes with more opportunities to get paid, such as sponsored videos. You’ll also be able to offer more elaborate sponsorship packages that can include multiple formats.
Design and Images
Your blog design doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate, it just has to look professional and be user-friendly. There are countless free or paid templates available for any blogging platform you choose. Adding a custom logo will help with branding and that’s important, but not absolutely necessary at first if you can’t afford one or don’t have the skills to do it yourself. Alternately, you can try your hand at designing your own using the tools mentioned below. If money isn’t an issue, hire a reputable designer and work with her/him to create a blog that reflects you and your niche.
Photos can play a huge part in a successful, profitable blog. First and foremost, quality images inadvertently reflect the quality of your blog when potential readers arrive on your website. They’re what grabs visitors and brings them deeper into your post. Images are very important for social media marketing, whether you promote on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter or other networks. However, you can’t just grab images from other websites or Google. You can take your own pictures or use stock images and they don’t have to cost you a fortune. My favourite is Deposit Photo because they have a huge selection of quality stock images, gifs, vectors, etc. and they’re only a dollar each. I save a lot of time by not looking through a bunch of free photo sites and I don’t have to worry about whether they’re really royalty/copyright-free or not.
You’ll also need an image editor eventually. I use Photoshop, but it has a learning curve that is beyond what most bloggers require. GIMP is a popular, free alternative to Photoshop.
Use these tools to:
- Design professional graphics for your blog
- Improve photo quality
- Add watermarks to your photos for copyright
- Design catalogues and digital products
- Create a media kit
- Design shareable images like memes, infographics and post illustrations
Generating Traffic to Your Blog
You aren’t going to make money blogging in Canada if nobody knows you’re there. You don’t need to have millions of visitors in order to earn an income online, but you do have to bring people in. There isn’t a magic number of visitors you need to make a decent profit because there are many factors involved. However, the more traffic you have from your target market, the better your chances will be.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is designed to help searchers find your content using a search engine. Basic SEO should play a part in your blog posts, but it shouldn’t be the star of the show. Often bloggers get so caught up in incorporating keywords and exploiting algorithms that they end up with inferior content. If you use WordPress, an excellent plugin to guide and facilitate SEO without sacrificing quality is Yoast. The free version should be all you need in the beginning. MOZ will also give you limited results on SEO factors, including some of your backlink profile (websites that link to your blog). If you’re trying to bring in Canadian traffic, try the tips in 15 Easy Ways to Let Search Engines Know Your Business is Canadian.
Keyword research can be as simple as using a free rank checking tool to keep an eye on a specific keyword’s rank on Google and Yahoo. Depending on your target market, this feature can make a world of difference. If (or when) you have the budget, you can try more elaborate tools to drill down into keyword information and competitive intelligence.
Note that voice search is a new option that Canadians are cautiously considering. It’s expected to become more popular over the next few years, so it can’t hurt to keep it in mind as you optimize.
We see the best results by writing a high-quality article about the topic first, then go back and lightly optimize. We don’t optimize with search engines in mind, we optimize with searchers in mind. It’s important that they be able to find the post, but it’s just as important that they arrive to find an outstanding, relevant article that’s unique and easy to read. The information you provide should be well-researched when applicable, with links to reputable resources such as studies and respected websites. It’s no coincidence that search engines use algorithms that determine quality. If your content is exceptional, you’ve won half the battle already.
Social media can diversify your traffic sources and be very effective at drawing in new readers. Choose which networks are best suited for your target market and focus on those. You don’t have to have an Instagram account just because a lot of other bloggers do, for example, but if you’re a fashion blogger you’ll benefit from spending a lot of time on the network. If you have a B2B site you may want to skip Instagram altogether and focus on LinkedIn and Twitter. Knowing where your potential readers hang out is one of the most important ways to be successful. You may find post sharing tools are a helpful way to manage social media posts and related data.
Name your blog posts with potential readers in mind as well. Irresistible headlines (not to be confused with “clickbait”) can bring readers in from search engines, social media, ads, and your newsletter if you have one.
