The New Guide to Starting and Monetizing a Blog

Blogging is an amazing way to provide useful information to the world and can feel very rewarding and fulfilling.

It allows us to provide our expertise, opinions, and experience to people all around the world.

Not only that but we get to earn passive income no matter where we are in the world, which is definitely a bonus that comes with writing.

I’m going to touch base on some popular topics and niches people blog about as well as my personal favorite things about blogging.

If you’re thinking of starting your very own blog this is no coincidence my friend.

This post was written specifically for you.

Keep on reading to understand everything there is to know about blogging, or skip the entire guide and simply start here.

Lets get started!

Find Your Niche First

The first thing you’re going to want to lock down before physically starting your blog is finding your niche.

Your niche should be something you’re good at and can write about fairly easily.

You’re usually very knowledgeable in this area and have a passion for it.

Mine for example started out as business and finance but eventually evolved into stock market news.

I love business because of the creating process it takes to turn an idea into a reality.

The challenge of managing finances has also made personal financing one my obsessions.

But overtime, you might find your blog begin to evolve into something else, something greater.

The amazing thing about blogging is you get to provide people with loads of useful information and help.

Do some research to see what sectors dominate the blogging world to gain statistics on your audience.

Here are some blogging ideas:

Travel
Food & Recipe
Entertainment & News
Automotive
Health & Well-being
Mom & dad lifestyle
Gardening
Sewing & knitting
Fashion & Makeup
College life
Technology
Finance & Business
Product Reviews
Paranormal / Metaphysical

People are blogging about just anything. Find your niche and express your thoughts!

It is important to note that whatever topic you choose to blog about, you’ll want to niche down on it.

If you’re into automotive, write about a specific skill set or brand first before branching out.

Make it all about just that one thing at first, believe me when I say it will pay off in the long run.

The idea here is to put your experience online for others to gain knowledge from.

You can do this with anything, I promise.

Reasons why you should start your own blog

I personally believe everyone should start their own blog.

A blog can provide you with a lifestyle like no other while help so many people in an area that’s impactful and important to them.

Here’s a small list of key reasons why more people should start today:

You have some sort of skill or expertise to share with the world
Your knowledge can answer people’s questions and help them grow
A blog has the power to impact and create positive change in communities
You can monetize your blog with ads and get paid passively every month
Blogging allows you to express your thoughts and opinions
Get paid on the move, while you travel, and while you sleep

Why I personally love blogging

One thing my blog allows me to do is to earn passive income no matter what I’m doing at any time of the day. This is primarily thanks running ads on my website. This is certainly a perk to running a blog.

I get a lot of joy from providing value in people’s lives. I genuinely love to serve people. Blogging allows me to be of help people and create a positive impact in my communities.

Writing is my passion. Whether it’s in poetry, music, or blogging, I simply love to write. It’s in my blood what can I say? Words are amazing and powerful.

Blogging provides me with time and financial freedom. There’s nothing else like it; I’m truly grateful.

Starting your very own blog is super easy when you have the right tools.

I’m now going to walk you through and provide you with the knowledge you need to build an awesome blog people can talk about.

Let’s get started!

#1. Use A Reputable Webhost Service to Blog

This key action will determine just how professional, creative, and even successful your blog has a chance of becoming.

Bluehost is one of the largest webhosting companies hosting over 2 million domains worldwide!

It’s also the number 1 recommended webhost service for blogging by WordPress.

And it’s how I started until my website began to attract millions upon millions of readers.

But to start, believe me when I say this is the best webhost for new aspiring bloggers.

What’s great about Bluehost is that it allows you to create an amazing platform no matter your niche.

It’s easy-to-use layout and tools make it a leader in its segment which is something I found to be very helpful when I first started on my blogging journey.

Everything about Bluehost is professional and easy-to-use.

So, what makes Bluehost great for blogging?

Bluehost has many benefits for bloggers.

One, is the ability to preview your posts and pages during editing.

This makes it very convenient to look at your website from an outside perspective before publishing it (super cool and helpful).

Other great benefits include:

Easy-to-use interface
Awesome themes for every niche
Professional layout
Free mailing list for your readers
Tons of helpful plugins
Integrated writing and post suggestions for SEO
Realtime traffic statistics
Super affordable
Amazing reputation

My blog looked nothing like what it looks today.

It’s currently branded and structured to the brand it has evolved to over the years.

But want to know something wild?

It still looked great even as a new blog. That’s what I really liked about Bluehost from the get-go.

