Part I - Start a Money-Making Blog

Welcome to Part #1 of The Start a Money-Making Blog Series!

I’m super excited that you are going to take the leap and pursue the world of blogging.

This series perfect for you if you are a brand new, beginner-blogger with zero experience who self-classifies as “non-techy.” It is also fantastic for you if you want to take your existing blog to the next level.

Before we dive in, there are a couple of things we need to get out of the way to ensure your success.

First of all, you can make money blogging.

While blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, plenty of people started blogs less than two years ago and are currently making thousands of dollars a month.

Maybe you’re here because you’re hoping to leave your full-time job to be able to pick up your kiddos from school every day. Or perhaps you want to go live abroad for a year. A blog can make that happen for you!

You just need to be willing to step outside of your comfort zone, have patience, and be ready to put in the effort.

Since you’re here, I know you have what is takes to create a successful blog. Commit to yourself and to your dream of turning your passion into a career.

Secondly, if you haven’t started a blog because technology is completely intimidating and you are convinced you aren’t “techy” enough, the good news is that you don’t need to be “techy”!

Yes, WordPress has a learning curve, but you can do it, and it will be so worth it.

If you are ready to start a money-making blog, Let’s go!

**Disclosure: The strategies in this post are for educational and informational purposes only – they’ve worked for me and may work for you too! This post also contains affiliate links, which means that I may make a commission, at absolutely no cost to you, if purchase using my link**

Step #1 Get into the Right Mindset

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t. You’re right.” -Henry Ford

Your mind is one of the single most powerful tools, perhaps even the most powerful tool that you have. If you don’t 100000% all-in believe that you will be successful, then you won’t be.

Your mind can hold you back and give a thousand reasons not to start. It can also encourage you to throw caution to the wind and leap.

To build a success mindset, you have to reframe your thoughts and remove your limiting beliefs.

It’s really important to take the time to reframe your mind so that you believe you can and will achieve your goals.

Believe that you are going to be successful, and I promise that you will.

When you start your blog, you will be following new processes to get work done and stepping out of your comfort zone to overcome challenges and achieve your dreams!

Here are a few great books to read to help reframe your mind and get motivated!

You are a BadAss by Jen Sincero
Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
Super Attractor: Methods for Manifesting a Life Beyond Your Wildest Dreams by Gabrielle Bernstein
Grit by Angela Duckworth

Step #2 Define the Goal of your Blog

“Dreams are of no value if they’re not equipped with wings.” – Dolly Parton

Since your blog is your business, you want to create a foundation that enables you to be strategic and focused.

The goal of your blog will encompass three key things:

Your blog niche (what you’re going to write about)
Your big picture benefit (The problem you’re going to solve)
Your target audience (Who you’re going to serve)

This may sound overwhelming but stick with me. I’ll walk you through it!

Your blog niche (what you’re going to write about)

Choosing a blog niche is probably the most challenging part for many people (even me!), but defining your blog topic is incredibly important.

It will help you build your brand, followers, and, ultimately, your business.

It’s also essential to find something you are interested in since you will be writing about it a lot.

If you’re not sure where to begin, that’s ok! Start by asking yourself:

What do I know a lot about?
What do people ask me about?
What could I talk about for hours?
What keeps me awake scrolling at night?
What am I passionate about?
What do I have experience in?
What are my hobbies?

You don’t need to be an expert in an area to start a start a money-making blog, but you do have to be willing to learn and share your honest experiences. For example, you can blog about your personal journey toward a goal, like becoming a self-taught pastry chef.

Trust your Instinct

Don’t get stuck spinning your wheels forever trying to pick a niche. Trust your Instinct and pick one. You can change it later!

The only way to know if something will actually work is to try it.

Getting caught up in the “What if no one reads my content?”, or “What if my niche can’t make money?” won’t get you anywhere.

There are literally thousands of people online searching for what you are going to blog about.

I hear you when you say, “But there are already a million other blogs writing about what I want to write about.”

You’re right.

You are probably not going to be the very first person ever to write about your topic.

That’s fine!

You are going to have your voice and your unique perspective, and over time you’ll build an audience who wants to hear what you have to say.

Can you imagine if we only had one of everything?

What if Wendy’s, and Chik-fil-A said, “McDonald’s already serves French Fries, we better not put those on our menu.” Or if Lululemon thought, “Target already sells leggings, we better not make those.”

The fact that other successful blogs exist within your niche is a Proof of Concept that success is possible and that you can start a money-making blog.

Stop holding yourself back! Choose a topic and dive in.

