You’ve heard the saying, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” and you’ve seen many people do this and wonder, how do they do it? If writing is your love, your passion then blogging may be your way of ‘never working a day in your life.’ Sounds difficult? It isn’t. Creating a blog site is not as hard as you may think, the most important step is starting.
Crazy right? Read on and then decide.
Of course, starting a blog will mean you’ll need to put in some work. After all, you’re building your brand on the internet, ensuring it’s visitor-worthy.
The initial setup may not be as tedious but creating a blog site that will earn you money will surely take more time. You can make money blogging and, this article will explain how. This guide will show you how to get started by implementing some of the best website design templates while highlighting how to use online website makers to create a blog site to generate income. Grab yourself a cup of coffee or whatever you like drinking and let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Make money on your blog with these 5 tips for a successful blog
You can also create your blog site in minutes. Get started here.
1. Do your research before choosing a blog name
To create a blog, you need a great idea. Choose a specific topic that is unique to you. Sure, there will be numerous blogs that focus on your niche, however, what will set you apart is the fact that your voice is uniquely yours. Ensure that you select a topic you’re passionate about. Another factor to consider is if others will be interested in the topics you decide to blog about. If you merely select a topic based on the interest of others, you’ll lose interest and ideas quickly. This is why it’s important to do your research, don’t jump the gun.
Once you’ve decided on a topic, you now need to choose a name for your new blog. This is the first thing people will see when they visit or hear about your blog, it’s your brand.
Take some time to brainstorm and write down all the names that come to mind.
Let’s now choose a domain name. This will be your address on the web, for example, www.monsterhost.com. You can use your name as your domain, or you can choose a different one to represent your brand. Yourwebsite allows you to check if the perfect domain name is available and even offers the option to transfer a domain if you already have one.
2. Choose a web host and select a website design template
You’ve decided on a domain name and, you now need to set up hosting for your blog. Always check customer reviews before and never forget specs are important. Here’s what to keep an eye out for:
Bandwidth and memory. These contribute to speed and page load time. A new to average site needs roughly 5GB of RAM.
Security- This is vital to all sites. So ensure you find a reliable host with secured servers, frequent backup and accountability. Web hosts often advertise that they offer 100% or 99.9% uptime, though this is next to impossible when you consider unexpected outage or system maintenance. A web host must be accountable and able to let you know if and when something goes wrong.
Price and scalabiltiy. Always compare markeet prices and the value of the service you need. Never take less resources than you need for your project either.
Luckily, Yourwebsite provides fast, secure, reliable hosting at an affordable price.
Get started now and follow the steps below to get your hosting plan up and running, then head over to the many website design templates offered and select your favorite from the wide variety available.
How to signup on yourwebsite
On the website, you’ll see different web hosting plans and the good thing about this is, you will always have the option to upgrade your plan.
It’s now time to use the domain name you created in step 1 or transfer the existing domain that you already have. The skip option is also available. Selecting this gives you a temporary host name. Choose your billing cycle, monthly or annually (annually give you a free domain) Enter all the payment information requested and submit it. That’s it! You’ve taken the bold step and selected your web host. Follow the rest of the instructions and set up your account.
You do have the choice of importing a WordPress theme to your Yourwebsite account or choose a website template built by a yourwebsite expert. However, you can also use the online website maker offered through the hosting provider.
Yourwebsite offers website templates that are aligned with the goal of any blog. Choose from a huge number of templates that will capture and keep the attention of your viewers. In selecting your template choose one that is easily customizable.
Keep in mind that you may want to adjust your page layout, images, or even a new website design template.
Don’t overthink things, if at any time you start feeling a little overwhelmed, remember there is 24/7 support to assist with any block or technical glitch that you may experience.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Another aspect to consider is ensuring that the website design template that you select is SEO-friendly. While you must select the template that best suits the content of your blog, ensures that it is also SEO friendly.
Optimizing your website makes your blog more visible to people who search for specific keywords associated with your blog via search engines. Once you’re easily discoverable on the internet, more traffic will come to your blog which will help to build your net worth.
Here are a few tips that can help with enhancing your blog content searchability:
- Add 1-2 keywords to specific sections of your post
- Optimize Images
- Utilize URL Structures
- Remove outdated content
Add 1-2 keywords to specific sections of your post
Now adding 1-2 keywords in your blog post does not mean you should engage in keyboard stuffing. It means you should use keywords in your blog in a natural unforced way. The four crucial areas to include keywords in your blog is your: URL, body and header, title tag, and description. Once you follow these instructions your blog will surely rank high within search engines.
