Blogging originated as a hobby but has transformed into a profession in recent years. It is easier than ever for individuals to create successful blogs that make money. In this article, we list the steps for starting a blog that you can monetize, explain the different types of income that bloggers can make and explore the various ways that you can make money as a blogger.
1. What is a blog?
A blog is a regularly-updated website that offers conversational articles written in almost a diary-style by an individual or a group of contributors. Blogs are often started with an audience or specific subject in mind, which guides all content creation. Though the topics can vary dramatically, the sole purpose of a blog is to connect the author with a relevant target audience.
2. How to start a blog and make money
Here are the steps you can take to develop your blog:
- Pick a topic.
- Choose a name.
- Purchase a domain.
- Select a platform.
- Design your blog.
- Write useful content.
- Promote your blog and build engagement.
1. Pick a topic
When creating a blog, the first step is to determine your niche or target audience. What will you write about and who will you write for? Deciding what you plan to talk about on your blog will inform future decisions.. Ask a question to you that do you really love the niche you’re going to blog now.
2. Choose a name
After you’ve decided on a topic to build your blog around, you can choose a name. It can be helpful to explore other blogs within your niche to see how they brand themselves. However, avoid limiting yourself to only looking at blogs that are similar to what and how you will be writing. Looking outside of your niche could still provide valuable inspiration.
3. Purchase a domain
After you’ve decided on a name, it’s time to choose and purchase the domain, also known as a web address (logitandblogit.com is an example of a domain). Most of the time, this will simply be your blog’s name. You can purchase your domain ahead of time or you can also usually buy it through the web host you choose to use.
4. Select a platform
A platform is a site that you use to build and host your blog. Web hosting sites will vary in price and usability so make sure to do your research before choosing which platform you want to use. Regardless of your choice, check that it is self-hosted, meaning that it will allow you to connect your own domain to the blog. Self-hosted sites will give your blog more visibility, are more sustainable long-term and give the impression that you are serious about your blogging.
5. Design your blog
Many web hosting sites assist you in designing your blog by providing templates, themes and easy-to-use navigation. Your blog’s design is where you get to showcase your creativity by creating an eye-catching landing page for your readers. In addition to the blog’s aesthetic, you’ll probably also want to include a section that tells your readers about you and your mission.
6. Write useful content
Now that you have completed the foundational steps, it’s time to start writing. You’ll want to focus your efforts on creating content that offers the reader some value. They need a reason to keep reading so try to write about things that will change their life, even if it is in some very small way. Additionally, this will develop a level of trust and camaraderie between you and your readers, which will be vital if you hope to monetize your blog in the future.
7. Promote your blog and build engagement
You have built your blog, so now you need people to read it. Though some people may stumble upon your site after an Internet search, you’re going to have to attract a majority of your first readers. Here are a few tactics that you can use to promote your blog:
- Use SEO, also known as search engine optimization. SEO sounds scary but it simply refers to incorporating specific words and phrases to ensure that your blog is popping up when people search keywords. Most platforms offer a place for you to add the SEO for specific pages and articles.
KNOW THE SECRET HOW Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a comprehensive approach to improving a website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). - Create a profile for your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Build a persona for your target audience and then use it to figure out what other blogs they like to read and what information they find valuable. After you’ve determined where they frequent online, make yourself visible there by offering to create a guest post, leaving comments or providing answers to questions that are left. Here are some questions you can ask about your target audience:
- What social networks do they use?
- What accounts do they follow on social media?
- Do they listen to podcasts?
- Do they engage in forums?
- What blogs do they read?
- Write guest posts. As we’ve already mentioned, offering to write guest posts can be a great way to promote your own brand and blog. However, you can also gain traction on your blog by asking others to appear as guests on your site as well. They will likely post about their experience, encouraging their readers to visit your site.
3. Types of income for bloggers
There are two major types of income when it comes to blogging:
- Direct income: This refers to money that you make directly from your blog. Essentially, brands will ask you to promote products and services on your blog and then offer you compensation depending on the amount of traffic your blog gets. In other words, you sell advertising.
- Indirect income: Indirect income is money that you make because of your blog. As a successful blogger, you are able to sell additional services or products that you create.
A majority of bloggers generate income using a combination of these methods. However, indirect income is usually only successful after a blog has been established.
4. Ways to make money blogging
Here are just a few ways that you can make money through your blog:
- Advertising income: This form of direct income resembles how newspapers or magazines sell ads and is often how bloggers start making money. As your readership grows, advertisers will pay for you to promote their products or services on your blog. Though you will need a decent amount of traffic before you gain the attention of advertisers directly, there are ad networks that connect smaller publishers with opportunities to run ads on their blogs.
- Affiliate income: Affiliate income is another form of direct income in which you link a product from another site on your blog. If and when someone uses the link that you provided to purchase the product, you earn a commission.
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- Events: Though not as common, some bloggers have made money by hosting events. These can range from huge events for hundreds of fellow bloggers to small get-together for a blogger’s readership. In either scenario, money is made by charging for attendance or by finding a company that will sponsor the event. Online events are often a more cost effective yet still lucrative alternative.
- Recurring income: It’s becoming increasingly more popular for bloggers to set up membership programs, sometimes referred to as continuity programs, as a way to make recurring income. Readers purchase a membership at a monthly or annual rate in order to gain access to things like coaching, tools, a service, a community forum or additional, premium content.
- Promoting a business: Some businesses begin blogging to generate purchases through their business. This form of indirect income grows a company’s brand and builds trust from their readers in an effort to transform readers into customers.
- Services: Another form of indirect income that bloggers use is to offer various services to their audience. These could be any sort of freelance work, such as training, design, and copy writing, consulting or coaching.
- Products: Though less common among bloggers that are just starting out, many bloggers sell products in order to earn money. These products could be virtual (eBooks, software, etc.) or physical (merchandise, etc.).
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