Top 11 Bloggers Making Real Money Online (With How They Do It)

Blogging has evolved from personal journaling into a full-blown business model one that can be surprisingly lucrative. We’re talking five, six, even seven figures a month in some cases. But what sets the top bloggers apart isn’t just their writing it’s how they build brands, sell products, and connect deeply with their audience.

Below, we’re spotlighting 11 bloggers who’ve turned their platforms into serious income-generating machines. We’ll look at what niches they’ve mastered, how they bring in revenue, and what lessons you can learn from their journeys.


1. Timothy Sykes – Roughly $1M/Month

Niche: Stock Trading & Investing Education
Started Blogging: 2007

Timothy Sykes didn’t just blog about penny stocks he built an entire ecosystem around financial education. What began as a documentation of his own trading journey became a suite of premium products, mentoring programs, and trading tools.

How He Makes Money:

  • Premium trading courses and mentorship (main revenue driver)
  • Paid memberships for stock alerts and communities
  • Affiliate income from broker tools and platforms
  • Ad revenue and speaking gigs round it out

Finance is a tough niche, but when done right, the returns can be massive, literally.

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2. Chiara Ferragni – Estimated $250K/Month

Niche: Fashion & Luxury Lifestyle
Started Blogging: 2009 (The Blonde Salad)

Chiara started out posting outfit photos and style tips. Fast forward, and she’s a global fashion icon with her own product lines and collaborations with major luxury brands.

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Income Sources Include:

  • High-end brand sponsorships (think Chanel, Dior)
  • Her own product line: the Chiara Ferragni Collection
  • Affiliate sales via platforms like LTK
  • Media appearances and paid events

She’s a perfect example of how personal branding and consistent visual storytelling can turn a blog into a business empire.

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3. Melyssa Griffin – Around $238K/Month

Niche: Online Courses & Business Strategy
Started Blogging: 2013

Melyssa didn’t just want to blog, she wanted to teach others how to do it well. What started as design and creativity content evolved into full-scale digital courses and coaching.

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Where Her Income Comes From:

  • Online courses focused on email marketing and list-building
  • Affiliate links for business tools
  • Paid communities and workshops
  • 1-on-1 coaching and small events

She’s proof that teaching others how to succeed can be one of the most profitable niches out there.


4. Sarah Titus – $200K/Month

Niche: Lifestyle, Budgeting & Printables
Started Blogging: 2013

Sarah’s blog started as a creative outlet while navigating life as a single mom. Over time, she leaned into digital products, printables, planners, and other downloadable tools.

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Main Revenue Streams:

  • A massive library of digital printables
  • Online courses about creating and selling printables
  • Affiliate programs
  • Some monetisation through her email list and ads

Digital products + a loyal, family-oriented audience = sustainable, scalable income.


5. Pat Flynn – Estimated $200K/Month

Niche: Online Business & Passive Income
Started Blogging: 2008 (Smart Passive Income)

Pat has long been one of the most trusted voices in the online business space. He openly shares what works and what doesn’t when it comes to building income streams online.

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How He Earns:

  • Affiliate marketing (e.g., Bluehost, ConvertKit)
  • Sales of books and online courses
  • Podcast sponsorships
  • Community and YouTube monetisation

His transparency is what built his brand and his revenue.


6. John Lee Dumas – Around $195K/Month

Niche: Entrepreneurship & Podcasting
Started Blogging: 2012 (Entrepreneurs on Fire)

John turned a daily entrepreneur interview podcast into a business model that’s now replicated around the world.

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Key Revenue Channels:

  • Podcast sponsorships (his biggest stream)
  • Digital courses and business books
  • Affiliate programs
  • Physical journals (Freedom Journal, Mastery Journal)

He’s mastered the art of turning free content into a paid ecosystem.


7. Lindsay Ostrom – Approx $95K/Month

Niche: Food & Recipes
Started Blogging: 2010 (Pinch of Yum)

Pinch of Yum began as a side project and became one of the most visited food blogs online. Lindsay’s beautiful photography and accessible recipes keep readers coming back.

