How To Start A Free Blog In South Africa

Are you excited about the world of blogging? Want to start a blog and turn your passion into a full-time profession? Love the thought of working from just about anywhere and at any time? And the best bit is, you make money doing what you love.

If your reply to any of the above is a big YES, this detailed article will guide you through the exact steps on how to start a blog and make money.

Did you know that blogging started as a means of maintaining an online journal? You know, one where people run an account of their personal lives, day-to-day activities, places they visit, newfound recipes, and so on.

Fast forward to today, blogging is a serious online business. And if you thought blogging couldn't make you money, you're in for a surprise.

Some of the top bloggers make well over 6 to 7-figure incomes monthly. That's right. Monthly!

That being said, they've reached this milestone by working consistently on their blog for years.

Blogging is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme. If done right, you are building for yourself a cash machine that works passively for years to come.

Are you excited? Want to learn how to start a blog?

Let's start with the absolute basics.

A quick note.

This article/guide covers everything you need to know on how to start a blog.

While it's recommended to read the entire piece from start to finish, you could use the links below to jump straight into action.

With that being said, let's dive in.

What's included in this article

• 1 What is a Blog?
  • 1.1 Why Start a Blog? What is the Importance of a Blog?
  • 1.2 9 Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog Today
  • 1.3 4 Reasons Why You Should Not Start a Blog
  • 1.4 Blogs vs. Websites
  • 1.5 What is a Typical Blog Structure?
• 2 Who is a Blogger?
• 3 Why is Blogging so Popular?
• 4 How do Bloggers Make Money?
• 5 How to Start a Blog: 5 Ground Rules for Those Serious About Starting a Blog
• 6 10 Top Bloggers in the World
• 7 10 Top Bloggers in India
• 8 How to Start a Blog: A Detailed Step-by-step Guide
  • 8.1 How to Start a Blog: Step #1. Selecting the Perfect Niche for Your Blog
  • 8.2 How to Start a Blog: Step #2. Choose the Right Blogging Platform
  • 8.3 How to Start a Blog: Step #3. Domain Name & Hosting
    • 8.3.1 Hosting
      • 8.3.1.1 Avail Up to 66% Off
    • 8.3.2 Purchase Domain and Hosting Using Bluehost
  • 8.4 How to Start a Blog: Step #4. Learn WordPress
  • 8.5 How to Start a Blog: Step #5. Select a WordPress Theme
  • 8.6 How to Start a Blog: Step #6. Must-Have WordPress Plugins
  • 8.7 How to Start a Blog: Step #7. Create A Blog Post (Keyword Research)
    • 8.7.1 What is Keyword Research?
  • 8.8 How to Start a Blog: Step #8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
    • 8.8.1 What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
    • 8.8.2 How to Optimize Your Content for Search Engines
    • 8.8.3 SEO Tips to Optimize Your Content
  • 8.9 How to Start a Blog: Step #9. Content Writing (Actual Steps)
  • 8.10 How to Start a Blog: Step #10. Create a Landing Page & a Lead Magnet
    • 8.10.1 What is a lead magnet?
    • 8.10.2 ​​What makes a great lead magnet?
    • 8.10.3 What is a landing page?
    • 8.10.4 Key elements to crafting the perfect landing page
  • 8.11 How to Start a Blog: Step #11. Email Marketing
  • 8.12 How to Start a Blog: Step #12. How To Start Generating Traffic
  • 8.13 How to Start a Blog: Step #13. How to Start a Blog and Make Money
  • 8.14 How to Start a Blog: Step #14: Tips to Help You Run a Successful Blog
  • 8.15 How to Start a Blog: Step #15: Mistakes to Avoid When Blogging
• 9 Have you Started a Blog?

What is a Blog?

A blog (short for weblog) is an online journal or a website that displays information and articles in reverse chronological order, i.e., the last published article appearing first.

Did you know?

As of 2021, globally, there are more than 600 million blogs. And this accounts for over 6 million daily blog posts. (Source: HostingTribunal)

Why Start a Blog? What is the Importance of a Blog?

When blogs started back in the late 1990s, they served more as online journals. Some even referred to them as a personal homepage.

Fast forward to today, blogs are an integral part of just about any online business.

Whether you are an individual, a freelancer, architect, consultant, coach, or just about any industry you are in, starting a blog (and regularly updating your blog) is a great way to showcase your expertise and be known as an authority in your niche.

Businesses use blogs to educate their audience on the products and services they offer.

By creating educational content, your audience is better informed about the benefits and features, which helps increase conversions.

Creating educational content also helps build trust among your audience. They see you as the go-to person, and slowly but surely, you build a loyal set of followers.

Another significant benefit when you start a blog is that you get to be found by search engines.

While it indeed takes time and effort, creating well-optimized content helps your site rank higher on the Google search engine results page.

If you are looking at building a successful and long-term business out of blogging, work on your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

So, if you ask me what is the one reason to start a blog, I'd say it's to connect with my audience.

Of course, your content has to be super resourceful and help your audience find a solution.

Want more reasons to start a blog? Here are my 9 top reasons why you must start a blog today.

9 Reasons Why You Should Start a Blog Today

I have listed out my top 9 reasons why you should start a blog.

These are based on my personal experience. Let me know which of these resonate with you.

Send me a message on Instagram (@bloggersbloom) or on Twitter (@bloggersbloom).

1. Do what you love, when you want

When you start a blog, you create one for yourself.

You are the boss. You call the shots. You work on what you love the most when you want. No deadlines, no targets, no meetings, no dreadful Monday mornings, no nothing.

While you get to decide when to work, it's essential to chalk out a fixed time to work on your blog daily. Treat your blog as a serious business.

2. Location independence

Do you love the idea of working from just about anywhere? You know, live the laptop life. Blogging gives you that freedom!

Without reporting to an office, you can work from just anywhere, when you start a blog. Want to blog while on vacation? Want to create a blog post while getting a suntan over at the beach? Want to publish a post from the neighborhood coffee shop? You get the point!

You have complete freedom to work from anywhere. All you need is your laptop and a stable internet connection.

3. Learn, blog, and dominate

Most of us start a blog just for the fun of it. Very few have an explicit content and marketing strategy planned out from day one. At least I was one of them.

As things get a little more serious and you start seeing traction, you take blogging more seriously.

The traction can be more engagements with the audience, an increase in website traffic, more email subscriptions, and most importantly, seeing some revenue coming in from your various monetization methods.

And this is when the fun begins. Well, at least for some.

Start learning new skills. After all, the more you know, the more you earn! 😉

I invested in myself and took up courses on digital marketing, WordPress, SEO, Facebook marketing, and subscribed to just about any successful blogger on Youtube.

I was like a sponge that just soaked in all the information.

I converted all my learnings into articles, videos, and courses, in turn, to help my audience. This helped me learn even further.

You become an expert by learning and implementing.

So, if you are wondering if you have it in you to become a blogger, you indeed do. Just start!

4. Build a brand

Have you noticed that you get better at a particular topic if you, in turn, teach someone else?

For instance, let's say you were to write an article or make a presentation on blogging. I'm guessing you'd do some amount of research, irrespective of your expertise in the topic.

It's the case with just about anything. You learn more when you teach.

Translate your learnings into articles, videos, podcasts, eBooks, cheat sheets, case studies, and more. The more you create valuable and resourceful content, the more your audience sees you as an expert in that particular niche.

You start becoming an authority and a go-to person for matters about your subject.

You become a brand!

By becoming a brand, you unlock a world of opportunities for yourself.

5. Unlock a world of opportunities

How would it be to have clients knocking on your door instead of the other way around? A dream come true for any freelancer or consultant, isn't it?

Well, that's what happens when you build a brand for yourself. And here's why.

When you start a blog and consistently create content, you show your expertise in a particular niche. Not only are you proving that you're an authority in the specific topic, but you are also displaying more than just your writing skills.

Are you showing up on search engines? Well, you should be familiar with SEO.

Are your headlines enticing visitors to click on them? You are probably great at copywriting.

Are your social media creatives engaging? You are probably great at social media marketing.

You get the point.

By starting a blog and working on it consistently, you are showcasing your expertise.

And what if you offered all these (writing, creating images, SEO, social media marketing) as services on your blog? I'm guessing you'll have clients knocking on your door!

I've had numerous website development, content writing, email marketing, assignments coming my way ever since my blog (bloggersbloom) started gaining traction.

For job seekers, don't you think creating a blog and displaying your expertise is far better than sending an old-fashioned resume? Wouldn't you like to beat the competition?

6. Improve your writing skills

No one's a born writer. At least I'm guessing that's the case!

The more you keep writing, the better you get at it. And if nothing else, when you start a blog, your writing skills will indeed have a positive impact.

Do you find yourself staring at a big blank screen when you start writing?

We've all been there and it's pretty natural to do so.

As you keep writing and getting better at it, you'll find yourself staring less at a blank screen and instead, wanting more time to complete your writing assignments.

And if you're wondering how to get writing ideas, I've got it covered later in this article when we get into the actual process of starting a blog.

7. Inspire your audience

Isn't it a satisfying experience when you can inspire an audience through your writing? I definitely think so!

This very reason gets you inspired to create more resourceful content.

As you consistently create more resourceful content, you'll notice a loyal set of audiences engaging and responding to you.

They leave comments on your blog and thank you for the helpful content you've created. Some even engage with you via email or even on social media.

The more this happens, the more charged up you will be to create more. The thought of actually helping others solve a problem will motivate you.

8. Meet new people

If you love making new connections and friends from around the globe, start a blog!

When I started a blog, I imagined myself cutting off from the rest of the world and sitting in front of my laptop the whole day long writing, writing, and writing.

While the writing bit is partly true, I've built way more connections than I previously did.

Irrespective of the niche you're in, you begin to create a long-term association with several fellow like-minded bloggers.

There are regular meetups and communities too that you can be a part of.

9. Make money blogging

Yes, I left the best for the last!

When you start a blog, you can make a living out of your blog. Provided you treat your blog as a serious business, give it time to evolve, and work on it consistently.

A little later in this article, I've covered some of the top bloggers in the world. They earn huge six and seven-figure incomes per month.

But guess what. They've been honing their skills for years. They've put in the hard work and continue to do so.

The process is simple. Well, almost!

Select a niche, start a blog, research keywords and create content, optimize content to show up on search engines, build an email list, and you should be good.

Simple, right? How I wish!

Overwhelmed by the entire process? Don't be.

I've got it all covered in this detailed article on how to start a blog.

4 Reasons Why You Should Not Start a Blog

Ok, I've told you the good. Now it's time for the not-so-good.

After all, shouldn't we be prepared with both sides of the coin?

Here are reasons why we may not want to start a blog. It could help before you take the plunge.

1. It's a lot of hard work

Running a blog is a lot of hard work.

While it all looks great when it's finally out there, no one gets to know what happens behind the scenes and how much actual work goes into creating that perfect content.

From having your platform up and running to planning your content marketing strategy, creating visuals for your website and social media, there's undoubtedly a lot to cover if you want to succeed.

If the only reason to start a blog is to get out of a 9 to 5 job, then you'll be sadly disappointed.

While you could decide when and where you'd like to work, you'll probably end up putting in much longer hours.

But hey, if blogging is something you love doing, who cares who many hours we put in.

2. It takes time to see results, both traffic, and money

Blogging takes time to see significant results. Be it in terms of generating traffic or seeing the money come in.

You wouldn't see the needle move for at least about 4 to 6 months in some cases. And this is where a lot of bloggers give up.

As I mentioned, blogging is a lot of hard work, and you'll start seeing results if you keep at it for at least a good year or more.

Keep churning out content consistently without expecting any significant wins.

3. No fixed income

You can make projections, but you really can't predict how much you'll end up with at the end of the month. This is why, if you are currently in a day job, don't quit until your blog's income matches that of your day job.

Blogging income is not fixed. You see a lot of fluctuations. You'll have some months where the pay is high and some months where you wouldn't see much.

4. It's just you

Unless you've got a team working on your blog, you typically work solo on your blog.

You could go long hours, if not days, creating content for your blog. During this time, you may not have much of a human connection.

So, if you prefer working in a team, blogging may not be your cup of tea.

Starting a blog has its pros and cons. But I guess the pros outdo the cons.

And as long as you treat your blog as a business and allow it to blossom in due course of time, you should be good to start a blog.

Blogs vs. Websites

While we do cover some blogging basics, I'll quickly cover a few frequently asked questions.

How is a website different from a blog?

Can I start a blog without a website?

Should my website have a blog?

I understand. It can be confusing when you start. And the difference is not much.

Websites can be of two types. Static and dynamic.

As the name suggests, static websites are those that don't change too often. They are static. You create it once, and it stays more or less the same over time. You may have an update or two occasionally. That apart, it remains the same.

For instance, check out any corporate website or even a portfolio website.

They have details about their business. Typically, these websites have an about us, services, team, product details, and a contact page. Understandably, they don't change too often.

On the flip side, a dynamic website changes regularly. Every time you visit the website, you'll see a fresh piece of content. Something that gets updated periodically.

Classic examples of these are your news and entertainment sites, online stores, and more.

Blogs come in the latter category.

While the frequency of updates is purely based on your preference, you'll agree that a blog gets updated way more regularly than a website.

And that is primarily the only difference between a blog and a website.

