How to Start a Money Making Blog

Well, hello there my friend! Let me take a wild guess…you’re here because you want to start a money making blog. Awesome!

Some questions for you before we get to it:

• Are you looking to turn a hobby into extra cash, or are you looking to build a full-time income?

• Are you wanting to make money online in the next several weeks, or are you looking to commit to a process that takes time to yield fruit?

• Are you the kind of person to give up at the first hurdle you encounter, or do you like to troubleshoot and keep on going?

No right or wrong answers here! Just a couple of things that you may want to keep in mind.

Why am I saying this?

Because let’s be real, starting a blog that actually makes money takes time, consistency, dedication, and some strategic know-how. It’s not an overnight thing, and it’s definitely not for everyone.

And that’s totally ok!

But if you're willing to put in the work, it can be a super fun and creative outlet, plus a fantastic way to share your passion with the world.

I’ll walk you through choosing the right niche, setting up your blog, creating valuable content, and, of course, getting that blog to actually bring in money.

Just in case you’re not familiar with the world of blogging, let’s take a moment to understand what blogging is. Blogging is all about sharing your thoughts, expertise, or passions with the world through written content.

It’s kind of like having your own little corner of the internet where you get to talk about what matters to you. This can be travel, fitness, personal development, or new recipes, whatever lights you up.

Your blog is a platform for connecting with others who are interested in the same things, and when done right, it can also be a solid source of income.

So, how can you do make money blogging? Once you have your blog up and running and you’re connecting with your audience, you can leverage your audience to monetize your blog.

You’ll have visitors, aka traffic, coming to view your blog. They may see something they’re interested in and make a purchase.

You can earn through affiliate marketing (promoting other people's products for a commission), sponsored posts, selling your own digital products, or by placing ads on your site once you’ve built up some traffic.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to create valuable content that your audience loves (and that you love), otherwise it’s going to be an uphill battle trying to make money from your blog.

I share this with you because I didn’t understand any of this when I first started my blog! So many articles I came across just started talking about the steps, but not really explaining what the process involves.

I’m so serious. It may be tempting to set up everything, get your blog looking perfect, write 1 or 2 posts…and then quit. And sadly, that would be a lot of wasted time and effort, and that's not going to make you any money. 

How can you decide if you actually want to blog? My advice is to review my blog! Mine certainly isn’t the best out there. But take a look around and see if you’re jazzed to build out a home page, an about me page, set up a newsletter to grow your email list, and promote your blog.

I use Pinterest and email marketing and I create content to help others to make money online.

Here is a popular lead magnet that I use throughout my blog to grow my email list:

Once you’re ready to start a money making blog, the next step is to find an area, or “niche” that interests you. Notice I didn’t say find an area that you think is going to make money.

You need to know what your passions are, what you’re an expert in (or can quickly become an expert in).

You might be saying to yourself, “I’m interested in a lot of things!” And, hey, that’s great!

But you need to pick one.

I like to use the “Friday night test.” I’ll explain.

Imagine you’ve had an incredibly long week at work. Your boss made you work overtime, traffic was a nightmare getting home, and your neighbors are throwing the loudest party ever.

Now it’s finally Friday night and it’s time to kick your feet up on the couch. You get to grab a comfy blanket and catch up on your favorite show and just lounge for several hours.

But wait! You have a blog that you need to work on.

What’s that ONE topic that you’re excited to write about?

So excited that you pull yourself off of the couch, open up your laptop, and start typing? Now imagine this scenario playing out over and over and over again.

I say this because starting a blog in the beginning can be exciting. But there WILL be days when you’re exhausted, frustrated, uninspired, but you gotta keep on going!

That’s what I mean. If a topic doesn’t pass the Friday night test, then maybe you want to pick something else.

You’re entire blog should be cohesive and written for your audience that shares your interests. If you start off writing about fashion tips then taper off and start writing about dog toys, you’re likely to lose your audience - and your source of revenue.

