Start a Blog About Your Interests and Make Money
Make money with a blog. Learn how to start a blog and write about things you enjoy.
Do you enjoy writing? Do you have an interest or a unique perspective on a topic? If so, then blogging can be a great outlet to share your thoughts and knowledge with others.
Want to make money? Blogging can also be a creative way to supplement your income.
You can make money in a variety of ways with a blog. As a blogger, you can earn money through advertisements, sponsored posts, affiliate sales, brand engagement, product reviews, and endorsements. Blogging can also lead to paid freelance writing gigs.
Quick Smile Summary: Starting a Blog for Money
Want to skip the article and just go through the steps? Here ya go, rockstar!
- Host your blog on a self-hosted website. Use BlueHost (get free domain registration) or SiteGround. I currently use SiteGround and absolutely love them. If one can love a web host.
- Select a payment plan. The longer the plan such as the 36-month plan will be cheaper on a per month basis.
- Install Wordpress. This is an easy one-click step for both hosting companies.
- Start writing. You can publish your first blog post instantly.
I started my blog with a self-hosted site on BlueHost. It was cheap and also came with a free domain. BlueHost is a good option for starters. When your traffic grows, you can upgrade with them, or move to SiteGround (my current host) which I absolutely love.
How I Make Money Blogging
In the first few months of blogging, I didn’t make money. I quickly learned how to place Google AdSense on my blog to earn some advertising revenues from ads that would show on my blog. Thirty days later, I earned $8.24 from these ads. I finally made money.
Currently, ads that run in my blog earn on average $500 in AdSense income per month. I don’t have many ad placements on the blog which impacts the potential Adsense revenues.
The majority of my income comes from affiliate sales. I partner with brands I love and share their products in the blog. For example, I make affiliate income by sharing products I use and love like Credit Karma and Webull.
As my web traffic grew, I was paid by companies to write reviews and sponsored posts.
I also make money writing for other blogs and creating content for companies. Back then, I was getting paid $25 for 500-word articles. Now, my rate is $1.00 per word with a minimum of 800 words.
My blog is still my online portfolio. It can be your online writing portfolio too.
When your blog takes off, many people will ask for your time. They want to pick your brain so they can start making money with their blogs too. Eventually, I began coaching others, and my rates beginning at $500. Coaching took a lot of my time so I no longer take on clients except in special circumstances.
Should You Start a Blog to Make Money?
The great thing about blogging is that you can do it anywhere. You can start blogging while keeping your full-time job. Blogs can be written during lunch break, at home, in a coffeehouse, on the beach, or while waiting for your time at the doctor’s office.
Here is a two-step process to get started blogging for money right now.
How to Get Started Blogging
What’s the name of your blog? Decide on what you’d like to call your blog and find the domain that matches. You can go to BlueHost or SiteGround to check for availability. I also recommend Google Domains. With Google Domains, you can register a domain for $12 per year which includes free domain privacy protection. Then, go back to BlueHost or SiteGround and select your plan.
When creating your blog name or URL be original and authentic to you. You can be direct or have a play on words for your URL. Often times, having the topic of your blog included in the URL can get a better search engine ranking.
Find your perfect URL using this tool from Bluehost:
Step 1: Get Web Hosting
I think most people (and I felt this way too) are afraid of the technical aspect of blogging. But, it’s quite easy to get started. Web hosting providers are helpful by offering instant installs or one-click installs of Wordpress. Wordpress is by far the best blogging platform. It’s easy to use and a ton of free resources are available online.
You can start blogging using wordpress.com, medium.com, or Linkedin. However, I recommend hosting your own website so you can monetize–make money.
Choose a web host and decide on how long you’d like hosting for. Choosing a 3-year plan will give you the best savings. If you’re unsure if blogging will stick with you, then choose a 12-month plan.
>> Get started with Bluehost – a really good plan for the beginner and wants simplicity.
>> Get started with SiteGround – more robust features and slightly pricier. Again, I currently use SiteGround.
Step 2: Start Blogging Using WordPress
Once you’ve selected your web host, choose the instant or one-click install of Wordpress. There is a lot of information available for WordPress users. It makes it so much easier to start and troubleshoot.
Wordpress is a blogging platform and it comes with a set of free themes. The theme is the look and feel of your blog or website. You can choose among hundreds of free themes to get started. A basic theme works best so you’re focused on blog writing and eventually fix your blog’s brand and style later.
Start writing. Come up with one topic to discuss. If you find yourself talking about a related topic, start a new blog post.
Start with these additional resources
As a blogger, here are my favorite services. Many of them are free but offer premium versions for a fee.
Design Images: Canva is an online design app that helps you create amazing social media ready and blog post read designs.
Photos: Depositphotos has millions of royalty-free photos and images to use for your blog. I recommend using photos you’ve taken yourself or paid licensed photos from places like Depositphotos.
Social Media Scheduler: Buffer is a great place to start.
Email: MailChimp offers free up to 500 subscribers. And affordable options once you’ve reached the limit.
5 Tips to Make Money with Your Blog
- Focus on a specific topic and write posts that people will enjoy reading.
- Edit your posts.
- Promote your blog posts on social media.
- Email your family and friends (if you don’t want to be anonymous).
- Engage with other bloggers in your niche. Follow bloggers on social media and comment on your favorite posts.
What are you waiting for? Get started blogging with a web host. Choose a free domain registration with BlueHost and pay as little as $3.95/month or get amazing customer web hosting support with SiteGround at $3.95/month. I’m about options and these two are sound web host starting points.
Can you see yourself blogging and making money from a blog? Let me know if you’ve started a blog and share your blog’s URL in the comments below.
