Blogging Earning Potential
The amount bloggers earn depends on the number of different monetization methods used. Whether it’s affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, ad space, or memberships, each of these methods can generate amounts of income. On top of that, it depends heavily on the size of your audience and how engaged they are with your content. However, as a ballpark figure, you can probably expect to make something like this:
- Beginners: When first starting, you’ll unlikely be making any money. It can take a while before you start seeing any earnings, so during this stage, you'll probably be earning anywhere from $0 to a few hundred dollars per month.
- Intermediates: As the blog gains more traffic and you start to monetize it, you could be earning anything from $300 to $5,000 a month.
- Advanced: The top-earning bloggers with high traffic and multiple monetization methods can make anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 or more per month.
How to Start Blogging
Identify Your Blogging Niche
As with everything on the Internet, blogs need a specific niche or gap in the market to fill to be successful. If they don’t, it can be confusing for readers and harder to attract a dedicated audience. That's why picking a subject that you're interested in and excited about will help you attract a clear and specific audience, which is essential for monetizing. This could be anything from travel and cooking to pottery and painting.
However, if you want to write about a broader topic like travel, you'll need to make sure you're offering something new to the table, whether that's your writing style, content, blog theme, or something else. One way to do this is to narrow down the topic of 'travel' to a very specific area, like solo backpacking through Vietnam. No matter what, your niche has to feel genuine and authentic to get people interested and keep them reading.
Research Your Audience
Before getting started with your blog, it can be helpful to do some research into your audience and topic to figure out what people want to read about. If you create content that people are looking for, you'll get more readers to your blog, which makes it easier to monetize.
To find out what people are looking for, use Google Keyword Search to see if there's a lot of interest in the specific topic. For example, type in 'Vietnam travel' and, if it's a popular search term, you know you're on to a good thing.
Choose Your Blogging Platform
Creating your own blog may sound daunting, but luckily you don't have to start from scratch. Newbie bloggers and anyone else who wants an easy setup can join platforms like Blogger, WordPress.com, and Wix, as they don't require any technical knowledge.
However, some blogging platforms require their own hosting and install plugins, such as WordPress.org. This means you'll need to sign up and pay for a hosting platform, such as Bluehost or GoDaddy before you can start publishing your blog.
There are also several other factors to consider when choosing your platform, which we've outlined below, including cost, customization, and monetization options.
| Fees | Customization | |
| Blogger | Free. | Basic themes, layout, and fonts. Custom CSS can tweak designs. |
| WordPress.com | Free or paid plans from $4 to $45 per month. | Limited theme options and no plugin installation. |
| WordPress.org | Free but web hosting costs between $3 to $15 per month. | Fully customizable. |
| Wix | Free or paid plans from $16 to $27 per month. | Wide variety of templates and design elements in a drag-and-drop interface. |
| Squarespace | Plans from $16 to $27 per month. | Highly customizable with a drag-and-drop interface. |
| Medium | Free or $5 membership. | Very limited. |
| Weebly | Free or paid plans from $10 to $26 per month. | Variety of templates with drag-and-drop interface. |
Name Your Blog
Naming your blog, including a domain name, is an important first step in building the identity and brand of the blog site. Ideally, the name should be unique, memorable, and descriptive, based on your specific niche or topic.
For example, if your blog is about traveling in Vietnam, you might name it something like "Lone Backpacker's Vietnam Diary". This name lets the reader know exactly what to expect when they visit the blog, and it shows that the word "travel" is unnecessary to get the point across. Either way, think about the tone of your blog, such as comedic, serious, sweet, or something else, and go from there.
After you've chosen your name, the blog needs a domain extension, whether it's a .com, .org, or .net extension. The actual domain name won't have any spaces in it, so make sure it's legible enough to be memorable. Sites such as GoDaddy and Namecheap are available to purchase your domain name, which can cost between $3.49 and $15 per year.
Set Up and Design Your Blog
Next, think about setting up and customizing the blog to reflect your style and brand image. The extent to which you can customize your blog depends on whether you use a free platform with fewer options or a self-hosted one like WordPress.org, which gives more freedom.
Most blogging sites give a choice of design templates that already exist on the platform. Here, think about whether the template fits your topic, mood, and theme. The color palette, as well as basic font options, header image, logo, and any widgets or sidebars, are also customizable on many platforms.
With self-hosted platforms, there are very few limitations on how to design the site. Depending on the level of customization you want, you can either:
- Find your own theme from sites like ThemeForest and Elegant Themes.
- Add plugins like Google Easy Fonts to choose specific fonts.
- Create carousels with the plugin Slider Revolution.
- Take advantage of website builders like Elementor and Divi to build your custom page using drag-and-drop tools.
- With some knowledge of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), you could edit specific elements on your blog using this, like fonts and format.
Write Your Core Pages
Before starting to write the blog content, it's a good idea to first fill in some essential information. This includes your bio page, which should include a quick overview of yourself and blog to give any visitors a sense of what to expect. In addition, you might want to write up any privacy policies, disclaimers, or categories.
