How to Make Money Blogging: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
Are you passionate about writing and interested in creating an online presence? If so, then blogging might be the perfect side hustle for you.
Are you looking for a way to make money from home? Are you passionate about writing and interested in creating an online presence? If so, then blogging might be the perfect side hustle for you.
Blogging is one of the most popular ways to make money online, with numerous people making a full-time living doing it. It’s also straightforward to get started—all you need is a computer and an internet connection.
From there, it’s just a matter of setting up your blog correctly, finding your niche audience, and providing them with content that will help them solve their problems or entertain them in some way.
This guide will provide all the information needed to start a successful blog and monetize it quickly so that anyone can begin making money blogging right away!
Contents:
- How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
- 10 Steps to Making Money Blogging
- Select a Profitable Niche
- Do Keyword Research
- Start Building Content
- Promote Affiliate Links
- Sell Ad Spaces
- Write Sponsored Content
- Build an Email List
- Offer Your Paid Services
- Sell Merchandise
- Create a Membership Community
How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
The amount of money you can make blogging will depend on a few factors, such as your niche and how much effort you put into it.
Some bloggers make a full-time living off their blogs while others may only earn a few hundred dollars a month.
On average, bloggers make around 39,000$ per year. But this can range from a few hundred dollars a month (like for most of the newbies) to tens of thousands of dollars per month.
Does this sound like something you’d be interested in?
Just think that Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is making over 40,000$ on passive income per month, working just 2 hours a day!
10 Steps to Making Money Blogging
If you’re ready to become part of the blogging world and make money online — keep reading, this guide will help you with the most important steps to blogging for profit.
1. Select a Profitable Niche
Your blog has to be about something that people want to read, so it’s important to choose a niche that is both interesting and profitable.
To do this, consider what topics are popular and in demand, as well as the ones that you’re passionate about.
Be sure to focus on problems you can solve, questions you can answer, and topics that you have the knowledge to write about.
Put yourself in the shoes of your readers and think about what types of content they would be interested in.
Ultimately, you should pick a niche that you are comfortable writing about and that will be profitable in the long term.
2. Do Keyword Research
Once you have your niche, it’s time to start doing keyword research. This will help you optimize your blog posts, so it’s easier for people to find them via search engines.
By researching popular keywords and trends related to your niche, you’ll be able to create content that is more likely to attract visitors — which can lead to more revenue in the long run.
You can use online tools such as Google Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to find popular keywords in your niche.
3. Start Building Content
Once you have identified profitable keywords, it’s time to start creating content for your blog. This is the most important step when it comes to making money blogging.
You need to make sure that the content you create is not only engaging but also provides readers with the answers they’re looking for.
Make sure you are consistent in your posting schedule and vary your content types. This will help build an audience and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.
You can also use SEO best practices to optimize your blog posts, such as using relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags and descriptions, and creating internal links. This will help increase the visibility of your content and attract more readers.
4. Promote Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways to make money blogging.
You can join an affiliate program related to your niche, get a unique affiliate link for each product you promote, and then start sharing these links on your blog posts.
When readers click on those links and purchase the products or services you’re promoting, you earn a commission from the sale.
The most popular networks you can join are Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, ShareASale, and AvantLink.
5. Sell Ad Spaces
Another way to make money blogging is by selling advertising spaces on your blog.
You can join an ad network such as Google AdSense and display ads in different areas of your website. When people click on these ads, you earn money.
You can also work with local or national brands and offer them ad space on your blog.
Other than Adsense, some of the most popular ad networks include Propeller Ads, Media.net, and Adthrive.
6. Write Sponsored Content
Sponsored content is a type of paid post you write to promote a brand or product.
You can work with brands that are related to your niche and get paid for creating sponsored posts.
These posts should be relevant to the topics discussed on your blog, so they provide value to your readers and don’t appear to be promotional.
To find advertisers, you can join an influencer network such as Izea, TapInfluence, or Influenster.
7. Build an Email List
Building an email list is a great way to keep in touch with your readers and promote relevant content that will help you make more money.
You can add a newsletter subscription box on your blog to collect email addresses, then send out regular emails to keep your readers engaged and informed.
You can also use this opportunity to promote affiliate products, launch new services or products, and drive more visitors to your blog.
8. Offer Your Paid Services
If you have expertise in a particular area, you can monetize your blog by offering online services related to it.
For example, if you are a web designer, you can create packages of design services that people can purchase directly from your blog.
You can also offer consulting services related to the topics discussed on your blog, or create digital products such as eBooks or online courses.
Or, you can offer a video marketing service. Or even writing services and providing content for other websites.
9. Sell Merchandise
If you want to make more money blogging, you can also sell merchandise related to your blog.
This could include t-shirts, mugs, hats, stickers, and other items with your blog logo or design.
You can then promote these products on your blog and earn a profit from each sale.
You can create an online store with a platform like Shopify, or use services such as Printful which allows you to customize your merchandise and dropship orders directly to customers.
10. Create a Membership Community
Creating a membership community is another great way to monetize your blog.
You can create a private online space where members get access to exclusive content, discounts and promotions, special events or webinars, and more.
Membership communities require careful planning and management, so make sure you have the time and resources before taking this step.
Some helpful tools to manage communities are Zoom or Google Hangouts.
Are you Ready to Make Money Blogging?
Making money blogging is not an easy task, but it’s definitely possible.
To start making money with your blog, you need to create quality content, optimize your posts for search engines, promote affiliate links and ad spaces, create sponsored content, build an email list, and offer paid services.
You can also sell merchandise and create a membership community to monetize your blog.
With dedication and hard work, you can make money blogging and turn it into a full-time job.
Good luck!
About the Author
Erik Emanuelli has been blogging since 2010. He created several successful niche websites, and right now he’s focusing on sharing what he has learned about SEO and online marketing on erikemanuelli.com