The internet is like an infinite ocean of wealth. Anyone with the proper skills and an internet connection can dip into this ocean and stake a claim. A blog is an excellent way to start. Knowing how to start a blog to make money is not complicated. It doesn’t cost very much, and you don’t need a guru, but you will need to become a student of the internet. When you do, the rewards are phenomenal.
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How to Start a Blog to Make Money.
There is a universal rule you must obey if you want to make money with a blog. This rule governs all forms of trade and commerce on or off the Internet and has held true since primitive man began trading. The universal rule for making money is this:
“If you want to make money in the marketplace, you must offer value.”
On the internet, information is more valuable than money. A successful blog offers helpful information. If you do it right, it can be a goldmine.
Making money with a blog is about creating value for your visitors.
If your blog is only about you, it probably will not make money. Visitors to your blog are seeking something for themselves. If you give it to them, you will have given them something of value.
Value is created when you write an article that helps a visitor to your blog solve a problem, achieve a goal or fulfill a desire.
When you create value for your blog visitor, you’ll have the golden ticket to personal and financial independence. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
How to Start a Blog to Make Money.
Making money with a blog requires a business mindset. That means putting your customer first and finding ways to help them. It also means not getting distracted with gimmicks or shortcuts that claim an easier and faster way to make money.
The rules of business are the same online as they have been off-line for the past 12,000 years. People will give you their time, attention and money when you give them something they want. That is the essence of creating value.
The Secret Formula for How to Start a Blog to Make Money.
A blog or weblog is a website that is regularly updated. In this article, I’ll use the terms website and blog interchangeably.
The secret formula for how to make money with a blog really isn’t secret. It’s right in front of your eyes and has been all the time. Most people never see it because they are mesmerized by online scammers hyping get rich quick programs.
In all its simplistic glory, here’s the million dollar formula for how to start a blog to make money:
Build a website, attract visitors, get paid.
Website + Visitors = $
Maybe you think there must be more to it. Yes, there is more. That’s why it’s important to be a student of the internet and never stop learning. However, for now, let’s stick to fundamentals because this simple formula is the foundation for your online success.
Combine this formula with the universal law of creating value and your success is assured. You will be unstoppable. It’s only a matter of time.
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How to Get Visitors to Your Blog.
Creating a website is super easy with the right software. In a moment, I’ll show you how to create a website in just a few clicks of the mouse, and it won’t cost you a dime.
Getting paid is easy too, once you have visitors. I’ll cover that in more detail in a moment. The tricky part is attracting visitors.
Essentially, there are two ways to get people to visit your website. Search engines can lead people to your website, or you can buy ads that lead people to your website.
Ads are expensive and not suitable for a newbie. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can quickly go broke buying ads. It takes time and a few failed ad campaigns before you learn how to do it properly.
Organic search engine traffic doesn’t cost money. It does, however, demand your time, but if you do it right, it’s all the traffic you’ll ever need.
To properly attract visitors through the search engines, you need to understand the psychology of the search engines.
The Psychology of the Search Engines.
Search engines, like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, run on pure logic. They exist to solve a specific problem. If you help the search engines do their job, you will be rewarded.
Search engines want to give the user the best experience possible. For example, if a user searched Google for an article on how to bake a lemon cake with vanilla icing, they don’t want Google to show them a blog about how to cook a Thanksgiving turkey.
In this example, Google wants to give the user the best possible content about how to bake a lemon cake. So, if your blog has great content on how to bake a lemon cake with vanilla icing, the search engines will lead the user to your website.
If, while the visitor is reading your superb blog post they see your recommendation for a super-duper cake pan and buy through your affiliate link, you make money.
The purchasing cycle can repeat hundreds and thousands of times a day. And, every time the cycle completes with a sale, you make money.
Making money with a blog is that simple. It doesn’t take tricks or gimmicks, and it certainly doesn’t require a guru.
