Is It Worth Starting a Blog? Can You Actually Make Money From It?
It is absolutely worth starting a blog and you actually can make money from it, regardless of whether your goal is earning some extra income, increasing your business sales, or earning a full salary.
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You’ve heard about some people who call themselves “full-time bloggers” and make money online using just a laptop and internet connection.
Now you’re asking yourself if it’s worth starting a blog and if that mythical blogging money actually exists.
Perhaps you just want to have a new hobby that generates some extra income so you can travel on vacation. Or maybe you are even more ambitious and intend to become a full-time blogger and quit that 9-5 job you hate.
Your intentions are up to you.
But whatever your purposes are, it’s worth starting a blog if you want to make money online, because that mythical blogging money is not mythical at all.
It’s actually very real, very tangible, and very achievable. Yes — even for you!
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Is It Worth Starting a Blog If You Want to Make Money?
Blogging is one of the best opportunities to make money online. Also, blogging is an evergreen job since bloggers answer the questions people ask in search engines like Google, for example.
And although Google doesn’t share its search volume data, it’s estimated that Google gets 5.6 billion searches per day.
Now think of the possibilities!
So, if you want to make money online, it’s proven that it’s worth starting a blog, but you have to keep in mind that success doesn’t happen overnight.
Google takes at least 8 months to trust your site and start showing it in search results. Also, if you intend to earn a substantial amount from your blog, the period until this happens is usually between 18 and 24 months, and it can take up to 3 years, depending on your niche and frequency of posting.
During this process, you need to be committed. You must keep up with your initial goal, even if you sometimes find it difficult to maintain your blog.
But How Do Bloggers Actually Make Money?
There is no single way to make money blogging. The possibilities are many.
Most bloggers display ads on their blogs, but many others work with affiliate marketing. Some sell their own products/courses/services, while others prefer to have paid subscriptions on their blogs.
Some bloggers use a combination of all the above methods, and even others, to diversify their income streams.
But regardless of your favorite method, to make money blogging you first need to get a blog audience. And the only way to do that is by writing quality articles that answer search engine questions.
That’s why choosing the right keywords is so valuable. With a keyword research tool such as KWFinder, you can finally have access to accurate data about what searches, specifically, people do online, so you can choose keywords that have a lot of searches but few results. That way you write articles that will make Google users click through to your blog.
Be Honest About Your Goals Or It Won’t Be Worth Starting a Blog
Some will say that if your purpose for starting a blog is to make money, then you are starting the wrong way.
I couldn’t disagree more.
After 6 years of experience as a blogger and content marketer, one lesson stands out: You must have a very specific goal when you start a blog if you want to succeed.
If your goal is to earn money to improve your overall quality of life, that’s fine. All of us need money, right?
As long as you understand that blogging is a job – and that you need to perform efficiently what this job demands – then there is nothing wrong with your ultimate goal: making money.
When your actual intention to start a blog is to make money but you are not honest with yourself, you blindly rely on the “let’s blog without commitment and see what happens over time” argument. As a result, you don’t take the necessary steps to earn money blogging.
It’s basically shooting yourself in the foot.
Blogging Professionally VS. Blogging As a Hobby
It’s important not to mix things up. Those who don’t treat their blogs professionally, don’t make money. That’s it.
There’s nothing wrong with blogging out of passion and/or as a hobby.
As a hobby, blogging is a great way to stimulate your creativity, use writing therapeutically (whether it’s to vent, help others, or get your thoughts in order), and have a project you’re proud of.
But keep in mind that hobby blogs hardly make money.
That’s why it’s important to know that blogging professionally (aka to make money) has nothing to do with blogging as a hobby.
Hobby blogs belong to people who don’t want to bother about blogging professionally. This is precisely why these blogs end up having a small reach and are never optimized to make money.
It’s important to note that there are cases of hobby blogs that end up gaining a following that, although small, is dedicated. This dedicated following might become a small source of extra income. However, when it happens, it’s always after many, many years, and there’s no guarantee it will happen to a hobby blog.
On the other hand, if you want to be a professional blogger, the first thing to know is that starting a blog to make money will only be worth it if you choose a profitable niche.
That is, you need to decide the topic of your blog before you even start it, according to your goal. If you don’t pick a niche wisely, based on industry data, and just blog about the things you like and what happens in your life randomly, your blog will never become profitable. That’s because there’s no one on Google searching about your personal life or interests.