If you find that you have two passions that you enjoy writing about and sharing, then you may just want to spin up a second blog instead.

Notice that I’m not giving generic advice like “analyze market demand” or “do keyword research” or anything like that. I’m not saying those things don’t matter…but what matters more, in my opinion, is that you have the desire to write and share about your one interest.

Still with me? I sure hope that I haven’t talked you out of blogging!

The next few steps can be a bit technical depending on what strategy you pick. But you definitely have to go with something, otherwise you won’t have a blog!

Once you have your area of interest, you’ll need a name for your blog and a domain name. My blog name is the same as my domain name, creativewealthpathways.com.

You can brainstorm something that sounds unique, or it can even be your full name. You might even use AI to help you generate some ideas.

Once you have a domain name, you’ll need to check if it’s available for purchase on a platform like GoDaddy or Namecheap. If the domain name you want isn’t available, come up with another one!

Pick a name that’s relatively easy to pronounce, not too long, and that sounds professional. If I’m having coffee with a friend in public, would I be comfortable sharing the domain name with them?

This is where things can start to get a bit dicey. Meaning, you’ll find lots of people with lots of strong positions on this topic. Almost as if you pick one platform over the other, your blog will never see that light of day.

Ok, that’s a bit extreme. But it’s still an important decision.

Where is your blog going to live?

There’s WordPress.org, WordPress.com, Squarespace, Wix, Blogger, and so many others. My preference is for a self-hosted platform.

The most popular blogging platform that I’ve come across is WordPress.org because most bloggers use it. WordPress.org has tons of plug-ins to help your blog run efficiently and smoothly. Some of the plug-ins are free but many of the recommended ones cost a fee.

Honestly, I wouldn’t bother with WordPress.com if you’re trying to make money with your blog. Yes, it’s free, but I believe that you get what you pay for.

I think I’m in the minority here because I don’t use WordPress.org. I use templates from a website builder that I love because I’m proficient with it and I also earn 80% affiliate commissions from it. I also get unlimited websites and can have multiple domains for only $25/month.

Whatever platform you select for your blog, consider ease of use, the option for features, and scalability.

If you pick a platform like WordPress.org for your blog, you’ll need to set up a web hosting provider, like Bluehost, SiteGround, Hostinger, or HostGator and then link your domain name to your hosting account.

The website builder that I use sets up the hosting for me so apologies that this step is so short!

Now with some of the more technical aspects out of the way, it’s time for your creative juices to start flowing.

What do you want your blog to look like?

What’s your brand?

What colors, fonts, and graphics appeal to you and to your audience?

If using WordPress.org, you can select from a variety of themes to quickly get started.

I browsed blogs that I found to be visually appealing and then came up with my own customizable template. Think about your audience; are they likely to be viewing your blog on a phone? If so, then you want to make sure that your blog is mobile optimized as well.

Go with a design that is clean and professional. Again, if I’m having coffee with a friend in public, would I be comfortable sharing my blog?

You’ve made it! It’s time to start writing. But wait, why are there more steps?

Because learning how to start a money making blog is more than just writing.

One of the best rules of thumbs that I’ve learned when creating content is to always provide value. Write engaging, informative blog posts that provide value to your audience. Become a master problem solver. Answer a question. Provide help. Fulfil a need. Create a tutorial.

When I write, I imagine that I’m talking to me several years ago. Do I come across as overly salesy (ick) or am I genuinely trying to help (yay)?

Remember, you’re writing about what interests you AND your audience. Make it look good. Add some spacing, pick a pleasing font, and some good visuals. You want your audience to spend time on your post and soak it all up.

Then as soon as you’ve published your first post…write and publish another one.

Yes. I mean it.

Remember the “Friday night test”? The key here is to create that habit of consistent writing. Come up with a schedule that works for you.

Again, you’ll find people that say you’re blog will never see the light of day if you only publish one post a month or that you’re not a real blogger if you don’t post every day.