If you give the search engines what they want, the search engines will work tirelessly for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you don’t have to pay them a dime.
How to Rank in the Search Engines.
The search engines will rank your blog when you give the search engines what they want. The search engines want what their users want, that is, information, specific information.
To find out what people are searching for online, you need a keyword tool. A keyword tool reveals the precise words and phrases people type into the search engines.
If you have a blog about baking, you can type the word ‘baking’ into the keyword tool, and it will show you words and phrases people search online, such as, ‘healthy baking recipe,’ ‘baking bread,’ and this one which I particularly like, ‘baking kids.’ Although, baking kids should probably be discouraged. These are keywords.
Most keyword tools are useless. I recommend, the Jaaxy Keyword Tool. It has a free option and a paid option. Free is good. The paid option is better. And it’s affordable. Start with the free option and see how you like it, then when you’re serious about ranking in the search engines, get the paid option.
You’ll find the free version later in this article.
Below is a screenshot of the Jaaxy Keyword Tool in action. I’ve made notes in red explaining the different functions. Read the notes and you’ll see how powerful Jaaxy is and how easy it is to use.
When searching for a keyword, you want to find one that has a lot of searches but not too many competing websites.
This task can be challenging and time-consuming. Jaaxy makes finding potentially profitable keywords easy by marking them with a green dot.
When using Jaaxy, not every keyword with a green dot will be usable, but the green dot quickly tells you which ones are promising.
Ignore the keywords that don’t have a green dot. They will be too hard to rank for when you are starting out.
Later, when your online skills have matured, you might consider keywords with yellow dots.
Choose keywords that sound logical and write a blog post about that keyword. Use the keyword in the title of your post and once or twice in the body of your post.
When you write a blog article focused on a specific keyword, it’s like a beacon shining across the internet. It draws visitors to your blog.
It’s important to be patient because it takes time for the search engines to discover your article and to trust the content of our blog. The process takes time, so commit to your success and keep publishing useful posts even when it doesn’t seem to be working.
To try the FREE version of the Jaaxy Keyword tool, Click Here.
The Right Niche for You.
Online, a niche can be thought of as a subject. You will be writing a lot of content for your blog, so it’s important the niche interests you. If you have knowledge of the subject, that is a plus, but it’s more important that your niche is something you enjoy.
A word of warning. Once your blog is established and profitable, it will give you the freedom to live life on your terms. If you build your blog around a niche that does not interest you, it will feel like a job. You don’t want that. It is far more pleasurable to build a blog around something you enjoy.
Imagine having a business that feels like a hobby but gives you the money and the freedom to live the life you have always wanted.
How to Build a Free Blog.
With the right software, building a website is easy. You can do it with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Before you create your blog, you need a name for it. Generally speaking, shorter names are better. It could be something as simple as “MarysBlog” or something with the subject of the blog in the name, such as, “BakingWithSally.”
After you have three or four names picked out for your blog, type your first name choice in the field below to start building your free website.
Your free blog, aka website, comes with a free starter membership to the Wealthy Affiliate online community and includes additional training, support, another keyword tool and more. There is a paid membership level too. The purpose of the free membership is for you to see what Wealthy Affiliate is about without risking a penny.
The benefits of this online community are phenomenal and will greatly accelerate your online success. Wealthy Affiliate is a community of bloggers, webmaster, and online marketers. We are all students of the internet and life-long learners. It’s the best place I know of to learn how to succeed online.
To get the most out of Wealthy Affiliate during your free membership, complete your account profile with a picture and a short paragraph about who you are. Once you do this, members will see you’re a real person and not a robot. Once they know you’re a real person, they will go out of their way to help you.
I’ll be in touch within the hour and will be available to help you every step of the way.
I recommend the paid membership level, but if you chose not to become a paid member, you can stay at the free level and still keep you free website/blog.
Adding Content to Your Blog.
