But before that, here’s my story.
I started blogging in 2012 (when “Blogspot” was a thing). Over the years, I’ve started and run multiple blogs. While a few have been successful, a lot of them failed.
However, blogging has changed my life completely. It has helped me generate side income, get freelance writing opportunities like this one from Ahrefs, job offers, and more.
And I’m super excited to share everything with you in this guide, which I’ve divided into two parts.
Let’s dive into the first.
Many people who start blogging believe they need huge amounts of traffic to earn a decent income. However, that’s not true.
High traffic doesn’t necessarily translate to higher income.
No matter what niche you’re in, focusing on driving traffic that you can monetize is critical. You can do this in four steps.
Step 1. Choose a profitable niche
Today, people blog about everything, including knitting. But not all niches are profitable.
For example, niches like making money online, finance, and health are more profitable than gardening and outdoor sports.
However, it’s also a fact that the most profitable niches are often the most competitive, and choosing them may lower the chances of your success.
Hence, the first step before starting a blog is to check if the niche is profitable and how competitive it is.
Step 2: Look for affiliate programs
One quick way to determine if a niche is profitable is by checking the number of affiliate programs in it. You can do this via a quick search on Google. Try searching for niche + affiliate programs, e.g., “knitting affiliate programs.”
You can also check the top blogs in the niche and see if they’re:
- Selling any digital products.
- Promoting any product as an affiliate.
- Providing consultancy services.
And more.
Check the competition
Choosing a less competitive niche has multiple advantages. For example, it can help you attract organic traffic faster. Here’s how to do it.
1. Look up the topics you want to write about on Ahrefs’ Content Explorer.
2. Switch to the “Websites” tab to see the top 100 websites that cover the topic.
3. Click through to the Organic Keywords report (in Ahrefs’ Site Explorer) from the caret next to the domain name in Content Explorer.
4. Check the Keyword Difficulty (KD) score, Cost Per Click (CPC), and traffic for each of the top 50–100 non-branded keywords.
If you’re still confused about which niche to pick, we recently covered the six best niches for affiliate marketing that are both profitable and uncompetitive.
Write what you’re passionate about
More than the profitability and competition of the niche, your passion for the niche plays a huge role in the success of your blog.
When you’re passionate about something, you can write effortlessly for a long period of time without worrying about traffic and revenue. It also gives you a competitive edge, as the published articles will be unique and impactful (because they will contain your personal experience).
To summarize, you should choose a niche that:
- Is profitable.
- Has low or medium competition.
- Is something you’re passionate about (most important!).
Step 2. Develop the right mindset
Developing great content takes a lot of time. So even if you’ve chosen the perfect niche, it will take a long time for you to build an audience that you can monetize to generate blogging income.
Hence, compared to something, e.g., freelance writing, where you earn money after every article you write, a blog requires a lot of consistent hard work and time.
This is why having the right mindset is critical.
Here’s my advice to anyone looking to start a blog:
- Start a blog for the long haul, as it can take multiple years to see any significant results.
- Block a time (e.g., around 30 minutes) every day for blogging.
- Focus on content quality and promotion rather than revenue in the early stages.
- Don’t blog full-time unless you have a predictable income coming in every month and/or have a comfortable emergency fund.
Step 3. Build credibility
Whether you’re promoting an affiliate product or an ebook, readers will be much more likely to convert when they trust you.
Building credibility may seem more important in a few niches (e.g., health and fitness). But if you’re serious about growing your blogging income, you should focus on credibility too.
Also, building trust among your readers takes time. However, you can get started by:
- Creating a good About Us page. Try telling your true story (as Pat Flynn has done in the example below) and why readers should trust what you write. We’ve briefly explained how Wirecutter does it in our SEO case study.
- Showcasing comments and shout-outs from readers.
- Sharing website metrics like monthly visitors, number of email subscribers, and students (if you sell a digital product).
- Showcasing websites you’ve been featured in (also in an example below).
Step 4. Focus on building an email list
Email is not just another distribution channel.
Email subscribers are your true fans. And whether you want to promote a blog, launch a new course, or plug an ebook, there’s no better way to launch and drive traffic than by sharing the content with your email subscribers.
You can get started on building an email list by adding a blog subscription box in the sidebar or promoting an email newsletter. A few other popular ways of building an email list are:
- Providing checklists as content upgrades (see example below).
- Launching an email course.
Step 5: Focus on Promotion
Increasing your blog’s readership is a crucial factor in generating income from it. Therefore, enhancing website traffic serves as a significant milestone toward monetizing your blog.
Even as your readership grows, marketing your site will be just as crucial to its success as the blogging process itself.
Also Read:
Conclusion
In conclusion, making money through blogging is an attainable goal for those who are passionate about their niche and willing to put in the effort to create valuable content and build a loyal readership.
Monetization methods such as advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and selling digital products offer various opportunities to generate income. However, it is important to remember that successful monetization requires consistent effort and strategic planning, as well as a focus on providing value to your audience.
By following these principles and continuing to grow and adapt with your readership, you can build a sustainable source of income from your blog.