Can you start a blog within a website? You sure can!

Many businesses and marketers use the blog strategy to drive traffic to the main content of their websites. While some may have their entire website as a blog, others would have it as part of their website, e.g., bloggersbloom.com/blog.

As shown in the image below, notice some elements such as published date, author's name, categories, and tags next to the articles?

The next time you see these elements, you'll know that those are blog posts.

What is a Typical Blog Structure?

Another frequently asked question is regarding the perfect blog structure.

Typically blogs have a very straightforward layout structure, as shown below.

Ideal Blog Layout Structure

• A header that includes the logo and the navigation menu. In some cases, it includes social links too and maybe an ad banner, if you are displaying advertisements
• The main content area in the center
• The navigation sidebar. This may contain the recent and most popular posts, links to some of your products and services, social feeds, and ads
• A footer that could repeat your top navigation menu, links to some essential pages such as privacy policy, affiliate disclosure, disclaimer, terms of use, and more.

While this is a typical scenario, some choose to do away with the side navigation bars. They prefer providing their audience with a no-distraction view of their content.

End of the day, it's a personal preference.

Who is a Blogger?

A blogger is someone who manages and runs a blog. They share their opinion, knowledge, expertise, and experience on a particular niche for a target audience.

Be it a blog on food, travel, home & decor, finance, pets, marketing, crypto, and so on. You'll find several bloggers around.

Blogging (which is the actual process of creating and managing a blog) has been and is also currently very popular.

The thought of earning a living by blogging and working from just about anywhere is something that drives most to start a blog.

Why is Blogging so Popular?

A lot of this has to do with the nine reasons I covered earlier on why you should start a blog.

Expressing yourself, building a brand, location independence, doing what you love, making a living out of your blog, serving an audience, monetizing your passion, and more are some of the top reasons why blogging is popular.

As a marketer or a business, blogging regularly also helps spread the word out about your product or service.

Here are a few blogging statistics that help understand why blogging is popular.

• 24% of bloggers feel that a blog is a creative way to express themselves
• 46% of visitors take recommendations from bloggers and vloggers into account
• When it comes to the most effective form of content, blog posts still rule when compared to ebooks, email, and white papers
• Businesses that utilize blogging for their marketing purposes see a 13 times more return on investment (ROI) than businesses that don't
• Websites that have a blog have 434% more indexed pages
• Businesses that blog get 97% more backlinks to their websites
• Blogs are the fifth most trustworthy online source of information

(Sources: SEM Rush, OptinMonster, FirstSiteGuide)

As shown above, blogging is not only great if you are running a personal blog, but it also helps businesses promote their brand and increase conversions.

How do Bloggers Make Money?

Irrespective of the kind of blog you have, it helps to monetize it and ensure a steady income source. All the more when the income is passive.

You know, the kind where you do the work once, and it starts generating income for you, life long.

The good news is that there's more than one way to go about monetizing your blog.

Here are some blogging income stats that will get you all excited to start a blog right away.

• Food and Personal Finance blogs make the most. While the average monthly income of a food blogger is around $9200, personal finance bloggers make up to $9100
• The following two high-income niches are lifestyle(mommy) blogs that make about $5200 and travel blogs that earn around $5,000 monthly
• 42% of the income for food bloggers comes from displaying sponsored ads. The next primary source is affiliate marketing with 10%
• Bloggers who make between $7,500 and $25,000 per month credit 42.2% of their revenue through affiliate marketing
• A blogger's average monthly salary is $8,000
• 26% of bloggers invest anywhere between $10 and $50 per month on their blogs
• 65% of bloggers make money from freelance writing

(Sources: SEM Rush)

There are several ways to monetize your blog.

Some of them include:

• Affiliate marketing
• Coaching and consulting
• Content writing and copywriting
• Display ads
• Offering services
• Online courses
• Selling own products
• Sponsored posts

You'll hear me repeat this a lot, but the fact is, blogging is not a get-rich-quick-scheme.

While you can make a living out of blogging and a good amount of money, it takes a LOT of hard work and dedication to build a serious business out of your blog.

Blogging doesn't require a lot to get started.

To start a blog, all you need to invest in is a domain and hosting. That being said, just as in the case of any business, if you'd like to scale and build your blog, consider investing in the right tools upfront.

Tools such as email marketing, keyword research, content planner, and more. Here's a list of blogging tools and resources you can consider investing in when you start a blog.

How to Start a Blog: 5 Ground Rules for Those Serious About Starting a Blog

If you're still reading this article, I'm guessing you are serious about starting a blog. You want to know the exact steps on how to start a blog from scratch. And I couldn't be happier!

After all, I've listed everything you need to start a blog from scratch in this article.

From selecting a niche and getting your platform ready to SEO tips to rank better on search engines, content writing, and more, I've got it all covered here in this article.

But here's the deal.

I want you to take action and start a blog. You will only see money coming in from your blog if you start taking action right now.

So, before we start creating a blog, here are a few prerequisites.

1) Complete Dedication and Commitment

You may be starting your blog as a side hustle while working a full-time job. You may also have decided to go all out and work full-time on your blog. Whatever be the case, to succeed as a blogger, your complete dedication and commitment are required.

This article aims to help you start a blog. While I am confident that you'll end up with an amazing-looking blog by the end of this article, you'll need to put all the steps mentioned here into action if you want to succeed.

Just follow along, and you'll be good to go.

2) Treat Your Blog as a Serious Business

A blog can still be run like how it all started. You know, like a personal diary mentioning your daily activities, to-do lists, recipes, travel memoirs, and so on.

While your blog can also make you money, I suggest you treat it more like a business. Have a content strategy, marketing plan, social media activities, and more, all planned out.

When you work consistently on your business (blog), day in and day out, that's when you start seeing results.

3) Get Ready to Create Content

You've got to create content. Period!

End of the day, there are no blogs without content. When you learn how to start a blog, you also learn to create content that has to be optimized for search engines.

That's how your articles show up on Google and other popular search engines.

You can have videos created on your Youtube channel or even post regularly on social media platforms.

But the idea is to leverage the traffic from all those platforms to your blog.

Consider your blog as a central hub.

Visitors landing on your blog from the various platforms have to be captured and nurtured.

How do we do that? We'll get to that soon! 🙂

4) Be Patient. Give it Time

You've probably heard this before.

Blogging is not a get-rich-quick-scheme. It definitely isn't. It does take time and a LOT of effort.

The good news is that the bulk of the effort you need to put in is early on.

Now, don't get me wrong. You've got to continuously work on your blog and consistently churn out articles as long as your blog (business) is online.

By saying that the bulk of the work is done early on, I mean launching your blog, posting articles and content daily (preferably), creating lead magnets to capture email IDs, nurturing clients, working on optimizing your content, creating automation, and more.

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Don't be. I'll be covering all this and more in this how to start a blog article.

Here's a pro-tip early on.

If you want to succeed as a blogger, start building an email list and optimizing your content for search engines.

While it is super important to optimize your content for search engines, don't go overboard and stuff keywords all over your content.

End of the day, your content has to serve an audience. Make it simple and, most importantly, super helpful for your readers.

Want some motivation before we get into creating a blog?

Here's a list of the top bloggers in the world and India. If you think blogging can't make you money, you are in for a surprise.

10 Top Bloggers in the World

The estimated earnings of the top bloggers in the world are as of 2020. However, this should give a fair indication of how much you can make from your blog.

1. Arriana Huffington – Huffington Post

• Founder: Arriana Huffington
• Website: https://www.huffingtonpost.com
• Started: 2005
• Niche: News, Life, Entertainment, and Politics
• Estimated Monthly Visits: 1.76M (August 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $250M
• Source of Income: Sponsored advertisement (Pay Per Click)

2. Peter Rojas – Engadget

• Founder: Peter Rojas
• Website: https://www.engadget.com
• Started: 2004
• Niche: Gaming, Entertainment, and Technology Products
• Estimated Monthly Visits: 28.64M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $50M
• Source of Income: Sponsored advertisement (Pay Per Click)

3. Rand Fishkin – Moz

• Founder: Rand Fishkin
• Website: https://moz.com
• Started: 1998
• Niche: SEO
• Estimated Monthly Visits: 2.48M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $35M
• Source of Income: Own Products & Tools

4. Pete Cashmore – Mashable

• Founder: Pete Cashmore
• Website: https://mashable.com
• Started: 2005
• Niche: Technology, Entertainment, Culture, Science, Travel
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 9.05M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $30M
• Source of Income: Sponsored Advertisements (Pay Per Click)

5. Michael Arrington – TechCrunch

• Founder: Michael Arrington
• Website: https://techcrunch.com
• Started: 2005
• Niche: Technology, Apps, Gadgets
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 14.97M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $23M
• Source of Income: Sponsored Advertisements (Pay Per Click)

6. Brian Clark – CopyBlogger

• Founder: Brian Clark
• Website: https://www.copyblogger.com
• Started: 2005
• Niche: Content Marketing
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 425.38K (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $32M
• Source of Income: Services, Online Courses, Affiliate Marketing

7. Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn

• Founder: Pat Flynn
• Website: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com
• Started: 2008
• Niche: Helping Online Entrepreneurs Succeed
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 285.17K (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $20M
• Source of Income: Online Courses, Podcasts, Affiliate Marketing

8. Peter Rojas – Gizmodo

• Founder: Peter Rojas
• Website: https://gizmodo.com
• Started: 2002
• Niche: Technology
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 22.77M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $5M
• Source of Income: Sponsored Advertisements (Pay Per Click), Product Sales

9. Vitaly Friedman – Smashing Magazine

• Founder: Vitaly Friedman
• Website: https://www.smashingmagazine.com
• Started: 2006
• Niche: Web Design and Development
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 1.75M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $5.5M
• Source of Income: Sponsored Advertisements (Pay Per Click)

10. Cyan Claire – Tuts+

• Founder: Cyan Claire
• Website: https://tutsplus.com
• Started: 2006
• Niche: Web Design and Development
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 6.43M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Annual Earning (2020): Approx. $10M
• Source of Income: Sponsored Advertisements, Products, Online Courses, Affiliate Marketing

(Source: WPressBlog)

10 Top Bloggers in India

Now that we've seen some of the top bloggers globally, let's look at some of the top bloggers in India. Again, the estimated revenue is as of 2020.

1. Amit Agrawal – Labnol.org

• Founder: Amit Agrawal
• Website: https://www.labnol.org
• Started: 2004
• Niche: Technology
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 4.65M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $80,000
• Source of Income: AdSense

2. Harsh Agrawal – ShoutMeLoud.com

• Founder: Harsh Agrawal
• Website: https://www.shoutmeloud.com
• Started: 2008
• Niche: Blogging, WordPress, SEO, Social Media, Affiliate Marketing
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 355.03K (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $51,055
• Source of Income: Affiliates, Adsense, Online Courses

3. Faisal Farooqui – MouthShut.com

• Founder: Faisal Farooqui
• Website: https://www.mouthshut.com
• Started: 2000
• Niche: Consumer Reviews
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 1.95M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $50,434
• Source of Income: Affiliates, Ad placements

4. Shradha Sharma – YourStory.com

• Founder: Shradha Sharma
• Website: https://yourstory.com
• Started: 2008
• Niche: Platform for Startups and Entrepreneurs
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 3.54M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $30,000
• Source of Income: AdSense

5. Varun Krishnan – Fonearena.com

• Founder: Varun Krishnan
• Website: https://www.fonearena.com
• Started: 2005
• Niche: Mobile Phones
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 1.22M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $22,000
• Source of Income: Adsense, Direct Ads

6. Srinivas Tamada – 9Lessons.info

• Founder: Srinivas Tamada
• Website: https://www.9lessons.info
• Started: 2009
• Niche: Web Development
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 86K
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $16,000
• Source of Income: Adsense, Direct Ads

7. Arun Prabhudesai – Trak.in

• Founder: Arun Prabhudesai
• Website: http://trak.in
• Started: 2007
• Niche: Business, Technology, Mobile & Startup
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 1.60M (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $8,000
• Source of Income: Adsense, Paid Ads

8. Raju PP – Techpp.com

• Founder: Raju PP
• Website: http://techpp.com
• Started: 2008
• Niche: Personal and Consumer Technology
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 527.62K (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $5,000
• Source of Income: Adsense, Direct Advertisements

9. Jaspal Singh – SaveDelete.com

• Founder: Jaspal Singh
• Website: https://savedelete.com
• Started: 2009
• Niche: News, Culture, Lifestyle, Food, Relationships, Health, Fitness, and more
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 57.74K (Aug 2021)
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $8,000
• Source of Income: Affiliate, Adsense, Paid Ads

10. Pradeep Kumar – Hellboundbloggers.com

• Founder: Pradeep Kumar
• Website: https://hellboundbloggers.com
• Started: 2009
• Niche: Blogging, Making Money Online, SEO, and much more
• Estimated Monthly Visits: Approx. 162K
• Estimated Monthly Earning (2020): Approx. $5,000
• Source of Income: Adsense, Paid Advertisements, Affiliates

(Source: WPressBlog)

Phew! That was our list of top bloggers in India.

Notice anything in common between all the bloggers? No one is an overnight success!

Like I mentioned earlier, blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme. No way close to it. It takes time. It could even take a few years before you start seeing any substantial income.

