How to Start a Blog and Make Money From Anywhere in 9 Steps: Step-By-Step Guide to Starting Your Blogging Journey + Monetizing it in 2024

Starting a blog and monetizing it is a pathway for writers, marketers, and content creators to escape the traditional 9-to-5 hamster wheel and take control of their time and money-making potential.

With a successful blog, you can achieve financial freedom and have complete creative control of your schedule and content, all while sharing ideas and information to help other people succeed.

As if that didn’t sell it enough, you can also work from anywhere, and after I joined the blogging party, I can say with confidence that becoming a pro blogger is one of the best work-from-home and remote jobs you can choose — if you do it in a systematic and consistent way. 

All of that sure sounds fantastic – but you’re probably wondering: how do you start a blog and make money blogging? That’s where this guide comes into play.

This step-by-step guide for beginners will take you through the entire process of how to start a blog and make money. From choosing a catchy blog name and profitable blog niche to selecting the best blogging platform, setting up your blog hosting and WordPress site, and writing engaging blog content, you’ll learn it all here. 

Then, you’ll discover how to promote your new blog and, ultimately, make money online with blogging by writing articles with affiliate links, ad placements, and more.

Now, let’s begin your blogging journey so you can finally launch your own successful online business. 

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How to start a blog and monetize it: Overview

Blogging is a great way to make money online and escape the grind of corporate culture. Anyone can make it as a successful blogger with the right amount of effort, dedication, and imagination, so long as they’re consistent at creating high-quality content. 

The beauty of starting a blog and making money is that you won’t be the first person to embark on this positively life-changing journey.

Countless bloggers have laid out the foundation for succeeding in the online writing world, and now you can follow their blueprint for building an online business from the ground up.

So, how do you start blogging anyway?

It starts with choosing a niche that you have expertise in and that you can easily visualize yourself writing about regularly.

Then, you need a blog name — ideally, one that’s catchy and memorable. 

Once you’ve chosen your blog’s niche and an appropriate name, it’s essential to get your online presence’s foundation built by setting up web hosting and building a website so that your blog is up and running. 

From there, it’s all about setting up and optimizing your blog for maximum performance. That means linking your website up with Google services so that you can monitor your traffic, conversions, and keywords that you’re ranking for, in addition to gleaning other detailed information about your site visitors, like demographics, device data, and more. 

It also means downloading plugins (if you decide to use WordPress as a blogging platform, which we highly recommend), which can help your website with crucial things like security, search engine optimization (SEO), creating an email list to capture leads, reducing image sizes, and so much more.

Once you’ve got your website’s infrastructure in place, it’s time to really start blogging. 

That means writing blog posts. 

But you’re not just writing for humans; you’re also writing for search engines.

Creating engaging blog content that readers will find interesting is obviously key, but these days, it’s just as important to create new blog posts regularly that search engines will find valuable and, in turn, rank highly when people search for the keywords you’re targeting. 

If you’re unfamiliar with keywords, no worries: We wrote a detailed guide on SEO basics that will explain everything from keyword research for generating blog post ideas to on-page optimization, backlinks, and beyond, and you can find that resource here: What is SEO Now? 7 Top Google Search Trends For Higher Organic Rankings

Using keywords related to your blog’s niche is vital so that people can easily find your posts through Google, Bing, and other search engines. 

To find these coveted keywords, you can use a number of different powerful SEO tools to help identify keywords in your niche, based on factors like how often they’re searched for each month and how difficult it would be to rank for them by creating a new blog post. 

After you’ve written your first blog post and you’ve gotten the hang of how to come up with good blog post ideas, it’s time to promote your website through various channels, such as social media like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, depending on your preferences, as well as through guest blogging, to drive more traffic. 

With traffic coming to your blog, that’s when you’ll want to start considering how to monetize your blog. 

You can make money blogging with affiliate marketing (which involves promoting products from other companies on your blog in exchange for commissions – more on that later) or selling digital products of your own creation (such as informational products, online courses, and physical goods like branded merchandise and useful items) directly from your website.

Now that you know the basic steps to begin blogging from scratch and eventually generate revenue from your online writing, let’s dive into the details of each step so that you know exactly how to start a blog and monetize it, starting with choosing an appropriate niche and name.

1. Choose a niche and a name (a 2-for-1 step to start)

Picking a niche and name are the first steps of starting a blog, making them two of the most important steps on your blogging journey. 

A strategic, profitable niche will help you build a successful blog that reaches your financial goals down the line, and you’ll have the potential to stand out from the crowd, build an audience quickly, and make money faster. 

Before coming up with a new blog name, it’s essential to research potential niches to find ones that are in demand and have room for growth. 

These days, it’s not enough for new bloggers to simply have a “personal blog” in which they discuss their lives — there needs to be a general overarching topic and angle to your entire blog to keep things cohesive for your target readers.

New bloggers wondering how to start a blog can begin the process by Investigating trending areas such as health and fitness, cybersecurity, beauty and fashion, travel and lifestyle, personal finance, and tech to research the best blog niches to focus on. 

Or, if you’re a professional chef (like I used to be in a former life), perhaps a recipe blog highlighting a specific cuisine or diet along with culinary product reviews and essential kitchen tools recommendations could be the way to make something that feels like a personal blog successful and niched down.

Ultimately, your niche should be based on you, your life experience and expertise, and what you feel passionate about and comfortable writing about so you can imbue your unique personal elements into it, but without making it too personal. 

Don’t get caught up in what all the other blogs are writing about — simply find the place where your professional expertise, passions, and life experience overlap and go from there.

Once you’ve identified a few potential niches that fit with your interests or knowledge base, consider how much competition there is and what kind of unique angle you can bring in each one before settling on one particular topic area.

After you feel confident with your niche selection, it’s Name Time. 

This second part of this initial step can either be super easy or tough, depending on your creativity and mood when you start thinking about it. 

You may want to opt for a website name that includes a keyword related to your niche, or perhaps you want a short and punchy name that’s easy to remember or something with your own name in it, like Erik’s Guide. 

It may take some brainstorming, but eventually, you should be able to settle on a catchy yet descriptive blog title that will serve as the name of your online business. 

