How to start a successful money making blog in 8 steps

Many people try blogging, but few of them generate actual income from their work.

While starting a new blog is fairly straightforward, it is also a huge undertaking to generate traffic from it and maximize profits.

Of the estimated 650 million bloggers online, the number of successful bloggers is substantially lower.

When you start your blog, it’s important to note that a lack of commitment will almost certainly result in disappointment.

In fact, for new sites your blog will die a slow and painful death quite quickly without the addition of regular, optimized content.

But don’t let this put you off.

Your blog is potentially one of the best hubs of passive income generation and, if done correctly, it can attract the right target audience, regardless of your industry or niche.

In this post, we provide a short, concise step-by-step guide to starting a blog and making money online.

We’ll discuss:

👍 How to create multiple income streams from your site
👍 How to monetize your site easily through content
👍 What to avoid when uploading fresh content

Step one in starting a blog is to pick your niche. You’re going to write a lot about the topic you’ve chosen, so it’s important to be passionate about it.

If you’re creating your own blog for the first time then don’t worry about picking the most profitable niches. It’s likely these are extremely competitive anyway.

If your site is new, it’s going to be difficult to rank on Google initially.

At this early stage, the focus of your new blog should be passion, not money.

Money will come. 💰

Find a topic or niche that you can relate to and that you’re not going to find boring over a long period of time.

We cannot emphasize enough how important it is to enjoy the blogging journey.

The most successful bloggers to have created a source of passive income are those who are genuinely interested in the niche they’re writing about.

By contrast, many bloggers choose a niche not relevant to them because they think it can be monetized quickly.

Don’t fall into this trap!

There are some popular niches in particular that many bloggers choose to write about.

They are known as ‘profitable niches’ – this means that it’s easier to make money writing about them than it is for other niches.

Take a look at the blog niches below and consider taking this path when you start your own blog.

• 1. Food 😋
  Everyone eats, so naturally, food is a popular blogging topic.It’s also easy with this niche to create a plethora of content ideas, as well as to monetize your blog traffic through recipes or subscriptions.
• 2. Fashion 👜Fashion blogs are one of the most searched-for types of blogs on the web. Later, we’ll come on to tools to use to identify what the world is searching for.Just know that if you’re interested in fashion, people are willing to read your content.
• 3. Personal Finance 💵
  Many individuals get lost in the wilderness of personal finance, which may be why so many people turn to personal finance blogs for assistance.There are quite a few of these blogs on the internet, and they’re all operated by finance-savvy individuals.Perhaps it’s not surprising that there are so many of them generating thousands of dollars per month.
• 4. Lifestyle ✨Yes, the world is full of lifestyle blogs. The Internet has made it possible for people to start their own website and write about what they know best!People are interested in learning about various things – especially if you’re an expert on a given topic or have first-hand experience with something that others may not be aware of.
• 5. Technology & Gadgets 💻
  Tech blogs are an increasingly popular blogging niche.People love gadgets and technology – they read about it, research it and want to know the latest updates.Tech is also a route to providing online courses, a resource often at the heart of a popular blog.

Once you’ve chosen your niche based on personal passion and long term content goals, you’ll want to:

👍 Start with an easy-to-remember URL
👍 Choose a domain name that relates to your niche.

If you want to start a money making blog about fashion, for example, then hone in on what facets of fashion you want to write about or produce.

Look at other blogs within your niche and see what’s most popular.

If you want to write about sustainable fashion, for example, then a domain like justsustainablefashion.com may suffice.

Try to keep your domain short, concise and to the point.

This is an important part of any early stage digital marketing strategy.

Domain first, content second.

Choosing a domain name when you start blogging 🤔

A domain is where your blog lives over the internet.

Essentially, it’s the name of your blog.

Whilst there is always a possibility of purchasing an existing domain, you’re probably going to want to create your own. 

When you start your own blog, the domain name is of utmost importance.

You can purchase a .com or .org for around $15 per year on most platforms.

If you are looking to branch out into other markets, there are also country-specific domains that cost between $20-$30 dollars per year. 💵

You should take the web hosting cost into account when entering the blogging business!

This price will vary depending on a number of factors, such as the currency exchange rates and the country where you are purchasing it.

For example, if you want to start a blog in the U.S for a U.S reader, focus on .com domains.

If your focus is the U.K and the U.K only, then a .co.uk domain would suffice.

👍 Install WordPress and use this as the backbone of your site. You’ll find a WordPress theme (layout and design) that’s aesthetically pleasing in no time.

👍 Don’t focus too much on the aesthetic features of your blog. Most bloggers make this mistake when starting. Instead…
👍 Focus on creating content based on exactly what people are searching for on Google.

This leads us nicely onto our next point.

You want your blog to appear on page one of the Google search.

If it does not then nobody is going to access your blog.

In the context of money blogging and affiliate marketing, no readers means no money.

In fact, you need readers to rank on Google. It’s catch 22! 🤔🤔🤔

Whatever niche you’ve chosen, bringing readers to your blog post today is more difficult than ever.

For this reason, when you start a blog you need to make sure that your content is as informative as possible.

In addition to this, you need to make sure that your content includes all of the right search terms in order to provide the best possible chance of ranking on Google.

SEO optimized content is key to a successful blog.

When you start your money making blog, it’s vital that content is optimized.

If you are writing your content yourself, and not outsourcing it, then you need to understand the basic aspects of search engine optimization (SEO). 🤔

If you don’t, make sure you do so before you start writing – there are plenty of videos on Youtube to help with this…

Optimized content is content that provides you with the best possible chance of reaching your target audience amongst your competitors.

