How to do blogging as a career? You may want to make your income while pursuing your passion for writing. Blogging is a great opportunity to make money online and plus you can do it as a side hustle.
A blog or website with articles on topics that interest you are worth anything. Yes, it is. Many have used blogging techniques and developed them into successful careers.
A more traditional route to start blogging for money would involve finding an employer. One who doesn’t mind hiring someone to do content writing for them.
There are many ways for writers looking towards self-employment in this field. Some people start their businesses by purchasing domain names. They then build content around specific keywords. They use keyword niches relevant to them and their interest, such as “fashion”.
Some bloggers have a brick-and-mortar business. They use their website blog to attract more customers. Through this online marketing method, they gain blogging knowledge. So, they started a separate blog, that talks about blogging.
This means that blogging is a niche itself. If you’ve spent any time blogging for a small business, you can start a blog about blogging.
How to Start a Blog?
The internet is vast and populated with more blogs than you could ever read in a lifetime. With millions of people creating their websites. They use their blogs to post content on them throughout the day. There is no shortage when looking for new sources. But how can one decide which ones will be worth your time? You must figure out what blogging ideas would suit you.
While there are many ways to start a blog, you need three criteria – (1) an idea, (2) a platform, and (3) content.
01. Blogging Ideas
The first and most important thing is that you require an idea to blog about. This is your opportunity to become an influencer in a blogging niche. You must choose a niche you are familiar with and has a vast amount of knowledge on.
When you take on a blogging project, you must be able to share valuable information on the topic. Your readers would expect you to have key experience in the field. In addition to blogging, niches relevant to your knowledge are great exposure yourself.
If you own a company, you can get the name of your brand out with your blogging ideas. Blogging ideas leads towards more business ventures down future lines.
Blogging ideas: travel, fashion, online marketing, sports, business, e-commerce, blogging, etc.
02. Blogging Platform
Bloggers must have a platform to share their content. You can use social media or micro websites such as Medium. But, determined, professional, and serious bloggers have a website of their own.
To get a website online and start a blog, buy a domain name and get website hosting. Thereafter, you can use website builder applications to design a website.
You want your website to have an appealing visual design throughout each web page. Your blogging platform must be modern and user-friendly.
03. Blog Content
Your blog also needs content. Therefore, content marketing and content writing is critical to having a blog. Choose blogging topics that interest you.
You must also develop a writing style. Determine what kind of writing style best suits your blog and idea before you go any further.
And last, but certainly not least, be consistent. Consistently update readers with new posts on your website as often as possible. Blog content can be anything from pictures to text, or videos.
Blog content ideas: how-to articles, listicles, review posts, Infographics, images, videos, podcasts, etc.
How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog?
Bloggers are always looking to find ways to get traffic and promote blogs. How to get people to see your content? The best way to drive traffic is through effective online marketing strategies.
01. Search Engine Optimization
Work on your website and content to generate high-quality SEO results. Use on-page SEO techniques such as finding the best keyword or phrase on the internet. Then write articles based on those SEO keywords.
Don’t forget other online networks too. Add links in posts towards relevant websites. So visitors can explore outside sources while staying connected to your website. This assists your link-building and backlink SEO strategies and increases your domain authority.
02. Email Marketing
Get some subscribers along the way who will check out what’s going down at your website. Create landing pages with forms or email capture boxes. So you’re not just capturing leads, but also building relationships.
Studies show that you should update your blog often. Regular blog updates give readers a better chance of finding your blog site.
03. Social Media Marketing
Use social media marketing methods to get traffic to your blog. Promote your blog with social media such as Facebook or Twitter. Many people use these social platforms instead of reading blogs. Connect with your audience on social media platforms. You can use this as an opportunity for lead generation, too.
During the day, when they browse their news feed, let them see something from you in their feeds. Use shareable social content such as a greeting. Publish a snippet of your blog post on social media. Use social media ads to share a free intro video that highlights your blog and the great content on it.
How to Monetize Your Blog?
Blogging and making money online can go hand in hand if you use the right blogging techniques. To make money from your blog, you need creative and engaging content. The best way is to use proven blogging guidelines to write good quality content.
Besides that, you need to find an audience that will support what they see on the site. In other words, find a suitable demographic interested in your content and be social.
How do bloggers make money from their blogs? There are all sorts of ways you can monetize your blog! Here are some:
01. Affiliate Marketing Programs
You can monetize blogs through affiliate programs. With affiliate marketing programs, you find products or services relevant to your niche. You then write review posts and other content about these affiliate products.
After which, you publish the affiliate content on your website. Your audience may click on affiliate links on your site and purchase from third parties. You as the affiliate marketer for the product will receive a commission from the sale.
02. Website Ad Placement
Generate income through advertising. You can place ads throughout your website and sell ad space to businesses. If you are vlogging, for instance, add commercials during breaks between videos. Rather than putting video ads at the end of videos. Also, note that viewers prefer short video clips over longer ones anyway. Even though advertisers seem less interested nowadays.
03. Paid Content
Publishing an e-book, online courses, or offering members-only content are income generators too. Bloggers can do this successfully without risking too much time and effort on the site itself. But it’s up for debate what would work best in each situation based on individual needs.
However, bloggers create e-books, online courses, and special posts. They then publish and promote the paid content and get users to pay for access to the content.
04. Publish Sponsored Posts
You can get others to pay to post articles on your website by publishing sponsored content. If that sounds like something worth checking out, go ahead and learn about it. You can get quality content, backlinks, and make money online with sponsored posts.
With sponsored posts, third-party bloggers write unique articles and pay you to publish them on your website.
Closing: Common Blogging Mistakes
One of the most common blogging mistakes is not being consistent with your posts. You need to publish at least once a week and try not to make them too short or long.
Another common blogging mistake is including irrelevant information in a post. Posting irrelevant content will only confuse readers. Your content (text, videos, images) in a post must pertain to the article topic and blogging site niche.