If you’re feeling stuck, research terms associated with your blog’s topic, rock out with Thesaurus.com, and think of creative ways to combine seemingly unrelated words into something that relates to your niche. 

That way, you can ensure that your chosen name reflects what your blog is about while also being memorable enough for people to easily recall it when they hear it or see it written down.

Selecting a specific topic and title for your blog is key to having any successful online venture, so take the necessary time to pick one that speaks to you and your potential readers. 

Once you’re set with your name and niche, it’s time to get your blog online by securing web hosting to make it visible on the net.

2. Set Up a Domain Name and Web Hosting

Getting a custom domain name and web hosting set up are essential next steps in starting a blog and monetizing it. You simply can’t run your blog without a domain and hosting. 

Choosing the right domain provider and web host is vital to your success as a blogger, so it’s important to do some research before you commit. 

Most web hosting companies also offer domains for sale, including Bluehost, so you can get both tasks done in one place to make things simpler. 

Even better, when you sign up with Bluehost for a web hosting plan, they offer a free domain name with your Bluehost account, and they’re the most trusted blog hosting company for WordPress blogs, which we’ll talk about in the next section.

When it comes to domains, the suffix part (as in the “.com” or “.net”) is known as the top-level domain or TLD. 

You’ll see that there are plenty available other than the traditional ones, including ones that relate to different niches.

You may also be able to snag a free domain name from your web hosting provider. 

While .com is still the most popular, you may not be able to get the .com version of the blog domain name you want, and if that’s the case, you may consider using a less-popular TLD (like “.co” which my partner uses for her photography business because it feels like it also means “company” like .com, even though it’s actually the TLD for the nation Colombia).

Popular providers like Bluehost, which I use to host Erik’s Guide, along with SiteGround (which I used for another site), offer various plans with distinct features that should be considered before committing. 

Take a close look at each plan to determine which one best suits your needs.

Once you have picked your provider and purchased your hosting account, configuring your website is a breeze. Most hosting companies provide a comprehensive step-by-step guide to help users set up their services. 

To get started, select a custom domain name and see if it’s available. If so, snag it fast and make it yours.

Then, create an email account that’s linked to your domain name (you do this when logged into Bluehost or another chosen web hosting provider) and adjust your security settings to ensure protection from hackers or malicious software attacks. 

You can also automatically install WordPress from your Bluehost account, and other blog hosting companies allow you to do this, as well. 

Your blog is already off to a great start! 

On top of that, some hosting providers offer helpful tools like automated backups that help protect against data loss should any unexpected issues arise while updating or installing new plugins/themes on your site(s). 

Establishing a solid web host like Bluehost is the initial digital infrastructure move to start a profitable blog, as secure hosting is necessary to make your website accessible to readers worldwide. Now, let’s move on to selecting a blogging platform so you can start publishing content.

3. Select a Blogging Platform (WordPress vs Squarespace vs Wix vs Weebly)

Opting for the right blogging platform is a crucial choice for any individual wishing to establish and monetize their own blog. It’s crucial that you choose one that suits your needs, so it pays to do some research before making a final decision.

There are several options to choose from, but the most popular ones are WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly. Each blogging platform has its pros and cons, so it’s important to consider your needs and goals before making a decision for your new blog.

WordPress

WordPress is by far the most popular blogging platform, with a quick Google search find that WP powers over 43% of all websites on the internet. 

The WordPress blogging platform is free to use, open-source, and highly customizable, making it an excellent choice for bloggers who want complete control over their site’s design and functionality. 

With thousands of free and paid themes and plugins available, you can create a WordPress blog that looks and functions exactly the way you want it to.

The only thing is, running a WordPress blog does have a slightly steeper learning curve than other platforms for new bloggers. 

If you’re starting a new WordPress blog with no prior experience, it requires some self-teaching so you have the knowledge to set it up and customize it to your liking. 

You’ll also need to handle tasks like getting a web hosting provider and site security yourself if you create a self-hosted WordPress blog like I did with Erik’s Guide — this is not difficult to do and we’ll explain how to choose a hosting company and get it set up in a bit. 

If you’re willing to invest some time and effort into learning WordPress, it can be an incredibly powerful tool for your blog.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a premium website builder that’s popular among new bloggers, creatives, and small business owners. 

It’s a drag-and-drop platform, which means you can create a website without any coding knowledge. 

Squarespace also offers beautiful, modern templates that are fully customizable, so you can make your blog look professional and polished.

One of the main advantages of Squarespace is that it’s an all-in-one solution. It includes web hosting, domain registration, and site security, so you don’t need to worry about those technical aspects. 

However, Squarespace does have a higher cost compared to other platforms, and it doesn’t have as many plugins and integrations as WordPress.

Wix

Wix is another popular website builder that’s easy to use and beginner-friendly. It offers a drag-and-drop interface, so you can create a website without any coding knowledge. Wix also provides a wide range of templates and design options, making it easy to customize your site.

Like Squarespace, Wix is an all-in-one solution that includes web hosting, domain registration, and site security. It also offers a free plan, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious bloggers. However, the free plan comes with some limitations, and Wix doesn’t have as many plugins and integrations as WordPress.

When deciding which platform to use, consider your budget, technical expertise, and the features you need for your blog. While WordPress is the most powerful and customizable platform, it does require some technical knowledge. Squarespace and Wix, on the other hand, are easier to use but have some limitations when it comes to customization and integrations. Ultimately, the platform you choose will depend on your individual needs and goals for your blog.

Weebly

Weebly is another website all-in-one builder that allows you to start a blog without any coding knowledge. Like Squarespace and Wix, it’s a drag-and-drop platform, so you can easily start a blog and design it to your liking by adding pre-built elements to your pages. Weebly also provides a variety of professionally designed blog template options that you can customize to fit your brand.

One of the main advantages of Weebly is its ease of use. It’s a beginner-friendly platform that doesn’t require any technical knowledge, making it a great option for those who are new to blogging. Additionally, Weebly provides hosting, so you don’t need to worry about setting up a separate hosting account.

Weebly also offers an app center that allows you to add various features and integrations to your blog. Some popular apps include Google Maps, social media integration, and email marketing tools. However, Weebly doesn’t have as many plugins or integrations as WordPress, so it may not be the best option for those who need a high level of customization or specific features.

