Today I want to show you how to start a blog and make money online. This is going to be a guide to start your own blogging journey.
If you haven’t already, make sure you check out this blog first:
As a creative and entrepreneur, a blog is essential to our work, it is easy to create, will not cost you hardly anything to start up, and it can make you money! How cool is that?!
So what is a blog anyways?
The best way to describe it is it is like a digital journal. A place where you can talk about your passions, your interests, your life, and so much more. It is a place where you can share ideas, and help others with your expertise.
For your blog you are going to need to choose your niche or your area of interest (what you are actually going to blog about). My blog “Bessie Young Photography” is all about helping others along their creative entrepreneur journey with a emphasis on photography.
Can anyone blog?
Heck yes! Anyone can blog! Blogging is a side hustle where you really don’t need any expertise. You just need to get started! How cool is that?
Blogging doesn’t require any special skills, but it does really require alot of hard work, passion, dedication, and determination.
What Can You Write About in a Blog?
Seriously, that is the beauty of blogging! You can write about anything you want, but you have to decide what that is going to be. Like I said above, you really gotta pick your niche first.
Think about what you love, and what you are truly passionate about. Brainstorm what you are good at.
Are you good at cooking?
Are you a stay at home mom?
Do you love fashion?
Do you love to craft and show other people how?
How about a fashionista?
There are millions of blogs out there on every topic imaginable. Here is an awesome website with 50 successful blogs in each topic.
Is it expensive?
Not at all! Hosting your blog is going to be the most expensive thing that you do, unless you start advertising. Now a Squarespace blog (which is what I use) costs only $12 a month. That is about .40 cents a day. I am going to say that is pretty dang affordable :)
“Ok friends, so lets get started.”
How to Start a Blog and Make Money:
Brainstorm a good domain name:
So this is pretty huge right? What are you going to actually call your blog?! This is your website domain. For example, mine is bessieyoungphotography.com
You need to think about this long and hard. The domain name should relate to your niche. This also might take quite a bit of time as not all domain names are available. As you know, the internet is endless so…. with that being the case alot of domains are taken.
You can register your domain name with any registrar. If you are using wordpress you will want to find a host, or you can register your domain name directly with squarespace. The domain name will come with the squarespace yearly subscription for the first year. It is then $20 after that.
Get Started:
After you choose where you want your blog hosted you will need to go over that way and set up a plan. Let’s take Squarespace for example (and no squarespace is not sponsoring this blog)
You will head over to their page home page and click get started. It will look something like:
Now you need to pick a plan that is best for you. I would recommend going with the 12 month plan so you save money. You can also find a bunch of Youtubers that Sponsor squarespace and you can then get an additional 10% off. If you want a code I can recommend a few people, just leave a comment below.
Connect your Domain name:
You will need to register a domain name. If the one you want is not available it will let you know. It will also give you related suggestions which can be helpful.
Pick your template
Now comes the fun part. You get to pick your template!!! How cool is that? Squarespace makes it super easy to adjust the design with beautiful templates already installed for you, you just have to pick one.
“Your Blog is Now Ready!!!”
Start Writing, it’s GO TIME!
One thing that I have found to be important is to have a list of posts drafted before you launch your website. You do not want to launch your website with no information on it. Squarespace will mark your website as private until you decide it is the right time to share your goodness with the world!
So what do I mean? You need to have content ready. Content that you can work on and promote when the launch actually happens. This is where word of mouth really comes into play. Start talking about your blog! Tell everyone, all the people. This way when it launches there is excitement to it. Also, this way when it launches people will have things to read, to look at, and to promote themselves via sharing on social media.
Writing is easy, but getting people interested is hard. You should definitely try to solve peoples problems. Help people. Serve people. Give them value. That is what a blog is really all about!
Getting Traffic - Tips:
Word of mouth! Tell everyone! Let friends and family know. This way from day 1 you can have some good traffic.
Set up your social media first! Think Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.
Once you blog, you will share the news on all your channels. Don’t try to be on every social media site. Pick a few and focus your efforts on that.
You can join relevant Facebook groups or instagram pods.
Use Pinterest ALOT. You need Pinterest in your life! For realz though. It is crazy helpful and brings alot of traffic. Right now I get 156K+ monthly views over on Pinterest.
Now Pinning all day every day sucks. I’m not going to lie. I have found that Tailwind has been a game changer for me. Tailwind will help you automate your Pinterest rather than doing everything manual.
Work on your SEO and get it on point! This is going to be huge for you. Google traffic is free.
Ways to make money with your blog:
There are so many ways to monetize your blog. Ideas:
sponsorships
product sales
advertising
affiliate marketing, etc.
How much you make from these sources will 100% depend on your blogs traffic. This is where all your hard work, and all the foot work comes into play. Make sure to check out my post on 5 Easy Ways to Make Money Blogging
I personally love affiliate marketing and most of my blog income either comes from it or my own product sales. With all affiliate marketing you are going to have to apply to be an affiliate. Just keep that in mind as it does take time for approvals.
“So Stop Waiting! Start Your Blog Today. Tag me in your social or comment below so I can see your new blog!”
Blogging is pretty darn awesome. It gives you huge flexibility with your lifestyle. It can be a full time job, a side hustle, and really whatever you want to make it!
I hope you all enjoyed this blog! If you did, leave me a comment below, or even better, share it with your friends!
Wishing you the absolute best!
Bessie