Start a blog in 6 easy steps. Here I am talking about blogging again and encouraging you to do the same. Why? One reason is that I know it works and the second reason is that you can do this and control your earning potential unlike working for a company from home where it may be based on the number of hours worked or sales made.
If you have a computer with an internet connection and an idea, you have the basics to start your blog.
Why am I advising you to Start a Blog?
Not just because I am a blogger myself but because it is one of the most frequently asked questions from my readers. They genuinely want other avenues to pursue where they will have the freedom and opportunity to make a living online without a demanding schedule, or long-term commitment. Blogging has so many advantages.
Personally, it has allowed me time to pursue other matters in my life that are very important to me, gives me the work/life balance that may be absent if you are an employee of a company, and allowed me to connect with brands and strategize my own money-making goals without it being dictated for me.
When should you start a blog?
Right now or as soon as the thought of blogging enters your mind. Summertime can give way to tremendous inspiration just by being outdoors and enjoying nature. From my personal experience, I started this blog in late spring or early summer and officially launched it in August of 2011. It has been almost 7 years, and I have never regretted my decision to start a blog.
In fact, so far I have earned well over $100,000 just from Google Adsense alone! This amount is only a fraction and does not include what I have earned from partnerships, sponsors, other affiliate programs, promotions, selling my own products, and more.
I previously wrote content for another company but was very dissatisfied with the restrictions placed on what I could share as well as the fact that I had to split my earnings with the company from content that I created. But I had to start somewhere and was so intimidated about the blogging process in general. I used that fear to drive me to learn as much as I could about blogging so that I could be empowered to do so myself to help sincere, honest people find and apply for legitimate work-at-home jobs.
How to Start a Blog in 6 Easy Steps
I like to outline steps to make it easier for everyone to know just where to start and how to accomplish starting their own blog including the tools they will need.
- Visit Bluehost.com to get the best web hosting to set up your blog which includes a free domain or name of your blog, SSL or security for your blog, 1 click WordPress install, and 24/7 support. This complete only costs $3.95 per month plus you will get $10 cashback if you join Ebates off your hosting plan. This process will only take you 10 minutes or less.
- After you have acquired your hosting plan, picked a name for your site, and installed WordPress. You are ready to build your blog. Pick a theme or design for your WordPress site that will suit your blog and start customizing it inside WordPress. You can preview your blog to see what it will look like when people visit your blog.
- Install plugins from WordPress to keep your content safe, see stats from your blog, enable backups in case your internet fails or your site goes down, include share buttons, ad blocks for advertising, places for your readers to comment, and many other things.
- Start creating content for your blog. Try to keep your content aligned with the category of your blog. If you have a blog about saving money and the title of your blog is “Saving with Alicia” you could write content about saving money with a specific app like Ibotta, using digital coupons, going to second-hand or dollar stores, preparing your meals at home, etc.
- After you have written a post, make sure that you proofread it, include photos or videos to enhance your content, and click the publish button to make your post live.
- Share your content. Make sure that you have a social presence online like a Facebook business page, a Twitter account, or an Instagram profile to promote and expose your content for free.
Watch this video for more tips and advice on how to start a blog
Tips and Ideas to Make Money with your Blog
Once you have gotten visitors and traffic to your blog, you will definitely want to monetize your content…most likely sooner than later. There are several ways to do this and here are a few that I highly recommend.
- Sign up for a Google Adsense account. It is free and Google will show ads that are related to your blog’s content to help you have a higher CTR. You will earn money when the ads are shown and when others click on these ads.
- Apply for a publisher account with various affiliate companies. You will earn money or a commission for products that you sell, when others sign up, join, etc. Here are some of my favorites. Max Bounty – weekly pay, Media.net, Panthera Interactive, iGain, and Shop Her Media.
- Set up your blog to include sponsored posts. This is where you will come up with a set rate to include a post, article, or some other form of content on your blog.
- Sell your products. Do you have paintings, artwork, designs, apps, books, courses, tutorials, or guides that you created? If so, you can sell your products directly from your blog.
- Promote other people’s products on your blog. You can do this by including links in posts, writing a complete article about it, and so forth.
- Flip or sell your website for 2 to 3 times or sometimes more than what you paid for it. This is highly recommended if you have regular traffic to your blog and you only plan to keep it temporarily. Similar to flipping houses.
- Accept donations by including a buy me a coffee button or support this blog button on your blog. Link it to your PayPal account for anonymous donations.
- Be a coach. Offer your services, advice, or expertise by being an online coach. You can set up your rates per hour or session to earn some extra income with your blog.
- Sell Amazon products on your blog. Sign up for the Amazon associates program and get paid monthly to encourage your readers to purchase items you use or recommend on Amazon.
- Set up a newsletter on your blog or direct your readers to your newsletter and include items and products inside your newsletter that you can make a commission from.
- Use GetSiteControl, a widget displayed on your blog to share links, promote offers, discounts, etc. for extra cash.
Of course, these are not the only ways to make money with a blog or website but it just gives you an idea of what you can do to have multiple streams of income from your blog. In addition to the steps and tips, I have provided. I have a whole book dedicated to blogging for even more advice and information that you can check out on Amazon here entitled, “How to Make Money Everyday Blogging for Full-Time Income.” If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can download the book for free.
I also have an online course discounted for you that you can take on Udemy entitled, “How to start a Blog with Blogger or WordPress” which is great for beginners or those who are looking for additional advice on how to get free traffic to their blog or website, how to network, create content that others will read and so much more. You can enroll in my course today here.
Just remember you can’t make money with a blog if you don’t have one so go to Bluehost today to get started. Also, keep in mind that it will require some patience and hard work but it will not be in vain if you stick to a regular blogging schedule (I recommend at least once a week or more if possible), share your content online, write meaning posts, and stay connected to your audience to know what they are interested in. A Facebook group, community, or forum to accompany your blog is a great way to be informed.
Please leave me your comments if you have recently started a blog, have been blogging for quite some time, or have been inspired to do so.
Discover more from Workersonboard
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
1 Comment