How to Monetize a Blog: Top Proven Methods

Direct monetization of content
Advertising Sales via Google AdSense
Affiliate Programs
Merchandise Sales
Why Register Income from a Blog and How to Register as an Entrepreneur
- Legal Registration of Blog Income: Step-by-Step Guide
- Can a Blogger Officially Receive Donations

If you are working on your blog on a website, social media, or video platforms (such as YouTube), over time, the desire and need arise to monetize your passion and earn income from the valuable information you share with your followers.

At the very least, this is necessary to cover expenses the author already incurs — such as buying hosting and registering a domain for a site. For video blogs, additional costs include paying for video editing software, purchasing props and equipment, renting filming locations, and much more. Ideally, the goal is to turn a hobby into a job and earn profit.

There are many ways to monetize blog content, allowing you to choose what suits your work's nature and what inspires you:

direct collaboration with relevant brands, advertising;
selling merchandise, educational courses, books;
collecting donations from followers — many interesting articles end with a card number;
placing sponsored guest posts, and more.

Let’s look at each method in turn. All monetization methods can be divided into direct content monetization and ad monetization, which is placed between engaging content.

Direct monetization of content

You can ask for money from an interested audience, because blogging is also a job that requires time and effort. If a blogger gets money for their content, they can devote more attention to its creation, buy equipment and paid tools, and spend less time looking for other sources of income. By supporting the blog with money, readers also benefit — more quality content that they like.

Donations

Many modern bloggers simply include card numbers and wallet addresses from international payment systems like PayPal at the end of their posts, allowing readers to support their work.

However, platforms are also available that facilitate donations with a single button click and gather interesting initiatives for support. The downside is that a significant number of bloggers who occasionally write about the war or raise funds for military support encounter issues with international platforms like Patreon and Buy Me a Coffee. Another drawback is that these platforms’ foreign administrators periodically change their policies toward users in regions affected by armed conflicts, potentially blocking funds from being transferred to cards entirely. Here’s a brief overview.

General Note: All platforms require time to set up a profile for receiving funds. Some require ongoing management, offering exclusive content to paid subscribers that is unavailable to others.

Buy Me a Coffee

The concept of this platform is that users support creators with micro-donations, roughly the price of a cup of coffee ($3–$5). Unfortunately, this platform stopped registering new accounts from Ukraine, citing that 20% of the territory falls under sanctions and it’s difficult to monitor who is using the platform from where. This reasoning, frankly, doesn’t sound very convincing.

We attempted to register on the site and indeed couldn’t find Ukraine in the list of possible countries.

Patreon

Patreon is a long-standing, reputable platform where creators can rank their patrons into tiers based on donation size and offer them exclusive content. This content might include preview excerpts, educational lectures, webinars, workshops, or just interesting articles from the blogger’s experience that aren’t available elsewhere.

Unlike a one-time donation, Patreon operates on a monthly subscription basis, allowing people to support a particular content creator on a regular basis.

The downside, as usual, is the occasional controversies around Ukrainian account deletions. Officially, Patreon states this is because it doesn’t support funding for military purposes (though removals aren’t limited to this reason). While numerous Russian accounts, including so-called "war correspondents", remain active. On the positive side, the platform is transparent and well-established.

Donatello

This is a Ukrainian platform that supports both recurring subscriptions and one-time donations. It also offers additional tools for self-promotion, such as streaming widgets. The platform is Ukraine-based, uses familiar payment systems, and has a local transaction fee rate of 2.57%. It’s relatively new, and no drawbacks have been identified yet.

GoFundMe

GoFundMe, founded in 2010, is a popular crowdfunding platform that allows users to raise funds for various causes. Its ease of use is a highlight — users can create a campaign by setting a fundraising goal, describing their situation, and adding photos or videos.

The platform can be used to organize campaigns in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Many employ it to finance initiatives related to humanitarian aid, military needs, or charitable projects in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

It’s important to follow the platform’s rules, particularly by providing accurate information about the fundraising goals and the use of funds. This transparency can help attract more donors and boost the campaign's credibility.

Selling Content

There are also other ways to earn income, specifically by monetizing content that readers can access exclusively, rather than just viewing on the website. The site can sell:

unique, interesting articles accessible through a separate subscription;
guides;
tutorials;
workshops;
related e-books and print books;
personal consultations with the owner on specific topics, and more.

There are two main limitations here: the resources needed to create exclusive content and the number of people willing to purchase it. For a popular fashion blog, an advisory book might sell well (for example, look at the case of Maya Tulchinskaya’s blog and her books “Conversations Around the Closet” and “I Forgot My Underwear”). But if a site isn’t yet highly visited, it might be hard to recoup the costs of producing a book, especially as low-print runs tend to be more expensive per copy than large ones. For specialized sites — on topics like fishing, construction, gardening, dietetics, and the like — tips, ready-to-use reference sheets, or consultations on complex topics can be a convenient addition to regular page content, and readers may want to have them on hand.

