How to Start a Blog for Beginners & Earn a Fulltime Income in 2023

Hey there! 🌟 Did you ever think that blogging could be more than just a hobby? That it could be a lucrative fulltime gig? In fact, have you ever wondered how much bloggers actually earn from their passion? Let’s dive into some numbers that might surprise you.

Did you know that food bloggers earn an impressive average income of $9,169 every single month? That personal finance bloggers cash in with about $9,100 monthly? And our lifestyle/mommy and travel bloggers? Well, they’re not far behind, either, earning a handsome $5,174 and $5,000 respectively each month.

Now, the blogging superstars? They’re on another level, earning from hundreds of thousands to more than a million a month. Mind-blowing, right?

These aren’t just random stats. They’re a testament to the amazing potential of blogging. It’s proof that with a sprinkle of passion, a dash of dedication, and the right recipe (or strategy!), you can cook up a successful blog.

I’ll be honest; when I first dipped my toes into the blogging waters, I wasn’t thinking about these numbers. I was just someone with literally no blogging expertise, experience, or knowledge, who decided to start my own blog one day. But after my first $100, then $1,000, and then $10,000, I was hooked. And every month, as I see my paychecks come rolling in, I’m reminded of that pivotal moment I chose to start blogging. Best. Decision. Ever. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and continue to do so, but this? This is the one thing I got absolutely right.

Now, imagine embarking on this rewarding journey yourself, turning your passion into a profitable business. Picture this: your own corner of the internet. A place to share, connect, and yes, earn. Starting your own blog might seem daunting, but believe me, if I could do it, so can you. Because here’s the truth: if you have a story to tell, a message to share, or a skill to teach, then you have what it takes to create a successful blog that generates a fulltime income.

And this guide? Think of it as your personal GPS in the vast blogging universe, tailor-made for beginners. From setting up your blog, crafting irresistible content, to building a community and monetizing it, we’ve charted out every step for you. We’ve got it all covered, ensuring you’re well-equipped for the journey ahead.

So, shake off those doubts. It’s time to take that leap of faith and start your own blogging adventure! I’m right here with you, cheering you on, sharing tips, and celebrating every win. Together, we’ll ride the blogging rollercoaster, embracing the highs, learning from the lows, and creating something truly special.

Your unique voice? The world’s waiting for it. Embrace the journey, the challenges, and the boundless opportunities ahead. Let’s kickstart this adventure and turn your blogging dreams into reality. Ready to share your story with the world? Let’s go! 🌟🚀

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE

Hello! Please note that this post contains affiliate links. If you click through those links and make a purchase, I may earn a little something – at no extra cost to you, I promise! It’s just how I keep this blog up and running and continue creating more helpful (hopefully) content for you.

What Is A Blog?

Picture a cozy corner of the internet, a space where stories unfold, advice is shared, and conversations spark. That’s a blog for you! Unlike the static pages of traditional websites, blogs are vibrant and ever-evolving. They’re updated regularly with fresh posts and articles, all penned down in an informal and often conversational style.

Whether it’s someone’s journey through motherhood, a food lover’s latest recipe, or a professional’s golden nuggets of advice, blogs can be about anything. And the best part? They’re typically organized chronologically – with the latest story up top, so you’re always in the loop with the newest scoop.

But here’s what sets blogs apart: they’re not just one-way streets. They’re bustling hubs of interaction. As a reader, you can dive into the conversation, share your thoughts, ask questions, or simply send some love through comments. It’s this sense of community, this dynamic exchange of ideas, that makes blogs remarkable.

Whether you’re looking to share personal anecdotes, professional insights, or a delightful blend of both, blogs are your canvas. They’re not just platforms; they’re powerful tools to voice opinions, connect with like-minded souls, carve out a brand or business, and yes – earn a fulltime income!

To sum it up? Think of a blog as a living, breathing space on the web, where creativity, knowledge, and conversation come together.

Is Blogging Still Relevant In 2023?

Absolutely! Blogging in 2023 isn’t just alive; it’s thriving and more relevant than ever in our digital age. Let’s dive into some hard-hitting numbers and reasons that showcase the undeniable power of blogging:

01. Blogs are booming

• Globally, out of a staggering 2 billion websites, over 600 million are blogs. And guess what? This number is only increasing.

• In the US alone, there are nearly 33 million bloggers, and this number only includes those who update their content at least monthly. That’s 1 in every 10 Americans!

02. Readership is rising

• With a whopping 5.18 billion internet users globally, blogs have a vast audience. A significant 77% of these users engage with blogs regularly.

• The average person spends 2.5 hours daily diving into online content, including blogs.

• Thanks to smartphones, mobile blog readership has surged by 40% in the past five years.

• And it’s not just passive reading; WordPress blogs alone receive around 77 million comments monthly, highlighting the interactive essence of blogging.

03. People trust blogs

• Blogs aren’t just for leisure reading; they’re a trusted source of information, ranking as the 5th most credible online resource.

• Before making a purchase, 47% of consumers read 3-5 blog posts. In the US, 61% of online shoppers have made a purchase based on a blog’s recommendation. Moreover, 46% of people report taking advice or recommendations from bloggers.

• Blogs also influence brand perception, with 60% of consumers feeling a positive vibe about a brand after engaging with its blog.

04. Blogging boosts business

• The global content marketing industry, with blogging at its heart, is projected to grow to $584.02 billion from 2023 to 2027.

• Companies that blog see 97% more inbound links and have a 434% better chance of ranking higher in search results.

• A significant 89% of marketers are integrating blogs into their strategies, and 92% see written content as a valuable investment.

• Consumers are also influenced, with 70% learning about companies through blogs rather than ads.

• Marketers prioritizing blogs are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI. Plus, 57% have wooed customers specifically through their blogs. And for those in the B2B space? Blogging translates to a 67% surge in leads.

Blogging in 2023 goes beyond personal stories and community building. It’s a potent tool for businesses and professionals to connect, enhance brand visibility, and drive growth. As the digital landscape evolves, blogs remain a dynamic platform for sharing, engaging, and staying ahead of trends. Blogging isn’t just relevant; it’s essential.

Can You Make Money Blogging?

Absolutely! Blogging isn’t just a platform for sharing thoughts; it’s a potential goldmine. Let’s delve into the numbers and stories that showcase the lucrative world of blogging:

01. Blogging revenue stats

• Average Earnings: Bloggers, on average, pocket between $1,000 to $10,000 monthly. Leading the pack are food bloggers, dishing out an average of $9,169 monthly. Personal finance bloggers aren’t far behind, banking a cool $9,100. Lifestyle and mommy bloggers, as well as travel enthusiasts, are also in the game, earning $5,174 and $5,000 respectively.

• Fulltime Income: About 10% of bloggers have swapped their 9-to-5 grind for full-time blogging. While some bloggers might not see a dime, the top echelons can earn upwards of $500,000 annually. With dedication and strategy, hitting a yearly six- or seven-figure income is within reach.

• Diverse Revenue Streams: Bloggers aren’t putting all their eggs in one basket. Their income streams are varied, coming from ads, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and their own products. Intermediate affiliate marketers are bagging between $1,000 to $10,000 monthly, while the top players are cashing in over $100,000. The price tag for a single sponsored post has skyrocketed from $7.39 in 2006 to a whopping $1,442 today.

02. Blogging success stories

The blogging world is filled with tales of individuals who transformed their passions into profitable ventures. Here are some bloggers who’ve carved out their own success stories:

• Ling of Finsavvy Panda: Ling started her finance blog as a mere hobby. But when her monthly earnings began surpassing $20,000, she decided it was time to leave her traditional job behind.

• Abby Lawson of Abby Organizes: Abby’s blog, which focuses on organization and home decor, began as a personal project. Today, she earns over $41,000 per month, inspiring readers to create functional and beautiful spaces in their homes.

• Steve and Jennifer Chou of My Wife Quit Her Job: This couple began their blog as a documentation of Jennifer’s journey from leaving her job to starting an online store. Their insights into e-commerce now bring in over $80,000 per month.

• Lindsay and Bjork of Pinch of Yum: What started as a culinary adventure for this duo has now become a community of food enthusiasts from around the world, with monthly earnings of over $90,000.

• Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents: Michelle began her blog to document her journey out of personal debt. Today, she guides many towards financial freedom with her blog, earning over $100,000 per month.

• Elisa Larson and Emma Chapman of A Beautiful Mess: These sisters turned their love for crafts, recipes, and home decor into a thriving business, earning over $125,000 per month.

• Melyssa Griffin: Melyssa’s journey began with a graphic design blog. It has since evolved into a platform offering courses and coaching for budding entrepreneurs, bringing in over $200,000 monthly.

• Tim Sykes: Tim, a self-made millionaire, began his blog to share his stock trading strategies. Today, his comprehensive educational platform earns him over $1,000,000 per month.

The numbers and tales of triumph make it clear: blogging is not just a passion project; it’s a viable career. With the right mix of dedication, strategy, and genuine audience connection, the blogging world can be both fulfilling and financially rewarding. The stage is set; perhaps the next blogging sensation could be you! 🌟

Why Start A Blog?

Starting a blog isn’t just about hopping on a digital trend. It’s about carving out your own space in the vast online universe, connecting with others, and maybe even turning a passion into profit. Here’s why you should start your own blog:

01. Express yourself

At its core, a blog is your personal canvas. Whether you’re sharing a hobby, advocating for a cause, or documenting life’s adventures, it’s a space where your voice can shine. It’s not just about putting words on a page; it’s about making an impact and sharing your unique perspective.

02. Connect & build a community

The internet might be vast, but blogs have a way of making it feel a bit cozier. They’re a hub for like-minded individuals to share, discuss, and support. Beyond just readership, it’s about fostering connections and building a community that shares your vision or passion.

03. Personal growth

Every blog post is a step in a journey of growth. From honing your writing skills to diving into the nuances of digital marketing, there’s always something new to learn. Plus, the challenges and triumphs of blogging can boost your confidence and resilience in more ways than one.

04. Build your brand

For those with a business or professional goal in mind, blogs are a dynamic way to showcase expertise and build a brand. It’s more personal than a traditional website and can help foster trust and authority in your field.

05. Earn money

The potential to earn from blogging is real. Whether it’s through affiliate links, sponsored content, or your own products, there’s a myriad of ways to monetize. While success varies, with dedication and strategy, substantial earnings are within reach. Many bloggers earn an average of $1,000 to $10,000 per month, and some top bloggers even make six or seven figures monthly.

06. Achieve financial independence

Beyond just earnings, blogging offers a chance at financial independence. The stories of bloggers replacing their day jobs or achieving significant incomes are both inspiring and attainable. It’s about the freedom to work on your terms, from anywhere.

07. Make a difference

Your blog can be more than just posts; it can be a platform for change. Whether you’re raising awareness, sharing knowledge, or offering support, your words have the power to resonate and make a difference.

So, why wait? Starting a blog is your chance to turn dreams into reality, to share, connect, and maybe even turn your passion into a thriving venture. The online world is vast, but remember, it’s those unique voices, like yours, that truly stand out and shine. Dive in, embrace the journey, and let’s make some digital magic together! 🌟

My Own Blogging Story

Hey there! I’m Jared, and let me take a moment to share a bit about my blogging journey. A few years back, I launched my blog, phmillennia, without having a clue about what blogging really was. But I had this burning desire to start one. So, I dove right in, learning from articles, YouTube videos, and countless tutorials. And guess what? I built my blog from scratch, learning the ropes as I went.

Fast forward to today, and my little blog has blossomed into a community with tens of thousands of readers every month. It’s such a thrill! And yes, I do earn from it. Every time I receive a paycheck, it takes me back to that exhilarating feeling when I got my first blogging income.

Now, I’m not swimming in gold or anything. But I do make a decent income that covers my bills, allows me to save, and occasionally treat myself. And you know what? I dream big. I’m constantly inspired by top bloggers and their success stories. I’m on a journey, following in their footsteps, and I truly believe that one day, I’ll stand among their ranks, earning big and basking in that success. If they can achieve it, there’s no reason you and I can’t too!

