Is It Still Profitable To Start A Blog? How to Start a Blog Step by Step

In the current digital era, everybody needs to have an online presence, whether you are a business owner or a freelancer. Starting a blog is the best way to build your personal brand online and find an audience for your products and services.

You can also start a blog to share your personal experiences, your favorite recipes, or helpful content about your products and services to drive sales. This is possible by creating content based on keywords or questions that your potential customers are searching for.

Starting a blog is also ideal for freelancers who want to market their services and showcase their skills to potential customers. Thus, a blog is a must have for anyone who wants to stand out in the digital space because it is a powerful marketing tool.

The best part is that creating a blog is not as hard as it may sound. If you have been wondering how to start a blog from scratch as a beginner, this article will share a step-by-step guide from choosing your domain name to posting your first blog and growing your blog.

What is a blog?

A blog is a type of website that consists of written content and may include images and videos. It is regularly updated, and blog posts appear from the most recent and are used to share opinions, personal stories, or business related information.

Every blog post has a title, body, and conclusion based on a topic. Writing a blog helps writers share their perspective on a topic, tips, or helpful content. It can also be part of a business website where they share consistent posts to market their products and services. It also has a comment section where the readers can share their thoughts with the blogger.

A blog is a powerful tool for marketers, business owners, and freelancers to build their online presence, which builds credibility and positions them as experts in their field. A successful blog can make money through display ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate links.

Check this guide: What is The Best Free Full Blogging Course for Beginners? (Our Top 6)

Is It Still Profitable To Start a Blog?

Blogging is not a new concept. In fact, there are millions of blogs worldwide because people love reading blogs, and that’s why they are still popular worldwide.

However, it is still profitable to start a blog because everyone needs to have an online presence. Blogging helps you establish yourself as an expert in your niche and can also attract clients and customers and boost sales. It also helps you build an online community and engage with your readers.

You don’t need to be a perfect writer to do it. All you need to do is learn how to write in a conversational style as if you are speaking to your friend. In addition, you need to choose a topic you are passionate about and have knowledge to share with the world. That way, your passion will radiate through your content and attract the right audience.

Furthermore, writing about what you love helps you to be there for the long haul and be patient until you start making money from your blog.

Related Resource: How to Create Multiple Streams of Income in Your 20s (8 Best Tips)

How to Start a Blog Step-by-Step

Now that we agree that it is still profitable to start a blog, let’s look at the step-by-step guide for beginners on how to start a blog.

1. Choose a profitable niche

The first step to starting a blog is to choose your niche. Creating a blog around one specific topic makes it easy to have a clear target audience. You can choose a general topic and write on related sub-topics, but don’t be tempted to write on unrelated niches.

Some of the most profitable niches to consider include parenting, travel, pets, fashion, education, health, and gaming. Ensure you choose a niche that aligns with your interest and can write on for a long time without getting bored.

If you already have a business, you can blog about content related to your products and services. If you are a freelancer, choose topics related to the service you are providing for your clients.

2. Pick and register your domain name

Once you are sure about your niche, you need to pick the name of your blog. Again, this depends on the niche or the reason for starting a blog. If you are a freelancer or business person, you can use your name or business name as the domain name. Choose a domain name that is easy to spell and remember so that you can easily tell people to visit your blog.

If you want to blog about a certain topic, choose a name related to your niche. For example, if you want to blog about pets, choose “pet’s haven” or “pet nutrition.” However, sometimes, your chosen name may be already registered.

Check with domain registration companies such as Namecheap or Godaddy. If they are available, then pay for them. It costs about $5 to $20 to register a domain name.

3. Pay for hosting

Your domain name needs a home to live in, so you need to pay for hosting. Before you choose your web host, it depends on the blogging platform that you will choose. There are different blogging platforms to consider, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Drupal.

I recommend using WordPress because it is the most popular content management platform, and I use it for all my websites. Moreover, it has a lot of customizable templates.

You can start a blog for free on WordPress.com, Medium, or Wix. However, you will be limited when you want to monetize your blog. So I advise that you pay for hosting so that you can have unlimited integrations and really own the blog to make it easy to monetize it.

Some of the best web hosts for a WordPress blog include Bluehost, Site Ground, HostGator, Digital Ocean, and Namecheap. They all have different pricing options, and you can choose what fits your budget.

4. Set up and design your blog

Now that your domain name and hosting are ready, it is time to bring the blog to life. Most web hosts have a simple installation system where you can install WordPress with a click. Then, you will need to choose a theme for your blog and install the required plugins for your blog to function. Some of the best free themes are Astra, Ocean WP, and WordPress themes (Twenty twenty one or Twenty twenty-four).

You will also need to create a custom email address with your domain name (x@yourdomainname.com) so that you can use it to communicate with your readers.

You can also consider hiring an expert to install WordPress and all the plugins you need. If your budget is limited, consider using a step-by-step tutorial on YouTube to install WordPress, a theme, and customize your blog.

Related Resource: 10 Best Passive Income Ideas for Teachers to Make Money Online

5. Brainstorm content ideas

Once your blog is ready, you must have a regular posting schedule to boost its growth. The best thing to do is to brainstorm relevant content ideas on your niche. Use tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keywords Planner, and Ubersuggest to check what your competitors in the same niche are doing. It is important to factor in SEO in your content plan so that you can target low competition keywords to help you rank your blog faster.

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Decide how often you will post on your blog every week and use the ideas to create an editorial calendar for a month, 3 months, or the whole year. This will help you stay organized and help you churn out content faster.

6. Write your first blog post

Choose one topic from your editorial calendar and write your first post. Ensure you write in a conversational tone as if writing to your friend. Ensure your blog posts are interesting and answer the readers’ questions.

Keep publishing new posts every week to keep your readers engaged. The best frequency is twice to thrice weekly, but you can decide what works for you. If you can only write once a week, it is better if you are consistent instead of posting 5 posts one week and then disappearing for months.

7. Promote your blog

Writing your posts and waiting for Google to rank your website is insufficient. You need to have an active marketing plan to promote your blog. Create social media handles for the blog or use your existing platforms to share links to your posts every time you publish to reach your target audience.

You can also start collecting emails from your readers and send them emails every time you publish your blog. You can repurpose your blog posts to create social media posts and YouTube videos or turn them into a podcast to increase your reach.

FAQs

• Do blogs still make money?

Yes, blogging is still a good way to make money online. However, the average amount of time you may need to start making money from a blog is about 20 months.

• Which type of blog is best for earning money?

Some profitable niches to consider include fashion, food, sports, travel, parenting, lifestyle, marketing, and gaming.

• Which platform is best for blogging?

Some of the best blogging platforms to consider include WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Drupal, Squarespace, and Medium.

• Do blogs or YouTube make more money?

Blogs and YouTube make money and are good ways to earn passive income. However, starting a blog may take much longer than a YouTube channel, which only takes a few minutes to set up. Youtubers also make more money than bloggers.

Final Thoughts

It is still profitable to start a blog in 2024. Ensure you choose the right niche, keep a consistent posting schedule, and promote your posts on social media to increase your reach. Use the analytics to monitor how your blog is growing and adjust if necessary. In the next post, I will share how you can monetize your blog posts and make passive income through blogging.

But first, start your blog today and take a step towards building a passive income, will you?

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