My love for website design and launching websites has lasted for decades—Xanga, WordPress, MySpace—LOL, did I just reveal my age?
It was in 2017 that I started to see this as a potential career path. I was sitting in my NYC apartment (don’t worry, it wasn’t a closet), staring at a newly launched website that looked great but made zero dollars.
I had spent weeks perfecting the design, adjusting colors, and obsessing over font choices. What I hadn't spent much time on was figuring out how anyone would actually pay me.
That first website taught me a costly lesson: creating something visually appealing and creating something profitable are two entirely different skills.
Now, I teach clients how to make a website that makes money through multiple streams. It’s not “quit your day job" money at first, but real income that increases steadily once you stop guessing and start following a proven process.
For marketers, it’s understood that money-making websites are built backward from what most people believe.
What surprised me most? The revenue didn't come from the things I thought would work.
Banner ads barely made a difference. That expensive SEO course sat unused.
What worked was building an audience that either my clients or I could connect with directly, testing small offers quickly, and doubling down on what people actually wanted to buy.
Currently, I'm using beehiiv to turn casual readers into subscribers and subscribers into customers (my go-to platform for my clients as well). It's become the engine that drives most of my income, not because it's magic, but because email remains the most reliable way to turn attention into money.
Here's everything I've learned about building a website that truly generates income.
Why Most Money-Making Websites Don't Start With Money
The websites that make real money don't start with a revenue plan—they start with an attention plan.
When I first started, I spent six months obsessing over the perfect strategy on how to make a website that makes money before a single person read my content. I couldn’t stop researching and asking Google, “Can I earn money by making a website?”
Meanwhile, my homepage sat empty, and my subscriber count stayed at zero.
Here's what I learned that actually worked:
Building Trust Before Revenue: Focus on repeat visitors, not revenue. Instead of asking "How will I make money?" or “How much money can you earn with a website?” ask "Why would someone come back next week?" That shift changes everything about how you build.
Keep Your Homepage Brutally Honest: I rebuilt mine using beehiiv's landing page builder—clean design, fast load times, and zero mystery navigation. Visitors knew exactly what they'd get within three seconds. No pop-ups, no confusion—just a clear promise and a subscribe button.
Publish Content You'd Send a Friend: Every piece had to pass this test. No keyword stuffing, no thin affiliate posts disguised as reviews. Growth was slower, but readers started to stick around.
Validating Your First Offer: Listen to what people are already asking for. When three people asked about my content calendar process in one week, I didn't write another blog post—I created a $15 template and sold it immediately.
The bottom line: Revenue is a lagging indicator of value. Build attention and trust first. The money follows.
How I Started Making Money From My Website
In 2016, four months into publishing twice a week, someone responded to one of my emails asking if I did freelance work.
I didn't—but I white-lied, and said yes (who doesn’t like extra cash?).
That $60 project wasn't life-changing, but it taught me something important: people were willing to pay for help with the exact topics I was already writing about.
Fast forward, now I have clients who need my help with their websites, blogs, and social media.
The content had built proof. The newsletter built access.
The real shift happened when I stopped treating how to make a website that makes money as a separate idea. I looked at what was already working: my content attracted the right people, my beehiiv newsletter kept them engaged, and my expertise was clear from the writing itself.
I just needed to create one simple offer that let readers go deeper.
So, I did. One template. One clear problem solved. $15. The first three sales came within 72 hours of mentioning it in my newsletter.
The pattern: Content builds credibility. Email builds connection. Offers solve problems. Each piece reinforces the others. You don't need to build three separate businesses.
I Used beehiiv To Build Traffic and an Email List
I've tried the usuals: Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, and many more.
My issues with these platforms? Clunky dashboards, battled spam folders, and watched my emails vanish into the void.
Frustrating? Absolutely.
But everything changed when I found beehiiv:
Experience: Other platforms made even basic tasks feel like a chore. beehiiv, on the other hand, was intuitive; no coding or endless setup required.
Deliverability: My old emails often got lost or flagged as spam. With beehiiv, my newsletters consistently landed in inboxes. Readers received what I sent.
Built-In Growth Tools: beehiiv’s recommendation network and referral program helped my most loyal subscribers spread the word. Suddenly, sharing led to real, organic growth.
Personalized Content: I used beehiiv’s landing pages to match opt-in offers with where people were in their journey—beginners, veterans, and everyone in between.
Real Results: It took some time, but my email list went from zero to almost 1,000 engaged readers. Open rates remained above 40%, indicating that people genuinely wanted the content I created.
And hey, don’t just take my word for it; Dakota Robertson, founder of Capital Creators, once said during an interview, “For anyone that wants a newsletter or simplified email marketing, [beehiiv] does everything I need it to. beehiiv has been my favorite tool I've used so far.”
