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Whether it is to earn some extra income on the side or to take up blogging full time as the source of your primary income, you can pretty much use blogging to achieve both these goals if you are ready to put in the hard work. One of my favorite ways to make money with a passion based blog. I own a few different blogs in very different niches- each one that I am passionate about and enjoy writing on.
We all can agree that blogging requires a commitment till the end and you cannot afford to slack if you plan to earn money from it. But you can 100% make money with a blog and enjoy what you do if you are ready to put in the work.
Many of us struggle to build a blog profile which can reap us monetary benefits because we don’t have the patience and give up too soon or we didn’t do it the right way? So what is the right way to start a successful blogging business and make money with a passion based blog? The answer is easier than you think! Let’s dig in to know more.
1. What Topics You Are Passionate About:
Once you know you want to start a blog, you need to ask yourself questions like:
• What will be the purpose of my blog?
• Will I be able to write on the chosen topic for many days and build a profile?
• Do I want to make money or give away items.
• What do I want to offer and achieve from the blog?
• Where do I want it to go?
There are zillions of blogs that get started each and every day in hopes of making money. You need to be clear in your head about your blog niche and passion. What different or better way can you present the material so as to stand out.
I suggest diving into a niche that is big enough for you to take piece of the pie. Super small niches can do well, but if its too obscure your readers will be limited. A lifestyle or mommy blog is just fine as well. Don’t be intimidated by all the people telling you must niche down and down. Start in a well known niche and once you know your readers a bit better, you can niche is down from there.
Once you have pondered enough on such questions and come up with something you would love to write about and build an audience, go for it.
2. Set up Your Blog:
The primary and most obvious starting point is to have your own blog space or website. Choose a blogging platform. Some of the popular platforms include WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr. Today, it is easier than ever before to build a blog platform that offers you multiple themes and layouts to choose from.
As per the statistics, over 40% of blogs are built on WordPress. It is recommended that whichever blogging platform you choose, go for a paid blogging option (self-hosted) if you are serious about blogging and really want to earn money from it. This site is build on WordPress.
After you have chosen your blogging platform, search for a unique domain name. There are several sites like Bluehost and Godaddy that offer free domain names and hosting at reasonable rates.
Design your blog choosing from the wide range of themes and plugins available, and you are set to go. Its not as complicated as it sounds, but if you do find it intimidating just ask- I am happy to offer my tips and advice if you contact me. Or of course lots of people offer the service for a fee and can set up your site without you having to lift a finger.
2. Start Writing on Topics You Are Passionate About:
Once you have set up your blog, you are ready to create some engaging posts for your readers.
Find a few competitor blogs and see what types of articles they write about. Dig into the site to see whats popular- which article gets lots of comments. See if you can spot some issues or questions that people ask. Take lots of notes and come up with a list of all the different posts you can write about. Try to solve a problem or give a tutorial of sorts.
Make sure that your posts are catchy and engaging so they can triumph against the short attention spans of people on the Internet. Your blogs should give them a reason to want to read it and share it on their own blogs or maybe social media.
3. Hone Your Skills to Promote Your Content:
Over the last few years, blogging has become an increasingly visual medium. This has given birth to the need to learn and develop social media or other promotional skills that can help your work to be out there for everyone to notice. Your work does not end after writing your blog. The real deal begins from here if you want to have a constant flow of money in your bank account every month.
As a blogger, it is important to improve your photography and image editing skills. The readability and first impressions of your blogs become a lot more interesting if you have the right pictures to go with it. Pictures can convey the message best.
Additionally, having good social media skills mean that you can share your blogs on your social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and more. Participate in groups, engage with other bloggers, and comment on other blogs and forums. Be aware and learn every step of the way.
4. Interact With Your Audience:
This is a very crucial part that plays an important role in the success of any blogger. Now that you are blogging regularly and promoting your content on social media too, it is imperative that you engage with your readers who have something to say about your blog.
A reply to their comment makes them feel special and stay loyal to you. Small steps like these in the initial stages go a long way in building a big customer base in the years to follow.
Many times, your readers can inspire you and give you an idea on your next blog. When you build engagement with your reader, it can also lead to them sharing your blogs on their social media or with their group of friends. Not only is it a good way to know where you stand but you can discuss their ideas and learn from them too.
5. Send Traffic to Your Blogs:
Take the time to promote your blog yourself. Share it on your social media sites, RSS fields, post on forums and similar blogs, etc. Other methods to improve the traffic to your site includes:
• Pinterest: Pinterest is a terrific place to bring in traffic for a new blog. How do you get traffic from Pinterest?
- Sign up for a business account on Pinterest.
- Set up relevant boards with keywords in mind and fill them with cool pins.
- Apply for Rich Pins for your website or blog.
- Grow your Pinterest following.
- Get to the relevant group boards.
- Use catchy, engaging images.
- Pin consistently.
• Sponsored Posts: In this arrangement, you might approached a popular blogger or website to publish a post on their site. If you make the content worthwhile, the reader will be interested in who published it and will review your bio. Most large site will allow you to add your blog link to your bio on their site. This will help to bring in traffic.
• Paid Advertising: Market your blogs by paying for clicks and traffic on social media or the search engines. One way is to display ads from advertising networks. One of the most popular networks for a new blogger is Adwords advertising or facebook advertising. Booth are good for driving traffic.
6. Make Money with a Passion Based Blog:
• Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is when a reader of your blog clicks and buys a service or a product through your affiliate link. This entitles you for a commission. A common example is Amazon and Flipkart product ads that you see on various sites you go to. Shareasale is another great place to find affiliate offers and is perfect for beginners.
• Services: Everyone has a skill that may be used by business houses and companies. For example, as a blogger, you can provide your writing services to businesses looking for writers. Or if you are good at designing, you can use your blog to market your services and get in touch with clients who are looking for such services.
• Membership Sites: Once you have an active audience community that regularly reads your blogs and looks forward to learning more about what you write, you can think of creating a paid membership for such clients. In such a case, the readers would pay a fee so they can see your extra content on the site.
• Other Ideas: Some other ways to build traffic to your blogs is by selling products (digital and physical) on your site. Several famous bloggers have made money by writing their own eBooks and selling them online on Amazon and similar sites.
Conclusion
Fortunately, there are many resources to help us every step of the way today to actively pursue blogging and make money with a passion based blog. All you have to do is just discover what interests you enough to want to blog about it and be able to write 20-30 more articles on it to build a growing audience.
Promote your content yourself, engage with your readers, and gradually build more traffic to your site. Remember that patience is the key, and it could take a while before you start earning from blogging. If your articles are useful and find an audience, your blog will definitely get you the profits.
Good luck and happy blogging!