If you are looking to start your own blog and earn money from it, you are in the right place!
I want to share with you my experience with blogging, what are the potential earnings and most importantly what are the expectations that you should have for your blog.
Starting a blog can potentially make you earn a decent side income to cover your bills, or even replace your 9 to 5.
There are bloggers who make $500 a month and others who reach $10,000 a month or more.
But it all comes down to your goals and obviously how much effort your want to put into this side hustle.
It is likely that you are excited to start but maybe you have a lot of questions.
Maybe you don’t know where to start, or maybe you don’t know which topics should you cover.
Don’t worry as I will try my best to give you as much information as possible so you will know exactly what the next step will be for you.
Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey that not only lets you share your passion with the world but also has the potential to put some extra cash in your pocket?
Imagine this: you have a hobby, a skill, or knowledge that you’re passionate about. Whether it’s cooking, travel, fashion, technology, or any other interest, there are people out there eager to hear what you have to say.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up your blog, attracting readers, and monetizing your content. So, get ready to unleash your creativity and turn your passion into a source of income.
Let’s dive in and discover how you can start a blog for beginners and make your blogging dreams come true!
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and I receive a small commission at no costs to you
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1- how to know which topic you should cover?
Imagine your blog as a cozy cafe in a bustling city. It’s a place where you, the owner, host conversations about topics you’re passionate about. Just like a cafe’s theme sets the ambiance, your blog’s niche defines its identity in the vast online world.
Identify your passions
Identify Your Passions and Expertise
Start by exploring your passions and areas of expertise. What topics genuinely excite you? What could you talk about for hours without getting bored? Your blog niche should be something that resonates deeply with you because you’ll be spending a lot of time crafting content around it.
One of the questions that you can ask yourself is, is this topic something that you would talk about even if you weren’t paid to do it?
If you answer yes to this question, then you probably have found your topic!
Here is a list of potential topics that you can chose for your blog:
2- Now choose your niche
- travel: Share your adventures, travel tips, and destination guides.
- Food and Cooking: Explore recipes, culinary techniques, and restaurant reviews.
- Lifestyle: Cover a wide range of topics, from personal development to home decor.
- Health and Wellness: Focus on fitness, nutrition, mental health, or specific wellness practices like yoga.
- Parenting: Share parenting advice, tips, and anecdotes.
- Fashion and Beauty: Discuss fashion trends, style tips, and beauty product reviews.
- Personal Finance: Offer financial advice, budgeting tips, and investment strategies.
- Technology and Gadgets: Review the latest tech products, offer tech tutorials, and discuss industry news.
- DIY and Crafts: Share creative DIY projects and craft ideas.
- Home Improvement: Cover home renovation, interior design, and home organization.
- Gaming: Explore video games, board games, and gaming culture.
- Education: Provide educational content, tutorials, and learning resources.
- Pet Care: Offer advice on pet care, training, and pet product reviews.
- Self-Help and Motivation: Share personal growth advice, motivational stories, and self-improvement tips.
- Book Reviews: Review and recommend books across different genres.
- Photography: Share photography tips, techniques, and showcase your own work.
- Traveling with Pets: Focus on pet-friendly travel destinations, tips, and stories.
- Outdoor Adventures: Write about hiking, camping, and outdoor exploration.
- Green Living: Promote eco-friendly lifestyles, sustainability, and environmental awareness.
- History and Culture: Explore historical events, cultures, and traditions.
- Fitness for Specific Groups: Cater to niches like seniors, new moms, or individuals with specific health conditions.
- Relationships and Dating: Offer advice on dating, relationships, and marriage.
- Motorsports: Cover topics like car racing, motorcycle riding, and auto reviews.
- Hobbies: Share insights and tips on niche hobbies like birdwatching, coin collecting, or knitting.
- Film and Entertainment: Review movies, TV shows, and discuss pop culture.
Remember that your choice of niche should align with your interests, expertise, and the needs of your target audience. You can also combine niches or focus on a specific sub-niche within a broader category to make your blog unique and appealing to a particular audience.
