Businesses of all kinds start blogging to build long-term audiences. But the opposite is also happening: more and more bloggers are starting businesses as an extension of their blog. And it makes sense.
One of the biggest challenges for new businesses is building an audience for their products. New bloggers, on the other hand, often work backwards: they first build an audience by consistently posting good content, and then look for ways to monetize their traffic.
Reading: How to create a blog for online business
Starting a blog is easy if you just want to have a side job. However, if you’re thinking of creative ways to make money as a blogger, you need to strategize your blog to be successful.
This step-by-step guide will walk you through how You start a blog and grow it into a source of traffic and income. While our guide is intended for those who have not yet started a business, it is also relevant for any existing business looking to get into the blogging game.
What is a Blog?
A blog is a website that consists of content, usually focused on a specific topic, that you update regularly. Unlike news outlets and other publications, blogs tend to take a personal tone, which helps them connect more deeply with their audience.
People start their own blogs for a variety of reasons, including:
- To share opinions, passions or insights into their life
- To teach others what they know
- To build an email list
- To develop their personal brand as an expert
- To make money online
- A combination of any or all of the above
For these reasons, blogging can be incredibly fulfilling — especially when complete strangers start consuming your content — but it’s also a commitment.
Whether you post daily, weekly, or monthly, it is important to be as consistent as possible, not only in how often you post, but also in the type of content that you post.
It’s very rare for bloggers to see the results of their business or personal blog right away, so you need to stay motivated in the early stages to keep your eyes on the prize.
How to start a blog as a beginner with no money
Starting a blog with the potential to become a business boils down to the following steps:
- Find a way to make money from your blog
- Choose a niche for your blog
- Choose a blogging platform and template
- Choose a blog and domain name
- Plan your publishing strategy
- Get people to read your blog regularly
The hardest thing about blogging is finding time and ideas you need to do it consistently. It’s pretty easy to get started, though.
If you’re wondering why we’re starting our guide to starting a blog with the topic of monetization, it’s because you need to think like an entrepreneur, more than just a blogger to turn it into a profitable venture.
1. Find a way for your blog to make money
This may sound counterintuitive, but if you want to make money from blogging, you should start with the money part first and then the content part. A solid monetization strategy comes before your first blog post as it will determine what types of content you publish and how you will grow over the long term. So think of your new blog as a business first, not a creative outlet.
There are many ways to monetize your own blog, depending on the type of blog you choose. For example, when you combine a low-investment business with a blog, you create a sustainable way to grow at little cost other than time and energy.
A lot of people think that using something like Google AdSense is the only way is blogging to make money. But while ads can help generate revenue, they require large amounts of traffic before they become commercially viable. Thankfully, there are countless other ways to start a blog and monetize it quickly without having a massive audience.
Here are six ways to monetize:
One Sell Book: A great example of someone who has done this is James Clear. After writing a self-development blog, James wrote the book Atomic Habits to monetize his blog and capitalize on the knowledge he had accumulated over years of posting.
This book, which was sold in both digital and physical form, not only made his blog commercially viable but also propelled it onto the New York Times bestseller list.
Affiliate Marketing: This method earns you a commission every time you sell an affiliate’s product. When done right, affiliate commissions can add up and be a great way to generate passive income.
Bases Loaded Softball, for example, writes reviews of equipment to attract readers, and then promotes an Amazon product in each new blog post.If a reader buys the product after clicking the link, the blog makes money.
Digital products: Online courses are a natural way for bloggers to make money to earn. Successful bloggers are expert content creators, and the courses build on what you already know. Just visit CopyHackers.com for inspiration from a blog that’s already made the leap.
Physical Products: Depending on the topic and content of your blog, you can use the Start selling physical products that match your brand and message. An example of this is Glossier, a makeup brand that grew out of Emily Weiss’ fashion blog Into The Gloss.
Services: If you are an aspiring blogger, chances are you are an expert in a particular field and good with words. Services like consulting, coaching, and speaking engagements are great ways to monetize a blog.
Subscriptions: Patreon isn’t just for YouTubers. If people value the information you provide, they may be willing to pay a monthly fee for access to exclusive blog content, which makes subscriptions a great way to monetize a blog.
The truth is, there are better and faster ways to make money from your blog that don’t require a huge amount of page views every day. That’s doubly true when you can build a loyal audience, not just a large one.
Of course, more than making money, your most important consideration will be who your audience is and how you will serve them.
2. Choose a niche for your blog: what will your “thing” be?
There is no shortage of content on the web. Standing out may seem difficult, but there are two ways you can compete: by choosing a specific niche to focus on and by creating content that has something about it that readers elsewhere don’t easily find can find.