How to Start a Blog: A Detailed Step-by-step Guide

Alright! It's time to start a blog.

I've listed out the entire steps required to create and start a blog from scratch. I've made it as simple, easy, and practical as possible. Just follow along, and you'll be just fine.

How to Start a Blog: Step #1. Selecting the Perfect Niche for Your Blog

It all starts by understanding your niche.

In simple terms, what are you passionate about? What is it that gets you out of bed, all motivated and raring to go out and create?

While this may be crystal clear for some, it can be confusing and daunting for others.

I get it! We've all been down that path. There are a lot of interest areas, and we're not sure which one to narrow down upon.

If you are blogging for fun, it really doesn't matter what your niche is. You could write on just about any topic that may or may not be of interest to you.

However, if you treat blogging as a serious business and would like to make a living out of your blog, you may want to evaluate your best options.

Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself.

• What are you passionate about? (something that you wouldn't mind working all day long)
• Are you so passionate about this topic that you could keep creating content regularly?
• What are your strengths and talents?
• What do people come to you for? (This will indicate what you are good at)
• Who do you want to serve and help? Consider the audience you are trying to help. You are creating a blog to solve people's problems
• Write down a list of niches that you come up with
• Write down 3 to 4 sub-niches and sub-categories. (E.g., if you've selected personal development as a niche, then the sub-niche could be productivity, self-care, time management, and so on)
• Check if you can make money out of your niche (the best way is to look at competitors in your same niche, how and what they are selling)

While you go through the above set of questions, you must forget about the how. The how and the process of getting it done will be covered later.

So, with complete clarity (and not being bothered by the how), revisit the above questions and narrow down your niche.

To help you out, I've listed some of the most popular niches and sub-niches.

Beauty and Fashion

• Product reviews
• Tutorials on makeup, hair styling
• Tips on skincare
• Fashion trends
• DIY beauty

Business

• Entrepreneurship
• Freelancing
• Startups
• Productivity hacks

Design and Development

• Web design / UI / UX
• Web & App development
• eCommerce
• Website security
• Hacking

Education

• Tips on cracking an entrance exam
• Study hacks
• Online courses
• Learn a language
• Career guidance
• Montessori

Entertainment

• Movie & music reviews
• TV show guides
• Celebrity interviews & gossips

Finance

• Bitcoins & cryptocurrency
• Investing
• Retirement saving
• Financial independence

Food and Drink

• Restaurant and pub reviews
• Baking and cooking tips
• Vegan & keto recipes
• Dieting tips

Gaming

• Game reviews
• Playstation, XBOX games
• Board games

Health and Fitness

• Men's health
• Women's health
• Self-care
• Mental health
• Workout tips

Home Ownership

• Feng shui & Vaastu tips
• Home decor
• Interior design
• Home renovation

Lifestyle and Hobbies

• Arts and crafts
• Photography
• Writing
• Knitting & DIY hacks
• Gardening

Marketing

• Conventional marketing
• Digital media marketing
• Content marketing & copywriting
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• SEO
• PPC advertising

News

• Local
• Politics
• Sports
• Technology

Pets

• Pet parenting tips
• Pet training
• Pet health and wellness

Relationships

• Dating
• Divorce
• Live-in tips
• Parenting
• Pregnancy
• Wedding & wedding planning tips

Technology

• Artificial Intelligence
• Automation
• Gadget reviews
• Mobile & mobile product reviews
• Software reviews

Travel

• Local & international travel tips
• Travel deals
• Travel hacks
• Digital nomads

Did this list help? Did it get you thinking about what's possible and the opportunities around?

I may not have covered all the areas within your niche. However, this should be a good start!

End of the day, get started with ONE niche of your choice. Build it, scale it, monetize it and then create a new blog! Easy!

How to Start a Blog: Step #2. Choose the Right Blogging Platform

Next up is an important decision you've got to make regarding the platform you choose to build your blog.

There are several platforms available for you to create a blog. Some are entirely free, and some are not.

Some of the free options include WordPress (that's wordpress.com), Blogger, Tumblr, Wix, Squarespace, among several others.

They all are excellent as long as you create a personal blog that you don't plan to make money out of. However, if you're considering making a serious business out of blogging, close your eyes and go ahead with WordPress (that's wordpress.org).

Ok, before we move on, from here on, when I say WordPress, it's going to be wordpress.org.

WordPress offers you unmatched capabilities, features, and functionality.

While there is a learning curve up front, once you get the hang of it, you will be pleasantly surprised at the kind of websites you can create.

WordPress has you completely covered whether you want to create a simple website, an online store, an eLearning platform, a job portal, or even a news portal.

And I'll show you how later on.

When it comes to deciding on a platform, like I said, close your eyes and go with WordPress.

While WordPress is entirely free (open source), you will need to invest in a domain and hosting service. And that's our next step.

How to Start a Blog: Step #3. Domain Name & Hosting

Get your credit card out. You've got to make some purchases now! 🙂

Like I mentioned earlier, there are free options around. However, that's not the approach you need to take when building a business.

For instance, when you go ahead with the free WordPress (wordpress.com) option, you will have a domain name (URL) that has wordpress.com affixed to it.

E.g., let's say you name your blog 'mysportsclub'. When you register yourself for a free blog on WordPress (wordpress.com), your domain name will be 'mysportsclub.wordpress.com.'

That being said, you'll be lucky if you get that URL. You'll probably end up with something like 'mysportsclub123456789.wordpress.com' because the rest may have been taken up.

One question. Does that URL look professional? I'm guessing (and hoping) you said no.

That's why we need to invest in a domain name of our choice.

You'd probably still not get the exact name that you want. However, by including a prefix or suffix, you can still get your own '.com' domain.

And if that doesn't work, there's always different extensions that you can use, such as '.in', '.co', '.uk', '.net', '.org', and so on.

While selecting a domain name, here are a few tips that you could consider.

#1. Always go for a .com

Owing to its popularity, '.com' is usually what everyone keys in the browser when they hear of a brand name. So why divert traffic elsewhere by not having a .com.

#2. Look beyond a .com

Confusing you? I understand. I just suggested always going for a .com, and here I am saying look beyond a .com.

The idea is to have a brand name of your choice. And while the first option is always a .com, don't rule out the option of considering other extensions such as .org, .net, .co, .io, .shop, .club, .store, .blog, and many more.

#3. Create a brand

Think long-term. Think of building a brand that is easy to remember and sounds trustworthy. For more domain name ideas, consider using a thesaurus. 😉

#4. KISS (Keep It Short & Simple)

Heard of the famous phrase, 'good things come in small packages'? Well, try to decide on a name that is short and simple. An ideal length is below 15 characters.

#5. Consider using keywords

While this isn't a requirement, it does help to have your keywords and the service you are offering in the domain name. It allows users to understand what the website is about.

E.g., this particular domain name is learnhowtostartblog.com. Agreed, it's not short, but I tried having the keywords I'm targeting (how to start a blog) and the service I am offering (teaching how to start a blog).

#6. Check for social media handles

Wouldn't it be nice to have social media handles that matched your domain name?

For instance, wouldn't it be great to have facebook.com/learnhowtostartblog or a twitter.com/learnhowtostartblog, and so on?

It helps build your brand name.

An easy way to check if it's available is by using a tool such as Namecheckr.

Not only does it indicate if your domain name is available or not, but it also indicates if the corresponding handle is available across several social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.

#7. Pick a name you can legally own

This is important unless you want to get into a legal tussle.

Pick a name that doesn't piggyback on someone else's brand name. In all probability, they've got copyright and trademark for their brand name. So by just prefixing or suffixing a famous brand name doesn't mean you are creating a new one.

Pick a name that is unique and go ahead and trademark it. This way, no one else gets to use your brand name.

#8. Pick a trustworthy domain registrar

You've got several domain registrars in the market. Some of the popular ones are GoDaddy, NameCheap, and so on. When selecting one, look for a trustworthy one and that's been around for a while.

I hope the above helps you come up with your unique domain name.

Hosting

Another essential element is hosting.

A common mistake is to look for a hosting service provider that offers the cheapest plan.

While there are some great options that are reasonable, don't let price be the only yardstick on which you narrow down on that ideal hosting service.

After all, your website's performance and speed depend on the hosting service you opt for.

The ideal hosting service should,

• Provide you an uptime above 99% (which means your website should be up, running, and viewable at all times)
• Load fast (check free tools such as GTmetrix and Google PageSpeed Insights to verify)
• Should take periodic backups of your website
• Be secure and offers data security
• Have a great and round the clock support team to assist you
• Ideally, offer unlimited website traffic
• Offer your free CDN and SSL certificate

There are several premium hosting providers in the market.

Some of the most popular ones are,

• Bluehost
• HostGator
• Hostinger
• WPX Hosting
• CloudWays
• InMotion Hosting
• Green Geeks
• Big Rock

So the question is, which one should you go ahead with? Yes, I'm going to make it easy for you.

I recommend either Bluehost or WPX Hosting.

Bluehost's basic plan starts at $2.95 per month for a single website. You'll also get a free domain for the first year.

WPX Hosting, on the other hand, has a starter business plan at $24.99/month. And you will have to buy the domain separately, at an extra cost.

Yes, there's a considerable price difference between the two. WPX Hosting is ideal for businesses that foresee a more significant influx of traffic from day one.

However, if you are starting, Bluehost should do just fine.

Avail Up to 66% Off

Sign up using this link to avail a discount on your Bluehost WordPress hosting

Purchase Domain and Hosting Using Bluehost

We'll now cover the exact steps to purchase your domain and hosting using Bluehost. And the process is pretty straightforward.

Step #1: Visit Bluehost

From the top navigation menu, select WordPress Hosting under WordPress.

Step #2: Select a WordPress Hosting Plan

Select a WordPress hosting plan that you feel works best for you.

You can start with the basic plan, i.e., at $2.95 per month. This plan allows you to create a single website.

If you think you'll be creating multiple websites, you could go ahead with an appropriate plan. However, for every new website you create, you'll have to purchase a domain name separately.

Step #3: Enter your domain name

Once you've selected your plan, you'll be asked to enter the domain name of your choice.

If you already have a domain purchased earlier, enter the domain name in the 'Use a domain you own' box. If not, enter a domain of your choice in the 'Create a new domain' box.

Click Next when you are done.

Step #4: Complete Registration

I've searched for the domain name itsabloggerslife.com. And it's available!

You'll now have to fill in the details required to create your account. Go ahead and complete it.

As you scroll down, notice the Package Information?

You could go ahead with the default selection of 'Basic 12 Month Price – $2.95/mo.' or opt for the 36-month option. The default should do just fine!

Scroll further to the Package Extras section.

You'll notice some options checked by default. You could choose to have them as it is or have them unchecked.

For example, by having the first option, i.e., Domain Privacy Protection, checked, you ensure that your personal information is hidden from the outside world.

To check any website's contact details, you will typically head over to the contact page of the website. Right?

Ok, but what if the website is under construction? How would you find the contact details of the website owner in such a case?

That's when you check the WHOIS record of a domain. The WHOIS record provides details of the website owner.

For instance, if you visit whois.com and search for any domain name, you'll find out all the registrant's contact details.

If you don't find the details, it's because the website owner has decided to hide the information from the outside world. By having the option 'Domain Privacy Protection' checked, you are ensuring your details are hidden.

This is a personal choice, and you could decide if you'd like to have it checked or not.

The other option, i.e., CodeGuard, lets you take automated daily backups for your site. This, too, wouldn't be required. We will install tools for free later on, that will do the job for you.

Uncheck SiteLock Security Essential as well. We can install an alternative for free.

Once you've checked/unchecked, enter the payment details and click on Submit.

Step #5: Create Your Account

The following step is where you create a Bluehost account for yourself.

Ensure you save the credentials safely. You'll need this to log into your Bluehost hosting account from time to time.

Once that's done, you are ready to log into your account. Click go to log in.

This is your Bluehost login page. Use the credentials you just created and sign in.

Since this is a new hosting account, you'll be walked through some setup processes. It's pretty straightforward and is as easy as clicking next, next, and next. 🙂

Click on Create your website to proceed.

Bluehost has a fantastic setup wizard which will walk you through the entire step of creating a website.

While it is entirely your choice to go through the Bluehost setup process, I will choose to skip the various steps.

And the primary reason for it is, you miss out on the exact steps required to create a WordPress website.

Additionally, when left to Bluehost, some tools get installed by default. We are better off with a fresh installation where we decide what's required and what's not.

Click Skip this step to proceed.

In the next screen, you'll be asked to select the kind of site you are creating.

Totally your call, but I will skip this step again.

Next, Bluehost is trying to understand your level of expertise when it comes to building websites.

Click on Skip this step.

Bluehost now gives you the option of creating a WordPress site by yourself or by using the Bluehost Website Builder.

Going by my suggestions so far, you'd have guessed the next step by now.

Yes, click on Get started. Let's create a WordPress website without any website builder.

A few steps again can be skipped. You could fill in these details if you'd like to. But we can skip it for now. These can always be customized later.

Skip this step too.

You'll now be directed to a screen where you can select a website theme.

A theme is how your website looks. The colors, fonts, design, and layout are all part of your theme.

You needn't select one yet. We'll do this later. So, scroll down and skip this step too.

WordPress is now being installed.