It allowed me to start a presentable website even as a beginner.

Bluehost is going to provide you with everything you basically need to make your blog a success.

You’ll just have to be consistent to see the results you set for your blogging goals.

We’ll talk more about that a little later.

#2. Choose a Plan That Fits Your Needs

Choose a plant that fits your blog — How to start a blog with Bluehost.

You’ll need to choose a plan from Bluehost before you can officially start your blog. Choose the best plan for your goals then choose your domain (e.g. franknez.com).

Each plan will also have a free SSL Certificate which basically means no matter which plan you go with your website will be secured for your readers!

Now, this is VERY important.

Blogging will require you to have a secured site for your readers.

Which is the best plan?

Plus seems to be a great value considering you get everything Pro gets with the exception of high performance.

Standard performance is adequate for a beginner.

Next is your domain name.

This is what will establish your blog on the internet as a legit website to the world.

Choosing your blog/domain name is a lot of fun.

This is what’s going to differentiate you from everyone else.

Make it personal and mold it to your niche topic. Make it you.

Finish setting up your account information before getting on with some more fun steps!

#3. Get Creative | Pick a Theme for Your Blog

Pick A Theme For your blog with Bluehost — **Bluehost** provides an amazing selection of themes for your website!

Your blog is the perfect platform for you to get creative, even if your topic is more conservative.

Get creative with the way you format your posts and with the design of your website.

Stand out from other bloggers writing in the same niche as you.

Create a presence your audience will remember.

Be sure everything about your blog stands out as being genuine.

This is a great way for your blog to connect with your readers.

Bluehost has so many cool themes you can choose from.

They do an outstanding job at being able to filter them according to the type of blog you’ll be publishing.

This is a very fun part of the process.

Can I edit the themes?

Yes! You can edit the themes and move just about anything around to personalize your blog.

You can add menus, change your header image and colors, and add a ton of widgets just about anywhere on your page.

You’ll also be able to change the web address icon image for your website which is super cool.

All the themes are free, however; you can opt out for the premium versions where you can customize your page even more.

This small reinvestment can enhance your blog to the max!

Bluehost has themes for everyone

Bluehost has a variety of themes ranging from:

Singer, songwriters, artists, and DJs
Business
Spas, hotels, travel agents, travel bloggers
Magazine and journalists
Trends + more

#4. Log into WordPress

WordPress recommends using Bluehost webhosting services

Once you’ve set up your account, log into WordPress to begin creating your very first blog post!

It doesn’t take long to familiarize yourself with Bluehost/WordPress home page.

And by the way, signing up with any of my affiliate links will provide you with a discount!

Navigating your admin page is very simple.

Here you’ll be able to view your website stats and traffic along with many other awesome features to help you grow your blog.

Read: How To Draw Organic Traffic To Your Blog

Installing plugins on WordPress

Because Bluehost is integrated with WordPress, installing plugins is super easy.

Plugins are applications that can help your blog either run smoother, or more efficiently depending on what you’re aiming to accomplish.

Here’s a list of must-have plugins for all beginners:

Jetpack by WordPress: Bluehost comes with this plugin already installed. Jetpack allows you to see real-time traffic stats. You can view your monthly progress and yearly growth with this plugin!
Social Warfare: This plugin displays social icons on all your blog posts so your readers can share them! You also have the option to display the number of social shares each social icon has received.
Yoast SEO: Also part of Bluehost members, Yoast SEO is a great plugin to amplify your Search Engine Optimization. This plugin will give you suggestions to improve your blog to get the most out of it!

WordPress comments

WordPress allows you to approve, deny, spam, and trash new comments.

This configuration is very helpful because it allows you to choose what type of content can be displayed on your blog.

WordPress comments also let you reply and edit your response quickly without leaving your dashboard.

As a new blogger, aim to receive as many comments as you can.

This is going to tell Google that your blog post is relevant and highly valuable.

A great way to get people to comment on your posts is to join Facebook blog groups and engage with other bloggers.

You can also join Twitter feeds where bloggers get together and engage in each others posts to show support.

These strategies allow bloggers to help one another and gain some traction.

Google Site integration

WordPress gives you an overview to Google Site.

Here you can view your traffic broken down by organic search, direct, social, referral, and other.

These insights are help you understand where your traffic is coming from and allows you to make any assessment towards your blog goals.

You can also hover over to the locations and devices tabs to see those stats as well!

#5. Set Goals for Your Blog

Once you have access to all the tools you need to build your blog, start setting your goals.

