A blog can be a great way to make some extra money each month. But it takes more than just setting up a website and adding a few posts.
To start making money from blogging, you must consistently add quality content. That means posting new articles regularly and ensuring each article is interesting and informative. If you can do that, you’ll start to build up a loyal following of readers.
And that’s when the real money starts rolling in. Advertisers will pay to have their ads placed on your site, and you can also make money from affiliate sales. So, creating a blog is an excellent option if you’re looking to generate some extra income. Just be prepared to put in the work required to make it a success.
A Few Blogging Stats
Blogging is big business these days. The latest statistics show that there are nearly 31 million active bloggers worldwide, which is growing daily. What’s more, these bloggers are generating some serious income.
The top 10% of bloggers earn an average of $2.5 million annually! So it’s no wonder many people are interested in starting their own blog. After all, it’s a great way to build an online presence and generate some passive income.
Let’s Get Started
We have dozens of different topics to cover before we get to the best part, the part where you start to monetize your blog and start earning that sweet, sweet cash.
So, we’ll start with the most critical part of starting any new blog…We have dozens of different topics to cover before we get to the best part, the part where you start to monetize your blog and start earning that sweet, sweet cash.
So, we’ll start with the most critical part of starting any new blog…
Picking Your Niche
If you’re thinking about starting a blog, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is choosing your niche. It’s crucial to find a niche that isn’t too narrow but isn’t too broad.
A niche that’s too narrow won’t have enough readership to sustain your blog, but a niche that’s too broad will be so competitive that it’ll be challenging to stand out.
The best way to find a happy medium is to choose a niche that you’re passionate about and has enough of an audience to support your blog. For example, if you’re passionate about fashion, you could start a blog about vintage or sustainable fashion. These niche topics within the larger fashion industry have enough readership to sustain a successful blog.
Once you’ve chosen your niche, you can start creating content that will appeal to your target audience. Remember to always focus on quality over quantity – it’s better to have fewer posts that are well-written and informative than those that are poorly written and don’t offer much value. If you can provide valuable content for your readers, they’ll keep coming back for more, and your blog will be a success.
Selecting a Blogging Platform
There are a good number of blogging platforms to choose from online. However, by far the most popular, and in our opinion, the easiest to get started with, is WordPress.
What Is a WordPress Blog
WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms available today. One of the reasons for its popularity is its ease of use. WordPress can be installed with just a few clicks, providing a user-friendly interface for creating and managing content.
Additionally, WordPress offers limitless customization potential through its theme and plugin system. This allows users to significantly change the look and feel of their site and add powerful features such as an online store, affiliate marketing, SEO, and monetization through ads.
Choosing a Name Based On Niche
While you don’t need to create a blog name that includes the name of your niche, it can help those looking for your content.
For example, if you are writing content on your blog about the correct way to handle and care for succulent plants, which link would you click on first out of these two examples:
- www.carolsblog.com
- www.succulentsbycarol.com
The second website clearly shows its subject intent within its name. At the same time, the first one doesn’t give you any information. However, that doesn’t mean the first website couldn’t contain better information about the niche.
It’s just a way to help others, and search engines recognize the subject matter and intent of your blog/website. We recommend writing down several different options you can choose from, as some may not be available when you go to claim your URL.
Purchase URL and Hosting
Starting a website can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. One of the most accessible and affordable ways to get started is by purchasing a URL and WordPress hosting from Godaddy.com.
Godaddy is one of the leading web hosting providers, and their WordPress hosting plans are reliable and easy to use. Plus, their customer service is excellent, so you can always get help if you need it.
When ready to start your website, purchase your desired URL from Godaddy and select a WordPress hosting plan. Once your payment is processed, you can access your new website and start customizing it to your liking.
Customize Your Blog
If there is one thing that WordPress delivers on, it’s being able to customize your website or blog into anything you could possibly dream it to be. In terms of an online presence, that is.
Since you’ve already chosen a name and a URL, it’s time to personalize your brand.
Creating a Logo
Your website is your first impression to the world. And like any first impression, you want to ensure it’s good! A big part of that is having a great logo that represents what your site is all about.
Your logo should give off the overall feeling of your blog or website’s message and products.
For example, if you’re selling energy drinks, you want a logo that looks energizing and exciting. Or, if you’re a parenting website, you might want a softer, more nurturing feeling.
Whatever the case, your logo should give visitors an immediate sense of what they can expect from your site. In addition to looking great, your logo can also help to solidify your online presence as an expert in your chosen field.
Choosing Your Theme
WordPress is one of the most popular site-building platforms available today, and for good reason. It’s easy to use, customizable, and has a vast selection of themes and plugins.
