If you are looking for a quick way to start earning money passively, you may want to check out what a blog can do. Blogs are nothing new in the marketing industry, but it hasn’t ceased popularity. The blogging industry’s worth is projected to reach $400 billion by the end of the year. If you are lost on how you can be a part of it, here’s your guide on how to start a blog and make money fast.
What is a blog?
A blog is a website that disseminates content that’s mainly in written form. It is usually run by an individual, group of people, or a brand serving one particular niche.
A blog’s objective may vary according to its nature. But in most cases, blogs are written from a personal perspective to inform, engage, and connect with readers. It features a comment section where readers can provide feedback and share ideas.
A blog is a good income stream once you have carved a name in your industry. The key to gaining popularity is building credibility as a source of information in whatever field you are in. Once you gain readers’ trust, you can start monetizing your blog by expanding your marketing efforts like placing ads, doing affiliate marketing, and brand collaborations.
What’s in it for you?
Starting up a blog is not an easy venture, especially if you are new to content creation. However, it provides promising benefits that are sure worth the time and investment. Here are the reasons why you should start your blog:
Work from anywhere you are.
Blogging doesn’t require you to have a physical office since you are your boss (unless you work on a team). You have the absolute control of when, where, and how you will work. You can even juggle multiple jobs while nailing your blog.
Earn passively.
The beauty behind having a blog is it generates income passively. You can publish one piece of content, and it can monetize for as long as it is up on your blog. You generate income while you are doing nothing since blogs are accessible 24/7.
Become an industry leader or expert.
When starting up a blog, you gain a reputation in your industry. Having an impressive following manifests your credibility to inform others. This results in the recognition of your blog as an industry expert, which opens up more pathways for income streams.
Let your voice be heard.
Every blog’s primary purpose is to inform and share a story. If your passion is to inspire people by sharing your ideas, you will find fulfillment in making a blog. It provides you the liberty you need in airing out all your musings that others might find valuable.
How to start a blog and make money
Ready to start running your own blog? Here’s the exact breakdown of the steps you need to do in building your own blog.
1. Pick your niche.
The first step is the most crucial since your blog will revolve around this even after years of establishing it. You need a blog category that you genuinely love and desire to grow in. If you don’t have a genuine interest in that niche, you might lose the motivation to write in the long run.
Ask yourself these questions upon deciding what niche to choose:
- What do I want to write about?
- Where am I good at?
- Where do I see myself growing?
- Can I see myself writing about this in 10 years?
- What kind of content will I put up?
- Which style will I use to convey it?
- Will I cover general topics or highly concentrated areas?
Answering these questions will help you envision how you want your blog to look like.
2. Decide on blog and domain names.
The blog and domain names are just as crucial as your niche; they provide your blog’s identity. Your blog name should always be similar to your domain name. The blog name is what your blog called, while a domain name is your website’s URL.
In choosing your blog name and domain names, remember the following pointers:
- Keep them short.
- Don’t go above three words.
- Be descriptive.
- Choose a name that’s easy to remember.
In picking your domain name, you can use domain generator tools like Instant Domain Search and Name.com to look for available domains. Here are some reminders on curating your domain name:
- Avoid hyphens as these are spammy.
- Choose a dot-com domain.
- Refrain from using country- or state-specific domains like .us, .ca, etc.
- Limit characters for up to 15 only since Google doesn’t like long domain names.
3. Get web hosting.
A web hosting service provider allows your blog to be accessed on the Internet. Without it, the blog won’t be up and running on the web. A web host registers your blog name and ensures no one owns it but you.
There are several known web hosting service providers online. If you don’t know which one to get, a thorough digging will benefit you in finding the right one for you.
Here are some tips in choosing the right web hosting service provider for you:
- Ensure that you have full ownership over the domain name bought from the web hosting.
- Avail the right amount of bandwidth.
- Don’t get blinded by cheap packages that offer poor service quality.
