Unless you’re living under a rock (and if you are, I applaud your out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to tackling the cost of living crisis), you’ve probably heard of blogging. Everyone seems to have a blog these days- your boss, your teacher, your neighbour, your son. It seems like a relatively simple thing to take on. We’re always hearing about these super-successful bloggers who make millions. What exactly is so lucrative about simply writing a personal blog?
The diluted answer is, it’s not as simple as that. Certainly, you can make a blog and write a few posts, but this alone will not bring in millions of dollars. There is a whole underground world of blogging secrets.
Studies show that only about 5% of bloggers make enough money to make blogging their full-time job and main- or only- source of income. This survey is somewhat outdated, but the statistics are still relevant now when there are so many blogs saturating the market. A small percentage of bloggers will make a living from their personal blogs. Could you be one of them?
Find your Niche
There are countless blogs out there. Beauty blogs, fitness blogs, recipe blogs, parenting blogs, interior design blogs, travel blogs, blogs about frogs wearing hats, and blogs about pretty much any topic you could possibly imagine. Unless you have something really unique to offer, something that almost nobody else has, it’s difficult to stand out in this oversaturated world.
It’s best to pick something where you won’t have too much competition. This is difficult to do in 2023 because almost every topic you could possibly blog about has been covered a thousand times over. You need to pick something you’re knowledgeable about and interested in, and you need to write about it in a way that nobody else is. Before you can monetize your blog you need an audience, and you can build an audience with consistent and quality content.
Promote your blog
Speaking of building an audience, potential readers won’t stumble across your blog by magic. Part of building an audience will involve SEO tactics and affiliate marketing. We’ll cover this more later.
You have to make readers flock to your blog the way seagulls flock to hot chips. One method is to use social media. Starting an Instagram or Twitter account related to your blog will help you find readers who will then find your blog- ideally linked in your bio. Pinterest is another tool.
You may decide to take up guest blogging, displaying your name and work on other websites and driving traffic to your blog.
Once you have readers, you don’t want to lose them. Build an email list and ask permission for any visitors to your blog to be added. Additionally, direct people from social media, SEO, and collaborations to your email list.
A vital aspect of growing your audience is tracking metrics. You can find what type of content drives up engagement the most, as well as discover your target demographic and what they want to see from your blog.
Optimise your blog
SEO (search engine optimisation) is a crucial part of blogging. It is the process of optimising your content for search engines. Creating and updating your blog and its content to improve your rankings on search engines will bring in more readers organically through search results.
One aspect of SEO is keyword research, which is improved by knowing your target demographic. Keyword research gives you insight into which keywords are best to target and what keywords will attract your target audience. Images and videos, too, may make your content more visible in search engine results.
Another crucial part of SEO is link building. Inbound links to your own content are great, but backlinks are essential too. Backlinks are highly valued by Google and other search engines. The more high-quality backlinks a page has, the higher it ranks. You can earn links organically by creating reputable and high-quality content that others want to link to. You can also speed things up and get high-quality backlinks using a link-building service. These backlinks will give your content more authority and weight, as well as massively improve your rankings.
Offer advertising services
Once you have a sturdy base of dedicated readers, you can use your platform for paid advertisements and sponsorships. This can mean either selling advertising space on your website or accepting sponsorships from brands who want you to promote their products to your audience.
Hosting ads on your website is one of the traditional ways bloggers make money. Make sure that they’re not annoying- your viewers will be turned off by a wave of ads that cover the content, especially if the ads are inappropriate. Keep them tucked away in the sidebar or have one that they can click away from. Google AdSense can connect you to advertisers who will pay you to host their ads. The income from this sort of advertising won’t be super high until you have substantial traffic.
You may be contacted by brands that relate to the content of your blog, or you may even reach out to brands you love and ask them to collaborate. Before you partner with a brand, make sure that it will not worsen your reputation. Go with ethical and well-liked brands that you truly trust. Your viewers won’t appreciate you leading them into a scam or convincing them to buy low-quality unethical products. This area of blogging can get a little dodgy if you don’t do it carefully. Be aware of advertising techniques and scams that will reflect poorly on you and your blog. You want to keep the positive reputation you’ve worked so hard to build.
Once you’ve built a positive reputation and dedicated audience, you may be sent products for free by businesses who hope that you will promote or review them in exchange for gifting you their products.
Expand your brand
You don’t have to stop at blogging. Readers who love your content will want to consume more of it, maybe even in different forms. You could take your humble blog from a website to a mini-empire.
Social media is a no-brainer for bloggers. You’ll gain a wider audience that includes people who prefer social media to blogs, and a wide following on social media could lead to more brand deals. Instagram and TikTok can be excellent money-makers. You can experiment with other kinds of content. Just make sure you stick to the brand your fans are used to.
YouTube is another thing to consider. Bloggers can make big bucks from YouTube videos, and this is yet another platform on which you can advertise brand deals. Podcasts are a similar form of media that can earn you a whole new audience.
Selling physical or digital products is a great idea, especially once you have dedicated readers who trust you and your recommendations. You can sell merchandise, books, Ebooks, E-courses, and more- and you can promote them on your blog, the way you promote other brands.