3- Can you start a blog for free?
While it is true that there are platforms that allow you to start a blog for free, this is a huge mistake for beginning bloggers.
There are many reason for this. First of all with a free blog you are not the real owner of the website. This means that you will not be able to monetize your blog with ads in the future.
When your blog is not self-hosted, another platform has the ownership of your blog.
When you opt for a self-hosted blog, you own your content and have full control over it. Free blogging platforms can impose restrictions on your content, and they may even delete your blog without warning if they believe you’ve violated their terms of service. This means you can lose your hard work and audience overnight.
If you want to take your blog seriously and treat it as a real work you need to have a self-hosted website. And the best part is that the investment you need to make is really small. With Bluehost, the hosting service that I use for this blog, you only need to invest 2,95$ a month.
As you can see this is really a small investment, if you compare it to all the other businesses that you can start.
Also with a self-hosted blog you can choose the name that you want, for example my blog name is altruisticprofits.com
And this looks much more professional.
Bluehost also allows you to have your custom domain for free for the first year (which usually costs 15$ or more)
How to start your blog with Bluehost
Step 1: Get started
First of all, click on the green button “get started” that you can find after clicking my link here.
I recommend you to choose the 12 month plan in the beginning, which is the plan that I have chosen in the beginning. This will only cost $2,95 per month trough my link
You can choose the basic plan. There is no need to choose plus options in the beginning.
Step 2: Choosing a domain
Next, you need to pick your domain name. Your domain name is your blog’s digital address, its unique identifier on the internet.
If you are still not sure about your domain name you can click on “I’ll create my domain name later.
Keep in mind that your domain name is not going to determine the success of your blog.
While you may think about it, I recommend you do not spend too much time on it.
There are other factors that are much more important in a blog.
Ideally, it should give visitors a clear idea of what your blog is about. If your blog focuses on travel, for example, including keywords like “travel” or “wanderlust” in your domain name can instantly convey your niche.
Ensure that your chosen domain name doesn’t infringe on someone else’s copyright or trademark. Conduct a search to see if a similar name is already in use, especially within your niche. This can help you avoid legal issues down the road.
Step 3: Create your account
Next you need to fill in with your account information. Your name and your address are needed.
Package information: Here you can select the 12 month plan, which is the most convenient for starting your blog.
Package extras: You can deselect all the options here. You don’t need any extra at the beginning
Payment information: you can pay by credit card or with PayPal
Step 4: Create a password
Choose a password that you can remember.
Step 5: Install WordPress
Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you
At this point Bluehost will ask you to choose a theme. If you are not sure which theme to pick, you can skip this step.
Keep in mind that the theme is not going to make or break your blog.
You can choose the one that you like the most. Remember that you can always chose a different theme in the future.
At the beginning I recommend you to pick a free theme.
You have now successfully installed your self-hosted blog with Bluehost!
From now on you can access to your blog by accessing to: https://yourblogname.com/wp-admin/
Now you can start creating your first content!
Create your first post!
Before you start writing, get to know your target audience. What are their interests, needs, and pain points? Tailor your content to address these aspects, making it more relevant and engaging for your readers.
Remember that you don’t need to be an excellent writer to start.
One of the things I can suggest you is to try to create content that is unique. Once you have chosen a niche that you are passionate about, you can talk about the experiences that you have in that topic.
One of my worries in the beginning was the fact that I could find the same content I was writing elsewhere on the internet.
While this is true, people will still want to hear your opinion. So you don’t need to worry about talking about the same content that you have read from other blogs.
As you long as you try to add your own two cents, you are good to go.
And people will relate to your own unique story.
When it comes to your content try to use compelling headlines. You can use headlines that grab the attention of your readers and hint them at the value that you want to deliver.
Pratice will make your content better
Remember that practice will make you improve your writing over time.
For example, in my case, I used to try to get my writing as perfect as possible.
One of the things I understood over time is that something done is always better than perfect.