Speaking of newsletters, for many years, people who market websites have said “The money is in the list!” They’re referring to a mailing list, to which you can send a newsletter, automated “drip” courses, or other useful and interesting information. The vast majority of blog subscribers aren’t going to want to hear from you too often and they don’t want you emailing them with every little offer. That works great for some business categories, including the “make money online” type, which is why gurus will suggest we all do it. Don’t listen to them. You know what your audience wants and you know what annoys you, so go with your gut. No matter how you handle it, you should consider building your email list using any number of list management options (both free and paid). A popular email marketing software is Aweber.
Remember to comply with Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL), along with the laws of any other countries your target audience lives in. Basically, you need to make sure your list management software can be set to “double opt-in”. That means the person signs up and then has to confirm the subscription from their email. Doing so will protect you in the event that someone accuses you of spamming them. Never add people to your list without their permission.
You’ll also want to keep visitors on your blog and have them return. An attractive, user-friendly, professional design that is easy to navigate will grab their attention. Again, excellent content is the key.
Marketing your blog is an extensive topic all by itself, so I won’t go into further detail in this already-lengthy post. We’ll cover it in greater detail in a future article and you’ll find tons of fantastic information in books or online in the meantime.
Blogging Equipment
The wonderful thing about a blogging business is you have everything you need to get started already. Later on you may want to get into video production, webinars, podcasts, and so on, but for now you can make do with what you have.
When it comes time to invest in equipment, try to wait for the big sales or buy refurbished if budget is an issue. We recommend the Logitech Pro Stream Webcam, the Blue Yeti USB Mic, and the Canon EOS Rebel . All have lots of blogger-friendly features at a reasonable price.
How Do Top Bloggers Make Money?
Following are some direct ways you can profit from a blog in Canada. You’ll also find yourself benefiting financially indirectly, which we discuss more in 11 Unexpected Ways You Can Make Money From Blogging. You can find more information about these methods in books, online or on our website. Our purpose here is to present an overview of options that have proven to be successful for Canadian bloggers, along with relevant resources.
Banner (Display) Advertising
There are various forms of advertising that can generate an income and help you monetize your blog. Once your traffic has reached a level high enough to catch the eye of advertisers, you will have the opportunity to make private deals for ad placement on your blog (direct advertising). The more you grow, the more you can charge. Most private advertising is paid by the month or annually. In the meantime, you can use affiliate advertising (learn more below). When your traffic is high enough, you can also join ad networks like Media.net and Google Adsense, ad management companies like MediaVine, or diverse ad solutions like Sovrn.
It’s important to limit banner advertising and “popups” for both the user experience and SEO. Google considers overuse of ads to be a sign of a low-quality website and that will hurt your placement in search results. In reality, banner ads are blocked by a large percentage of Canadians anyway (42%, according to a 2018 survey conducted by Global Web Index), and most who don’t block them don’t really notice them. Text links that are worked naturally into your content will provide better results.
Sponsored Content
Sponsored content has been around in print for decades, but is more commonly referred to as native advertising. It can range from an ad dressed up to look like normal content in a newspaper to the mere mention of the brands of makeup a model is wearing in a magazine article. It has been effective enough to stand the test of time and naturally morphed into the digital age. Natural, sponsored content is now one of the most cost-effective and successful forms of online marketing.
Sponsors (brands) or their agency representatives will approach you eventually and you can pitch many brands directly if you prefer. There are also influencer/blogger networks that may provide opportunities for you, but campaigns open to Canadians through these networks are often limited.
Some favourite influencer networks among Canadian bloggers are:
- Tap Influence
- MadeIn
- The Influence Agency
- Social Fabric
- Kin Community for YouTube influencers targeting the female demographic
- Starngage or Peersway for Instagram influencers.
You can review products or work products into your content, both of which you can charge a fee for. Some bloggers work in exchange for a product, while others receive the product and charge a set amount. Unless the product is high-end and you can really use it, you should charge a fee. Reviewing products and creating sponsored content takes a lot of time, which most professionals expect to pay for. You’ll also be approached by less ethical “sponsors” who will ask for the sun, the moon and the stars in exchange for a $16 product, or they’ll expect you to review their product if they give you a discount on your purchase of it. Leave that to hobby bloggers. This is your business, your job, your source of income. Don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of.