However, with so many options available, it can be challenging to know where to start. When choosing a WordPress theme, it’s essential to keep your specific needs in mind. For example, if you’re building a site for a business, you’ll want a professional and mobile-friendly theme.
On the other hand, if you’re creating a personal blog, you might prefer something with a more personal touch. Regardless of your niche, a few key factors to consider when selecting a WordPress theme.
First and foremost, your theme should be mobile responsive. This means that it will adjust to look good no matter what device your visitors are using. This is an essential feature with more people accessing the internet from their phones and tablets.
In addition, you’ll want to make sure that the theme is easy to install and customize. The last thing you want is to spend hours figuring out how to make your site look how you want it to.
And finally, while it’s vital to have a theme that looks good, you don’t want it to be overly fancy. When running your own business, keeping it simple tends to perform far better in the end. With that said, we highly recommend the Acabado theme by Project24.
Customizing Your Theme
There are many things to consider, from setting up your website to creating your product or service. But one of the most important aspects of any online business is your site’s overall design and feel.
This is where your WordPress theme comes in.
Customizing your theme and blog can set the tone for your whole business. Adding your logo, about us page, mission statement, and legal pages will help to create a professional and trustworthy feeling for your site.
And by keeping it simple and easy to navigate, you’ll make sure that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for.
3 Essential WordPress Plugins
Google Fonts Typography
Google Fonts is a free, open-source library of fonts that offers a wide variety of typefaces for web design. The Google Fonts WordPress plugin makes it easy to use these fonts on your blog.
With this plugin, you can choose from over 800 font families and preview how they will look on your site before you install them. You can also set different fonts for different elements of your blog, such as the header, body, and sidebar.
The plugin is regularly updated with new font families, so you can always find the perfect font for your blog. The plugin also ensures that your typography stays consistent throughout your website.
Lazy Load for Video
If you have a lot of videos on your site, this plugin can help to improve the loading speed by only loading the video when it is visible on the screen.
This can significantly help users with slower internet connections and reduce bandwidth usage. In addition, the plugin also allows you to automatically play the video when it is loaded, which can be a great way to grab attention.
ShortPixel Image Optimizer
Images are an essential part of any blog post. They help break up the text and make a post more visually appealing. However, large image files can slow your website and deter readers from returning.
The ShortPixel Image Optimizer WordPress plugin helps to solve this problem by automatically optimizing your images for the web. ShortPixel uses lossless and lossy compression techniques to reduce the file size of your images without sacrificing quality.
In addition, the plugin also provides a bulk optimization tool, so you can optimize all of your images in one go. As a result, ShortPixel can help speed up your website and improve your search engine ranking by keeping your site speed as fast as possible.
Outsourcing Website/Blog Setup and Customization
Suppose you find yourself a little overwhelmed at the prospect of adding your theme, customizing it, and adding new menus, pages, and categories. You can always hire a professional to do it for you.
The good news is that it isn’t that expensive either. You can go to a Gig platform like Fiverr and look up ‘WordPress blog setup,’ and you’ll get dozens of professionals willing to help you.
The costs vary depending on how much you want them to do for you. But, be prepared to spend upward of at least $50 or more.
Tips To Create Killer Blog Content
Now we’re at the proverbial meat and potatoes of the article. The one thing that creates more value for a blog than anything else is the quality of the content!
It’s All About the Content
In the world of blogging, content is king. A blog can have the most beautiful design, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive list of features, but none of that matters if the content is lackluster.
Google recognizes this fact, and it takes quality content into account when indexing search results. When a user enters a search query, Google looks for websites that have content that provides a relevant and informative answer to that query.
If your blog post meets those criteria, it is more likely to appear higher in the search results than a post that does not provide value to the reader. In other words, quality content is essential for a successful blog.
How to Find Content to Write About
You may already have several ideas for what you want to cover and write about for your first blog articles.
But remember that just because they seem like good ideas doesn’t mean they will get noticed by Google or other search engines.
You will want to familiarize yourself with how and why search engines rank their content.
Check out Google Trends
You can use Google Trends to find niche-specific topics to write about, as well as to research competition and understand how popular a particular topic is.
Simply enter a keyword or phrase into the search bar to use Google Trends. You’ll then see how popular that keyword or phrase is and related keywords and phrases.
You can also use Google Trends to compare multiple keywords or phrases, which can help you find new ideas to write about. Best of all, using Google Trends is free.
Use Social Media
Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn are full of fascinating discussions and articles that can provide plenty of inspiration. To get the most out of social media, it’s important to follow relevant hashtags and influencers in your field. This will help you see the most relevant content and get various perspectives. It’s also worth taking some time to explore other blogs in your niche.