It is important to choose an alcove that is an inch wide but a mile deep. This ensures that you can create consistent content without running out of ideas and can affect your blog name (which we’ll discuss later).
You also need to make sure that your chosen niche Attracts an audience that allows it to align with your blog monetization strategy. What products or services would this audience be interested in?
You can do this in a number of ways:
- Focus your new blog on a specific location (e.g. New York)
- Focus your blog topic on a specific segment within a larger category (e.g. not just recipes but vegan recipes)
- Put your blog posts in a different style or tone (e.g. humor)
- Compete with quality (e.g. in-depth posts on a topic nobody else is ready for)
BlogTO, for example, covers a wide range of lifestyle topics but focuses specifically on the diverse city of Toronto.
The niche you choose not only determines Whether you are sustaining your audience with a steady flow of content n but also how to achieve monetization.
Ask yourself: what products or services would your blog audience wish not to buy? Whether you plan to make money from display advertising or the other strategies we’ll discuss later, there’s a crucial question to ask yourself when choosing a niche for your blog.
See also: How to create a semi-log graph in Google Sheets
You should not skip this last step. Competitive analysis can help build your brand and create a unique voice in the space. The key to a successful blog is finding and filling perspective gaps.
3. Pick a blogging platform and template
Before writing your first blog post, you need to set up your blog hosting and content management system. This is where many aspiring bloggers get stuck when they don’t know exactly which platform to invest their time and money in.
The choice usually boils down to a self-hosted or hosted blogging platform :
- Self-hosted. These platforms generally offer more customization options, but you will need to self-host the website by paying a hosting company a separate monthly fee. Aside from these costs, a web hosting plan requires an initial setup. WordPress is the open source platform of choice when considering the self-hosted route.
- Hosted. With a hosted website, you can set up your own blog faster. Shopify, for example, includes hosting in all of its plans. However, unlike Shopify, some hosted sites like Blogger or Wix will limit customization options.
When choosing a platform, you should choose one that is:
- Easy to use
- Requires no coding or HTML skills
- Will be able to grow with you
During your blogging journey it will There may be a time when you may want to change the look and functionality of your website as your brand matures, your traffic grows and you have more posts to organize.
You should also make sure that Your blogging platform offers a healthy ecosystem of plugins and apps – they can make a big difference when it comes to optimizing your website’s performance, running website backups, promoting your new blog, and simplifying tasks .
4. Pick a blog and domain name
Companies like Bluehost give you a free domain name when you sign up for sign up for a hosting plan. Bluehost also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with the service.
Shopping for a domain name is a good time to start thinking about what you’re wanting to see on your website. Unless you’re trying to create a personal blog or portfolio website, I would advise against using your name as a custom domain. You can still be the face of the blog even if your personal name isn’t included in the URL, and it’s a lot easier to build a brand if you come up with a creative name that reflects your message.
Check out the Black Girls RUN! Blog by Ashley Hicks-Rocha and Toni Carey. Although the blog is a collection of Ashley and Toni’s personal experiences as Black runners, it falls under their brand name Black Girls RUN!
When you choose a domain name, aim to make:
- Memorable
- Fun to say
- Easy to spell
- Unique
Choosing a name for your blog can be boring, but a good brand name leaves a memorable impression on readers and lets them know what to expect from your business.
Building a Blog on Shopify
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Shopify is a hosted platform that includes both an ecommerce website builder and a blogging platform, with add-ons such as hundreds of plugins and apps to help you build physical/digital products or Expand and sell services instantly. You can start your free trial today.
Once that’s done, you’ll need to choose a blog theme.
A “theme” is just one template for r the blog design and layout and features of your website. There are many great Shopify themes available for free that you can set up with one click, no matter what platform you choose. You can select a theme on the Online Store tab in your Shopify dashboard under Themes.
But if you If you are not satisfied with these options, consider paying the one-time fee for a premium theme as it has a big impact on the overall user experience.
The theme of your site may change Search engine optimization (SEO) and the engagement metrics for your blog content also affect your search. Readers make a quick judgment on a website’s trustworthiness based on how it looks and feels.
Take the house Lars built. One look at this interior design and crafts blog and you know it’s going to be a fun experience.
From the fast loading time to the soft colors and playful illustrations, The House That Lars Built will definitely appeal to readers interested in crafts and design.
Most of us can also remember landing on a poorly designed website and bouncing off when things got difficult to find what they were looking for. Take some time when choosing a new theme as it can make a huge difference in your blog’s performance.