But here’s the thing: blogging has given me so much more than just money. It’s allowed me to inspire, guide, and connect with people worldwide. Many of my readers are stay-at-home moms juggling family and career ambitions, or students finding creative ways to fund their education. The heartfelt messages I receive from them? Pure gold. They remind me that I’m making a difference, however small it may be.

What began as a fun project has become my passion and purpose. I’m always looking for ways to grow and help even more people thrive online. My story isn’t about bragging rights; it’s about showing you that even a total newbie can make it in the blogging world with some grit and determination. If I can, you definitely can!

I won’t pretend I’ve got it all figured out. I still face challenges, make mistakes, and sometimes feel impatient about my blog’s growth. Life’s been a whirlwind lately, too, with moving to a new country, completing my studies, and just, well, life. But I’m giving it my all.

So, that’s a glimpse into my blogging story. I’m just an ordinary person who took a leap into the unknown world of blogging. And if lack of knowledge or fear didn’t stop me, it shouldn’t stop you either. Whatever drives you, let it fuel your passion.

Now, I’ve got a challenge for you: Take that first step. Dive into the world of blogging. It might just be another day for you, or it could be the start of something amazing.

I won’t sugarcoat it – blogging can be tough. There might be days you’ll want to throw in the towel. But remember, it’s in those challenging moments that your dreams are truly tested. Stick with it, adapt, learn, and I promise, it’ll be worth every bit of effort.

How To Start A Blog For Beginners

Ready to dive into the world of blogging and start earning a full-time income? Perfect!

In this section, we’ll walk through the essential steps to create your own blog. By the end of this guide, you’ll have your very own blog up and running, ready to connect with your audience and generate income.

So, let’s get started!

01. Choose your blog topic

The first step on your journey is selecting the perfect topic for your blog – otherwise known as your niche.

Think of it as finding your blogging passion, the area that will ignite your creativity and captivate your readers. In this step, we’ll explore some practical tips to help you choose a topic that aligns with your interests, resonates with your audience, and holds long-term potential for success.

• Start with what lights you up: Picture your blog as a canvas where you can paint with your words. Begin by considering your passions, hobbies, and areas of expertise. What gets you buzzing with enthusiasm? Choosing a topic that genuinely excites you will make it a joy to create content and keep your motivation soaring high.

• Understand your audience’s desires: While it’s essential to write about what you love, it’s equally important to consider your readers’ interests and desires. Take some time to understand who your target audience is and what they’re seeking. What knowledge or solutions can you provide? By addressing their needs and desires, you’ll create a loyal following of engaged readers.

• Explore the landscape: Now that you have a few potential topics in mind, it’s time for a bit of exploration. Dive into the blogosphere and discover what’s already out there in your chosen niche. Explore other blogs, read articles, and analyze the competition. Pay attention to the popular topics and identify opportunities to bring a fresh perspective or unique voice to the table.

• Narrow your focus: To stand out in the blogging world, it’s important to find your unique angle or niche within your chosen topic. Let’s say you’re passionate about fashion. Instead of covering everything under the sun, you might focus on sustainable fashion or affordable styling tips. By narrowing your focus, you’ll attract a dedicated audience and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.

• Think long-term and monetization potential: As you finalize your blog topic, think about its longevity and potential for monetization. Is it a subject you can see yourself writing about for years to come? Are there opportunities to earn income through affiliate marketing, sponsored content, or selling your own products? Balancing your passion with long-term viability and income potential will set you up for blogging success.

Choosing the right blog topic is the first step towards building a thriving blog. Embrace your passions, connect with your audience, and aim for sustainability. Remember, your blog is your creative space to express yourself and make an impact in the lives of others.

Now that you’ve discovered your blog’s direction, let’s move on to the next step.

02. Choose your blog name

Once you have decided on a topic, the next step is to come up with a name for your blog.

But first, let’s talk about the importance of choosing the right name for your blog, also known as your domain name. Your domain name is like the digital address that leads people straight to your blog on the internet. It’s essential to select a name that not only sticks in people’s minds but also aligns perfectly with your chosen niche.

Here’s an important thing to note: every domain name is unique and cannot be shared among different websites or blogs. It’s like claiming your own little spot in cyberspace. However, owning and using a domain name comes with a cost. You’ll need to pay an annual fee to register and maintain your domain name. If you ever stop paying the fee, you’ll lose the rights to that name, and it will become available for others to purchase.

Let’s take a look at some well-known examples of domain names to give you an idea:

• google.com
• microsoft.com
• wikipedia.com
• phmillennia.com (my own domain)

But here’s the good news: you don’t need to worry about registering and purchasing your domain name just yet. We’ll cover that in the next step. For now, let’s focus on crafting an amazing name for your blog. Here are some helpful tips to guide you in choosing a fantastic domain name:

• Reflect your blog’s essence: Your domain name should reflect the heart and soul of your blog. Consider incorporating keywords or phrases that give readers a glimpse of what your blog is all about. Whether it’s a focus on travel, fashion, cooking, or any other topic, let your domain name showcase the essence of your content.

• Keep it simple and memorable: Simplicity is key when it comes to choosing a domain name. Opt for something that rolls off the tongue and sticks in the mind. Aim for a name that is easy to remember and spell, allowing your audience to effortlessly recall and revisit your blog.

• Short and snappy: A concise domain name has its advantages. Not only does it make your web address more memorable, but it also gives your blog a clean and professional appearance. Aim for brevity while still capturing the essence of your blog’s focus.

• Avoid complexities: Steer clear of numbers, hyphens, or special characters in your domain name. These can create confusion and make it more challenging for readers to find your blog. Keep it simple and straightforward to ensure a seamless experience for your audience.

• Check availability: Once you’ve brainstormed potential domain names, it’s important to verify their availability. You don’t want to select a name that’s already in use by someone else. Perform a quick search to ensure that your chosen domain name is up for grabs and ready to be claimed by you.

Remember, while selecting the perfect domain name is important, it’s crucial not to get caught up in overthinking or spending too much time on this step. Your domain name is just one piece of the blogging puzzle. So, trust your instincts, let your creativity flow, and choose a name that resonates with your vision.

Once you’re satisfied with your selected domain name, you’ll have the opportunity to register it in the next step, bringing you one step closer to launching your blog into the digital world. Exciting times lie ahead!

03. Set up your blog hosting

The third step in starting your blog is to set up your blog hosting. Web hosting is the service that allows your blog or website to be visible and accessible on the internet. Think of it as renting space on a special computer called a server, where all your blog’s files are stored.

Now, there are numerous web hosting companies available, but when it comes to the best choice, Bluehost stands out for several reasons:

• Beginner-friendly: Bluehost provides all the necessary tools to help you build your blog from scratch with just a few clicks. Even if you’re new to blogging, you’ll find their platform easy to navigate.

• Free domain: When you sign up with Bluehost, they will register your custom domain name for free during the first year. This saves you the additional cost and hassle of purchasing a domain separately.

• Reliable: Bluehost ensures that your website stays online and accessible without any interruptions. Their reliable hosting service keeps your blog up and running smoothly throughout the year.

• Fast: Loading speed is crucial for a successful blog, and Bluehost guarantees that your blog will load quickly. This ensures a positive user experience for your visitors and helps retain their attention and potential revenue.

• Secure: Bluehost takes security seriously and provides robust measures to safeguard your blog from hacking attempts, malware attacks, and spam. You can rest assured that your blog is protected.

• Affordable: Bluehost offers a range of web hosting packages at affordable prices, making it accessible for bloggers with different budgets. You can choose the plan that best fits your needs.

• Money-back guarantee: Bluehost offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try their services risk-free. If you change your mind within the first 30 days, you can get a full refund.

• Customer-friendly: With Bluehost, you can expect excellent customer support from their team of experts. They are there to assist you and ensure that you receive top-notch web hosting service for your blog.

• Trustworthy: Bluehost has gained the trust of over 2 million website owners worldwide. Their reputation as a reliable and reputable web hosting provider speaks for itself.

By choosing Bluehost as your web hosting provider, you can set a strong foundation for your blog and enjoy the benefits of their user-friendly platform, reliable service, security measures, affordable pricing, and exceptional customer support.

How to set up your web hosting with Bluehost

Enough said, it’s now time to set up your web hosting with Bluehost. Below is a step-by-step tutorial – complete with screenshots – to guide you through the entire process.

1. Go to Bluehost and choose your hosting plan

Click the button below…

…which will take you to this page. Click HOST YOUR SITE…

…which will then take you to this page. Now click GET STARTED…

…which in turn will take you to this page.

This is where you can see the price cards for all web hosting packages offered by Bluehost. Note that more prominent prices displayed are discounted prices – they only apply to your first purchase/invoice. The regular prices apply after your first 12-month or 36-month term – whichever you buy – is over.

For beginners, the best package is the BASIC PLAN. It has everything you need to build your blog, including:

• Web hosting service for one website. Perfect for beginners.
• Free domain for one year. You’ll have your custom domain name registered and ready-to-use – for free – for your first year.
• Free CDN. A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a group of globally-distributed servers which enhances your website speed and security, and enables your webpages and content to load faster.
• Free SSL certificate. A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is an important security feature to keep personal information, e-commerce transactions, and other sensitive data safe with encrypted connections.
• 50 GB SSD storage. This is more than enough space to store all the content you create on your blog, and will take a long time to use up.
• Custom themes. Pick from hundreds of beautiful, bespoke themes to bring your blog to life.  
• Website builder. Create a professional-looking website fast and easy with this easy-to-use drag and drop WordPress website builder.
• 24/7 customer support. Bluehost has your back every step of the way.

Now on the Basic Plan price card, click SELECT.

2. Set up your domain name

After choosing your web hosting plan, you will then be taken to this page.

This is where you can register your domain. We’ve already checked if your domain name is available a while ago, but you can also do that here. You can also choose a TLD, but a ‘.com’ is already the best possible choice, and it’s automatically chosen as a default – though you’re free to choose whatever you want.

So type in your domain name on the text field provided, then click NEXT.

Step 3. Create account and complete your purchase

Once you finish setting up your domain, you will get to this page.

Now this is where you can register with Bluehost and complete your purchase. So fill in the required fields with the appropriate information.

Then choose your hosting plan’s duration. With a 12-month plan, you’ll pay a lower price upfront. However, with a 36-month plan, you’ll make a lot more savings in the long term. It’s up to you. Remember, you’ll only be getting your discount for your first 12-month or 36-month term – whichever you buy. After that, the regular renewal rates apply.

But before you pay for anything, take a look at this part first.

As you can see, Bluehost has taken the liberty of bundling some additional features to your purchase. It’s up to you if you want to buy these extras or not. You can find out more about each by clicking More Information.

But if you ask me, only the first one – the Domain Privacy + Protection – is really essential. If you select this, Bluehost can hide your personal contact information and keep it from being accessed by just about anybody, including spammers.

Meanwhile, the rest of the add-ons are just optional. Besides, if you do need them, you can purchase them later on anyway.

So check only the boxes next to the features you want to buy, and uncheck those you don’t want. Then enter your payment details. 

If you have filled in every field with the appropriate information, you can tick the check box indicating that you read and understood the Terms and Conditions.

Then click SUBMIT.

If your purchase goes through successfully, you’ll receive a confirmation email from Bluehost.

Step 4. Complete Bluehost account set-up

After completing your purchase, you’ll now be taken to another page welcoming you into Bluehost, and also prompting you to complete your Bluehost account by creating a password. Make sure your password is something strong and difficult to guess, but also one that you won’t have a hard time remembering.

Once you have your password, you can then log in into your Bluehost account.

04. Set up WordPress

The fourth step in starting a blog is to install WordPress.

WordPress is an amazing piece of software – a Content Management System (CMS), to be exact – that lets you create and customize your website or blog and publish content online. Think of it as your blog’s operating system.

WordPress is free and open source, which means anyone and everyone can use install, use, and modify it.

It’s also very simple – you can use it to create, edit, and manage your blog even when you don’t know anything about coding, web design, or web development. In fact, it’s actually built for non-technical people.

