How to start a Blog

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You’ve come to the right place if you’re wondering how to start a blog. As a blogger, I can tell you that it’s a rewarding way to hone your writing skills, explore new ideas, and establish an online presence centered on your interests and expertise. You’ll be able to inspire, educate, and entertain your readers, and as your blog grows in popularity, you may even be able to make money and turn it into a full-time job.

In other words, blogging is the first step toward pursuing your dream job or hobby, so you can’t go wrong. While starting a blog may seem daunting, I’ll walk you through each step to make it as easy as possible.

The process is actually quite simple, and you’ll have your blog up and running in no time.

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This step-by-step guide will provide you with all of the information and tools you’ll need to get started with a blog. You’ll learn how to launch your website, write your first blog post, and attract loyal readers. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Let’s get started.

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How to Begin a Blog?

Select a blogging platform. Make use of a platform that provides customizable templates.

Choose a hosting platform. Consider a platform that provides adequate bandwidth, uptime, and customer support.

Find a suitable niche. Narrow down your topic and target a specific audience.

Choose a blog name and a domain. Choose a descriptive name that piques the interest of your readers.

Create and design your blog. Include imagery and effects that correspond to your chosen theme.

Consider blog topics. Before narrowing down topic choices, jot down all of your ideas.

Create your very first blog post. Engage your audience with a compelling title, and use headers to make the content easier to skim.

Make an editorial schedule. Make a calendar to help you stay on track and publish on a regular basis.

Publicize your blog. Use marketing strategies to broaden your audience.

Earn money by blogging. Take advantage of monetization opportunities for your blog.

We’ll cover everything from choosing a blogging platform to making money from your written work in this comprehensive A to Z tutorial. With a little help, you can have your blog up and running in 30 minutes or less.

This is the most comprehensive guide to starting a blog from scratch you’ll find. If you need to start a blog quickly, feel free to use the numbered steps above as a cheat sheet. You can go straight to the step you need help with, or you can grab a cup of coffee and read it all the way through.

What exactly is a blog?

While a blog can be an entire website or just a section of one, it is a place to share content about a topic that you are passionate about. A blog will usually include both written and visual elements that are published in an easy-to-read article format so that visitors can quickly browse and find what they’re looking for. And, with over 31.7 million blogs in the United States alone, you can find blogs on almost any topic, from home renovation to baking to local business marketing strategies. Once you’ve built a readership, the possibilities are truly limitless.

Why should you start a blog?

People start blogs for a variety of reasons, including:

Share your thoughts with the rest of the world. Sometimes all you want is to be heard and have your ideas spread throughout the universe. This is where a blog can come in handy; it’s a form of communication and a space all your own. You can use your creativity and passion to design a space that is completely unique to you, where you can share your ideas, expertise, and experiences.

Make a pitch for a product or service. A blog is frequently used by small business owners as a form of content marketing. Written content can be used strategically to engage potential customers and make them feel more connected to the product or service you’re attempting to sell.

Make money. With time and consistent effort, blogging can be profitable. The best way to reap the financial benefits of your efforts is to post high-quality content on a regular basis, which attracts new readers and drives more traffic to your website. This will help your blog gain advertisers and can also increase your status as an online influencer, which can lead to affiliate marketing opportunities.

Create an online community. We no longer need to live in the same city, state, or even country to feel connected to others, thanks to the internet. A blog allows you to share your story, ideas, and start conversations with people from all over the world who share your interests. A blog usually has a comments section where your readers can express themselves.

Now that you have a better understanding of why you should start a blog, let’s look at the steps you’ll need to take to get one up and running, from ideation to publication.

Decide on a blogging platform

The first step in creating a blog is to choose a blogging platform on which to publish your content. A quick Google search will reveal that there are numerous sites available that cater to bloggers from all industries. Wix and bluehost is a good all-around blogging platform that meets the majority of needs, so I recommend it.

Wix’s and Bluehost blogging platform is simple to use and provides a wide range of appealing design options and templates to choose from. It also includes tools for analyzing your blog’s performance and monetizing your content.

How much money does it take to start a blog?