Finally, if you'd like your readers to be able to contact you, add a "contact" page. This could be a good place to set up a new email address for your blog and offer a newsletter in exchange for readers sharing their email addresses.
Creating Content
A blog is nothing without some entertaining, engaging, and enthralling content - that’s exactly why readers will come to your site. When first launching the blog, ideally aim to write and publish between 5 to 10 posts with a solid level of variety, touching on different themes and categories. These posts will give visitors an initial idea of what it’s all about, and why they should keep coming back to read any updates. In addition, creating top content relies on a lot of factors, such as:
Being Original
It's vital to produce original content. Not only does it show that you're interested and experienced in the subject, but it also helps avoid plagiarism, which can affect your ranking on Google and could even get you into trouble. Aside from this, offering a fresh perspective is very appealing to an audience, and making something new will be more likely to get people engaged.
Creating a Content Calendar
A content calendar is an awesome way to stay organized and keep your content production and publishing schedule on track. It helps to stay on top of your publishing deadlines and gives a clear view of what's coming up. It's also a valuable tool for brainstorming new ideas and allowing you to cover a wide range of categories within the topic to keep things varied.
Editing
A solid editing process is key to nailing those spelling and grammar mistakes. Not only is it a professional must, but it'll also boost your Google ranking for folks searching for your content. Use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor to help out.
Add a Catchy Title
For each post, come up with a catchy and engaging title that gives readers a glimpse into the content and makes them want to read more. It will also help organize your content and make your blog look better overall.
Use SEO
When writing, check out Google Keyword Planner to see what specific search terms people are using related to your topic. For instance, if you're writing about motorbiking through Vietnam, search for relevant keywords related to this topic. Add these keywords to the content to give a better chance of getting traffic from Google.
Include Images
Images are a great way to break up text and make the blog look more appealing. Original images are the best, but if you use some from other sources, just make sure they're not copyrighted and give the credit.
Promote Your Blog
When your blog is ready to start getting visitors, it's time to start building an audience and promoting your blog. You can't monetize without an audience, so promoting it is an ongoing task. There are lots of ways to get the blog out there, like:
Social Media
Setting up different social media accounts for your blog is a smart move if you want to spread the word. You can use it to share additional content, let your followers know when you've posted something new, and create videos to promote your content even further.
Email Marketing
Encouraging your blog readers to subscribe for exclusive content in exchange for their email addresses will help keep your blog top of mind. It also allows for email reminders when there is a new update on your blog to maximize views.
Paid Ads
Create some eye-catching paid ads to run through Google and Facebook, or enlist a designer to create them for you. These will cost a little, but they could be worth it in the long run if you're able to monetize from a new audience.
Write in Online Forums
Online forums can help to share the blog, especially if the discussion is related to your topic. Either way, connecting with people online and sharing the blog in response to questions or to offer help can feel like a genuine way to promote your content.
Networking
There are bound to be other bloggers out there who share your interests, and you can network with them to expand the reach of the blog. Writing a guest post for another blog on a similar topic and theme as yours can be particularly beneficial if they already have a large and engaged audience. That way, you're reaching people who are likely already interested in your content.
Engage With Your Audience
People love to feel like they're being heard, so engaging with your readers can earn positive feedback and build stronger relationships. One simple way to do this is by inviting comments on your blog and responding to them on social media. Another option is to run a contest and offer prizes to those who share your page, helping to generate organic promotion.
Stay Consistent
Staying consistent and on top of promoting the blog and creating content can be time-consuming, but it's the only way to build an audience and start monetizing. Tools like Asana and Trello can help manage your time and keep the blog front and center amidst the chaos of life.
Monetize Your Blog
Affiliate Marketing
If you use affiliate marketing programs to earn some extra cash, the blog can promote your affiliate marketing link to a whole new audience and increase sales. It could serve as a platform for writing honest and detailed product reviews, especially if the products relate to the blog's niche or topic.
Selling Ad Space
It’s possible to sell ad space on blogs either directly to advertisers or through ad networks such as Google AdSense or Mediavine. There is flexibility to choose and place ads in various areas of your blog, but be careful not to clutter it with too many, as this may discourage readers.
Sponsorships and Promos
As your audience grows, companies and brands may want to team up with you to promote their products through subscriptions and promotions. They might sponsor a specific post or piece of content on your blog for payment. Alternatively, you could make money or get free products in exchange for hosting giveaways, contests, or writing reviews in partnership with them.
Subscriptions and Memberships
Offering exclusive content through subscriptions and memberships is another chance to monetize. This could include more detailed articles, Q&A sessions, resources, or webinars, in exchange for a one-time fee, or a fee for each piece of content.
Conclusion
To conclude, starting your blogging journey is a great way to share your voice, connect with a global audience, and turn your passions into a thriving platform. If you pick the right blogging platform, focus on your niche, create engaging content, and use effective promotion and monetization strategies, you'll be well on your way to success. It's also important to remember that building a blog that stands out and resonates with readers takes time, effort, and dedication. You'll start to see results as your blog grows and you make your mark in the blogging world.