Set up a page on your blog that provides guidelines, policies and your contact information. You can also create a media kit to send to brands when they inquire about your blog traffic and whatnot. Make it clear that sponsors are paying an admin fee, not buying a positive review, “do follow” links, or cloaked sponsorship. You must be honest and transparent to ethically serve your readers. Outline your sponsor options, such as a sponsored blog post, product or book reviews, giveaways, gift guide submissions, or ongoing arrangements such as becoming a brand advocate.
To get started (and for practice), review items you buy yourself or gifts you receive. Brands that visit your blog will have examples to view and you can tag the mentioned brand on social media in the hopes of building a relationship with them.
You may be approached for custom arrangements, such as specific requirements for a product launch, social media promotion, or a blog giveaway. Always be open to discussion, but remain firm on anything you aren’t willing to do or feel is unreasonable.
Most importantly, don’t recommend products that suck. Now, I realize that should be obvious but too many bloggers get dollar signs in their eyes and sacrifice reader trust. A notorious example are bloggers who recommend absolutely terrible website hosting because it pays a hefty commission. They know they’re setting their readers up for a very stressful experience and they don’t care. I guarantee it will result in making less money in the long run, not more. Trust is the key to success.
Brands and other sponsors will consider your traffic and social media followers, but most are now realizing that a zillion visitors and social media followers are useless if they aren’t engaging with you. Focus on engagement and offer engagement data to your potential sponsors.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most common ways Canadian bloggers monetize their website. It has consistently generated the most income for us and our clients over the past 20+ years, long before blogging was even a thing. Canadian bloggers enjoy a nice bonus with affiliate marketing because most of them pay in US currency. Currently, that’s like someone giving you a bonus $100+ for every $400 you earn!
Affiliate programs (or partner programs) began in the 80’s and are now responsible for billions of dollars in online revenue. Generally, you will join an affiliate program and they will pay you a certain percentage of sales you bring them through a custom link on your website. These links may be banner ads or text.
Affiliate marketing is often promoted as passive income, but technically that isn’t the case. However, you don’t have to worry about anything except generating a sale or lead. The follow-through is up to the merchant, from payment processing to customer support.
Promoting affiliates is one of the easiest and fastest ways to make money with blogging in Canada. You may be surprised to learn that Canada has the third largest number of affiliate marketers, although we’re still far behind the US in terms of both promoting affiliate programs and the number of merchants who offer them. We have the inside information on How to Find Canadian Affiliate Programs to help.
There are countless merchants out there with affiliate programs, a good portion of which are Canadian (or they serve Canadians from other countries). You’ll also find many of the bigger brands offer affiliate programs for their Canadian arm, such as Walmart.ca. The versatility of affiliate marketing makes it easy to add links to your content, no matter what topic you’re writing about or what niche your blog is in. You can link to a merchant’s home page, and usually any page or product within their online store.
Products or services can be promoted from various angles, such as reviews, gift guides or recommendations within an article. As you gain more experience, you may find some affiliate programs are worth a more concentrated effort, inspiring you to create landing pages, webinars, tutorials etc. You can also take it outside of your blog and into email or social media.
When selecting merchants to work with, it’s wise to consider more than just how much their commissions are. You’ll make more money from a popular product that pays 10% per sale than you will from one paying 50% per sale that rarely converts. Make sure it’s something that appeals to your ideal visitor. It’s best to focus on a few great offers, at least in the beginning. Once you learn the ropes you can diversify.
Affiliate networks are a good place to start for most bloggers (publishers) because you can find and receive commissions from many merchants, all in one place. Since the commissions will come in more slowly when you first start a blog, the opportunity to combine the commissions from several merchants means you’ll meet the payment threshold faster than if you were only working with one merchant. Virtually all affiliate programs and networks have payment thresholds (your account balance minimum) that you have to reach before being paid. Most affiliate networks have tutorials to help guide you through the set up and implementation process. Some are better for Canadian bloggers than others, which you can learn more about in the post, The Best Affiliate Program Networks for Canadians.
Your success with affiliate marketing will depend on:
- The quality of your content
- How suitable your recommendations are for your specific audience
- How helpful it is to your readers
- Your ethics and how much your readers trust you
- Your reputation for recommending great products and services
- How much traffic you get and how diverse the sources of it are
- Analyzing data and tweaking methods accordingly
- Writing about a topic that you have expertise and enthusiasm for
Using paid promotional links of any kind comes with the same disclosure obligations as sponsored “influencer” content. For Google search compliance, all affiliate links must be HTML tagged rel=”nofollow”. You’ll find more information about regulations, guidelines and disclosures below.