One of the most common questions people have when researching how to start a blog is how much it costs. Starting a blog is completely free on many platforms.

You can choose to upgrade to a variety of different plans at any time, depending on your budget and needs.

Some blogging platforms include hosting, so you won’t need to find a separate web host.

Choose a hosting platform

After you’ve decided on your preferred blogging platform, you’ll need to select a hosting platform. A blog, like any other type of website, necessitates the use of a host. This essentially means that websites are stored on a server with a unique address so that visitors can easily access them.

Other website builders, such as WordPress, will require you to locate and pay for a separate hosting platform. Some popular choices are:

BlueHost
HostGator
GoDaddy
DreamHost

If you’re unsure about which hosting platform to use, consider the following factors:

Uptime: The amount of time that the server that hosts your website is operational. A high uptime rate (99.95 percent or higher) indicates that the host’s servers are performing well.

Bandwidth: The amount of data that your website can send to visitors in a given amount of time. This factor is determined by the size of your website pages as well as the volume of traffic you anticipate. This quick bandwidth calculator can assist you in determining the bandwidth of your website.

Customer care: In the event that something goes wrong, you can contact us. Ideally, your hosting provider should provide an online help center, callbacks, and social media responses to questions and concerns.

After you’ve decided on a blogging platform and a hosting provider, you can start brainstorming blog ideas.

Identify the appropriate market niche

Let’s get away from the technical and into something a little more theoretical. Consider the main element that will serve as the foundation of your blog, from its URL and domain name to its content and design: your blog’s niche. What exactly do you intend for your blog to be about?

When it comes to subjects, there are virtually no restrictions. The most important thing is to choose a specific topic area that will be the focal point of your entire blog.

Fashion blogs, marketing blogs, and food blogs are all examples of blog types. Because there are so many other blogs focusing on the same topics, you’ll need a way to distinguish yourself.

Here are three simple steps for choosing the perfect blog niche – one that not only is in line with your passions, but one that you can also monetize and grow:

Narrow down your interests
Research your audience
Check if it’s profitable

find the right blog niche — find the right niche

Identify your passions.

Consider the long term when starting a blog. To keep yourself motivated to blog on a regular basis, write about something that piques your interest. If you choose a topic solely on the basis of its popularity or profitability, your efforts will dwindle quickly.

It’s fine if you’re not sure what you want to blog about right away. Begin with a simple brainstorming session on topics that interest you. What topics pique your interest? What are you most interested in learning more about?

Now, make a list of the first 5-10 interests that come to mind. As an example, consider the following:

Travel
Cooking
Family
Music
Hiking

After that, consider your more specific interests within these subject areas and add them to your list. Your modifications could look like this:

Southeast Asia backpacking
Recipes for vegans
Taking care of twins
Independent rock music
Hiking in the Rocky Mountains

Don’t be concerned about these niches being flawless just yet. In the following steps, you will conduct more in-depth research on them.

Investigate your target audience.

The next step in starting a blog is determining which topics people want to read about. If your blog gains traction, you may be able to make money from it and eventually become a full-time blogger.

With a little market research, you can figure out how popular a particular specialty is. Start by looking at Google Trends, which will show you how many people are looking for a specific topic. The more searches a topic receives, the more popular it becomes.

Let’s look at Google Trends and enter in “vegan recipes.” As you can see in the graphic below, there is a very consistent level of interest in this issue, making it a suitable option for a blog niche.

On the other side, “Paleo recipes” have a much lower level of interest. This isn’t to say it’s a bad notion; some bloggers like to write for a specialized audience if they have a niche, but it does mean there are fewer options.

Check to see if it’s profitable.

Whether you run a personal or professional blog, you should consider whether your niche is profitable. Even if you’re just starting out as a hobby blogger, you should consider future monetization options in case your blogging efforts turn into a career.

There are numerous ways to make money as a blogger, but affiliate marketing is one of the most common. As an affiliate, you will collaborate with a specific company, providing a link to their products on your blog and earning a commission on any sales made through your site.

Consider whether you could start a blog as an affiliate to see if your niche is successful. Consider the types of “best of” or “how to” articles you could create, such as “Best kitchen tools for quick cooking” or “How to make carrot cake in 10 minutes.” You may use an affiliate link to your favorite food processor or electric mixer in both cases to earn money from each purchase made through your site.

