After witnessing a strong start to the year, over half of UK bloggers believe there has never been a better time to generate money from their activity than 2014.

That’s according to a new survey from Optimus Performance Marketing, which shows 58% of bloggers claiming they have more opportunities and resources to earn more money as a blogger in 2014 than ever before.

Such statements are backed up by other findings from the study, revealing that bloggers can make hundreds of pounds per year from their sites if they choose the right topic to focus on.

Big returns

The affiliate network questioned 1,723 bloggers from the UK, all of which hosted advertisements on their sites, in attempt to establish the financial rewards for posters in the current climate.

After taking into account commission generated by their hosting of ads, the survey suggested that bloggers will make an average of £75.50 per month from being an affiliate. This equates to £906 a year and comes off the back of around 2.25 hours of work per day.

However, the study also proved that bloggers focusing on much-talked about topics can reap even greater returns from their posts.

Fashion bloggers, for instance, were found to be generating £93 per month from affiliate commission, adding up to £1116 per year. Beauty bloggers are also seeing huge financial rewards from their work, earning an average of £87 per month or £1044 per year.

Word travels

While the findings may come as a surprise to some, other readings indicated that Britain’s blogging population are more than aware of the best topics for generating extra money.

When touching upon the focus of their articles, 22% of the group were found to be covering the lucrative world of fashion, while 17% of the group placed themselves in the beauty category.

Further down the list, 14% of bloggers have accounts focused on parenting, followed by money saving (11%), food and drink (9%) and DIY (7%).

Still, Optimus CEO Mark Russell had a few pearls of wisdom for web users who start blogging for the wrong reasons.

“Advice I would have for those keen on starting a blog would be that they should have passion surrounding the topic or subject they will be focusing on, and not just see a blog as an easy way to make money fast, as this is simply not the case,” he commented.

“Chances are your followers and visitors will not feel inclined to make a purchase through your site unless they fully believe you have the knowledge to back up the product, service or retailer you are trying to make commission from.”