Check out our BIG guide to starting affiliate marketing in Canada for more details.
Create Your Own Digital Products
Everyone has expertise to share about something and often those people start blogs. While your blog can earn money for you, much of the internet’s riches come from digital information products created by bloggers. With research, you’ll find many of the top money-making blogs offer their own digital products. You can expand on the information you share with an eBook, teach through an online course, offer gated premium content, and so on. Read How to Create and Develop Your Own Digital Learning Products for detailed information about this method of monetizing your blog.
Downloadable products include apps, software, website themes, WordPress plugins, photos, printables, etc. The beauty of digital downloads is they take time to create, but after that they require little direct effort to make money again and again. Even marketing these products can be largely automated. When you have your product ready to go, check out the Top 8 Ecommerce Platforms for Digital Product Downloads.
Once you have your digital products, you can use one to sell the other and considerably boost your sales. For example, many marketers use a “sales funnel” that takes the buyer through an automated sales cycle, from a lead magnet or first sale, on through several offers (often leading up to more expensive products, such as a course). You can even feed affiliate products into your sales funnel. They’re well-worth researching when you’re ready.
Offer Your Professional Services
One of the benefits of blogging is you can demonstrate your expertise on a topic or show off your online business, marketing or design/developer skills. That can lead to opportunities to contract out your services or provide consulting/coaching. For example, if you’re good at creating online content (posts, video, images, infographics, etc.) you can make a good living feeding the content monster for others. Everyone, from the average blogger to companies with blogs or social media accounts, needs an endless supply of digital content. Read How to Start a Digital Content Freelancing Business in Canada for more information on that particular opportunity. Other services may be offered under the VA (Virtual Assistant) umbrella, including clerical services, bookkeeping, customer support, social media marketing, etc.
Before you accept any freelance work, make sure you have a legally-binding contract in place. You can access a free Independent Contractor Agreement customized by Canadian province to start with. Learn more with the free tutorial, How to Write a Freelance Contract 101.
Plugins That Help You Make Money Blogging
The free plugins available for WordPress are virtually endless, so it comes as no surprise that several will help Canadians make money with their blog. Following are just a few.
- eBay Feeds for WordPress lets you quickly and easily place feeds from the eBay Affiliate Network into your WordPress blog.
- Ad Inserter lets you easily insert ads, opt-in forms, header scripts, AMP ads, Javascript, CSS, HTML, PHP, analytics, tracking or advert code anywhere on the page.
- Paid Memberships Pro is used for premium content sites, clubs/associations, subscription products, etc.
- Thirsty Affiliates is a free affiliate link management plugin.
Focus First
It’s wise to focus on a single income method until you’re familiar and comfortable with it. The vast majority of top bloggers make money in more than one way, though, and it’s these monetization methods combined that makes them financial winners. Check out successful blogs targeting a similar market as you plan to, and find out how they’re generating revenue. If they have a “Work with Us” or PR page on their site, you’ll learn more about what they’re offering there.
Some ideas and strategies will work better for you than others, even if they fall under the same type of income source. Don’t force yourself into something just because it’s earning a lot of money for someone else. It’s much easier to consider monetization methods like the above suggestions, but execute them in a way that utilizes your personal abilities, interests and passion to attract and serve your specific target market.
Once you’re comfortable with one way to monetize your blog, you can explore other methods to find out which work best for you. You’ll also have the opportunity to combine methods, such as adding affiliate links to your eBook or course. Eventually, you’ll naturally optimize everything you do for maximum return, without sacrificing the heart of your success: serving your readers.
Canadian Taxes for Bloggers
Note: I am not an Accountant.
You can operate as a self-employed individual or register as a business (sole proprietor). Both options will allow you to deduct home office expenses, register for GST, and so on.
Income is straight-forward: claim everything you earn, whether it’s from direct advertising, affiliate networks or what have you. One blogger-specific income source that is often overlooked, is the value of physical products you receive for reviews or whatnot. The retail value has to be included in your income. User-friendly accounting software will make tax time so much easier, such as the popular TurboTax Canada.