Once the installation is complete, you'll be taken to your Bluehost dashboard.

Click Get Started on the popup window that shows up.

If you haven't opted for the domain privacy option during the registration process, you'll be prompted to pick it up now.

This is your call. If you've changed your mind and want to proceed with the purchase, you could do so. Else, select the No Charge option and close the window.

You'll now find yourself on the Bluehost dashboard. This is your Bluehost account page.

Take a while and run through the various links available on the left-hand side of your dashboard. Some of the options include My Sites, Marketplace, Email & Office, Domains, and so on.

For instance, if you want a new email ID for yourself under your new domain, you could create one by heading over to Email & Office.

Notice the Log into WordPress button on the top right-hand corner?

Click on the button.

Voila! You are now on your WordPress dashboard.

Pat yourself on the back! You've just accomplished a significant feat.

You've purchased a domain and hosting, installed WordPress, and are all set to build your website and start a blog.

Awesome! Let's move on.

Step #6: Domain Confirmation

Before we get into how to start a blog, there's one last critical step to complete.

If you check your email, you should have received a mail from Bluehost with the subject 'WHOIS Verification for itsabloggerslife.com. Action Required'.

Of course, the domain will be different for you.

Now, you must verify your email within 14 days. Else, the domain you just booked will get deactivated.

Once that's complete, you'll be notified of the successful verification of your domain.

How to Start a Blog: Step #4. Learn WordPress

So, we've installed WordPress. Before we go ahead and start creating our blog, there are a few housekeeping activities to complete.

Also, if you are new to WordPress, it would help to understand your WordPress dashboard.

By default, you may be on the Bluehost tab. On the left-hand side navigation, click on Dashboard.

Now, your dashboard may vary from what you see here. Based on the hosting you've gone with, this may vary slightly. That being said, it may be a slight variation.

Before exploring the various links on the left-hand side, head over to Plugins > Installed Plugins.

You'll notice several notifications, such as the ones shown in the image below.

Leave them as it is currently. We'll get rid of all the unwanted ones soon enough.

Scroll down to see a list of the installed plugins.

WordPress plugins help you enhance the functionality of a website. For instance, if you want to convert your website into an online store, you can install a plugin called WooCommerce.

Similarly, there is a plugin for just about any functionality or feature you want to include on your website.

Since we installed our WordPress website using Bluehost, many plugins have been installed that we do not require. And that's what I meant by carrying out some housekeeping activities.

Let's remove all the plugins that are currently installed.

Check on the box next to Plugin.

Then, under Bulk actions, select Deactivate and then click Apply.

You'll notice all the plugins will get deactivated.

Once that's done, recheck the box next to Plugin.

Then select Delete under the same Bulk actions dropdown.

And click Apply.

All the plugins would be deleted, and so does the number of links on your left-hand navigation menu.

Once we are done with the plugins, let's do the same with the themes.

Head over to Appearance > Themes.

Considering we are in 2021, the default WordPress theme that's selected is Twenty Twenty One. You'll also notice some additional themes present. We really don't need them.

So, let's click on one of them.

For instance, let's click on the Twenty Twenty theme.

Then click on Delete at the bottom right-hand corner.

You'll be prompted if you'd like to go ahead and delete the theme. Click Ok to proceed.

Similarly, delete all the other themes, except for the active one, which in our case is the Twenty Twenty One WordPress theme.

You'll now be left with only the Twenty Twenty One WordPress theme, as shown below.

Now, let's do the same with pages. Head over to Pages > All Pages on the left-hand navigation.

By default, you should have two pages, i.e., the Privacy Policy and Sample Page.

Check the box next to Title and select Move to Trash from the Bulk actions dropdown.

Then click on Apply. This deletes the two pages and dumps them into Trash.

Click on the Trash link and then click on Empty Trash.

Now, head over to Posts > All Posts.

You'll notice there's a default post titled 'Hello word!'.

Follow the same steps we carried out to delete the pages here as well.

Once you've done that, we have a completely clean slate.

We don't have any plugins, themes (except the default 2021 theme), pages, and posts.

This allows us to install only what we require for our website/blog.

One final section to cover is the WordPress Settings.

Head over to Settings on the left-hand side of your navigation menu.

Remember, during the setup process, Bluehost asked us some questions regarding the website. You know, the site title, tagline, and more.

Well, you can have those details filled in here.

Enter your site title and tagline.

For instance, I could have my site title as 'It's a Blogger's Life,' and the tagline could be 'Everything a Blogger Requires and Beyond!'

I know it's not the best, but it should do for now. I can always have it changed later on.

Most of the other details stay the same.

However, it would help if you had the Timezone changed. This is particularly useful when you want to generate reports or schedule emails or blog posts at your local time.

So, go ahead and select an appropriate time zone.

Also, you can have the date and time format changed. This is purely a personal preference and is how the date and time will be shown on the front end of your website if you choose to show it.

Once you are done, click on Save Changes.

If you check the front end of your website, you'll notice the site title and tagline you've just entered reflecting across the site.

It's recommended that you go through all the options under Settings, such as Writing, Reading, Discussion, Media, and more.

Next, click on Permalinks.

By default, you'll notice that the option Plain is selected.

Again, while this is a personal choice, it's recommended that you select the Post name option.

By selecting the Post name option, you will be displaying search-engine-friendly URLs for all your posts.

For instance, if you've created a blog post, 'How to Start a Blog,' by having the default Plain option selected, your post URL will be https://itsabloggerslife.com/?p=123.

The 'p=123' is the page/post ID. And honestly, it's not a very search-engine-friendly URL.

By opting for the 'Post name' option, your URL will now be https://itsabloggerslife.com/how-to-start-a-blog.

Which is way better, and not to mention, Google loves such URLs!

Once you are done making those changes, click Save Changes.

And that completes all our website settings. Over to the fun bit now!

How to Start a Blog: Step #5. Select a WordPress Theme

In this step, we will install a WordPress theme.

As mentioned earlier, a WordPress theme dictates the entire appearance of your website/blog. All these are part of your WordPress theme, from the colors, typography, the site layout, or even the hyperlink color.

One look at the WordPress themes repository, and you'll notice that there are well over 8800 free themes to choose from. Actually, it's 8922 free themes while I write this article.

There's a theme for just about any niche or industry that you are in.

That being said, how do you know which theme to go in for?

After all, a theme does impact your website speed. Which today is a critical factor that Google looks into while ranking your website on the search engine.

With a faster loading website, you enhance the user experience. Which, in turn, is appreciated by Google!

While narrowing down on your option, look for a theme that loads fast, is mobile friendly (mobile responsive), optimized for search engines, and one that can be easily customized.

Astra is one such theme that ticks all the boxes and is currently used in well over a million websites worldwide.

Astra is a very popular, lightweight, and free WordPress theme. The best bit of Astra is their extensive library of pre-built website templates that allow you to launch a website in a matter of minutes.

Simply import a template of your choice, customize it to suit your website requirements, and you should be good to go live. It's that simple!

Before we go ahead and install the theme, have a look at your website currently.

I'm guessing this is how it looks.

Now, let's go ahead and install the Astra theme.

Back to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance > Themes.

Click on Add New.

Astra should feature among the popular themes category. If it doesn't, use the search field provided and search for Astra.

Hover the cursor on the Astra theme and click on Install, as shown in the image above.

Once installed, click on the Activate button.

On successful activation, you will be directed to your themes page.

You'll notice Astra is added to the list of themes.

You could choose to delete the Twenty Twenty-One WordPress theme, as we did earlier, or leave it as it is.

Now, check how your website/blog looks in the front end.

Looks different, doesn't it?

Remember I mentioned that one of the best things about the Astra theme is its extensive library of professionally designed pre-built website templates?

Head over to the Astra Starter Templates.

You have several website templates to choose from.

Select a page builder of your choice, such as Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, or Gutenberg, and search for a niche/industry of your preference.

You'll be presented with a range of stunning website templates that you can import and use on your blog right away.

Ok, before we move any further.

What is a page builder? What is Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, or Gutenberg?

A page builder is a WordPress plugin that allows you to easily create, design, and manage pages and posts on your website/blog. Using a page builder, you can drag-and-drop elements, such as a text heading, images, videos, and a lot more, into your pages.

Like you have MS Word or Google Docs to create documents, page builders are editors required to create content pages for your website.

And Gutenberg is the default page editor for WordPress. More on this later.

Back to our templates.

While a majority of the templates are free, you do have some premium ones too. For now, the free ones should do just fine.

Let's go ahead and install a Starter Template for our blog.

Navigate to Appearance > Astra Options from your WordPress dashboard.

Click on Install Importer Plugin that appears on the right-hand side.

Upon activation, you'll be prompted to select a page builder of your choice.

Select Gutenberg.

You'll be presented with a range of website templates that are compatible with the Gutenberg page builder.

Most of the templates you see here are free. Some may have the premium tag to indicate that they are part of the Astra Pro version.

While it's your call to proceed with the Astra Pro version, the free templates should do just fine for now.

You can use the filters and the search option provided above to select a theme of your choice.

For instance, let's search for the keyword blog.

You'll notice several template options. Browse through the list and select one that matches your website requirements.

E.g., I've selected the Travel Blog template.

You'll notice the sample pages, such as home, blog, about, and destination. You also have a few options, such as Preview Site, Import Complete Site, and Import "Home" Template.

You get to see the button Import "Home" Template because the home template is selected. Select another template, such as the Blog, and the button changes to Import "Blog" Template.

This means that you can only import a specific page template if you don't want to import the entire site.

In our case, we'll go ahead and click on Import Complete Site.

You'll be prompted to answer a few questions.

This doesn't affect the website design process. So, go ahead and select the most appropriate option and click Next. Leave the Advanced Options as it is.

In the next step, you'll be asked to enter your name and email.

You could sign up for some exclusive offers and updates related to the Astra Starter Templates and the Astra theme.

You could have these filled and then click on Submit and Start Importing. If you'd not like to receive the updates, simply click on Skip.

Your import process will begin, and you'll be prompted on successful completion.

Either refresh your browser or click on View Site.

How does your blog look? How long did it take? Didn't I say this was easy!

Your blog is officially ready. All you've to do now is customize the various elements and add your personal touch. You know, your logo, the actual text, colors, images, and so on.

Easier than you imagined, right?

How to Start a Blog: Step #6. Must-Have WordPress Plugins

We now have our blog up and running. Yes, we've got to add the actual content.

Before we go ahead and start a blog, let's install a few WordPress plugins.

Like I mentioned earlier, a plugin is a software that can be added to your WordPress website to enhance its functionality.

A popular saying that goes around in the WordPress community is that there's a plugin for just about anything you want. And it is true!

Want to convert your website into a membership site? There's MemberPress.

Want to turn your website into an online store? There's WooCommerce.

Want to convert your site into an eLearning platform? There's LearnDash.

You get the point! There's a plugin for just about anything.

While you can always install a plugin at any point during your online journey, there are a few that's a must-have for any WordPress site.

When it comes to managing your website, you'd agree that the top priorities would be carrying out regular backups, ensuring your website is secure, your website's SEO (to rank your website better in search engines), and tracking the website traffic.

Here's a list of some of the plugins we should install.

• For backups: UpdraftPlus
• For security: Wordfence
• For SEO: Rank Math
• For website traffic: Google Search Console & Google Analytics

Now, the ones listed above are those that I use and highly recommend. There are several other plugins too available.

There are 59320 plugins currently available in the WordPress ecosystem.

How do you know which one to go for and which ones to avoid with so many plugins?

A general rule of thumb is to look for a plugin that has been installed a lot, has excellent ratings (preferably 5-star ratings), has been updated regularly, is compatible with your WordPress version, and has excellent reviews.

For instance, let's look at the plugin we mentioned for backups, i.e., UpdraftPlus.

Notice the boxes on the right with the various details? It's been installed on 3+ million websites, is compatible with WordPress, updated recently, and has a lot of 5-star ratings.

Ticks all our boxes? It surely does!

Let's now go ahead and start installing our plugins.

We'll begin by installing our website backup plugin, i.e., UpdraftPlus.

On your WordPress dashboard, head over to Plugins > Add New.

Search for UpdraftPlus in the search field provided.

While we are at it, just in case you are not aware of which plugin to go with, simply search for what you are looking for.

For instance, if you are looking for a backup plugin, just type backup in the search field.

This will list out the several backup plugins available. You can then evaluate the plugin using the prerequisites mentioned earlier, i.e., number of installations, reviews, ratings, and so on.

Ok, back to our UpdraftPlus installation.

Among the various options that are displayed, select the one that has 3+ million installations.

Click on Install Now and then click on Activate.

Once activated, you'll be taken to the Installed Plugins page.

You'll now need to complete a few UpdraftPlus settings. Click on Press here to start!

The instructions you see are pretty straightforward. It also walks you through on how to back up your website, how frequently you can do so, where to store your backup, and so on.

Finally, it even prompts you to go ahead with the premium version. Which you needn't, at least for now.

Go ahead and complete the setup process.

Once that's done, go ahead and install the other plugins, i.e.,

Wordfence

Rank Math

Google Search Console

Google Analytics

Follow the same procedure explained earlier. Click on Install Now and then Activate.

Each of them will have its settings, which are pretty straightforward.

You will need your Google account to complete the sign-in requirements with Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

While these are the must-have plugins, here are a few more that you can go ahead and install.