And it’s also very popular – about 40% of all websites on the Internet are powered by WordPress. So chances are, two out of every five websites you visit are made with WordPress. By the way, the overwhelming majority of blogs use WordPress.

Now, to use WordPress, you have to manually install it on your website through your web hosting. At least that’s the old-fashioned way to do it.

But with Bluehost, WordPress will be automatically installed for you. All you have to do is complete a few finishing touches to make your WordPress blog on Bluehost good to go.

How to set up your WordPress blog on Bluehost

Upon logging in to your Bluehost account, Bluehost will offer you a step-by-step guide to help you set up your WordPress blog. Note that this is optional. You can skip this if you want and do it all by yourself later on. But for absolute beginners, this is really helpful and can make setting up your blog a total breeze.

1. Tell a little something about your blog

You’ll be asked what kind of site are you creating (blog, etc.), what type is it (personal, etc.), and who are you creating it for (myself, etc.).  

2. Add a few things to your blog

You’ll be asked to pick some features to add to your website, such as an About Me page, a custom logo, etc.

3. Tell some more about your blog

You’ll be asked what name do you want your site to have, what’s its tagline (or slogan), and how comfortable are you with the whole process of creating websites.

4. Pick a theme

You’ll be asked to pick a theme for your blog from a selection of free and paid themes. By the way, a theme is a collection of templates used to change the overall look and feel of your website. You can pick one now, or do it later. You can always change your theme anytime you want.

After all that, WordPress is already installed for you. You’ll then be taken to your Bluehost account dashboard.

How to launch your blog

Inside your Bluehost dashboard, you’ll see even more options to customize your blog just before you launch it. Note that these are all optional. You can do all these on your own time, and through your WordPress admin dashboard instead. Bluehost is just really being helpful and making sure you get a nice, simple, step-by-step guide in setting up your blog.

Anyway, you can launch your blog and make it online by clicking on the button LAUNCH MY SITE.

You see, while installing WordPress, Bluehost has put up a ‘Coming Soon’ page on your domain name by default. It’s just a temporary page, sort of a placeholder or an ‘Under Construction’ sign, that gives you time and privacy to work on your blog before it’s ready. If you launch your site, this page will disappear, and it will now be your blog that people will see when they type in your domain name (instead of that ‘Coming Soon’ page).

There’s also another way to launch your blog, but through your WordPress dashboard, which you’ll find out later.

You can launch your site now, or launch it later.

If you do launch your blog now, notice that everything still looks incomplete. That’s totally ok – it just means you have a blank canvas you’re completely free to work with and make beautiful. Now’s the time to do some actual blog-building, including changing the design and structure and creating content, through your WordPress dashboard.

How to access your WordPress admin dashboard

You can go to your WordPress dashboard by clicking the WordPress button on your Bluehost account page.

Alternatively, you can manually access your WordPress admin dashboard directly on your browser’s address bar by typing in ‘https://yourdomain/wp-admin’ (for example, ‘https://phmillennia.com/wp-admin’). Doing that will take you to a log-in page where you can enter your WordPress username and password, and which will then take you to your WordPress admin dashboard. It’s a good idea to bookmark your blog or your WordPress login page on your browser so you don’t have to type it in on the address bar every time.

05. Customize your blog

WordPress is your ultimate tool for shaping and enriching your blog with captivating content. It’s all made possible through the user-friendly WordPress dashboard.

Your WordPress admin dashboard, also known as the admin area or admin panel, serves as your command center for managing every aspect of your site. Packed with intuitive menus and submenus, it grants you the power to customize your site’s look and feel using themes, enhance its functionality with plugins, fine-tune various settings, engage with comments, upload media, and create and edit pages and posts for your blog.

Picture your WordPress admin dashboard as your very own creative studio, a culinary haven where you blend flavors to perfection, or even a pilot’s cockpit where you navigate your blogging journey with precision. As a blogger, you’ll find yourself spending ample time in this dashboard.

While your dashboard holds a wealth of exciting features to explore, let’s start by focusing on two essential tasks: changing your theme and adding plugins. These steps will allow you to infuse your blog with a personalized touch and unlock new dimensions of functionality.

THEMES

Themes are like the magic wand that transforms the overall appearance of your website. They bring life to your blog by defining its design and layout. With a plethora of themes to choose from, both free and paid, you have the freedom to unleash your creativity or opt for a clean and minimalist look. If you haven’t selected a theme from Bluehost’s 4-step guide, now is the perfect time to do so.

To change your blog’s theme:

• Access your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the left-hand menu. Click on APPEARANCE to open the THEMES panel. Alternatively, hover over APPEARANCE and click on THEMES.

• Take a moment to explore the pre-installed themes provided by WordPress, known as the ‘Twenty-Somethings.’ Hover your cursor over each theme card to get a sneak peek. For a closer look, click on LIVE PREVIEW to visualize how your blog will appear with that particular theme. If one catches your eye, simply click ACTIVATE to make it your blog’s current theme.

• To see your chosen theme in action, click on your domain name or blog name located at the top left of the bar (with the house icon). This will redirect you to your live site. To return to your WordPress dashboard, click the same item (your domain name, but this time with a dashboard icon) to access the behind-the-scenes of your blog.

• Keep in mind that the world of WordPress themes is vast and brimming with options. To discover more themes, click the ADD NEW button at the top or the ADD NEW THEME card at the bottom. This will open a panel showcasing a wide array of themes. You can filter them based on popularity or recency. Hover your cursor over each theme card to explore details and preview a particular theme. If you find one that resonates with you, click INSTALL, followed by ACTIVATE (after the installation is complete) to give your blog a fresh new look and layout.

• For those seeking premium themes, third-party websites offer a variety of options. Simply purchase the desired theme, download the corresponding .zip file, and save it on your device. Then, head back to your dashboard and click UPLOAD THEME. Select the specific .zip file and proceed to click INSTALL NOW followed by ACTIVATE. Congratulations! Your blog now showcases the premium theme you’ve handpicked.

Remember, if you’re feeling indecisive about a theme, start with something simple and clean for now. You always have the freedom to switch themes whenever inspiration strikes. Enjoy the process of making your blog visually appealing and uniquely yours.

PLUGINS

Now, let’s explore the exciting world of plugins and supercharge your blog’s capabilities.

Plugins are like tiny power-ups for your WordPress site, allowing you to enhance its functionality and add impressive features. However, it’s important to be selective and install only the plugins you truly need. Too many plugins, especially unreliable ones, can slow down your site and compromise its security. So, choose wisely and focus on the essentials, such as:

• Google Analytics plugin: Track, analyze, and gain valuable insights into your website traffic with ease. MonsterInsights offers a user-friendly WordPress plugin that integrates Google Analytics directly into your dashboard, simplifying data interpretation.

• SEO plugin: Boost your website’s visibility and attract more visitors by optimizing it for search engines. Yoast SEO is a popular choice among WordPress users, providing powerful tools to improve your content’s search engine rankings.

• Anti-spam plugin: Keep your blog clean and protected from spam comments, trackbacks, and contact form messages. Akismet is a trusted plugin that filters and blocks unwanted user content, ensuring a safe and pleasant environment.

• Contact form plugin: Make it effortless for visitors to get in touch with you. WPForms and Contact Form 7 are user-friendly plugins that enable you to create customized contact forms, allowing seamless communication with your audience.

Once you’ve installed the plugins, make sure to set them up and configure their settings to maximize their potential. For example, if you install MonsterInsights, follow the easy steps provided to set up Google Analytics on your WordPress site.

To add plugins to your blog:

• Access your WordPress dashboard and navigate to the PLUGINS section on the left-hand menu. Here, you can manage your installed plugins, activate or deactivate them, update their settings, or remove unwanted ones.

• Bluehost has already taken care of installing some useful plugins for you, including the ones mentioned above. You’ll find them ready to use alongside your other plugins.

• To add new plugins, click the ADD NEW button at the top. Explore the extensive collection of free WordPress plugins available. You can browse by categories or use the search bar to find specific plugins. Once you find a plugin you need, click INSTALL NOW and then ACTIVATE to start using it.

• If you have a plugin saved on your device, simply click the UPLOAD PLUGIN button and follow the instructions to add it to your WordPress site.

Leverage the power of plugins to take your blog to the next level. Be mindful of their impact on site performance and security, and enjoy the added functionalities they bring to your blogging journey.

06. Create content

With your blog live on the Internet, it’s time to breathe life into it by filling it with amazing content. In the world of blogging, content comes in two forms: static content (webpages) and dynamic content (blog posts).

PAGES

Webpages, or pages for short, play a crucial role in giving your blog structure, organizing your content, and providing information to search engines and visitors. They serve as the foundation of your blog and are typically accessed through the main menu. Unlike blog posts, webpages are more static and don’t require regular updates.

Some must-have pages for your blog include:

• Homepage: This is where visitors land when they enter your domain name. Craft an engaging homepage that introduces your blog, showcases popular or recent posts, and highlights products or services you offer.

• About Page: Share more about yourself and your blog’s journey. Connect with your audience by revealing your motivations, aspirations, and personal story. Make it a page that builds trust and encourages visitors to engage with your content.

• Contact Page: Provide contact information and a functional contact form for visitors who want to reach out to you. Make it easy for them to connect and establish meaningful connections.

Other important pages to consider are:

• Disclaimer: Explain how you monetize your blog, especially if you plan to display ads or promote affiliate links.

• Terms and Conditions: Display your agreement outlining the rules visitors must follow when using your blog. This helps protect you from abusive users and potential legal issues.

• Privacy Policy: Outline how your blog collects and uses visitor data. This is essential if you plan to run ads, use affiliate links, or implement analytics tools.

As your blog grows, you can add more pages to accommodate specific needs like selling ebooks or online courses or creating an archive of your posts. For now, focus on creating these foundational pages.

To create a new page:

• Access your WordPress dashboard and click on PAGES in the left-hand menu. This will display a list of your existing pages and options to create new ones or edit/delete existing ones.

• To create a new page, click on ADD NEW. This will open the Gutenberg Block editor, which allows you to create content using various blocks.

• Each block serves a specific purpose, such as headings, paragraphs, images, videos, quotes, lists, buttons, and more. Simply add the relevant block to create the desired content element.

• Customize each block to align with your design preferences, adjusting font sizes, background colors, and image alignments.

• The Gutenberg editor is intuitive, and you’ll quickly become familiar with its features. Start building the first pages for your blog, arranging blocks to create your preferred design and layout.

• Use the PREVIEW option to get a glimpse of how your page will look before publishing it. You can save and refresh the preview to reflect the latest changes. Remember, your page remains a draft until you hit PUBLISH, allowing you to continue editing until you’re ready.

• Once you’re satisfied, click PUBLISH to make your page live. If you ever want to make changes or add new elements, you can easily edit or unpublish your page.

Embrace the creative process of crafting captivating content and let your blog shine with engaging webpages.

POSTS

Now that you’ve established your essential pages, it’s time to shift your focus to creating captivating posts for your blog.

Posts, also known as entries or articles, are the cornerstone of your blog’s content. They are what define a blog and showcase your creativity and expertise. Whether it’s sharing stories, providing guides, offering tutorials, presenting recipes, curating lists, reporting news, conducting case studies, or writing product reviews, your posts play a vital role. They not only attract Google’s attention but also draw visitors to your blog, answer their questions, offer solutions, evoke emotions, and leave a lasting impression. Ultimately, your posts contribute to the success and monetization of your blog.

Some types of blog posts include:

• Listicles: These are posts that present information or ideas in the form of a list. Examples include “10 Tips for Better Productivity” or “Top 5 Destinations to Visit This Summer.”

• How-to Guides: These posts provide step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish a specific task or achieve a particular outcome. Examples include “A Beginner’s Guide to Photography” or “How to Start a Successful Blog.”

• Case Studies: Case study posts analyze real-life examples or experiences to showcase success stories, lessons learned, or problem-solving approaches. Examples include “How Company X Increased Sales by 50%” or “Case Study: Overcoming Challenges in Project Management.”