Robertson also touched upon always cleaning your email lists to make sure your list is up-to-date, saying, “I'm at 10,266 subscribers. I wiped off like 6,000 subscribers a while ago just to clean my list.”
I Tried Different Monetization Models Until One Stuck
How to make a website that makes money isn't as easy as slapping up an ad and waiting for the money to roll in; it's a process of trial, error, and learning.
My first monetization strategy was answering the question: “How much can I get paid for making a website?” Clearly, not very effective.
I tried nearly every income stream imaginable, and not all of them were successful. Whether it was for clients or my own business, I’ve tried so many monetization strategies.
Here’s what I discovered through hands-on experimentation, and where I saw wins and losses:
Display Ads: I started with a basic ad network, hoping for passive income. The result? Just twelve dollars in three months. Worse, the ads slowed my site and annoyed readers, making it a poor trade-off for the tiny payout.
Affiliate Marketing: I promoted expensive software tools, thinking high commissions would pay off. I made two sales in two months—one was likely my mom! The real issue was authenticity; I wasn’t using the tools enough to recommend them genuinely, so the audience didn’t respond.
Online Courses: I invested six weeks in creating a comprehensive $200 course. Only sold one. I learned the hard way that pricing and validating demand beforehand are crucial.
Digital Templates and Bundles: Success finally came from starting small and fast. I launched a $15 template that solved a specific problem—sold twenty copies in the two weeks, confirming real demand. Next, I offered a $40 bundle with more templates, which outperformed the single template. Eventually, I developed a $90 mini-course for those seeking a deeper dive, which became my core offer.
Sponsorships: I reached out to brands in my niche to sponsor my newsletter and key articles. Negotiating even small, flat-fee sponsorships brought in consistent income and strengthened my credibility.
Memberships/Subscriptions: I experimented with a paid membership tier for exclusive content and resources. While growth was slow at first, the recurring revenue helped stabilize my monthly earnings.
Consulting/Coaching: Offering one-on-one consulting sessions or coaching packages based on my expertise, which provided higher-ticket sales, although they required more hands-on time.
Monetization is about listening to your community and adapting. If you’re willing to test and pivot, you’ll find what works.
I Focused on the Pages That Got the Most Visits
Ever wonder which parts of your site drive results?
About five months in, I stopped guessing and dug into my analytics. It was eye-opening: three posts accounted for most of my traffic.
The rest? Practically invisible.
Spot Your Winners: I reviewed my analytics to identify which blog posts were ranking and being shared the most.
Optimize for Conversions: I refined those high-traffic pages—clearer intros, fresher info, more examples, and easy-to-skim formatting. These posts answered real questions, so I made them even more helpful.
Natural Calls-to-Action (CTA): Instead of aggressive “buy now” buttons, I placed simple, relevant offers—like sharing my exact content planning template—right where readers were looking for solutions. That one tweak brought an eight percent conversion rate.
Build Around What Works: I created related posts and interlinked them, keeping visitors engaged and increasing their chances to subscribe or make a purchase.
Measure and Adapt: Analytics also revealed drop-off points. On pages with lots of traffic but no conversions, I added clear opt-in offers. Instantly, conversion rates jumped.
Today, I analyze everyone’s website (my clients and all my other websites)—the more you know.
Why Trust Me
Linda Hwang has extensive experience in B2B marketing and previously worked at a renowned international facilities management company. There, she played a crucial role in creating effective content and social media marketing plans. Now, Hwang is a marketing consultant who helps small businesses create compelling brand stories.
The Revenue Levers That Actually Moved the Needle
Let me be brutally honest about how to make a profitable website: in my experience, there are strategies that make real money, and there are strategies that feel productive, but just don’t produce results.
Things that barely moved the revenue needle:
Redesigning my logo
Posting on social media daily
Writing extremely long and comprehensive guides
Implementing SEO tricks
Guest posting on other sites
These activities felt like work but didn't correlate with income.
Things that actually generated revenue included building my email list, creating simple paid products, securing newsletter sponsors, and promoting aligned affiliate offers.
These four levers accounted for most of my website income.
I Added Simple Digital Products First
If you want to earn real income online, start small, keep it simple, and let your audience shape your products.
My first product—a Notion template built in three hours—sold 18 copies at $15 each in three weeks, earning $270 with zero complex setup.
After researching affordable platforms with low fees for selling digital products, I decided to go with Gumroad.
Here’s how digital products helped with my income stream:
No Frills: No fancy sales page or launch sequence. I simply linked the Gumroad page in my newsletter.
Easy Delivery: Buyers receive instant access via automated email downloads—no membership sites or portals required.
Smart Scaling: Built a bundle of three templates for $40. It sold consistently with just occasional newsletter mentions.
Premium Option: Added a $90 mini-course with templates and short video walkthroughs. Fewer sales, but higher revenue each time.
Simple Product Ladder: $15 single template → $40 bundle → $90 course. Most customers started small and upgraded.