Smush

Adding images to your content only enhances the user experience. It just breaks the monotony created by having blocks of content across your page.

However, having heavy images can negatively impact your page speed.

In a day and age when Google penalizes websites for being slow (which affects user experience), you wouldn't want your website to load slow.

By installing the Smush plugin, you get to compress the images on your website. It even helps in the lazy loading of the pictures. Lazy loading is when the image loads only when you reach the part of the content where the image exists.

Pretty Links

Pretty Links is handy when we start Affiliate Marketing.

To give you a rough idea, Pretty Links help you to cloak URLs.

Let's say you have a URL such as https://www.amazon.in/deal/e4c7adfd?showVariations=true&smid=A14CZOWI0VEHLG&pf_rd_r=XGC6FH69GVFTYBWXW665&pf_rd_p=f690369a-7bb4-48bb-9349-f68a447ef06d&pd_rd_r=b0aa70c3-ec49-4aaf-a212-c205ebdf565d&pd_rd_w=A49lz&pd_rd_wg=FE1uu&ref_=pd_gw_unk

Yeah! That's a pretty long one. It's a link for laptops on Amazon.

What if you could shorten the URL and use your domain name as well? Instead of the really long one above, what if the URL was https://itsabloggerslife.com/amazonlaptops?

Way better, isn't it?

And when someone clicks on your URL, it gets redirected to the Amazon link.

This is precisely what Pretty Link does. And something we will need going forward.

Now that we are done installing the required plugins, let's jump into our next step. Let's start a blog!

How to Start a Blog: Step #7. Create A Blog Post (Keyword Research)

Creating a blog post is relatively straightforward. It really is!

Head over to Posts > Add New from your WordPress dashboard.

Add the title, content, images, and once you are done, hit that Publish button.

Your post is ready and live!

But is it really that easy? Simple answer, no!

While the actual process of creating a post is simple, there's a lot that goes into creating the ideal blog post.

When you start a blog, the idea is to create something that is of value to your readers. Something that will genuinely solve a problem.

For instance, am I helping you start a blog with this article? Is it solving the problem of how to start a blog? Is it giving you the confidence to start a blog?

If it does, I am hoping this will help several others too.

However, creating an article just for the sake of creating one doesn't solve the purpose. It's got to be so good that your audience needn't refer to another piece of content online.

It's also got to be an article that several people are searching for. After all, what's the purpose of creating an article if there's not going to be any eyeballs on it.

That's why it is essential to carry out what is called keyword research.

What is Keyword Research?

Keyword research is a process using which you get to know the popular search terms that people type out in search engines such as Google to find answers to their queries.

E.g., in the image below, 'what is a blog' is a search term.

And so are the several other search terms displayed.

Those are referred to as auto-suggestions. It's how Google tells us what the other popular search terms are, which people are searching.

Type any search term, and you'll get to see many terms being suggested by Google.

Here's another example. The search term is 'vegan recipes for,' and you get to see a list of auto-suggestions from Google.

Let's go with the search term 'vegan recipes for weight loss.' You'll see several results for it.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and you'll notice several related searches too.

If you are ever considering what topics to write an article on, here's one way to get blog topic ideas.

• Vegan recipes to lose belly fat
• Indian vegan recipes for weight loss
• Low-calorie vegan recipes for weight loss
• Plant-based recipes for weight loss
• Six vegetarian recipes for weight loss

Aren't all these great ideas for a blog post?

These search terms also called keywords, are what we have to research and create blog posts on. Google suggesting these keywords are already an indication that these are popular ones.

But, the question remains, how popular are these keywords? How do we know the exact number of people searching for such keywords?

For instance, let's consider the keyword 'Vegan recipes to lose belly fat.'

How many people would be searching for a similar keyword? Any ideas?

That's where keyword research tools come into play.

There are several tools in the market. While most of them are paid, a few offer you a few free daily usages. One such is Ubersuggest.

Ubersuggest allows you 2 out of 3 free daily searches. You can also avail of a 7-day free trial.

Once you are on Ubersuggest, type out the keyword 'Vegan recipes to lose belly fat.'

You could change the country based on your location. This will help you understand how many people are searching for the keyword from your country. I will leave it to its default value.

Click Search.

Let's take some time to understand the various metrics that are displayed.

To begin with, the average monthly search volume is 210, which means that on average, about 210 people are searching for that exact keyword phrase every month.

The SEO difficulty is 63, and the paid difficulty is 66.

This means that there's a fair amount of competition for this keyword, making it a little hard to show up on search engines, whether it's via optimizing your content or running paid ads.

Typically, I'd like to categorize SEO difficulty into four categories. 0 – 10 as easy, 10 – 30 as medium, 30 – 70 as hard, and 70 to 100 as really hard.

With an easy SEO score or a search difficulty score, you can rank your articles on the search engine within 4 to 6 months.

The medium and hard ones can take anywhere from 6 to 8 onwards.

As for the really hard ones, well, it takes well over a year.

Each of these will also require you to work on getting some quality referral links (also called backlinks) back to your website.

By quality links, I mean links from non-spammy websites.

When you get backlinks from credible websites, it signals to Google, indicating that your website and content are of value, and you earn some brownie points with Google.

Which eventually pushes you up in the search rankings.

The report also helps you with a few more metrics. Scroll down to get additional keyword ideas.

Here's a tip for all those starting with your blog. Target medium and long-tail keywords!

What's that, you may ask?

Keywords are of three types, short tail, medium tail, and long tail.

Short tail keywords typically have up to two words, e.g., low-calorie vegan recipes.

Medium tail keywords have between three and four words, e.g., low-calorie vegan recipes.

Long-tail keywords have more than four words, e.g., low-calorie vegan recipes for weight loss.

The reason why I recommend going with long-tail keywords, to begin with, is simple.

Let's go back to Ubersuggest and look at the search volumes for the above three keywords.

As you can see, the monthly search volume for the short tail keyword, i.e., 'vegan recipes,' is 74,000. That's a lot. The SEO difficulty is also high at 74, which falls in our really hard category.

Let's now check the search volume for our medium-tail keyword.

'Low-calorie vegan recipes' has a search volume of 1000 and an SEO difficulty of 50. That's medium and very much doable.

And as for our long-tail keyword, the search volume is low at 70, and the SEO difficulty is less than 50.

As you can see, while the search volume is not as high as the short tail keyword, the SEO difficulty for both medium and long-tail keywords are lower.

If you aren't Amazon or eBay, with high domain authority and with hundreds of employees working on getting backlinks, you should target the keywords that have an SEO difficulty of less than 50. Even better, identify keywords with an SEO difficulty less than 20.

Also, you've got to look at search intent.

Someone searching for vegan recipes is not necessarily looking for vegan recipes for weight loss. By targeting those medium and long-tail keywords, you are playing on a field with less competition and getting targeted traffic to your website.

In addition to Ubersuggest's keyword ideas, another feature that you'd love is to keep track of your competitors' backlinks and what's working for them and what's not.

For instance, considering I am in the digital marketing and blogging space, I'd like to know what my competitors or the big players in the market are doing right.

Let's take the example of Neil Patel. I'll use his own tool (Ubersuggest) to spy on his content, keywords, backlinks, and more.

Don't get overwhelmed by these numbers. These are superhuman numbers! 🙂

The point is, this tool helps understand where your competitors are getting the backlinks from and for which article. And if you manage to write an article better than your competitor, you could reach out to the website and request a backlink too.

You'd admit that using a keyword research tool such as Ubersuggest gives you a whole lot of data that you can make use of.

Like I mentioned early on, if you are serious about blogging, you'll need to invest in some tools.

Ubersuggest or other keyword research tools, such as SEMRush, Ahrefs, Keyword.io, and more, are some that you can indeed consider.

So, long story short, how do you start a blog?

• Start with the keyword research
• Identify those medium and long-tail keywords
• Come up with blog topics based on those keywords
• Create your content
• Add images
• Spellcheck your content
• Come up with a catchy headline
• Publish

Simple, isn't it? You'll get the hang of it! We'll cover the how when we get into content writing.

How to Start a Blog: Step #8. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

One reason blogging takes time to yield results is that we need substantial traffic on our blog.

With more traffic coming to your blog, you see more engagements, capture leads, and get prospects into your ecosystem. By nurturing your leads, you can increase conversions.

How? We'll get to that later. For now, let's understand how to increase traffic.

While we will be covering the different ways to generate traffic, one of the best ways is by ensuring your blog shows up on search engines, such as Google.

You do that by optimizing your content for search engines. And the process of optimizing your content is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of appearing on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page) for relevant keyword searches.

E.g., if you are in the Digital Marketing niche, it doesn't make sense for you to appear on the SERP for a search query on Health & Fitness.

Hence, showing up on the SERP for relevant keywords is essential.

It doesn't take much effort to rank a website on, let's say, the 20th or 30th page of the search engine.

However, getting your website from the 30th page to the 1st page, and better still, to the top rank, does take some effort, strategies, and process.

This entire process is called search engine optimization (SEO).

SEO as a topic is relatively straightforward. But it does involve following specific strategies and, above all, dedication.

While I will cover the basics here for you to succeed in blogging, if you want to learn SEO, you could consider taking up my course on SEO for Beginners listed on Udemy.

Did you know that there are more than 200 ranking factors that search engines rely on?

The good news is that you needn't know all the 200 ranking factors.

You can categorize them into three major factors,

On-page SEO

As the name suggests, these are factors that relate to what exists on your page. These include your title, headings, alt-text, inbound and outbound links, and so on.

Off-page SEO

These are factors that occur outside your website. These include backlinks and social shares.

Technical SEO

This can be classified as being part of on-page SEO. It includes creating a sitemap.xml, proper URL structures, having the correct redirects, and more.

(Source: WordStream)

While it is essential to understand how Google (and search engines) work, I wouldn't want to get into the technical bit by explaining what crawling, indexing, and ranking is.

All I'd like you to say is that Google wants to provide its users with the best user experience by offering the best piece of content out there.

Create content that's so good that it helps your audience. Go over and beyond yourself to create an EPIC article that solves all the problems your audience is facing.

End of the day, if your content is the best piece of information out there, for a particular 'keyword,' your page gets shown up on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

Period. It is as simple as that!

How to Optimize Your Content for Search Engines

Here are a few strategies to consider when you start a blog.

1. Identify your blog's target audience

Remember step 1 of how to start a blog? Select the perfect niche for your blog.

Well, while it does help you gain clarity on what you should start a blog on, it also helps search engines understand what your blog is all about.

And if you create EPIC content related to your niche, Google sees you as an authority on that particular niche.

For instance, let's say your blog is all about health and fitness. And you keep posting content related to your niche.

Soon you start posting content related to technology and gadgets on the same blog.

Now, what is your blog about? Who is your target audience? Is it those looking for tips and guides on health and fitness, or is it those interested in the latest gadgets?

Not only are you confusing your audience, but you are also confusing Google.

Hence, be sure of your niche and your target audience. It helps in more than one way!

2. Conduct keyword research

I can't but stress the importance of keyword research.

Every piece of content you create must have a keyword. Be it short, medium, or long tail. It's got to have one. Your content, too, has to have your keywords included. (we'll cover this soon!)

Like we've covered earlier, spend time researching and coming up with the right keywords.

3. Add relevant images and visuals

Pictures speak a thousand words. And not just that, it also breaks the monotony of having never-ending blocks of textual content.

Include images within your content. Ideally, have a picture every 200 to 300 words.

It enhances the user experience and gets your visitors to stay on your page longer. At least longer compared to when there's absolutely no image on your post.

Also, consider using infographics. You know, those long images with a lot of data in them.

Not only do those engage your audience big time, but you also get to promote them on other platforms such as Pinterest and Instagram, which only gets you more website traffic.

Creating an in-depth and resourceful infographic can also help you get a lot of backlinks.

Backlinks! And how does that happen?

Well, other bloggers and websites may want to include your infographic on their websites. When they have your image, they are bound to mention the source, which in this case, will be your website, earning you a backlink!

Here's a tip! While including images on your blog post, have only relevant photos.

You wouldn't want your text to talk about burgers and show the image of a pizza, would you? You get the point!

4. Hook your readers with a catchy headline

You may have crafted the best blog post. You may have covered everything a person wants to know about a topic, created infographics, added resourceful case studies, and a lot more.

But, how will anyone know the quality of your article if they don't get to read it?

That's where you need a catchy headline to capture the attention of your audience. It's also referred to as a hook. Create a great hook!

We'll cover some tools and resources to help you create some catchy headlines when we jump into our next step on content writing.

5. Include a Call-To-Action (CTA)

Website visitors are going to leave your website at some point. The idea is to have them on your page as long as you can and get them into taking some kind of action.

The action could be signing up for your newsletter, enrolling for a free course, signing up for a free webinar, and so on. It could also be as simple as filling up a contact form.

Whatever be the case, have an enticing and relevant call to action (CTA). This way, you can continue building a relationship with the customer even after they've left your site.

6. Focus on your reader

Your content has to be for the reader. Period!

If you are going to talk about yourself, it makes sense to have it on your blog's about page.

If a website visitor wants to connect with the person behind the blog, they'll head to the about page and read more.

That apart, your blog is about helping people. You are providing solutions to people's problems.

