Today, I’m going to share a step-by-step guide to start a blog and start making money in 30 days.
I started my first WordPress blog at the age of 16. And it took me a few months to earn my first dollar.
Because I had no idea of blogging, freelancing, or business. I learned this the hard way, so you don’t have to.
And since then, I have made a decent amount of money through freelancing and blogging.
Blogging is business. It’s not a quick-rich scheme. You might have ads on Instagram and YouTube about getting rich overnight.
They rent a Lambo to make a video. So they can sell their courses.
But in this guide, I’m going to share a step-by-step guide on how you can start a WordPress blog and start making money.
And you don’t need AdSense approval to make money through blogging.
Let’s get started…
How To Start a Blog Step-By-Step Guide
Below, I’m going to share how you can start a blog. And you don’t have to be a website developer to start a blog.
Ready?
Come with me.
Choose a Niche
If you want to stand out in the ocean of blogging, you need to choose a niche.
You can’t write about everything in your blog. You need to select a topic that you can talk about in your blog.
I’d suggest going with a niche you are passionate about and know well.
I mostly write about SEO, Content Marketing, and SaaS.
With that said, some bloggers prefer profitability over passion and choose a niche that has higher income potential.
You can do it if you’d like to.
It really doesn’t matter.
Here are some niches you can choose from:
- Marketing
- Finance
- Business
- Health
- Technology
- Programming
- Food
- Fashion
- Pet
- Travel
- Web Design
- Relationship
- Gaming
You can choose any niche. Don’t think too much about the niche, just choose one and go all in.
Register a Domain Name
Once you choose a niche, you need to register a domain.
What is a domain name?
I hear you asked.
A domain name is the unique address used to access a website on the Internet. Think of it as the digital address for your website.
Some examples are:
- google.com
- wikipedia.com
- facebook.com
- instagram.com
- subhrajyotimahato.com
You can choose your desired domain name.
Take your time to come up with a domain name. Or you can use a tool like Looka. It’s a business name generator tool.
After deciding on the name, just head over to any domain registrar like Bluehost, GoDaddy, or Namecheap. And register your domain name.
If you buy a Bluehost web hosting plan, you can get a domain name for free.
How To Buy a Web Hosting For Your Blog
While choosing the website, you need to do some research. You can’t just choose any hosting provider.
You need to think about the hosting quality, uptime, website speed, and customer support.
Make sure you invest in a good platform.
If you’re just getting started, you can go with Bluehost web hosting for your blog. It offers good quality hosting. And their customer service is good as well.
The best part?
It’s super affordable.
Head over to Bluehost.
If you choose the 3-year plan, it will cost $1.99 per month. And if you choose the 1-year plan, it will cost you $2.79.
You’ll get a FREE domain name. Just enter your desired domain. Click on the “Search For Domain” button.
Now, you need to create an account. Enter your email and set a password. And choose your desired plan.
Next, enter your billing details and click on the “SUBMIT PAYMENT” button.
Hurray, you just bought web hosting for your blog.
Install a Theme
WordPress has hundreds of themes that you can use to create your blog.
You need to install a high-quality theme to design your WordPress website.
Make sure the theme is loading super fast.
You can try the Astra theme. I published a detailed guide on Astra.
Design the Website
Your website needs to look good. Nobody likes a dull and ugly website.
You need to make the website look good. Don’t worry, you don’t need to win awards for designing.
But it should be looking good.
You can design the website yourself. If you’re just getting started, play with it.
After designing the website, you need to optimize it for SEO. I’ve shared a step-by-step guide to do SEO for a WordPress website.
Set Up the Basics Pages
Create some basic pages like About Us, Contact, Privacy Policy, and Terms and Services.
You need to write the About Us page yourself. Don’t use AI to write it. It’s about you. And nobody knows you better than you.
For Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, you can use a tool like Cookie Script.
Write Your First Blog Post
Now write your first post. You may feel anxious about it while publishing it.
Publish your blog post, anyone. You can edit it.