- See the free plugins included in the package.
- Know exactly what features your blog needs and find the right web hosting that offers them.
- Read reviews online.
4. Install the WordPress plugin.
WordPress is the most widely used blogging platform in the market right now. Some web hosting has a WordPress plugin already installed on your account, but you should install it if it hasn’t.
WordPress is where you drop your content that you want to publish. It features an easy drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates that are perfect for newbies. It also boasts of a wide range of premium themes to choose from in designing your blog.
If you need a little help in navigating through WordPress, this comprehensive Skill Success online course will walk you throughout.
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5. Sign up for Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is a free digital analytics software that allows you to monitor how well your website does in terms of traffic. Install a Google Analytics (GA) plugin to your WordPress blog to configure your blog and GA.
Using an analytics tool provides you an overview of the overall generated traffic of your blog. It lets you see how many readers were there, what directed them there, and how long they stayed on your page. Knowing these data helps you strategize your content for further improvement in how you run your blog.
6. Write and publish a keyword-rich content.
When you start writing for your blog, you need to understand how SEO affects your website’s overall health. If your blog posts always contain relevant keywords on a particular topic, there is a higher chance to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can result in more traffic generated.
To do this, you need to employ the best practices of search engine optimization (SEO) on your write-ups. You especially need this when you have lots of competition, and you are still establishing a name in your industry.
7. Promote blog.
Once you have successfully published your first blog post, you need to promote it across various platforms. You cannot just expect that people will stumble upon your blog out of nowhere. You need to put in the effort to cross-promote it to other platforms like your email list, social media, and even to other blogs.
There are countless possible ways to promote your blog. The common practices include the following:
- Creating social media pages for your blog and cross-promoting there
- Sharing an update to your circle of friends
- Commenting on other relevant blogs
- Collaborating with other blogs or personalities
- Notifying your subscribers in your email list
8. Start monetizing your blogs.
From all those efforts, how do you reap the monetary rewards? Well, you need to wait a bit more before you see actual results that can monetize. Give it a couple of months to see growth in traffic and popularity. Then, you can start employing methods that can earn you a lucrative income.
How to monetize a blog this 2021
Now that you know how to set up your blog, here are the updated ways on how to monetize a blog. There are tons to try, and it’s up to you which will suit your blog best.
1. Build your following.
As a rule of thumb, you should build a following to start monetizing your blog. This implies that you need to generate an adequate amount of organic traffic and social traction on your blog. Having this following entices advertisers to bid ad placements on your blog. Also, it just shows that the more site visitors you have, the more you carve your name in the industry.
When you have proven your relevance in the niche you chose, that’s when you can start monetizing on your blog.
2. Do affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most common yet lucrative ways to monetize your blog. This refers to promoting certain products on your blog, adding an affiliate link for them to check out, and receiving a commission for every successful purchase.
This strategy is seamless unless you tell your readers about that sponsored link. Imagine if you have set a $10 commission for every sale and 200 of your readers purchased from that link. That’s $2000 in one blog post. Plus, it generates commissions as long as your post is live and people are buying using the affiliate link.
The easiest way to find the products to promote is by joining affiliate programs like Amazon Associates, Awin, Clickbank, CJ Affiliate, and more.
If you are new to affiliate marketing, here’s an online class to teach you all the ropes.
3. Advertise with Google Adsense.
Another standard way to monetize your blog is by placing paid advertisements on your blog. This is possible through Google Adsense, a Google program for ad placements across websites. The rule is simple; when a visitor clicks through an ad, you earn money.
The ads that will appear on your blog are targeted at your content and audience. That implies that if your niche is a food blog, you’re more likely to get food ads on your site. The process is seamless, even if you’re a beginner. If you are interested in knowing more about Google ads, here’s an online class for you.
4. Sell ad space directly.
If you want to earn a more substantial amount of money than using Google Ads, try selling ad space directly to brands. This is less restricting in your earning potential since you can negotiate directly with the brand.
In selling ad space directly, you set a fixed price. So instead of accumulating small commissions for every visitor click, you get to charge full-price at one go. This allows you to earn more. However, this is relatively trickier than using Google ads since you have to find the brands willing to buy your ad space. To find potential partnerships, you may use platforms like BuySellAds.
5. Share sponsored content.
When your blog starts pulling in relevant traction, more brands become interested in sponsoring your content. A sponsored blog post requires you to write a product review and promote their products on your blog. In some cases, they may even write the post themselves, so all you need to do is publish the said content.
There are several platforms to find suitable brands to promote in your blog, such as ValuedVoice. You can also directly reach out to brands if they’d be interested in sponsoring you.
6. Set up membership tiers.
If you want a more stable income flow on your blog, you may consider setting up membership tiers. This offers the exclusivity to view premium content that’s not available for regular viewing. You can charge this subscription weekly, monthly, or annually. To entice loyal viewers, you must also provide members with exclusive perks and offers they’ll enjoy.
Setting up membership tiers allows you to have a steady cash inflow from your blog since you don’t have to depend on one-time sales and payouts. However, this means that you have to produce more content for both members and general visitors.
7. Make a private forum.
If a membership-type of blog isn’t your cup of tea, you may try a different strategy to feed off exclusive privileges. You could set up a private forum within your blog where visitors may have access if they paid a premium. This forum should allow readers to share ideas about several topics and get firsthand advice from you.
Having a forum promotes engagement and cultivates a community in your blog. Setting a private forum is pretty easy when using WordPress; you can install a WordPress forum plugin to start.
8. Write eBooks.
If you want to take your blog a notch higher, why not consider writing an eBook specializing in your current niche? It’s a great way to earn passive income as you only need to write it once.
In considering writing an eBook, make sure that you are a specialist in the subject. You can’t expect people to avail it when you aren’t in authority to write about it. To give you an idea, check your most visited blog post and make a detailed eBook from it.
9. Offer digital products.
There are many other products you may offer in your blog. You can sell templates, filters, printables, themes, podcasts, and more. These digital products fare well when in this generation that craves convenience. Give them excellent choices and promote them seamlessly across your blog posts.
10. Sell online courses.
Online courses are all the rage right now. While there is a lot of competition, producing your own courses is profitable when you have built an impressive following. However, you need to specialize in the topics you want to cover. This implies that you need to be an expert on the subject.
Creating courses also requires ample time to produce. But it’s a one-time investment that earns passively in the long run. So if you’ve decided to write an eBook, you must be willing to spend grueling hours constructing and perfecting your premium online course.
11. Offer coaching services.
Another way to monetize your blog is by offering your coaching services to your avid readers. Since your blog specializes in a niche, you have somewhat established the authority to advise others.
With this service, you will provide 1-on-1 consultation about the topic you specialize in. Say your niche is about leadership, then you can offer tips and hacks on how people can channel their inner leader. This coaching may take place via zoom call, phone, instant messaging, or even email.
12. Try syndicating your blog posts.
You can make an adequate earning when you syndicate your blog posts across other websites within your niche. This means that you allow your blog posts to appear in some online publications in exchange for a payment.
This opportunity also allows you to widen your reach, increase blog awareness, and boost site traffic. In granting syndication rights to websites, just remember that they are relevant and related to your niche.
Those are twelve of the easiest ways on how to monetize a blog this 2021. You don’t need to apply each of them; that’ll be overkill to your blog. Only choose a few that will guarantee you a stable inflow of payments.
Conclusion
Building a blog from scratch is not easy, but it sure is worth the grueling hours of hard work once it meets success. The venture offers a very lucrative source of income, which you may enjoy even
If you want a more in-depth take on how to write a blog and make money fast, you will pick up promising ideas from these well-recommended courses:
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