Since the COVID era, people often miss social interaction, so many site or page owners organize talks or casual streams to help participants feel part of the blog’s community.

Selling Advertising

Selling advertising involves the blog author establishing direct contacts with advertisers and fulfilling their requests. This can include product placement, where a product or brand appears naturally within the usual content. For example, check out videos by ellevika (if you haven't seen these short, humorous videos about country relations, Ukrainian history, etc.), which showcase perfect examples — from Rozetka to smaller brands.

Alternatively, the advertiser's post might appear on a website or social media blog, or the author may share their impressions from product testing. Both bloggers and advertisers typically have their own contact databases, rates, and occasionally interact directly.

However, building a contact base of this sort, managing sales, and so on requires substantial additional work. Selling advertising banners or articles on a blog is another way to monetize content. To do this regularly, bloggers can register with an advertising exchange platform. These platforms streamline advertiser search, ad placement, payment, and statistics into one interface, minimizing extra clicks and effort. This process, known as bidding, allows for quick contact between advertisers and ad space providers, working like a specialized auction.

Here are a few examples of such exchanges.

Collaborator

Collaborator is a Ukrainian platform for selling direct advertising. Advertisers register on the platform and can arrange with site owners to place guest posts or articles.

Registration on the site is free, with Collaborator charging a 10% transaction fee. A Pro version offers additional features and, as promised by the platform’s owners, increased earning potential. Sites with a traffic level of 5 000 or more can register, or even those with lower traffic if the topic is highly specialized. Additionally, Collaborator's marketers assess the activity level of the site’s audience. Besides websites, a Telegram channel can also be monetized.

Admixer

This company operates actively in Ukraine, known especially for its collaboration with Kyivstar: the companies jointly developed tools for analyzing large databases to enable more precisely targeted advertising. Admixer is also a direct advertising exchange that brings together a variety of tools and platforms, including international and local ones.

Links.ua

This link exchange platform allows for quick placement of texts with links to aid SEO. The system is Ukrainian (registered under an individual entrepreneur, so make of that what you will), with 20% of commissions going to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It’s simple — you can sell placements on your site or buy links yourself. Note that the platform doesn’t guarantee indexing for articles with links, as search engine requirements grow increasingly complex with the spread of AI.

For more on Ukrainian advertising and link-selling platforms, see this article: Major permalink exchanges.

Advertising Sales via Google AdSense

You can register directly with Google AdSense. After that, create an ad block in your account, obtain the code, and place it on your website pages. Ads of roughly relevant themes will then appear, and you will earn revenue for each click. Payouts are made once you reach a certain balance.

AdSense’s restrictions mainly comply with legal regulations for websites with prohibited content. Previously, the platform limited ad blocks to three per page, but that restriction has been lifted. Now, website owners can use their discretion.

Affiliate Programs

Some companies partner with prominent blogs or bloggers, paying them per referred customer or transaction. Book bloggers or beauty reviewers, for instance, might offer promo codes for purchases at specific stores or use referral links on their sites. Here, payment is based on completed transactions, not clicks.

Calculating revenue from these monetization methods isn’t simple, as it depends heavily on region, topic, and, most importantly, blog traffic. But like with any endeavor, the key is to start and keep developing persistently.

Incidentally, Cityhost also offers an affiliate program, allowing users to earn up to 10% from referral payments, with withdrawals to a bank card.

Merchandise Sales

Selling merchandise like T-shirts, bags, or theme-related items (computer mice, brushes, crafting kits, etc.) makes sense once a blog is highly recognizable with a dedicated fanbase. A common strategy is to feature a recognizable meme or phrase from the blog that resonates with readers.

Selling merchandise also requires logistical planning, so it’s best approached when you know who will handle production, shipping, and storage, and you’ve determined an acceptable price point and potential customer base. A great way to start is with pre-orders, which ensure buyers will receive their desired items, and you avoid holding excess stock.

However, these creative monetization methods have one main downside: they are far more complex and demanding than simply placing ads, as discussed earlier. While they may bring in more revenue, that depends on the author’s approach, site traffic, and the alignment of the monetization strategy with the audience. Ultimately, a blog is a business with constant work, and securing income sources is a crucial part of it. It’s important to keep trying, even if the beginning feels challenging.