When you use the website builder above, you’ll see it’s amazing how fast you can build your website. Adding quality content, content that helps your visitor will take longer. It is the content of your blog that makes the real magic happen.
Your content will compete with similar content on other websites to attract visitors.
The written content of a blog is often called a post. I like to think of it as an article.
In the past, many bloggers wrote short articles of about 500 words and that was enough to rank in the search engines and draw visitors. Times have changed. Now, a competitive post will have about 1,500 words.
Not every topic can support a post of 1,500 words. It’s more important to write a tight, focused and engaging post than to fluff it up with filler words.
If you struggle to write a post of 1,500 words, write a shorter post. As your confidence grows, you will naturally write longer blog posts.
If you consistently add new posts to your blog, it will be seen by the search engines as an authority to be trusted. This status will give your blog a dramatic competitive advantage.
Write in a relaxed and friendly tone. Imagine you’re talking to your best friend. Your advice must be honest and sincere. If you recommend a product or service on your blog, it must be quality. Don’t recommend anything that you would not recommend to your best friend.
Trust is the rarest and most valuable asset on the internet. Never compromise your integrity.
How to Earn Money with a Blog.
Don’t try to monetize your blog right away. At first, it’s more important to make your blog appealing to the search engines and visitors.
Once you have a steady influx of visitors to your blog, monetizing is easy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to make money from a blog that has visitors.
An easy way to monetize your blog is to be an affiliate for products and services that your visitor would naturally want. For example, if you have a blog about organic gardening, you can become an affiliate for organic gardening tools, books, and supplies.
Recap – How to Start a Blog to Make Money.
This method works. It costs practically nothing. The secret is to offer value and to cooperate with the search engines.
If you want to enjoy the riches of the internet, there is something else you must know.
Commit to Your Success.
If you are serious about making money online with a blog, you must be committed to your success. People make money online every day and you can too. You can make enough money to free yourself from the 9 to 5 grind and more, but it won’t happen unless you commit to your success.
Commitment means to keep trying, keep learning. Be a student of the internet. Online technology changes faster than the weather. As a student of the internet, you will continually evolve with these changes and use them to your advantage.
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A Better Option for You.
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The FREE starter level of the Online Entrepreneur Certification Course will show you the fundamentals of internet marketing without risk. You don’t need a credit card.
When you signup for the FREE Online Entrepreneur Certification Course through any link on this website, I will mentor you one-on-one for FREE.
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If you found this article helpful, please leave a comment below. Thank you.
First of all I understand you that you have to provide value to the reader of your site. If you do not have value then obviously why would people visit your site. And then why would anyone want to buy something from your site or through you.
So you have to give people what they want. You have to give people information regularly. But my query is how regularly do you have to do this? Does it depend on the niche? Does it matter how many visitors you have? If you have thousands and thousands then do you have to update quite more often? I am curious as to the answer to this.
Hi Owain!
Thanks for stopping by.
Regarding your question about how often you should update your blog, the rule of thumb is at least once a week. Twice a week is better. In fact, the more often you can post content to your blog the better.
All the best,
Gary
Hi Gary,
You have a well written and well thought out article. One thing that I think would not be easy is selecting the right niche for your new website. There are so many things on the internet today, but finding the right niche for yourself can be difficult. Do you have any advise or suggestions on how to select the right niche?
Kind regards,
David
Hi, David!
Thanks for visiting.
I understand choosing a niche can be a stumbling block for many people. This is probably because they are trying to make money as quickly and as easily as possible. At least, this was the case with me when I was starting out.
First, keep in mind that most people fail to make money with a blog because they either never get started, don’t write enough content for their blog to be seen as an authority by the search engines or quit too soon.
In other words, to succeed with a blog, you must choose a niche, write a ton of content so the search engines will see your blog as an authority and you must keep adding content to your blog no matter what happens.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a niche.
The truth is, you cannot chose a wrong niche. This truth reminds me of a Zen teaching. That is, take a step and the path appears. The right niche for you is a niche you will enjoying writing about.