By reading other blogs, you’ll better understand what topics are being discussed and what issues resonate with your audience.
Use Forums and Q&A Sites Like Quora
Sites like Quora can be valuable for bloggers looking for new topics to write about. By browsing the site, you can get an idea of the questions people are asking and the issues they are interested in.
You can then use this information to brainstorm potential blog posts that would be relevant to your audience. In addition, you can use Quora to find out what people are saying about specific topics.
This can help identify hot-button issues your readers may be particularly passionate about.
Look at Competitor Blogs
The best method of finding fresh ideas is to look at what your competitors are blogging about. By studying the layout and content of their blogs, you can get a good sense of what’s popular in your niche and identify potential topics for your own blog.
Here are some specific things to look for:
- The layout of the blog: How is it organized? What type of content is featured prominently?
- Their article headlines: What types of headlines are used? Are they catchy and attention-grabbing?
- Specific keywords: What keywords are used throughout the blog? These can give you clues about what topics are being searched for by your target audience.
Conduct Keyword Research
Speaking of keywords, did you know that the first step to getting ranked is doing keyword research? That’s right – before you even start writing, you need to research which keywords are most likely to help you get ranked.
There are a few different ways to do keyword research. One is to use Google’s Keyword Planner tool, which allows you to enter a word or phrase and see how many people are searching for it each month. This can give you an idea of which keywords are more popular than others in your niche.
Another way to do keyword research is to look at the titles of the articles that are already ranking well for your target keywords. This will give you an idea of what topics are more likely to be ranked than others.
How to Write Engaging Content
It doesn’t do any good to start a new blog or any other side hustle if search engines don’t find your content engaging or relevant. Getting placed on the first or second page of Google is an absolute must if you want to get noticed by your chosen audience.
Not only does it help you get more traffic to your site, but it also helps build your brand and reputation. So how do you write engaging content that Google will want to index and place at the top of its search results?
Here are a few tips:
Write for your audience first and foremost. Remember who you’re writing for and what they’re looking for. If your content is relevant and valuable to them, they’re more likely to read it and share it.
Make sure your content is well-written and error-free. Google loves high-quality content, so take the time to proofread and edit your articles before publishing.
Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions. This will help Google understand your content and make it easier for people to find it when searching for specific keywords or topics.
Structure your content in an easy-to-read format. People are likelier to stick with an article broken up into smaller paragraphs with subheadings.
Use images, infographics, and videos. People are visual learners, so incorporating visual elements into your articles can help make your point more effective. Plus, Google loves rich media!
How Often Should You Post?
When it comes to how often you should post to a blog, there is no easy answer.
Some bloggers swear by pre-writing a dozen articles, posting them all at once, and following up by posting one or two weekly articles.
Others argue that posting one or two weekly articles is better if you’re a new blogger.
Still, others say that pre-writing a dozen or so articles and posting two of them a week will allow you the time to research and write quality content without having to worry about missing your posting schedule.
Ultimately, the best frequency for your blog will depend on your goals and your audience. However, if you are just starting out, it is a good idea to post at least twice per week. This will help you attract new readers and keep them returning for more.
How Long Should Each Post Be?
Google has explicitly stated that they do not rank content depending on length.
That being said, anyone who has been blogging for any length knows that a more detailed article tends to get ranked above those that are not.
That doesn’t mean longer is better, it just means that a blog post or article that you choose to cover should be done in the best-detailed way it can.
If google determines that another article can answer the question being searched for better than the one you have provided, it will recommend that one before yours.
At the same time, if your article appears too in-depth and strays off topic just to appear more detailed, Google can and will see this as an attempt to keyword stuff or oversell your article.
Ten years ago, it was generally accepted that a blog post should be at least 500 words long to be effective. Today, however, that word length is considered inadequate.
A solid word count would be between 800-1500 words per blog post.
If you are looking to gain an advantage and want to get ranked, it would be a good idea to consider introducing an SEO writing tool such as Surfer SEO.
Surfer SEO will take any keywords you enter and give a detailed list of how long your article should be, which keywords you should use, and how many headings, paragraphs, and images should be included for the best chance of ranking on page one of a Google search.
Choosing Relevant Topics
If you want your blog to be successful, it is vital to choose topics that are relevant to your specific niche.
For example, let’s say you want to start a blog about personal finance. In this case, some relevant topics might include ways to save money, invest wisely, and pay off debt.
