How to earn money with a blog?

Nowadays, many people run blogs as a hobby. Or as a way to share your passions and interests. However, it is worth being aware that blogs can also be a good source of income. At least for those who know how to use them well. In this article, we will present several ways to make money from your blog. We also discuss the basic aspects of starting a blog.

What does starting your own blog involve?

Starting a blog involves several things. Some seem obvious, others less so. You probably guess that you need to decide what topics you will cover on your blog. There’s a reason we’re mentioning it now – it would be good to plan it at the very beginning. It is also important that the blog’s topic is interesting for readers – this will make them willing to visit it. He may even recommend it to others.

How to start a blog – everything you need to know to get started

You need to choose a blogging platform – there are many of them on the market, so you have plenty to choose from. The most popular ones include: WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr and Squarespace. Do your research, test the selected platforms and choose the one that best suits your needs and skills.
Choose a name for your blog – it should be easy to remember. Secondly, it should also match the content you intend to publish there.
Choose a template and graphic design – most platforms offer templates that can be adapted to your needs. This is a good way to stand out from other creators who use the same template,
Install and configure the necessary plugins – these are extensions that allow you to make various changes to your blog. Thanks to this, you can adapt its appearance and functionality to your own vision. Many of them are free, some you have to pay for,
Add content – start with a welcome post that describes who you are and what will be found on your blog. Then add new content regularly to encourage your readers to return to your website,
Promote your blog – share links to specific entries, e.g. on social media. Try to attract new readers by posting valuable articles. Building relationships with your target group will also help you with this, e.g. conducting a dialogue in the comments under entries,
Monitor and analyze results – you can easily find analytical tools that were created precisely for such activities. This will make it easier for you to track your blog’s traffic (i.e. the number of visitors) and draw conclusions about what’s working and what’s not. This, in turn, will help you refine your strategy and test new ideas.

You must be aware of the fact that initially you will need to invest some time and energy to become familiar with the platform. Or even with several to choose the best one that will suit your needs. Then it will be time to post entries – at the same time you will test your writing skills. If you do well, it is very possible that you will attract a wider audience.

A blog is also a place where you can share your ideas or use it as a tool to promote your services. In fact, it’s similar to gardening: you have to plant plants, cultivate them, water them, so that you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor. Remember that starting a blog is only the beginning – later you will have to work on the content you will post there.

a woman taking notes in a notebook, a laptop lying next to her

How much does it cost to start a blog?

Starting a blog can be free or paid. The price will depend on the platform you choose and the services it offers. If you want to create a blog for free, all you need to do is find the right blogging platform that allows you to do so. It can be, for example, WordPress, Blogger or Tumblr. You need to know that with free versions, you may have fewer options to customize your blog. For obvious reasons, certain restrictions are imposed. This also applies to the amount of space you will have at your disposal to store your content.

It is worth bearing in mind that a free blog may be sufficient to start with. Over time, however, you should invest in a paid domain – this will give you the image of a professional. With paid hosting, you will also have more control over your blog. Plus, you’ll have access to more themes and add-ons. When choosing a hosting (the server where the blog will be hosted), pay attention to customer support. It is important to be able to contact someone who will help us in case of problems.

The second important issue is the speed of loading pages. Page loading time is of great importance from an SEO perspective, i.e. positioning. If your website loads too slowly, people won’t wait for it. They will just go out and find another site that is up to today’s standards. Paid hosting includes e.g. Hostinger or Bluehost. In each case, the costs will vary, as will the scope of services purchased.

It is also important that you need to buy a domain for your blog. It’s about its URL address, i.e. the name by which you can be found. The costs depend on the selected domain and the company that handles it, but usually range from several to several dozen zlotys per year.

As you can see, the cost of starting a blog can be zero or several hundred zlotys per year. Everything will depend on the chosen platform, hosting and domain.

Making money on a blog – ways

Many beginner bloggers dream of turning their passion into a source of income. This is hardly surprising, as everyone would probably like to do a job they really like.

That’s why we have prepared this entry – not only for bloggers, but also for people who are considering starting their own blog. Below you will find some tips on how to make money from your blog.

This is one of the easiest ways to make money from a blog. You can place them on your website and receive compensation for a specific action by the user. They can be billed for each click or display of the ad by users. The safest way is to use an advertising platform that was created for this purpose, e.g. Google AdSense. It is worth adding that participation in this program is free for bloggers. However, it guarantees regular earnings – advertisers pay bloggers for the traffic they gain.

How to do it? If you want to display such ads on your blog, you must first register for the AdSense program. The next step is to place a short code on your blog that will cause the ads to start showing automatically. Interestingly, Google uses an algorithm that analyzes the content of a website or blog. This allows it to display ads that are tailored to a given website and its users. Ads can be displayed in the form of banners, links or rectangular windows.

How it’s working? When a user clicks on an ad, the blog author receives compensation from Google for the click. The amount of this remuneration depends on many factors, including:

on the type of advertising,
number of clicks,
website traffic quality,
blog topic,
competition in a given market segment,
the number of advertisers who want to display their ads on the blog.

man is writing a blog post on his laptop, a cup of coffee lying nexxt to him

Affiliate programs

Affiliate programs are another way we can make money from our blog. Their operation is very simple – bloggers earn money by posting advertisements and links to products or services. In short, you recommend products or services of other companies and in return you receive a commission. This applies to every single transaction that is made using your affiliate link.