You don’t need to plan out your money-making approach just yet, but considering successful prospects in general can help you narrow down your options. For the time being, concentrate on getting your blog up and running; we’ll go through how to make money blogging in Step 10.

Choose a blog name and domain.

The question of what to name your blog is probably lurking somewhere in the back of your mind as you consider how to start a blog.

There are three main paths you can take with the name of your blog. These are some examples:

Your given name and surname
The name of your company (if you have one)
A novel new name

When deciding on a name for your blog, consider the personality you want it to reflect. Is it necessary to be formal and professional? Is it sweet and romantic? Offbeat and edgy? If you’re having trouble coming up with blog names, this blog name generator can help.

After you’ve made your decision, you should pick a domain name. A domain, often known as a URL, is a website’s address on the internet (for example, this website’s domain name is www.wix.com). Your domain name will most likely be the same as, or affected by, the name of your blog.

Create and design a blog

Select a blog template.
Make a decision about which pages to include.
Obtain a search engine indexing
Make a logo for your blog.

You’ve decided on a blogging and hosting platform, a domain name, and a blog niche at this point. You now have all of the necessary tools to start your blog. Here’s how to improve the look of your blog:

Choose a blog template

The first part of setup is selecting a template. Like your blog’s name, its look and feel will be an important part of its personality.

The most efficient way to get your blog up and running is to choose a pre-designed blog template. Afterwards, you can customize it based on your preferences.

Be sure to pick one that conveys your blog’s subject area. There are website templates for bloggers of any genre, whether you’re a food blogger, photography blogger or business blogger. As you browse, think about the mood you want your website to communicate, for example. whether it’s classic, modern, rugged or minimalist.

You should also take that into account as you further personalize the template with your preferred colors. Color psychology plays a huge role in forming your audience’s impression of your blog. As you choose a color palette, keep in mind the feelings and attitudes that different colors evoke. Blue, for instance, tends to evoke dependability and trust, while yellow evokes energy and joy.

If you’re unsure of which templates to choose, these blog examples serve as a helpful source of design inspiration.

Decide which pages to include

Once you’ve chosen a template, think about which pages to include. Most blogs include more than just a section to display their posts. They might also include an online store, as in the image below, or a contact page.

Here’s an overview of the different options:

01 – Contact page: This is a place to put your email address so that fans and potential business partners can reach out to you. You can also include a contact form so that people can send a message directly through your site.

02 – About page: This tells visitors who you are, what you do, and why you do it, providing some context behind your blog and humanizing your content.

03 – Online store: You’ll also want to add a separate online store page if you’re thinking of selling items related to your blog. You can call this page “Products” or “Shop.”

If you want to beef up your blog with even more pages, a Tutorials page, Now Trending page or Author’s Pick page are all popular options.

Furthermore, some blogs opt to place their posts directly on the homepage, while others keep their homepages and blog pages separate. If you do this, make sure to include a navigation menu so that visitors can easily access your blog as well as any other pages.

There’s no right or wrong way to set up a blog, so play around with different options to see what best suits your style and personality. Keep in mind that you can always add or remove pages over time as your blog evolves.

Get indexed on search engines

Another part of starting a blog is making sure it’s visible on Google and other search engines. This is crucial if you want your content to pop up in search results, so you’ll want to take care of this step right away.

First, make sure your site is indexed on Google. Essentially, this means giving Google a heads up that your blog exists. You can do this by submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console.

Pro tip: Google Search Console is not only important for indexing your site, but it’s also a valuable platform that you’ll be using throughout your blogging journey. It tells you important data about your blog’s site visitors and clicks, which you can use to improve your content.

Create a blog logo

Finally, polish off your site with an attractive blog logo. This is another way to add personality to your site, and it’s an essential step if you want to start a blog that evolves into a recognizable brand.

One option is to design your own or outsource the task, but you can also use an online logo maker. These tools give you plenty of room to customize your logo with your preferred colors, fonts and icons, and tend to be quicker and more affordable than hiring a professional designer.

