How to start a blog (And Earn Money from It) in 2022 -
Blogs are like opinions: Everyone has one. And for good reason!
A properly designed blog with helpful content is one of the most powerful marketing instruments available. This shows prospective customers that you're an expert in your field and also builds your reputation on the internet. It also shows potential customers that you're a media Centric SaaS Companies like Hubspot who maintain active, useful blogs often have greater traffic than major media outlets in their respective industries. That's massive.
In this article, we'll break down why blogs are such an important strategy to build brand recognition, before diving into the technical details of starting with a blog. In the next article, we'll go through the most effective strategies that bloggers employ to monetize their blogs and provide you with the steps to transform your blog into a major source of income that is passive. (Because who doesn't dream about that!)
We'll dive right in to take you from being a novice to a blogging superstar. There are a few shortcuts to follow that will allow you to jump ahead particular section:
- The advantages of blogging
- How to begin a blog that is successful
- How can you earn money from blogging
The advantages of blogging
From getting your website to rank better on search engines, and to helping build your brand's bond with audiences There are a few key reasons that every writer and company needs a blog.
The ability to increase traffic to your site
It's not necessary to go through the lingo, but this method is known as inbound marketing. You blog about a subject people are actually searching for. Along the way, they'll come across your name. That means you won't need to spend money on ads in order to get seen. (That's outsidebound marketing!)
Conway says that after making a statement on hot-button issues in his industry, he got the "huge increase in visitors" and grew his readership to 20,000 monthly readers. He now collaborates in conjunction with freelancers to create great content. This is a model that you could imitate, whatever the field you work in.
Getting discovered via social media
Content from blogs isn't only useful to bring visitors to your site -it could also be used for social media. By doing this, you'll grow your audience for your business and get leads you couldn't find otherwise. This is better shown rather than explained. We'll look at the details of an instance.
Imagine you're selling lint-rollers in the form of your own blog article about methods to get rid of cat hair off sofas. Then, you go into detail and describe every way to take the feline from the place you lie. (Meow.) That post and the research that you have put into it form the foundation of your work.
To take it one step further, you could make a Twitter thread that breaks the hair removal techniques within a mere 280 words. It's shorter, more digestible and gives you access to an entirely new audience. You could also make an Instagram-based carousel which highlights your top 5 ways to get cats off of couches. If you're feeling adventurous, you could even film the video on TikTok video on how to use a do lint rolling like a pro.
The blog post becomes more than just a piece of writing. It's an entire mini content marketing plan, that includes elements that you can use to help promote your brand's image through various channels. The blog post itself is your best bet to devote the majority of your time. But once it's written, you'd be missing out in the event that you don't invest at least an hour making it available on social media.
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Building your online reputation
It is also a great means to improve your online reputation and establish yourself as an authority on a particular topic. A good online brand can be beneficial for entrepreneurs who are solo as well as large corporations, and the content you write today will affect customers for years to come.
Simply put, people would rather buy from companies that help them than from anonymous corporate behemoths. Companies would rather hire consultants who offer a certain amount of worth upfront rather than hiring consultants that don't provide any evidence they'll deliver on their claim to deliver.
Consistent, high-quality blog content is the way to give away that value and prove that you are worth it.
Long-term business creation
A major benefit of blogging is its ability to build long-term relationships for your brand. Once you've created a blog post, it's all yours (and it's up and running for a long time). You can update and republish key articles yearly to keep them ranked highly as well as people continue discovering your brand through your blog all by themselves.
The best part is that the content you post on your blog will create first impressions for you. When a potential customer contacts you on the first occasion, they'll already be able to form a picture of who you are based on your blog posts. You won't have to introduce yourself, and you'll be able be focused on solving the problems of your customers and building relationships.
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How do you begin a blog that will be successful in 2022
So now that you know what makes blogs so popular, let's get deep into the details regarding how to create a successful blog. Because blogging has changed quite a bit since the days of LiveJournal and TypePad -- to be prosperous in the year 2022, you must to establish a clear plan and strategy for your blog starting from the start.