Customer-Driven Improvements: Feedback led to examples, bonus templates, and better versions—keeping products relevant.
Even Roland Frasier, founder of Roland’s Riff newsletter, believes in digital products. Frasier once mentioned, “We have a book that we offer. We'll run ads to the book, and make it available organically. It sells for $7.95. And, people will go from a $7.95 book purchase, within a week to two weeks to a $35,000 to $45,000 purchase of, something that is significantly deeper.”
When it comes to how to make a website that makes money, I have specific milestones that I need to meet before I consider sponsorships.
I helped my client work with sponsors once their newsletter reached 3,000 subscribers and achieved consistent 40% open rates.
3,000 subscribers is my sweet spot, which is what I saw more sponsors say “yes” to.
What worked for us was a direct, honest pitch to companies my client personally used and believed in. We drafted a brief email: “My newsletter reaches a highly engaged audience in your niche. Here’s my open rate, engagement stats, and a sample of how a native sponsorship would look.”
That personal touch—backed by real data—made a difference.
Only pitch brands you genuinely use and like. Authenticity leads to more effective responses and increased audience trust.
Include proof of engagement (open rates, click-throughs) in your pitch to show value up front.
We tried keeping sponsorships native—no banners, no separate ad blocks.
Each mention was a short, natural recommendation woven into the newsletter. For example: “I’ve been using Tool X lately because of Y feature. If you’re interested, here’s a link.” This subtle, personal approach consistently outperformed traditional ads.
Structure sponsorships as genuine recommendations, not intrusive ads. Readers appreciate relevance.
When it came to pricing, we started at $200 per slot (really dependent on your industry and niche).
As the email list grew to 5,000 subscribers and click-through rates held steady at 15–20%, we raised prices to $500 per placement. Sponsors cared more about engagement than sheer numbers, so I tracked every link and shared results transparently. This built repeat business.
Adjust pricing based on audience size and engagement, not just subscriber count. Share click-through data with sponsors.
To protect my client’s audience’s trust, we set strict boundaries: one sponsor per issue, only brands we vetted, and no aggressive sales copy.
Sometimes I turned down offers, but the payoff was predictable income: three sponsors a month at $500 each. That covered expenses and generated profit.
Set clear rules for sponsorships to maintain credibility. Don’t sacrifice trust for a quick payout.
Nurture sponsor relationships—they can evolve into long-term partnerships or affiliate deals.
I Gave Affiliates a Real Shot (But Kept It Clean)
Want affiliate income without losing audience trust?
Here’s how to do affiliate marketing the right way—no spam, no shady tactics, just genuine value.
Only Recommend What You Use: I promote products I’ve personally used for at least 30 days. If I wouldn’t use it, I won’t share it.
Choose Partners Wisely: My picks must help my audience, offer fair commissions, and have a reliable affiliate program. I say no to 90% of offers.
Make Content Truly Helpful: Instead of “review walls,” I create tutorials, case studies, and guides where products naturally fit in. Affiliate links are always clearly disclosed.
Comparison Posts Convert: Detailed “Tool A vs Tool B” articles, based on real experience, help readers make informed decisions—and drive sales.
Track: I monitor which posts and products yield the best results. Eighty percent of our revenue comes from three regularly featured products, so I focus on those.
Honesty Pays Off: When you recommend with transparency and integrity, your audience notices—and your affiliate income grows naturally.
Some of the top creators in the industry use affiliate marketing as a revenue stream. Dave Schools, who created Entrepreneurship Handbook (EH), pointed to ad placements, affiliate marketing, and beehiiv Boosts as some of the ways the publication makes money.
Schools mentioned, “We do boosts. We do word-of-mouth. We are active on social media. We are experimenting with our premium subscription.”
If I Were Starting from Zero Today, I'd Do This
One of my clients’ websites currently averages around $5,000 per month across four streams (thanks to my suggestions): digital products, newsletter sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and freelance work that comes inbound.
The breakdown shifts monthly, but the pattern remains the same: everything flows from the email list.
Here's what matters more than the numbers: each revenue stream reinforces the others.
Products build credibility that attracts sponsors.
Sponsors introduce new audiences to their products, which can become customers.
Affiliates provide baseline income while you create new offers.
The email list serves as the hub that makes everything work.
The biggest lesson after almost three years? Consistency beats intensity.
If you're serious about building a website that generates income, start with email marketing. Everything else is secondary.
Ready to start building your own money-making website?
I use beehiiv to power my and my clients’ entire email and monetization strategy: from landing pages that convert visitors into subscribers, to newsletters that turn readers into customers, to the analytics that show exactly what's working.
It's the simplest way to build the foundation of a profitable website without needing a developer or multiple tools.
Start your free beehiiv account today, and build the email list that becomes your revenue engine. The website that makes money is the one you launch. Start now.
