how to start a blog & make money in 2020

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Before we get started I first want to congratulate you. By reading this blog post, you have officially taken the very first step towards starting your very own blog. Not long ago, I was in your very shoes.

I started to hear about bloggers who were making money online, and women who had built an entire platform from the ground up. One my one, I read through countless blog posts all about how you can earn money from blogging.

Every single post was helpful, encouraging, and empowering. Not long after reading and learning everything about the blogging world, I decided to dive into blogging myself.

Now, I have officially created my blog and am actively building in order to make more and more money every day. In this blog post, I will include everything you need to know in order to create a successful money making blog in 2020.

Brainstorming

You can’t start a blog until you’ve brainstormed a few important things that are involved in the set up of your blog. You need to think about your domain, logo, and niche.

Blog Name & Domain

When you start a blog, the first question you need to ask is what do you want to name it? It can be really overwhelming question, but the best thing to do is just come up with a bunch of options and see which one feels right.

If you’re looking into going into a specific topic, you can choose a name that corresponds with it. On the other hand, if you want to have a broader topic you can choose a general title. Personally, I chose “With Love, Alexis” because I knew I wanted to make that my signature on every post.

Logo

Choosing my logo was the hardest thing for me to decide on. You want to create a logo that is aesthetically pleasing and is not too complex. I personally used Canva to create my own logo, but you can also purchase a logo from anyone who does graphic design.

Niche

Another important thing to consider when beginning your blog is what niche you want to be in. Your niche is basically the span of topics you will cover on your blog.

For example, lifestyle, fashion, travel, etc. If you are not sure on a specific niche, you can always experiment with a broad topic and narrow it down later.

No matter what you choose to share with the world, just remember that you have a voice like no one else. Make your content unqiue, and share what you feel has the most importance and value.

Creating Your Site

Once you have envisioned what you want your blog to look like it is time to officially create your website. I know it can be really overwhelming to create a website, so I’ll take you through every step.

Self-Hosted Options

If you want to make money with you blog, you have to have a self-hosted blog. Bascially this means that the content on your blog is all owned by you. There are two main options when it comes to self-hosting.

Bluehost: Bluehost is a highly recommended self-hosting company. This company holds some of the biggest bloggers there are. I have yet to hear a single bad thing about them, and they aren’t very expensive.

When you sign up you get 24/7 support, a free domain name, and it is only $3.95 per month.

Siteground: Siteground is another amazing self-hosted company. This company also holds a wide variety of bloggers. It’s easy to use and also a fair price.

For Siteground it is about $6.99 per month, but more often than not they have deals and discounts going on.

If you are feeling reluctant to start investing in a self-hosted site, I totally understand. I was in the same spot.

Even at a reasonable price, it is a little scary to make that jump. I will be the first to tell you that I have yet to regret making such a small investment that has in turn opened so many opportunities.

Setting Your Site Up

After you have made the choice between Bluehost and Siteground, you can choose your domain and start building. On both Bluehost and Siteground, once you’ve walked through each of their simple steps you will be brought to the WordPress Dashboard.

This dashboard is where you will do everything for your blog. From creating blog posts, checking your traffic, and approving comments, this dashboard holds everything you need to get started.

At first it can be a bit overwhelming, but after you’ve played around with WordPress (the built in website dashboard) you’ll be a pro in no time.

Choosing A Theme

Another big part of creating your blog is choosing a theme. When you are going through the set-up process you can choose any theme and change it whenever you’d like.

If you want to make money with your blog, you are going to want your blog to look as professional as possible. That is why I invested in 17th Avenue Designs. I personally have the Harper Theme, but each theme is so beautiful, aesthetic, and professional.

You do not have to have a paid theme in order to make money, but it is the best way to create a professional look instantly.

Planning Your Content

When you pick your theme and get your blog all set up, the next step is to start writing your blog posts. It is super important to have a vast amount of content ideas that you want to have on your blog.

Blog Posts

Finally, you can start creating a working list of blog post ideas under each category. For my blog, I came up with five different posts for each category I wanted to have.

Then you can start writing individual posts, checking them off, and adding more ideas to your list. Just remember it is more important to have quality over quantity.

When To Publish

Another big question about planning content is when will and how often will you post per week. For me, this was a question that was answered after a few weeks of getting the feel of blogging.

At first, I wanted to post three times per week. Soon I realized that two times a week was a much more reasonable goal.

When it comes to content, it varies from person to person. Simply, do what you feel is right for you and the rest will follow.

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How to Make Money

Now for the part you’ve all been waiting for. How on earth do you make money as a blogger? I know it may seem impossible, but there are bloggers out there making $30,000+ a month. That’s right I said A MONTH.

While it seems insane, it is actually possible. There are three primary ways they are able to create income from their blogs.

Affiliate Marketing

If you don’t know what affiliate marketing is, it is a form of marketing where you can make comission based on referring someone to a specific product or service.

For example, if on your blog you linked a product that you recommended and one of your readers purchased that product, you would then make a percentage of that commission.

In order to get started with affiliate marketing, you can apply to multiple different companies like Amazon, rewardStyle (my favorite), and ShareASale. You would be surprised how many companies offer affiliate programs.

Ad Revenue

Another way to earn income from your blog is by having ads on your site. To put ads on your site you can apply to different ad companies, who will serve to produce ads for your site and pay you ad revenue in return.

If you are just starting out as a blogger, GoogleAdsense is the perfect program for you. They are easy to apply to, set up, and don’t require a set amount of traffic.

Selling Products

While you may not be able to start off selling products on your blog, it is another way to make income by blogging. Most big bloggers have created their own courses, ebooks, etc that they sell through their blog.

It is a great way to make money from your blog, and you don’t have to rely on other companies for their programs.

Getting People To Your Blog

In my opinion, the hardest part about blogging is getting traffic to your blog. It can be extremely difficult to go from no one knowing your blog exisits to getting thousands of views a month.

Though it isn’t easy, there are multiple different resources at your finger tips to make gaining traffic so much easier.

FYI: You do not have to have large amounts of traffic to make money. If you create a smaller blog and don’t have a lot of traffic, you can still earn money from your blog.

Increasing Blog Traffic

In order to increase your blog traffic, you have to get involved with social media, share your links, and not be afraid to put yourself out there.

Support From Friends & Family

One of the most important things to have when you first launch a blog, is having loved ones who are cheering you on. When I announced my blog, I was overwhelmed with the amount of love and support I got. I was so encouraged to keep writing and working.

If you’re unsure that your friends or family will support you, you can also reach out to multiple different blogging Facebook and Instagram groups that can answer questions, pat you on the back, and be there whenever you need them.

Advertising Strategies

In order to successfully gain high amounts of traffic to your blog, you should start a business Pinterest account. Pinterest is the key to all blog traffic. Just think about where you go for recipes, diy projects, and home inspiration.

Pinterest is an amazing tool for bloggers. There are tons of different ways to use Pinterest to your advantage.

One good way to start using Pinterest to create blog traffic is to make a business account, create click worthy pins, and link your blog posts to those pins.

You can also advertise your blog on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, but Pinterest is overall the best social media for bloggers.

You Can Do It

Anyone can create a blog if they put their mind to it, work hard, and are willing to learn. Having your own platform where you can create, grow, and earn is worth every second of work you put into it.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog and you’re still unsure, take a leap of faith and work your way towards amazing opportunities. You can do it!