It doesn’t matter. So long as you are putting out consistent, quality content that your audience wants to read, then you’re good. It’s really, really hard to make money with your blog if no one wants to read your content...or if you don’t have content for them to read.

Truth. I’m not an SEO expert. *phew, I feel so relieved now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest*. But I guess if you’re reading this, then I did something right!

SEO stands for search engine optimization. I know SEO is important, but I find it so hard to explain.

So, instead I went to ChatGPT and asked it to “Explain SEO optimization in layman's terms”:

“SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about helping your blog show up higher in search results on Google (and other search engines). Think of it like this: when someone types a question or a keyword into Google, SEO is what makes your blog more likely to appear near the top of the results.

To make this happen, you need to do things like:

- Use relevant keywords in your blog posts—the words people are actually searching for.

- Write clear and helpful content that answers questions or solves problems.

- Make sure your blog is easy to read and navigate so visitors stay longer (Google notices that!).

- Get other websites to link to your blog—it’s like getting a thumbs-up from the internet.

SEO might seem a little technical at first, but at its core, it’s just about making sure search engines understand your blog and see it as valuable. The better your SEO, the more people can find you online!"

Basically, SEO is how your audience finds your blog posts when they search online for whatever they’re looking for. I promote my content on Pinterest, and Pinterest’s SEO algorithm differs from Google’s SEO algorithm.

But the point is, it’s important to optimize your blog posts for SEO.

By this point you have a well-designed blog, you have some posts that are published, and you’ve optimized your content for SEO. Now it’s time to get the word out to the masses that your blog exists.

Shout it from the highest mountain top with a megaphone:

“My blog is here for all to enjoy!”

(Please don’t take that literally, but I think you get my point.)

You can share your posts on social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube. If you already have an email list, you can send out newsletters to your readers letting them know about your blog.

Another way to promote your posts is to collaborate with other bloggers and do guest posts for each other. This entire process is known as driving traffic to your website.

We're at the last step, it's time to make money with your amazing blog!

You can make money by applying for affiliate marketing programs and embedding your affiliate links in your blog posts. These affiliate programs let you earn a commission by promoting their products and services that align with your blog’s content.

But keep in mind, I don’t think that all affiliate programs are created equal ...so choose wisely based on your needs.

For example, why put in a lot of time and effort driving traffic to your blog to only get a 3% commission on a $10 product...one time? That’s only $0.30!

And then on top of that, you’d need a whole lot of $0.30 commissions (67 affiliate sales to be exact!) to meet a $20 minimum payout from the affiliate company.

That’s why I prefer high-percentage, recurring affiliate commissions. One sale of a $25 high-quality, recurring item at 80% commission is $20...every month. And 67 sales is $1,340...every month.

Another strategy is to create and sell digital products like e-books, online courses, or templates. You can embed your digital products throughout your blog and make direct sales to your audience when they make a purchase.

This method allows you to share your expertise while bringing in income from something you only have to create once.

You can also monetize your blog by having display ads throughout your website. To start making money through ads, you can apply to ad networks like Google AdSense, Raptive, or Mediavine. If approved, you'll be able to earn ad revenue based on clicks or views.

The great thing about ads is that after they’re set up, you can keep earning without much extra work! However, to make good money with display ads, you must have quality content, solid traffic and audience engagement on your site.

When you apply, the ad network will closely review your blog to see if it meets their criteria or not.

That’s why it’s a great idea to be consistent with your blog, make sure it looks professional and that it has enough traffic coming in on a regular basis. Google Analytics is what many bloggers (including me!) use to monitor traffic and user behavior.

As you get the hang of things and get into a nice rhythm with your growing blog, you can start to see what resonates well with your audience, and that can help drive future content.

You can make tweaks to your monetization strategy and focus on the ones that bring in the most revenue. That’s what I like to do.

Now that you know how to start a money making blog, what do you think?

Is blogging for you?

Have you already begun your blogging journey?

Let me know, I love to hear back from my community of email subscribers.

Have a fantastic day!