1. Pick your niche
Before you start your blog, you need select the primary subject you'll be focusing your content on. That's your niche.
On the flipside, if you select a highly specific area, no one will find the time to find. It's possible that you're the most powerful fish in the water body, but if no one is fishing there and you don't think that it's likely to see much business impact.
Imagine you're a tailor who loves making quilted replicas of album covers of the 1960s and the 1970s. There's a chance that there's an audience of a few people who want to see the Trout Mask Replica quilt. However, if you're hoping to attract new customers for your business, you might be interested in writing about sewing. This is a broad topic, and there's more people looking for it.
Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to identify a lucrative niche and one that isn't very crowded or which people are looking for. This is how to do it:
Consider your interests as well as your skills and experience.
The search for the perfect blog topic should begin with some serious self-reflection. You can ask yourself these three questions. Then, take a few notepads when you're done:
- What do you love to do -- and what would you like to talk about all day?
- What life skills or experiences could you impart or offer to others?
- Within the niche you're drawn to, what aspects haven't been explored until death?
Most likely the real world or your work hobbies will be the subject you want your blog to concentrate on. This is a place where you're an expert in the field.
The importance of knowing your market is absolutely crucial, because it will take time to grow the readership of your blog. If you're not passionate about the niche you've chosen for your blog then you'll face an existential crisis and abandon it prior to reaching the year-mark. (And that won't feel good -- believe me. )
Check Google Trends to find out how well-known your field is
If you've found a niche, you'll want to conduct some simple analysis to discover what consumers are seeking in your niche. This is a much simpler task, and doesn't require as much soul-searching.
Begin by visiting Google Trends -- the easiest and most cost-free method of measuring the volume of searches (a.k.a. the number of times that people search for phrases in Google every month). Think of important keywords for the subject you're interested in. If you're in the field of photography, you could try terms like "learning photography," "best camera for beginner," and even just "photography." Enter the keywords in Google Trends, and you'll get a view of the volume of searches as they change over the course of.
It's that simple, actually. The thing that the Google Trends research process does is to inform you of the ways people are using to get into your market. The research process can reveal trends in your niche too, and point to whether your niche is growing or shrinking.
This phase can assist you gut-check whether your niche is the best one for you. And if you're worried that your field is overcrowded for you to stand out, then stick around -- that's a problem you can solve.
Explore further to discover another sub-niche that you may own
The niche you choose for your blog could be something that's already really popular, like photographs, finance or even healthy food. However, if you consider which areas within the niche still haven't been saturated, you can carve out something healthy that you can be a part of.
If, for instance, you're a photographer, you can narrow your focus from the extensive niche of photography down to the sub-niche that is studio photography. You can let someone else write about long-exposure landscape photos. You can concentrate on lighting, setting up indoor photo shoots, and the must-have equipment for studios.
In this way, you'll come across as an expert at a certain trade. (Which can help make your business stand out, too. And isn't that the whole purpose?)
2. Select a name for your blog
Once you've picked your niche (or sub-niche! ) then it's time to choose a name for your blog. It's the name users will look for and will remember, therefore it's important to choose an easy, memorable name and true to the brand you've created.
In choosing your username You'll need to consider your intended audience, the subjects you'll be writing about, and what your voice as a writer is like.
With that background in mind, you're ready to pick names. There are many different ways to name strategies for your brand new blog:
You can use your own name
Creative director Nathan Allebach uses his last name for the title of his blog and communications company. This strategy has helped people who read about his experiences with Steak-Umm discover his company and then become clients.
But, on the other hand the other hand, this strategy of naming may be unsuitable for teams or for blogs with a focus on industries. For instance, if you've got an unpopular name, such as John Smith, you may be unable to rank on Google. (But hey, that's what middle names are for isn't it? )
Get a dictionary
If your blog is geared towards an industry or field your name could make it difficult to identify your blog. You may want to go with a name which is representative of the kind of material you're posting about.
