Many times, they don’t. Now that the ugly truth is revealed, let’s look at what you can do to make money as a beginning blogger.
While it’s true you can get started with nothing more than a computer and an internet connection, that’s only a start.
First, decide on your niche. This is the subject you’ll be writing about, so make sure you are passionate enough to want to work with it for years. Your ideal subject will be one many people are searching for, but few people are blogging about, which gives you a chance to join an uncrowded field.
How do you find out who’s searching for what? Research. There are dozens of platforms, such as BuzzSumo and Ahrefs, that will reveal this information, which you can also find on giants like Twitter and Facebook. Once you know what’s popular, consider how to make your material different from others writing in the same niche.
To tailor your material to your potential readers, you need to know who they are. Try to visualize your “ideal reader” and something about them, such as their age, educational level, location, job, and hobbies. Some of this will obviously be guesswork, but if you’ve researched what people are looking for, you should have some idea who is doing the looking.
From here, a lot of steps are what might be termed the “nuts and bolts” of launching a blog, such as naming it (after checking to make sure the name is available) and choosing your font, color scheme, and logo, if you decide to use one. You’ll also need to choose a domain, and select a host for your website. Next, you’ll build your site, and then write and publish your first post.
You should know that for the life of your blog, you need to promote it, and keep track of how many people read it. Google Analytics will track this information for you free of charge, so check it out.
Now, write your first post.
How?
You could put your topic into a search engine and look at the material returned. If you find that the bloggers are giving their readers inaccurate or incomplete information, you have a starting point—provide better material.
Phew! I wrote my first blog post. Now what?
Start by telling everyone you know. Send an email blast (don’t make this a habit) and post on all the platforms you can think of. Talk to your family, coworkers, and friends, and ask them to talk to their friends.
Then, ask to be a guest on another writer’s blog. You will need to read a lot of blogs, which should be fun, and find one you really enjoy. Then ask if you can submit your own work for them to include on their blog. If you add value to their site, some of their readers may also follow you.
The secret here is one of the most basic in social media – you cannot crash into someone else’s work just to plug your own. You must have something interesting and valuable that will appeal to those who are reading your host’s blog. You will need to approach this carefully, because you are not suggesting the other blog is poor, but that you have additional information or a different perspective that will add an interesting twist to already outstanding writing.
That’s a lot of work
Yes, it is, and there is the challenge of writing new posts so the blog is always fresh.
However . . .
You could come work with us at Words of Worth. We provide monthly briefs, we pay on time, and our editors are here to back you up with real support and truly helpful suggestions. If you’re curious, apply with us and let’s talk.