Gone are the days when you had to report to a physical office from 9 to 5 to earn. Thanks to the rise of social media and people’s dependence on the internet, you can now earn money at home through blogging.
Blogging refers to writing that’s published online. Traditionally, blogs were opportunities for individuals to write diary-style entries, but today, they’re incorporated into websites owned by businesses.
The hallmarks of blogging include informal language, frequent updates, and an avenue for readers to engage with the content and the writer.
According to Indeed, bloggers make $39,186 on average every year. The amount you earn once you become a blogger depends on many factors, namely your years of experience, your chosen niche, the size of your audience, and the quality of your digital traffic.
The bigger your audience is, the more opportunities you have to earn.
Read on to learn how to start a blog that makes money this year.
Why You Should Start a Blog
One of the biggest reasons you should start a blog is that you can use it to make money. In fact, it’s possible to earn a living through your blog — lots of people worldwide have been doing it for years.
You can even use your blog to earn passive income, meaning your blog generates revenue for you even if you’re sleeping or have a full-time job.
Blogging also improves your writing ability. Sure, starting out can feel awkward and overwhelming, but as you get into the full swing of writing, you’ll notice that writing will become a breeze. You’ll develop a unique writing style, and the words will flow seamlessly.
Learning how to become a blogger also opens opportunities for you to equip yourself with new skills. You’ll learn how to design for WordPress, write for a different audience, practice Search Engine Optimization or SEO, and create web graphics through blogging.
You’ll also become familiar with social media marketing, content management, and website hosting along the way.
How to Make Money Blogging
If you’re curious about how to start a blog and make money, good news — you have several options to choose from. You’ll have flexibility once you start to blog, meaning you can create content for different purposes.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing works by incorporating tracked affiliate links into your blog. You can earn a small commission every time a reader clicks through the site you’ve recommended on your blog and makes a purchase.
These affiliate links will redirect readers to the website of a brand, and the commission you’ll receive is their way of saying “thank you” for sending your readers to their site.
Ads
Another way you can make money through blogging is by selling ad space. Monetizing your blog with advertising platforms allows you to earn about $2 to $5 for every 1,000 page views. Once your blog receives 10,000 views daily, you can generate $20 to $50 income.
You can join many ad networks to get started, but Google AdSense is one of the most popular services among bloggers. It’s free to join, allows you to modify ads based on the design of your website, and enables you to run ads on different websites using one AdSense account.
Related: Get paid to advertise and post ads.
Sell Your Own Products or Services
Do you want to bring more traffic to your eCommerce store? Then add your eCommerce store to your website. The blogs you post here can be used to build your brand, gain the trust of your audience, and bring organic traffic to your online store.
One blogger who has succeeded in selling products through his website is Adam Enfroy. He earns five figures monthly.
The key to his success is understanding his audience’s needs and featuring products on his blog that meet them.
Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are blog posts that people or brands pay you to create and publish online. They work as advertorials as they’re paid ads written in an editorial style.
Regardless if you’re planning to blog about home improvement, personal finance, or fashion, brands can reach out to you to create sponsored posts about their products or services.
But since you’re still a neophyte in blogging, consider doing some outreach to local businesses and ask them if they’re open to a sponsored post on your blog.
Don’t forget to mention how many followers your blog has and the amount of online traffic it brings daily.
How to Start a Blog and Make Money
Now that you know how to make money from blogging, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start a blog.
Contrary to popular belief, learning how to start a blog for free is easy — as long as you’re willing to exert time and effort during the process.
Step 1: Choose a Niche and Define Your Audience
Your journey as a blogger begins by picking a niche. Simply defined, a blog niche is a specific topic you want to write about most often or exclusively in your blog.
When picking a niche, list all of the topics that interest you and make you want to talk about. You can list as many topics here — you can even include professional and personal interests on your list.
These points can help you narrow down your options:
- Think about the things you love doing during your spare time. For instance, do you love to play video games, or are you fond of cooking? Do you find joy in spending time with your pets?
- Consider the things you want to learn. For instance, do you aspire to make scented candles and start your own store in the future? Are you interested in learning how to code?
Once you’ve picked a niche to write about, you can proceed and define your audience.
When you know who you’re writing for, it’ll be easier for you to improve your blog moving forward as you’ll have a better idea of who your target audience is, what their common pain points are, and how your blog can provide solutions.
Step 2: Choose a Blogging Platform
At this point, you need to check different blogging platforms and pick the blog management software you’re going to use. You have several options to choose from, so make sure to exert time to weigh the pros and cons of each.
According to these statistics, WordPress is the most popular technology used by bloggers worldwide, with more than 90% market share in the US alone. This platform is easy to install, set up, and use and is cheap and SEO-friendly.
Using free blogging sites is tempting, but these platforms come with limitations, namely, your blog name is set as a subdomain (for example, yourblog.tumblr.com), and you’ll be subject to numerous rules and regulations.
