How To Make Money Blogging
Some people start blogs solely to express their personal views, but many take up blogging in order to secure an ongoing stream of income for themselves. Blogging is a popular way to make money online because you can set your own hours, focus on a subject that interests you and commit as much or as little time to it as you wish. If you’d like to know how to make money blogging, then keep reading because I’ve outlined the most popular and effective means of monetizing your blog below.
If you don’t yet have a blog, then there’s no time like the present for establishing one. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to create a blog from scratch.
[Image of a checklist]How To Make Money Blogging
– Prerequisites
There are certain actions you’ll need to take before you can begin to think seriously about turning your blog into a money-making venture. While it would be nice if you could just do a couple hours of work and then start raking in the dough immediately, the truth is that properly managing a profitable blog isn’t an easy or trivial feat. You must lay the groundwork first by doing the following:
- Find a web host and set up your blog
- Feature compelling content
- Increase your readership
- Engage with visitors
Only once you’ve achieved success in these endeavors will it be time to turn your attention toward making actual cash. As a new blogger, your website probably isn’t worth much at present, so you’ll have to grow it and keep getting more views in advance of being able to make money blogging. This isn’t for the faint of heart: It could take many months or even a few years before your blog is in the proper shape for monetization.
Let’s go over the tasks you’ll need to accomplish in detail.
[Image of a mouse pointer over the word “Go” or “Start” or similar]1. Create a New Blog
To make money blogging, you must first have a blog – this goes without saying. Rather than just picking the first web hosting organization you see and installing whatever blogging software you happen to come across, you should do thorough research first. The initial decisions you make during this phase of your operations will have a continuing and lasting impact on your long-term prospects, so it’s important to get them right.
Read my guide on how to create a blog for info on setting your blog up for success right from the get-go. I highly recommend using WordPress if you’re a novice blogger because it contains a wealth of features to help you out and get you headed in the right direction. I’ve compiled a list of the five best web hosts for WordPress bloggers. They’re affordable choices that nevertheless offer stable, reliable hosting service.
[Image of cartoon man engrossed in newspaper]2. Deliver Interesting Content
In order to draw readers in, you must offer them something that they can’t get elsewhere. If you merely parrot what others are saying, then you’re at a severe disadvantage vis-à-vis existing blogs that cover the same ground as you do. It’s worthwhile to consider what demographic and niche you’re targeting. Try to choose something that you’re passionate about and that lies within your areas of expertise as the main topic of your blog.
It can be hard to get into the habit of regularly publishing new pieces, but this is essential. You won’t be able to build momentum if you look at your blog as a haphazard or occasional enterprise. The frequency with which you put up new posts will depend on the subject matter you’re drawn to. If it changes rapidly, then posting several times a week may be best; otherwise, you can maintain a more relaxed posting schedule of perhaps once a week or twice per month.
If you need some help coming up with ideas for your blog, you can try using Keyword Planner, a tool contained within the Google AdWords suite, to research what people are searching for that’s related to your area of focus. To use this resource, you’ll have to sign up for a free AdWords account if you haven’t done so already.
[Image of a packed auditorium]3. Build Your Audience
Besides just the actual mechanisms involved in drafting blog posts and adding them to your web page, you must also be aware of the bigger-picture issue of how you’re going to attract a following. By promoting your blog through the proper channels, you can get a jump-start on retaining a loyal and expanding community of fans.
The avenues available for doing so are many and varied, and you’ll want to choose a few key strategies that seem to be appropriate in your individual case. Among your options are:
- Sharing your posts on social media, like Facebook and Twitter
- Interacting with potential subscribers on related blogs and forums
- Offering to guest blog for prominent websites in your market
- Incorporating SEO best practices to bolster SERP placement
- Leveraging paid search opportunities
4. Keep Your Readers Coming Back
Getting hits from organic search and other sources is great, but it’s of dubious utility unless you convince visitors to stay and become habitual browsers of your site. A sensible way to do so is by responding to every comment made on your posts so that your guests feel like they’re actually participating in dynamic conversations rather than being fed static content.
It may be prudent to add user forums to your blog so that people have a place to go to discuss the topics that you deal with. An email newsletter is another handy tool for keeping your blog in the minds of your supporters, and it will also help you in amassing an email list for use in your future marketing campaigns.
Another component of boosting engagement lies in the design of your site. Make it easy to navigate so that your readers can explore multiple pieces that catch their eye and browse over to them without too much trouble. Include headings, subheadings, bullet lists, images and other elements within your blog posts so that perusing your content becomes a pleasant experience rather than a chore. Selecting a harmonious color scheme and clearly legible fonts will make all your blogs seem more intriguing even if observers can’t exactly pinpoint why.
[Image of a dollar bill]Now It’s Time to Make Money Blogging
After devoting enough time and energy to the above matters, you’ll hopefully see your traffic numbers climb to new heights. Now you can benefit from all your hard work and make money online with your blog. There are dozens of way of accomplishing this end, but the two most prevalent ones are through advertising and by deploying affiliate links within your content.
[Image of a billboard]Advertising
Much as magazines and television stations do, you can sell ad space to organizations that are interested in publicizing their products. Cutting direct deals with advertisers may not be feasible unless your blog is one of the largest in its field, and it requires a lot of legwork and negotiation. Most beginning bloggers find it useful to instead partner with ad networks so that they don’t have to do everything themselves.
Ad networks will find the customers, handle all the behind-the-scenes, money-related details and give you the ads to display on your site. You’ll get a portion of all the advertising revenue generated, and the network will keep the remainder.