The more you focus on your readers, the better are the chances of your blog succeeding.

SEO Tips to Optimize Your Content

Following are some SEO tips that you could consider while creating your blog post.

Remember we installed an SEO plugin, Rank Math, early on?

Rank Math and several other SEO plugins, such as Yoast SEO, All in One Seo, make optimizing your content and website relatively straightforward.

They provide you with a checklist that you can follow effortlessly to ace your SEO game.

For instance, here's an article I wrote on 'What is WordPress? A Beginner's Guide'.

If you have installed Rank Math, you'll notice the Rank Math score indicator on the top right-hand corner of your page.

The idea is to have this score as close to 100 as possible.

And how do you achieve that? Well, it starts by entering your Focus Keyword.

The Focus Keyword is the keyword you've researched and the topic around which you'll create an article. As you type your keyword, Rank Math suggests several other keywords too.

Stick to the keyword you've decided on.

Once you've completed your article, you can run through the various checklists. These would be under the headings Basic SEO, Additional, Title Readability, and Content Readability.

Each of these tabs will indicate how well you've optimized your content for SEO.

For instance, the first tab, i.e., Basic SEO, will cover the basic aspects of your page.

Are you using the focus keyword in your page title? Is it used in your meta description and URL? Is it there within your content? How long is your content?

This way, you know what is done and what needs improvement.

Moving on, the Additional tab.

Again, the idea is to have all green ticks.

You'll notice in the image above, the Keyword Density is low and at 0.31.

What is Keyword Density?

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword appears on your web page. Typically, it is a percentage of the total number of words on a particular page. Keyword density helps search engines understand if a page is relevant to a specific keyword or phrase.

For instance, in the above example, my focus keyword was 'what is WordPress.'

This means that I would like my article to list on the search engines for the keyword (keyword phrase) 'what is WordPress.'

Now, just because my keyword density is low, I can't randomly stuff my article with a particular keyword phrase.

End of the day, the content you create has to make sense to your audience. And the keyword you select has to naturally and logically blend into your content.

So, while our effort is to ensure we score a 100/100 in the SEO score indicator, you can ignore a few red ticks to enhance the user experience.

The next tab is Title Readability. Again, the checklist indicates what's good and what needs further improvement.

Our final tab is for Content Readability.

You'll notice one of the errors is that a particular paragraph is long.

If you did realize, most of the paragraphs in this blog post are not more than two lines. I try to keep it short. Worst case scenario, into three lines.

User experience is of utmost importance. And no one likes huge blocks of text.

Break it up into one or two lines and get the message out.

So, to summarize here's a list of the SEO tips to consider while optimizing your blog post.

• Keyword research: Use long-tail keywords when you are starting. Also, ensure you haven't used the focus keyword in another blog post
• Keyword density: Use your focus keywords naturally and logically throughout your blog post. Do not keyword stuff
• Title and Meta Description: Include your focus keywords within your title and meta description. Your title and description has to be within 60 and 160 characters, respectively
• Have a great hook: Your headline has to be catchy
• Use headline tags: Headline tags are used to identify headings and subheadings. They range from H1 to H6. (will be covered in content writing)
• Include visuals: Use images within your content. Also, add alt text to your images that include your keywords (will be covered in content writing)
• Image Optimization: While maintaining quality, ensure your images are not heavy. Also, use relevant file names for your images
• Include keywords in your URL: Have short and user-friendly URLs that include your keywords
• Use internal and external links: Link your content to other articles within your domain (internal links) and outside resources too (external links)
• Create a cluster of related topics: For instance, if you are creating a post on how to start a blog, you can create related posts on top blog niches, best blogging platforms, how to create a blog post, and so on
• Update existing content: Creating new content is essential. However, updating your old posts for relevancy is equally, if not, more important. Your old posts may have data and information that's outdated. And Google wouldn't want its users to see outdated info
• Aim for E.A.T: E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Your content has to be the most helpful piece of an article out there. It has to help solve a problem for your audience. Here's an added incentive for creating high-quality content. Google loves high-quality content. It ranks sites creating such high-quality articles way higher on the search results page

Use the above tips, and you're sure to rank your content higher on Google.

How to Start a Blog: Step #9. Content Writing (Actual Steps)

While there's a lot to cover in SEO, I'm hoping the previous step and the SEO tips gave you a fair indication of how to go about optimizing your content for search engines.

Before we get into the how, here are a few stats to show you the importance of blogging and content writing.

• Today, blogs are among the primary three forms of media used in any content marketing strategy
• Nearly 90% of content marketers use blog posts in their content marketing strategy
• Search engine is the number one source of the traffic to blogs across all industries
• The top-performing articles in the marketing industry are over 5,700 words in length
• Compared to a shorter article, those that are more than 3,000 words get 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5x more backlinks
• Listicles get twice as many shares compared to other blog post formats
• 51% of companies say the most efficient tactic implemented is by updating old content
• 67% of companies use organic traffic to measure their content's success
• 70% of marketers are investing in content marketing actively

(Source: Hubspot)

While we are on this topic, notice that I've used data from another website (Source: Hubspot)? And I've linked to their website, which in this case is Hubspot. This is called a backlink.

So, when you create awesome content or data that others can use, you automatically get a backlink without reaching out to other websites and bloggers.

Back to our topic, content writing.

The above data shows you the importance of blogging and content writing.

Not only if you are planning on making a living out of blogging, but also if you are creating and maintaining a blog for your clients, blogging is a great career opportunity.

So, how do we create content? How do we ensure we have enough blog topics on which we can create content regularly?

We'll now put in all we've learned into coming up with blog topic ideas and creating optimized content for search engines. In short, create an ideal blog post.

Step 1: Keyword Research

It always begins with coming up with the right keywords to target.

While we have covered this to a certain extent earlier, there's no harm in having this covered again. This time, we'll go ahead and create an article around weight loss tips for men.

You know the drill. Head over to Ubersuggest and search for the term 'weight loss tips for men.'

The monthly search volume is 720. However, the SEO difficulty is 68.

Ideally, look for an SEO difficulty of less than 50, especially when you start a blog. However, for this example, let's go ahead with this keyword.

Now, scroll down where you see a bunch of keyword idea suggestions.

For additional keyword ideas, you could even click on the View All Keyword Ideas button.

List out about 15 to 20 such keywords.

E.g., I've listed about ten keyword ideas below.

• weight loss tips for men
• how can a man lose weight fast
• how to lose weight guy
• how to lose weight fast guys
• losing weight tips for guys
• weight loss tips for menopause
• weight loss tips men's health
• men's health how to lose weight
• best weight loss tips for men's health
• how can males lose weight fast

These, as you'd know, are keywords searched by users.

Step 2: Check Competition

Now, search for your keyword on Google.

What you see are the best-performing articles on Google for the keyword that you are targeting.

While you should NEVER copy the content, you can always get ideas and inspiration on the topics that you can cover within your original content.

Also, look at the headlines they've created.

You'll also notice that despite having 50 ways to accelerate weight loss, they still rank number three on the search results page. The two results above have 30 and 14 weight loss tips.

So, they'd have some excellent content that's resonating with the audience.

Let's go with the first article, to begin with.

You'll notice that this article has 30 easy-to-follow tips that are concise and to the point. Look at the various topics they've covered within this article.

Let's look at the second article now.

You'll notice that this article too has similar points covered. The only thing is that this article has a lot more visuals and images.

Similarly, look at the top 4 to 5 articles to understand that they are doing right when creating a blog post that lists high on Google.

Step 3: Create an Outline

So, you've got your keyword and checked out the competition. It's now time to create an outline of your blog post.

This step is essential because it gives you an idea of the topics you'll cover in your post. And once you do have this outline ready, creating content will be a whole lot easy.

Let's say you researched several blog posts and finally came up with the following outline.

• Introduction
• Table of Content
• XX Ways to Accelerate Your Weight Loss (where XX is the number you decide)
  • Eat more protein
  • Drink enough water
  • Hit the gym
  • Be mindful of those calories
  • Calculate your BMI
  • Get 8 hours of sleep
  • Eat slowly
  • Eat your greens
  • Don't skip your breakfast
  • Lift weights
  • Try HIIT
  • Include full-body exercises
  • Have an accountability partner
• Summary/ Conclusion

You'll notice that many of the topics are what's common in most of the top-performing articles.

Use these as inspiration and include your own spin while creating original articles.

Every blogger has their own tone. And your audience will be more accustomed to your way of writing and explaining a topic.

So, once you've got your outline ready, it's time to create the actual content.

Step 4: Create Content

Now comes the actual writing process.

Considering you have an outline, isn't it easier to come up with a blog post?

While writing your content, it's essential to include the various keywords we discovered during the research process. Of course, don't keyword stuff. Have them included more naturally.

A frequently asked question is, how many words should we write? And the most straightforward answer to this is, look at your competitors.

If your top ranking competitors have written 3000 words, aim for more. Maybe 3500!

If they've listed 20 tips, then you should list even more.

The idea is to be better than those performing well on the search results page.

As far as the content is concerned, the more topics and sub-topics you have, the easier it is to come up with a 3000+ article. I'll show you how!

Let's say you have 30 tips (sub-topics) that you are listing.

Would it be tough to write 100 to 150 words for each sub-topic? I guess not!

Even if you did 100, that's 3000 words for 30 tips. Along with your introduction and conclusion, you're looking at about a 3200 to 3300 worded article.

Guess how many words is this article on how to start a blog? It's well over 25,000! Yup!

I didn't realize it till I completed the article.

Did I feel I wrote a lot? I'd be lying if I said no.

But the truth is, the words came effortlessly.

And that's because it's on a topic that I'm passionate about.

Ask me to write on weight loss, and I'll be staring at a blank screen. Ok, maybe not entirely blank, but you get the point.

When you do write content for your blog, follow the AIDA formula.

(Source: HubSpot)

Start with a headline (Awareness / Attention)

This has to include your keyword. Use tools such as Headline Analyzer to come up with the best version of your headline.

Have an Intro (Interest)

Your introduction has to have the what, why, and how of the entire article. What is the problem you are addressing? Why does the problem exist? And how to solve the problem, i.e., the solution.

Address the problem & offer the solution (Desire #1)

Your audience has clicked on your content because you have struck a chord with them. Hence, address the problem, and offer the solution for it. A quick list of how-to or listicles would be great at this stage. It helps hook your audience to read further.

An In-depth Solution (Desire #2)

Then go on and create an article that addresses all the queries your audience has. Ensure your article is worthy of being shared around. List the 'how-to,' the 'top XX reasons or solutions,' the 'best options around,' and more.

Conclusion (Action)

Decide on a CTA – Call To Action. Are you going to direct your audience to another article, product, or service? Or are you going to get them to subscribe to your newsletter?

Getting the proper content structure can take time. What works for some topics may not necessarily work for some others.

But, you'll surely get the hang of it. As the saying goes, practice makes you perfect!

Have a content calendar in place and create content regularly. One of the secrets of building a successful online business is being consistent with your content creation.

How to Start a Blog: Step #10. Create a Landing Page & a Lead Magnet

Let's recap.

So far,

• We've decided on our niche
• Picked up a domain and hosting
• Installed WordPress
• Got a nice-looking WordPress theme installed
• Installed all the required WordPress plugins
• Learned how to keyword research
• Understood the basics of SEO
• Basics of content writing and how to get topic ideas

In short, we are ready to start a blog.

All we need to do now is get busy publishing content regularly.

While we are on the topic of content creation, you must publish content consistently. At least when you begin, try to have a blog post published every day. That's right, every day!

If you can follow this for the first 90 days, you should start seeing some results in terms of traffic.

Alright, moving on.

We'll now cover some of those additional must-haves to run a successful blog. Some would be necessary, while some can be optional.

One such optional yet highly effective marketing tool is a lead magnet.

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a popular marketing tool used to capture the contact details of prospective customers. Examples of lead magnets include a free ebook, trial subscription, case studies, white papers, free consultation, free webinars, and so on.

(Source: ConvertKit)

A lead magnet is a very popularly used marketing strategy when it comes to building your email list. And the fastest way to create an email list is by offering free content.

You can always place ADs too. That's if you are ready to invest in ADs. The other alternative is to offer free content of the utmost value.

By content, I mean blog articles, courses, ebooks, software, training, images, videos, and more.

For instance, I offered my WordPress for Beginners course on Udemy entirely free for three days. This helped me build an email list of close to 8500 students.

That's right, in just three days!

Yes, I did promote it on various platforms. But do you think I would have gotten the kind of registration if the course was not free? I don't think so!

So, when it comes to building an email list, consider creating a free lead magnet.

And just because the lead magnet is being offered free doesn't mean you should be creating something below par.

​​What makes a great lead magnet?

Create a lead magnet that's so good that your audience will look forward to receiving future communication from you and continue being a part of your mailing list.

Here are a few pointers to consider while creating an irresistible lead magnet.