When new bloggers start a blog, they struggle to publish.
- What if nobody likes my writing?
- How will people react to my writing?
- Will someone read my content?
If you’re feeling the same, that’s perfectly okay. All bloggers feel the same in the beginning.
Your first post can’t be a great post. But you can’t write a great post if you don’t write and publish your first post.
As Earnest Hemingway said, “The first draft of anything is shit.”
You just need to keep writing and improving your writing.
That’s how I got started.
Don’t overthink, just open Google Docs or any writing software and start writing.
Come Up With A Content Strategy
If you just write about random topics, you’ll struggle to get results. Not having a content strategy is one of the common blogging mistakes.
The strategy depends on how you want to make money through your blog.
More on that later.
Don’t write a single blog post without creating a content strategy. You can use AI tools to come up with a strategy.
But don’t use AI for writing a blog post.
How To Make Money With Your Blog
This is the most interesting and important part.
How can you make money with your blog?
You can make money:
- Selling services (Writing, SEO, content marketing, web design, graphic design, web development)
- Doing affiliate marketing (Promoting someone else’s product)
- Selling digital products (courses and ebooks)
- Doing blog sponsorship
- Displaying ads (AdSense)
If you’re looking for the fastest way to make money through blogging, start selling services.
If you’ve a skill like freelance writing, graphic design, or any other, you can start making money in 30 days.
Here’s how:
Write Some Blog Posts To Prove Your Expertise
You need to write blog posts on your blog to show your skills.
The posts should be relevant to the service you’re selling.
If you’re a SaaS blog writer, you should focus on these topics:
- Why Your SaaS Blog Gets Traffic But Zero Demos (And How to Fix It)
- Why Your Sales Team Hates Your Content (And How to Create Case Studies They’ll Actually Send)
- How to Extract Subject Matter Expertise When You’re Too Busy to Write
It can work for any skill.
If you’re a web designer, you can write about web design.
Get Yourself Published In Relevant Websites
You can publish a guest post on relevant publications. When your potential clients see your byline (author bio) on other websites, it immediately builds trust.
Find some websites that accept guest posts and pitch them some relevant topics.
Most websites will ignore you. And that’s okay.
You just need a few of them.
Find and Make a List Of Prospects
You need to find prospects to sell your service.
Where can you find prospects?
LinkedIn is an awesome place to find prospects. Especially if you’re selling to B2B decision makers.
You can use these Boolean searches to find decision makers:
(“Head of Content” OR “Director of Content” OR “Content Marketing Manager”
Create a new spreadsheet and add their names and LinkedIn URL.
You can comment on their posts to warm up.
Write a Solid Pitch
When it comes to pitching, many people choose the volume game.
I’m not a fan of the volume game. I choose the value game.
What does it mean?
Add upfront value before working with them.
Here’s how:
If you’re a freelance writer or freelance content marketer, you can go to their blog and create an audit.
You can do a video audit using Loom. Or you can just open Google Docs and create a detailed audit report.
Providing upfront value helps you stand out from the crowd. Most freelance writers just won’t put in the extra effort.
Now write a solid pitch.
You can send the pitch via LinkedIn or email.
If you’re pitching on LinkedIn, don’t send a pitch in the first message.
Some people will ignore your pitch. It’s impossible to get a reply from everyone, even if you add upfront value.
Some might reply to your email and want to discuss their problem.
Hope on a call with them and close them.
And make sure you take 50% upfront payment before starting the project.
Selling services is the fastest way to make money through blogging. Your blog works as a portfolio.
It helps you to show that you know what you’re talking about.
Once your blog starts to grow, you start blog monetization strategies like affiliate marketing and blog sponsorship.
Conclusion
This is a complete guide on how to start a blog and start making money. I hope this guide will help you to start your blog and make money.
Having a blog can change your life.
If you’re thinking of starting a blog, just do it.
You’ll never regret starting a blog.
If you’ve any questions, comment below or contact me.
