So you’ve decided to become a full-time blogger. Congrats! Now, how much money can you really make? Is there some secret formula to creating a profitable blog? Can you really become rich off the back of a single blog? Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Basics
To start, let’s cover the basics. A profitable blog doesn’t need to be any fancy or expensive to set up. In fact, the more basic the setup the better (at least from a financial perspective). The most essential element is having a space that people can visit and engage with your content. Depending on your chosen niche, you might want to consider buying a domain name that is both memorable and easy to type (blogging is certainly a lot easier if you keep your finger on the keyboard).
The second most essential factor is content. Nothing will ever do more harm to your blog than poor content. If you’re worried about not having enough content to fill a whole blog, consider creating several blogs (each focusing on a different niche). While it’s great to have a general blog that provides content for several areas of your niche, it’s even better when each specific blog within your niche is packed with content (and not just for SEO purposes).
The Difference In Demographics
Next, let’s look into demographics. While your blog might attract all kinds of people, they’re probably not all going to be interested in your content. For example, let’s say you’re covering lifestyle, fashion, and beauty. If you look at the demographics of people visiting your blog, you’ll most likely notice that most of them are women between the ages of 25 and 54. Is that you? If so, wonderful! You’ve identified a fairly important audience that maybe your blog will do well with.
If, however, you notice that your blog isn’t performing as well as you’d hoped in terms of revenue, it might be a good idea to look at the demographics of your audience and see what they are. Are they mostly men between the ages of 25 and 54? Or is your audience more diverse with people of all genders and ages?
The Importance Of Marketing
Now that you’ve got an audience, the next step is to grow that audience. To do that, you’ll want to create content that is both engaging and interesting (we’ll get to the reason for why in a bit). So, you’ve decided to create a blog to get more traffic and make money off it. That’s fantastic! But, to be successful, you’ll need a way to get people to visit your site. That’s where marketing comes in.
Marketing can take several forms, but typically, it involves getting the word out there that your blog exists. You can do that through SEO (Search Engine Optimization), content marketing, and paid advertising. Let’s talk about each one in turn.
SEO
If you’ve gone through a website audit, you’ll undoubtedly have noticed that most likely the #1 and #2 places on your site’s front page are not organic. That is, they were not there at the time you built the site or gained the website traffic.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of getting relevant content in the top search results on search engines like Google and Bing.
SEO can be both difficult and expensive to do properly. That’s why you’ll more than likely see a lot of shady SEO companies offering “get rich quick” schemes. Unfortunately, these companies exist because there is a demand for SEO and poor quality results can be quite the money-maker (at least for a while).
If you’re looking to do SEO on your own, you’re going to need to focus on several key components. First, you’re going to want to create content that is going to be useful to your target audience. If you’re struggling to find the right content, consider using an SEO tool to get the ball rolling. Using an SEO tool is also a great way to track the success of your efforts. Next, you’re going to want to create unique content that is worth linking to. That means a lot of research and the development of a content strategy. Finally, you’re going to want to engage with other bloggers and websites in your niche to gain credibility and increase your SEO presence.
Content Marketing
If you read the above, you’ll probably have noticed that SEO is a form of marketing. In the same way that SEO helps webmasters gain traffic from organic search results, content marketing helps bloggers gain credibility and respect from the community.
You’ll want to create content that is useful and authoritative. When you do, you’ll notice that your blog starts to accumulate credibility quickly. Over time, as your blog grows in size and reputation, your SEO efforts will be worth it.
Like SEO, content marketing involves a lot of research and the establishment of content strategies. However, you’re going to be writing and publishing content on a regular basis (which is much easier said than done). To make matters worse, the content you create might not even be about your blog’s niche (it could be about a completely different subject matter).
To succeed as a content marketer, you’re going to need to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Which is easier said than done? On one hand, you have a distinct knowledge of your field and the ability to explain it clearly and efficiently. On the other hand, you have the challenge of convincing people with little to no knowledge of your field that you’re in fact an expert. That’s a difficult balance to strike!
Paid Advertising
Last but not least, let’s talk about paid advertising. Like with marketing and SEO, paid advertising involves getting the word out there that your blog exists. However, paid advertising is a bit different from SEO and marketing. With paid advertising, you’re going to want to specifically target people who are already interested in your blog’s content.
To do that, you’re going to want to develop an ad strategy centered around your chosen niche. Once you’ve done that, you’re going to want to find ad platforms that complement your strategy and maximize the effectiveness of your ads.
You might decide to try Google Adsense. With Google Adsense, you’ll want to develop a niche-specific blog around the subject matter you’ve established for your niche. For example, if you’re a fashion blogger, your blog could include style, fashion, and beauty tips. If you notice, the Google Adsense website actually has several sub-niches (e.g., fashion, style, and beauty).
Once you’ve done that, Google Adsense will take care of the rest. Basically, you’ll want to create relevant content that appeals to your target audience. When you do, you’ll notice that your blog starts to accumulate credibility quickly. Over time, as your blog grows in size and reputation, your paid advertising efforts will be worth it.
In summary, to make money from a blog, you’ll need to look into SEO, content marketing, and paid advertising. Not only that, but you’ll need to establish yourself as an expert in your field. If you’re looking to make money from a blog, consider focusing on becoming an expert in your choice niche. That way, you’ll increase your blog’s credibility and, in turn, its revenue.