Since taxes are in a perpetual state of change, we won’t go into it further. I suggest finding a cloud accountant to guide you who is familiar with home-based, cross-border businesses, such as BDO Digital (with locations throughout Canada). Cloud accountants can serve clients who are located across Canada and beyond.
Compliance for Canadian Bloggers & Influencers
Whether it’s a review, casual mention or social media post, there are advertising laws and guidelines that apply to Canadian bloggers and other online influencers. You’ll also have to follow Canadian data laws. Additionally, search engines like Google have rules that can seriously impact your ranking if not followed. Following are some resources that define and clarify what you need to know.
>> The Competition Bureau requires the following when posting reviews and opinions on social media:
- Ensure that disclosures are as visible as possible
- Disclose material connections in each post
- Use clear and contextually appropriate words and images
- Ensure disclosures are inseparable from the content so they travel together when shared
- Base all reviews and opinions on actual experience
- Avoid ambiguous references and abbreviations, such as “Thank You Company X!”, “Ambassador”, “Partner”, “Company X”, “SP”, “Spon”
>> In the U.S., the Competition Bureau’s counterpart is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). If your readers are in the US, you must comply with FTC guidelines. If your readers are outside of North America, you’ll have to research each country’s laws to ensure you’re in compliance.
>> Influencer Marketing Steering Committee Disclosure Guidelines: Ad Standards, the Canadian advertising industry’s self-regulatory body in Canada, administers The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards.
>> The International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN) Online Reviews and Endorsements Guidelines for Digital Influencers have been developed to provide general guidance to digital influencers (such as bloggers) when they are paid or induced to talk about goods or services.
>> Google and other search engines use “backlinks” (the quality and number of other websites that link to a website) as one factor when determining the quality of a site. A high number of backlinks can improve search rank, which makes it a target for “blackhat” SEO techniques. For Google search compliance, all sponsored or affiliate links must be HTML tagged rel=”sponsored nofollow” to let Google know they should not count the link as natural (not compensated).Keep in mind that Google doesn’t feel they have to prove that you’ve received compensation, they only have to suspect it for your site to be penalized. For that reason, we often “no follow” links that we aren’t compensated for, just in case Google suspects that they are. Some plugins will automatically do this for you. If not, you can click on the “Text” tab at the top of your WordPress editor to check the HTML and add the “nofollow” tag if necessary.
>> You’re also legally responsible for any data you collect from your website visitors or online customers. Read Canadian Website Hosts and the Legal Reasons to Use Them for more information.
Can Canadians REALLY Make Money Blogging?
While it is certainly possible to make a good living from your blog and complimentary endeavors, it’s important to note that upwards of 80% of blogs never make more than a few dollars. That statistic says more about the level of commitment and knowledge bloggers have than the possibilities of turning a blog into a business. Anyone can start a blog, but you must be willing to learn, work and be patient if you want to make a decent income. You’re going to have to work hard to make money blogging in Canada and it isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s a challenging, yet enjoyable journey into a digital world of financial possibilities. I look forward to meeting you there!
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Melody McKinnon is an internet entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in a wide range of online business models, backed by a formal business education and enhanced by training and mentorship. She has owned or managed both educational and ecommerce websites. Her book, 7 Recession Proof Online Businesses to Start From Home, is available from all major ebook retailers.
Melody has worked with many businesses & brands in a multitude of capacities. She can often be found on CanadianDigitalMedia.com, CanadiansInternet.com, CanadianFamily.net, and AllNaturalPetCare.com, as well as other quality digital publications. Her content has earned reference links from highly-respected websites, magazines and university textbooks.
I’m having a challenge getting traffic to my blog that’s over a year old. Any tips from anyone?
My problem is I have TOO MANY ideas and struggle to narrow them down. Is there still room for more general blogs like about families or small businesses? I’m doing the work to find out but maybe someone already knows.
Incredible tips on earning money through blogging! The strategies shared are practical, actionable, and will undoubtedly boost monetization efforts. Appreciate the valuable insights and effort put into creating this resource. Thank you for helping aspiring bloggers turn their passion into a profitable venture!
Don’t miss out on the chance to earn extra income effortlessly. I’m impressed by the variety of money-making strategies you’ve presented, catering to different skill sets, interests, and levels of experience.