Once you create your logo, place it in the upper left-hand corner of your website, and link it to your homepage. This will help brand your content while improving the navigation experience for readers.

Create a list of blog topics

Your blog is now ready to launch in terms of technology. It’s time to start considering which topics you’ll tackle first.

Begin by reflecting on your niche-related experiences, achievements, disappointments, or discoveries. What insights do you have to offer? What are some of the concepts you’d like to delve deeper into?

Try to imagine yourself in the shoes of your readers while you brainstorm subjects. Here are some questions to help you get started with brainstorming:

What are the qualities of my target audience?

What topics pique the interest of my target audience?

What problems does my target audience have to deal with?

You can also come up with ideas using the topic cluster model. Essentially, this is a tightly organized system that strings together related posts using a series of internal links. While this process is usually considered part of SEO, you can also think of it as a mind map for coming up with ideas.

Consider a broad topic, such as recipes, and then subdivide it into smaller subtopics, such as dinner recipes or brunch recipes, using this model. Then, further subdivide those into more specific topics, such as 20-minute dinner recipes, mimosa recipes, and cake decorating ideas. Any of these topics could be the subject of a separate blog post.

If you’re still stumped, this list of blog ideas can help you get started. They are as follows:

A list of 30 before 30 (also 40 before 40, or 50 before 50)
Inspirational sources for you
Beginners’ manuals
Time-saving tips
A problem you’ve encountered

Use these ideas as a starting point, but don’t be afraid to add your own creative spin based on your niche.

Compose your first blog article or post

Begin by conducting keyword research.
Make a title for your blog entry.
Make a list of your essential points.
Make content that is interesting to read.
Image Insertion
Make your website SEO-friendly.
Editing and publication

You’re ready to start writing now that you’ve come up with some ideas. Let’s look at how to compose a blog article from beginning to end:

Begin by conducting keyword research.

Finding the proper keywords is critical if you want people to read your articles. By focusing your article on specific phrases, you enhance the likelihood of your blog appearing in search results pages for those terms.

Let’s say you want to share a recipe for carrot cake on your blog. You should target keywords such as:

Cake with carrots
Recipe for carrot cake
Recipe for the best carrot cake
Recipe for Carrot Cake

Some keywords may be more obvious than others, depending on your topic. You can refine your keywords using free tools like Google Keyword Planner or Answer The Public, or you can use more powerful paid tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs.

Then, throughout your content, you’ll need to strategically target your chosen keywords. This has two implications: To begin, scatter those phrases across your article (but try to do so as organically as possible – no one likes unnatural keyword stuffing). Second, you should write your article in the same format as the top ten search results for that keywords.

Let’s imagine you want to write an essay about your favorite carrot cake recipe, for example. Start by looking at your competitors’ top 10 Google search results for the term “carrot cake recipe.”

When you type that phrase into a search engine, you’ll notice that the top results are written as a series of numbered steps, rather than as a story. As a result, you can assume that the majority of readers prefer the list format for these types of posts. You’ll want your own post to follow a similar format if you want to provide valuable content to your readers and rank high on Google.

Similarly, you’ll want to cover all of your competitors’ major points. This isn’t to say you can’t be creative; it’s just that you should cover all the bases in addition to sharing your own unique insights.

To continue with our example, suppose you search for “carrot cake recipe.”

A section on how to create cream cheese frosting is included in the top search results. This indicates that a large number of people find this information useful. Furthermore, it demonstrates that Google favors publications that include that information. You’d be prudent to address this topic in your own article.

Make a list of your essential points.

The optimum framework for your blog article, as well as which sections to include, can be determined by conducting keyword research. This easily leads to the writing process’ outline step.

First, decide what kind of blog article you want to create. Is it going to be a how-to manual? Is there a product suggestion? Is this an op-ed piece? Whatever blog post template you use, you should have a clear idea in mind.

Then, using headers and subheaders, organize your content into bite-sized chunks. Make bulleted notes of the main points you’ll include in each section beneath each heading. This will serve as the framework for your first blog post.

Create a blog post title.