You can share some stories with your audience to make your content even more interesting. This is called storytelling.
You can use analogies and your own experience to explain your topic.
Stories create an emotional connection between you and your audience. This makes your content more relatable.
This is the reason I empathize on getting your content out there without worrying too much about how perfect that is.
Also try to be consistent with your content. You can have your content scheduled and planned on your calendar.
In this way you will keep track on your progress.
Creating compelling content is a progress and you will get better and better over time!
Promoting your content on Pinterest
Pinterest isn’t just another social media platform; it’s a visual search engine with over 400 million users actively looking for inspiration and information. I’ve found that leveraging Pinterest can be a game-changer for driving traffic to my blog. Here’s how I do it effectively:
1. I Created a Business Pinterest Account:
I converted my personal Pinterest account into a business account to access valuable analytics and features.
2. I Optimized My Profile:
- I used a professional profile picture and wrote a concise, keyword-rich bio that describes my blog’s niche.
- I added a link to my blog in the designated space to make it easy for users to visit my site.
3. Design Eye-Catching Pins:
- Visual appeal is key on Pinterest, so design visually appealing pins for your blog posts using tools like Canva or Adobe Spark.
- Remember to use high-quality images, clear fonts, and attractive color schemes.
- It’s a good idea to create multiple pins for each blog post to A/B test which ones perform best.
4. Conduct Keyword Research:
- Start by researching relevant keywords for your niche using Pinterest’s search bar or keyword research tools.
- Ensure you include these keywords in your pin descriptions and board names.
5. Create SEO-Friendly Pin Descriptions:
- Write keyword-rich descriptions for your pins that provide context and encourage users to click through to your blog.
- Include a call to action (CTA) in your pin description, such as “Learn more” or “Read the full post.”
6. Pin Consistently:
- Consistency is key, so make sure you regularly pin to maintain visibility on Pinterest.
- Consider using scheduling tools like Tailwind to automate your pinning schedule and reach a broader audience.
7. Utilize Group Boards:
- Join relevant group boards within your niche as they have a larger reach and can help your pins get in front of more users.
- Always follow the board’s rules and contribute valuable content to maintain a good relationship with the board owner.
How to monetize your blog
Advertising Networks
Advertising networks are a popular choice for bloggers to monetize their websites. The way you earn money is by displaying ads on your blog.
There are different advertising networks that allow you to place their ads on your blog. Example of advertising networks are Google AdSense, Media.net, and Mediavine.
So basically you get paid by the amount of page views that you have on your blog.
Monetizing your blog with ads is one of the easiest way to make money with your blog, as it really beginner friendly.
How much you can earn depends also on your niche. For example finance and technology earn more compared to other low paying niches.
Also, it depends on the ad network. For example Google Adsense pays less than Mediavine, but to apply to Mediavine you need to have a minimum amount of page views per month.
I would recommend you to have at least 10,000 page views per month before applying to an ad networks.
Before doing that I recommend you to learn how to drive traffic with Pinterest to your blog.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing is when you promote another product or services, so you can receive a commission every time someone purchase with your link.
This is one of the most common way to earn with your blog. And even though you can start with displaying ads, it is better if you diversify your income streams.
Firstly you need to choose the Right Affiliate Programs. There are many affiliate programs that you can find online. I use Impact.com to promote programs like Bluehost and Shopify. Impact is an affiliate network where you can find a lot of affiliate programs that you can promote
What I recommend you is to avoid promoting items solely for the sake of earning commissions; focus on value and relevance.
And make sure that the service you promote is relevant to your public.
Sponsored content
- Partner with brands or companies to create sponsored blog posts, reviews, or social media promotions. You’ll receive payment or products/services in exchange for featuring their offerings.
- Ensure transparency by disclosing sponsored content to your audience.
Sell a digital product
You can also sell your own digital product to increase even more your income.
For example you can sell an ebook or a course. It obviously depends on the topic of your niche.
If you are passionate about cooking you can sell an ebook with all your different recipes
