How to Start a Blog and Make Money: Everything You Need to Know

Blogging has evolved from a hobby to a full-fledged business venture, providing people with a platform to share their thoughts, skills, and passions while generating income. In simple words, blogging is one of the most profitable hobbies that make money online these days. If you’ve ever wondered how to start a blog for free, build an audience be it of any niche such as lifestyle or if you are wondering how to start a mom blog, and eventually make money from home, this guide will take you step-by-step through the entire process. If you want to know more about blogging and other high income skills then do check out How to Make Money Online Fast – Master These 7 High-Income Skills.

So friends, whether you’re aiming to create a blogging business or just curious about blog writing, this article will help you get started, keep you informed about key strategies, and guide you toward monetizing your blog. Here’s everything you need to know about how to start a blogging website and turn it into a profitable venture.

But, before going further let me share my personal experience with blogging in a very short paragraph so that you get to know a little bit about me and my journey with blogging:

My personal experience:

Well! I have been blogging for more than 11 years. I have started my first blog with my sister in 2013 and since then I have started working on different blogs and as of now I have more that 7 blogs which are actively making money. In these 11 years of blogging I have made many mistakes and learnt so much about blogging with time and experience. Though couple of my blogs are making more money as compared to my other blogs, reason being I am devoting more time to those blogs and other blogs are secondary for me. Why is that? Actually, it is really difficult for me(being a mother of a toddler) to keep working by devoting the same time and efforts on all the blogs. Also, currently my team is not quite big yet so I have some restraints (though I am working on it actively and have many plans for scaling my blogging business soon).

The thing is that I know, how challenging it can be to start a blog and keep going without any knowledge, experience and mentor(I have experienced it) when it comes to blogging. That is why I have started this blog so that you don’t have to spend your 11 years in learning what I have learnt through my experience. I am here to help you in your blogging journey :).

Well! I will surely write and share a different and detailed article on my journey and experience as a blogger because incorporating the same in this article will make this one extremely lengthy.

So friends! Overall the gist is “Yes, you can earn serious money from blogging”.

So let me share a quick guide on “how to start a blog and make money”. Here we go:

Choosing the Right Niche
Selecting a Blogging Platform
Purchasing a Domain Name and Hosting
Setting Up Your Blog
Understanding Blog Writing Format
How to Start Blog Writing
Promoting Your Blog for Traffic
Monetizing Your Blog
Scaling Your Blogging Business
Frequently Asked Questions

1. Choosing the Right Niche

Whenever you choose to start a blog, choosing a niche comes as the first and foremost important step towards it. It is the most crucial step when it comes to starting a blog. This decision will impact everything from your content strategy to your target audience. If you don’t know what niche to pick and you are confused, in this case before starting a blog and choosing a niche, ask yourself the following questions:

What are you passionate about? – This will make you keep going in the short as well as in the long run. if you are not interested in the niche or have no passion for the niche of your blog then you will eventually lose interest as blogging is a long term game and require persistence and a lot of hard work. Simply, note down few niches and narrow them down to 3-4 niches.
What topics do you have expertise in? – Clearly choose the topics, choose the topics in which you have some experience or have something to add value to.
Is there an audience for your niche? – Make sure the niche you are choosing has some audience. You can use different tools such as “Google Trends” and compare the narrowed down niches and get an idea about which niche topics are trending on Google Trends. This will help you in choosing the best and profitable niche for your blog.

In nutshell, your niche should be a balance of what you love, what you’re knowledgeable about, and what has market potential. So try to choose most profitable niches.

As per our research popular blog niches that can make money include:

Personal Finance: Teaching people how to save money or invest wisely.
Lifestyle: Covering topics like travel, fashion, or wellness.
Tech and Gadgets: Reviewing the latest technology.
DIY and Home Improvement: Providing tutorials for creative projects.

A well-chosen niche helps you start a blog writing about something you care about, ensuring long-term commitment. Additionally, focusing on a specific niche increases your authority and helps your content rank better on search engines.

Also see: How To Start a Mom Blog For Beginners and Make Real Money!