The key to building a profitable blog is quality content. This means articles and videos about subjects people are searching for. The more content on your blog the better. Aim to post 100+ articles. You’ll be spending a lot of time and energy creating this content, so chose a subject that you find interesting.
Look closely at your life. What do you have knowledge and experience in. Are you a military veteran? A parent? An RC airplane enthusiast? Backpacker? Do you suffer from a disease? Do you care for elderly parents? The potential is endless.
Whatever your interest or background, the odds are there are millions of people who share your interests and would be eager to know your perspective on the subject.
I worry that too many people never get started with a profitable blog because they are trying to find the perfect niche. Ultimately, they miss the opportunity of their life because they never complete the first step and chose a niche.
Choose a niche that interests you. Commit to it and write a ton of content for it (100+ articles). The worse thing that can happen is you learn valuable skills and insights. To be successful, you must be a student of the internet. Think of all the things you will learn by choosing a niche, any niche. You can’t lose, even an unprofitable niche will reward you. Although any niche can be made profitable, some faster than others.
Choose a niche, take the step and the path will appear.
All the best,
Gary
Hi, I read your article and found it to be very helpful. I see over and over again that content is king and without helpful content your blog really won’t go anywhere. How often do you recommend providing posts to your audience?
Also, for those starting out as you mention 1,500 words can be difficult to write. Would writing more frequent, shorter posts be helpful in order to offset the fact that they may not be the ideal length?
Thanks for your help!
Hi, Momma Bear!
Thanks for asking such great questions.
Indeed content is king. The more frequently you can post to your blog the better. As a rule of thumb posting new content once or twice a week is ideal. However, the most important thing is to post quality content, emphasis on quality.
Quality content is content that answers a visitor’s question or solves their problem. Be generous.
Use the goal of a 1,500 word article as a guide. Write to the best of your ability, but 500 words should be the minimum. Later, when you’re more confident with your writing skills you can rewrite the shorter articles. Keep at it, over time you writing speed and capacity will improve.
Writers do have an advantage when starting out, but the rewards of succeeding with a blog are so huge that it is worth a non-writers time to become a writer. Imagine enjoying true financial independence and complete control of your life. Isn’t that worth learning a new skill?
All the best,
Gary
Wow! That video is so well put together! You just explained every step to creating a successful blog in an easy to understand way. I definitely agree with you about WA and it being an unfair advantage. So glad to be a part of it! Thanks for sharing this Gary 🙂
Hi, Michael!
Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for you kind words.
Wealthy Affiliate has totally changed my life. Before I found WA, I struggled to make money online and wasted enormous amounts of time, money and energy on loser strategies. Wealthy Affiliate taught me to think like an entrepreneur and how to really build an online business. Making money online is no longer a struggle.
All the best,
Gary
Nowadays blogging for money seems like the ideal option for anyone that wants freedom of place and time, not having to go somewhere, aka work, not having a set schedule, it’s just awesome.
Many people fear it tho, as it’s not a job, they feel like it can’t bring income, I used to think so as well but I’ve changed my mind since I’ve started my own blog with the help of Wealthy Affiliate.
I also like your use of quotes. Best of luck
Hi, Aless!
I appreciate your comment. I agree and I don’t understand why more people don’t start a blog. Maybe some people need a boss. I sure didn’t and couldn’t wait to work for myself.
The amazing thing about a blog is it’s working around the clock. A post written today will be working for years to earn money. I can’t imagine a greater opportunity.
Thanks for stopping by,
Gary
Hey Gary,
As a blog writer myself, I really enjoyed your post. It gives a nice refresher about the fundamentals of what we are doing. I especially enjoyed the adding content part where you said to never compromise integrity which is so very true.
Thank you for this post,
Ant
Hi, Ant Man!
