Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can start a blog. But, if you want to make money from your blog, you need to treat it like a business. That means setting clear goals, tracking your progress, and making sure your blog is visible to your target audience.
With a little hard work, it is possible to start generating income from your blog within the first year. The key is to focus on creating quality content that will appeal to your target readership.
If you can build a following of loyal readers, you’ll be well on your way to making money from your blog. So, set some goals, put in the hard work, and you could be earning an income from your blog before you know it.
I’ve been in the blogging game since 2007, and it’s hard to believe that my first blog (a music review site) grew from $0 to $100k in the first year. That site would probably tank now, but at the time, it was highly profitable.
Here are some of the reasons why my blog took off so fast:
I treated my blog like a business from day one.
I planned my content in advance.
I stuck to a rigid schedule,
Blogging was my 9-to-5 job.
I started networking straight away
I fully immersed myself in the blogging community.
I pitched brand deals within the first six months.
I set a high-speed blogging challenge at the start.
I never stopped learning!
I went all-in with social media
I adopted an action-based approach.
I scaled my blogging business within the first six months.
As you can see, I treated my blog like a business from day one. I didn’t go in with a half-hearted mindset. instead of saying “I’ll see how it goes.” I said:
“Watch me scale this blog to the moon,” and that’s exactly what I did.
In 2022, it’s a lot harder to build a high-income blog, but it’s not impossible.
Blogging is certainly not dead. I make 7-figures every single year with my niche blogs. I’m whittling them down at the moment to focus on a minimalist approach to online business, but in my experience, it’s still possible to build a high-income blog in 2022 and beyond.
“Blogging hasn’t died. It has simply changed from what it used to be, and it’s still changing today. As bloggers, we must continue to evolve with it in order to stay relevant.” Alex Nerney- Create and Go
The truth is, blogging is still alive and kicking, but it has evolved, and as online writers/bloggers, we need to adapt and grow.
Top bloggers like Alex and Lauren from Create and Go make more than $100,000 a month from their blog.
Adam Enfroy is another top blogger who makes top dollar every single month. Adam currently earns approximately $400,000 a month from his self-titled blog about blogging and digital marketing.
It’s possible for anyone to thrive as a blogger, but you have to go in with the right mindset.
Here are six ways to treat your blog like a business to start earning money within the first 12 months of blogging:
Treat your blog like a startup,
The failure rate for startups is 90%, according to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Also, 70% of small businesses fail within the first two years.
These stats make you feel like quitting before you even begin; however, if you make the right choices in the beginning, you should increase your chances of succeeding with your blog.
I interviewed ten failed bloggers to find out why they think their blogs failed:
✅70 percent of participants said that they picked the wrong niche.
✅30 percent of participants said they treated their blog like a hobby and didn’t remain consistent early on.
✅With each conversation, I noticed a common denominator:
✅: They didn’t take their blogs seriously. Instead of creating a clear plan and executing the plan, they dragged their feet and failed to gain clarity on the purpose of the blog.
How to Treat Your Blog Like a Startup:
Gain clarity. What is the purpose of your blog? What are you trying to achieve? Make a business plan. What blogging strategies will help you achieve your goals? Create a budget. How much money can you invest in your blog monthly? Yearly? Find your target audience. Who will you be writing for?
Conduct market research. What type of content is your target audience searching for? Who are your top competitors? Start building an email list from day one.
Invest in yourself and your blog—If you want to make money blogging, you need to be willing to invest in yourself and your blog.
By investing in yourself, I mean taking blogging courses, attending blogging conferences and events, and working with a blogging coach.
Professional branding: Your blog is an extension of your personal brand. If you want to make money with your blog, you need to take your branding seriously.
Build a high-level content strategy.
How to Build a High-Level Strategy
A solid blog content strategy is based on three essential components:
💡Your target audience and the issues they’re seeking to solve
💡How will your solution help people address those issues?
💡The content you produce, and how it connects problems to solutions
Come up with content ideas that are in alignment with your niche and target audience.