The reality is that it is almost impossible to make money blogging if your content does not include the search terms that your target audience is typing into Google. 

If you are outsourcing your content, find a content service that will factor in Keyword research (like us) and optimize content for you in order to boost search engine traffic.

Whilst freelance services are easy to come by online, you need to make sure your content is optimized before uploading it to your blog.

After all, you wouldn’t put the wrong type of gas in your car, so don’t put the wrong type of content on your own blog.

So, you’ve got your blog name and website set up. Now it’s time to create content for your blog and upload it to your site.

We’ve covered how to outsource content and what to factor in to any content you write for yourself.

But there are other, more obvious points to take into account when writing content for your wordpress website.

Any new blog will struggle to rank on Google initially, so it’s important to make sure that your blog post is as reader friendly as possible.

New blog posts will not generate a high readership on new sites, so the key is to write about topics that will remain useful and relevant in the months ahead when your wordpress site has readers.

But what kind of content should you produce and how do you know which topics to write about? 🤔

Well, you know your niche better than your target audience does. You’re the expert. Make sure to:

👍 Create posts that provide value to the reader
👍 Write about topics that people want to read about (keeping a reader on your site is great for SEO)

The more your readers engage with your content, the greater you’ll be rewarded in the Google search.

Successful blogs are those that provide regular content in an informal or conversational style.

Include engaging images (easily obtained through WordPress plugins), and keep your paragraphs short and easy to read.

It sounds obvious, and we don’t mean to sound patronizing, but a profitable blog is one that is easy to read!

On your new blog, you should write in a conversational tone and use simple words.

Your reader isn’t stupid, but they want to be informed and, most likely, get their information quickly. Let’s be honest, we all have a pretty short attention span these days.

Furthermore, when you start a blog and begin to upload content, it’s important to use correct grammar and punctuation, like full stops and capital letters at the start of sentences.

Additionally. write about one topic per blog post to keep your content focused on what you want to say.

If you spread your ideas across lots of blog posts it can confuse your reader.

If this happens, they’ll go elsewhere for their content! 👎

In the business world of today, you are unlikely to be seen without your own social media platforms.

Create a Facebook, Twitter Instagram, Snapchat or LinkedIn page and link this to your blog. For every new blog post that you write, create a Pin on Pinterest to link to it.

⭐ This is all part of the content optimization process. ⭐

Design your social media accounts with the same colour scheme / template as your blog so your brand is consistent and easily recognizable.

And, be sure to include links to your social media pages from your blog’s menu.

In addition to this, use these platforms to share new posts and tag other bloggers / social influencers / companies who might share your content.

If you have the budget, you should also consider:

👍 Investing in online marketing to help your blog reach a larger audience,
👍 Hold a competition to generate more likes.

If you don’t have many followers then you must maintain the interest with regular posts.

When it comes to updating your own blog and making money with new posts, consistency is key!

WordPress helps you to set up a shopping site or even add a shop to your own blog through the WooCommerce plugin.

If the aim is to create a profitable blog about fashion, then sell your own clothes through your site.

Alternatively, take an affiliate marketing route and sell products you need never touch.

What is affiliate marketing? 🤔 

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which you promote products and earn commissions based on the sales that you drive.

Essentially, it is a way to make money without ever touching the product you are promoting (sometimes), reviewing or writing about.

The start up costs for affiliate marketers are much less than those who start their own business because they don’t need to purchase inventory or hire employees.

Every successful blogger knows the importance of affiliate marketing; it is one of the most proven methods of monetization and has helped million of writers to make money online.

Dropshipping is another way for you to create an ecommerce store on WordPress websites without needing to manage inventory or ship items yourself. 

If you take this route for your profitable blog then use Shopify or WooCommerce WordPress plugins.

With the right WordPress plugin, you can use your blog content to advertise and sell whatever you want.

A popular approach to making money through a blog is to offer sponsored content on your website. These forms of content are known most commonly as sponsored posts.

When you start blogging, this will not be an attractive proposition for sponsors or other well-established bloggers.

After all, your site is new and your blog content is fresh.

However, over time, when you have incorporated optimized content through thorough keyword research and attracted an audience to your money site, sponsored content will become an option.

Sponsored content within your blogging niche is essentially a form of paid-for news stories or website stories. 😮

Generally a monetisation method will only succeed where you have a large target audience.

Once you have grown in readers, brand ambassadors or other bloggers typically approach you via email and offer support in return.

For example, if Adidas releases a new swim or sports apparel line and you have a blog about sportswear, they might offer to pay you to make an article about their range.

You can also add affiliate links on top of the post or throughout the body of the content.

Other blogs within your niche will also be selling ad space through banners or links.

Selling ads is a great way to monetize your blog.

You can do this through sites such as Google adsense or Infolinks.

People start blogs for many different reasons, but one of the biggest is to make money. 🤑

Money blogging is rarely possible without signing up to affiliate programs within your niche.

Bloggers often sign up to affiliate programs so they can earn commissions on products or services which are related to their niche.

Affiliate marketing allows bloggers who create content that people would be interested in buying, an opportunity to monetize their blog by linking themselves with another business and earning a commission when someone buys something from them through that link.

For example if you start a food blog where recipes are your main focus then it makes sense for you to join an affiliate program like Amazon Associates.

Through an article on food, you can link to cookery books, kitchen tools etc…

You could also look into joining some affiliate networks such as ShareaSale or Commission Junction (CJ).

Take into account that many companies will only work with you if you have a high readership.

This why it’s so important to make sure you are uploading quality content to your blog from your very first blog post.