Starting a blog with the intention of earning income at the outset changes how you go about setting it up. If you are blogging to for creative expression alone or other reasons, that’s great! Go the free route with a WordPress.com site and you’re on your way.
However, if you go that route and then want to start monetizing your blog, your hands will be tied behind your back and eventually, you’ll likely have to switch to a self-hosted WordPress site. It’s a pain in the tuckus to change everything over down the road, so I’ll save you a few headaches and show you how to do it from the beginning, the right way. And, it won’t cost you as much as you think!
6 Steps to Start a Money Making Blog
- Choose your niche (what you’re going to blog about). I have two blogs, one is a food & travel blog and the other is this one, a business blog. They don’t really “go” together, they are in separate niches, so I have them on separate websites. When you’re starting, I would recommend picking one niche that you are very passionate about and go with it. What do you talk about all the time? Ask your friends and family what the top 3 things you talk about are. One of those is probably a really good thing to blog about.
- Pick a domain name (mine are veryveganish.com and abicowell.com) and buy it. Try to keep it short, with no dashes and make it a .com. Make it easy for people to type and watch your spelling!
- Choose a hosting company to host your blog. It’s easiest if you choose the same company to host your blog and buy your domain name from. I recommend Hostgator, BlueHost or SiteGround for hosting. I have more info about this below.
- Then, install WordPress on your website. All of the hosts I recommend make installing WordPress pretty easy.
- Then, pick a theme to make it look pretty. Spend a little time customizing the colors or fonts to make it look the way you want.
- Then, you can start writing your about page and some blog posts! You’re a blogger!
What is WordPress.org?
WordPress = a platform for running your website
What is a domain?
Domain Name = your website name
What is hosting?
Hosting = where your blog lives online
What is a theme?
Theme = how your site looks
How to Get Paid to Blog
Think about what people are googling. Think about the things you know. Think about the things you want to write about. Where do those things intersect? That’s what you should blog about.
Once you’re clear on what you’re writing about, you can start thinking about ways to monetize or make money from your blog.
10 Ways to Make Money Blogging
- Affiliate Marketing (recommending products you love to your readers and getting paid a commission from the brand. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, in fact.)
- Offering your services as a consultant/coach
- Teaching classes (in person or online)
- Sponsored posts
- Ads on your site
- Selling digital products (like ebooks or other digital goods)
- Selling physical products
- Creating and selling online courses (usually one time payment, but can be recurring)
- Creating and selling access to membership sites (recurring payments)
- Getting free products or services in exchange for writing about them
Don’t Give Up