How to Become a Blogger that Makes Money in 10 Steps

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People blog for many different reasons. For example, one of the most popular ones is to become financially independent. However, the road to writing successful blogs is not an easy one. However, it is a very fulfilling one. Check out below for 10 steps that can help teach you how to become a blogger that makes money.

#10. Select a Blogging Topic

The first thing to that you need when starting successful blogs is a blogging topic. It is important to have a clear idea of what you want your blog to be about.

However, many people who want to know how to become a blogger get tripped up on this very first step. They don’t know what to write about.

If that isn’t you, go ahead to the next step. For the rest of you read on.

The most important point in picking a blogging topic, is to pick something that you are interested in.^[1]Neil Patel – How to Start a Blog That Generates $3817 a Month You don’t necessarily have to be the number one authority on the subject, but you do have to be willing to learn about it.

If you can’t think of anything, check out below for a few ideas to help give you a jump start

• Activism
• Beginner’s guides
• Celebrities
• Charity
• Education
• Family
• Gaming
• Global warming
• History
• Jokes and Humor
• Life experiences
• Music
• Myths
• Overcoming adversity or illness
• Parenthood
• Personal Stories
• Politics
• Products or service reviews
• Recipes
• Sports
• Travel experiences

As you can see, when learning how to become a blogger it doesn’t really matter what you pick as long as it is something you are interested in.

#9. Choosing a Domain Name For Your Blog

The next step in how to become a blogger is choosing a good domain name for your blog. For many people this can be an extremely stressful decision because they don’t want to make a mistake.

Tips for Choosing a Blog Domain Name

1. Stick with the Basics – There are hundreds of different domain extensions. For example, some of the newer ones include: .pizza, .ninja, and .photography. However, we recommend avoiding using these extensions. Rather, focus on using .com and .net instead as they are more memorable.
2. Use Keywords in you Domain Name – Keywords are very important in a domain name. They let search engines know what your website is about. However, most of the best domain names have probably already been taken. Therefore, it is important to think of creative keyword combinations that can help you stand out.
3. Use a Brandable and Unique Name – Make sure that your blog name is brandable. That means they should be memorable and catchy. For example, Ebay.com is much more brandable than sellyourthingshere.com. In addition, make sure that no one else is using your name.
4. Don’t Use Hyphens – Avoid using hyphens in your domain name because many people view it as a spam website. In addition, it gives people more opportunities to misspell your website.
5. Don’t Use Doubled Letters – Similar to hyphens, using double letters makes it more likely that people will misspell you name. For example, avoid using something like WordPresssolutions.com.
6. Leave Room for Expansion – It is important to use a domain name that is related to your niche. However, at the same time don’t pigeon hole yourself. For example, a bakery might name their website Cupcakes.com. But if they wanted to start making other things such as donuts, it will be harder to attract new customers with that name. To change your domain can be a frustrating process. Therefore, it is best to think long term when you choose a domain name.^[2]wpbeginner – How to Choose the Best Domain Name (8 Tips and Tools)

#8. Hosting Your Blog

The next important step in how to become a blogger is getting a web host.

A web hosting service provider is a business that provides the services your blog needs in order to be seen online.

We highly recommed using Bluehost. They are one of the biggest and most well know web hosting companies in the world. In addition, you can get services for as low as $3.95 per month with included free domain, free SSL protection, easy 1 click WordPress installation, and 24/7 support.^[3]Goins, Writer – How to Start a Self-Hosted Blog in 8 Minutes or Less

In fact, we at Les Listes use them as our own web hosting provider. From personal experience, I can tell you that that are quick to respond to any help requests and provide great service.

In addition, one of Bluehost’s greatest features is that it can grow with you. That means you don’t have to get all their services at once, and just add them on when you need it in the future.

 

#7. Choose Your Blogging Platform

One of the most important lessons in learning how to become a blogger is choosing a good blogging platform. In fact, you can’t really start a blog without some sort of blogging software. At Les Listes, we use WordPress because it is powerful, free, and easy to use. However, there are many others to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. Below are some of the most poplar ones.

1. WordPress.org
2. Blogger
3. Tumblr
4. Medium
5. Squarespace
6. Wix
7. Weebly

For additional information, check out Mike Wallagher’s Start Blogging Online to get a nice comparison of the different blogging platforms.^[4]Blogging Basics 101 – Choose the Best Blogging Platform – Comparison 2018

As a general rule of thumb, you should avoid using free blogging platforms because you don’t have the control that you need in order to grow your blog to make money.

#6. Design Your Blog

Now that you have your blog, the next step in learning how to become a blogger that makes money is designing and setting up your site. This includes choosing style templates on how you want it to look for your visitors as well as setting up the back end.

Below are a few tips on setting up the back end.

• Change your permalinks. The best choice for permalink structure is the Post name. This is the style used for Les Listes, as shown below. This is because it helps search engines understand what each page is about.^[5]Amy Lynn Andrews – HOW TO START A BLOG

• Change your domain from HTTP to HTTPS. This helps make your website more secure.