Blogging like a champ will require you to set awesome milestones for your baby!

How many times do you plan on posting?

How do you plan on driving traffic?

Write a small business plan to break down your goals.

If one of your goals is to make money, write down how you plan on making money with your blog.

One of the most popular ways to earn money blogging is through the use of ads.

Google AdSense for your blog goal — How to become a full time blogger | How to monetize a blog.

Google AdSense is most bloggers favorite choice due to its reputation of having the highest paying ads and overall domination in its sector for beginners.

Read: How to monetize your blog with Google AdSense.

Here are simple goals you can set for your blog:

Getting your first 100 blog post views
Publishing your first 10 blog posts
Creating a logo for your website
Opening social media accounts for your blog
Monetizing your blog with Ads

Once you’ve reached your starter goals, you can begin to set bigger goals for your blog.

Maybe you’re looking to reach your first 1,000 views now and so on.

Never stop setting goals for your blog!

It’s important to note that without providing any value to your audience, your site will not make any money.

Yes, it’s important to have blogging goals and income goals but a successful blog will require you to provide immense value to readers first.

Do not feel discouraged if you get rejected by Google AdSense. Let it drive you instead.

Fun fact: Google AdSense rejected my blog about 6 times before I was finally deemed valuable enough to display ads on my site.

The good thing is that Google AdSense will tell you why they rejected your blog from displaying ads.

At least for the most part.

They actually stopped advising why after the fourth rejection.

But you know what?

I kept pushing because I had specific goals for my blog and monetizing it was a big one.

So, after going back and fixing everything I needed to and continuously putting an effort to provide value, I finally got approved.

It personally took me 1 solid month of non-stop grind.

I wanted to monetize my blog as early as I could so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it later one once I began to gain momentum (whenever it would be).

Now, this does not mean it has to take you 1 month as well.

We all work on our blogs at a different pace.

I chose to work on my blog every day after work from 7pm to 12am because of how long I actually worked (7:30am-6pm).

There were times where I would work on my blog past 12am. The weekends were no exception either.

Everyone’s schedule is different.

Whether it’s one week, one month, or one year, find the time to make it happen.

I’m proof that it’s doable no matter how many times you get rejected.

Blogs only make a decent amount of money based on how much traffic they drive to the site.

Google AdSense pays you two ways:

By the number of viewers your blog obtains
And by the number of clicks your ads receive

Advertisement money is also going to depend on your CTR, CPC, Page CTR, and other metrics.

As your blog gains traffic, your chances of earning more money increases.

See, the thing is that Google AdSense earnings actually snowball.

This means that the more you keep the momentum going, the more you actually earn.

I went from earning gumball machine money to coffee money.

Then to Taco Bell money and eventually to utility bill money.

If you can earn $0.01 online, then you can earn $1.00 and so on.

I didn’t begin earning $100s until a few of my blog posts actually gained traction.

Read: How to make a blog post go viral (45k views in one month)

Promote Your Blog on Social Media — Promote Your Blog With Everyone!

A great way to promote your blog is through the use of social media platforms.

One way I promote my posts is by taking screen shots of a new posts and uploading them onto my snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and even Twitter stories (back when they had stories).

Promoting your blog on social media will allow your website to gain traffic.

This is going to be very important in the beginning because your blog will take time to rank on google on its own.

The goal is to drive a lot of direct and referral traffic in order for the algorithm to start showing your website to organic viewers outside your circle.

Unlike the YouTube algorithm, blogs don’t get recommended to other readers.

This is why it’s going to be extremely important that you dive into business marketing as well as social media marketing.

If all else fails, this will be your number one traffic driver.

Use hashtags to optimize growth

The best social media platforms I’ve found have the best hashtag growth potential are Facebook and Twitter.

When you share a post on Facebook be sure to use tags.

This will spread your post to a variety of groups.

Same with Twitter.

However, it’s important to note that everyone’s niche might be different.

Your niche might perform better on LinkedIn, or Instagram, or Pinterest.

This is something you will learn to identify yourself as you experiment and locate your audience.

One of my long-term goals for FrankNez social media accounts was to reach 1,000 followers.

I set this goal because I knew that at this point, I would have driven a good amount of traffic to my blog, and it really just signified that I stuck to my goals.

After 16 months I finally reached 1,000+ followers on Twitter and 1,000 on Instagram.

Though now that I’ve been blogging for almost four years now, my following has really grown larger.