• Solves a problem: Your lead magnet has to solve a problem. If it doesn't, then the chances are that your prospect may not want it. Additionally, ensure your lead magnet addresses the issue and its solution right upfront. In the day and age of instant gratification, it helps address the topic under consideration right upfront
• Be super specific: The last thing you want is to have a customer signing up for your free lead magnet and receiving information on a topic that's nowhere close to what they signed up for. This is a complete no-no and ends up with your customer leaving for good more often than not. Ensure you have relevant and specific information sent
• Easy to digest: Do you know why checklists and cheat sheets do really well as lead magnets? Because they are quick and easy to digest, compared to the never-ending pages of an ebook or case study. While ebooks and case studies do really well, including a concise version, such as checklists and cheat sheets, can provide an easy to digest information for your customers
• Be an authority: Create a lead magnet that is not only of high value but also displays your expertise in the particular niche. By offering content consistently that is of immense value and solution to a problem, you will get recognized as an authority. Which, in turn, opens several opportunities for you
• Instant access: Ensure your lead magnet gets delivered right away. Remember, instant gratification! You wouldn't want your customers to wait for their free resources after filling in their details. Have it accessible right away!

If you can incorporate these qualities, you'd have nailed the perfect lead magnet.

Now that you know what it takes to make a good lead magnet, here are some examples of lead magnets that you can consider creating.

Audio Book	Calculator	Calendar
Case Studies	Checklist	Cheatsheet
Coupon	eBook	Educational Audio/Video
Email Course	Free Book + Shipping	Free Coaching Session
Free Consultation	Free Course	Free Shipping
Free Trial	Guide	Infographic
Membership Site	Newsletter	Plan/Planner
PDF Version	Printable	Quiz
Quotes	Recipes	Report
Resource List	Sample Audio/Video Clip	Sample Chapter
Spreadsheet	Survey	Swipe File
Template	Toolkit	Tutorial
Web App	Webinar	Worksheet/Workbook

Some of the most accessible lead magnets to create are ebooks, checklists, case studies, printables, planners, and any PDF versions.

And there are several tools to help you create one. One such free tool that I use is Canva.

Canva is a free graphic designing platform used to create logos, brochures, social media posts, flyers, ebooks, presentations, posters, and just about any visual content.

Canva comes with professionally designed templates that can be used, irrespective of the niche and industry. While the platform is free to use, there is a paid subscription too.

Considering the HUGE bump in features, premium templates, and images that you get your hands on, I'd recommend you go ahead with Canva Pro.

Another tool that you could consider for creating ebooks is Designrr.

You can transform your blog, videos, and even podcasts into eBooks.

However, Designrr doesn't have a free version. So, if you'd like to start free, go with Canva!

If you want to keep things really simple, you can opt for MS Office, Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Slides.

Once you've created an article on Google Docs or a checklist on Spreadsheet, save it as a PDF file. And voila, your ebook/PDF version is ready!

Now that your lead magnet is ready, you've got to promote it. You can have it as a popup or even display it on your website's side navigation.

Considering you've created a lead magnet of immense value, you can even go ahead and run some ads promoting it.

And something that you'll need to promote your lead magnet is a landing page.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is a standalone web page with the sole purpose of promoting the product or service on that particular page. A landing page is also referred to as a lead capture page, squeeze page, or even a sales page in the online marketing space.

You'd agree that most websites have a lot going on. Understandably, there'll be a lot of products and services mentioned on a website.

And unless you've planned your website content strategically, your visitors could get lost and overwhelmed.

And that's where landing pages come in.

Landing page talks of only one product or service. It highlights everything you need to know about that product or service.

From the features and benefits to product images, testimonials, social proof, and pricing, it's all mentioned on your landing page.

This helps you promote your offer without any unwanted distractions.

Here are a few examples of landing pages.

(Source: Leadpages)

You can create a landing page right within your WordPress dashboard on your own. It is as simple as creating a page (Pages > Add New if using WordPress).

However, there are a few key ingredients to creating a perfect landing page.

Key elements to crafting the perfect landing page

The Perfect Headline: We mentioned this before, and it's worth mentioning it again. You've got to have a catchy headline that hooks your audience and compels them into learning more about what you have to offer.

An Engaging Subheading: If your headline has managed to keep the audience on the page, it's time to address the pain point quickly and its solution. Use the subheading to provide a concise reason why you've got the best solution to solve the audience's problems.

Address the Pain Point: Next, address the pain point in detail, i.e., the problem your audience is facing. Considering they've landed on your page, you've already struck a chord with your audience. It's now up to you how you can retain them.

Solve the Problem: This is where you talk about your product and how it can address the problem your audience is facing. Talk about the features and, most importantly, mention the benefits of your product or service.

Include Visuals: Include product images, how-to videos, explanatory videos, and more that help the prospect decide.

Testimonials and Social Proof: Nothing sells like customer reviews and testimonials. Include genuine customer reviews, feedback, and social proof on your landing page.

Contact Details: Make it easy for your audience to get in touch with you. Either via email, chat, or even a support number. You'd be surprised how far you can build trust with your audience by just adding a contact number.

Include a Guarantee: Do you feel reassured when you see the word guarantee while making a purchase? I indeed do, and I'm guessing you do too. And in all probabilities, this has to be the case with your audience as well. By adding the word guarantee (money back, no spam, 100% genuine, and so on), you increase the chances of conversion.

Include a Powerful CTA: Finally, you've got to have a powerful call to action (CTA). After all, you do need the user to take action, right? Be it signing up for your newsletter, sharing their contact details, or even going ahead with the purchase. Your CTA has to close the deal!

No landing page is going to be perfect from the word go. You've got to test it and maybe even create different versions of your landing page and see which one works best.

This process of creating different versions and testing is also referred to as A/B Split Test.

In simple terms, the A/B Split Test is when you create different versions of a product, which in our case is the landing page. You have different versions on your headline, subheadline, description, buttons, CTA, and measure which one does better converting.

Once you get a clear picture based on actual data, you can continue using the landing page that performs best.

As I said, you can create a landing page on your own. However, if you'd like to use some tools, here are some that you can consider.

• ConvertKit
• Moosend
• GetResponse
• AWeber
• Leadpages
• Instapage
• Unbounce
• Convert Pro

Among several others.

And something that I personally use and highly recommend is ConvertKit.

ConvertKit is an email marketing tool that I swear by. Not only does it take care of all my email marketing, but you can also create landing pages, pop-ups, opt-in forms, and more.

One of the reasons I recommend using ConvertKit is that you already have an email marketing tool integrated with your landing page.

You needn't integrate an email marketing tool separately with your landing pages to capture email addresses and send emails on autopilot.

This takes us to the next important topic.

How to Start a Blog: Step #11. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a huge topic by itself. I wouldn't be doing justice by covering it here.

However, I'd like to cover one crucial aspect, which is lead nurturing.

What is lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is the process of building and maintaining relationships with your customers during every stage of a sales funnel. It's a process where you engage with prospective customers by providing relevant content and leading them through the buying process.

And more often than not, this entire process is done on autopilot.

Once the prospect gives us their email address in exchange for our free lead magnet, we can kickstart the nurturing process with a welcome email.

The welcome email can be followed by a series of automated emails, all relevant to the topic the prospect has signed up for.

This process of sending pre-planned automated emails is called a drip-email campaign.

For instance, consider this entire article on how to start a blog as a lead magnet.

I'd convert each of the steps mentioned in this article into individual chapters and have one mail sent daily. And all this on autopilot.

The frequency of the emails can be set from your end. It can be hourly, daily, weekly, or even monthly.

The idea is to ensure that you have mails sent out consistently, especially when starting a lead nurturing process.

Did you know that out of all the marketing channels available, be it social media, search engines, or even paid advertisements, email marketing delivers the highest ROI for marketers?

Email marketing is not just buying a database and blasting emails just before a product launch.

While each to their own, it may work for some.

However, the engagement you get with an audience you have been nurturing for a while is way more when compared to blasting emails to random addresses and databases.

Building a list indeed takes time. And is something that you should invest your time and energy in early on when you start a blog.

End of the day, there's nothing better than an engaged audience open to receiving your emails and communications.

Here's a step-by-step video tutorial on 'How to Create a Landing Page and Lead Magnet Using ConvertKit.'

In this video, I go ahead and

• create a lead magnet (ebook)
• create an ebook cover page using Canva
• create a landing page using Convertkit
• create a drip email marketing sequence using Convertkit
• create an automation sequence using Convertkit
• integrate the landing page on a WordPress Page

As mentioned, there's a lot more to email marketing. I've barely scratched the surface.

However, this is an essential aspect of email marketing that will surely help you build and nurture your email list. After all, my end goal is to help you start a blog and succeed!

How to Start a Blog: Step #12. How To Start Generating Traffic

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a million page views on our blog from the word go?

Well, it is possible. Only if you end up spending a LOT on ads! *wink*

As always, I'd like to keep things simple here.

How can you reach Google's first page?

Either through SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or SEM (Search Engine Marketing).

SEO, as we discussed, is a slow process, and it takes time.

On the other hand, SEM is when you place ads, again for relevant keywords, and you appear on page one immediately (well, as soon as your ad is approved).

Again, there's a lot of competition, and it depends on how much you are willing to spend.

So, what are the alternatives to generate traffic to your blog?

The critical element is to have patience. It takes time to build traffic organically (without ads).

That doesn't mean you just wait until traffic increases on your website. Daily, consistent work is what will lead to building massive traffic.

The truth is, many bloggers give up at this stage. And this is just the beginning, my friend!

You've done all the hard work of building a website, a blog, creating articles, creating landing pages, lead magnets, and honestly, this is when it all starts.

Let us go through some ways in which you can start generating traffic on your blog.

1. Enjoy the journey

What? Is this a strategy to increase traffic?

Well, indirectly, yes. You have to enjoy the process and journey involved in creating your blogs. It goes back to having a passion. If you are genuinely kicked by the fact that you are helping people (your audience) solve their problems, you will be churning out content like a machine. This then takes me to the next point.

2. Create More Content

When you are starting, my advice is, do not look at your Google Analytics or your website traffic, or any other analytics reports. Concentrate on only creating valuable content.

Do your keyword research, create epic articles, and create an article a day if you can.

Challenge yourself to create an article every day for the next 90 days. Announce to the world, maybe on your social media, about the challenge you've taken upon yourself.

This creates a sense of accountability and commitment to follow the challenge.

The more blog posts you create, the more traffic you will receive. Search engines start indexing sites with more content too.

3. Promote Socially

Social media has a lot of potential audiences for you.

As of 2021, Facebook alone has over 2.91 billion monthly active users making it the most extensive social network worldwide. Instagram is also projected to reach nearly 1.2 billion users by 2023.

Wouldn't you like to get a share of this enormous audience base?

While creating and maintaining accounts on all the social media platforms is overwhelming, you can succeed by mastering even one platform where your target audience is.

For instance, if you are in the travel, fashion, jewelry niche (which are more visual), you must consider platforms like Instagram, Pinterest & Facebook.

A platform like Linkedin may not necessarily work for such a niche.

So, it is one thing being on these platforms, and it is another to know which is the right platform.

Create a Social Media Content Calendar & post regularly. (Here's the link to the 365+ Days of Social Media Posts – Social Media Content Calendar)

4. Build Your Email List

Frankly, this should be the first source for generating traffic.

As the saying goes, "The Money Is In The List." True that!

Start building your email list. Email marketing, along with SEO, is your two most important channels to generate traffic.

Here's something to ponder over.

What happens if all the social media platforms suddenly shut down? What happens to all your connections and network? Gone, I presume!

Social media platforms can change algorithms occasionally. You do not have control over that.

What you have control over is your email list. It belongs to you.

When you nurture and build trust with your audience over a while, they consider you an authority and take your word. Of course, you've got to put your audience first.

5. Optimize New Content. Update Old Content

SEO is critical. We know that. And, it is a given that you must optimize your new content. It is one way that search engines will index your page.

In addition to creating new content and optimizing them, we miss out on updating old content. And I stand guilty of the same!

Your old content has been online for a while now. It has started generating some amount of traffic and has been indexed by search engines.

By keeping your old content up-to-date for relevance, you continue to help your audience with the latest information, which in turn tells search engines that your content is still relevant.

Which, in turn, helps boost your rankings on the search results page.

Blogging is a continuous process. Just because one article has been created doesn't mean it gets shelved for life.

Track the articles that are doing well in terms of traffic, revisit them, and update them.

6. Create Lead Magnets

I did show you earlier the number of registrations I received for my free course.

Create multiple lead magnets and landing pages. Have one for every product or service you are offering.

If you are starting and don't have a massive budget for ads, the easiest way to build your email list is to offer free content.

Create cheat sheets, checklists, ebooks, among many more (you know the list!).

Just remember to create a lead magnet that's of immense value.

7. Great Catchy Headlines

You may have the best content in your blog post. But, if the headline doesn't catch the attention of your audience, the chances are that they will miss out on your great content.

Spend time creating headlines. Use tools such as Headline Analyzer and come out with the best version of your headline.

8. Invite Guest Bloggers

As you keep creating content and blogs, you'll see a lot of new opportunities coming your way.

One such is bloggers approaching you to collaborate.

To begin, they'll want to create articles for you on your blog. This gives them a backlink and improves their domain authority.

If they've got a considerable audience base, they'll end up sharing the link to the blog post. Needless to say, this brings in a lot of traffic.

9. Invest in Paid Promotions

Finally, you can invest in paid promotions.

I left this for the last simply because all the above options can be started without any investment. The only investment you'll require for all the possibilities until now is your time.

As mentioned, SEO, email list building, social media promotions all take time. Anything over six months to start seeing results.