Overall, Weebly is a good choice for those who are looking for a simple and user-friendly platform to create a blog. It offers an all-in-one solution, so you don’t need to worry about technical details like hosting or security. However, if you need a high level of customization or specific features, you may want to consider WordPress or another platform.

Erik’s last word on blogging platforms:

If WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly don’t seem like the right fit for your needs after doing your research, there are plenty of other alternative platforms for blogs out there too – such as Blogger (Google’s own free platform), Ghost (a lightweight content management system), or Medium (which provides writers with an audience). 

Give yourself the time to thoughtfully consider each potential solution for your blogging needs prior to making a final decision.

After you choose your platform, take some time to explore it, including all the different sections for making formatting changes in the back end. 

WordPress in particular has a steeper learning curve because the left-side menu has many different options to explore, and the WordPress dashboard can take some time to get familiar with. 

Still, I highly recommend using WordPress over any other blogging platform because of its customization options with plugins, especially for SEO. 

Quick story:

To build Erik’s Guide, I originally opted for Squarespace because I heard it was easy to use, I saw about a million ads for it on YouTube, and I wanted to try it out after years of using WordPress, HubSpot, and more of the best CMS (content management system) platforms to manage my blog. 

While I did find that Squarespace was simple to use for design purposes, I ended up canceling Squarespace and switching back to a self-hosted WordPress blog — and I lost a cool $168 bucks in the process because I missed Squarespace’s 14-day money-back-guarantee window by a matter of hours. 

Whoops. 

The main reason I switched back to a WordPress blog from Squarespace is that I’m an SEO consultant and strategist, and I prefer to have maximum control of the websites I manage when it comes to search engine optimization. 

Squarespace claims they handle all the SEO optimization you’ll ever need in the background, but that essentially means that as a user, you can’t do nearly as much SEO-wise with Squarespace as you could with a WordPress blog and powerful SEO plugins like RankMath.

For maximum customization and control, a WordPress blog is above and beyond the other options, and the best part is that it’s free to use. 

4. Build and design a simple website (use Kadence theme for WordPress)

Now that you’ve chosen a platform, the next step is to build your website so you can actually start blogging. 

Whether you’re making a WordPress blog or using Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, or another website design tool, building a website for your blog can feel daunting at first, but it can also be a lot of fun, depending on your previous digital design experience and creative skills. 

The beauty of today’s digital landscape is that, with the right tools and guidance, you can create a professional-looking site without any coding knowledge. 

You don’t even need any design experience to make something that looks good enough to start blogging.

Alternatively, if you find that you’re having trouble with building and designing your you can outsource site building and design to a trusted professional if your budget allows for it, saving you time and potential frustration in the process.

If you opt to DIY your blog’s website, one popular option is to use a drag-and-drop site builder. 

These tools allow you to design your site by dragging and dropping pre-designed elements onto the page. Squarespace and Wix are both drag-and-drop website builders that are easy to use and beginner-friendly. 

If you choose WordPress, you can also build your own site using drag-and-drop site builders like Elementor and Divi, both of which I’ve tried in the past. Both of these are WordPress themes that include drag-and-drop toolkits for simple site-building and designing.

Once you’ve chosen a website builder, the next step is to pick a theme for your blog. A theme is a pre-designed template that determines the overall look and layout of your site. There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available, so it can be overwhelming to choose the right one. 

But you’re here because you know that you can find awesome recommendations for how to start a blog, and we’ve got the perfect WordPress theme for starting a blog that’s easy to use and highly customizable.

Kadence: Erik’s choice for best WordPress theme

If you’re looking for the best blog theme for WordPress, look no further than Kadence, which I use here on Erik’s Guide. 

Kadence is a lightweight and fast-loading WordPress theme that’s highly customizable, making it an excellent choice for those starting a blog who want complete control over their site’s design. 

It offers a range of free pre-designed starter templates and blocks, making it simple to create a beautiful and functional website without any coding knowledge. 

No wonder Kadence is used by over 300,000 users for their own blogs, making it one of the most popular free WordPress themes (with premium upgrades available) for people who start a blog.

It’s as easy to use as any drag-and-drop site builder, and it is by far the best WordPress theme I’ve ever used, so I highly recommend giving it a try.

With Kadence Blocks, another key feature of the WordPress theme (with special premium blocks in the Pro plan), you can easily add pre-designed blocks and layouts to your site’s pages and blog posts. 

This makes it easy to create professional-looking pages with just a few clicks, rather than spending hours designing them yourself.

In addition to Kadence Blocks, Kadence offers several premium add-ons, including a WooCommerce integration, a sales conversion tool for creating pop-ups, and a cloud for hosting your own blog content library. 

These add-ons provide even more flexibility and customization options for your new blog, making it a great choice for people who want to start a blog and sell products or services directly from their site.

The Kadence WordPress theme is also compatible with popular WordPress plugins like RankMath SEO, Wordfence security, and WPForms, making it easy to optimize your site for search engines, keep it safe and secure, and add custom forms and surveys.

Key pages for your blog’s website

When building your website, there are a few pages that are essential to include in your first iteration. These pages include:

• Home: This is the main landing page for your site and should provide an overview of your blog and what readers can expect to find on it.
• About: This page should provide more information about you, your background, and your qualifications for writing about your chosen niche.
• Blog: The Blog page is where your published blog posts will appear and live. You can organize your posts by categories and/or tags to make it easy for readers to find what they’re looking for, especially if you add a search bar feature to make your blog posts searchable.
• Contact: This page should include a form or email address where readers or potential affiliates, partners, and sponsors can get in touch with you.

Other than these four key blog pages, your website doesn’t need much else before you start writing your first blog post. 

Don’t let yourself get caught up thinking you need to do all sorts of fancy things to start a blog — aim for the best simple site that you can design relatively fast with these four essential blog pages using the Kadence blog theme and move on to writing your first blog post to build momentum.

Branding and designing your blog

When building your website, it’s important to consider your blog design and branding. Think about the colors, fonts, and imagery that represent your brand and make sure to incorporate them into your site. One way to do this is to create a logo for your blog.

Your logo is an essential part of your branding and can help readers identify your blog across different platforms. Whether you’re designing your logo yourself or outsourcing the design, it’s important to create a logo that reflects your brand and appeals to your target audience.