On the other hand, topics that wouldn’t be relevant would be things like fashion advice, celebrity gossip, or social media marketing. The same principle applies to any other niche; if you want people to read your blog, you need to give them content they’re interested in.
Keyword SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Research
As a blogger, you likely already know that keyword research is vital in writing any blog post. After all, if you want your post to be found by readers, you need to choose the keywords they are searching for.
But did you know that your choice of keywords can also affect your SEO rankings and the overall authority of your website? Here’s how:
When you use relevant keywords in your blog post, it signals to Google that your content is relevant to those keywords. As a result, your article is more likely to appear in search results when someone searches for those keywords.
In addition, Google may also give your article a higher ranking if it contains the keywords people are searching for.
However, it’s important not to go overboard with keywords. If you stuff too many keywords into your article, Google may penalize your website by giving it a lower ranking.
So make sure to use keywords thoughtfully and sparingly throughout your blog post. Doing so can help ensure that your article has the best chance of being found by readers and getting a high SEO ranking.
Add Video And Images For Higher Engagement
It’s no secret that people love visuals. Studies have shown that articles with images are more likely to be read and shared than those without. And regarding ranking in search engines, videos and images can make a big difference. Here’s why:
Images and videos add an extra layer of engagement, helping to capture the attention of readers and keeping them engaged with the content. Not only that, but search engines also consider the number of views and interactions when determining where to rank a piece of content.
Google has also started ranking images based on their descriptions within an article. If someone is looking for how to groom their chihuahua, and you have an article with an image of a chihuahua being groomed.
If you correctly labeled the image description, your image will be at the top of the results. This can have a significant effect on the overall search placement of your article as well.
How to Make $10k a Month With Blogging
Now that we have all the nitty gritty done let’s get to the good stuff.
Let’s say you spend an entire month online blogging, posting affiliate link after affiliate link, creating online courses to sell, doing freelance writing jobs or VA services, or whatever your blog niche is about.
You’ve done all the SEO and followed all the advice from other online business owners. You’ve considered all of the monetization strategies to hopefully generate more money online, and with all that done, you should be raking in the dough, right?
Well, trying to generate money online isn’t as easy as everyone makes it out to be. Although, that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. Whether you’re looking to make 10k a month, a few hundred dollars a day, or even a few thousand dollars a day, it can be done.
You just have to be willing to put in the time and effort. These are the techniques we use to consistently generate multiple successful online businesses.
Don’t Spend Money On Advertising!
I know, it sounds a little counterproductive, doesn’t it? However, there is no need to spend a single penny on advertising your blog if you are already following the guidelines for writing keyword-relevant topics.
Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. The average time for an article to get ranked on Google can be between three days to an entire year, depending on multiple factors. The overall age of the blog, topic-relevant articles, and so on.
Advertising dollars would be better spent locating a quality Backlinking service as google puts a strong emphasis on quality, content-relevant backlinks to your website. We’ll cover more about backlinks in depth in another post.
Suffice it to say, if you want your blog posts and website to get indexed and ranked as fast as possible, backlinks are the way to accomplish that.
Guest Posting
The practice of guest posting is fast becoming one of the most popular ways to generate strong backlinks.
Guest posting is when you offer to write an article or blog post for another high-ranking authority website. Usually for free, but then add a link to your blog that visitors can click on.
The Google algorithm then views your website as another quality site it can reference for those searching for your chosen niche. Be aware that high-ranking authority sites are extremely picky on who they allow to guest post on their sites.
Getting a backlink from an authority site in the same niche can significantly boost your blog’s authority with search engines. This can be a great way to start generating consistent traffic in the beginning stages of your blog.
However, it may be good to know the difference between a Guest Post and Sponsored Posts. Sponsored posts are when someone pays to have their article shown on a popular, high-ranking site. This method can cost several thousand dollars and is usually reserved for partnered sites.
Ezoic
Ezoic is an advertising platform that allows you to generate passive income from your blog. Also known as display advertising. All you need to do is sign up and add a few lines of code to your site, and Ezoic will serve relevant ads to your visitors.
You’ll earn money every time someone clicks on an ad; the more traffic you have, the more money you can make. Plus, the longer you stay with Ezoic, the more data they’ll have to work with, which means you can potentially earn even more money.
The second way Ezoic pays you is your website’s overall number of visitors. This is common among advertising platforms.
Generally, you get paid for every 1000 unique page views.
For example, if 5,000 people visit an article within your blog in a given month, Ezoic will pay anywhere between $5 to $60 per 1k visitors.
Quick Math: 5,000 / 1,000 unique visitors = 5
5x$5=$25
This isn’t uncommon; you could easily make more than $10k a month in ad revenue alone!
