How to Make Money with Blogging-Step-By-Step Guide
People blog for several reasons. It may be to network with others of like minds, advertise and brands their products or to create a fan base. Some also blog to create awareness about a subject matter and get their voices or opinions out. Self-promotion is yet another purpose for which some people take to blogging. At times blogging can be used as a tool to help humanity. Conversely, some people may take to blogging just to stay in touch or satisfy their creative sides. If you want to create a record of events or gain knowledge, you can equally take to blogging.
Be that as it may, do you realize that you can make a truckload of money off blogging? Yes. Many individuals have made it big time financially via blogging and you can too. Instead of just blogging for pleasure, why not also consider the money-spinning aspect of the blogging? This write-up is put together to show you the essential things you need to do if you want to make money from blogging. Sit back, grab a cup of coffee and knock yourself out with money-making information presented here.
The process of making money from blogging is summarized below:
- Set up your blog
- Create useful content
- Get off the blog and start looking for readers
- Build a meaningful engagement with your readers as they visit your blog
- Start making some cool cash from the readers visiting your blog.
Each of the points above will be elaborated below.
Setting up a blog
You need to set up a blog before you can make money via blogging. It is unfortunate that this is a stumbling block for so many people that seek to make money from blogging. In fact, this is where many of them get it wrong. You need to have some technical background about this subject before you can set up a blog successfully. You can decide to employ a professional in programming or web designing to help you set up the bog if the process looks overwhelming.
Follow the steps below to set up a blog:
- Choose a blogging platform
- Buy a domain name and hosting plan
- Configure the blog
- Design the blog
There are many blogging platforms out there today. Good examples of them are BlogSpot and WordPress. They are among the leading platforms, and they are generally easy to use. They are equally easy to set up. These blogging platforms have been around for several years, and they have robust security system
You will need to get a domain name for the blog and also get a hosting plan. As much as possible, choose a domain name that agrees with the purpose of your blog. This means when anybody sees the domain name, he/she will have an idea of what you are offering on your blog. This can help you in branding your blog and giving it more popularity. Including your brand name or keywords as part of the domain name can also contribute the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the blog. Consider the legal perspective, the SEO perspective, the Brand perspective and human perspective of that domain name before you choose it for your blog. Be wary of trademark and copyright factors, as well as using the right keywords to rank the blog. The name should also be unique and say something about your brand. Additionally, choose a domain name that is readable and easy to remember for your prospective visitors.
When choosing a hosting platform for your blog, look for a hosting company that is affordable, offer 24/7 support, and is easy to install. In fact, some of the blogging platforms also offer a free guide on how to set up the blog. Most times, setting up a blog is easy and straightforward.
When designing your blog, keep in mind that first impression lasts longer. Add the right colors, contents, images, and videos in the right place. Make sure the color combinations look professional. This way, you can easily win the hearts and trusts of your visitors.
Post useful and creative contents
After creating the blog and designing it appropriately, it is time to start posting great contents on the blog. When creating a blog content, keep the points highlighted below into consideration:
- The content must be original; that is, it must not be plagiarised
- It must be written clearly and simply in a way that your visitors can understand your points without having to consult a dictionary
- It must neither be too long or too short.
- It must be creative expressive and engaging
- You should use keywords in the right spots and right quantity for proper search engine optimization
- You must mix things up with images and videos. The images and videos should also be search engine optimized.
- You must never forget to add at least one image to every post you make on your blog.
Posting plagiarised contents on your blog will affect your search engine ranking negatively. Posting plagiarised content is also unprofessional, and such a habit will never win the loyalty of your readership. You can as well kiss your blogging career a final goodbye if you are ever caught posting plagiarised contents on your blog.
Google hates plagiarism with passion, and Google is the most popular search engine today. If caught, Google will punish your blog and tank your traffic. You may also have to face legal issues if you are caught. So, avoid plagiarism as much as possible.
When adding videos to your blog contents, make sure the videos are not too long. Also, make them as descriptive and explanatory as possible; it is in your best interest. While attempting to win the hearts of your visitors via your videos, make sure you do not spend too long on irrelevant things. As much as possible stay focused on the main point of recording that video.
Additionally, the images you add to your contents must send the right messages. The images must be adequately descriptive of the content. One image can say a thousand words, as they say. But the image can only perform this feat if it is adequately descriptive of the content you are posting.