Conduct keyword research to find out what keywords your target audience is searching for on Google.
When defining your blog’s message, make sure it’s in alignment with your target audience’s needs.
Your blog content should be able to answer these questions:
❓What problem does my target audience have?
❓How can I help them solve that problem?
❓: What type of content will help them solve that problem?
When you produce content that’s in alignment with your target audience’s needs, you’re more likely to earn money from your blog.
Google AdWords Keyword Planner is a great free tool to use for this. You can also use paid tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to conduct detailed keyword research.
Also, remember that Google’s new helpful content update means that you can’t write generic, low-quality content for search engine rankings. You need to create high-level content to rank on Google or other search engines.
Read more about Google’s helpful content update here:
have a long-term vision
Most bloggers give up too soon because they don’t see results right away. Blogging is a long-term game, and it takes time to build an audience, drive traffic, and earn money from your blog.
Be patient and consistent. Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time, effort, and consistency to build a successful blog.
Set realistic goals:
Part of having a long-term vision is setting realistic goals for your blog. If your goal is to earn $100,000 per month from your blog within 6 months, that’s probably not going to happen. But if you set a more realistic goal like earning $1,000-$4000 per month from your blog within 12 months, that’s a goal you can actually achieve.
What are smart goals?
SMART goals are:
✅Specific
✅Measurable
✅Achievable
✅Relevant
✅Time-bound
For example, a SMART goal for your blog could be to increase web traffic by 10% month-over-month for the next 3 months. This is a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goal.
Focus on one traffic source at a time:
When you’re first starting out, it’s important to focus on just one traffic source. Trying to generate traffic from too many sources will only overwhelm and frustrate you. Once you’ve mastered one traffic source, you can move on to another.
Some popular traffic sources for bloggers are:
💡Google organic traffic
💡Facebook groups
💡Guest blogging
💡YouTube
Which traffic source should you focus on first? It depends on your niche and target audience. If you’re in a visual niche like fashion or interior design, then Pinterest is a great traffic source for you. If you’re in a more general niche like personal finance or business, then Google organic traffic is a great place to start.
I like to start with SEO strategies and then add YouTube and Pinterest into the mix later on.
Invest in your blog
Investing in your blog is important if you want to see long-term growth. While you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make money from blogging, there are some blogging expenses that are worth the investment. These include:
A self-hosted WordPress site: I’ve tried Bluehost and others, but we use GoDaddy at the moment.
A premium WordPress theme is a great investment if you want a professional-looking blog. I use the Genesis Framework with Child Themes from StudioPress.
An email marketing service: This allows you to build an email list of subscribers who can be turned into customers later on. We have several blogs, and at the moment, we use ConvertKit and MailChimp.
I’m also building an email list through Gumroad at the moment, which is a simple, straightforward platform for beginners.
A blogging course is a great way to learn how to blog and make money from your blog. I took Elite Blogging Academy 3.0 and it was worth every penny.
Focus on creating quality content:
As I mentioned earlier, Google’s new helpful content update means that you need to create high-level content to rank on Google or other search engines. This means that you need to focus on creating quality content that is helpful, informative, and engaging.
Some tips for creating quality content:
Create evergreen content: This is content that will be relevant and useful for years to come.
Conduct keyword research. This will help you to create content that people are actually searching for.
Create graphics and videos. People love visual content. Adding images, infographics, and videos to your blog posts can help to make your content more engaging and enjoyable to read.
Conclusion
If you want to make money blogging, then you need to be strategic about it. By following the tips in this post, you can start a successful blog that will help you to achieve your long-term financial goals.
Building a blog might seem like a hobby, but if you want to build a sustainable business from blogging, you need to treat your blog like a business from the get-go.
That means building an effective content strategy, conducting market research, and identifying and understanding your target audience to craft a message that resonates with your marketing persona.
High-quality, detailed content is a must if you want to make money blogging. Google’s helpful content update is designed to eliminate low-quality, generic content from the web; therefore, to build a successful, profitable blog, you need to spend time creating top-level content for your audience.