Have you ever thought of starting a blog and earn some extra money for your pocket but then never actually did that? Or are you considering doing it now? Whatever it is you should start writing a blog right now. Writing a blog can be little stressful for some people but once you have started doing it and get the idea of it it can be very easy and convenient to start a blog.
You must have some doubts in mind about how to start or where to start your blog. What you should write about and whether you will be able to attract viewers or not. But let me tell you, as soon as you take your first step to create a blog, all your doubts will start to clear away. Here are some of the answers to your questions to how or where you can start your blog and decide your niche.
Read also: 5 big reasons to start a blog
How to start a blog?
To start a blog first you have you get a domain name and hosting name for your blog. Domain name is the name of your blog which ends with .com or .org or .in and many other. Domain name is like the address for your blog. While hosting name is basically the network or system which will store your website or blog’s data. Without a hosting name your domain name will be of no use. There are number of hosting platforms which you can choose from.
After getting a domain and hosting name you have to decide the theme of your blog. Theme of a blog is basically how your blog will look. Number of free and paid themes are available on hosting platforms which you can choose and design the look of your blog and start writing.
Where to start a blog?
You can buy your domain name on hosting platforms. They offer the domain names on various prices. Almost all hosting networks have three plans for you to start which are basic, standard and premium plan. Basic plan being the cheapest one and premium is the expensive one. As a beginner you can start with basic plan which can cost you anything between $40 – $50. With this price you can get a domain and hosting name for atleast a year.
These are some of the sites where you can buy your domain name
- Hostinger
- Bluehost
- Wix
- Godaddy
- Blogger
- Blogspot
Out of these Blogger allows you to get a free domain name. With free domain you can have your blog on Blogger.com and start without paying any money. As a beginner if you first want to get an experience of writing a blog then blogger is suitable for you. But with free domain the chances for you to earn money with blogging is also very low. So you have to choose according to your need.
Other than Blogger some of the blogging sites for you to choose are
- WordPress
- HostGator
- Tumblr
- Ghost
- Jimdo
- Wix
These sites allows you to write and publish your blog and also give you the right to earn from your blog. I personally use wordpress.org for my blog. It is best suitable for beginners and is user friendly.
What is a Niche?
Niche is basically what your blog is about. If you are going to write about health & fitness then that will be your niche. If you have a blog about movies where you write about different kinds of movies like 10 best thrillers of all time or 5 best horror movies then the niche of your blog will be movies. It is important for you to decide a topic about which you are going to create your blog. Blogs which have a niche have more chance to attract visitors and earn money.
But if you are not sure about what your niche is its nothing to worry about. There are lot of successful bloggers who blog without particular niche. You can start your blog with what you feel comfortable writing and then discover your interest in particular topic and then make it your niche. Even if you don’t find your niche its okay. You will eventually find your audience.
How blogs make money?
Honestly, making money from blogs can take some time. It is possible that you may not earn for 2-3 months since you start blogging and even after that your earning can be very low for some time. But you have you to be patient and consistent with your writing. As a beginner you can earn up to $300-$400 a month and it will increase eventually.
How to make extra money online- 5 ways
Blogs can make money in number of ways
- Blog Traffic
- Google Adsense
- Affiliate Marketing
- Selling your product
- Sponsorship
Blog Traffic
Blog traffic is the number of people which view your blog. More the number more are the chances to earn money. Blogging sites pay you certain amount for number of visitors on your site or blog. You can earn certain amount of money per 1000 visitors.
Google Adsense
Google allows you to run some ads on your blog or site and you can earn some money for every click or view on that ad. You have to apply for google adsense program and if they give you green light then you will be able to run ads on your blog post and earn money from that. To be eligible to apply for the program you need to have certain number of posts on your blog and your blog must fulfil their requirements.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is basically promoting someone’s product on your blog. You can opt for amazon’s affiliate marketing program and promote their product on your blog. You can put a link and image of the product on your site or blog and whenever someone buys that product using your link you get a commission from that purchase. You can add multiple links in your blog and earn money.
Selling your Product
Another way to earn extra from your blog is to promote and sell your product or art on your blog. If you make painting or have any other business you can add the link in your blog and when someone buys the product you get money.
Sponsorship
If you get a decent amount of readers on your blog, you can get contacted by companies to write about their product or run a ad about their product on your blog. They can pay you anything around $100-$200 per post or maybe $1000 depending on the traffic on your blog. This amount can go up to $10000 for some bloggers and may more than that.
These are some of the things which you need to be aware of before starting your blog. You don’t have to be genius to start a blog just need to be willing to put some effort and time in your blog and you can earn decent amount just from blogging. Hope you find all this information useful to start your blog. Have fun blogging,
I really like it when individuals come together and share ideas.
Great website, continue the good work!