Thanks for stopping by. I’m pleased you enjoyed my article How to Start a Blog to Make Money. Integrity is so important. Trust is the rarest commodity on the Internet and in life. Without integrity, there can be no trust.
The job of writing persuasively and captivating a reader’s attention is much easier when you are being real and have the interests of your reader foremost in mind. Then writing becomes a casual conversation between friends.
All the best,
Gary
Gary,
Making money with a blog is not easy, but it’s certainly worth the ordeal if you really want to live a life on your own terms and be your own boss.
As you said, to succeed, you need to keep going until you see results. I blog for one year now and to be honest am going as far as I wish, and I found your post to be very inspiring.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Anh
Hi Anh!
Thanks for stopping by. I think I understand why you write that making money with a blog is not easy. However, when compared to a job, making money with a blog is one of the easiest ways to make money. It just takes time.
Making money with a blog is a lot easier than working dead end jobs and suffering under a boss.
Because there is so much hype online from scammers promising easy riches with their make-money-online scams, many people assume that making money online is easy and fast. It seems people expect making money online to be as easy as pushing a button and it should happen over night. That’s not realistic.
I have two college degrees that took me 7 years and thousands of dollars to earn. When I graduated all I had was a bunch of debt and the opportunity to hunt for a job. With my first blog, I made money in four months without going into debt or suffering under the thumb of a boss. Each month the income from my websites continues to rise.
It might help to remember that success with a blog is cumulative. The more posts you have on your blog, the more the search engines will see your blog as an authority and rank it on or near the first page. Each post adds value to all the other posts.
Also, it will take time to learn the many skills required to maintain and promote a blog people enjoy visiting. This is why I recommend people join the Wealthy Affiliate community. As a member of Wealthy Affiliate, you get the training, support, encouragement and social validation you need to succeed online.
I wish more people could see how a successful blog will change their life for the better. Imagine, having a business you can manage from your laptop that feels like a hobby, but pays a full time income. Building a successful blog is more than worth the time and effort it takes.
Thanks again for stopping by Anh.
All the best,
Gary
Awesome post Gary! I’m running my own blog as well and I must admit that I was a little discouraged these last days.
Reading your post made me remember why am I doing what I’m doing and what I have to do in order to be successful in the blogging business!
Hi, Adrian!
Thanks for stopping by. I’m pleased you found encouragement in my post. It’s essential that we keep posting and improving our blog even when we don’t see the results we hoped for. There is so much we can’t control about blogging, but we can control the quality of our blog and the content on it.
There is a Zen teaching I have learned and forgotten a million times and will continue to learn again and again. The Zen teaching reminds us to take action but not to be attached to the outcome of our action. Granted, it is easier said than done, but it remains an invaluable approach to blogging.
All the best,
Gary
Great article on how to start a blog to make money. Anyone reading this who was unsure before will definitely know how this is possible after reading this well-detailed post.
Would you recommend going it on your own, or joining a platform like Wealthy Affiliate? Could I do it without Wealthy Affiliate?
Hi, Michel!
Thanks for stopping by. You ask a good question. I definitely recommend joining Wealthy Affiliate. The training and support in Wealthy Affiliate will make the journey to blogging success shorter, faster and less frustrating.
Most people fail with blogs simply because they get discouraged and quit. The truth is, anyone who can use a personal computer can succeed online if they just know what to do. Wealthy Affiliate will insure you know what to do and that you are encouraged and supported every step of the way.
Wealthy Affiliate has a free starter membership, so anyone can join for free and check it out.
All the best,
Gary
Great step by step approach to making money through your blog. This post is an easy, yet thorough read. I like the personal quips you add and especially the sign off at the end. It makes making money online feel more personal and engaging for those interested in the work.
Hi, Ash!
Thanks for stopping by. You’re the first to comment on my article “How to Start a Blog and Make Money.” I appreciate your kind words and I’m glad you like my style. It’s my pleasure to show people how to really make money online.
All the best,
Gary