• Opinion Pieces: These posts express your personal thoughts, insights, or perspectives on a particular topic or issue. Examples include “Why I Believe in Sustainable Living” or “The Future of Artificial Intelligence.”

• Product Reviews: These posts provide an evaluation and analysis of specific products or services. Examples include “Review of the Latest Smartphone Model” or “Best Web Hosting Services for Bloggers.”

• Interviews: Interview-style posts feature conversations with experts, influencers, or individuals of interest in your niche. Examples include “In Conversation with a Fitness Guru” or “Q&A with a Successful Entrepreneur.”

• News or Trend Updates: These posts discuss recent news, industry updates, or emerging trends in your niche. Examples include “Latest Fashion Trends for the Summer” or “Breaking News: New Scientific Discovery.”

• Inspirational or Motivational Posts: These posts aim to inspire and motivate readers through stories, quotes, or personal experiences. Examples include “Finding Your Inner Strength: Overcoming Adversity” or “10 Quotes to Empower Your Mindset.”

• Roundup Posts: Roundup posts gather and curate valuable content from other sources in your niche. Examples include “Top 10 Blogging Tips from Industry Experts” or “Best Recipes of the Year.”

• Personal Stories: These posts share personal experiences, anecdotes, or narratives to connect with readers on a deeper level. Examples include “My Journey to Overcoming Anxiety” or “Lessons Learned from Traveling the World.”

Remember, these are just a few examples, and you can mix and match different types of blog posts to keep your content fresh and engaging. Explore what resonates with your audience and aligns with your blog’s purpose and niche.

But before you dive into writing, it’s essential to understand what sets apart a good blog post from a truly remarkable one. The success of your blog largely hinges on how well you craft your entries. Settling for ordinary posts won’t cut it – strive to create exceptional content that keeps readers engaged and hungry for more.

Defining a great blog post is subjective, as they come in various shapes and sizes. However, exceptional posts often share similar characteristics. Here’s what makes a great blog post:

• Clear topic: A great post has a specific, well-defined subject that remains consistent throughout.

• Engaging and helpful: It appeals to readers, solves problems, answers questions, and provides valuable information, insights, and inspiration.

• Intriguing title: A compelling title grabs readers’ attention and entices them to click and explore further.

• Captivating introduction: While the title captures initial interest, the introduction keeps readers hooked and encourages them to stay.

• Well-structured outline: A proper outline provides organization and clarity to your post, enabling effective communication of your topic.

• Scannable format: Ensure your post is easy to digest by using headings, subheadings, and shorter sentences. Break up long paragraphs for better readability.

• Careful editing: Craft well-written content by proofreading, eliminating typos, rewriting awkward sentences, and using proper punctuation.

• Visual engagement: Enhance your posts with relevant images whenever possible. Articles with images tend to receive 94% more total views.

• Compelling call to action: Encourage readers to take immediate action at the end of your post, such as making a purchase, subscribing to your newsletter, sharing your content, or supporting your cause.

• SEO readiness: Make your post search engine friendly to enhance discoverability and appeal to search engines.

These tips are meant to guide you without restricting your creative freedom or altering your writing style. Ultimately, your goal is to craft blog posts that resonate with your audience and create a delightful experience. Remember, writing for your readers is just as important as writing for yourself if you want your blog to thrive.

How To Write Your First Blog Post

Now that your blog is up and running, it’s time to embark on an exciting milestone: writing your first blog post. This is your chance to make a captivating impression, share your ideas, and engage with your audience. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, crafting your inaugural blog post sets the tone for your future content and establishes your unique voice in the blogosphere.

The possibilities for your first blog post are endless. Some ideas might be:

• Share an introduction to your blog, providing a primer or an explainer about its purpose, target audience, and what readers can expect.

• Tell a captivating personal story, such as a travel adventure, life lesson, funny anecdote, or the reasons that motivated you to start blogging.

• Dive into a well-researched topic, providing valuable information, statistics, and credible sources to educate and engage your readers.

To write your new blog post:

• Access your blog posts by clicking on the POSTS button in the left-hand menu of your WordPress dashboard. This will open a panel displaying all your blog posts, allowing you to create new ones or edit, preview, or delete existing ones.

• Click ADD NEW to open the Gutenberg Block editor, which you used to create your pages. This editor will be your tool for crafting all your blog posts.

• Use blocks to structure your post. For the title, add a heading block. If you want a subtitle, use another heading block and adjust the size. Use the paragraph block for your main text, and insert images to make your post visually appealing.

• As for the content of your first blog post, you can follow the suggestions mentioned earlier or write about anything that interests you. Just remember to make it interesting, engaging, and amazing. Incorporate images and quotes when appropriate, and choose a catchy title that grabs attention.

• Use the PREVIEW feature to see how your post will look before publishing. Keep refreshing the preview as you make changes. Your post will remain in draft mode until you’re ready to publish it.

• When you’re ready to share your post with the world, click PUBLISH to make it live on your blog.

Remember that publishing a post is not a permanent decision. Similar to managing pages, you can edit and update your published posts anytime. You have the flexibility to unpublish or delete them as well. Don’t worry about SEO for now; you’ll delve into that in the next stage of your blogging journey.

Congratulations on writing your first post! Take a moment to appreciate your accomplishment. Now that you know how and where to write your first blog post, you also know how to create your second, third, and all the subsequent ones. With each post, your blog will grow faster, attracting more visitors to your website. While the number of posts alone won’t guarantee success, having a substantial amount of quality content will greatly contribute.

In the next stage of your blogging journey, you’ll learn more about growing your blog.

How To Grow Your Blog

Now, let’s shift our focus to growing your blog and expanding its reach. Growing a blog takes time, effort, and a strategic approach. In this section, we’ll explore key strategies and techniques to help you propel your blog forward and attract a wider audience. From creating and updating engaging content, optimizing it for search engines, and engaging with your audience, we’ll cover the essential steps to ensure the steady growth of your blog. So, buckle up and get ready to take your blog to new heights.

01. Create & update content

Now that your blog is up and running, it’s time to dive into the world of content creation and updates. Consistently delivering high-quality content is essential for engaging your audience and building a loyal readership. In this section, we’ll explore strategies and best practices to ensure your content resonates with your target audience and keeps them coming back for more.

• Define Your Target Audience: Before you start creating content, it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your target audience. Take the time to research and analyze their interests, preferences, and pain points. This knowledge will serve as a compass, guiding your content creation process and helping you deliver value to your readers. Consider conducting surveys, engaging in conversations on social media, or studying your audience’s demographics and psychographics to gain valuable insights.

• Research Trending Topics: To stay relevant and capture your audience’s attention, it’s important to stay informed about the latest trends, news, and conversations within your niche. Use tools like Google Trends, social media listening platforms, industry-specific forums, and blogs to identify popular topics and find unique angles to cover. By aligning your content with trending subjects, you can generate more interest and increase your chances of reaching a wider audience.

• Develop a Content Calendar: Creating a content calendar is a valuable practice that helps you plan and organize your content in advance. It ensures a consistent flow of posts and helps you stay on track with your publishing schedule. Your content calendar should include key dates, events, and themes relevant to your niche. By mapping out your content in advance, you can better manage your time, allocate resources, and maintain a steady stream of engaging posts for your audience to enjoy.

• Craft Engaging Headlines: One of the most critical aspects of content creation is crafting captivating headlines. Your headline is the first impression readers have of your post, so it needs to grab their attention and entice them to click and read further. Use compelling language, intriguing questions, or promise solutions to pique curiosity and draw readers in. Experiment with different headline formulas and analyze their performance to refine your approach over time.

• Create Evergreen Content: While timely and topical posts have their place, it’s important to create evergreen content that remains relevant and valuable over time. Evergreen content acts as a pillar for your blog, attracting ongoing traffic and providing lasting value to your readers. Identify topics within your niche that have enduring appeal and focus on creating comprehensive, in-depth, and timeless pieces of content. These posts will continue to drive traffic and engagement long after their initial publication.

• Incorporate Visuals: Enhance the visual appeal of your blog posts by incorporating high-quality images, infographics, videos, or interactive elements. Visuals not only make your content more engaging and memorable but also increase its shareability on social media platforms. Use relevant and eye-catching visuals that complement your written content and help convey your message effectively. Be mindful of copyright and use proper attribution when sourcing images or multimedia content.

• Use Formatting Techniques: Make your blog posts easy to read and digest by utilizing formatting techniques. Break up your content into smaller paragraphs to improve readability and avoid overwhelming your readers. Use bullet points, numbered lists, subheadings, and bold text to highlight important information and create a visual hierarchy within your post. This approach makes it easier for readers to scan your content, find key takeaways, and navigate through your post more efficiently.

• Update Existing Content: Don’t forget about your existing content! Regularly revisit and update your older posts to ensure their accuracy, relevance, and freshness. As your knowledge and expertise grow, you may have new insights, statistics, or examples to add. Updating older content not only improves its value for readers but also signals to search engines that your blog is actively maintained and provides up-to-date information. This can positively impact your search engine rankings and attract new visitors to your blog.

By implementing these strategies for creating and updating your blog content, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong connection with your audience and establishing your blog as a trusted source of valuable information. Remember, consistency, quality, and audience-centric approach are key to growing your blog content-wise.

02. Optimize for search engines

Optimizing your blog for search engines is a crucial step in driving organic traffic and increasing your blog’s visibility. By implementing effective SEO strategies, you can improve your blog’s search engine rankings and attract a wider audience. In this in-depth section, we’ll explore key strategies to help you boost your blog’s SEO performance and maximize its potential.

• Keyword Research: To start, conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant terms and phrases that your target audience is likely to search for. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to discover popular keywords in your niche. Incorporate these keywords naturally throughout your content, including in titles, headings, and body text. However, avoid keyword stuffing and focus on creating valuable and reader-friendly content.

• On-Page Optimization: On-page optimization is essential for improving your blog’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Optimize your blog posts by implementing on-page optimization techniques. This includes writing compelling meta titles and meta descriptions that accurately reflect the content of your post. Utilize header tags (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content and signal the importance of different sections to search engines. Additionally, optimize image alt tags with relevant keywords to improve accessibility and provide additional context for search engines.

• Quality Link Building: Building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites within your niche is an effective way to boost your blog’s authority and improve its search engine rankings. Focus on acquiring backlinks from authoritative sources through guest blogging, networking with influencers, and participating in industry-specific forums or communities. However, ensure that your backlinks are relevant and natural, as search engines value quality over quantity.

• Mobile-Friendly Design: With the increasing use of mobile devices, it’s essential to ensure that your blog is mobile-friendly and provides a seamless user experience across different screen sizes. Optimize your blog’s design, layout, and navigation to accommodate mobile users. Responsive web design and mobile-friendly themes can help ensure that your blog looks and functions well on all devices. Mobile optimization is not only important for user experience but also for search engine rankings, as search engines prioritize mobile-friendly websites.

• Improve Site Speed: Site speed is a critical factor that affects both user experience and search engine rankings. Optimize your blog’s loading time by compressing images to reduce file sizes, minifying CSS and JavaScript files to reduce their size and improve load times, enabling browser caching to store temporary files locally on users’ devices, and utilizing a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver your content efficiently. Regularly monitor and optimize your site’s speed to ensure a smooth and fast browsing experience for your visitors.

• Utilize SEO Plugins: Leverage popular WordPress SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to streamline your on-page optimization efforts. These plugins offer valuable features and tools to enhance your SEO practices. They provide insights, suggestions, and optimization recommendations, including readability analysis, keyword optimization, XML sitemap generation, and more. Take advantage of these plugins to optimize your content effectively and improve your blog’s overall SEO performance.

• Monitor Analytics: Monitoring and analyzing your blog’s performance is crucial for identifying areas of improvement and refining your content strategy. Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track important metrics such as traffic sources, user behavior, popular content, and conversion rates. By analyzing this data, you can gain insights into what is working well and what can be improved. Use these insights to make data-driven decisions and optimize your content accordingly.