If you’re working with a professional design company like VistaPrint or 99designs, they will typically include logo design as part of their services. They will work with you to understand your brand and create several logo designs for you to choose from.

If you’re designing your logo yourself, there are several tools available that can help. Looka, Canva, and Deluxe all offer logo design services that allow you to create a professional-looking logo without any design experience. 

Looka is an AI-powered logo maker that uses machine learning algorithms to create unique logos based on your brand and design preferences. 

Canva offers a range of pre-designed logo templates that you can customize with your brand’s colors and fonts. 

You can also use VistaPrint’s free logo maker to make your own blog logo.

And Deluxe offers both logo design and branding services to help you create a cohesive brand identity for your blog.

When designing your logo, it’s important to keep it simple and memorable. Your logo should be easily recognizable and look good on different platforms, including social media and printed materials. 

It’s okay if your branding, logo, and overall blog design take some time to shape up, but don’t get bogged down by design perfectionism if it keeps you from moving forward. 

Some of the world’s most successful bloggers have gained followings in the millions with no-frills blogs, and sometimes the most popular blogs are laughably low-effort when it comes to aesthetics. 

The most important part of your blog is the content you’ll create and share. 

Of course, every step on the blogging journey is vital, and with that in mind, the following step of installing plugins should be completed as soon as your site is live, so don’t wait until your branding and design are perfected to download these plugins. 

5. Install Essential WordPress Plugins

One of the main reasons that Erik’s Guide is a WordPress site other than my desire for maximum SEO control is the abundance of plugins you can download to add features, save time, and help your site run smoother, faster, and better than your competition.

Plugins are basically add-on software components that change the way your site works, add functionality and features, and optimize your site in a number of ways. 

These are designed to work seamlessly with the WordPress platform and can be installed and activated in just a couple of clicks.

And the best part? 

Many of the most popular plugins for WordPress are free, or at least they offer free versions that are often good enough to use forever.

Plugins can be used for a variety of purposes, such as:

• Adding contact forms to blog posts and pages
• Adding social media buttons to a blog post
• Optimizing your blog posts for SEO
• Enhancing security measures
• Masking affiliate links in blog posts

They allow you to extend the functionality of your website without the need for coding or technical knowledge.

There are thousands of WordPress plugins available, both free and paid, covering a wide range of functionality.

Some popular WordPress plugins include:

• Rankmath for optimizing your website for organic search.
• WP Rocket for optimizing your page speed and page loading times.
• Wordfence for website security.
• UpdraftPlus for backing up your WordPress blog
• WPForms for creating contact forms.
• WooCommerce for setting up an online store.
• Thirsty Affiliates for masking affiliate links.

The RankMath SEO plugin helps optimize content for search engine visibility and provides detailed insights into how well each post is doing in terms of ranking on Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). It offers a robust free version as well as a premium version which I personally use for Erik’s Guide.

For more SEO help once you begin publishing blog posts consistently, I also recommend using one or two of the best SEO tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and/or Surfer SEO to help you assess areas that may need improvement on your site and gain insights into your metrics so that changes can be made accordingly. 

This could include optimizing a blog post title and meta description for specific blog posts to help them rank higher, improving page load times for your overall site, and easily finding broken links to fix. 

WP Rocket is a very popular premium plugin that boosts page loading speed by caching static data such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the like, which can significantly reduce server response time and enhance user experience.

WordFence Security is one of the most popular WordPress plugins for website security. It helps protect against malicious code injections and malware attacks by monitoring file changes in real time. It also blocks IP addresses from accessing your site if it detects suspicious activity or potential threats. 

When choosing which plugins to install, it’s important to consider your website’s needs and goals. 

Make sure you read reviews from other users first so you know what kind of quality you’re getting before investing money into them, and only install reputable plugins that have been tested and reviewed by other users.

Additionally, be aware that some plugins may conflict with others so test out any combinations before activating them all at once; otherwise, it could cause unexpected issues with your website’s functionality down the line. 

That’s one reason to ensure you back up your new blog regularly using a plugin like UpdraftPlus.

Be sure to periodically check for updates (or set up your new blog to update plugins automatically) so that your blog remains current with the most recent security patches and bug fixes from developers.

Also note that too many plugins can slow down your website, so be selective in which ones you choose to install and activate.

Overall, WordPress plugins are powerful tools that can help you customize and enhance your website’s functionality without requiring you to have extensive technical knowledge or coding experience. 

Adding these extensions to your blog is a key part of the configuration and customization process, as they can provide additional features and capabilities that will help optimize the website’s performance. 

Now, let’s talk about getting your new blog connected to Google services like Analytics and Search Console so you can monitor and track your traffic, conversions, and other metrics as you progress along your blogging journey.

6. Connect to Google Search Console + Google Analytics

Connecting your new blog to Google services is an essential step for a successful blog. 

Creating a Google Analytics account and linking your site to Google Search Console will help you monitor search engine traffic and examine your site data, such as the number of unique visitors it gets, traffic sources (where site visitors came from — Google search, social media, etc.), your most popular blog post(s), and much more. 

If you decided to use WordPress, you can easily connect both Google Analytics and Search Console in just a few minutes by installing and activating the Google Site Kit plugin.

The best part is that you can view important data from these Google services right in your WordPress dashboard, making it even more convenient to reference it when you need to.

Google Search Console helps ensure that Google is properly indexing your content so that it is discoverable by potential readers.

Using Google Search Console is an effective way of tracking how many people find your blog through organic searches on Google itself.

You can use this information to understand what keywords users are searching for when looking for content like yours and then optimize future posts with those terms in mind.

On top of that, if any errors appear in the search engine results page (SERP) due to technical issues with the website or other problems, you will be notified immediately so that you can take action quickly before losing out on potential traffic sources.

Google Analytics offers bloggers a comprehensive look at their audience’s behavior, such as page stay time, bounce rate (the % of viewers who leave after seeing one page), average session length (how long visitors remain active during a single visit) and popular blog topics being looked for on the website.

With this data at hand, it becomes easier to craft content that is tailored toward readers’ interests and preferences going forward.

