Think blogging is just a hobby? Think again – it can actually make you some pretty good money. Here’s how to get started, find your niche, and turn your blog into a source of income.
Let’s be honest: blogging isn’t the easiest way to make money. But the great thing is that anyone can do it, and it looks great on your resume.
We interviewed two of them to uncover their monetization secrets. Our guide gives you a concrete plan of action to launch and grow your blog into a profitable small business from home.
- How to start blogger
- What are you blogging about?
- How to Increase Your Blog Traffic
- How to make money from blogging
- The biggest challenges of monetization
You have two main options when it comes to actually setting up a blog – you can use a free blogging platform, or you can create your own website. We’ll take you through both, outlining the pros and cons of each.
1 Free Blogging Platforms
Best for: Casual bloggers and those who aren’t interested in making money from their blogs. Cons: Limitations on customization and video/image uploads, often can’t place ads or use affiliate links, can’t create a custom URL and the platform reserves the right to delete your blog. Many platforms will let you create a blog for free, and they’re very easy to use. If you just want to blog casually at first, this might suit you well. But free blogging platforms can be very limiting. You’ll only be able to customize to a limited extent, and your blog will have a storage limit which can make it difficult to upload large videos and images. Another downside is that your blog URL will be something like “www.maywil.wordpress.com” with the platform’s branding. Most free blogging platforms also don’t allow you to place banner ads or affiliate links on your site, which are major sources of income for most bloggers. However, if these things don’t bother you, here’s a quick rundown of the best free blogging platforms online.
Best Blogging Sites
- WordPress.com – This is a basic, free, and easy-to-use blog hosting service. You’ll have to put up with WordPress ads and branding unless you pay a monthly fee, and you can’t place ads on your site. There are also limited options for customization and expansion.
– Google’s free blog hosting service, Blogger, is really easy to use. But the customization and design options are very limited, and there aren’t many options if you want to add new features.
Medium – With Medium, the focus is on writing rather than design. It’s used by a lot of journalists, writers, and experts and it’s a great way to share your work with a specific community. You can’t run any ads and it’s hard to build your personal brand.
- 2 Create your website
Best for: Dedicated bloggers and those looking to make money from their blogs Pros: Complete design and customization control, your own custom URL and the ability to use ads and affiliate links however you want Cons: You’ll have to pay – first for your domain name (URL) and then for hosting, but we have tips on cheap web hosting. If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, the thought of creating your own website can seem quite intimidating – but it’s actually quite easy to do, and you can have one up and running in just 20 minutes. Owen, founder of Save the Student, has written an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide to show you how to start a website. With your own website, you’ll be able to create a unique personal brand (using your own URL), and there’s WordPress has an insane amount of templates or “themes” to choose from – take your time to decide on one that best suits your personality and blog theme.
Choose something clear and simple, with room for large images and easy-to-read fonts (Comic Sans and Courier fonts are not). Creating Your Website”
3 How to Choose a Blog Topic
This can be the easiest or hardest part of starting your blog. The most important thing at this stage is choosing a niche where you can call yourself an authority – the biggest mistake new bloggers make in this crowded blogging world is starting a blog without trying to do something surprising or different. For example, if fashion is your thing, instead of combining general fashion content, could you combine your love of clothing with your keen interest in the environment by blogging about eco-conscious designers instead?
Look at other blogs – this should be your first port of call. What’s already working? More importantly, what’s missing? Look for gaps in the market.
Use Google’s suggested searches and autocomplete to discover what people are searching for – if they’re searching, there’s a demand.
Search forums for FAQs – when people can’t find answers to their questions, they turn to forums. What are they asking? What do they need advice on? This will show you what people are interested in and what there’s a lack of information available about. Track
It’s a good idea to pick a topic that’s long-lasting, but if you can get back to the trend early on, you can quickly establish yourself as an expert on that topic before anyone else. Searching #journorequest on Twitter shows you what types of topics journalists are currently reporting on.
Think about different types of content – can you do tutorials/how-to guides? Opinions? Interviews? Lists? It may not be what you write about, but how you write it is what sets you apart.
Identify your interests and passions – While all of the above is important, there’s no point in blogging about something you’re not interested in at all. You’ll get bored quickly and people will see through your lack of enthusiasm. Write about something you’re truly passionate about.
Check out our extensive list of small business ideas – get the entrepreneurial flow going and bring in some cash!
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