Last Updated on January 28, 2021 by Yetty Akindele
The question of how to start a blog is one that a lot of people have perhaps wondered about at one point or the other. Many of us love to follow blogs and keep ourselves updated with the changing trends. The blogger community has grown over time and introduced a wide variety of content related to health, beauty, fitness, sports, music, and much more. With a considerable following and subscribers, the influence of these blogs on the public is undeniable.
Besides being an amazing way to communicate with people all around the world, blogs are a great earning source. Though it takes much time to build an audience to earn money, hard work, and dedication will make your blog everyone’s favorite in no time!
What Is A Blog, And Why Should You Become A Blogger?
Are you wondering what exactly a blog is? It is an informational website usually owned by an individual or a small group. Blogging can be extremely beneficial for you for different reasons. Not only do blogs help you earn good money, but they are also a great platform to learn new skills and organize ideas. Besides, blogs enable you to express your opinion to a vast audience and make a difference.
How To Start A Blog – Simple Steps To Follow
Blogging has never been easier. You can start your blog with a few simple steps and get it running in no time. Here’s a guide on how to start your blog:
1. Choose your niche
Choosing a niche is essential to run a blog. Find your area of interest and select a topic for your blog posts. It can be anything varying from food to fitness. A niche helps you focus on a specific area instead of publishing posts that are irrelevant to one another, enabling you to formulate effective strategies to run a blog, engage well with your target audience, and grow viewers and subscribers.
2. Decide a blog name
The right blog name is essential as it speaks volumes about the quality of your blog. A blog’s name is its first impression, and it shouldn’t be bad. Blogging is all about attracting people over the internet; having unattractive and vague blog names will not help you gain much audience. Choose the right name if you want to be a successful blogger.
3. Get a web host
Now that you’ve selected the name for your blog, it is time to get it online. For doing so, you’ll require a web host. If you’re not aware of a web host, it is a company that offers management services and information storage for your blog. Also, web hosts keep your blog’s information secure.
There are many quality web host providers for bloggers such as Web Hosting Canada, WP Engine, Bluehost, HostGator, GreenGeeks, Kinsta, and Wix, etc. Each web host has unique qualities. For example, Bluehost is known for its user-friendliness, whereas Hostgator provides excellent value for money. Choose the web host that suits you best. After all, your blog depends on it!
4. Customize
Once you’re done with the web host selection process and have registered yourself, it is time to customize your blog. Customization is a necessary process, and it improves the outlook of your blog. You can customize the blog designs, text alignment, themes, covers, icons, and much more. Web hosts like Wix provide multiple options for logo designs as well. Make sure to keep your blog looking attractive to people’s eyes.
5. Start publishing
After the customization process is complete, it is time to publish your first post. The content you post on your blog plays a significant role in gaining an audience. Quality content is the only key to success for a blog. Be aware of the audience you are trying to target and post accordingly. Add colorful images, keep your blog fun, focus on reality-based facts to earn the public’s trust, and make sure you write your blogs in an engaging tone. If your content is too dull, you’ll not be able to get visitors to stay on your site, and bounce rates will increase. Nobody likes boring material! Do they?
6. Use Grammarly
Wondering where to put that comma? Grammarly is the best innovation that has happened for content writers. It is an excellent grammar checker and correction software. It checks for punctuation errors and to cap it all, it also checks for Plagiarism. Great tool right?
7. Promote your blog
It is essential to promote your blog once you start publishing content. There are different ways you can promote your work; however, engagement remains the key strategy. The more you engage with the people in your comments and other blogs, the more audience you build. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram can also help you promote your blog and help your website gain visitors by providing links to blog posts. Sponsored ads can also be used for promotional purposes.
How To Monetize Your Blog
Not long ago, creating a blog would’ve cost you a fortune, and monetizing it would’ve been extremely difficult. However, earning from blogging is no longer difficult, and you have to invest only a small amount of money. Also, the E-Commerce market is much more diverse than before. Once you gain enough audience, earning money doesn’t remain a problem. There are different ways you can monetize your blog and earn a handsome income, but it requires efficient planning and effort. Here are some ideas to monetize your blog:
1. Try Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular methods to earn money, especially among new bloggers who don’t have their own items to sell. Simply put, affiliate marketing means promoting products of another website. The blogger creates content that is related to the products, promotes their sale, and earns a profit.
It is crucial to affiliate products that belong to your niche. For example, if your niche is food, you can promote food products and beverages from different brands. The reason niche is essential is that the target audience for both the blog and the product are alike. One of the top affiliate marketing networks available in most Countries is ShareASale, joining their platform is free and links you up with a good number of Merchants. You can join ShareASale by clicking on the widget below;
2. Get Advertisements
Advertisements are a great way to earn money and work by the pay-per-click method. It means you earn money on each click. They are usually beneficial when you have gained sufficient visitors to your site. Advertisements are not the best source of making money if you’re new to blogging or if your blog doesn’t have enough traffic. As you gain an audience, your income from each ad click will increase.
3. Try E-Marketing
E-marketing is extremely popular among bloggers. It is the method of carrying out business online through email. All you have to do is asking your audience to subscribe to newsletters and updates via email. You can sell products or affiliate items through mail and earn money on each subscriber.
Drop-shipping in E-commerce refers to a method of carrying a business in which one does not need to possess the items for sale. Many companies help you set up and electronic mail business and provide drop-shipping services. Shopify, BigCommerce, 3dcart, and WooCommerce are some of the most reputable platforms for electronic marketing. These companies allow you to earn money with ease while they get the products directly from manufacturers and deliver them to customers.
4. Sell Online Courses
Selling online courses can be a great source of income. You can provide online courses according to your niche and area of expertise. Make sure the courses you sell are helpful to the public and offer skill development. In return, the traffic to your blog will increase manifold. One of the best reasons to opt for selling online courses is that they become the means of passive income for bloggers. Platforms like Thinkific, Teachable, Kajabi are great for creating online courses.
5. Earn Through Digital Products
Digital products usually include downloadable material like PDF versions of a book, ‘How to’ guides, tutorial videos and software components, etc. Selling these products is relatively simple yet a great way to earn good money through your blog. Choose digital products that are related to the content of your blog. For example, if you own a cooking blog, you can provide the PDF versions of your recipes.
Another way you can earn through digital sales is by conducting paid webinars and online workshops. Use all your skills, and don’t hesitate to get feedback from your audience because it will help you understand what interests them the most.
6. Use Membership Plans
Once you gain traffic to your blog, you can start creating private content and introduce membership plans. If your content is good, people will apply for membership and become a permanent part of your blog community. Creating members-only content is one of the most effective ways to monetize your blog. The membership plans can be monthly or yearly. Don’t forget to make long term plans more interesting for your audience!
Conclusion
The blogging community is growing with time and has won the hearts of millions of people by providing them with access to lots of information and useful content. It is also an excellent source of income for many people.
If you’re an aspiring blogger and want to earn money, always remember that everything requires effort and the right strategy. Though there are many ways you can monetize your blog, gaining trust from your audience matters the most. So, always aim to keep your content genuine. Best of luck with your blogging endeavors!
Wow….. this is very informative. Thank you for the detailed information and all the best on your blog