Have you considered starting a blog to make money? After having my children I knew I wanted to stay at home with them instead of going back to work. This resulted in me finding lots of different ways to make money from home and one of those ways was blogging.
How to start a blog to make money
Starting a blog to make money is probably easier than you think and it can be a great way to make a passive income. If you would love to start blogging but don’t know where to start I can highly recommend this course by the lovely Emma Drew. Emma covers just about everything in this course including how to set up your blog, choosing a niche and monetising.
Go Self hosted
If you plan to make money from your blog then you will ideally need to be self hosted. I use Tso host and I’m currently on their Pro hosting plan. They include a free domain name with this plan and you can currently get a 10% discount by using the code ‘morganmwoods’ when you purchase with them.
Installing WordPress
Once you have bought your hosting plan and set up your domain name you can then get onto installing WordPress. This is really simple with Tso host as they have a one click install option on your dashboard.
Themes
There are a lot of free themes out there for your blog but in my opinion it’s worth investing in a premium theme. I use the Genesis framework from Studiopress and my current child theme is Brunch Pro.
It’s really important that your blog is easy to navigate and your readers can easily find what they are looking for and a premium theme does this.
Making your blog a success
Now you have the foundations ready to go it’s time to start setting up your blog. You will ideally need between 20-50 blog posts before you launch and an ‘about you’ page is a must. Try to aim for between 500-1000 words per blog post and stick to short sharp paragraphs to make it easier to read.
If you want to supercharge your blog from the very beginning I would highly recommend investing in Turn your dreams into money. This course was the turning point for my blog. There is so much information crammed in to get your blog working for you from day one.
Monetising your blog
There are a few ways to monetise your blog including becoming an affiliate, sponsored posts and displaying ads. You can also make money from your social media accounts.
Affiliate marketing
To start making money from your blog right away you might want to look at affiliate marketing. This is one of the simplest ways to make money from your blog. However you will want to make sure you’re getting it right!
This course is amazing if you want to start affiliate marketing in the UK. It covers everything you need to know before you get started. Within less than a month of implementing the strategies I had doubled my affiliate income.
Ads
Some bloggers don’t like putting ads on their blog for various reasons. If they don’t really fit in with your niche then ads might not be the way to go. For me personally they work well. They fit in on my blog and generate a passive income for me. I display ads from Media.net and Adsense.
Sponsored posts
A sponsored post is where a company will offer you a fee in exchange for a blog post related to their product or service. This can be a great source of income but your payment will often depend on your blog stats. Finding sponsored posts can be tricky but this guide from the bloglancer is brilliant if you’re a beginner.
Blogger outreach companies like these guys often have various opportunities to take part in.
Social media
You can make money through your social media accounts with Buzzoole or LinkILike. Some companies will be looking for social media shares so this can act as another source of income as a blogger. Again the amount you get paid will all depend on the amount of followers you have over different social media accounts.
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