If you want to make money blogging, you need to act professionally.
When you blog professionally, the list of things you must worry about includes:
• Maintain a standard posting schedule (not just post when “you feel like it”)
• Protect your blog from harm (hacker attacks and system/human errors)
• Have a distinct goal for every article you write, so you can write them with that purpose in mind (ie. make sales either of your own services/products or through affiliate programs, get views to monetize your website through displaying ads, increase your email list, etc.)
So, the bottom line is, if you want to make money blogging, be professional. Treat your blog as a job — not a hobby.
It’s Worth Starting a Blog to Promote Your Business As Well
Blogging is a free content marketing strategy that actually converts.
But why, you might ask.
Here’s the answer. Social media sites have been increasingly placing ads everywhere. With each algorithm change, ads become more and more invasive, making the user experience less pleasant, shall we say. As a result, users (read: possible customers) are progressively growing skeptical of the prospect of acquiring the products and services that they see in invasive ads on social networks.
It’s also worth reminding you how expensive social media ads are, especially if you want to see tangible results.
Also, there is so much information (read: distracting content) online that as soon as a potential customer sees your ad, they forget what they just saw just as fast.
In fact, research shows that collective attention is fracturing because of information overload online. An example of this is how hashtags that are trending topics on Twitter have been at the top for less time.
They measured collective attention on Twitter by looking at how long individual hashtags stayed in the list of 50 most popular hashtags. In 2013, they remained, on average, for 17.5 hours. In 2016, that was reduced to 11.9 hours. They also found that the most popular hashtags both jump into and drop out of the top 50 list more quickly than they used to. Yet their peak popularity — the number of times the hashtag was used — has remained the same on average.
— Vox
So, how can you, as a business person, capture better the attention of your possible customers?
By creating content marketing.
Just don’t deliver a simple ad to your audience. Deliver quality content that is really helpful in their lives. This way, you will bring about real and significant changes in people’s lives, which will make them trust your company and remember it. And this is how blogging will help you retain more customers.
If you’re answering common questions and solving your persona’s pain points in your blogs, people will start to look at you as a leader in the industry and will begin to trust your company. The more a person trusts your company, the more likely they’ll be to turn into a customer someday.
How to Sart a Blog That Makes Money in 2024
1. Pick a Profitable and Evergreen Niche You Can Compromise To
It will be worth starting a blog if you choose the right niche. When doing your research to decide which niche suits you best, consider:
Is the niche profitable? Here are some tips to know:
- Check out the companies that sell products and services for the niche you are considering and see if they have Affiliate Programs and how much they pay in commissions.
- Write down all the keywords you can think of related to the niche. Then use a keyword research tool to find out how many searches these keywords have per month in the countries of your interest.
- Check out blogs in this niche and see what types of services/products/courses are sold to the audience.
Is the niche evergreen?
An evergreen niche has an audience that is always interested and in need of that content.
Do not bet on trending topics that have a short expiration date. Remember that blogging is a long-term commitment. You don’t want your blog’s expiration date to expire when you’re getting to the good stuff.
Do you have something to contribute to the needs of that niche?
We, bloggers, are service providers. People come to Google with doubts and the need to learn specific things. We provide the answers to their questions and teach them what they need to know.
So, do you have any knowledge that could be valuable for the niche you’ve chosen? If not, are you willing to do extensive research to provide your future audience with what they are waiting for?
BONUS TIP: Do not choose a niche you hate just because it’s profitable
For your blog to survive the long haul, you need to commit to it in several ways, one of them being the ability to get along with your niche/audience.
You may find a niche that fills most of your checkboxes. However, if you hate the topics or don’t find them interesting at all (some topics might even be bad for your mental health) it won’t work out in the long run. It might easily make you miserable.
Perhaps you want to quit your 9-5 job because you hate it. So don’t get another job that you also hate. Right?
There are a plethora of niches to choose from. So be patient and keep looking, you’ll find one that fits you best.
Never forget that every choice you make for your blog involves a long-term commitment.
2. Choose a Domain Name and a Fast Web Hosting Service
Domain name
Your domain name is your blog’s brand as much as your online address. Choose it wisely. Prefer domains that end with .com if you are interested in a wider audience (ie. all countries that speak English) and choose a name that reflects your blog’s topics and personality.
