The reason this guide stands out from the rest is that there are numerous other guides available on how to make money blogging.
I have successfully generated over $1 million per year from three different blogs. Actually, the blog you are currently reading has accumulated a total of $6.7 million in earnings.
In this post, I will present a detailed case study illustrating my exact process of achieving success from scratch. Additionally, I will provide a step-by-step guide aimed at helping beginners initiate their journey.
Let’s get started.
Soon, I will present a general framework that you can adhere to in order to initiate a profitable blog from the beginning.
Before we dive into the details of generating actual income through blogging, let’s examine practical instances that you can analyze and gain knowledge from.
Blogging Tips
Books and Ebooks
Many writers have successfully turned their blogs into publishing deals, such as Mark Manson. In 2015, Manson published a blog post titled The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. After gaining millions of readers, he secured a book deal with Harper Collins and ultimately sold over 3,000,000 copies in the US.
Another example of successful self-published books is James Altucher’s Choose Yourself, which has achieved notable success with over 500,000 copies sold, making it a prominent success story among bloggers.
Affiliate Marketing
If your goal is to generate passive income from your blog, one of the top options available is affiliate marketing. This involves promoting the products and services provided by other companies on your blog and receiving a commission in return.
At Smart Blogger, our annual income exceeds $100,000 by endorsing affiliate products, with a majority of it generated by casually endorsing products we genuinely admire such as SiteGround, Elementor, and Hostinger.
The number of affiliate marketing opportunities is enormous due to the numerous companies offering referral programs to promote their digital products or services.
To commence earning additional income from your hard-earned organic traffic, you can take the initial step of joining an affiliate network like CJ Affiliate, ClickBank, eBay Partner Network, or ShareASale.
Advertising
We usually do not highly recommend using ads on your website to make money. For the major ad networks to consider your website, you typically require around a million visitors annually. Additionally, affiliate marketing is generally more profitable and equally effortless.
In cases where niches such as recipes, fashion, and news receive a high number of page views, it can be difficult to monetize them using the aforementioned methods. Nonetheless, incorporating a few banner ads on your website can serve as an additional source of income.
Consulting/Coaching
While coaching or consulting may not be everyone’s preference, it is an online job that can yield a surprisingly lucrative income, even with a small audience. Although I no longer engage in consulting regularly, the last time I did, I charged $1,000 per hour and had a waiting list stretching up to six months.
With careful guidance and self-assurance in the value you deliver to clients, you can succeed in almost any field or industry.
Free Blog Sites We Recommend
Wix (www.wix.com)
Wix is an online tool for building websites and blogs that can be fully controlled from the user interface. Its key features include a completely free plan allowing users to create a blog using Wix’s subdomain. Additionally, it provides excellent drag-and-drop tools for blog customization.
With every Wix plan, you receive website hosting as well, eliminating the need to seek it elsewhere. This allows you to concentrate on organizing your designs, choosing a template, and creating content. Wix also offers a variety of free and premium themes and templates suitable for various purposes, including blogging. The platform’s design is both user-friendly and contemporary, making it suitable for both novice and experienced users.
To begin a Wix blog, simply sign up and select one of two options: allow the Wix ADI to generate a website for you using a questionnaire, or construct your blog independently by choosing a template and organizing the layouts through the Wix editor. If you opt for the latter, all you need to do is locate a visually appealing template and begin customizing every aspect on the front-end, utilizing the live preview mode.
You have the option to include various elements on your pages such as multimedia widgets, backgrounds, menus, typography, forms, video boxes, etc. Once you believe your site is complete, you can click Publish to begin blogging your stories. Even after publishing, you are able to come back and edit the content blocks whenever necessary.
WordPress (www.wordpress.org)
WordPress is a great option for individuals who want to create a blog without any cost. It provides a wide range of customizable features because it is an open-source platform. Users have the option of selecting from numerous free themes and plugins, allowing them to easily design a distinctive blog with a professional appearance, even if they have no coding expertise. Additionally, the active community associated with WordPress is always available to provide assistance and guidance.
To bring your site online, you must sign up for a paid web hosting account, as WordPress itself is free. This account stores your site’s files and enables online access for visitors, thus facilitating the transition from creating your site on WordPress to making it available worldwide.
Hosting the WordPress software yourself can be compared to being in control of your own ship as the captain. You have the ability to determine the appearance, capabilities, and income generation of your website. Nevertheless, like any captain, you must be familiar with your ship. This entails a more involved process during setup, providing you with a deeper comprehension of your website’s functioning. Embrace the excitement! It is an integral part of the journey to achieve successful blogging.
LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
It is likely that you were not expecting this. When people think about free blogging sites, LinkedIn is not usually their top choice. However, it is worth giving some attention to.
There are two primary reasons for this: the availability of user-friendly tools and an existing audience.
One reason LinkedIn’s user base is remarkable is because they consist of professionals and business owners who are very focused. It has been reported that over 30 million businesses actively engage on LinkedIn, and they are not merely present for the sake of it. Furthermore, data reveals that 94% of B2B marketers utilize the platform as a primary source for generating leads.
In summary, LinkedIn functions as a platform that provides exposure, making it one of the top free blogging sites on the internet.
When considering the technical aspect, it is simple to publish on LinkedIn. All you have to do is access your LinkedIn feed and utilize the “Start a post” widget located at the page’s top. To transform your status into a complete post, simply click on “Write an article on LinkedIn,” which will open the full-screen editing window.
Weebly (www.weebly.com)
Weebly is a website builder that allows you to not only create a blog, but also sell products or display your portfolio. It is comparable to Wix in that it offers a user-friendly editor with drag-and-drop features. By dragging and customizing elements, such as buttons, photo galleries, slideshows, and other multimedia elements, they can be easily added to the page.
Weebly offers various features such as sidebars, media boxes, forms, ad spaces, social media icons, newsletter subscription, and more. Additionally, the platform includes built-in analytics and allows the use of a personalized domain (which requires payment).
On the free plan, you will receive five custom pages, a Weebly subdomain, 500MB storage, and ad spaces.
