How to Create a Successful, Money Making Blog

Is it still possible to create a blog that consistently earns good money?

No, not the peanuts that some blogs are earning, but real, sustainable income. Some people think that it’s no longer possible. They think people who started a blog, years ago are the only ones making a kill out of it. That’s not true, and the only blogs that fail are those that don’t follow proper success guidelines.

Start on a solid ground

If you want your blog to be among the “it” blogs, then you should start it on solid ground. Below are some quick pointers on how to do that:

·         Do not start a free blog; they have many limitations. Start a self-hosted one from the word go.

·         Choose a strong, unique and catchy domain name. Make it something that people will keep thinking about.

·         Make sure you choose a reliable and efficient web host.

·         Use WordPress as your content management system. It is free and very easy to use.

·         Ensure your design is adorable, neat and elegant

·         Have a genuine concern for people

Follow the leaders

It is really hard to just start something that has never been done before. There are high chances that someone else has done something similar to what you want to do. Know all your industry leaders and follow them.

They will give you inspiration on so many things. Since they’ve been there for long, they understand your audience; therefore you can deduce that whatever they do on their blogs are based on real user data. You can ask the questions below as you observe them:

·         How do they deliver their content?

·         What kind of persona do they use?

·         What’s their content length?

·         How do they monetize?

·         How do they market?

·         What tools do they use?

·         What seems to be their main mission?

·         What is missing from their blog?

As you answer these questions, you’ll get some brilliant business ideas that you can implement on your own blog. Be careful though that you don’t copy exactly what someone else is doing. People hate that due to lack of originality. Use the ideas you get to craft your own strategy that will stand out from the rest.

People are always thirsty for something new that changes the way things are done. Think of all the recent big names such as Uber and Netflix. They simply took everyday things and made great ideas out of them.

Market smartly

It is funny when you see how some people market nowadays. They just create blog posts and then throw links all over, even where it’s totally inappropriate. Instead of building a brand, this actually taints their image.

Proper marketing should not really look like marketing. In fact, smart marketers simply appear like people who bring about brilliant solutions to people who are yearning for them. You should do the same. Look at the deepest problems that affect your target audience, know where they are, and deliver your content to those who really want it. This is what we call relevant, targeted traffic.

Some of the best places to market include:

·         Optimizing your site for search engines: This ensures that people get you on the first page when they type out a search query. Since they are already searching for your content, they form part of quality traffic. Remember that proper search engine optimization is not just getting people to your site, but also giving them the exact information they’re looking for.

·         Market on social media: This does not just mean posting links haphazardly to all your social circles. Focus on creating focused social audiences that are eager to consume your information. Tight groups such as LinkedIn and Facebook groups can make very good target audiences for your information.

·         Do paid advertising: Advertising gives instant results, though you’ll need to have a budget for it. You can do either search engine or social media advertising. All these advertising platforms have great ways of targeting. Make sure all your ads are properly optimized and targeted.

·         Guest post: This is another phenomenal way of getting instant results. Pitch to different top bloggers and see if you can get a guest posting opportunity on their high traffic blogs. Getting published in these blogs will get you lots of traffic and shares. In fact, if your post goes viral, it can have excellent long-term results.

·         Practice email marketing: Email marketing continues to be one of the best ways of getting sales. It is personalized and automated, therefore enabling you to get results without as much effort as you would have used in other methods.

Note that with today’s busy people, you will always need to use a multi-faceted approach to marketing. You can no longer just rely on one marketing method.

Conclusion

To be a successful blogger, you’ll need to put in a lot of time and effort. Blogging can give you passive income; however, that doesn’t happen immediately. You’ll need to do proper setting up and smart marketing to get to your desired level. When properly done, it can end up being an insanely rewarding career.