Moreover, utilizing Google Search Console helps you track how many people find your blog through organic searches on Google itself which can give insight into what keywords users are searching for when looking for related content. Additionally, if any errors appear in the SERP due to technical issues with the website or other problems, you will be notified immediately so that corrective action can be taken quickly before losing out on potential traffic sources.

Finally, both tools provide bloggers with powerful reporting features which give further insight into overall performance trends over time. This assists them in gaining knowledge of their intended audience’s inclinations and adjusting their tactics suitably to ensure they remain ahead of the competition continually.

Connecting to Google’s offerings is a must for establishing your blog, aiding in both the administration and monetization of your posts. With the necessary setup completed, we can now proceed to create content for our blog.

7. Brainstorm your first blog post ideas and start writing + publishing

If you take anything away from this step-by-step guide, it’s that writing and publishing blog posts consistently is perhaps the most important part when you start a blog in hopes of making money online. 

High-quality blog content that your target audience is genuinely interested in is the primary way to rank higher on Google and attract the right readers and build your blog’s traffic, which in turn can lead to more monetization methods like affiliate marketing, sponsored content, Google AdSense revenue, and digital product sales.

Writing quality blog posts is paramount when trying to make money blogging because readers won’t keep coming back if there isn’t an interesting or engaging new blog post for them read on a regular basis. 

When writing a blog post, try not to include too much jargon; use simple language that everyone can understand without having any special knowledge about the subject matter at hand. 

Also, don’t forget about SEO: brainstorm blog topics and do keyword research before publishing any blog post so that you invest your time in posts that are worth the effort. 

Some keywords are much more difficult to rank for, while some keywords have much higher monthly search volume than others. 

When performing research with SEO tools, aim to find target keywords within your blog niche that have low difficulty scores and high search volume so you can start creating content around them.

Once you have a list of keywords to target within your niche, put them into a spreadsheet to keep track of them. 

Then, start writing your first blog post and get the hang of what it takes to create remarkable content.

Teach yourself how to optimize images for SEO, use proper headings, and write compelling copy.

And, of course, while you can certainly tap into the power of AI content writing tools like Jasper, Contentbot.ai, and ChatGPT to make the process of writing blog post drafts a million times faster as we discuss in the Related Guide linked above, you should also understand a thing or two about writing on your own so that you can edit any AI content you generate to sound more human and like you actually wrote it yourself.

To help you out, I put together another comprehensive guide on how to become a copywriter so you can improve your writing chops for your blogging journey.

Once you start a blog and publish your first few posts, you’ll start to get the hang of it and you can create blog post templates to help streamline your content creation process moving forward.

8. Promote Your Blog

Promoting your blog is essential to gaining more traffic and making money. 

Various tactics can be employed to advance a blog, including social media campaigns, email marketing, and optimizing search engine visibility.

Social media marketing

To maximize your blog’s reach, create profiles for it and actively promote your content on social media platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest (and I guess Facebook if you’re still into that…) while engaging with influencers in your niche by commenting on their blogs, retweeting them, liking photos, joining relevant groups and forums, and other social networking tactics.

You may even want to start a YouTube channel to complement your blog and enhance your promotional efforts by showing face and having engaging video content that leads back to your blog and includes relevant affiliate links in your bio and video descriptions. 

Lastly, you can always throw down on paid social media advertising by buying Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads, Instagram Ads, and all the rest.

Before you decide to invest money in paid social ads, though, I recommend using free social media marketing and the rest of the blog promotion strategies we’ll discuss next and research best practices for this type of marketing.

Guest blogging

You can also reach out to other bloggers and different business websites and blogs in your niche with cold emails asking about guest blogging opportunities, backlink exchanges, and collaborations. 

Guest blogging is a dual-purpose positive for your blog because it allows you to not only showcase your expertise to a new audience on a similar platform but also can help obtain backlinks by linking back to your own blog in your guest post and including a link to your blog in your author bio, if possible. 

Backlink exchanges are simply when you reach out to other bloggers asking them to insert a link to your article into one of theirs. Of course, this is a pretty big ask when you don’t know someone, so that’s why it’s best to either approach this from an exchange perspective where you give them a link on your site in return for them linking to your blog.

Also, consider submitting articles to popular websites or joining discussion threads on Reddit or Quora forums. I personally read Quora all the time, and I’ve found out about some awesome blogs in people’s answers to popular questions.

Email marketing

Email marketing is another great way of promoting your blog. 

If anyone told you recently that email is dead, you should consider unsubscribing from them as an advisor.

Email is far from obsolete, and some creators earn upwards of $10K per month from their email lists alone. 

That’s because they have created an email asset, such as a regular weekly or monthly newsletter or industry-specific informational product that’s delivered via email, and they strategically use it to lead people to their affiliate links, blog posts (containing more affiliate links), and digital products they sell.

The process of email marketing involves getting email management software to start collecting email subscribers onto a list. 

Some of my favorite email list software for marketing include:

• ConvertKit
• AWeber
• Constant Contact
• MailChimp
• Flodesk

These email marketing tools help you create sign-up forms and pop-ups on your blog to entice your readers to opt-in to your email list so that you can then start sending them relevant communications and building an even better relationship with your most engaged audience members.

Letting people know that you’ll be sending out emails with links to your latest posts and/or offering your subscribers exclusive content and/or special deals in exchange for signing up to receive regular emails from you is an excellent way to convince people that it’s more than worth it to join your email list. 

This helps strengthen your connection with readers (who are all potential customers — or at least clickers of your affiliate links), while increasing brand awareness at the same time.

SEO – optimizing blog posts for organic search engine traffic

We already discussed SEO a bit earlier when talking about plugins like RankMath and premium tools like SEMrush, Surfer SEO, and Mangools, and rightfully so — search engine optimization is absolutely vital when it comes to promoting a blog effectively. 

The beauty of SEO is that it doesn’t cost any money to do, it just costs time in learning how to create content the right way so that both humans enjoy reading it and Google and Friends find it worthy of being indexed and ranked very, very high.

Even more beautiful? Anyone can learn how to do SEO.

I’m a case in point. 

I self-taught myself SEO back in 2015 to help promote my partner’s destination wedding photography company, and it worked like a charm. 

So much so that I was able to get the site into the Number 1 position on Google’s Page 1 for the exact keywords I targeted for multiple blog posts.