Some Shopify apps that can extend the functionality of your blog are:
- Blog Studio to create your blog posts with a drag – and-drop article generator
- Blog & Page Builder to convert blogs from Google Docs
- Philyra to create stylish products create pop-ups based on keywords in your blogs
- Yoast SEO for Shopify to improve your website’s SEO
Built on WordPress
A self-hosted WordPress blog is a great starting point for new bloggers. Note that WordPress is only free if you use WordPress.com: if you use WordPress.org, you have to pay for hosting and your own domain name (all you can do with Shopify).
If you sign up for a Bluehost account, you can automatically install WordPress from your hosting dashboard. If you want to start a free WordPress blog, you can choose a theme on WordPress.com.There are many free WordPress themes to choose from, including ones for blogging.
If you don’t want to choose a theme right away, click Skip Now and at the top the page. You will be taken to a new page where you can start creating your blog.
Click Name your website, then enter your information and click Save settings.
Next you want to choose your WordPress theme, either a free one or a paid one if you have some money to spend. Find a free theme in your WordPress dashboard under the Appearance tab in your sidebar as shown in the screenshot below.
Or find great WordPress themes for blogging on marketplaces like ThemeIsle or ThemeForest. To install an external theme from a website like ThemeIsle, go to Appearance, then to Themes and click >Install Theme. There are also many WordPress blog plugins that you can install to market your blog sites.
Want to turn your WordPress blog into a mini ecommerce site? The Shopify Buy Button allows you to sell on any WordPress website or blog for as little as $5 per month. All you need is a product you want to sell and you can get started with just a few clicks.
5. Plan Your Publishing Strategy
Every blogger needs to have a healthy supply of ideas, and it helps to plan ahead to ensure you never run out of ideas. Create a content calendar so you can keep track of your ideas (and keep yourself on track, too).
See also: How to Launch an NFT Minting Page – Full Walkthrough
You can use a simple spreadsheet to plan your content calendar, but I recommend Trello because it free and free is also a good place to file and organize ideas. Your content calendar should include:
- What content you are creating
- What audiences you are targeting
- What distribution channels you will be publishing to and on what date
You can use a simple spreadsheet to plan your content calendar. However, there are much more effective tools available. Trello, Airtable, or Asana are good options as they make organizing content more intuitive.
It’s also important to think about your content mix to get a sense of the scope of your blog and categories/tags , which you could use to keep everything organized as you add more great content in the future.
Some types of blog posts to include are:
- Evergreen content. This is a type of blog content that answers frequently asked questions. Evergreen content is educational at its core.
- Themed content. Recent blog posts leverage current events or trending topics. The great thing about fresh content is that when done right, it can fuel rapid growth on social channels. However, don’t make this the cornerstone of your strategy. Use thematic content strategically, but don’t rely on it to drive traffic. It’s unpredictable.
- Curated content. Curated content can be a great way to expand on your original content strategy. The web is a big place, and readers value carefully curated content that aligns with their values and interests.
- Feature pieces. Interviews can be a great way to create rich content in an editorial style. Feature stories tell a story and take readers into the thoughts and lives of extraordinary people. Interviewing notable people can be a great way to build authority as you gain some credibility through association.
- Visual content. Visual content is something that all bloggers should have in their strategy. Search engines reward blog posts that contain videos, original images, and graphics.
- Interactive content. Quizzes can be a great way to increase engagement like time on page and gain deeper insights into your audience.
Plan each blog post at least a month in advance and publish on a consistent schedule so your audience has an idea of how often to expect new blog posts. You can always adjust the calendar if a feature story comes up and needs to be published quickly.
Before you start writing blog posts, start with an outline. While this is a step some bloggers might skip, writing an outline is an effective way of hitting all the points you need to hit. It will help you ensure you include all the relevant keywords and free your mind from the goal so you can focus on the journey.
Once you’ve finished writing your blog post, here’s what you should do before you click Publish:
- Edit your work. While you can come back with fresh eyes and use a tool like Grammarly to spot syntax and grammatical errors, having a human editor to share ideas with can help take your blog posts to the next level lift.
- Organize your blog post with headings. Subheadings make your posts more readable and accessible to readers.
- > Workshop Headlines and Social Sharing Images A headline and image can make a difference in the distribution of your blog post. While we don’t recommend creating clickbait, successful blog headlines and images that stand out on social feeds and spark curiosity are essential to getting people to read your work.
Remember, you won’t grow your audience overnight. You will have some hits and some misses, but you have to keep going to keep growing.
6. Get people reading your blog regularly
We usually talk about building an audience after publication. But if you want to start a blog and build momentum quickly, you need to rethink your strategy before you launch.
Many bloggers struggle with spreading for two main reasons:
- You have no concrete, repeatable sales strategy within their publishing process.
- Publishing a new blog is already a nerve-wracking experience, and expanding your reach makes it even more daunting.
