How to start a blog? This question is asked by many.
Starting a blog can be a good way for you to have an awesome lifestyle of passively earning more money than an average wage earner. You are in control of your time and can write about the things that you are passionate about. Remember that your success depends on the value, relevance, and quality of your content.
The Challenge
To set a realistic expectation, starting a blog is not easy and only about 5% of the people who tried became successful. 95% of the people who were learning the ropes quit and gave up too soon. They realize that it takes more than being a good writer to be a successful blogger.
Blogging could be any kind of topic that you should be at least proficient in, if not an expert in. It should be something that you are passionate about. Your goal is to provide a relevant, valuable, and helpful content for your readers. When your audience is done reading a blog post, they’ll come out better and possibly, get back to reading more from you. Here are some of the topics that you could possibly write about:
Lifestyle
Fashion
Food
Travel
Music
Fitness and Sports
How-To’s
While it is possible to write as many articles that you like to cater to a wide range of audience, choosing a niche in starting a blog would have a better chance of creating loyal followers.
2
Choose a Name for Your Blog
Let’s just say, you decided to blog about Fitness and Sports as your niche. Even if you are not an expert, you can start to blog as long as you have the passion to write and learn more about it as you go along. Choosing the name of your blog in the same way when you are starting a business is part of the initial steps you need to take. Here are some of the important things you need to keep in mind in choosing a name for your blog:
In example: Name – Joe’s Fitness & Sports Domain – www.joesfitnessandsports.com Email – [email protected] NOTE: Although WordPress is the most common blogging platform that is widely used with Bluehost for hosting, the world-wide-web offers a lot of options to see if the domain is free, you may click on the link to check the top domain generators. In case you have a hard time figuring out a name for your blog, click on the link to help and give you ideas on, “How to come up with a name”.
3
Create Your Blog and Add Content
Now that you have figured out your niche and have a name for it, you may now create your blog and start adding content. Here are the things that you would need:
There are a lot of web-blogging and web-hosting platforms that you can choose from. While all of them essentially provide the same service, each of them has its own unique features and advantages. You might want to explore and do further research and find out which suits your preference. As for the imaging tools and resources, you can actually use photos from your smartphone or source your images from royalty-free sites, creative commons, or public domain. Here’s a link for you to check a complete list of royalty-free websites to source your photos. But, if you intend to establish your blog as something that is a cut above the rest, you can employ the services of a professional photographer.
Always make sure to provide value to your readers by keeping the following things in mind in writing your articles:
Be authentic
Use templates/themes that suit your blog
Add content that addresses or solves a problem
Add a call-to-action (CTA)
Be succinct and clear in communicating your ideas
NOTE: In adding content to your website, based on your niche, think about 5 to 10 keyword topics or phrases that you will include in the article you are writing. Using keyword search tools like SEMrushor KW Finder, check the monthly search volume of the keyword topics or phrases on your list. Doing this process will determine the level of interest and likelihood of people digging your content and drive traffic on your blog.
4
Drive Traffic on Your Website
Businesses thrive and grow in proportion to the increase in the number of its customer base due to the continued patronage of products and services offered. Similarly, increasing the traffic to your site with the number of visitors would also result in:
Increase of followers and loyal customers
High ranking results in Google search
Additional number audience
In other words, your blog/website will be in a much better position to make more money as your site traffic increases and this is where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes in the picture. SEO, in a nutshell, encompasses all kinds of strategy to improve your blogs ranking and visibility on SERP (Search Engine Results Pages). Here are some of the things you can do drive traffic on your blog/website:
Optimize on-page SEO (meta descriptions, keywords, internal links, etc.)
Include Guest Blogging
Post content to aggregator sites
Connect and Network with other bloggers
5
Connect and Engage Your Followers
Maintaining a customer’s loyalty increases the possibility of repeat sales and bring more value to your business instead of exerting a lot of effort in attracting new ones. This very same principle in business also applies to digital marketing in order to increase your followers and establish your website as an authority based on your niche, because people would choose you as the source for their need over your competitors. In order to connect and engage your readers and turn them from being a frequent visitor to a loyal subscriber, make sure to do the following:
Add a comment section (Ask your readers thoughts, ideas, and opinions)
Offer to create an online course
Offer Services
How to Monetize your blog
1
Advertising and Sponsored Content
Advertising is a good way to earn money. However, your website won’t be appealing to people who are irked by the idea of scrolling through different advert banners. Yes, you can definitely earn money but your blog should have a lot of traffic. Here’s a list on how to incorporate advertising in your web articles:
Display Ads placed as a header, footer, sidebar or incorporated in your blog.
Install Google Adsense to add content related ads and earn fifty cents per click.
Giveaways & reviews encourage companies to compensate you (hopefully) and provide free products as you have them as a feature in your blog.
Sponsored or underwritten posts encourages companies to provide compensation as you write or post about their products and services in your blog.
Newsletters, videos, & podcast sponsorships with attached advertisements or mini commercials would also encourage compensation from companies.
2
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketers promote products through a blog or a youtube video and earn commissions whenever somebody clicks and purchases a product through their unique affiliate link. Here are companies that offer affiliate programs that you can join:
Amazon Associates – an affiliate program offering up to 10% in advertising fees
Amazon Influencer Program – an Amazon affiliate program that provides you with your own personal Amazon shop.
Bluehost – a web hosting company offering an affiliate program by promoting Bluehost on your site with customized links and banner offering commissions.
Genesis– WordPress theme with features that include WP Engine + Agency Partners.
Ultimate Bundles – a company selling digital product bundles at a discount
Target – the affiliate program by target adds traffic to your site offering commissions.
WP Engine – a popular affiliate program for WordPress
3
Digital Products
The contents on your blog serve as an avenue to feature a market and establish yourself as an “authority” when it comes to matters where you have a certain level of proficiency or skill. Most bloggers who are known for their expertise create digital products that are profitable, especially when they have an established fan base or followers. Examples of digital products that you can offer are:
As an established blogger who has risen through the ranks to become an authority on a certain subject or issue, you can officially start offering your services online or in your local area. Examples of these services are:
