There are over one billion searches on Google per day and most of those search terms render blog sites with information that cover a range of topics. People are always searching for information and as a blog owner not only can you contribute to providing that information, but you can also earn money while doing so. If the necessary effort is put forth when a blog is created with a bit of patience and consistent upkeep a blog can become a source of full-time income.
Why So Many People Fail to Make Money Blogging
Making money from blogging is a lot of work. Many people fail because they lack the commitment and patience to see their project through. Making money blogging is not as simple as obtaining hosting, registering a domain name and creating a site with content and you are on your way to riches. It takes careful planning and research to find a profitable niche, your target audience and a game plan to put it all together. A blog can run on cruise control once the foundation has been put in place.
How Its Done
Creating a blog starts with an idea or a number of ideas. Your goal is to share your knowledge and experiences with others. Everyone has unique experiences and information that others would love to hear or read about. As I stated earlier, Google gets billions of searches a day and it’s highly likely that someone is searching on something where your knowledge and experience can help them. This is where the effort starts. Anyone who starts a blog will have to do the following things:
- Obtain hosting – There are many low cost hosts available to choose from. HostGator is my personal favorite. For a review of their product…Click here.
- Register a domain name – If possible select a domain name that aligns with the information on your blog. If your blog is about weight loss then you want to find a descriptive name that has weight loss or something related.
- Build your site – If your goal is to build a blog that matters, gain an income online, and create a strong online presence, then I highly recommend you view Corbett Barr’s 13 step program. If you already have experience with building websites I recommend creating your own site using a platform like WordPress or Joomla.
If you want to be taken seriously create your own identity by registering a name and getting your own hosting. To save money many people elect to use Blogger or WordPress.org the problem with this is it will limit the freedom you have because you must abide by the guidelines on each site. Also, creating your own domain name allows you to create and grow a unique brand that people will identify as yours.
Standing Out From the Crowd
Anyone that starts a blog will have to take care of the core things identified above. What separates the bloggers who make thousands of dollars per month from those that eventually throw in the towel is how they go about the next phase of the blog. I like to refer to this phase as the work phase. This is where the foundation will be built and your message and information will be presented in such a way to draw and convert visitors into buyers or people who take action. The work phase is composed of the following:
- Write creative and useful content – The main reason people visit blogs is for content. This content can be written, videos or other interactive media. It’s the main reason why they come so the content has to be spot on!
- Keyword research – Keyword research is very important. You can have two blogs that have a very similar well written article. And one blogger’s article will get a lot of traffic and the other none because of poor keywords. Blogging is not just about providing good information it’s also about presenting that information so it can be found. A keyword tool will help you find keywords that people are searching for. If you write using words that aren’t being searched for your articles will likely collect dust.
- SEO – A good on page SEO strategy involves acceptable keyword density and mixing up your keyword usage. Your page optimization is a key factor in ranking well for the articles you create. One way backlinks to your blog will increase the site’s reputation. Google has recently cracked down on unnatural backlinks so it’s important to find a process that works that’s under Google’s radar.
- Building Traffic – Take advantage of social media. Create a Facebook page to promote your site and link it to Twitter. Whenever you add a new post on your blog add it to your Facebook page. Commenting on blogs and Guest posting will also help your blog grow. There is a useful tool that provides a complete system of unique article generation, directory submissions and much more that will also aid in traffic generation for your blog. For more tips on building traffic check out this video.
- Monetize – After you have created a lot of unique and properly optimized content and worked on building traffic to your blog you can slowly start to monetize it. Contextual advertising is a low level method of earning money and it’s something I recommend to beginning bloggers. As you generate more traffic over time adding affiliates and offering direct advertising are great ways to earn money. You can also create your own eBook and offer it for free as a method of building an email list that can be used to market products and services to your followers.
The work phase can take a few months to complete, but once that’s done the blog will be in a position to generate passive income with the foundation in place. At that point many blog owners employ freelance writers or allow guest posting on their blogs to keep the content current. Using a virtual assistant is also a good option to not only ensure that new content is added, but to also maintain the overall blog. Making money from blogging is not easy, but it’s not impossible. Put in the work and exercise patience and earning passive income will not be a dream but a reality.
