There are numerous ways to make money online these days but not all of them are worth your time, effort and money. However, if you’re looking for an easy way to make money online, you’ve probably already considered blogging. Why? Because like many other online money-making opportunities, you can get started with literally nothing and can quickly begin generating income from a small audience. If you’re interested in trying out blogging for money, here are some tips on how to make the most of it.
Find Your Niche
One of the things that makes blogging so attractive is the variety of topics you can cover. You don’t have to stick to just one subject area; instead, you can cover a variety of subjects including news, politics, business, sports, technology, and more. Plus, you can do this from the comfort of your home. If you find that you’re particularly knowledgeable in a certain area, you can even become a professional in your field and charge for your advice and content.
The important thing to keep in mind here is that you can’t make money solely off clicks. Building up an audience and a following takes time and, in some cases, money. Once you do have a sizable audience, you can promote products and services that are relevant to your niche and make a decent amount of money without too much effort. So, don’t expect to be able to make money on a whim simply by starting a blog. You’re much better off taking your time to find a profitable niche and cultivating a following.
Pick Your Platform
Although there are numerous blogging platforms out there, we’ll discuss three that you can rely on to make money online. The first is WordPress.com. WordPress supports free blogs, and you can use the powerful publishing platform to create a blog in less than a day. Plus, you’ll find a generous amount of community support should you need it. WordPress.com also offers a money-back guarantee if you try it out for 30 days and aren’t completely satisfied.
The second platform we’ll discuss is Blogger.com. Like WordPress.com, Blogger.com also offers a wealth of free blogging resources, including templates, plugins, and tools to make creating your blog easier. While a bit more complex than WordPress.com, establishing a blog with Blogger.com is still relatively straightforward. Plus, if you do have trouble getting started, they’re also available for free counseling sessions from professional bloggers.
The third and final blogging platform we’ll discuss is Squarespace.com. Like Blogger.com, Squarespace is a blogging platform that’s fairly easy to use and set up. Once again, you’ll find a wealth of resources should you need them, and the platform offers a money-back guarantee if you try it out for a month. Squarespace is essentially owned by Google so it has all the perks of being a part of the Mountain View-based company. Plus, you can take advantage of Google’s massive marketing and SEO power to gain instant brand awareness and drive traffic to your site. All three of these platforms are free to use as long as you’re running an essential website (i.e. not a porn or gambling site). Otherwise, you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription fee.
Get a Professional-Looking Blog
Although you don’t need to have a professionally-looking blog to start making money with blogging, it certainly helps. After all, no one wants to read about your daily ramblings or mediocre photos of your children. To really make money online, you’ll want to invest in some high-quality, professional-looking equipment such as a camera and a laptop. With these items, you can greatly augment your income by recording high-quality videos about your travels, the activities of your children, or whatever else you might find interesting. Plus, you can use the equipment to record short video snippets to promote products or services that you’re passionate about.
Even better, you can use services like Bonjoro that match skilled photographers with clients who need high-quality, personal imagery. Thus, if you have a niche that fits the talents of a professional photographer, you’ll be able to find work quickly and easily.
Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
One of the things that makes blogging so attractive is how easy it is to get started. Even if you have no technical knowledge or experience, you can simply use a service like Bluehost to get your own virtual storefront and begin promoting products and services on your blog. Should someone purchase a product or service that you’re promoting, you’ll earn a commission.
However, not all online businesses will generate a high volume of sales. If your aim is to become a full-time blogger, ensure that you develop a passive income stream that will allow you to quit your day job. One way to do this is to get into affiliate marketing and promote products and services that you believe in. Should someone click a product or service link and make a purchase after reading your review, you’ll earn a small commission. You could then use this money to fund your blogging adventures or, alternatively, pay for your child’s private school fees.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve been thinking about trying out blogging for money, then hopefully, this article will help change your mind. Just remember that creating a profitable blog isn’t as easy as it seems and it takes a lot of work. However, if you’re looking for an easy way to make money online, consider starting a blog in your niche. It’s a quick, easy way to build up a small audience and then leverage your popularity to make a steady stream of passive income.