By implementing these in-depth SEO strategies, you’ll not only improve your blog’s search engine visibility but also attract a wider audience and establish your authority in your niche. Remember, optimizing your blog is an ongoing process, so regularly review and refine your SEO practices to stay ahead of the competition and continue growing your blog content-wise.

03. Engage with your audience

Building a strong relationship with your audience is not only vital for the growth of your blog but also for creating a thriving community. By actively engaging with your readers, you can foster a sense of connection, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and encourage long-term loyalty. Let’s dive deeper into each strategy to maximize your audience engagement:

• Respond to Comments: Every comment on your blog is an opportunity to connect with your audience. Take the time to read and respond to comments promptly. Answer questions, provide additional insights, and engage in meaningful discussions. Show genuine interest in your readers’ thoughts and opinions, and make them feel valued. By fostering an interactive comment section, you create a sense of community and encourage readers to return and participate in ongoing conversations.

• Encourage User-Generated Content: Empower your audience by inviting them to contribute their content to your blog. This can be in the form of guest posts, testimonials, or user-generated stories related to your niche. User-generated content not only adds variety and fresh perspectives to your blog but also enhances the sense of ownership and engagement among your readers. Consider implementing a submission process, providing clear guidelines, and highlighting exceptional user contributions. By showcasing your audience’s work, you foster a collaborative environment and strengthen the bond with your readers.

• Conduct Polls and Surveys: Interacting with your audience through polls and surveys is a powerful way to gather insights, understand their preferences, and tailor your content to their needs. Use online survey tools or built-in poll features on social media platforms to ask targeted questions. Encourage participation by offering incentives such as exclusive access to survey results, entry into a giveaway, or personalized content based on their input. By involving your audience in decision-making processes, you make them feel valued and deepen their engagement with your blog.

• Host Q&A Sessions: Organize live Q&A sessions to directly engage with your audience and address their questions or concerns. You can conduct Q&A sessions through blog comments, social media platforms, or dedicated live chat events. Promote these sessions in advance to allow your readers to prepare their questions. During the session, provide thoughtful and comprehensive answers, and encourage follow-up discussions. By being accessible and responsive, you establish yourself as a trusted resource and create a genuine connection with your audience.

• Offer Freebies or Exclusive Content: Reward your readers and incentivize engagement by offering freebies, exclusive content, or downloadable resources related to your blog topics. This can be in the form of e-books, templates, checklists, video tutorials, or access to a members-only area. Provide value that aligns with your audience’s interests and addresses their pain points. By offering something tangible and valuable, you encourage readers to subscribe, share their contact information, or actively participate in your blog community. This strategy not only increases engagement but also helps you build an email list for future communication and marketing opportunities.

Remember, audience engagement is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and genuine interaction. By implementing these strategies, you can create a vibrant and loyal community around your blog. Embrace the feedback, opinions, and contributions of your readers, and foster an environment that encourages open dialogue and meaningful connections. Through active engagement, you’ll not only grow your blog but also establish yourself as a trusted influencer within your niche.

How To Promote Your Blog

Get ready to spread the word about your blog and attract a wider audience. Promoting your blog is an essential step in growing its reach and impact. In this section, we’ll explore various strategies and platforms to effectively promote your blog content. From leveraging the power of email and social media to engaging with online communities and exploring offline promotion, we’ll cover it all. Let’s dive in and discover how to effectively promote your blog to reach new readers and establish your presence in the digital sphere.

01. Email marketing

Email marketing is a powerful tool to engage with your audience and promote your blog content directly to their inboxes. Here’s how you can leverage email marketing to promote your blog:

• Build an Email List: Start by building an email list of subscribers who are interested in your blog. Offer valuable incentives, such as exclusive content or freebies, to encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list.

• Create Compelling Newsletters: Craft visually appealing and informative newsletters that highlight your latest blog posts, updates, and any special offers. Personalize the content based on your subscribers’ interests and preferences.

• Automate Email Campaigns: Set up automated email campaigns to nurture your subscribers and keep them engaged. For example, you can send a welcome series to new subscribers or a series of emails highlighting your best blog posts.

• Include Social Sharing Buttons: Make it easy for your subscribers to share your blog posts by including social sharing buttons in your emails. Encourage them to share your content with their networks, expanding your reach.

02. Social media

Social media platforms provide excellent opportunities to connect with your target audience, increase your blog’s visibility, and drive traffic. Here’s how you can effectively promote your blog on different social media platforms:

• Facebook: Create a Facebook Page for your blog and regularly share your blog posts, updates, and other relevant content. Engage with your audience through comments, messages, and Facebook Groups related to your niche.

• Instagram: Utilize Instagram’s visual appeal to showcase snippets of your blog content. Use high-quality images, engaging captions, relevant hashtags, and stories to captivate your followers and direct them to your blog.

• Twitter: Tweet links to your blog posts, share interesting insights, and participate in relevant conversations using hashtags. Engage with your followers, industry influencers, and retweet valuable content to expand your reach.

• LinkedIn: Leverage LinkedIn’s professional network to share your blog posts, join relevant groups, and participate in industry discussions. Establish yourself as an authority in your niche and build connections with like-minded professionals.

• TikTok: Harness the creative power of short-form videos to promote your blog in a fun and engaging way. Create content that resonates with TikTok’s audience, provides value, and encourages viewers to visit your blog for more information.

• YouTube: Consider starting a YouTube channel where you can create video content related to your blog niche. Share tutorials, interviews, or vlogs that complement your blog posts and include links to your blog in the video descriptions.

03. Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery platform that can drive significant traffic to your blog. Here’s how you can effectively use Pinterest to promote your blog:

• Create Eye-Catching Pins: Design visually appealing pins that represent your blog posts and include compelling descriptions. Optimize your pins with relevant keywords to increase their visibility in Pinterest search results.

• Utilize Group Boards: Join relevant group boards on Pinterest to expand your reach and expose your content to a wider audience. Contribute valuable pins to these boards and engage with other members.

• Pin Consistently: Pin your blog posts and other relevant content regularly to stay active on Pinterest. Utilize scheduling tools to maintain a consistent presence and reach users at different times of the day.

• Optimize Your Profile: Optimize your Pinterest profile by adding relevant keywords, a compelling bio, and a link to your blog. This will help users discover your profile and drive traffic to your blog.

04. Guest posts

Guest posting involves writing and publishing content on other blogs within your niche. It allows you to tap into existing audiences and drive traffic back to your blog. Here’s how you can effectively use guest posts for promotion:

• Research and Identify Target Blogs: Look for reputable blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. Consider their audience, engagement levels, and the quality of their content to ensure a good fit for your blog.

• Craft High-Quality Content: Write informative, well-researched, and engaging guest posts that provide value to the target blog’s audience. Focus on showcasing your expertise and delivering actionable insights.

• Include a Bio and Backlink: In your guest post, include a brief author bio that introduces you and includes a backlink to your blog. This allows readers to discover and visit your blog for more content.

• Engage with the Host Blog’s Audience: Once your guest post is published, actively engage with the host blog’s audience through comments and responses. This helps build relationships and encourages readers to visit your blog.

05. Online communities & forums

Engaging with online communities and forums can help you connect with like-minded individuals, share your expertise, and promote your blog. Here’s how you can effectively leverage online communities and forums:

• Identify Relevant Communities: Find online communities and forums related to your blog niche. Platforms like Reddit, Quora, and niche-specific forums provide opportunities to interact with your target audience.

• Provide Value and Insights: Participate in discussions by offering valuable insights, answering questions, and sharing relevant resources. Focus on building credibility and trust within the community.

• Share Your Blog Posts: When appropriate, share your blog posts within the community or forum. Ensure your posts add value to the discussion and provide helpful information to the community members.

• Respect Community Guidelines: Familiarize yourself with the rules and guidelines of each community or forum and ensure you follow them. Be respectful, transparent, and avoid self-promotion without adding value.

06. Podcasts

Podcasts have gained significant popularity, offering a unique opportunity to promote your blog through audio content. Here’s how you can effectively utilize podcasts for blog promotion:

• Start Your Own Podcast: Consider starting your own podcast where you can discuss topics related to your blog niche. Include links to your blog in the podcast descriptions and encourage listeners to visit for more information.

• Be a Guest on Podcasts: Reach out to other podcast hosts within your niche and offer to be a guest on their shows. Share your expertise, provide valuable insights, and mention your blog during the podcast episode.

• Cross-Promotion: Collaborate with other podcasters or bloggers to cross-promote each other’s content. This can include featuring each other on podcast episodes, writing guest posts, or participating in joint marketing initiatives.

07. Influencer outreach

Partnering with influencers can help you expand your reach and tap into their established audience. Here’s how you can effectively engage in influencer outreach:

• Identify Relevant Influencers: Research and identify influencers within your niche who align with your blog’s topics and values. Look for individuals with a strong following and engaged audience.

• Engage with Influencers: Follow and engage with influencers on their social media platforms. Leave meaningful comments, share their content, and build a genuine connection before reaching out for collaboration.

• Collaborate on Content: Explore collaboration opportunities, such as guest blogging on an influencer’s blog, hosting joint webinars or events, or conducting interviews. These collaborations expose your blog to a wider audience and foster credibility.

• Sponsored Content: Consider partnering with influencers for sponsored content where they promote your blog or specific blog posts to their audience. Ensure that the partnership is authentic and aligns with your brand values.

08. Offline promotion

While the digital landscape dominates blog promotion, offline promotion can still be impactful. Here are some offline strategies to consider:

• Business Cards: Design and print business cards with your blog’s URL and social media handles. Distribute themat networking events, conferences, or when meeting new people who might be interested in your blog.

• Local Events and Workshops: Attend local events, workshops, or seminars related to your blog’s niche. Network with attendees, share your expertise, and mention your blog when relevant.

• Print Media: Explore opportunities to have your blog featured in print publications, such as magazines, newspapers, or local newsletters. Write articles or contribute expert opinions to increase your visibility offline.

• Collaborate with Local Businesses: Partner with local businesses or establishments that align with your blog’s niche. Cross-promote each other’s offerings through flyers, brochures, or co-hosted events.

• Speaking Engagements: Seek opportunities to speak at relevant industry conferences, panels, or seminars. Share your knowledge and expertise while mentioning your blog as a valuable resource for further information.

How To Monetize Your Blog

Now that everything’s in order with your blog, it’s time to start monetizing all the work you’ve done, and all the work you’ll still do. Here’s a detailed guide to help you put in place a monetization strategy for your blog. It involves ways you can make passive income, as well as active income, through blogging.

At the end of this guide, you’ll learn the most common and most profitable ways to earn money off blogging, identify what income streams are best for you, see a sample roadmap towards making a fulltime income from blogging, and understand how to earn yourself a fulltime income off your very own blog.

01. Affiliate marketing

This list starts with one of the easiest and most profitable ways to monetize your blog – affiliate marketing. It’s where you promote other people’s or company’s product, service, or entire brand on your blog (or social) and you get a commission for every successful sale.

Affiliate marketing is easy in that you don’t have to create the product (or service) you’re selling. Basically, you’re getting paid just for promoting (and directing successful sales). Plus, there’s usually no cost involved in becoming an affiliate. It’s in the brand’s incentive to attract as many successful affiliates as possible.

So affiliate marketing is great for beginner bloggers, especially those who don’t have their own product to sell just yet, because it’s easy to learn, understand, and implement. And it’s even better for experienced bloggers, because then you have all the knowledge and skills to create content that really convinces people to buy the product or service you’re promoting.

Most brands and companies today now have an affiliate program of some sort. If you want to try your hand in affiliate marketing, finding the right affiliate program is the first step. And to do that, you can:

• Join a brand’s affiliate program. If you know of a product or brand relevant to your niche that you think is worth recommending to your audience, because they might find it useful themselves, then go to that product’s (or its company’s) website and check if it has an affiliate program. Popular affiliate programs include Amazon Associates and eBay Partner Network, but there are literally millions of affiliate programs to join! 