Teaching myself SEO also helped me land a six-figure job as Content Marketing Manager and, eventually, Head of SEO + Content at an eCommerce SaaS company where I learned the ropes of blogging for business and helped scale the company’s monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to levels hitherto unknown. 

So yeah, SEO is serious business, but it’s nothing to be scared of. 

In fact, SEO is always changing, so you can jump in anytime and start learning what’s current in the search landscape and start applying those practices to your blogging and content creation process.

Some basic aspects of SEO include optimizing the titles of each blog post with your target keyword, on-page optimization (which basically means writing blog posts that include a mix of strategic keywords related to what readers might search for online and formatting your content appropriately with headings for scannability), and linking to your other content in your blog posts, known as internal linking. 

All of these SEO best practices will help make sure that your blog posts show up higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). 

The last part of SEO is obtaining backlinks from other blogs and website that point toward your home page and most popular blog posts, as that indicates to Google and Bing that your content is valuable and relevant, which will in turn help boost rankings even further.

Sponsored content

Finally, sponsored posts are another option if you want to monetize quickly without having an established following yet. 

The downside is that this requires some upfront investment which may or may not pay off over time, even if done to the best of your ability. 

Sponsored posts involve partnering with brands who pay bloggers either per post or based on how many clicks their link receives. 

However, it is important not to get too caught up in chasing sponsorships before building a solid foundation first, otherwise, readers won’t take too kindly to much promotional material appearing on their feeds all the time.

Publicizing and promoting your blog is a necessity for getting new readers to your blog and making an income. To really capitalize on your blog, you can monetize it and potentially turn a pastime into a career.

To get started, research experts and influencers in your space and make a list of the ones who seem like people you’d like to work with. 

Then, start engaging with them by commenting on their blog posts, sharing their social media posts, and joining relevant online communities, groups, and forums where they hang out.

You can also create relationships with fellow bloggers by swapping guest posts on each other’s blogs, and even exchanging backlinks by including links to their content in guest posts you write for other sites.

9. Monetize Your Blog

IMHO, earning money from blogging is by far the best way to become your own boss and earn a lucrative income. 

To monetize your blog, you must produce content that captivates readers and draws them to the site, and by this point of the guide, you probably have a good idea of how to start writing blog posts that capture readers’ attention and increases your site traffic, such as by crafting intriguing headlines for your posts, promoting them on social media networks, and networking with like-minded bloggers. 

Once you have established a steady flow of blog visitors, there are several methods for monetizing your blog, including:

• Affiliate marketing 
• Ad placements
• Sponsored posts
• Selling your own digital products.

Affiliate marketing 

Generating income from blogging is most often achieved through affiliate marketing, which provides a commission to you when readers click special affiliate links on your site that lead to different companies’ products and services and then they make a purchase. 

Basically, when someone uses an affiliate link on your website to get to a product or service’s website and they buy something, you get rewarded for directing them to the product. 

It’s important to find relevant products or services related to your blog’s main focus so that you can write product review posts, product roundups, and informative posts including your affiliate links so that readers will be more likely to click when they see them in your content.

Many companies have affiliate programs or are part of larger affiliate networks that handle affiliate and referral programs for numerous companies. 

To find out if a company has an affiliate program or referral program, do a quick Google search for “[company name] affiliate program” and see what comes up. 

Or, do a ctrl+F and search for the word “affiliate” or “referral” on a company’s homepage, and you’ll typically find a link to their affiliate program landing page in the footer if they have one.

Typically, one of the first results will link you to their affiliate program if they have one, otherwise, they may not have one (yet), in which case you can email them directly and ask them if they plan on starting one, or if you can start your own special affiliate partnership with them (which you will only be able to do after you have a large following since it gives you leverage in negotiations).

A quick note on affiliate marketing

Please note that you shouldn’t expect to start joining affiliate programs and networks right away when you’re starting a blog. 

I remember getting way too excited when I finished designing my four main pages for Erik’s Guide, and without any actual blog posts published, I went and applied for the SEMrush affiliate program — and was rightfully rejected.

The reason? 

“Lack of site traffic.” (Yep, SEMrush knows these things. So much for becoming an instant affiliate.)

So before you start getting all excited about your money-making prospects when starting a blog, create some valuable blog posts for your readers and generate consistent site traffic. 

Maybe write a step-by-step guide like this one for something in your blog niche. Or, create a long listicle post that other sites would find value in so that you can potentially get backlinks to your site early on.

Doing so will help build your domain authority, a vital metric when it comes to Google and other search engines, as backlinks show that other sites find your content valuable enough to link to. 

Once you have consistent site traffic, you can start signing up for affiliate programs for specific products and joining affiliate networks. 

Your site traffic doesn’t even have to be that high to start getting accepted into some affiliate programs – think monthly site visitors in the low hundreds. 

How do I know this? Because once Erik’s Guide had monthly traffic numbers got to be around that high, that’s when I was finally able to start joining affiliate programs.  

Once you’re ready to start signing up to affiliate programs, I highly recommend you look into joining some or all of the following affiliate networks.

Top affiliate networks to join

• ShareASale
• CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction)
• PartnerStack
• Impact
• Awin
• FlexOffers
• Rakuten Advertising
• Amazon Associates

Over time, you’ll get accepted to more and more affiliate programs, and you can continue joining bigger and better ones as your blog’s popularity (and traffic) grows. 

You may even get invited to programs by companies in bigger networks, as they have employees who manage their affiliate programs and look for compatible affiliates to partner with.

Once you get into different affiliate programs, you’ll be able to get your own unique and trackable affiliate links to the products you want to promote.

Because these typically look, well, kind of funky for links, featuring weird strings of numbers, letters, and such, you can use a WordPress plugin like ThirstyAffiliates to “cloak” your links into, well, better-looking links.

We’ll be putting together a complete guide on affiliate marketing soon, so check back soon if you want to dive even deeper into the lucrative world of affiliate blogging. 

Ad placements on your blog

Ads are another common way to make money blogging. Google Adsense is one of the most popular ad networks used by many successful bloggers because it offers an easy setup process as well as high-paying ads based on user demographics and interests. 