Step 3: Pick a Web Hosting Platform
The web hosting platform you’ll pick impacts the success of your blog. For one, it affects the loading speed of your site. Use a web hosting platform that takes too long to load, and your audience will abandon your site without reading your blog.
When picking a web hosting platform, consider the following:
- Ease of use: Setting up your blog should only involve a few clicks.
- Value: Ensure that the platform offers superb customer support at an affordable price.
- Room to grow: The platform should offer different features which allow you to start, run, and grow your blog.
- Security: Look for a web hosting platform that includes a free SSL certificate to keep your readers’ data safe.
Step 4: Create Your Blog Name
With the number of blogs available online today, yours should stand out. You don’t want your blog name to be associated with someone else’s or become too forgettable, right?
When creating a blog name, establish a purpose for your blog. Are you starting a travel blog or a food blog? Do you want to utilize your blog to share your love for fashion? Your subject matter can guide you as you brainstorm for a blog name.
Additionally, you should also consider your target audience, blogging motivation, writing style, and future focus. Make sure to think about the length, too, as a blog name that’s too long will is often challenging to remember.
Step 5: Write Your First Post
By this time, you already chose a niche, web hosting website, and a blog name — your framework is already complete, and you’re ready to write your first post.
Since this is your first time writing a blog post, it’s best if you research online to check some of the most common writing styles used by bloggers.
Moreover, make sure that your content offers something valuable to your audience. Use your content to encourage your audience to interact with you and come back for more.
Consider this 3-step approach to making high-quality content:
- Point: State the main topic idea at the start of the blog. This will give your audience a better idea of what the blog is all about.
- Provide: Provide examples of the ideas you’re covering. For instance, if you want to share your love for pets in your blog, share your experience with your fur baby.
- Perform: Give simple ways to execute the ideas you’re discussing in your blog. Do you want to help your audience become better pet owners? List down tips on how to choose the right diet for dogs and the kind of activities ideal for them.
Step 6: Get Your Blog Up and Running
You need to embrace Search Engine Optimization or SEO to get your blog up and running. SEO is the process of getting more traffic to your website from Google and other search engines.
Studies show that about 53% of all traffic for websites comes from organic searches. This shows how crucial it is to make your blog SEO-friendly.
There are many ways to optimize your blog for your SEO, namely:
- Keyword optimization: This is the process of researching and using the right keywords in your blog. This approach will help your blog rank higher on the Search Engines Results Pages or SERPs once users type in those keywords online.
- SEO meta tags: You’ll need to add SEO meta tags for every blog you post, as this will help search engines understand what your content is about.
- Optimize length: Your blogs should have at least 300 words, but make sure to keep the length balanced. Search engines love long articles, but content that’s too long — say 4,000 words — can shoo away readers.
Step 7: Bring Traffic to Your Blog
Your efforts to write high-quality blogs will be useless if no one sees them. Over time, this can prevent you from making money from your blog.
One of the easiest ways to bring traffic to your blog is to inform everyone you know about it. Start by informing your friends, family, and colleagues from work about your new endeavor. Encourage them to support your career as a blogger by reading and sharing your content.
You can also market your blog by being active within your niche. This means posting comments on other relevant blogs, promoting your blog on social media, and writing guest blogs for other websites.
If you have a sufficient budget, you can also use paid media, such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and Bing Ads.
Step 8: Start Earning Money
After completing all the steps mentioned above, it’s time to start earning money from your blog — yay! We’ve already listed several ways to make money through your blog, so choose one that fits your preferences.
But regardless of how you want to earn from your blog, keep in mind that creating and publishing high-quality content should be your priority.
This will attract loyal readers and encourage them to spread the word about your blog. And the more people who read your blog, the easier it’ll be for you to earn!
Related: How To Make Money on Amazon.
FAQs
What kind of blog should I start to make money?
According to research, the most profitable blog niches are digital marketing, health and fitness, and blogging and making money online. Blogs focusing on personal finance and investing, recipes and food, and personal development and self-care also make money.
What is the most difficult part of blogging?
Consistently creating high-quality content is the most difficult part of blogging. Many bloggers tend to compromise quality to produce more blogs within a short period of time. This does more harm than good, as readers and brands are always on the lookout for high-quality blogs.
Who is the highest-paid blogger?
The highest-paid blogger is Tim Sykes of timothysykes.com. Reports show that he earns $1 million per month on average through his blog.
What is the easiest blog platform to use?
The easiest blogging platform to use is WordPress. It gives you full control over every aspect of your website and has a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to create different types of content on your site. You can also choose thousands of free themes for your WordPress site, making it easier for your blog to stand out from the competition.
Use Your Blog To Earn
This article covers everything you need to know about starting a blog and how to make money from it. So, what are you waiting for? Follow all the tips we’ve mentioned here and start earning in the comforts of your home!