The next step in starting a blog article is to come up with a catchy title. You can come up with blog titles at any stage of the planning process, but the best ideas usually come to you as you create your outline.

A blog title is a brief but powerful piece of content. It frequently determines whether or not people click on your article.

Put yourself in your readers’ footsteps to create catchy and interesting blog names. Consider what might pique their interest and excitement, then implement the following strategies:

Keep it simple and direct.
Make a value promise.
Make an emotional connection with your audience.
pique their interest
Use wit, alliteration, or wordplay in your writing.

Here are some fill-in-the-blank blog title suggestions to get you started:

Here’s more information on how to write a headline that stands out. If you’re curious about diving more into what makes a headline a success, Buzzsumo’s shared headlines study is also an insightful resource.

Make content that is interesting to read.

Now is the time to get down to business. Remember to include an introduction, body material separated by headers and subheaders, and a conclusion (optional).

Grab your audience’s attention with a riveting narrative, a striking quotation or statistic, or an intriguing fact in the opening. Then, share a brief summary of what the article is about, making sure to grab the interest of your readers.

Next, write the body text, using your outline as a guide. This is where you share your knowledge and expertise as a blogger. Be sure to avoid fluff; writing for the sake of writing is one of the biggest blogging mistakes. Instead, make sure each sentence is meaningful, and dive straight into sharing your original insights and actionable tips. You should also use a tone of voice that resonates with your audience, whether it’s funny and casual or serious and formal.

Finally, wrap up the post with a concluding section. While not every blog includes this final bit, it’s a nice way to tie your ideas together and share your closing thoughts.

Keep in mind that writing a blog post can take several hours, and it’s a process that shouldn’t be rushed. Set aside at least half a day to write your first draft.

Insert images

As you start your blog, remember that your choice of images can strengthen readers’ overall impression of your article. Whether you add photos, screenshots or illustrations to your articles, they should be functional as well as beautiful. Make sure they convey your main points and highlight important examples in the post.

If you don’t have your own images, begin by browsing free stock photos on the web. Pexels and Unsplash are both popular sites for gathering visual material. While you might eventually want to use photos you take yourself, stock photos are a quick way to get your blog started.

Optimize for SEO

Once you create your content, there are a couple things you’ll need to take care of before hitting Publish. These steps primarily revolve around strategy, from improving your blog SEO to generating conversions through your article. Here’s a quick post-writing checklist to guide you:

Double check your keywords: Quickly search your content (CTRL+F) to review your use of keywords. Did you include all the keywords you intended to? If not, check to see whether there are any other opportunities to incorporate the keywords throughout your article. (Keep in mind that keyword stuffing is considered a bad practice, and search engines can penalize you for it. Incorporate them naturally into the text, rather than forcing them in.)

Add internal links: One trick up every bloggers’ sleeve is to link between their blog posts – also known as the practice of internal linking. This helps improve your posts’ SEO, and it also encourages your readers to browse your other articles. Rather than linking randomly, you should link between primarily related blog posts; this is better for SEO, and it also makes the links more valuable to your readers. If you’re just starting a blog and don’t have much content yet, don’t forget to go back into your posts and add in the links later.

Incorporate CTAs: The next trick in the book is to include calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout the article. These little snippets of content often take the form of phrases such as Buy Now, Subscribe, or Read More. By placing call-to-action buttons in your article, you can direct readers to buy your products, subscribe to your newsletter, or click for further reading.

Use alt text: Because Google can’t read photos, bloggers often add a short description to each image (ideally using keywords) to help the search engine understand what is being displayed. This description, called alt text, helps your images show up in Google image searches.

Write your post’s metadata: Metadata is the term for the text used to display a web page in Google search results. This includes the meta title (also known as the title tag) and meta description. Sometimes, the meta title is the same as the title of your blog post, while other times, you’ll want to choose a slightly different title for displaying your post. There’s no right or wrong here, so long as your title is engaging and includes your most important keyword. The meta description, which is the short snippet of text beneath the meta title, should also include your main keywords and should preview the article’s main points.