• Join an affiliate network. Affiliate networks are platforms that connect brands and companies with publishers and content creators. They make it easier for merchants to find people to promote their products, and for bloggers and influencers to find a product or brand to promote. Examples of affiliate networks include ClickBank, FlexOffers, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, etc.

Once you have chosen an affiliate program you want to promote, your next steps are:

• Sign up. Create an account with your affiliate program or network of choice. Make sure you complete all the required info and choose how you want to get paid.

• Get your affiliate link. It’s your unique, personalized link to a product or brand you’re promoting. When other people click on your affiliate link, you get credit every time they make a purchase.

• Create content. Your job is to promote your affiliate link on your blog or social network. But you just can’t leave a bare link anywhere you want. You have to convince people to click on that link. That means creating genuinely meaningful, useful, and compelling content about the product or brand you’re promoting, and then include your affiliate link to direct visitors to said product or brand.

• Promote. Once you have created content, like product highlights, roundups, etc., you need to promote them. That includes optimizing your posts for search engines, and promoting your articles on your social media accounts and to your email subscribers. Your aim is to maximize exposure, get people to click on your articles, click on your affiliate links, and then make purchases.

• Profit. Every time someone makes a purchase or completes a required action using your link, you earn a commission (or other reward) based on the details of your affiliate program of choice. Your payout and payment method also depend on the affiliate program you’re promoting.  

• Rinse and repeat. Now find other affiliate programs to join and repeat the entire process. The more affiliate programs you join, the more successful sales you get using your affiliate links, the more income you receive.

Now you should know that in many countries, you are obliged by law to disclose your affiliate ties with brands and companies. You need to inform your readers – very clearly and prominently – about the presence of affiliate links in your articles, what do they mean, why they are there, what happens if people click on them, and that you earn money on qualified sales. You also need a disclosure page on your blog that states that you take part in affiliate programs and earn money in doing so (in addition to the individual disclosure on each article with affiliate links).

Anyway, as you can see, the concept of affiliate marketing is very simple and straightforward. And your potential income is limitless, as long as you join lucrative affiliate programs, promote products that people actually want to buy, and make successful sales. That’s why it’s a great choice for beginner bloggers looking to monetize their blogs early on, and an even greater choice for experienced bloggers who can leverage their expertise to direct qualified sales.

02. Selling digital products

You could sell other people’s products on your blog, sure. But you could also sell your own products and make more money in doing so. Now there are two types of products you can sell: digital and physical. Let’s start with digital products.

A digital product is any product you sell online that doesn’t have physical form or substance. It can be sold and distributed repeatedly without the need to replenish inventory – put simply, it means you can create it just once and sell it as many times as you like (unlike a physical product, which you have to create for every sale).

Examples of digital products you can sell on your blog include:

• Online courses. Create your own online course about a topic of your expertise that are relevant and helpful to your audience. It could be about how to start a blog, negotiate a pay raise, get started with decluttering, or anything. Your course could be something as simple as a PDF file or a series of videos.

• Ebooks, audiobooks. Create an ebook or an audiobook that’s useful or interesting to your audience. It could be anything – how to be a work from home mom, how to use essential oils for healthy skin, must-have tools for podcasters, etc.

• Digital printables. These are digital files or documents that your customers can purchase and print for themselves. These include planners, journals, checklists, worksheets, calendars, cards, labels, stickers, wall art, coloring pages, knitting and crocheting patterns, etc.

• Templates. These are sample documents or files that customers can purchase and personalize for their own use. These include Canva templates for Pinterest Pins, legal pages for a blog, business flyer templates, etc.

• WordPress themes. If you know how to design and develop a theme for WordPress, you could start selling it too.

• Plugins, software. You could sell fully-fledged software programs and applications, or plugins (like WordPress plugins), which are essentially add-ons to bigger software products.

• Filters, presets, graphic design elements. These are basically anything to help make a good graphic design or image such as clipart and vector files, enhance a photo like Lightroom presets, etc.

• Photos, videos, music tracks, sound clips. You could also sell media products such as stock photos, video clips, sound effects, or even your own music.

• Etc.

As you can see, there’s a lot of digital products you can sell. And they’re great because you only need to create a single digital product and you can sell it infinitely. You don’t have to worry about inventory, storage, or shipping – people can literally just download your digital products or receive them via email. 

Anyway, there are several ways you can start selling digital products. You could:

• Add an ecommerce store on your blog. Convert your blog into a fully-functional online store with a plugin like WooCommerce, which allows you to sell digital and physical products, receive secure payments, manage inventory, and manage all your taxes automatically.

• Create your own store on an ecommerce platform. Open your own store on dedicated and fully-hosted ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Big Commerce, BigCartel, etc. These websites offer paid complete solutions to help you start, grow, and manage your online business, and are especially made for non-technical people.

• Sell on dedicated digital sales platforms. Sites like SellWire, Sellfy, Easy Digital Downloads, FastSpring, etc. are especially made for selling digital goods, complete with the tools and features you need to manage your business. You could open a store in any of these to eliminate the hassle of setting up shop on your own blog.

• Sell on Etsy (or similar sites). Etsy is known mostly as a marketplace for handmade crafts and vintage items, but it’s also a huge place for buying and selling digital goods like printables.

• Sell on self-publishing companies. You could sell your ebooks or audiobooks on self-publishing sites like Amazon KDP, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble Press, etc.

• Sell on stock photo and graphic resource sites. You could sell your stock photos, illustrations, graphics, clipart, vectors, PSD, and other graphic design elements on sites like Alamy, Shutterstock, Getty Images, Creative Market, Design Cuts, TemplateMonster, etc.

• Sell on WordPress-related marketplaces. If you have WordPress themes or plugins to offer, you can sell them on ThemeForest, Creative Market, MOJO Marketplace, etc.

Selling digital products can be intimidating and overwhelming at first, but you have to try it at some point. It can make you more money than any another income stream. Did you know that the wealthiest bloggers derive 80% of their income from selling online courses? So yeah, eventually you have to start selling your own products.

03. Selling physical products

Alongside or instead of digital products, you can also sell physical products on your blog. Physical products are goods that you can touch and feel – it’s pretty much self-explanatory. These include:

• Books (paper books)
• Planners, journals, notebooks, stationery
• Handicrafts, artworks
• Toiletries, cosmetics
• Artisanal food and beverages
• Clothing, fashion accessories, jewelry
• Etc.

In general, selling physical products requires much more time and effort than selling digital ones. For starters, you have to create each product separately (unlike a digital product, which you create once and sell as many times as you like). Then in most cases, you also have to handle the packaging, shipping, etc.

But selling physical products also has its advantages. For one, since each product is made separately, it’s regarded as more valuable. Your customer wouldn’t mind paying a higher price for it. Second, you can build more meaningful relationships with your customers because the products they’re buying from you are a direct extension and physical manifestation of your effort, creativity, and passion.

Of course, you can also sell products that you didn’t have to make personally. You could buy products from other people or companies, and simply resell them yourself. This works best if you already have the audience willing to buy, or the know-how to attract such an audience, and you can find a reliable and affordable supplier.

With all that said, there are different ways you can sell physical products as a blogger. You could:

• Add an ecommerce store on your website. You could install a plugin like WooCommerce to your WordPress blog to add an online store or fully convert it to an ecommerce site.

• Create your own dedicated ecommerce store. You could set up your own online store on a fully-hosted ecommerce platform like Shopify, Big Commerce, BigCartel, etc. These websites offer paid complete solutions to help you start, grow, and manage your online business, and are especially made for non-technical people.

• Sell on online handmade stores. If you’re selling artisanal or handmade products, crafts, or vintage items, you could sell them on online marketplaces like Etsy. All you need to do is sign up, create an account, complete your shop details, and start listing and selling. You could also try Amazon Handmade, IndieMade, Bonanza, Zibbet, etc. Depending on the platform, you’ll be charged a variety of fees, but you’ll have the all tools for managing your business as well as a dedicated market to sell to.

• Sell on Amazon or eBay. You could also sell your products on Amazon or eBay. You’ll also pay a bunch of fees, not to mention compete with stores selling cheap, mass-produced goods, but the upside are the tools you get to manage your business and the large market of buyers.

As you can see, selling physical products might require you to use a third-party platform, but that doesn’t mean your blog is already sidelined. On the contrary, it becomes more important is it is what allows you to stand out from other stores on your chosen platform. Use your blog to promote your products through creative lists, roundups, product highlights, etc., and drive massive traffic – and sales – to your online store.

04. Selling services

Apart from digital and physical products, you could also sell services on your blog, such as:

• Coaching. You can sell one-on-one or group coaching sessions on a variety of topics you’re a master or an authority in, from personal finance, social media marketing, creative writing, yoga, DIY crafts, to life and living in general. This is one of the best ways to monetize your expertise and experience while directly connecting with your audience.

• Consultation. You could also offer consultation sessions, which are usually more personal and are tailored to your current client’s needs and situation. For instance, you could get paid to help a client decorate and design her home office, if you’re an interior designer; or provide advice and actionable steps to a client struggling with her business, if you’re a business consultant.

• Virtual assistance. If you’re a virtual assistant, you could offer administrative, secretarial, and support services (managing schedules, scheduling appointments, preparing reports, making calls, sending emails, etc.) to paying clientele.

• Blogging and social media management. You could also sell your services as a blogging guru or a social media expert.

• Photography. If you’re an expert in photography, you could sell your services as a professional photographer.

• Wedding (and other events) planning. If you’re a wedding or events organizer, your blog or website is basically your online office. It’s where clients can find you and book your services.

• Etc.

Now selling services won’t make you passive income. It’ll make you an active income, as you’ll be directly trading your time, skills, and effort for money each time you perform a service. Therefore, you should make sure that the services you’re offering are worth the time you could otherwise spend on building more passive income streams. But a good thing about mixing passive and active income streams is that you get a more consistent overall income each month.

Anyway, to start selling your services on your blog, you should:

• Have a beautiful and functional website. When offering your services for sale, you need to clearly and effectively communicate your expertise, authority, and credibility. You want people to trust you. And it all starts with a well-designed blog or website that not only looks beautiful and professionally made, but also works smoothly and quickly.

• Create a sale page/s. Set up a dedicated page (or pages) on your website where potential clients can see what services you’re offering, how much are your rates, the benefits of working with you, work you’ve done before, testimonials and reviews from past clients, as well as book, buy, or rent your services, complete with a payment system, contact information for inquiries, etc.

• Promote your sales page on your blog. If your blog or website isn’t solely about your services, then make sure you help visitors and potential clients find your sales page, or at least the part where they can see what services you’re offering and how they can book your services. Add banners, images, buttons, or links that direct to your sales page on your header, footer, sidebar, beneath the titles of your articles, etc.

• Write posts about your services. Create useful blog posts and articles promoting, highlighting, or mentioning your services. For example, if you’re offering wedding planning services, you could write posts about the newest wedding trends, best wedding destinations, or the perfect wedding dresses, and then introduce your business as the one to arrange, organize, or realize all these for your clients (that is, if you do actually offer those things).

• Promote on social media. Get the word out about your business on social media. Promote your services. Link your blog posts about your services. Share highlights from your past work and testimonials from past clients.  

Selling services go hand-in-hand with selling products. For instance, if you’re selling coaching services, you should also be selling online courses, ebooks, and digital resource kits. If you’re offering professional photography services, you could also sell stock photos, Lightroom presets, etc. It’s all about maximizing and diversifying your monetization strategy. And it all leads to a larger and more stable income for you.

05. Ads

Online ads, or advertisements, are another way you can monetize your blog. They’ve been here ever since, and they’re only becoming more popular today as marketers increase their spending on digital advertising, especially on mobile devices.

Now online ads are usually a debated topic in the blogging community. You’ll find bloggers who are against it. They say that ads only ruin user experience by messing up your blog’s otherwise beautiful design and layout, partially or fully covering your content, forcing your site to load slowly, and even putting off your readers when the ads are too garish and tasteless. Ads also distract people and unwittingly make them leave your site and click to another, thereby robbing you of a potential sale, subscription, etc. Besides, you usually need a lot of traffic just to make a decent income from ads.

