Making money from a blog may seem like an impossible idea. But then you look around and see people left and right making money from theirs. While supporting yourself from a blog might be hard, getting extra cash flow isn’t. This article will help you with the very first steps you should take to prepare your own blog.
1. Plan Your Site Beforehand
Having your website planned out is one of the vital points of preparation. There are three main pillars that you should plan for: design, URL and hosting. The URL is quite self-explanatory — you need a catchy name. This will help existing readers remember you and interest new ones. It’s like a calling card for your content, so try to be original and to the point.
Hosting your website is another important factor. While it’s a point of preference, there are loads of resources that will help you choose the right one. Remember, using free hosting might not cost you, but it will monetize your blog. This means you will not have any control on what ads are displayed to your readers when they visit. And since we’re looking at ways to make money off your blog, it’s not the best idea. Now that hosting is in high demand, companies tend to organize sales much more often. Use that to your advantage.
Designing your website is becoming easier every day. CMS giants like WordPress allow their platform installation on any server. The sheer number of themes and plugins for WordPress can make your head spin. Use this to your advantage. Install a theme and any plugins you require. It will be a lot easier than looking for a front-end developer to build your website.
2. Write What You Know
A lot of bloggers will tell you to find a niche blog. This term refers to creating a blog targeted to a specific group of consumers. While there’s still a lot of debate over this, the answer is actually pretty easy. Blogging is not all about page views or media stats. If you don’t enjoy what you do, you will burn out pretty quickly. So write what you know. Make your blog about your passion, hobby or something you find genuinely interesting.
While some will frown upon this idea, let’s not forget that blogging is quite an undertaking. You have to want to blog. You have to love whatever your blog is about, or have high interest in it. When you write about things you know, your content becomes a lot more interesting to read. Your text will be a lot more fluent as well. Still disagree? Look at bloggers like Helene in Between. She runs a successful blog that is not niche in any sense of the word.
3. Publish Yourself
Remember, there is no better time to start than now. It’s even recommended to have a few pieces of content ready before you launch, just in case you hit a creative block or don’t have time to write. While publishing your content is paramount, you have to publish yourself as well. Many people tend to write their content anonymously. While it’s scary to reveal information about yourself online, you have to. Why? Because people will trust your content more if they see an actual person behind the words. They will see your journey and tips from a more humane perspective.
For this you can use an “about me” page. Or make a contact form connected to a separate mailbox. This way your readers will be able to ask you questions and get a more intimate connection with your blog.
4. Get Traffic to Your Blog
The main rule here is pretty easy to guess: write great content. I can assure you, it’s not as easy as it sounds. You want to publish stuff that makes your visitors want to come back and read more. As long as people can relate to what you’re sharing, they will connect to your blog. And when they do, they will need a sense of community. This community is exactly what will come back, read and even buy from you over and over.
Social media is another traffic booster. Once you have a following, they will need updates more often than your blog posts. Create and cultivate a community by giving them consistent quality content. Start out slower and find a pace that works for you and your crowd. Once you see where most of your traffic comes from, focus more on them and see the numbers grow.
As soon as you get a budding community built around your blog, you can start looking for other ways to increase traffic. The possibilities here are endless — collaborations, social media campaigns or backlinking, just to name a few.
Blogging is coming up as a good way to make some serious cash. There are tons of tutorials telling you to make it into a business. There are some, like this one that recommends a more human approach. However you choose to proceed, it will still require constant good content and determination. It’s not only a great way to practice writing, but helps you meet people from all around the world. It’s a long, hard journey. But it’s worth it. Now go and start yours!