The most widely used ad network is Google’s AdSense. It allows you to choose the types of ads you want to display, such as text or graphical banners, and lets you select where on your pages you wish to place them. Google matches you with advertisers who are well-suited for the composition of your audience and the types of content that you showcase. AdSense pays out once a month as long as you’ve surpassed the $100 payment threshold.
It will probably take a while before you start to see any significant income from AdSense or any other ad network for that matter. Remember: You’ll be sharing a large fraction of the advertising money with the network and only retaining a portion for yourself. As your blog gets larger and you become more sophisticated in the technicalities of online ads, you may wish to investigate the possibility of contacting enterprises and selling ad space directly to them.
[Image of a handshake]Affiliate Relationships
When you sign up as an affiliate of a vendor, like Amazon or ClickBank, you’ll get a cut of every purchase people make after you direct them to the retailer’s site. The way it works is that the online store will give you special, individualized links to place on your pages that will identify your site as the origination point for anyone who follows a link and buys a product. They’ll then tally up how many sales you were responsible for and issue you your commission payment.
The overwhelming majority of sellers don’t mark up their prices at all to compensate for the expenses of this affiliate model. They just eat the costs from their own margins. In some cases, particularly with smaller companies, you might even be able to work out special discounts for your visitors. This lets you earn money online while simultaneously delivering great value to your readers.
One downside to using affiliate marketing to make money blogging is that you’re effectively recommending specific products to your guests. If they should have complaints or regrets later on about their purchases, your standing with them may suffer. That’s why it’s smart to only recommend products and services that you believe to be of high quality and to only support reputable organizations.
You also run the risk of jeopardizing your impartiality when guiding people toward certain items. This may not matter much if your blog is centered around your own preferences and viewpoints, but it’s a concern if you wish to maintain a journalistic or objective tone.
Other Approaches to Make Money Blogging
Most bloggers who are serious about their craft and its money-generating potential try to diversify their sources of income. While affiliate linking and ad placement are virtually omnipresent in the trade, there are other forms of revenue-creation that can supplement them.
These techniques are roughly divided into two categories: direct income and indirect income. The former involves earning money directly from your blog and its readers. The second method relies more upon taking advantage of possibilities that present themselves to you as a consequence of running a well-liked blog.
[Image of an arrow pointing to an LCD cash register display]Direct Blogging Income
You may have your own merchandise or services to offer, which you can sell from an e-commerce storefront attached to your blog. Magento, BigCommerce and similar software platforms mean that you won’t have to try to do everything from the ground up; there are plenty of solutions ready and waiting for you. Even if you don’t have physical objects to pitch, you can provide virtual goods, like e-books and coaching sessions, through your blog.
Another course of action is to offer paid subscriptions to access premium content on your site. Your blog will basically serve to whet the appetites of prospective customers and get them to splurge for the desirable extras that you provide. These goodies may include videos, a special members-only section of your website, ad-free viewing of a normally ad-supported blog, et cetera.
A variation on the concept of having your guests pay for access is to solicit donations from your faithful visitors. PayPal allows you to place a button on your page that will let you collect funds from your generous fans. They don’t even need to possess a PayPal account themselves because this e-wallet provider is capable of processing credit card and debit card transactions. An alternative solution is to employ the decentralized cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which lets users transfer almost any amount of money anywhere around the world with low fees, a high level of anonymity and robust security. Of course, you can feature both PayPal and Bitcoin along with other ways for enthusiasts to financially show their appreciation of your work.
Finally, if you ever get tired of blogging and wish to dedicate your efforts to other pursuits, it may be possible to sell your blog. Clearly, the amount you can realize by doing so will vary based upon its popularity and current potential for bringing in steady traffic and income. You’ll probably have to enact a few of the other tactics I’m telling you about first before selling your blog becomes a viable step to take for a big payday.
[Image of a bunch of arrows pointing in different directions but vaguely in a circle]Indirect Blogging Income
Apart from the funds that you can generate directly through your blogging operations, there may be other ways of harnessing your blog to increase your potential to make money online.
As more and more people head over to your blog on a regular basis, you might be contacted and presented with professional opportunities from time to time. You could see this happen quite a bit especially if you make it a point to engage with your readers and network with other bloggers in your field. The opportunities that thus arise might include offers of long-term employment, short-term, freelance projects, speaking engagements, paid writing assignments and a variety of other activities.
If you’re fortunate enough to be able to make your blog a recognized name in your industry, then it might be possible for you to hold offline events, like seminars and conferences. Through ticket sales and sponsorships, you’ll be able to collect some cash. You should only attempt to do this after careful calculations of projected attendance and costs. A failed event can really drain your bank balances.
A more cautious approach is to host online events, like webinars and live streams. You’ll be able to gauge the amount of buzz and interest surrounding your venture and can then plan more effectively for a possible transition to brick-and-mortar functions.
If you already own a business that transacts over the internet, then starting a blog will give you an additional vehicle for your marketing endeavors. It could eventually account for a significant share of your conversions. If you implement this program of establishing a blog to bolster interest in your products, then it’s critical that you compose your blog posts carefully to craft a powerful sales funnel.
[Image of a car on a long, winding road]Get on the Road to Earning Blogging Income Today
The journey toward being able to make money blogging isn’t one to undertake lightly or without meticulous planning. If you do your homework, however, you’ll most likely find it to be a rewarding opportunity to make money online. If you’re a novice who’s new to the world of blogging, then consult my page on how to create a blog. Also, sign up to my email list to get more tips on blogging like a pro.