The latter is something you will eventually overcome, but the former requires some initial thought and investment of time before getting started.
So let’s go through some of the ways you can plan for growth and get the best out of each blog post you created.
Start collecting emails as soon as possible
No matter what platform you blog on, you should focus on e-mail a to win bonuses. Each new subscriber is a sign that you’re doing something right and a potential repeat reader that’s easy to reach.
Even if you later switch platforms or decide to start something new, your E -Mail list stays with you. But just having a subscriber list isn’t enough. You need to capture these emails at every turn, and that’s what you do with contact forms.
A good habit is to embed contact forms directly into your content or homepage, with a call-to-action to the Subscribe to. You can even embed one in an exit popup to convert abandoned visitors into subscribers.
Many email marketing solutions allow you to easily create and use these forms. You can even generate a link that leads to a separate contact us page to link to in your blog posts, social media, and email signatures.
Remember, people love your blog won’t subscribe if you don’t ask and if you don’t make it easy for them. Every time you click the publish button, you should email it to your list—a process you can automate over time once you get going.
Think of ways to drive search engine traffic
Keyword research can give you an idea of how much search volume there is for specific searches in your blog niche is. The higher the number, the greater the demand for a topic and the more traffic you can potentially generate in the long term.
The easiest way to try it out is to use Ubersuggest and enter search terms from your audience’s perspective Discover interesting ideas for blog posts. Queries that begin with “How to” or “Best” are a good place to start.
Even if you don’t land on the first page of search engine results, you have a content idea with proven demand. But if you aim high, you can learn more about SEO. And if you’re on Shopify, consider the free SEO Checker app to optimize any blog post.
Set up your social media strategy
While it might seem like a smart move to market your new blog on every social media platform, it can be difficult to manage and isn’t always effective. Instead, focus on the channels your audience spends the most time on. Do they join certain communities or forums? Are they on TikTok or Facebook? Depending on your niche and resources, your choice of channels will vary.
For example, Oh Happy Day, an online party supplies store, taps into its growing list of more than 1.7 million followers every time publishes a new blog post.
Don’t neglect your personal networks either – your friends and family are great early audiences.
Don’t neglect your personal networks either – your friends and Family is a great early audience when you start a blog.
Minate, repurpose, and resurface your content
You can’t come up with a comprehensive and unique blog post every day.A good blogger knows how to recycle and repurpose their content to get the most value out of it. Here are some blog post ideas to keep in mind:
- Publish a summary of past blog posts with a common theme (e.g. “Our best posts of 2022”).
- Recreate blog posts as other types of content, e.g. For example, infographics or quizzes.
- Occasionally update old content and repost after a period of time to improve Google search rankings. This works great with seasonal content (e.g. “10 Lazy Halloween Costume Ideas”).
- Consider accepting guest blog posts once you’ve started building a following. Guest authors are also likely to share this content with their own audience.
- Add links to related content within and at the bottom of your posts. (If you use Shopify, install the free Related Blog Posts app.)
- Become a podcast guest and discuss some blog topics you’ve already written about.
When time is money and you’re in the blogging business, you need to constantly get more out of your efforts.
Understand analytics to understand your audience
The best opportunities are hidden in your data, waiting to be discovered.
Whether you use a WordPress blog or the Shopify platform, take the time to set up Google Analytics on your website (it’s for free). With a Google Analytics account, you can get deeper insights into your new blog, e.g. For example, the average time people spent reading your posts, the quality of readers from different sources, and even the real-time number of readers.
Data can also be used to leverage bloggers. Being able to prove how much traffic you generate is a huge advantage that makes others more likely to collaborate with you or gain access to your audience.
How much money do bloggers make?
Full-time bloggers can make a healthy living writing content online. According to financial blog Millennial Money, people who start a blog can earn as much as $50,000 even in the first year, while bloggers who build traffic and subscribers make more than $100,000 the following year.
Get started now and make money blogging
Whether it’s your first time or you’ve done it a million times, it’s ultimately your audience that makes you successful blog. If you want to increase your traffic and make money blogging, focus on growing that audience by adding new content regularly.
You can learn more about blogging to make money by checking out the following resources and success stories:
- Blog to Business: How Black Girls RUN! Started a community-driven movement
- An interview with the co-founder of Wait But Why about content monetization
- Free Stock Photography Sites
- How to monetize it Earned YouTube (Without a million subscribers)
Blogging isn’t just fun and fulfilling – it’s also one of many pathways to entrepreneurship. If you think like an entrepreneur and aim high when it comes to growth, you can start a blog with a valuable audience that will fuel your business for a long time.
Illustration by Alice Mollon
See also: Adding an RSS feed to a Blog
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