Want a real money-making blog? Choose a niche now! Wait. What?!
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Okay, so before you get stuck here, like most people (and also me, years ago) who are indecisive if they will start or not a blog. I suggest reading how blogging can get your heart’s desire” this will help you decide.
Don’t let finding a niche stop you from starting now. It’s not as hard as you think. Let me help
Should you be writing a niche blog? Or a multi-niche blog? the answer is yes to both questions. You can do either of the two. Why? A niche blog is targetted that is great if you have a specific skill, talent or hobby anything that you are surely passionate about.
But if you have so much to offer, or have so many things you like, a lifestyle blog would Always be a good choice. I have to say this was one thing that I regret the most for many years. I should’ve just started a long time ago, I should’ve just…
Let me emphasize that it’s not true that you can’t make money with a multi-niche blog and that only targetted niche blog can only make money. Wrong!
The reason why I wasn’t able to start a blog because I have many things I like so much. , I’m scared, I thought it will cost big bucks to start a blog. I was so wrong.
And if you’re thinking, ” I’m no professional writer” So am I. This one tool called Grammarly help me every single time. and I didn’t have to hire a proofreader. The best part? It’s free!.
So let’s start.
1. Setup Your Blog.
Set up a blog using WordPress and Bluehost. Why? If you are planning to use a free hosting blog. Don’t. Just don’t. Unless you don’t want a money-making blog.
Why is this so important? Google only ranks blog posts from blogs with a reliable hosting site with a unique domain name. Ad networks and Affiliates won’t accept you if you will use a free blogging site. Be smart so start right.
Top bloggers use Bluehost. Simply because It’s reliable, easy to use, and it will only cost you about $3.95/monthly. Here’s a step by step process on how you can set up a blog and domain name with Bluehost in just minutes.
Another important thing is choosing the right theme. Nowadays you have to take note that readers are mostly using cellphones when surfing the net. So your theme should be 100% responsive.
It means that it’s mobile-friendly. I chose Divi from Elegant themes and nothing else because it is perfect for a non-techy person just like me. It’s drag and drop so it’s’ pretty easy to set up.
Plus the fact that it’s amazingly beautiful and of course responsive. It also comes with a ready-made theme if you don’t want to start from scratch. Very Ideal for beginners.
2. Write blog posts-
Before you officially market your blog and start promoting. Write at least 20-30 blog posts in advance. This will help you prepare for the months to come. You can just post them once or twice a week. This will help you to focus more on marketing your blog and other blogging essentials.
And when you write. Write what readers would want to read. If you are a fashion blogger. Don’t just write about your favorite shoes, clothes. ( although that’s fine if you’re writing a review post) Write something very helpful.
Like “Best Fall outfits on a tight budget”. Remember to be able to get readers, Think like a reader. What would I Google about? What would fashion readers would google about this season, this month, etc. When you do that. You’ll start to grow followers, readers. More readers mean more traffic. You now officially own a money-making blog.
3. Create a Pinterest account-
Start with Pinterest before you start promoting in any other social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Why?
-It’s a FREE way to get traffic to your blog
-You can see your traffic increase faster than any other social networking sites.
-It’s easier than you think. Let me help you with how you can make awesome pins. Pins that Pinterest loves.
-Your Pinterest pins last longer than Facebook. Posts. Although you can store your pics on FB the lifespan of it getting seen on newsfeed is only 24 hours. Pinterest pins are evergreen it lasts for months and months as long as someone saves it can be seen.
-It will surely help you monetize your blog in many aspects. You can read how to create awesome pins to guide you on making click-worthy pins that drive traffic easily.
4. Drive traffic to your blog.
Now that your blog is all set up. We need traffic now ASAP. And because you are new you have to get those posts in front of the right people. There are many ways to drive traffic to your blog. But better start with these two: Social Media and Mailing List.
Automate your pinning. This is the reason why I ask you to create a Pinterest account. You are a busy person, It’s not all the time you can pin every single day. That’s why Tailwind is this most reliable Pin scheduler that will automatically double your traffic.
Especially if you are starting a new blog. It’s like “set and forget” You just need an hour or two to schedule a whole month of pins. Start scheduling here.
Now if you are pretty new to the Pinterest world, or not so new but you need some real help and guide with it plus how you can increase your traffic fast I mean really fast. Better check out Pinterest SEO Traffic Secrets by Anastasia Blogger. This is the most in-depth course anyone can get nowadays.
Another super important thing that I learned in the past years of blogging is learning the SEO. My mistake was not taking this seriously simple because I thought it was only done by IT or techy bloggers. I was wrong. Thanks to Mike’s Stupid Simple SEO. I get to understand and apply all the information learned ASAP. And it helped me a lot.
Related Article:
How Pinterest traffic skyrocketed to 1 million in less than 2 months.