Look for readers
Creating a great blog is the place to start your blogging career. Posting a wonderful blog content is also helpful. Be that as it may, your effort will not mean much if there are no readers visiting your beautifully created blog. It is vital to spend quality time on creating and setting up a blog, but you also need to spend much time looking for readers. So, it is time to get off that blog and start bringing readers so that you can make good money form the blog. The best way to bring in more people is to promote your blog.
What group of readers do you want on your blog? This should be the principal question to ask when looking to promote your blog. You can then look at certain blogs, forums or social networks where these groups of people belong to. It is time to start backlinking your content to those other blogs so that you can benefit from the readership of the blogs. Also, liaise with those other blogs so that they can post a link to your blog on their site. This way, you can also win some of the readerships of that other blog.
Furthermore, register on the forums where those groups of individuals do frequent and post educative contents that will showcase you as a professional in your chosen niche. You can then redirect the readers to your blog
Moreover, register on the popular social media platforms and join groups or pages that offer information related to the contents you have on your blog. You can interact with members of those pages or groups, after which you can direct them to your blog. Aside from posting good comments on the forums and social media groups and pages, you can also create guests posts to provide helpful solutions or answers that will portray you and your brand as trustworthy.
Besides, you can create a Facebook page, add as many friends as possible and use that as a platform to direct traffic to your blog. This method works all the time, provided you can post engaging write-ups on a regular basis.
Time to build engagement
It is one thing to attract visitors to your blog, and it is another thing to keep them there and make them to always come back for more. The best way to make your visitors always to come back is to engage them when they are on your platform. If you can sustain the creation of interesting and creative contents, it is a question of time before people start flocking to your blog.
The best way to engage your audience is to keep up with posting top quality contents, image, and videos. Even if you are too busy to post contents every day, make sure that you post at least three to four fresh contents every week. Do not hesitate to respond to their comments, as this can encourage them to keep on coming back for more. If you engage with your current readers, they will help you to spread the word around and bring in more readers.
When posting contents on your blog, make sure the content is written in a conversational voice. You can also make it controversial a bit to prompt the interest of the readers and compel them to respond. When writing, do it as if you are speaking to your supposed audience. Imagine that you are speaking with someone when you are writing, and this will improve the conversational tone of your write-up.
Also, write your contents as if you are telling a story. A lot of people love to read sweet stories, especially when they are not the subject. You can prompt your readers to respond to your posts if you can weave some personal angle into the content o are writing.
Additionally, keep the language of your posts personal. Never forget to include words like ‘we,’ ‘you’ and ‘I’ your write-ups. It will prove beneficial in engaging your readers.
Making money from your blog
You can make money from your blog via many routes. Some of the common ways to do it are highlighted below
- Offer services: If you are an expert in any particular area, you can decide to offer services about those subject matters on your blog. Some of the common services you can offer include copywriting, design, public speaking, consulting in your field, training in your areas of expertise, coaching or freelancing.
- Promote offline business: You can also use your blog to promote your offline business to increase your patronage and make more money for the business. Just post your brick and mortar address on the blog, along with the interesting and compelling contents as described earlier in this write-up.
- Sell products: The products to sell on your blog can be either physical or virtual product. Good examples of physical products you can sell on the blog are teaching materials, merchandise, and books. Some of the virtual products you can sell include apps, printable, reports, software, courses, and eBooks.
- Advertise on your blog for money: If you have a huge readership on your blog, you can decide to go into advertising. Some of the advertising routes to make money on your blog include competition and giveaways, podcast advertising, video advertising, text links, RSS advertising, newsletter advertising, directories, job boards, site-wide sponsorships, sponsored social content, sponsored posts, ambassadorship and ad networks.
- Affiliate marketing: Many people know about this, and it is undoubtedly the most popular means of making money from a blog. You can decide to advertise products from shopping sites, like Amazon, eBay, etc. You can also decide to set up a private affiliate program or join an affiliate network.
- Events: Instead of any of the methods described above, you can decide to blog about events or offer event services, like meet-ups, conferences, workshops, live events, webinars, workshops and online summits.
- Recurring revenue: This is one of the best ways to make money from your blog while you sleep. Examples include automated online coaching, selling premium contents and private communities.
- Other methods: You can also venture into selling blogs, syndication or donations to make money on your blog.