Blogging is one of the ways to make passive income online. If you are willing to work hard, you can earn extra hundreds or thousands of dollars every month.
Blogging will not make you rich overnight. It requires a lot of dedication and hard work to achieve success.
These are the steps to follow to make money with a blog:
Choose Your Niche
The first thing is to determine the niche or target market for your blog. Start by thinking about what you want to write about. You do not need a revolutionary idea.
When choosing a niche make sure you choose what you enjoy. If you like something, then it will be easy for you to write about it.
Do not blog about something you do not like. This is because you will not consistently create top-notch content.
Write down things you love and like learning about.
Remember you can only earn money if your blog has an adequate readership. Now, you need to find out the estimated number of potential customers.
However, you should avoid generic or broad topics. Try to get as specific as possible. For instance, if you want to create a sports blog, avoid words like “sports.” Instead, use “tennis” or “pickleball.”
Name Your Blog
You need to be careful when choosing the name for your blog. You want to go with an easier-to-remember and catchier name. Also, the name should align better with your niche.
Choosing the name of your blog is both daunting and exciting. That is because it is your brand name and it determines how people can remember you.
Follow these guidelines to name your blog:
- It should be concise and short
- Easy to spell and say
- Liked by the target audience
- Reflect on what the blog is about
Choose Your Web Hosting
You need to pay for web hosting to bring your blog alive. There are many web hosting companies out there. Obviously you want to make sure you go for an affordable web hosting company.
Some web hosting packages come with a free domain name. You can take advantage of this to register your domain name free of charge.
When starting out, you can even go for the cheapest hosting packages. Although these have limits on monthly visits and site storage, you can upgrade later when you have started making money.
Since you are starting out, you should choose WordPress as your content management system (CMS). Usually, this is a one-click install with your hosting company.
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Choose WordPress Theme
Now you need to choose an affordable and attractive WordPress theme. The appearance of your blog can help drive website traffic. Thus, you want to ensure your website is aesthetically pleasing.
Fortunately, there are thousands of WordPress themes or templates you can use. Make sure you only choose a template that suits your personal style and syncs with the niche of your blog.
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Find Interesting Blog Topics
When it comes to blogging, you need to do what you can to attract massive website traffic. Keep on providing your readers with interesting content.
It is advisable to focus on niche-specific questions. These questions should guide you to come up with blog topic ideas:
- What is the exciting or intriguing point for your audience?
- What are the challenges your readers are facing?
- Do you know the reader’s personality traits?
- What topics would appeal to your blog readers?
As you come up with blog topic ideas, make sure you also create catchy headlines. These headlines help improve click-through rates.
Do On-Page SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important. If you want to rank higher in search engines, you need to do it right. You need to optimize your website to rank for specific phrases and keywords.
Keywords should be inserted into your blog articles naturally. With WordPress, you can use SEO plugins, and with Wealthy Affiliate, all the right ones are already built into your website. These plugins will offer you improvement suggestions and tips based on your target keywords. Follow them to optimize your content.
Monetize Your Blog
You can only make money through your blog by monetizing it. There are different ways you can do this. The main ones include display advertising and promoting affiliate offers.
For display advertising, you can join platforms such as Google Adsense, Ezoic, and Mediavine. There are many other platforms you can also join. Avoid bombarding your blog with lots of ads. Rather, go for targeted ads.
For promoting affiliate offers, you should join Amazon Associates Program. Make sure you only promote products related to your niche.
Having a blog is one thing and monetizing it is another. Ensure you have a more focused and proactive approach. Always work consistently and remain focused. Keep on improving your blog and build trust with your audience.
Everything you create, especially if you monetize it, should be genuine. That is how you will build a following, gain trust and ultimately convert your viewers into buying customers.