5. Start A Mailing list
When you go to a blog they often ask you to subscribe. And readers subscribe when they are interested in what you can offer/help/guide them. This is one of the essentials of blogging. Two reasons: TRAFFIC and MONEY.
Traffic- Mailing list will help you get those readers to come back to your blog. You have to take note that not all first-time readers would want to go back to your blog. Not all readers would remember your blog. (Tons of blogs all over the internet) Emails can remind them of you. Money- And because these are targeted people that subscribe to you.
They are more likely to buy something you offer. This is how you can get sales with little traffic or even a small following of your blog. You can start with Mailerlite This is what I use. It’s noob-friendly and very easy to use. This is perfect for beginners and not techy like me.
6. Monetize your blog-
Advertise in the beginning. Sign up for Adsense. If you are a new blogger. This is the first stage of how you can make money with your blog. Through ads. Adsense, however, wanted a blog that is more than just a month and with worth-reading posts
Google doesn’t want to put ads on site that they think is not legitimate and will just vanish after a month or two. And you can also give Media.net a try they are known for being considerate with new bloggers as well as they have good customer service. Big bloggers use Media.net and Mediavine.
Sign up for an affiliate program, It’s where you promote someone else’s product, service, etc by linking with them by writing a review or placing an ad to your site. A good example of an affiliate company is Share a sale. This is one way to make money with little traffic and following. Make sure that you only promote products that you used, tried, loved, and or trust.
As your blog grow, you can apply for other networks and affiliates. This will help you earn more and start monetizing your blog. You can check my latest post on how you can get the money rolling on a new blog fast.
Don’t forget my 3 P’s
Prayers, Passion, and Patience-
I don’t know about you guys but I believe that prayers move mountains. And I’m walking proof of that. So yes start better start praying. We all need that back up from above.
Passion and patience are a combination of a successful blog. We all want to make money. That’s the reality. But you have to be determined and passionate about what you do.
Blogging is just like a job. If you got hired and you work hard, loved your job you will soon reap your success with promotions or salary increase.
But if you take your job for granted, go to work late, stop growing and learning with the company, etc. You will see your career going down the toilet.
It’s the same when you start a blog. When you work patiently, passionately and with prayers. You’ll definitely hit a home run.
HI Ivs, this was helpful. I have been wanting to do a blog as well for years. And this just inspired me more.
But in my case, it’s not just the niche that’s keeping me from moving forward, but also the learning curve, and especially the financial part of it. Which leads me to ask this question… How much does it really cost to start blogging, including the domains, the email autoresponders, and all the other subscriptions that goes with it… Hope to connect with you soon. God bless.
Hi Lyne, I feel you. I’ve been there. I was once too scared to pay anything online. I was quite surprised at how affordable to start a blog. You can check my post on how you can start a blog in minutes to give you an idea. When it comes to email and autoresponders you can start with mailerlite because it’s free. Once your blog grows you can either switch or upgrade, I love mailerlite because it’s complete you don’t need to set up other autoresponders. And believe me, I actually wished I started blogging a lot earlier in my life Because all my hard work is now paying off. You can check my post about how blogging can get your heart’s desire. I wish you all the best!
These articles have truly inspired me to do what I have been wanting to do for years and start my own blog. Thank you for putting these out there and wording them in a way we genuinely understand. Wish me luck and I’ll be remembering the 3 P’s.
Hi Alisha,
Thank you and hope you could start your blog too. God bless!
Thanks Ivy, I found you today on Pinterest, so your system works! Looking forward to applying some of your steps to grow my online blog and increase my income.
Thanks, Amelia!
God bless!
hey, I started blogging about 4 months ago and still learning. Great post, I was sent this post from Pinterest as inspiration and I’m glad I read it. Very positive. I’ll appreciate it if you read one of my post at SimplyNoemi.com and let me know how I can make it better.
Hi Noemi
Thanks for reaching out. You have an awesome blog. My advice is to be consistent in your writing, Writing at least twice a week can bring new readers to your blog. Also, Write compelling titles so you’ll get lots of attention. Another thing that could really help you is to use a scheduler like tailwind plus you could also take a look at my interview with Anastasia. Her course is life-changing. I wish you all the best!
Thanks a ton Ivy for this helpful article. I am planning to start a blog, as u have suggested I have already started writing blog posts. I have a question, I want to start a multi niche blog but I read somewhere that multi niche blogs are not profitable. What should I do? I want to write about baby, pregnancy, health and beauty.
Hi Hana,
Before Pinterest, niche blogs are the best way to start. But now that we have Pinterest. It’s easy to get traffic to any lifestyle blog or multi-niche blogs. I understand your point. I suggest starting on things you are passionate about and things that get a lot of traffic. So you’ll have best of both worlds. And you’ll get traffic as well which is very important. health and beauty get a lot of traffic from Pinterest. So I’m pretty sure you are on the right track! God bless!
I love your blog! Thank you for sharing your ideas on how to make money blogging. I’m always looking for new tips on how to monetize my own blog.