Your Big Picture Benefit (The problem you’re going to solve)

Now let’s define the big picture benefit of your blog, also known as the problem you’re going to solve by creating your unique content.

Defining your benefit is very important. Even though your blog is 100% free for people to read, you are still selling it.

No matter what topic you chose, you can add value! I promise.

Let’s say you want to start a vegan baking blog but wonder, “how do vegan chocolate chip cookies solve a problem?”

Let me tell you!

Do you know what happens when someone wants to make vegan chocolate chip cookies? They go to Google to search for the “best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe.”

If you start a vegan baking blog, they could find your deliciousrecipe! Problem solved!

If you’re having trouble defining your benefit, ask yourself the following:

Are you trying to educate or provide advice?
Are you hoping to provide entertainment?
Build a community?

Spend some time thinking about your unique value, and the big picture benefit your blog will bring to the world!

Your Target Audience (Who you’re going to serve)

Understanding your target audience is super important. First of all, there were almost 4.57 billion active internet users as of July 2020.

Whoa!

You will not target all 4.57 billion people, but you need to know who your ideal client is.

The clearer you can get on who your blog’s target audience is, the faster you will be able to find your ideal client and serve them.

Maybe your blog can help other moms make money from home, or perhaps you hope to build a community for fellow speed scarf knitters to knit even faster!

When you define your ideal client, you can better cater your content to them, which leads to building and scaling your business.

Build your Goal!

Give yourself a high-five – you have just defined these 3 critical items for your blog!

Your blog niche (what you’re going to write about)
Your big picture benefit (the problem you’re going to solve)
Your target audience (who you’re going to serve)

Fill this in and play around until you have a version of your goal that you feel speaks to you.

_________________ (Your blogging niche) For _________________ (Your target audience) so that _________________(Your big picture benefit)

You should display your goal (or the tagline created from your goal) on your blog’s homepage. This immediately tells people what your blog is when they arrive.

A lot of people don’t have any idea what their goal is when they start. You’re already ahead of the game!

Step #3 Treat Your Blog like a Business

“Nothing Will Work Unless You Do” – Maya Angelou

When you start a money-making blog, it’s essential to treat it like a business from the beginning.

Make decisions for your blog as if you were opening an actual physical location. The sooner you start to treat your blog like a business, the more successful you’ll be.

Your Blog Budget

I don’t want to scare you, but I do want to be honest, there are some small costs to start a professional blog.

Minimally, you need a domain name, website host, and WordPress.

The great news is that you can get all of them through BlueHost for $3.95-$5.95 per month (paid upfront) depending on if you choose 12 or 36 months.

It’s a small start-up cost, but you can make money using just these things!

I also recommend Canva and ConvertKit, but you can get both Canva and ConverKit free and upgrade to pro when you’re ready.

We’ll touch on all of these later, but I wanted to let you know before we go any further about the costs.

If you are serious about starting a money-making blog and treating it like a business, investing a small amount is 100% worth it.

Create a Work Schedule

Plan ahead and schedule time in advance to work on your blog. Ideally, look for a couple of hours a day 4-5 days a week.

I’m a full-time mom to my two small children, so I do my blog work while they are sleeping (#5amWritersClub).

In the beginning, everything may take a little longer than you expect. That’s ok! Give yourself some grace, but also hold yourself accountable for trying your best.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Plan How You will Monetize Your Blog

Blogging is and should be fun!

But the fact is, if you really want to quit your job to stay home with your babies, travel the world by boat, or whatever it is that means you are following your dreams, then you need to plan how you’re going to make money from your blog.

There are lots of ways to monetize your blog, and you do not need to do them all right away.

If you have a plan, it will be a lot easier to start earning money than figuring it out later.

Here are some of the ways you can monetize your blog:

Use your blog to grow your existing business
Try Affiliate marketing
Do Product Reviews/Sponsored Posts
Offer blogging services to other bloggers
Create digital products (ebooks, digital courses)
Use your blog to win freelance contracts
Put ads on your blog
Create branded blog merchandise

The possibilities are endless when it comes to making money from your blog.

You will have to muster up your courage and step outside of your comfort zone but it will be worth it!

Building your dream life means stepping out of what you’re already doing everyday and into the unknown.

You’ve got this!

Look at you! You’ve completed Part #1 of the Start a Money-making Blog series! Are you ready for Part #2 to Build your money-making blog?

Let’s do this!! Part #2 is coming next week. Don’t miss out, be the first to know by subscribing to my email list!

Leave your comments or questions below.