With Adsense, all you have to do is add some code to the HTML of your WordPress blog and then wait for advertisers who want their ads displayed on your site – simple.

I personally have yet to dabble into ad placements on Erik’s Guide, but once that changes, you’d better believe there will be a guide on how to set up ads on your blog the right way.

Sponsored posts

Once your blog has a high domain authority and respectable traffic levels, you may be able to sell sponsored posts on your blog.

This is a later-stage blog monetization strategy, as you really have to create a successful blog to get to this point — but it’s totally within your reach if you write exceptional content and publish it consistently.

You’ll have to negotiate rates with sponsors based on what you believe the market value of your audience is, and you also have to be discerning in who you allow to sponsor your blog. 

Still, sponsored posts have the potential to be highly lucrative for you as a blogger once you get to the big time.

Creating digital products

As a blogger, creating digital products can be a great way to monetize your website and earn a steady income. Digital products are any type of downloadable content that can be sold online, such as ebooks, courses, printables, templates, and more.

To create successful digital products, you’ll need to identify your audience’s needs and interests and develop products that meet those needs.

This might involve conducting research or surveys to understand your audience’s pain points and preferences or analyzing your website’s analytics to see what types of content are most popular.

Some popular types of digital products that bloggers can create include:

• eBooks: These are typically PDFs that cover a specific topic in depth, such as a guide to starting a business or a cookbook.
• Courses: Online courses can be delivered in a variety of formats, such as video lessons, text-based modules, or interactive quizzes. They can cover a wide range of topics, from photography to programming.
• Printables: These are printable documents that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as planners, worksheets, or coloring pages.
• Templates: Templates can be used for a variety of purposes, such as designing social media graphics, creating resumes, or building websites.
• Membership sites: These are websites that require a paid subscription for access to exclusive content, such as courses, webinars, or forums.

Once you’ve identified a product idea, you’ll need to create it using tools like design software, writing tools, video editing programs, or an online course creation platform like Teachable, Thinkific, or Kajabi. You can also consider outsourcing certain tasks like graphic design or editing to freelancers or agencies.

To create an online course, bloggers can follow a few key steps:

1. Choose a topic: Identify a topic that aligns with your niche and that your audience is interested in learning more about.
2. Develop a course outline: Break your topic down into modules or lessons and create a course outline.
3. Create your course content: Develop content for each lesson, such as video lessons, text-based modules, or interactive quizzes.
4. Choose a platform: There are many platforms available for hosting online courses, such as Teachable or Thinkific.
5. Market your course: Promote your course on your blog, social media channels, or email marketing campaigns to attract potential students.

After creating your digital product, you’ll need to market it effectively to your audience. This might involve promoting it on your blog, social media channels, or through email marketing campaigns. You can also consider partnering with other bloggers or influencers in your niche to help spread the word.

By creating high-quality digital products that meet your audience’s needs, and effectively promoting them to your readers, you can earn a steady income as a blogger and build a loyal audience of customers who value your expertise and content.

Overall, there are plenty of options available when it comes time to monetize a blog, but finding what works best takes time and experimentation. 

And over time, you can track which methods generate more revenue than others, then you can adjust accordingly until your desired results are achieved.

Monetizing your blog truly is the end goal for any successful blog, and it is the best way to free yourself from the slog of the 9-to-5 grind and gain financial reward while engaging in something you have a passion for. 

Now that we’ve covered all the steps of how to start a blog and make money, let’s take a look at some popular FAQs about starting a blog and monetizing it.

How to start a blog FAQ

How do bloggers get paid?

Bloggers can get paid in a variety of ways, depending on their business model and monetization strategy. Here are some common ways that bloggers earn money:

• Affiliate marketing: Bloggers can earn a commission by promoting other companies’ products or services through affiliate links. When a reader clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase, the blogger earns a percentage of the sale.
• Advertising: Bloggers can display ads on their websites and earn money when visitors click on or view those ads. Common advertising networks include Google AdSense and MediaVine.
• Sponsored content: Bloggers can partner with brands to create sponsored content, such as blog posts, social media posts, or videos. The brand pays the blogger for creating and publishing the content.
• Digital products: As mentioned earlier, bloggers can create and sell digital products like ebooks, courses, printables, and templates.
• Consulting or coaching: Bloggers with expertise in a particular area can offer consulting or coaching services to readers or businesses. I personally offer SEO content strategy consulting, but admittedly, I was doing that before starting Erik’s Guide.
• Events: Some bloggers may host events, such as workshops, conferences, or webinars, and charge admission or sponsor fees.

It’s important to note that building a successful blog and earning a steady income takes time, effort, and dedication. Bloggers need to consistently create high-quality content, engage with their audience, and market their blog effectively to attract readers and monetization opportunities.

If you want to know the literal method in which bloggers get paid for yourself when you start making money, you’ll typically get paid via PayPal from affiliate programs and networks, although some programs have different payout methods, such as personal checks or direct deposit.

Clearly, starting a blog creates ample money-making opportunities.

How do I start a blog with no money?

Starting a blog with no money is definitely possible, although it may require some extra effort and creativity. 

Here are some steps you can take to get started:

• Choose a free blogging platform: There are several free blogging platforms available, such as WordPress, Blogger, and Wix. These platforms provide the basic tools and templates you need to create and publish blog content.
• Select a niche: Choose a topic or niche that you’re passionate about and that you think will resonate with your audience. This could be anything from cooking to travel to personal finance.
• Create high-quality content: Focus on creating high-quality blog posts that provide value to your readers. This can help you build a loyal following and attract new readers.
• Promote your blog: Share your blog posts on social media and other online platforms to attract readers. Engage with your audience and encourage them to share your content with their networks.
• Learn basic SEO: Optimizing for search can help your blog rank higher in search results, making it easier for people to find your content. Learn basic SEO techniques such as keyword research, meta descriptions, and optimizing your content for search engines.
• Start monetization: As your blog grows, you can explore monetization options such as advertising, affiliate marketing, or creating digital products.

Remember, starting a blog takes time and effort. Focus on creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience, and promoting your blog to attract readers and grow your blog over time.

For those who want to start a blog with more control over SEO, security, and other visual and technical elements, investing in cheap web hosting with a Bluehost account and installing WordPress software themselves can be a great option as it provides access to thousands of themes and plugins for free.