But then there are also bloggers who favor running ads. They say that almost every site and platform on the Internet is filled with ads, such that people have already come to accept them as part of the online world, so they wouldn’t bother your readers as much. Ads are also a quick and effortless way to earn passive income off simple and normal actions like views or clicks (sometimes even accidental ones).

The choice to publish ads on your blog is yours to make. But if you ask me, ads are a good thing as long as you don’t overdo it. Ads provide an extra source of income. And they won’t ruin user experience, as long as you only put ads strategically and sparingly. Besides, many ad programs today are now using more modern and organic ad designs and intelligent ad placement, to make sure that the ads being displayed fit the look of your blog, are not too obtrusive and annoying, and are placed only on the most ideal parts of your site.

As a blogger, there are four different types of ad pricing models you should know about. Each type allows you to earn money in a different way.

• CPM or cost per mille (mille is the Latin word for ‘thousand’). You get paid for every 1,000 views a single ad gets. This works best if your blog gets tons of traffic.
• CPC or cost per click. You get paid every time a visitor clicks on that single ad. This works best if your readers and visitors are highly engaged.
• CPA or cost per acquisition. You get paid only when a visitor makes a purchase or signs up after clicking that single ad. This usually involves ads from affiliate marketing programs.
• Fixed-rate. You get paid a fixed amount for a single ad, whether that ad does well or not. This usually happens when you manually sell ad space and negotiate directly with advertisers.

Anyway, there are three main ways you can publish ads on your blog. You can:

• Sell ad space directly. You can create and designate spaces on your blog (on top of each article, at the sidebar, on the footer, etc.) where ads can be shown. Then you contact brands and businesses personally and sell them these ad spaces for their products and services. You can work out the pricing, payment method, etc. This involves a lot of work, effort, time, and patience, but you get to keep 100% of what you charge.

• Join ad programs. These are platforms that connect publishers with brands, companies, and media buyers. Just sign up and they’ll automatically start publishing ads for you. Ads shown usually match your blog’s niche and audience, plus match your website design, too. You have substantial amount of control over where ads can be shown, how they look, etc. This is by far the easiest way to make money from ads, but the ad program gets a cut from what you earn.
  
  Different ad networks have different requirements for joining. Some require you to be in a certain niche (travel, lifestyle, insurance, etc.), or reach a certain monthly traffic (50,000 page impressions per month, 100,000 unique monthly visitors, etc.). Some use display ads, some use in-text ads, etc. The most popular ad programs include Google AdSense, Media.net, Infolinks, Monumetric, Ezoic, Mediavine, AdThrive, etc.

• Join affiliate programs. Many affiliate programs don’t just provide you with affiliate links. They also provide custom banners, images, etc. that serve as ads. You can manually place these custom ads anywhere on your website. They work like your affiliate links – every time someone clicks on them and makes a purchase (or completes a required action), you get paid.

Now remember, ads are a good thing so long as you don’t overdo it. Be smart on where you place your ads. Put them in spaces that are easily seen, on pages where you get the most traffic, etc. But don’t overwhelm your users. And maybe don’t put ads on articles where you have your affiliate links – users might be distracted by ads, click on them, leave your site, and rob you of a potential and more lucrative affiliate sale.

06. Sponsored content

Sponsored content refers to content that brands and businesses, and sometimes private individuals, pay you to write and publish on your blog. Essentially, you’re getting paid to promote, endorse, and talk about a certain product, service, or the entire company selling it. Examples of sponsored content include paid product reviews, testimonials, listicles or roundups that include the product you’re promoting, etc.

Depending on your popularity, expertise, and experience as a blogger, sponsored content could easily generate you some big bucks. Did you know that an average blogger with a sizeable following could already earn as much as $1,442 for just one sponsored blog post? Write three of those in a month and you’ve already made a fulltime income.

Anyway, to get sponsors to notice you and pay you to write blog posts, articles, and other content for them, you need to:

• Create quality content. The best way to attract sponsors and get them not just to notice you, but to want to work with you, is to create meaningful, engaging, useful, and topnotch content. That tells them that if they’re going to work you, then they’re making the right choice because you’re guaranteed to write quality sponsored posts that people will find interesting and useful, and that will very likely convince them to buy or use the product, service, or brand you’re promoting.

• Rank high on search engines. Sponsors usually work with bloggers and content creators who rank highly on Google and other search engines. That increases the likelihood that the posts they’re paying for (and in effect their products and services they’re paying you to promote) will be seen – and bought – by the greatest number of people.

• Be found (and be popular) on social media. Sponsors also often work with bloggers who have a big and active presence on social media – for obvious reasons. They want their products and services to be seen on as many different channels and platforms as possible, thereby increasing the likelihood of engagement, conversion, and sales.  

• Set up a sponsored page. Create a page on your website specifically designed for interested sponsors. Tell them why they should work with you. Add your contact info, or better yet, include a custom email form for sponsorships (which includes details about the proposed sponsorship) to make everything organized and very professional.   

• Create a media kit. On your sponsored page, your media kit should be a big focus. Your media kit is what will convince potential sponsors to work with you. It’s basically a summary of your blog, including your website stats (number of visitors, email subscribers, etc.) as well as your social media stats (what platforms you’re on, how many followers, etc.). It also includes all the brands you’ve worked with, links to similar work you’ve done (besides your blog), etc.

• Pitch to potential sponsors. You can’t just wait for sponsors to come to you. Go to them instead. Make a list of possible sponsors – big brands and companies on your niche, etc. Or see who’s sponsoring similar bloggers on your niche. Then send emails to these brands and companies, ask for sponsorships and tell them why they should work with you. Link to your blog and social media accounts. Add your media kit. Provide samples of your work, etc.

• Join sponsored content networks and marketplaces. These are essentially websites and platforms that act as intermediaries or middlemen between brands and bloggers/publishers. They’ll connect you with companies willing to support and sponsor you. The most popular platforms include Cooperatize, Izea, Markerly, TapInfluence, SeedingUp, GetReviewed, etc.

Remember, sponsored content isn’t all about money. Don’t sell yourself short – know how to value your time, skill, effort, and reputation. Don’t sell yourself out – work only with brands and businesses that mean something to you, those you truly support or are genuinely interested in. And don’t sell your readers out. It takes a lot of time to earn your readers’ trust and loyalty; it only takes a short while to lose it. Don’t betray your readers – make sure your sponsored posts are honest, useful, and are relevant to your niche and audience.

You also need to remember that depending on where you live and operate your blog, you might need to write a disclosure to inform your readers that what they’re reading is sponsored content. You also need a disclosure page on your blog that states you accept sponsored content (in addition to the individual disclosure on each sponsored article).

07. Referral bonuses

There are plenty of products and services that offer referral programs, where you’ll get paid money for recommending your friends, acquaintances, contacts, and other people to sign up, use these products and services, complete an action, etc. And if you could get enough people to sign up on enough referral products and services, then the referral bonuses you’ll earn could add a lot to your blogging income.

Earning from referral bonuses is a straightforward process and involves only a few steps:

• Find a product or service with a referral program. Pick one that is legitimate, applicable to your niche and audience, something your readers will want or need, and something you use yourself.

• Sign up. You yourself will need to sign up first on your chosen referral program, so you can get your referral link – it’s basically this unique, personalized link that when another person clicks it, it lets your chosen product or service know that it was you who should get credit for referring that new person.

• Promote. Now you need to promote your referral link everywhere. On your blog, on your socials, on your email list, etc. But you have to know first where you’re allowed to promote it. Some referral programs only allow you to post your link on your website, some only through email, etc. And of course, you can’t just post your referral link and that’s it. You have to create content around the product or service you’re promoting – write a review, an article, etc. – which will convince your readers to click your referral link.

• Profit. When someone clicks on your link and signs up or completes the required action, then you earn your referral bonus.

• Rinse and repeat. Find more referral programs to join, get more referral links, create content about those links and promote them, get people to click those links and complete the desired actions, and earn more referral bonuses. 

As you can tell, referral programs are quite similar to affiliate programs, except that the former is all about rewarding current loyal users regardless if you’re blogger or not, while the latter prioritizes third-party advertisers like bloggers, publishers, content creators, influencers, etc.

And you should also know – not all referral programs give out money (cash, credit, discounts, etc.) as a reward. Some provide products, perks, and other incentives instead. And some referral programs have a limit to how many new people you can refer and be rewarded for.

Anyway, some examples of products and services that offer referral programs include:

• Swagbucks. This survey app/website will give you 10% of the lifetime earnings of each person you successfully refer.
• Rakuten. This cashback app/website pays you $10 for signing up (and completing additional requirements), and a referral bonus for getting your friends into the program.
• Respondent. This high-paying research site will give you $20 for every new referral who earns their first $75.
• Payoneer. This financial services platform rewards you and your referral with $25 each, as long as your referral meets certain requirements.
• T-Mobile. This wireless network operator gives you $50 for every qualified referral (max 10 referrals).

These are just a few examples. If you have a product or service you’re using, and you’re thinking it’d be great to recommend it to other people, go to that product or service’s website first, and check if it has a referral program. It’s a nice way to earn a little something from referring a product or service you would recommend anyway.

08. Freelance writing/blogging

If you’re making money blogging for yourself, then why not try blogging for other people, too? If you have the skill and the time to spare from working on your own blog, then freelance blogging for paying clients could definitely be another lucrative income stream.

Freelance blogging involves writing blog posts and articles for clients. And that includes researching topics and keywords, editing and proofreading your text, and optimizing your content to make it SEO-friendly.

If you’re interested in diversifying your income streams by becoming a freelance blogger, here’s what you can do to get clients to notice you:

• Promote on your blog. Set up a page on your website where you offer your blogging services for hire. Include your contact information for interested clients. Plus make sure your blog is full of well written and engaging articles in the first place – your blog is already your resume and your portfolio.

• Promote on social. Use your social media accounts to get the word out about your amazing writing and blogging services.

• Guest post. Collaborate with other bloggers to have your work published on their own websites. You’ll do it for free at first, but soon, people will be willing to pay you to write articles for them. Plus, if you write enough guest posts, especially on big blogs, you’ll soon attract interest from paying clients.

• Pitch. Send an email or a message to possible clients – mostly brands and businesses, and other bloggers and website owners – offering your blogging services. Link your blog, or include your media kit or portfolio of written works, for further credibility.   

• Accept offers or inquiries. If you’re well known in the blogging and online sphere, expect people to come to you with offers or inquiries of blogging work. It’s up to you work out a deal with these potential clients.

• Join freelancing platforms. Sign up on freelancing websites like Upwork, iWriter, FlexJobs, BloggingPro, etc. and look for writing or blogging jobs.

Now freelancing takes time and effort, valuable resources that you could be devoting on working on your blog instead. So you have to make a choice here: will you earn more money by blogging for others, or by pouring all your time and effort into your blog?

Now if you’re already a well-established blogger with significant reputation and following, and your blog is pretty much on autopilot, then you definitely have the skill, expertise, and the time to blog for others and charge a high price for it.

But if you’re only a beginner blogger, it’s better to focus on your blog first until it starts making money. The hardest part of blogging are the first few months of building it up – you would want to focus all your time and attention to it first.

09. Offering related services

Apart from freelance writing, you can also hire out your other blogging-related skills to paying customers. As a blogger, you’ve now learned and even mastered a wealth of skills that other people value highly and are willing to paying for, such as:

• Web development and web design. If you know how to build beautiful and functional websites.
• Graphic design. If you know how to create stunning images, infographics, Pinterest Pins, logos, printables, etc.
• Photography and photo editing. If you know how to capture the perfect shots and edit them.
• Videography. If you know how to record great videos and make even greater films out of them.
• Search engine optimization (SEO). If you know how to improve websites to rank higher on Google (or other search engines) and get more traffic.
• Social media management. If you know all about social media and how to use them to drive traffic and engagement to a blog or website.
• Digital marketing. If you know how to leverage digital technology (websites, online content, social media, email, etc.) to promote products and services.
• Etc.