Choose your URL: Every webpage has a dedicated URL, and your blog posts are no different. A strong URL helps your articles rank high on search engine results pages, and typically contains a keyword. Blog post URLs often take the form of www.yourdomainname.com/blog-post-keyword or www.yourdomainname.com/blog/blog-post-keyword. If you’re unsure, set aside time to browse this guide on how to properly structure URLs. Most blog posts will generate a URL for you automatically, but it’s good to know that you can go in and customize the URL for each blog post as needed.

Edit and publish

You now have everything you need for your first blog post. Give it a couple reads, and share it with family members or friends to review. It’s always helpful to have a second, third, or fourth pair of eyes.

When you think your article is ready to go, upload it to your blog. Your blogging platform will also have a place for you to type in the metadata and URL. Once that’s done, hit Publish and let the celebrations begin.

Make an editorial schedule

Whew! You’ve just published your very first blog entry. Take a break, then plan out the rest of the month’s publishing schedule when you’re ready.

Starting a blog requires you to create an editorial calendar. It’s a good approach to make sure you publish content on a regular basis, hold yourself accountable as a writer, and stay on track with your writing goals. Your readers are expecting new content, and you must provide it. Furthermore, while calculating your site’s overall position, search engines consider how frequently you publish.

From your brainstorming session in Step 6, you’ve probably already come up with a few ideas. If not, repeat the process to generate new ideas. Once you’ve done that,

If not, use the same process to come up with new ideas. Once you have at least 10 or so ideas, start building a content calendar.

Your calendar doesn’t need to cost a thing, and it certainly doesn’t require the use of unfamiliar tools or platforms. Open up Excel or Google Sheets, and start building a schedule from there. The columns you use are completely up to you, but you’ll probably want to create different sections for the publishing date, blog title, main keywords, article status and comments.

Pro tip: If you know you’re prone to procrastination (aren’t we all?), open up a Google Calendar and fill in your deadlines there. You can even set aside blocks of time in your calendar for writing.

How often should you blog?

When learning how to start a blog, a big question people ask is how often they should be publishing new content. As a rule of thumb, the more often you blog, the more traffic you get. There’s no black-or-white answer for exactly how frequently that is, but studies have pointed us to a few important statistics:

11 or more posts per month yields a noticeable increase in traffic. Among small companies of 10 or fewer employees, those who published at least 11 blog posts a month had twice as much traffic as those who published 2-5 blogs a month.

Small companies also found that publishing at least 11 posts per month yields twice as many leads as those publishing 6 to 10 monthly articles. This is important if your goal is to obtain subscribers, sell products or work as an affiliate (more on that in Step 10).

How often you blog also depends on your goals. If your main goal is to generate brand awareness, start with 1-2 new posts per week. On the other hand, if you’re primarily aiming to increase traffic to your site, you should ideally be writing 3-4 new posts per week.

Keep all this in mind as you create your editorial calendar, but make your goals small and achievable. If you set unrealistic deadlines that you can’t meet, you’ll get thrown off course and even discouraged.

You can always ramp up your efforts once you get used to publishing and make it a habit to stick to your schedule. In addition, remember that you can always bring in guest contributors to up the quantity of published content each week.

09. Promote your blog

Share on social media
Create a blog newsletter
Write for other sites
Reach out to an existing community
Participate in question and discussion sites
Invest in paid ads
Try new content formats

At this stage, you have everything you need to start a blog. These last couple of steps will focus on how to spread the word about your blog and grow it into a serious monetization tool.

In order to get readers, you’ll need to find creative ways to drive traffic to your site. While improving your SEO is an important step, the following methods can also help you promote your blog. Note that most of them are completely free, while a few (like advertising) are paid.

Share on social media: Social media is an excellent place to post your content and draw attention to your blog. Whether you promote your blog on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn, it’s a great way to reach new readers,

Create a blog newsletter: Send out a weekly email newsletter to engage your readers and get them coming back to your blog for more. This will help you sustain a loyal fan base. To get subscribers in the first place, include a prominent Subscribe button in your website’s navigation bar, footer, and within your blog posts.

Write for other sites: Strengthen your reputation as a writer and expert in your niche by publishing content outside your own website. Consider opening a Medium account and making a name for yourself there, or post articles on LinkedIn. You should also keep an eye out for guest blogging opportunities, which are offered by publications such as Forbes and Entrepreneur.