#5. Start Writing Some Blog Posts

One of the most important steps in learning how to become a blogger that makes money, is to start writing.

The best blog posts deliver value, are engaging, and generate leads. However, for many it can be hard to know exactly what and how to write a good blog post.

In fact, below are a few tips to help you get started writing.

Make sure your title and first paragraph are on point

This is important as most people don’t read the entire blog post. In fact, “recent studies show that while 80% of people will read headline copy, only 20% will read the rest. This is the hidden importance of great titles, and why getting them right is so vital to a successful blog.”^[6]Huffpost – 7 Tips for Writing that Great Blog Post, Every Time

Make sure that your address your audience

For example, if you are writing a blog about how to start a blog for people who are not technologically savvy, don’t focus on the inside technical details of setting up a website. Rather, focus just on the stuff that your audience needs in order to get their blog up and running.

Optimize your blog posts for search

If people can’t find your website on search engines, it is very unlikely that they will every find it. Therefore, it is very important to make sure to follow the basics of search engine optimization including: keyword optimization, keyword rations, and anchor texts.

Provide useful information

If you provide useful and informative information to your audience, you will get a steady stream of people coming to your blog.

Focus on longer blog posts rather than a lot of shorter ones

People tend to trust information from more complete sources. In fact, according to research done by Medium, “the ideal length of a blog post is 7 minutes…[or about] 1,600 words.”^[7]Buffer Social – The Ideal Length of Everything Online, Backed by Research

#4. Rinse and Repeat

Many people ask how many articles should I publish? How often should I publish articles?

However, they are asking the wrong questions. Rather, one of the most important steps in learning how to become a blogger that makes money, is being consistent. It doesn’t matter if you publish once a day, once a week, or even once a month. Rather, it is important that you pick a schedule and stick to it. If you decide to post once a week, but then forget to publish for a few months, you will loose your audience and your rankings on search engines.^[8]Blogpress – How Often Should I Post To My Blog?

Therefore, when you start a blog, make sure to ask yourself the following questions. How often can you post and can you keep up with it?

#3. Promote Using Social Media

After you have been blogging for a while, the next step is to start promoting your blog on social media. There are many different social media platforms to choose form such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, and many more. Depending on your niche, some of these platforms might be better suited for you than others.

However, no matter which social media platform you choose, one of the biggest question many people have is how often should you be posting to social media.

Below are a few suggestions from the CoSchedule Blog for some of the more popular social media sites.^[9]CoSchedule Blog – How Often To Post On Social Media? [Proven Research From 14 Studies]

Facebook

Number of Posts

Twitter

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Google+

Instagram

#2. Building an Email List

One of the most important steps in learning how to become a blogger that makes money is to build an email list.

The email list is so important because it is the most direct and easiest way to reach people who have shown interest in your blog. If they have opted in to your email list, you can be sure that they are interested in getting more from you. In fact, it is one of the best ways to convert traffic to your website.

In addition, the email list is very powerful because it allows you to be very personal with your audience.

However, how do you build an email list?

The two main rules to follow are:

1. Put your email sign up list in places that are easy to see. This can include near the top in your sidebar or even better as a pop up when the viewer is leaving.
2. Give people a good reason to sign up for your email list such as exclusive content.^[10]the Blog Starter – Why All Bloggers Need To Build A Mailing List

#1. Selling Products

The most important step in learning how to become a blogger that makes money is learning how to monetize you blog.

Most people probably think that the best way to do this is through ads and affiliate marketing. While you can earn money this way, it is not necessarily the best way.

Rather, the best way to monetize your blog is by selling readers your own product. This way you can make the maximum amount of profit. However, you might think, who wants to buy anything from me? But if you have already done the steps above, you will find that people will already probably consider you an expert in your niche. Once this happens, it is actually quite easy to get them to buy something from you. Just remember, you aren’t trying to sell them something that they don’t need. Rather, you are trying to sell them something that will be a benefit to them.

What Should I Sell?

When learning how to become a blogger, many people don’t know what to sell. However, the types of things you can sell on your blog are virtually limitless. Check out below for some of the more popular items that many successful bloggers are selling today.

• Ebooks – These are a natural progression for many bloggers as you are already writing. In addition, in many cases, posts can be put together to make full books.
• Membership Sites – For a small fee, you can give people access to a group of like minded individuals.
• Digital Products – If you are creative minded, consider selling things such as logos, graphics, or even websites.
• Photography – For the skilled photographers out there, why not make some extra money with your photos.
• Online courses – If you have a talent, there is probably someone out there that is interested in learning it and selling online courses is a great way to monetize it.
• Podcasts – While you can’t actually sell podcasts, they do offer a great opportunity to make some extra money by advertising products.^[11]Allison Lindstrom – SELLING PRODUCTS ON YOUR BLOG ● WHAT SHOULD I SELL? ● #MYBLOGMEANSBUSINESS SERIES DAY 2