2. Selecting a Blogging Platform

The next important step in how to start a blogging website is selecting the best blogging platform for it as there are many options available for the same.

Some popular platforms include:

WordPress.org (Self-Hosted): This is the most popular choice for bloggers who want full control over their blog. It requires purchasing a domain name and hosting but offers endless customization.
Wix and Squarespace: Both platforms offer drag-and-drop interfaces, making them user-friendly but less customizable compared to WordPress.
Blogger: A free platform owned by Google. Blogger is very easy and simple to use but as its a free tool so it comes with very limited options of customisation of designs, style, color, plugins etc.

For beginners who are curious about how to start a blog for free, platforms like Blogger and WordPress.com offer free versions. However, it’s essential to note that free versions come with limitations, such as a lack of control over your domain name, ads being shown to your visitors, and restricted design options.

I personally suggest you to start blog on a self hosted WordPress blog. This will give you full control over your blog with respect to designing, publishing, ownership and almost everything.

3. Purchasing a Domain Name and Hosting

As we all know that the free blogging platform such as “blogger” offers minimum customisation so its better to choose a self hosted platform and we highly recommend “Wordpress.org” for this. So If you are choosing a self-hosted platform like WordPress.org(highly recommended) the you’ll have to purchase a domain name(Your address/URL) and hosting(where your domain is hosted/located/Where your data is stored).

Below are some of the best practices and tips which you should consider before choosing a domain name:

Keep it simple and easy to remember.
It’s always a good idea to use a domain extension such as .com or .net as these have broader appeal to larger public. I own several blogs and all of them have .com extension.
Include your main keyword or niche in your domain name if possible.

There are many popular hosting services which can help you in starting a blogging business and these are Bluehost, SiteGround, and HostGator. Most hosting providers offer beginner-friendly packages that include a free domain name for the first year, one-click WordPress installation, and affordable pricing.

4. Setting Up Your Blog

Once you’ve secured your domain name and hosting, it’s time to get your blog up and running. Here’s a step-by-step guide if you’re using WordPress:

Install WordPress: Most hosting services offer a quick one-click installation process, making it simple to get WordPress set up on your domain.
Selecting a Theme for your blog: WordPress generally offers a lot of wide range themes that range from free to premium themes. Choose one that fits the style of your blog and ensures a mobile-friendly experience for your readers.
Adding Essential Plugins that help in functioning of your blog: Plugins are a great way to enhance the functionality and working of your blog. Some key plugins to consider include those for SEO optimization, security, and social media integration. These will help you improve visibility, protect your site, and make sharing your content easier.

Some essential plugins include:

Yoast SEO: For optimizing your content for search engines.
Akismet: For spam protection.
WP Super Cache: To speed up your blog by caching your content.

We Recommend:

5. Understanding Blog Writing Format

Before you start creating content, you need to understand the blog writing format. A well-structured blog post includes:

Introduction: Introduce the topic and give the reader a reason to continue reading.
Body: Organize your content with clear subheadings, bullet points, or numbered lists to make it easier for readers to digest.
Conclusion: Wrap up by highlighting key takeaways and encouraging readers to take action, whether it’s leaving a comment or exploring further content.

Here’s a basic blog writing format to follow:

Title: Use an attention-grabbing title that includes your main keyword.
Introduction: Briefly introduce the topic and explain why it matters.
Main Content: Provide in-depth information on the topic, using subheadings for structure.
Call-to-Action: adding a call to action widget to make sure that your readers are encouraged to comment, subscribe and share.

6. How to Start Blog Writing

Now that your blog is set up, the most crucial step is creating content. Writing is the core of your blog, so learning how to start blog writing effectively is key to attracting and retaining readers.

Here’s a process for starting your blog writing:

Research Your Topic: Use tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, and Ubersuggest to find trending topics in your niche.
Keyword Research: It is one of the most crucial step in writing article for your blog. You can use different SEO tools such as has Ahrefs or SEMrush in order to find relevant keywords to include in your posts.
Write Engaging Content: Keep your audience in mind. Write in a conversational tone, and be sure to offer actionable advice or solutions. You can take help of Chatgpt but give it your own touch, double check the information and add your own valuable insights and tone.
Use Visuals: Include images, videos, and infographics to make your blog more engaging.