I think it’s getting saturated but I’ll probably try to find something unusual to write about and give it a try. I research topics a lot on Amazon and if people are reading books they might like a blog on that subject too yeah?
I know so many people with blogs now and every one has something different to offer me. It’s like having lots of friends sharing their lives with us and it’s how I’m starting too. Just relaxed friendly chats until I learn the ropes. Thanks for your help!
I believe we all should blog if we can even if you’re not interested in making lots of money. It’s a great way to have an impact on the world but always use your power for GOOD!
I’m trying to figure out how much money I can make with a blog but that’s impossible until I start according to what I read. I get confused by all the choices (for making money) but this has helped lots. Would anyone like to share what their #1 way to make money is? With blogging? Thanks!!
You’ll find some examples and ideas in How Top Canadian Bloggers Make Money.
I’m worried about running out of ideas for blog posts……how does everyone get ideas? Like 8 years in how are you finding something new to write about thats still interesting?
Is it just me or are there more Canadians bloggering? Seems to be more on facebook anyway. Thanks!
Thanks for this detailed article, I am inspired
HOLY! That’s lots of comments to read through hahaha…guess bloggers have time or maybe they just like to “hear” themselves write. Great blogging tips and guide in the post but if you want to read through the comments set aside some time!
PS I know it’s ironic that I’m adding to the comments hahaha!
My sister has a blog and she just loves writing posts. I want a blog but I definitely do NOT like writing. Is it possible for me to write short posts that aren’t perfect? I won’t kid you…its the money I’m in it for so it has to work that way too.
It’s harder to get search engine attention when posts are too short, which makes it difficult to make money. You can write longer posts less often or hire writers. Don’t be tempted by software that’s supposed to write articles for you (bots, spinners, AI, etc) or worse, steal content from other websites. Both can land you in hot water for several reasons, from copyright infringement to search engine penalties. You could focus on social media, where you don’t have to write as much, or try your hand at vlogging (video).
Wow! Awesome article!
So I read this a year ago and see its kept updated. I hope I didn’t miss anything but it’s going really great. My website will be done this month or next and then I have to start marketing. If you have more marketing tips that would be helpful. Thanks for your help!
BAM!!! You NAILED IT! I wasted my time reading a bunch of junk before I got here. I’m confident that its what I want to do but researching it has been a nightmare of bad info or american info. Maybe add more about marketing a va business? And more courses if you know of any? THANKS
Blogging is a lot of work, and for those who are really willing to work at it, they manage to make money, they just need to put in enough effort.
I (Canadian) could NOT be MORE excited to start blogging! Thanks for bringing some hope & ambition to the pandemic. I desperately want to take control of my livelihood so I’m prepared for anything. I think a blog is a great way to do that and I get to write for a living! Maybe consulting too?
I know quite a few bloggers in Canada and other places and they all make some money but none are rich. All of them do it parttime though and make enough for a side hustle. That’s why I started checking for information about blogging FULLTIME. If they can bring some money from blogging the more time I put in the more I should make but I doubt it’s that simple. Any readers earning enough to quit their job?? I’d love to connect!!
Blogging is an interesting art, mostly dominated by the US market. It is so competitive now that a simple blog with a few affiliate links and basic SEO opt just won’t cut it. The way to earn money is not primarily with your blog, but by coupling your blog with a high ticket service. For examples you can have a blog talking about e-commerce and offer a service to build websites for online businesses. The blog should act as a tool to drive traffic to your service. It is hard to use a blog as a primary means of income in this age unfortunately.
This is very helpful. What is the industry code for bloggers, youtubers, influencer and ecommerce in canada?
That’s something to run by an accountant due to the variables. Ecommerce is different from blogging, for example. It can also vary according to how you’re monetizing your website. A blog could fall under Other Information Services while an ecommerce site could be Electronic Shopping and Mail-order Houses.
If only I could settle on a topic!! It’s a big commitment and I want to be sure I can sustain it. I might work with a mentor or consultant for the first bit because I think I’ll be OK after I get started. Has anybody ever done that who will share how it was?
Thank you for this detailed guide. Your experience is inspiring!
Thanks for sharing how to make money blogging in Canada. SO TIRED of reading about what works in other places. I have a few ideas for blogs and the point will be to earn money so I can quit my job. I understand it can take a long time but it’s a good goal.
