Affiliate Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, you won’t pay any more, and I’ll get a commission. Thank you for supporting the site!
For years now I wanted to put together a blog that detailed all of my misadventures in business. Somewhat ironically, even though I worked for several years at a web-design company where we helped other businesses build blogs, I didn’t feel like I had the end-to-end knowledge I’d need to do every aspect of it. Fast forward 10 years and hundreds of hours of research later, I’ve been able to finally build the blog I wanted. This is the guide that I wish I had years ago. It would have saved me so much time and frustration.
How to start a blog:
- Decide the type of blog, your target audience, their wallet size, and where your knowledge falls in their hierarchy of needs. Then pick your topic and domain name.
- Pick a hosting platform and create your website.
- Find and write the answers to questions that people have.
- Write posts that are engaging and that search engines are likely to rank well.
- Find and implement the best ways to monetize your content.
Over the course of the next several blog posts, we’ll break down each of these sections in detail and provide you with the tools you need to be successful. Hopefully by following these steps you’ll be able to create a blog that works as a machine that turns gratitude into money. More on that later.
How is this guide organized?
This guide is organized as a series of 5 blog posts that discuss the various aspects of putting together a blog. I’ll provide a brief summary of each subtopic below, with a link to each post.
- Niche or authority? How to choose your topic and domain name.
- How to set up your blog. We’ll focus specifically on setting it up on Bluehost using WordPress, but the same principles will apply to other platforms as well.
- How to do keyword research to rank high on search engines (tools, google soup method, answer the public, etc.).
- How to write great blog posts that are engaging, entertaining, and knowledgeable..
- How to monetize your blog effectively.
I’ll also include a page with links to the various blog resources and tools that I’ve found useful.
How to choose your topic and domain name
The first thing that you’ll need to decide when building your blog is whether your site is going to be a niche or authority site. Niche refers to a specific category or subgenre. If you wanted to make a website about apparel for pet monkeys, that would be a niche site. If you are a professional writing about a broader topic, like health, dentistry, business, writing, etc., that would be an authority site. In other words, you are acting as the authority or “expert” on a specific topic. This blog you’re reading now is an authority site. I’m an expert at not stealing, probably, and also am working to become an expert at making money. Don’t confuse this with authoritative, which refers to how trustworthy your site is from a search engine optimisation ranking perspective.
Once you’ve decided the type of blog you’re going to create, you need to choose a specific topic and then domain name. More details on all of this can be found in this blog post.
How to set up your blog on a hosting platform
Once you’ve decided on your topic and type of blog, you’ll need to select a hosting platform and blogging software. We have done research into many of the most prominent hosting platforms, and you can check that out here. In this post, we’ll be specifically focusing on setting up your blog through Bluehost, since that’s what I use. I’ve found Bluehost to be incredibly easy to set up and get going, and the pricing is fair. Check out this post for more information on creating an account and setting up the blog itself on Bluehost.
How to do keyword research
Keyword research for search engine optimization (SEO) is a broad topic with many different methods and tools depending on what you’re trying to accomplish. For our purposes, we want to drive traffic organically (meaning naturally, and based on people finding your site through search engines like Google) based on writing the best answers to questions that people have. The emphasis here is to find questions that don’t already have great answers, because that will provide you with the best chance of success in ranking well. I discuss this at length here.
How to write good blog posts that rank and are engaging
Once you’ve decided on a few questions and have come up with some great answers, you’ll need to write blog posts that rank well on Google, and give the reader what they want. The main purpose of Google’s search algorithm has always been relevancy. The more relevant and authoritative your content, the better you’re going to rank, especially if you have a large quantity of good/relevant/authoritative content. Of course, things like spelling, grammar, and punctuation are important, but the assumption here is that you’re going to get those things right. The focus here is on content organization, placating the Google search demons, and keeping your reader interested. Read more about all of that here.
How to monetize your blog
There are many different ways to go about making money on your blog, but we’ll focus on four main categories:
- Advertising – not usually the greatest revenue stream, but one worth considering – especially as the site gets larger quantities of visitors. Many blogs will slap ads and pop-ups everywhere; if done to excess, your audience will disappear. This is a balancing act.
- Affiliate Programs – when done correctly, this can provide some of the most lucrative and consistent income streams. Typically this depends on the size of your audience as well as the category that you’re in. Many blogs will stop at an “Amazon Affiliate Program” but likely you can find partners that pay higher commissions or even recurring commissions.
- Physical or Digital Products – these could include things like books, merchandise, print-on-demand stuff, audiobooks, online courses, etc. The key is to provide value to your audience. Prove that you can provide value in the “free content” that you offer through blog posts, and then provide even more value in your paid products.
- Consulting – typically the goal of a profitable blog is to get out of the rut of trading time for money. As your blog and influence grow, so does the amount you can charge for consulting services. Just last week I charged a colleague $0 for advice – true story. Just imagine the money I could bring in if I was a “big deal!” OK, but seriously, you can make a lot of money in consulting.
I do a deep dive into each one of these categories with specific examples and recommendations here.
Extra – Blog Resources and Tools
Throughout this guide, I’ll reference Blog Resources, which has my recommendations on software and tools that I’ve found useful in building a blog. Wherever possible, I also try to recommend free alternatives to get you started until it makes sense for you to upgrade to the premium stuff. Feel free to reference the blog resources any time you’re looking for a tool to fit the job you’re trying to accomplish.
Conclusion
Blogs can be a great source of income for you if you treat it like a business. Too many people treat blogging like a hobby, or “side project” that they work on when they’re bored or feel the need to journal something. Instead, write about things that will help people do the things they want to do. Above all, provide actual, real value to your readers. They’ll thank you by coming to your blog and reading your content, and then you can turn that gratitude into money through great monetization.
Get started now with the first step of this guide: Niche or Authoritative? How to choose your topic and domain name.