This can be tricky, but you should take out your local Thesaurus (or Thesaurus.com). It's going to be taking some of those industry keywords you thought of earlier, plug them in, then look up similar words or synonyms to use as a starting point for the title of your blog.
A name like The Camera Blog feels generic, so take the term "camera" and type it into the online dictionary. You'll find related terms like "lens," "mirror" and "35mm" -- and suddenly it already is much more interesting.
It is easy to flip them into a new title suitable for your blogsuch as Lens Tracker 35mm Mayhem or Mirrorless Magic. People searching for photography will be able to identify the blog's theme about, and it will not disappear into the sea of blogs with names that aren't appropriate.
Make use of a blog's name generator
Another good strategy to name your blog is by plugging certain keywords into a blog naming generator. Select a handful of keywords relevant to your industry, and use a tool for naming like BlogTyrant's do the hard work. (This name generator will even check the availability of domain names. )
There's no better proof of the power of name generators than the upcoming EGOT winner Childish Gambino. He got his stage name through a Wu-Tang Clan name generator in the early 2000s as well as still working it a decade later. (It's still online. You can search for "Donald Glover" here, if you're curious. )
It's no shame in letting an automated system help you think of ideas. As long as you come up with an appropriate, unique name, it won't ever make a difference how you came up with the name.
3. Create your blog's hosting
In order to start your website, you'll have to set up hosting. This involves purchasing your domain or the URL your blog audience will search to read your articles.
Choose a reputable hosting provider. If you go with a bottom-of-the-barrel, extra-cheap hosting provider, your blog may see performance issues, such as lag time while loading. It's possible that you don't notice however Google's algorithm for searching definitely will -- so you're at risk of being left out of the search results.
However, hosting doesn't cost much. Actually, most hosting services will charge you a couple coffees every month. They'll maintain your blog operating 24/7.
Our 5 top hosting recommendations from our hosting providers include (in the order that is not specific):
4. Build your blog in a CMS
When you've got your domain, you're ready to build your blog out in a Content Management System, also commonly referred to as CMS. CMS.
CMS platforms let you build your own site without needing to write code. Your CMS will be where you'll go to create new pages, publish articles, and update old information in the near future. If you're a blogger picking a CMS is like picking the right partner -- so choose carefully.
The most common CMS system is WordPress, an open-source classic that is used by companies of all sizes. There are plenty of excellent CMS options available, however. These are our top choices to get you started:
5. Create and share material
Once you've established your CMS installed, the next task is to create and publishing the content. Content creation is an issue in and of itself, and we could write a whole book (or make you cry) on the process that goes into choosing what to write.
Always want to consider these concerns:
- My target market is who?
- What is it that they are interested in -and what issues do they face?
- What could I do to help them learn?
This strategy will keep from going outside of your niche, creating off-brand content, and from covering topics that somebody else has already covered. This will help you uncover interesting, hidden stories to bring to life for your viewers. Happy writing, my friends!
6. Make sure to promote your blog
Once you've put your content available, the next step is to promote it.
The most effective strategy that we'd recommend is to reuse blog posts for your social media platforms. Transform a long-form blog post into the form of a carousel-style post on Instagram, or an in-depth thread on Twitter. Fire up your iPhone and record an TikTok that breaks down the major points of your article, and then redirect people to your website to read the entire story.
This kills two birds with one stone. This solution solves the "what should I do on Instagram" conundrum, and it brings people to return to the original blog post.
Besides content repurposing as well, we recommend making your blog searchable. It takes a more SEO study, but it's an exciting rabbit hole worth exploring. All you need to do is conduct the necessary keyword research, discover important terms that rank high, and then incorporate these into your content.
This informs Google that your article solves questions that people are searching for. It will also take your organic traffic to the next level.
Making money from blogging using Four strategies
You've got your blog up and up and. Congrats! People are finding your content and it appears that they're really enjoying the articles you're publishing.
How do you earn money off all the content?
It's crucial to comprehend how content creators earn money:
- If you sell your content You earn revenue directly from your users. If, for instance, your content is protected by a paywall or is arranged to be an online course you're selling your product.