Just like in freelance writing, you can hire out your other blogging-related services if you:

• Promote on your blog. Create a page on your website where you list out all the blogging-related services you’re offering. Include your contact information for interested parties. And don’t forget that your blog should be well built and well designed, and your content, from article to photos to logos, should be well made.

• Promote on social media. Tell everyone on your social accounts that you’re blogging-related skills are available for hire, and tell people how to get in touch with you.

• Reach out to potential clients. Seek out possible customers, usually brands and businesses and other website owners and bloggers, by sending them a pitch via email, chat, or sometimes, call. You’d be more credible if you have a fully-fledged media kit, or a separate portfolio of samples of your work. 

• Accept offers or inquiries. There are times when potential clients, whether private individuals or organizations, will contact you instead. That could happen if you’re already of significant importance and popularity, or they might have randomly stumbled upon your blog and were impressed by what they saw. Then they’ll contact you seeking your services. Respond to them, work out a deal, and don’t let these opportunities just pass by.

• Join freelancing platforms. You could join freelancing websites like Upwork, FlexJobs, Fiverr, etc. and scour their job boards for suitable work.

And just like in freelance writing or blogging, you should consider whether freelancing is a worthwhile use of your time. Would you be earning more money if you’re hiring out your skills, or if you just focus all your efforts on growing your blog instead?

10. Membership/subscription fees

Most blogs offer their content for free. But there are some blogs that are require visitors to pay a certain fee to access some or all of their content. You could turn your blog into one of the latter to make money.

For instance, you can turn your entire blog into an exclusive membership site, and require visitors to become members and pay a set membership or subscription fee to access your content.

Or you could keep your blog free for all, but offer premium content and services to members. These could include premium articles, exclusive courses, or members-only website features like private forums, etc.

By turning your blog into a membership site, you can rely on a consistent and recurring stream income from membership/subscription fees. And because you already have steady revenue, you don’t need to bother yourself with other ways to monetize your blog. Instead, you can focus all your efforts into creating content worth paying for.

Anyway, to turn your blog into membership site, you need to:

• Pick a model. Decide how much of your blog do you want to turn into pay-to-access. Do you want to keep most of your blog free, but offer premium content (articles, forums, etc.) to paying members? Or do you want to turn your entire site into a members-only area?

• Install a membership plugin. To easily convert your WordPress blog into a membership site, simply install a membership plugin like MemberPress, LearnDash, Teachable, Restrict Content Pro, S2Member, etc.

• Set up payments, levels, rules. Through your plugin, decide what your membership levels are, how much each level costs, what perks or products people get for each level, what are the restrictions, etc.

• Create premium content. Make sure you create content that’s worth paying for (articles, videos, courses, etc.), and make sure your members can access them immediately upon joining.

• Include a membership page. You need a page where interested people can view your membership plans and pricing, sign up and log-in.

Remember, not all blogs are suitable as membership sites. Most people expect blogs to offer free content, so if you want people to pay to access your content, make sure your content is worth paying for in the first place. It helps if you’re already known in the blogging and online world, and people know that you offer expert advice worth paying for.

11. Speaking engagements

If you’ve already gained substantial clout and a significant following as a blogger, you can monetize your skill and influence by offering and accepting speaking engagements. Put simply, you’ll get paid to talk to people and share your experience and expertise.

And since you’re already recognized as an authority in your blogging niche, you won’t just be talking about blogging per se. You can also talk about things on your niche – travel, personal finance, digital minimalism, stress management, etc.

If you’re already known to the public, then speaking engagements will come to you naturally. You won’t be doing much – it will be brands, businesses, and other organizations, or even individual persons, who will reach out to you.

But if you’re still building up your reputation, then you have to do a lot of self-promotion. Build up your blog. Offer excellent content. Grow your audience. Be seen and be heard on social media. And it also helps if you tell other people that you’re available for hire as a speaker – you can say so on your website, on your social media accounts, etc.

12. Selling/flipping blogs

You can also make money by selling blogs or websites – literally.

There are plenty of people (or companies) out there who want to have their own blogs or websites, but don’t want to bother themselves with the long and difficult process of starting and building up one. Instead, they’re looking to buy well-established blogs or websites already, especially the ones that are already making good money.

So if you can start a blog, build up its content library, and direct paying traffic to it, then you can sell it for a profit.

Of course, you have to have the expertise in blogging first, from content creation, SEO optimization, promotion on social media, and monetization. All these things, and more, are what make a successful blog.

Then you also need to have the expertise in pricing and valuation. You need to consider everything – from current traffic, age of your blog, diversity of its income streams, domain authority, email list, how much time you spend working on your blog, legal issues, to potential growth and profit for the next two, three, etc. years – before settling on a final price for your blog. You also need to consider whether you’ll make more money by selling your blog, or by keeping it and its earnings for yourself instead.

Alternatively, you can also buy low-performing blogs, turn them around, and sell them for a profit.

You can sell or flip blogs on website brokers like Flippa, FE International, Quiet Light Brokerage, Empire Flippers, etc. Or you could sell it yourself if you already know or have potential buyers.

13. Donations

Finally, you can also supplement your income by accepting donations, tips, and contributions from other people. It’s perhaps the quickest and most direct way that your readers can support your creative projects and help you grow blog.

However, this only works if you can convince your readers that donating to you is a worthwhile use of their money. To do this, you need to, first of all, give them the best content you can create, content that’s truly interesting, useful, entertaining, and valuable in all ways. Your content should answer their questions, provide solutions to problems, address pain points – you get the idea.

Second, you need to build meaningful relationships with your readers, really engage with them on personal level. Your posts and entries should feel as though you’re giving a heart-to-heart talk with your readers. Give them a reason to like you, to trust you, to cherish you. And make it a point to respond to your readers’ comments, questions, emails, etc.

Third, you can also offer incentives, rewards, or perks for people who choose to contribute to your cause. Perhaps you can offer exclusive content available only to your patrons. Or you can put a list of your donors on your website’s sidebar or footer. Maybe you can add a small section or block acknowledging your sponsors right before every article. Or you can give them a shoutout or mention on social media. It’s up to you.

Anyway, there are several ways you can accept donations to your blog, the most common of which are:

• Add a PayPal Donate button. PayPal provides you with a customizable Donate button that lets people make contributions straight to your PayPal (Business) account. Simply copy the given HTML code and paste it on all the pages (or posts) where you want your button to appear. Learn more how to do it here.

• Add a custom donation button or form. You can also create your custom donation button or form via your theme or website builder. Then you can link it to your PayPal, Stripe, or bank account to receive donations.

• Install a donation plugin. You can also set up donations to your WordPress blog just by installing a donation plugin. The most popular ones include WPForms, WP Simple Pay, GiveWP, Seamless Donations, etc.

• Open an account on membership or crowdfunding platforms. These are third-party websites that help content creators earn an income from contributions, donations, and membership or subscription fees from their supporters. Usually, these platforms allow you to provide perks or rewards to your supporters. The most popular ones include Patreon, Podia, Indiegogo, Buy Me a Coffee, Ko-fi, etc. Just make sure you tell your readers where they can donate – either through buttons, links, pop-up forms, or pages on your website that direct to your account on your crowdfunding platform of choice.

How To Earn A Fulltime Income From Your Blog

Now that you know what the best ways to earn off blogging are, it’s time to put together a monetization strategy for your blog. Essentially, you want to identify what income streams will work best for you. Should you do affiliate marketing early on? Or should you start selling products already? Your blog income will be determined by what monetization techniques you put in place, as well as how well you create content and promote it on search engines through SEO and on social media.

But let’s say you’re working your way towards your first fulltime monthly income. You’re a new mommy blogger. You have a newly built blog, where you write and share pregnancy, parenting, financial, and lifestyle advice for other mothers. Here’s what your income reports might look like for every significant milestone:

$100 a month

You spent your first two months building your blog from scratch until you now have a beautiful and fully functional site. You wrote 20 blog posts and entries, and you’ve committed to publishing a new article twice a week. You opened a Business Account for your blog on Pinterest, where you share stunning Pins for your blog posts, which you design on Canva. You applied to two affiliate programs and got accepted, and you’ve been writing and promoting articles about baby brands and products which you think your fellow moms might like.

By the end of your second month blogging, you managed to hit 2,000 monthly visitors to your blog and earn your first $100 a month income.

$1,000 a month

Buoyed by your early gains, you put more time and effort to growing your blog and your Pinterest account. You continue writing thoughtful and compelling content, and you continue getting engagement from your growing audience. In particular, you created your own tutorial on how to start a mommy blog, applied to two more affiliate programs related to blogging, and were accepted. You also decided to join your first ad network and see if ads are worth it.

By the end of your fifth month blogging, you now have 8,000 monthly visitors to your blog, and you just reached your $1,000 a month milestone.

$3,000 a month

Blogging has really grown on you. You’ve become more comfortable with the process, and it has been showing on the way you manage your blog. All the things you did before now take much less time and effort, and with all that extra time you freed up, you decided to open your own shop on Etsy selling digital printables like baby meal planners and baby-themed stickers. Brands, too, have begun to notice your presence, and it wasn’t long before you landed your first sponsored blog post.

By the end of your eighth month blogging, you got over 25,000 monthly visitors to your blog and your first $3,000 a month income.

$5,000 a month

You’re ecstatic about the way everything is growing with your blog, your Pinterest account, and your Etsy shop. You’ve applied to a couple more affiliate programs dedicated to childhood learning and education. And more brands were reaching out to you for sponsorship deals. Soon you decided that it was time to create and sell your first online course – a course on how to start a mommy blog from scratch, complete with everything beginners would find useful and inspiring. On top of that, you also wrote your first ebook containing pregnancy advice for first-time moms.

By the end of your eleventh month blogging, you now have 55,000 monthly visitors to your blog, and were able to rake in your first $5,000 a month income.

$10,000 a month

It’s been more than a year since you first set out on your blogging journey. You look back and see how far you’ve come, proud and grateful that you had the courage to take the first step. You blog has brought so much joy and benefit to you and to your family. But you look ahead and see that there’s more in store for you, and you realize that the work is far from over.

And so you push on. You continue writing insightful, inspiring, and information-rich content, and you continue engaging with your loyal following in genuine and meaningful ways. You’re promoting your blog, your Etsy shop, and your online courses not just on Pinterest, but on every social media platform you could manage. You applied to more affiliate programs centered around motherhood, family, and home. You switched to a higher-paying ad network, now that you reached the required monthly traffic to join. You even launched a companion book to your first ebook, this time a collection of parenting tips for first-time moms.

By the end of your fourteenth month blogging, you drew in 90,000 monthly visitors to your blog and achieved your first $10,000 a month income milestone.

You’ve made it. In a little more than a year, you built a blog from scratch and turned it into a money-making machine that earns you fulltime income. More important, you proved to yourself that you have the perseverance and acumen to start and manage a business to success.

You’ve steadily and successfully steered your blog from milestone to milestone, and now that you’re earning more than $10,000 a month blogging, you’re now ready to take on your next goals – $50,000 a month, $100,000 a month, then who knows what’s next? Perhaps you’d like to start more blogs on other topics you’re interested in, too. Or maybe you’d like to turn your successful blog into an LLC. Or maybe, even maybe, you’d like to form your own digital marketing company. The future’s wide open.

Final Words

One day, or Day One.

Today could just be another day, or it could be the day that will change your life forever. This could be the day that marks the beginning of your journey towards financial freedom and a more fulfilling life. This could be the day you finally start your own blog, build it up, grow it, and manage it towards success.

And one year from now, you could be the proud owner of a successful blogging empire, earning unlimited passive income, working wherever and whenever you choose to, and living your life the way you want to.

Or not.

Look, I can’t promise you that blogging is going to be easy. It will require a lot from you. A lot of hard work, effort, patience, sheer will, and most of all, love.

But I can promise you this: it’s going to be worth it all.

But only if you have the courage to take the first step.

Remember…

…One day, or Day One.

You decide.