Starting your own blog can seem like an overwhelming task, but the truth is that it’s not as difficult as you might think. With some time, patience and hard work, you could be well on your way to making money with a blog in no time! In fact, the first thing you should do to make money with your blog is start writing content and then cross your fingers for traffic! It really is that simple when you break it down into 10 steps! Let’s get started!
1) Find your niche
Find your niche by searching for topics that you are passionate about and then find blogs that are already writing on those subjects. When you find one, look at the blog’s contact page and see if they list their rates or if they accept guest posts. Contact them if they don’t have rates listed, but be prepared to negotiate your rate depending on what they offer.
2) Create content that solves a problem
The biggest hurdle that people face when they are trying to make money on their blog is figuring out where the money comes from. There are many ways that you can make money on your blog, so it’s important to have a plan and know what direction you want your business to go.
3) Drive traffic to your blog
This is the first and most important step to making money with your blog. The more traffic you drive, the more potential customers you have. To increase your traffic, you can write articles that are relevant to your audience and post them on sites where they are likely to be read by people who might be interested in what you have to say. You can also use social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest for marketing purposes.
4) Build an email list
Building an email list is the first and most important step to making money with your blog. You should have an easy way for readers to subscribe, like on the sidebar of your site or at the bottom of each post.
5) Sell products or services
The first step is to set up your blog. You can either use WordPress, Squarespace or Wix. If you don’t have any money, you might want to try blogging on Tumblr, which is free but will limit what you can do with it. The next step is getting people to read your blog by posting interesting content that relates to the topic of the blog and sharing it on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus.
6) Use affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is the act of earning a commission by promoting other people’s (or company’s) products. It’s as simple as putting links on your website that lead to products you recommend and getting paid when someone buys something. The process can be more complicated than this, but it doesn’t have to be. Just think of affiliate marketing like any other type of advertising: someone pays you for every customer you bring them.
7) Sell advertising
Many bloggers make money by selling advertising space on their blog. These ads can come in the form of text links, banners, and more. The blogger provides the ad space and the advertiser provides the content. The advertiser pays for clicks or impressions (impressions are when someone sees an ad but doesn’t click on it). If you sell advertising space on your blog, you’ll need to set up Google AdSense or another service that manages ads for you.
8) Leverage your blog to get speaking gigs
If you are able to establish yourself as an expert and people find your blog valuable, you can leverage this success by getting speaking gigs. Speak at conferences, events, or meet-ups where people would be interested in what you have to say and are willing to pay for it.
9) Use your blog to land consulting gigs
As your blog becomes more popular, you may find yourself being contacted by companies that want to work with you. This could be for paid partnerships or for consulting gigs. If this interests you, create a section on your blog titled Consulting and list the services you offer and the rates at which they’re available. That way when people contact you, they’ll know what they’re getting into before they request your help.
10) Use your blog as a portfolio
If you’re still not sure how to make money blogging, here are some of the most popular ways:
- Offer product reviews and receive commissions or payments per sale
- Sell your own products on your blog
- Get sponsored by companies who want you to promote their products on your blog (also known as affiliate marketing)
- Monetize your blog through advertising.