- If you're trying to sell the idea of awareness to an audience and cooperating with a third party to fulfill their marketing needs. Think of your "word that we get from sponsors" part of your favorite podcast, or the links to your recipe site that will lead to Amazon products. These are examples of selling your listeners.
1. Advertise on your blog
The ability to enable Google AdSense (Google's advertising toolkit) for your blog is a fantastic way to turn the clicks that your blog earns into direct, cold deposits to your bank account.
How does it work? You make your blog available to the Google's advertising network and let ads appear on your website. Clicks and impressions from ads make up a monthly AdSense payout.
AdSense is free to join, the eligibility conditions are not too high and the amount you earn from advertising is scalable like your blog's as well.
There's many types of AdSense advertisements, such as:
- Image ads: Graphic ads available in a range of dimensions.
- Text ads: Adverts that are text-only which can show any or multiple offers.
- Rich media advertisements: HTML, video, as well as flash ads.
- GIF ads: Animated image ads.
That means that if find a certain ad type is distracting from the content on your blog It is possible to swap it out for something quieter. If you're looking to earn huge sums by selling large amounts of ads you can find ads that permit you to do so too.
2. Join an affiliate network
Affiliate marketing can be a reliable way to monetize your blog. The affiliate link you provide to items, and when someone who has started their journey on your blog purchases, you get a tasty commission fee.
You'll need to market items that your readers are really keen on. Your readers on your cooking blogs at home doesn't want to buy moisturizing products... but they'd surely be intrigued by Crockpot suggestions. Choose the best products and you'll transform the affiliate advertisements that promote cast iron cookware into gold.
We know from experience that there's a ton of misinformation available concerning affiliate programs. Since we're interested, we've compiled a list of 8 reputable affiliate networks that you can join today:
- Instagram Affiliate
- FlexOffers
- AWIN (prev. Affiliate Window)
- Amazon Associates Program
- CJ Affiliate
- Affiliaxe
- Affiliate Program
- ShareASale
- Udemy Affiliates Program
3. Write sponsored posts
Sponsored content is another excellent method to convert the traffic on your blog into passive income particularly when you have a loyal public. In exchange for a per-post cost, you'll incorporate advertising for a company's product in your blog's posts.
This is win-win. The benefit for you is money. To your partner, it's an authentic piece of third-party of content, which will promote their products (without appearing to be an unfeeling product placement).
Sponsored posts may be in various forms that include:
- Articles created by sponsors that you share
- Posts written by you on behalf of a product or service sponsored by a sponsor
- Links to a sponsor's website or product page
- A list of positive coverage for a company's product
- An announcement about a product that provides a discount of a certain amount to blog users
It's important to mention that in most cases, you'll be approached to write sponsored content. You don't want to chase sponsors, and in fact it can cause you to appear desperate. Concentrate on creating good content that is distinctive within your field, and in time, they'll be there for you.
4. Online courses can be sold
The online course is the most efficient and scalable way to earn money through your blog. Blog content is a fantastic method of introducing people to your company or personal brand However, the process of assembling your experience into user-friendly courses is better. (And you can make it quite profitable!)
Furthermore, after you've created a course, it's completed. It's possible to modify the course content from time to the time, but it's an asset you are able to send your blog's readers for the rest of time. And if your blog becomes a go-to within your niche then your financial account will increase in value. (No, really--we've seen it happen many times. )
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So, what's next?
Once you've figured out how to create your own blog, you're likely seeking ways to transform your blog into a cash cow. As we've said before: the most quick, efficient way to monetize your blog and build passive income is to start making courses.
This is where we come in. We help you earn money from your blog by repurposing material into self-guided online courses and membership websites. Our easy-to-use course design platform aids educators, coaches as well as digital content creators create interactive, customized e-Learning experiences and build sustainable online businesses.
Start for no cost and receive courses, marketing, and selling equipment you require to move your company to the next level. (No tech skills required! )