How much do beginner bloggers make? 

Blogging is still profitable today; many bloggers have been able to make a living off their blogs by monetizing them with ads or selling digital products such as ebooks or courses. 

When you start a blog with the intention to monetize it, your success depends on how much time and effort you put into it – the more work you do upfront creating quality content and building an audience, the more successful your blogging journey will be in the long run.

The amount of money that beginner bloggers make can vary widely depending on a number of factors, such as the blogger’s niche, traffic, monetization strategy, and level of experience.

In general, most beginner bloggers do not earn a significant income right away. It can take several months or even years to build up a sizable audience and monetize a blog effectively. 

Some beginner bloggers may earn just a few dollars per month from advertising or affiliate marketing, while others may earn several hundred dollars per month or more.

It’s important to note that blogging can be a highly competitive and constantly evolving field. Success as a blogger often requires dedication, hard work, and a willingness to learn and adapt over time. As a beginner blogger, focus on creating high-quality content, building an engaged audience, and experimenting with different monetization strategies to find what works best for you.

How much do bloggers make when they’re pros? 

For pro bloggers, monthly blog earnings can range from upwards of $10K depending on their level of expertise and the engagement rate they achieve within their niche. 

Experienced bloggers with a large audience can earn even higher amounts of money through their blogs. Some of the top bloggers in popular niches like personal finance, travel, and lifestyle can earn six-figure monthly incomes, making them multimillionaires.

What type of bloggers make the most money?

The types of bloggers who make the most money can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the blogger’s niche, audience size, monetization strategy, and level of expertise. 

Still, some niches tend to be more profitable than others. 

Here are some of the types of bloggers who may make the most money:

• Personal finance bloggers: Personal finance bloggers who offer tips on budgeting, investing, and saving money can attract a large and engaged audience. They may monetize their blogs through advertising, affiliate marketing, or by creating and selling digital products like courses or ebooks.
• Travel bloggers: Travel bloggers who share their experiences and offer tips on destinations, activities, and accommodations can attract a large and loyal audience. They may monetize their blogs through sponsored content, affiliate marketing, or by creating and selling digital products like travel guides or courses.
• Lifestyle bloggers: Lifestyle bloggers who cover a range of topics such as fashion, beauty, and wellness can attract a wide audience. They may monetize their blogs through sponsored content, affiliate marketing, or by creating and selling digital products like ebooks or courses.
• Food bloggers: Food bloggers who share recipes, cooking tips, and reviews of restaurants and food products can attract a large and engaged audience. They may monetize their blogs through advertising, sponsored content, or by creating and selling digital products like cookbooks or courses.
• Technology bloggers: Technology bloggers who cover topics like software, hardware, and gadgets can attract a large and tech-savvy audience. They may monetize their blogs through advertising, affiliate marketing, or by creating and selling digital products like courses or ebooks.

But it’s important to note that success as a blogger depends on more than just the niche. 

The most successful bloggers often have a unique perspective, a strong writing style, and a deep understanding of their audience. They also consistently create high-quality content, engage with their readers, and effectively monetize their blogs over time.

How long does it take to earn from a blog? 

The amount of time it takes to earn money from a blog can vary widely, depending on several factors such as the blogger’s niche, the quality of their content, the size of their audience, and their monetization strategy.

In general, most bloggers do not earn a significant income right away. It can take several months or even years to build up a sizable audience and monetize the blog effectively. Many bloggers may earn little to no money in the first few months of blogging.

Still, with consistent effort and a focus on creating high-quality content, search optimization, and building an engaged audience, bloggers can start earning money within a few months to a year.

Some bloggers may earn a few hundred dollars per month from advertising or affiliate marketing, while others may earn thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars per month through a combination of advertising, sponsorships, and digital products.

Of course, depending on factors such as quality content creation and effective SEO optimization techniques employed throughout the process, some individuals may find success quicker than others. 

How often should you post blogs?

The frequency of blog posts can vary depending on the blogger’s goals, audience, and available time and resources. However, in general, it’s a good idea to post consistently and frequently enough to keep readers engaged and attract new visitors to the blog.

Posting frequency can depend on several factors such as:

• The blogger’s goals: If a blogger’s primary goal is to attract a lot of traffic to their website and grow their audience quickly, they may choose to post more frequently.
• The blogger’s niche: Some niches like news or entertainment may require more frequent posts to keep up with breaking news or trends.
• The blogger’s available time and resources: Bloggers with limited time or resources may need to post less frequently than those who have more time and resources available.

In general, a good starting point for many bloggers is to post at least once a week. 

Of course, some bloggers may choose to post several times a week or even every day. The key is to find a posting schedule that works for you and your audience and to consistently deliver high-quality content that provides value to your readers.

Ultimately, the quality of your blog posts is more important than the quantity. Rather than focusing solely on posting frequently, it’s important to prioritize creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience and helps you achieve your blogging goals.

How to start a blog – Wrapping it up

Starting a blog and monetizing it can be a great way to share your ideas, connect with a community, and earn money doing something you love. By following a few simple steps, you can get your blog up and running and start earning income from it. 

Here’s a recap of the 9 steps to starting a blog and monetizing it:

1. Choose a niche and name
2. Get a domain and hosting
3. Choose a platform
4. Build and design your blog
5. Install plugins
6. Connect to Google services
7. Create high-quality content
8. Promote your blog
9. Monetize your blog

Building a profitable blog takes time, effort, and dedication. Focus on creating high-quality content, building an engaged audience, and experimenting with different monetization strategies to find what works best for you.

With persistence, hard work, and dedication (and the help of some amazing AI writing tools 😎) you can turn your blog into a thriving online business.

If you’re looking to get started right away, signing up for a Bluehost account to get web hosting and automatic WordPress installation is a fast, cost-effective move.

Remember to brainstorm blog topics and write engaging content that resonates with your target audience while promoting it on various channels for maximum reach to help you start earning from your blog quickly.

To finally take control of your life and launch a blog, follow this step-by-step guide to start a blog and build serious momentum, and soon enough you’ll find that you can legitimately make money blogging and build an online business that gives you ultimate time and financial freedom for living out your dream life.