Affiliate (or partner) programs are an effective tool for building brand awareness and acquiring new customers. They can also help you rank high in search engines. Also, remember to choose a program that suits your needs and goals. It is best if it is somehow related to your blog or the industry in which you operate.

You can read more about affiliate programs here: What is affiliate industry? How to make money with affiliation?

Selling digital or physical products

Having a blog can be a great way to promote the products you sell in your own online store. This applies equally to physical and digital products. When we talk about digital products, we mean all kinds of e-books, courses and other materials available online.

How can you promote your own products on your blog? There are several possibilities. Below we present the most important of them.

man is working on his laptop with earphones on his ears

Ways to promote your own products on your blog:

building engagement – by regularly publishing valuable content on the blog. Doing so can help you gain reader engagement. Thanks to this, they will want to come back to your website and, consequently, also learn more information about your products,
presenting products – by publishing photos (with descriptions) of individual products on the blog. This form will certainly interest readers, especially if you try to ensure that they are of good quality. You may not realize that photographs are often the deciding factor that influences the purchase of a given product,
sharing customer opinions – by publishing reviews and opinions issued by customers. Opinions have a significant impact on building trust in your brand. They can also lead to increased product sales. This is because people are more likely to buy products or services that have been reviewed by someone who has purchased them before. This is especially visible in online stores, where we cannot compare products – as we do in a stationary store. This is the so-called social proof that says that when you don’t know what to do, you follow the crowd – that is, you do what others do. Opinions on the Internet also work on this principle,
integration with e-commerce platforms – by connecting your blog to such a platform, you will make it much easier for users to make purchases. They will be able to go directly from the blog to your store to buy the product they are interested in,
promotion of special offers – a blog can be used to promote special offers or sales. You can also think about some promotions that would be intended exclusively for readers of your blog,
positioning in search engines – by publishing valuable content (related to your products), you can increase the visibility of your website in search results. This will also help increase traffic on your website and, in turn, attract potential customers.

When it comes to digital products, there are plenty of opportunities here too. It is worth choosing modern solutions, because products of this type are among them. Let’s say you decide to publish your own e-book. You have a cool idea for it, generally it should be something groundbreaking in your industry. You spend weeks creating it, but it’s finally ready, so now it’s time to promote the product.

So if you advertise it, don’t show only screenshots on your computer screen. This won’t interest anyone. Instead, prepare nice graphics on which you can place the e-book cover, preferably on various devices. It can be a reader, smartphone or tablet – thanks to this you will also show that it is adapted to different screens. Something like this looks much more like a physical product, and it’s easier to imagine what it looks like in real life. Especially if it is a paid product – people want to know what they are paying for.

As you can see, a blog can be an effective tool used to sell products. However, remember that this will only be possible if you use it properly. It is also very important to integrate your blog with other elements of your marketing strategy.

Paid subscription – access to premium content

A paid subscription is a service that provides access to additional content or functionality. As the name suggests, it is a paid service, so you gain access to it after paying a set amount. Currently, many creators and bloggers use this option – it has recently become more popular. This can be noticed especially on YouTube, but not only. News outlets are also using it more and more often.

This method will work for people who have a regular group of readers. These will be recipients who read entries with great regularity and devour them. They may be commenting on each one, letting you know they’re ready for more. Premium subscriptions are created for such audiences.

Paid subscriptions provide access to content that is not visible to every user. These are usually articles, guides or other materials that contain knowledge and information that are valuable to the recipients. Some creators make money on subscriptions by making their most popular articles available only in the premium version. This means that only selected people who have purchased a subscription have access to them.

However, this requires additional work on your part. Premium content will need to be prepared and this will take some time. The second issue is that your paid content must meet quality requirements, otherwise no one will pay for it. And he certainly won’t pay regularly.

laptop and smartphone lying on desk, blogger life

Crowdfunding platforms

Another way to make money on your blog is through crowdfunding platforms. These are websites that allow you to raise money for specific projects or initiatives. People who want to support a given project transfer a certain amount of money – this is the so-called crowdfunding.

Such projects may include financing start-ups, artistic projects, social campaigns, charitable assistance and much more.

Crowdfunding allows you to obtain financing without having to obtain funds from traditional sources. We mean, for example, banks or private investors. One of the most popular crowdfunding platforms is Patreon. In addition, we can mention: Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Crowdcube.

Each of these platforms has its own rules, but generally they work in a similar way. All of them are aimed at facilitating cooperation between project promoters and donors.

Summary

Thanks to this post, you now know how to make money with a blog. Please note that we have only described some of the possibilities here. However, there is a chance that thanks to our suggestions, you will come up with your own idea that will turn out to be a hit.

As you can see, when it comes to blogging, the key to success is hard work. This doesn’t just mean publishing valuable content regularly. You also need to build a relationship with your audience so that they become loyal readers and willingly visit your blog.

Image sources:

Image by storyset on Freepik
Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik
Image by vector4stock on Freepik
http://depositphotos.com/199644826
http://depositphotos.com/165813544
http://depositphotos.com/246277420
http://depositphotos.com/246291016
Image by Freepik

How to earn money with a blog? What can you do to make your blog profitable?