How Do Beauty Bloggers Make Money? Actual Data and Stats
Thinking about starting a beauty blog? You probably have many questions. For instance, how do beauty bloggers make money, and how much do they make exactly? Moreover, is there still place for newcomers in this niche?
In this article, we are going to answer those questions, provide you with some interesting insights and give you tips on how to properly start and run a beauty blog.
Before moving on to the subject of how do beauty bloggers make money, let’s look at what the data says about the condition of the blogging space these days and how much beauty bloggers contribute to it overall:
Is there room for another beauty blog?
Let’s start off by answering the most common question every beginner has – is there room for me in this overcrowded market? How to compete with famous brands for readers’ attention? Some people are even saying that beauty blogging is dead.
Blogging is anything but dead. And we are not just saying that – here are the numbers to confirm it:
A study conducted by Terakeet shows that online publishers outperform established beauty brands like Procter & Gamble and L’Oréal in SERPs. They found that the top four performers in the skincare market are online publishers, and they get 40% of the organic search market share [1]. Furthermore, 17 out of 22 top places go to publishers, and they get 62.3% of the organic market share.
It is hard to deny that these numbers are impressive. Now, let’s add more numbers to the equation:
By 2023, online sales will make up 48% of all sales in the beauty market [1].
By 2025, personal care ecommerce revenue in the US will reach $79.3 billion [2].
How much do beauty bloggers make?
According to available data, beauty bloggers aren’t the highest-paid people out there. However, the average values reveal only one section of the whole picture. There are famous beauty bloggers that earn much more than these amounts:
On average, beauty bloggers earn $44,395/year ($21/hour) [3]
The pay range goes from $13,000 to $101,000. However, only 1% of beauty bloggers earn the higher amount.
The average yearly pay for bloggers across all niches and industries is $52,994 [4].
Of course, there are beauty bloggers who make millions, but they are not so willing to disclose exact amounts.
Well, now that we’ve established that beauty blogging has a bright future and the earnings it can bring, let’s see how to get you there:
How do beauty bloggers make money: the most proven ways
The key to getting revenue is getting traffic to your blog. Without an audience, the chances of earning are pretty slim. So, we will divide this list into two sections – earning methods for people who are just starting their blogs and for bloggers with some traffic flowing in. Let’s start:
Ads
Affiliate marketing
Dropshipping
Direct advertising
Sponsored posts
Teaching or mentoring
Create your own product
How to make money from beauty blogging if you are a beginner
1. Ads
The way this works is: visitors come to your blog, and they will be shown ads. You will be paid depending on the number of views and clicks. When you are a beginner, the payouts are almost symbolic, but as the number of visitors grows, so will your income. Once you pass a certain threshold and gain popularity, you get better terms and higher percentages. Sometimes you can even negotiate your rates.
Some of the most known companies you can use:
2. Affiliate marketing
How do beauty bloggers make money with affiliate links? Well, they will review specific products and services and embed affiliate links in them. You get a commission if visitors click on the links and make a purchase. There are two ways of doing this: you can use a direct affiliate link to a particular company (like Amazon, for instance) or join an affiliate network. It is a marketplace where companies list their offers to publishers, and you can choose a program that suits you best.
Some of the most famous affiliate networks are:
3. Dropshipping
You can create an associated online store and dropship products. You can use platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce. However, your earnings will depend on the traffic your site is attracting. Thus, getting a dropshipping store off the ground requires considerable investment in advertising.
How to make money from a beauty blog that’s been running for some time
4. Direct advertising
Once you get a reputation and more visitors, you can sell ad space on your website directly to companies. And, if you are popular enough, they will approach you with the offer.
You can be paid to review or write about a particular product or service.
6. Teaching or mentoring
You can create and sell courses, online seminars, ebooks, etc. Of course, for this method to actually work, you need to have a good reputation and be quite popular in your niche.
7. Create your own product
This is another method that popular bloggers can use to earn money. Again, it requires a solid reputation, and you must earn people’s trust before offering them your brand’s own products. As for production, it’s not really hard to find a production company willing to create products according to your specifications and with your name on them.
👉 If you’re struggling to come up with a good name for your beauty blog, here’s a name generator you can use.
Some of the famous examples are :
Huda Kattan – Huda Beauty
Nyane Lebajoa – Temper Hair and NYX Cosmetics
Tips on how to make money with a beauty blog
As we’ve mentioned before, sources say that most beauty bloggers earn between $13,000 and $101,000. That is a substantial difference, so how to get those six figures, and maybe more? Here are some tips:
Create high-quality content that will draw visitors in and make them trust you. Be honest and establish authority.
Choose your niche carefully. Some niches attract net surfers just looking for a way to kill time, while others attract people with problems they want to solve. Needless to say, the latter group already comes with the intention to engage and buy.
Decide on the market segment. Do you want to have a specialized blog or have something about everything? Keep in mind that people who go to Costco don’t usually go there for luxury products, and people who visit Channel stores don’t go there for everyday items. The same rules apply online.
Choose affiliate programs wisely. Before committing to an affiliate program or network, research commissions, terms, and cookie duration. For instance, Amazon affiliate commissions are low right now- 3% on beauty products and 10% on luxury beauty [5]. At the same time, you can find companies that offer 15% and 20% commissions in some affiliate networks [6]. Also, you would want cookies to have the longest possible duration. Some websites offer only 15 days, but you can find affiliate programs with 30 and 60-day cookie duration.
How do beauty bloggers make money: summary
The bottom line is – there is some fierce competition in the market, but it is not impossible to rank and get traffic, especially if you choose a specialized niche. In general, niche websites attract a smaller audience, but the visitors are going to generally be more willing to engage, subscribe, buy, etc.
Further reading: check out this list of types of blogs that have been proven to make money.
What are your thoughts on beauty blogging? Let us know in the comments section below!