7. Promoting Your Blog for Traffic

Even if you write the best content, you need traffic to your blog to make money. Below we are sharing some of the best ways by which you can increase the traffic to your blog:

Social Media Marketing: Share your blog posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Actually all the social media’s are a great way to increase blog traffic to your blog and I would like to emphasise the importance of using Pinterest as a source of your blog traffic. It has personally increased the traffic to my blog to a great extent. Thus, engaging your audience at the social media platforms to increase traffic to your blog.
Email Marketing: Build an email list from day one. Send out newsletters with new posts and exclusive content to keep your audience engaged.
SEO: writing SEO friendly articles and using SEO tricks to enhance the searcheability of your blog will help your blog rank higher in Google search results. Include relevant keywords like how to start a blog writing and blog writing topics in your posts.
Guest Blogging: Write guest posts on popular blogs in your niche to reach a wider audience.

Do Check Out: How to Become a Full-Time Online Content Creator (And Actually Make Money From It!)

8. Monetizing Your Blog

Well, monetizing your blog is one of the most important and the ultimate goal for many bloggers., isn’t it? I myself started blog to make money online after reading blog articles about bloggers making serious money from blog and wanted to give it a try by myself and it really worked. Though slow but eventually I started making Money from my blog. Once you start building traffic, you can begin making money. Below are some of the ways to monetise your blog:

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most common ways to make money writing blogs. By adding an affiliated link you can earn some commission (depending upon the type of product sold and the policy by the affiliate partner) by promoting products or services that are relevant to your audience. Each time someone purchases through your unique affiliate link, you get paid.

2. Display Ads

You can also make money by displaying ads on your blog. Google AdSense is one of the easiest ways to get started with ads. As your traffic grows, you can switch to premium ad networks like Mediavine or AdThrive for higher earnings.

3. Sponsored Content

There are many brands these days which want you to try their products and write about them or otherwise and they are ready to pay you a handful amount of money for the same. This is another great way to make money from home while maintaining a consistent flow of quality content. I have been using this way of monetising my blogs for a very long time and it is generating a constant income thoughout many years of my blogging journey.

4. Selling Digital Products

If you have expertise in a particular niche, you can sell eBooks, courses, or templates directly from your blog. This allows you to have full control over the product and pricing, making it a lucrative source of income. Selling digital products is a gold mine for bloggers.

9. Scaling Your Blogging Business

Once your blog begins to generate consistent traffic and income, you can focus on scaling it into a full-fledged business. Here’s how to scale your blogging business:

Hire Writers: Outsource blog posts to freelancers so you can focus on growth strategies.
Create an Online Store: Sell physical products, merchandise, or branded goods through your blog.
Offering Paid Memberships to the people who are interested: you can create an exclusive content or a community which is adding value to your writers and thus helping you out in offering paid membership to your most dedicated readers.

You can even use different AI tools including ChatGPT to start your own business online and make money. Learn how to earn money from chatgpt.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much time does it take to make money from blogging?
It depends on your niche, content quality, and traffic. As per a research there are many bloggers who start earning within 6 months to a year from the starting of their blogging journey.

2. Do I need any technical knowledge to start a blog?
Yes! Many blogging platforms are beginner-friendly, and you don’t need to be tech-savvy to start a blog.

3. I don’t have much money, do I really need to spend a lot of money to start a blog?
No. You can start a blog for free using platforms like Blogger or WordPress.com. However, investing in a domain name and hosting is recommended for better control and growth. So we recommend wordpress.org for starting a blog.

4. How do I find blog writing topics?
Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs or Ubersuggest, or explore trending topics on Google Trends or social media platforms such as Pinterest. For example if you are a mom then you can start a mom blog and make money.

5. What’s the best way to make money online with a blog?
The best ways to monetize a blog are affiliate marketing, selling digital products, and displaying ads.

Hello! I'm Jyoti Vats.