Reach out to an existing community: Facebook groups, forums and LinkedIn groups are gathering places for people interested in a particular topic. If you find an online community that’s relevant to your blog niche, share your website with them and network among their group members.

Participate in question and discussion sites: Sites such as Quora and Reddit give you the opportunity to highlight your blog in discussion threads. Use one of your blog posts to answer a question or follow up on a comment, but be sure to come across as helpful and informative rather than promotional.

Invest in paid ads: In addition to sharing posts on social media, you can boost your posts with a paid promotion so that they reach more people. Likewise, you can pay for Google ads and reach new users through the search engine.

Try new content formats: Expand your reach even further by trying new content formats. These essentially repurpose the same information provided in your posts. For instance, you can turn your blog posts into videos and start a YouTube channel. You might even create a podcast or offer a webinar. The sky’s the limit.

10. Make money blogging

Affiliate marketing
Advertise within your blog
Offer paid subscriptions
Write sponsored content
Sell e-books and merchandise
Provide consulting services

If you’re looking to start a blog with a large readership, chances are you’re also aiming to make money from your blog’s popularity. We touched on affiliate marketing earlier in the article, but let’s talk more about this and other money-making strategies.

There are more ways than one to make money blogging. Here’s a quick overview of each method:

Affiliate marketing: This is one of the most common ways to make money blogging, and it’s easy to get started. Intermediate affiliates can earn between $300-$3000 per day, and that number only goes up with experience. There are plenty of affiliate marketing programs out there, but Amazon Associates is a popular choice for beginners.

Advertising within your blog: Another option is to display ads within your blog, which means you’re essentially selling your blog real estate as ad space. This is a fairly reliable way to make money, as you’ll be earning revenue with each click. If you’re thinking of taking this route, Google AdSense is by far one of the most lucrative and popular programs.

Offering paid subscriptions: You know how the New York Times makes you pay to read their content? You can do the same thing with your blog. While some of your articles should be free, you can also create exclusive content that readers can buy access to through a subscription plan.

Write sponsored content: Reach out to companies – or, as you blog grows, make it easy for brands to contact you – regarding sponsorship opportunities. You’ll be writing articles that promote those companies’ products, and the business, in turn, will compensate you for the posts.

Sell e-books and merchandise: You can also sell digital or physical goods directly from your site. This might include branded merchandise, products related to your field, or e-books and other online resources. One way to do this is by adding a Pay button to your homepage that your readers can click to browse your merchandise.

Provide consulting services: This approach involves making use of your professional experience and harnessing the knowledge you’ve gained as a professional blogger. Based on your insights and expertise, think about the kinds of consulting services you might be able to offer to your clients. If you’re writing a nutrition blog, one such idea could be making customized diet plans or working as a nutrition coach for clients.

For further details, take a look at this article on how to monetize a blog.

Blogging resources

As you learn how to start a blog, browse these blogging resources to help guide you through the writing process, SEO and more:

Blog post checklist: Check off these steps to ensure you’ve covered all the bases with your first blog post.

Blogging for beginners: Read through these additional tips on how to start your blog from scratch.

Free online writing courses (Udemy): Browse Udemy for professional writing courses that will help you develop your blogging skills.

Free SEO tutorial (Moz): Learn the basics of SEO with this free 6-part video course.

Blogging tools

Finally, online tools are a big part of launching a blog, since they make the process more streamlined and efficient. Here’s a quick list of some helpful blogging tools you can use to start a blog – don’t forget to bookmark them for future reference:

Google Keyword Planner: Get data about which keywords to use in your blog posts.
Google Analytics: Obtain insights into your blog’s data to strengthen its performance.
Google Search Console: Have a clear view of the number of website visitors and clicks your blog receives.
ShareThrough’s headline analyzer: Type in your headline and get feedback on its strengths and weaknesses.
Pexels: Find free stock photos for your blog articles.
Grammarly: Review your writing with an AI editing tool.
BuzzSumo: Keep track of trending content to create relevant, targeted posts.
Asana: Manage your writing schedule with an online task management tool.