Optimize Images
Of course, you know your blog post should contact both text and images. Include images that always relate to your content. Search engines look for specific images that include image alt text. Not only does this help with SEO but it also results in a greater user experience.
Utilize URL Structures
URLs are text used to link to your blog. They make it easier for visitors to understand your blog’s structure and the content they will be viewing. So be sure to utilize a URL structure that makes it easier for visitors to understand your blog content. Search engines will appreciate the fact that the URL is easily identifiable.
Remove outdated content – this may sound strange seeing that you’re blogging and you would assume you need to create new content. Yes, that is partially true, however, you should also pay keen attention to updating your current content and also removing the outdated ones. A fact to note is that it can take longer for new content to be embedded on the search engine results page. Updating content will allow you to enter keywords that can also drive more traffic to a blog that was already gaining some visitors.
4. Content Creation
You’ve completed the technical part, you created your blog, now this is where the fun all begins! Let’s make the blog yours.
- Start by creating the content of your basic pages, the About Page, Contact Page, and any other page that you want to be added to your header on the blog.
- Add a professional photograph of yourself.
- Create a logo that represents your blog and all that it stands for. You can use logo designing programs or have someone design a logo if you’re unable to design one on your own.
- Add images to your blog for a little “razzle-dazzle”.
- Decide whether or not you want a comment section on your blog. This can be useful to engage with your visitors and receive feedback so we say go for it. Allow users to comment.
- Add your social media links
- It’s now time to publish your blog. Ensure you post at least once a week to build an audience.
5. Monetization
There was a time when creating a blog site would cost an arm and a leg to set up and maintain. If you thought creating it was hard, monetizing that blog site was just as hectic. There weren’t as many options to get this done.
In today’s world, everyone wants to know how to quit their 9-5 job, become a freelancer and make money from it. Well, the processes of setting up a blog have become significantly easier with tons of options on how to make website templates or simply customize one that comes optimized for monetization.
Most bloggers start out writing because it’s their passion, and it helps them connect with others. Once they figure out how to make money from blogging, they begin to take the Freelance world a little bit more seriously. A few ways to make money from blogging are:
- Using Ads
- Subscriptions
- Affiliate Marketing
- Coaching
Use ads
Advertising can provide a stream of additional income for your blog. For this to work, you need to have a large pool of visitors to your blog site. Advertisers will pay to gain some exposure on your blog site. Most bloggers offer advertising space directly on their blog site alongside their content. That way, your visitors will have some form of dialogue with the advertising content. Writing content that is relevant to the advertisement is another way to grab the attention of any business that would have been considering your blog for advertising space.
Add subscription buttons
Another steady income stream is subscriptions. Once you have a community that looks forward to your blogs weekly, you can offer a subscription or membership option. Readers pay a set amount, whether monthly or annually to access premium content. Think of creative ways of offering more to members or subscribers, that way they will continuously look forward to new beneficial material each week.
Get into affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing is very popular in the blogging world. Including a link in your content to a product or service offered by another vendor can also generate additional income. Affiliate marketing works if a visitor clicks a link included in your content, visits the affiliate’s website, and makes a purchase of that good or service. When that is done you earn commission on that sale.
Once you have an audience that’s interested in product recommendations, this will be a win-win situation for your blog and the affiliate.
However, be very tactical about how this is done. For example, if you are writing about your best vacation experience in a specific country, it works well if your affiliate is a hotel that you stayed at for a few days. You’ll want to ensure that you sell the hotel while sharing your experience. The more relatable you can be, the better for affiliate marketing.
Coaching
Coaching is a great way to monetize your blog, especially when you have a community. Creating online courses and packages and charging a set fee to gain access will increase your income stream. Self guides are a fan favorite as this shows your visitors that they can purchase your lesson and go at their own pace.
This tactic becomes even more successful if you share your own experience. Coach your audience on how to make money as a freelancer. People love when they are encouraged and motivated by others, more so when they see how beneficial your content is and that you’re speaking from personal experience. If you gain the trust of your audience, it’s a done deal.
Conclusion
Deciding to start a blog is a great decision. With the countless resources offered by different web hosting providers starting is easy. However, in order to become successful in building your brand and monetizing your blog, it will take some elbow grease and dedication.
With the help of website design templates from the best hosting sites, the tips provided above and a great concept your hard work will surely pay off. If this is your passion and you want to take this up full-time, you will need to put in the work. But most importantly, be yourself, enjoy creating your content and readers will fall in love with your authenticity and look forward to your posts each week.
Do your research, choose a web host and website design template that best suits your content needs, use search engine optimization, create amazing content and choose how you’ll monetize your blog. Sounds doable? It most definitely is!
So, what are you waiting for? Start that blog today!