If you'd like to get your blog out there and generate traffic right away, consider investing in paid ads. After all, blogging is your business.

How to Start a Blog: Step #13. How to Start a Blog and Make Money

I guess you've been waiting for this bit! 🙂

How to start a blog and make money!

It's one thing to start a blog, and it's another actually to start making money from your blog.

Your blog (website) is your online business. It is your online representation. It works for you 24/7, 365 days a year.

Hence, you must work on your business daily to ensure your blog generates the leads, inquiries, and business, eventually translating into money.

Listed below are several options that you could consider. However, I recommend that you focus on a select few and be a master at them.

So, here goes the list… (listed alphabetically)

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is my personal favorite.

You earn a commission by selling other people's or company's products or services.

The most significant advantage of Affiliate Marketing is that you can start right away. Just sign-up for the merchant's affiliate program, get your unique affiliate links, and start promoting them.

Some products offer you up to 100% commissions too. Yup, that's right.

2. Consulting and Coaching

Offer one-to-one or group coaching and consulting.

Of course, you'll need to prove your credentials and authority in your selected niche. Keep churning out content (blogs, videos, podcasts) consistently on your blog and various other platforms, such as social media, youtube, and prove your expertise and authority in your niche.

You'll be surprised how many high-paying coaching and consulting engagements you land up with.

3. Content Writing

Content is king. And if you have an online presence, you'll surely want content for your website.

Irrespective of the niche you are in, there's plenty of writing jobs. Some industries pay really well, while some don't. End of the day, there's enough work to pay the bills and much more.

Not only does the content that you create on your blog help the audience solve their problems and help you get found on Google, but it also serves as your writing portfolio.

Offer content writing services, and you'll be flooded with a LOT of work.

4. Accept Sponsored Posts

As your blog starts getting noticed and the website traffic increases, you'll open up many opportunities. And one such is getting proposals for sponsored posts.

Sponsored posts are when someone (or a business) approaches you to create an article on a particular product or service. You are required to have the post published on your blog.

You'll also have to promote it to your email list, social media, and so on.

Consider sponsored posts to an advertorial.

You get paid to write and promote the post to your audience.

While this is a significant revenue stream, you'll need to be the best judge of whether this product or service will walk the talk that's being promised. After all, you are recommending it to your list.

5. Create a Membership Website

Another way to monetize your blog is by creating a members-only area.

You can offer free content and premium content on your blog. Your free content has to be like an appetizer. Just about enough to go in for the main course!

Which, in this case, is your premium content.

If you plan to create a membership site, you'll have to create and update content regularly.

It's only then that you can get monthly or yearly subscriptions from your readers.

A great tool you can use to create a community platform and membership site is buddyboss. It integrates seamlessly with your WordPress website.

6. Digital Products

Sell digital products on your blog.

These could be either affiliate products or your own products.

Examples of digital products are software, ebooks, themes, plugins, videos, PDFs, printables, among several others.

For inspiration, check out Etsy and Creative Fabrica.

7. Dropshipping

Want to start an online store without the headache of handling and shipping products? If so, start dropshipping.

In a typical online store, you'll have to take care of everything. From sourcing the products to maintaining inventory, invoicing, packing, delivery, handling refunds, and a lot more.

In dropshipping, it's all taken care of by the vendor. You sign up with a reliable vendor and pass on the inquiries to them. They fulfill the orders and have then shipped.

And the best bit is that you also get to decide on the selling price of the product.

While it does have its share of disadvantages, dropshipping is a trendy business model.

A WordPress plugin (paid though) to incorporate dropshipping into your website is AliDropShip.

8. ECommerce Business

Like dropshipping, if you would like to start a conventional online store and sell physical products, you could create one on your blog.

You could either sell selected products or even a single product.

E.g., sell t-shirts and merchandise products customized with your brand or famous quotes.

9. Ebooks

While this falls under digital products, creating eBooks can help you in more than one way.

Once you create an ebook, it's passive income for you as long as the content is relevant. Create multiple ebooks, and you've got yourself multiple streams of income.

You could also use your ebook as a lead magnet. Marketers use such lead magnets to capture customer details.

10. Be a Freelancer

Like I said, your blog is your representation online. It works for you, even when you are sleeping. Your blog is an indication of the kind of work and services you can offer.

The more content you churn out and provide value, the more trust you build with your audience.

You may be an architect, interior designer, astrologer, website developer, SEO expert, chartered accountant, coach, trainer, or even a chef. Offer your services.

Here's a pro-tip.

Offer a freebie to get the customer in. For instance, offer a free 15-minute consultation. Incorporate a calendar on your services page to book an appointment with you.

11. Google AdSense & Selling AD Spots on your Blog

When blogging started, Google Adsense and selling real estate on your website to display ADs were THE most popular options to monetize your blog.

While Google Adsense is still an option, both Google Adsense and selling AD spots on your website make sense only if you have a considerable amount of traffic on your site.

If you are running a news and sports blog, a city-based blog, or even a directory listing (classifieds, jobs, matrimony), you could consider including Google Adsense.

For selling AD spots, media houses will require your traffic report. So, do consider incorporating Google Analytics into your blog.

12. Online Courses

If you can teach and create an online course, this is one of the best ways to monetize your blog.

Online education is a HUGE billion-dollar industry, and this trend is not slowing down soon.

Once you create an online course, it is passive income for you. As long as you have the course updated and relevant, it will bring in revenue, even when you are sleeping or on vacation.

Some LMS (Learning Management System) tools you could consider integrating with your blog are Thinkific, Teachable, LearnWorlds, among others.

A WordPress plugin you could consider is LearnDash, LifterLMS, etc.

13. Website Flipping

Buy a domain, create a website, build traffic, generate sales, and sell it! 🙂

There is a huge market and buyers for websites that are performing. Of course, you need to show traffic and sales (income) that the website is generating.

If you are considering buying a ready-made, income-generating website, too, you could consider checking Human Proof Designs.

Ok then. Now that I've mentioned all the possible options for making money online from your blog, what have you decided? Which of the option(s) you would like to go ahead with?

From the above list, here is my personal suggestion and recommendation.

Go ahead with,

• Affiliate Marketing
• Sell Digital Products
• Create Online Course(s)
• Create and Sell EBooks
• Coaching and Consulting
• Be a Freelancer
• Content Writing
• Membership Site

You can go with either one or club all of the above and create an excellent ecosystem interlinking each of the monetizing strategies.

For instance,

• Create an ebook and offer it free of cost
• Create a landing page on your website. Include the ebook on this landing page. (Tools to create landing pages apart from your website are ConvertKit, Moosend, LeadPages, Instapage, Unbounce, etc.)
• In your eBook, include your unique affiliate links
• Promote the landing page. When the ebook is downloaded, you collect the email address (your lead). Use tools such as ConvertKit, Moosend, GetResponse, among others, to collect email addresses
• Now that you are building your email list, start nurturing your lead (client). Send across valuable content regularly. Build a relationship. All these should happen on autopilot
• The content (mail) you send must have a clear end goal. This could be to either sell a course, product, consultancy program, or even a paid webinar. Plan your drip email marketing sequence accordingly

The possibilities are endless!

All successful bloggers use combinations of the above methods to make money. After all, who doesn't like MSI (multiple streams of income)!

That being said, the key ingredient for all the options mentioned above to work is to build trust.

You must have an audience. Be it your email list, social media followers, or even your community. And the secret behind achieving this is to offer free valuable content initially.

How to Start a Blog: Step #14: Tips to Help You Run a Successful Blog

Do you know that there are 7.5 million blog posts published daily?

Do you think all blogs are successful? The simple answer is no!

Most bloggers give up too soon. They set high expectations in terms of traffic and engagement. And when reality doesn't meet expectations, the interest withers down!

Here are a few tips to help you succeed with your blog.

Tip #1: Be Patient. Set Realistic Goals

We all want our blog to be successful. I definitely do. And I am sure you too! *smile*

But it does take time. And this is why you have to be realistic when starting.

Do not get carried away by examples of successful bloggers out there. They've been grinding it for well over ten years to be where they are today.

Set realistic goals for yourself. Have a strategy in mind.

I'd say forget traffic for the first year. Focus only on creating excellent content that is optimized, resourceful, and of immense value that helps your audience.

Tip #2: Focus on your niche (address customer problems)

Have you heard of the Shiny Object Syndrome?

This is how Wikipedia defines it:

"Shiny object syndrome is the situation where people focus all attention on something new, current or trendy, yet drop this as soon as something new takes its place."

What it means is, you start on a path, and when you hit a roadblock, or things start getting tough, you see other opportunities and jump on that as well.

And this keeps happening until you finally give it all up.

Instead, take different paths but to achieve the same initial goal.

Your goal is to create the best blog out there to help solve the problems your potential customers have. And without taking a detour, get your focus on that goal and move along.

As another famous saying goes, "Everything will fall into place, you just gotta be patient and trust the process." *wink*

Tip #3: Use Catchy Headlines

Use tools such as Headline Analyzer.

We've covered this earlier, so I'm not going to bore you with a rerun. *wink*

Tip #4: Build More Engagements (through social networks)

Keep posting on social media consistently (preferably daily).

It is a slow process, but you'll see the engagements increasing with regular and consistent posting.

(Here's the link to the 365+ Days of Social Media Posts – Social Media Content Calendar)

Tip #5: Build A Personal Brand

Work on building your influence.

Build on your personal brand. Become an authority in your niche. This happens if you consistently churn out content. Blog articles, videos, images, and so on.

And yes, you must have a content calendar for this. (Here's the link to 365+ Days of Social Media Posts – Social Media Content Calendar)

Tip #6: Publish Consistently

I'd sound like a broken record now, but this really is the key to succeeding in blogging.

Consistently post quality articles that solve the problems of your audience.

Repurpose the article into creating other content forms, such as social media posts, infographics, videos, and more.

Tip #7: Start a Newsletter

Ideally, once a week.

Your newsletter must include the links to all your week's content in a concise format.

Slowly, you could sell ad spots on your newsletter too.

Tip #8: Start Collaborating (with other bloggers)

Whether creating guest posts, sharing content, or even teaming up on a webinar, collaborating with fellow bloggers in your niche goes a long way in building early momentum.

Tip #9: Give Importance to UI (Design of your blog)

Avoid cluttering your blog with unwanted pop-ups and blocks.

Have a very clean and straightforward page format. Include your CTA (call to action) in a few key areas, e.g., header, sidebar, within the content, footer.

Tip #10: Keep an eye on the statistics

Not advised when you are starting, but as your blog starts building and you see the traffic and engagements increasing, do keep an eye on your website analytics.

Identify the articles that are performing well and those that are not. Use the high-performing articles as a gateway to your other blog posts.

Tip #11: Proofread all your posts over and over again

I'm guessing no one likes reading a post that has a lot of typos and misspelled words.

Ensure you have your content proofread. Use tools such as Grammarly if required.

Here's a tip. Once you are done with your article, don't publish it right away. Sleepover it.

You'll be amazed at the number of edits you come across with a relaxed and fresh mind.

Tip #12: Optimize your blog (for page speed and responsiveness)

Your blog must be compatible across all devices (mobile, tablet, desktop, laptop).

While WordPress and your theme take care of this, it's worth having this checked before going live with your blog.

How to Start a Blog: Step #15: Mistakes to Avoid When Blogging

Now that we are done with the tips, let's look at some mistakes to avoid when you start a blog.

Most of these have been covered earlier, but it indeed is worth a mention.

1. Selecting a free blogging platform

As mentioned early on, please do not use the free platforms. Consider the cost as an investment into your blogging business. Invest in a domain, hosting, and install WordPress.

2. Not creating a mailing list

Start building your mailing list. 'The Money Is In The List' *smiles*

3. No clear goals and strategy

Clearly define your goal. And then, work backward and chalk out your strategy to achieve your goals. There's no point in creating content without a purpose.

Yes, we need our articles to get indexed and bring in search traffic, and yes, most importantly, solve people's problems.

But there has to be a clear content marketing strategy.

4. Ignoring Online Promotions

Be it free or paid, you must be out there.

I would like you to ingrain this into yourself that 'Blogging is Your Full-Time Business.' Your life depends on this! *smile*

And once you do believe this, I know you will go all out and put in the due effort to promote your business, make necessary investments in online promotions, etc.

Start with building your email list, work on your SEO, and slowly get into online promotions (FB, Google ADs).

5. Giving up too early

6. Not focussed on your niche

7. Expecting too much too soon

Have you Started a Blog?

If you've been considering starting an online business that can replace your day job, consider blogging. You can indeed make a living out of blogging.

That being said, you've got to treat your blog as a business.

A business where you put in the work consistently, invest in tools and resources, keep innovating, keep learning, and most importantly, one where you do not give up.

As you've seen in this article, it's pretty straightforward to start a blog. With the various tools and resources out there, you can build your platform in a matter of minutes.

It's all the finer details that take time. From identifying your niche to coming up with topic ideas, keyword research, SEO, content marketing, email marketing, and a lot more.

I hope this article has helped you get a clear idea of how to start a blog.

Over to you now. Have you started your blog? And did this article help you start a blog? Let me know in the comments below.

How To Start A Free Blog In South Africa

Source: https://learnhowtostartblog.com/start-a-blog/

Posted by: daleytherning.blogspot.com

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