I’m going to do blogging with affiliate marketing to start. That’s allowed right? for bloggers? or will the advertiser want an official site?
Bloggers do very well with affiliate marketing and advertisers usually don’t discriminate.
Nice article, i never tough there was such useful plugins to make more money like this. I think this article is well detailed, no wonder why it was number 1 on google. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Very knowledgeable blog but I think you are missing vlogging which is even hotter topic now days
I follow so many Canadian bloggers! I like the local feel of their blogs even when they aren’t focused on it. I’m considering one of my own and I did start one many years ago but let it go. It’s tough to commit to blogging and I think that’s the biggest challenge for most people. I hope if I choose something I really love talking about I’ll stick to it. Thanks for inspiring!!
Great article! You described in depth. Blogs are the best way to get more visitors and rank in google. I’m from Canada (Toronto), and have created number of blogs for my clients.
I’m ready to start blogging and this post truly helps but I’m still nervous. Does anyone have more blogging tips to share? Even if you’re not in Canada?
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I like the post about how to make money online blogging. I have been struggling to make money with my blog. Even though I have optimized my blog for search engine visibility wth the help of an SEO Toronto company. I am still not making money. What would you advice?
Thank you for the wonderful links and resources.
Finding this encouraging because I don’t know where to start and not sure I have something to say worth reading. Tend to put so much pressure on myself I can’t think straight when I do that.
Thanks for watching out for canadians…
I am stunned at the depth of this information that you’ve shared in this article – I will need to study this one! Thank you for writing it
My pleasure, Kendra, thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Some of my favourite bloggers are in Canada!!! Just knowing they’re in the same country makes me feel more engaged with them. Don’t underestimate the power of patriotism!!!
Not a whole lot different than blogging anywhere else but the differences we do have are important. It’s just kind of nice to find a Canadian discussion of it. I feel like we just had a consult over coffee! Even still it’s a better blogging guide than I’ve found in other sites and even some ebooks! The quality here is almost always a notch above the rest actually. Canadians excel at these things! LOL
Thanks for the guide. Is it for people living in Canada alone or everyone to try.
Incredible article! Thanks so much for the many helpful details. This is a gift to all Canadian bloggers. 🙂
I’m glad it was helpful. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
This post is fantastic. I’ve been flooding my brain trying to learn about blogging after finding a few that I love. The problem is that EVERYTHING is US based. I will be viewing this post and others regularly while I try and create a blog of my own. Like this post, I hope to help others the way I’m being helped going down this rabbit hole. Thanks so much!
Thanks Trevor, we wish you all the best!
Thank you so much for giving out such detailed information on blogging. I stumbled on your website yesterday and I was up all night reading many of your articles, they are quite insightful and show in depth knowledge. I’ve always wanted to start an online business, thanks for showing me the way out.
Thank you for your kind words. I wish you a successful journey!
The big thing I’m learning is I have to learn about SEO to keep traffic coming. You can have an amazing blog but if you don’t have traffic you won’t make money. I’m learning about facebook markeing too. I wish I could hire someone to do it but I’m happy to know it myself too. It’s really interesting.
Blogging the right way is a ton of work. I gave up on my blog when I had my first baby but I probably could have kept going when she got a little older. Hmmmmm 😉
Very precise and detailed post. I’ve been doing some research about different forms of online businesses for a few months now and am shocked that today is the first time I’ve come across your site. Thanks for putting all of this together!
My pleasure, Kyle, thank you for your kind words. Good luck with your online endeavors!
I hope to start a professional blog this year! I’m oh so tired of the blah blah blah blogs on all topics with their rambling about nothing or their kids. I want to write posts with substance & useful & without the unprofessional slang, swearing, excessive advertising and anything else that screams unprofessional. The internet needs more professional blogs like THIS ONE especially in Canada. Different topics but professionally written. I think I’ve said professional enough for one comment LOL but you get my drift!
WOWSERS! Talk about thorough! I feel I can venture into blogging now which is something I’ve been considering for a long time. Everything I found was about American blogs and even that information is vague. Thanks for putting the effort in!
Yes, thank you! It is wonderful to have a Canadian perspective on all of this. Kudos to you.