Why Register Income from a Blog and How to Register as an Entrepreneur

You have created an online project, started receiving traffic, and are using the described methods for monetizing your blog. Sooner or later, if you are regularly receiving income from your blogging activities, the tax authorities will take an interest in you. According to the legislation (Tax Code of Ukraine, Articles 164 and 177, and the Law of Ukraine "On Personal Income Tax"), every citizen must pay taxes. International income is also specifically regulated: according to Clause 11 of Article 170 of the Tax Code, income from foreign sources (such as Google AdSense) is subject to taxation in Ukraine.

But some Ukrainians monetize their blogs, receive money, and do not pay taxes. Why should I pay them? Everyone decides for themselves how to act, but it is essential to understand the risks of tax evasion:

fines — according to Article 123 of the Tax Code, the tax service has the right to impose a fine of 25% of the unpaid tax amount;
increased fine — a repeat violation will increase the fine to 50% of the unpaid tax amount;
penalties — according to Article 129 of the Tax Code, for each day of late tax payment, a penalty of 120% of the annual NBU interest rate that was in effect on the day the tax debt arose is charged.

However, there is no need to fear and rush to register as an individual entrepreneur right after creating a blog. It is important to understand that gaining stable traffic can take 3, 6 months, or longer. Additionally, those $100 from Google AdSense (the minimum payout amount) can take months to accumulate. But once you start earning consistently from your online project, it is advisable to officially pay taxes to avoid the problems described above.

Legal Registration of Blog Income: Step-by-Step Guide

If you have started to monetize your blog and are receiving regular income, register as a physical person-entrepreneur (PPE). It is better for website and YouTube channel owners to register as PPE of the 3rd group, since the 1st group is intended only for market traders, and the 2nd group does not allow working with non-residents, meaning you won’t be able to receive foreign payments (from some donation platforms, Google AdSense, and similar programs). The 3rd group, however, will allow you to work with other PPEs and legal entities, and the limit on annual revenue will increase to 8 285 700 UAH.

Let’s look at the step-by-step instructions for bloggers to register as PPE of the 3rd group in Ukraine online.

Step 1 — Registering PPE through the Diia Portal. Go to the relevant page of the Diia portal, click on "Submit Application", and log in. You will be offered several ways to log in, including BankID and Diia.Signature.

Go through several stages of the application:

Select your citizenship, registration address, and UDR (available in the Diia app → three dots next to the ID card or passport → Full Information).
Choose one or several types of economic activities (KVEDs). Suitable KVEDs for a blog owner are 63.12 (web portals), 63.99 (provision of other information services), and 73.11 (advertising). On the page, you can enter the name of your activity and see the relevant KVEDs, along with examples.
Indicate whether you have conducted entrepreneurial activities under the simplified taxation system this year.
Choose the type of taxation. In this case, select the Simplified Taxation System — 3rd group.
Specify the location of your business activities. Since you are engaged in online activities, select "within the entire territory of Ukraine".
Choose whether you want to register as a VAT payer. When it comes to blog monetization, this is not mandatory.
Verify your contact details and the application, sign it with your electronic signature, and submit it for review.

It takes 2 working days to receive the result. You can check the status of the application in the citizen's cabinet, and once approved, a notification will appear in your cabinet and be sent to your email.

Step 2 — Open a Bank Account for PPE. To receive income from entrepreneurial activities, an individual entrepreneur must use the appropriate account. You can open it in any bank; for example, Monobank offers completely remote service and a separate convenient accounting cabinet. This service is free.

Step 3 — Paying Taxes and Reporting. You need to pay 5% of your net income every quarter by the 20th of the month following the reporting quarter. Additionally, you must pay the unified social contribution (USC) quarterly by the 20th of the month after the quarter ends, which is 22% of the minimum wage.

Don’t forget to submit your reports on time, using the taxpayer's electronic cabinet or electronic reporting services. You will need to submit a tax return for the unified tax payer once a quarter, so you will provide a total of 4 reports for the year. Additionally, you must include a report on the unified social contribution as part of the annual report.

Can a Blogger Officially Receive Donations

At the beginning of the article, we detailed a popular method of direct blog monetization: donations. This raises the question of how to receive donations if PPE cannot earn passive income from monetary gifts and donations.

It’s not complicated if you use the specified services, such as Patreon or Donatello. You simply need to withdraw funds from these platforms to your PPE account, pay the unified tax and the unified social contribution (USC), and submit your reports to the tax authorities on time.

In today’s world, owners of small blogs, informational websites, and YouTube channels can utilize multiple income methods, including affiliate programs, donations, ad sales, etc. When choosing the best monetization method for your online project, consider the content theme, traffic volume, and visitor preferences, as well as experiment with different advertising formats.

Once you start receiving stable income from your blog, be sure to legally register your income to avoid issues with the tax authorities. This process will take only 10-15 minutes and will allow you to collaborate with large clients and earn online without worry!