Where the Money Comes From:

  • Display advertising (main revenue source)
  • Sponsored brand content
  • Online courses on food blogging and photography
  • Affiliate links

A few viral recipes and evergreen SEO traffic go a long way in the food blogging world.

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8. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner – $75K–$100K/Month

Niche: Personal Finance & Budgeting
Started Blogging: 2011 (Making Sense of Cents)

Michelle started her blog to document paying off her student loans. She grew it into a top-tier personal finance blog that monetises mainly through affiliate marketing.

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Her Income Model:

  • Affiliate links (Bluehost and financial tools are big ones)
  • Sponsored posts from finance brands
  • Course: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing

Even years later, her content still ranks and converts, proving that good personal finance advice has a long shelf life.

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9. Heather & Pete Reese – Up to $175K/Month at Peak

Niche: Travel, Family Life & Blogging Education
Started Blogging: 2014 (It’s a Lovely Life)

This dynamic duo combined lifestyle content with blogging education, and it clicked. Their blog features travel tips while also helping others start blogs of their own.

Revenue Breakdown Includes:

  • Sponsored family travel campaigns
  • Sales of their blogging courses
  • Affiliate revenue from blogging tools
  • Some display ads

They’re a great example of how you can combine personal stories with educational content.


10. Neil Patel – Over $100K/Month

Niche: SEO & Digital Marketing
Started Blogging: 2006

Neil Patel’s name is synonymous with digital marketing. His blog attracts millions of visitors, and most of his income is driven by tools and consulting.

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Revenue Sources:

  • Sales of Ubersuggest (his SEO tool)
  • Consulting and agency services
  • Affiliate partnerships
  • Courses and speaking engagements

His blog isn’t the product, it’s the engine driving his real business.


11. Abby Lawson – $50K–$100K/Month

Niche: Home Organisation, DIY & Productivity
Started Blogging: 2013 (Just a Girl and Her Blog)

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Abby turned her love for order and organisation into a beautiful, helpful blog. With a strong visual identity and niche focus, she turned it into a solid business.

How She Earns:

  • Printable planners and productivity tools
  • Blogging courses
  • Affiliate links
  • Display advertising

Clean content, well-targeted products, and consistency made her blog thrive.

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Blogging is Still a Business Worth Building

Every blogger on this list started with nothing but an idea and a blog. They didn’t just post content, they created real value, built loyal communities, and strategically monetised over time. Whether you’re into finance, food, fashion, or family, there’s still plenty of room to carve out your own profitable space.

The takeaway? It’s not about going viral. It’s about showing up consistently, solving problems, and creating content that serves a real audience.

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How to start Blogging

You can easily start blogging through some best methods nowadays. Like you will just ned a little bit of investment and you will have to just need a little bit of skills to work on WordPress.

So you will be using the best website builder, which will be wordpress and this is one of the best and easy to use platform where you will get more than millions of themes and plugins which you can use to make your work process easier.

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Blogging is basically all about writing and posting articles that are in the form of text. This is the best method to make money, as this will be easier for those who can not make YouTube videos to make money online. So this will be an essay, and the best option for those.

So start today’s blogging now.

So, after you start blogging, you will need some of the best tools and methods to start with.

Like you will first need to start with the setup, like you will need to add some good plugins and themes.

Best themes

Plugins

So here are some of the best and free, and also with paid membership to use Themes and plugins.

So you can start using many of these, and I also personally use these plugins and themes, which are easy to use. The theme is lightweight, and the plugins will simplify your work. So start now with this, only now you have some money, rather than just investing in Hosting and a domain, you will need some money to spend on the plugins and themes.

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But this will not be needed at the start, just start with the hosting and domain investment if you do not have that money in the beginning. But you want to know which are some of the best hosting and domain providers, I will show you.

The best hosting and domain provider

So this will be my top pick, and I have used this hosting plan for my budget to fit in.

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