That may not sound like a lot, but remember that depending on your niche, quality of content, and ranking, your blog could get 300k – 1 million page views a month.
The average median income for a successful blog in the U.S. is around $63,200 annually. About 70% of that comes from ad platforms like Ezoic.
Affiliate Marketing
While ad platforms like Ezoic are probably the most passive income sources with the highest payouts available to bloggers, if done correctly, affiliate marketing can generate a decent income stream.
Affiliate marketers get paid to promote a product or service and receive a percentage of the sale as a commission.
That means if your niche is all about dogs or cats, you can write product reviews about relevant affiliate products like dog food and cat toys on your blog. Every time someone clicks your affiliate link and purchases that product, you get paid.
While you may not be able to quit your day job as soon as you’d like, affiliate marketing can generate good income while working your own schedule. Once your blog generates sustained traffic, affiliate income will generally make up about 30% of your monthly profits.
It’s critical that you don’t turn your blog into just a bunch of product reviews or affiliate offers. Your audience will catch on and feel like you are just there trying to sell them something every time they visit your site.
Most bloggers don’t learn this lesson until it’s too late.
Sell Online Courses
If you are an expert in your chosen niche, you may want to consider creating and selling courses online.
Whether you create and teach others how to invest in the stock market, how someone can achieve financial freedom by creating their own website, or how to become a financial advisor to others, there is no shortage of high-paying clients currently looking for such courses.
Having an established audience already in place will significantly increase your chances of selling an online course. Otherwise, you may need to invest in traditional online marketing.
See what other experts in your niche are offering and how much they charge for their courses to get a good feel of where to start. Offer advice they haven’t already covered in their courses and give more details where necessary.
You can offer ongoing coaching services as well. Many bloggers charge $5k to $10k for others to learn what they have to offer in their given niche.
Building an E-Mail List
There are several reasons why building an email list can be so effective. First, it gives you a ready-made audience for your product or service. Instead of having to go out and find customers, they will come to you.
And because they have already expressed an interest in what you have to offer, they are more likely to be receptive to your message.
Another advantage of email marketing is that it allows you to build relationships with your potential customers before making a sale. By regularly sending them helpful or interesting information, you can create a bond of trust and rapport that will make them more likely to do business with you when they are ready to buy.
Memberships
A good number of WordPress plugins will allow you to collect a monthly payment from membership dues.
You can create a steady stream of passive income by providing paying members with in-depth knowledge, exclusive content, and valuable resources.
Of course, to make this work, you need to provide more benefits for paying members than you do for the general market. Otherwise, they won’t see the value in shelling out money for your content.
Social Media Blogging
Creating social media accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help you reach a wider audience and promote your brand.
You can also use social media to drive your website or blog traffic. In addition, you can use social media to create valuable content that will keep your audience engaged.
Another way is by creating a YouTube channel. There are ways to make quality, engaging videos without showing your face if that is something you’re uncomfortable with.
You can learn everything you need to know about starting and growing a successful YouTube channel Here.
Essential Pages to Have on Your Blog
Any website owner knows it is vital to have certain pages to provide a complete and professional experience for the user.
These pages are:
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Use/Legal Information
The About Us page tells the user who you are, what you do, and why you are qualified to do it. This page helps build user trust by providing transparency about your business.
A little More On the About Us Page
There was a time the about us page was just a simple paragraph stating who you are, when you started, and why you started your blog.
That method doesn’t cut it anymore!
People visiting your blog want to know what’s in it for them! They are, after all, the ones reading your articles, clicking your links, and generating traffic.
When creating your About Us page, we suggest the following:
- Mission Statement
- What Your Bog is About
- What You Have to Offer
- A Few Things That Make You Unique
- Who You Are, Name, Age, and Brief Background
The Google algorithm likes seeing who is behind your website, and if your site schema is set up correctly, it will generally view your site authority higher than those that do not offer a solid About Us page.
The Contact Us page allows users to contact you with questions or concerns. This page should include a professional email address, phone number, and physical address.
Try to avoid using @gmail or other mass email services. A professional email that ends with an @yourbusinessname will help solidify your authority and professionalism.
The Privacy Policy page informs users how they collect, use, and store their personal data. This page is essential in building trust with the user and ensuring their data is safe.
The Terms of Use page sets forth the user’s rules to agree to use your website. This page is vital to protect your business from any legal liability.
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to generate $10,000 a month blogging, simply start by creating quality content that provides value to your readers. Then, use one or more of the abovementioned strategies to monetize your blog and generate passive income. With consistency and dedication, you can achieve financial freedom through blogging!
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