You can change this later if you want, but this can be a headache you might want to avoid.
And don’t forget to purchase Domain Privacy. too. Otherwise, the personal information that you provided when purchasing the domain (name, home/company address, phone number, email, etc.) will be available to anyone who does a WHOIS search.
A Whois domain lookup allows you to trace the ownership and tenure of a domain name. Similar to how all houses are registered with a governing authority, all domain name registries maintain a record of information about every domain name purchased through them, along with who owns it, and the date till which it has been purchased.
Web hosting service
WordPress is the most worthwhile CMS (Content Management System) for you to start your blog. With WordPress (I’m talking about WordPress.ORG, not to be confused with WordPress.COM) you have the freedom to make your blog look the way you desire and add all the functions you want.
However, although WordPress is free, you will need a web hosting service to host your blog.
Here are two web hosting service options, both officially recommended by WordPress, to choose from:
DreamHost — Sign up for DreamHost Shared Unlimited Plan for just $35.40/year and get fast WordPress hosting (and they pre-install WordPress for you! ), unlimited subdomains, unlimited email @ your domain, fast SSD storage, 24/7 support plus free domain name, free domain privacy, and free SSL Certificate.
SiteGround — SiteGround offers free WP installation, free SSL Certificate, free Email @ your domain, free CDN, 10 GB Web Space, daily backups, unlimited databases, and capacity up to 10,000 monthly visits.
Get started with any SiteGround Annual Plan and save 73%!
Put an SEO-friendly WordPress Theme on your blog
You need a WordPress Theme that is easy to customize, doesn’t require you to learn how to code (or to hire a professional), and is already optimized for SEO.
Here are two affordable and trustworthy options:
Ashe PRO — Coded with SEO in mind and very easy to use, even for WordPress beginners, Ashe PRO is a Responsive Theme that adapts to any kind of device screen.
Divi Theme — Divi Theme is the most popular WordPress Theme. With Divi Theme you’ll be able to customize your website as a Professional Designer!
Apply to some Affiliate Programs in your niche
It’s worth starting a blog and immediately applying to affiliate programs, as many will accept your site regardless of the volume of your traffic, unlike Ad Networks. Also, this is one of the best ways to start making money blogging.
So, apply to some Affiliate Programs in your niche, using your email address @ your domain (required by most programs), and use your affiliate links from the start. The best way to do it is to write blog posts on a case-by-case basis, keeping in mind which products/services you can recommend in each text.
But always remember that the quality of the content comes first! So don’t go out of your way just to include all your affiliate links at once. It doesn’t work, will just make you look desperate and, honestly, sold out.
Related: Can Beginners Make Money with Affiliate Marketing? (If so, How Much?)
Create a posting schedule that you can keep up with
Bloggers usually post 2 to 5 blog posts per week. But it’s easier to post 5+ posts per week if you’re already a full-time blogger and/or have the money to hire freelance writers.
In the beginning, however, it is common for bloggers to post around 3-4 blog posts per month.
So, if you have other obligations like a 9-5 job and kids, and can only commit to posting 1 article a week, do it!
But stay focused! Don’t post an article this week and another 3 months from now.
This is not good for the growth of your blog.
It’s worth starting a blog, but it takes commitment and determination on your part. After all, you’re the one who has the greatest interest in seeing your blog become successful, right?
Keep going
Although it’s worth starting a blog, only starting won’t be enough. To make money blogging, you must keep consistency, focus, and determination.
Don’t get discouraged after a few months have passed. Lack of motivation that leads to quitting is one of the reasons why most bloggers fail. So don’t be like them. Keep going – your hard work will pay off after some time of commitment.
Is It Worth Starting a Blog? Can You Actually Make Money From It? — Conclusion
Yes, it’s worth starting a blog and you can actually make a part-time or even full-time salary blogging.
If you accept that the first 12 to 24 months will be a lot of hard work and possibly no financial return, and you can survive it without giving up, then you have what it takes to make it.
As long as there are people with doubts, unresolved issues, and a willingness to learn new things, then creating a blog to make money will continue to be worthwhile.
Check out our step-by-step guide on how to start a website + blog, even if you don’t have any technical experience!
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Originally posted on April 17, 2022. Last updated on December 7, 2023.
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