I want to provide my readers with a ton of value so they too can grow their social media following and optimize growth for their blog.

Here are some hacks that can help you along the way:

Go to relevant hashtags and like a ton of peoples tweets
Do the same on Instagram but over on the ‘Recent’ posts instead of ‘Top’ posts
Comment on Instagram ‘Recent’ posts as well
Go through top Instagram post comments and like ‘heart’ peoples comments
Put your blog link on the bio of all your social media accounts
Create content (posts) that will lead your followers straight to your blog
Retweet relevant and helpful posts
Visit your followers’ followers and like their content
Be consistent when publishing valuable content
Engage with your comment section
If you have no comments, be the first to spark a conversation

A lot of these hacks are meant to build awareness.

The point is to be seen by as many people as possible.

Having your website link on your bio is going to allow curious visitors to want to learn more about you.

This is why it’s important that you engage with related pages and content.

People who like your content will follow you.

At this point it’s up to you to stay active and be consistent.

Failure in doing so will result in losing followers just as quick as you received them.

#7. Revise older posts

There’s going to come a point when your posts begin to age.

My suggestion to you is to revise older posts to make them even better.

At the very beginning of your blogging journey, you’re going to eventually go back to older blog posts and see where you could have added more detail or information.

This is great!

Go through your posts every two months or so and see how you can ‘armor up’ to make them rank higher.

You might even find yourself changing the title of your post.

The point is to keep getting better.

Tip: I will say, shoot for writing long posts.

It will improve your SEO and chance of being found organically on search engines.

Never stop improving champ, you got this.

Should I delete old posts?

I’m going to be honest with you.

I’ve only deleted a few.

What I would do is go back and really take the time to improve a post and make it as detailed as possible.

Go big!

Aim for high word usage so your blog post can rank in its segment.

Take as much as you need to really power up a targeted post.

Once you’re certain your blog post will rank higher move on to the next one.

If the views don’t improve for these revised posts, figure out what you can do to rank and start seeing more organic traffic flow your way.

Chances are if you write a lengthy blog post and aren’t ranking well then it’s more than likely saturated.

Meaning a ton of bloggers have already covered the topic.

If you run into this problem, keep updating and making it better throughout the months.

Find ways to give your blog post character and make it stand out from everything else that’s out there.

Sure it may be hard to rank for certain keywords but at least you have a detailed post that is continuously being updated to provide more value.

In the end, you might just end up ranking out of the blue.

That’s what hard work does.

#8. Be Consistent

Like any business, art, sport, or dream, you must have perseverance if you are to accomplish a set of goals for your blog.

Be consistent by continuously posting and sharing your information throughout your social media and your blog.

Keep tabs on how your website is performing to see what you need to work on and how you can do it better.

If your blog gets approved by Google AdSense, be sure not to slow down your productivity.

On the contrary, this is the time where you want to put in even more effort than what it took to get approved in the first place.

Blogging can become an amazing source of passive income but will require a lot of discipline and dedication.

Put in the amount of work your goals require from you to see them through.

This creative process is a process.

Becoming a great blogger takes time.

If you find yourself for any reason derailing from publishing, go back to your goal list and see why you started in the first place.

Is it for the income? The freedom? Stay focused and make it happen!

What if I start to lose motivation to blog?

Although blogging can be an amazing escape, it can also be a little overwhelming.

Especially when you’re treating it like a business and have big goals for your blog.

Sometimes we tend to lose motivation and steer from publishing fresh content.

Believe me I’ve been there.

What’s helped me along the way is knowing when to take time off and refresh.

You’re going to want to avoid burning out.

When you burn out you don’t perform at your full potential and creativity seems to fly out the window.

Here are some ways you can regain your motivation to blog again:

Revisit your goals and see why you started in the first place. Was it for the freedom to make money and travel? Are you looking to quit your 9-5?
Searching for high income bloggers personally motivated me when I was feeling down about my own progress as a beginner. This showed me what was possible.
If you’re having writers block, take a few days off and do things outside your blog that you truly enjoy. In my case, I would write music to help spark my creativity again. I also did a lot of studying and reading to recollect my thoughts when on the brink of burning out.
Watch/listen to motivational speakers. Some of my favorite motivational speakers include Grant Cardone, Steve Harvey, Tony Robins, and Gary Vaynerchuck.
Spend time with your family. Connect with your loved ones as a means of getting away from constant work. It’s okay to take a little time off blogging.

If you get back on your feet after a burnout, that discipline and willpower is what’s going to manifest your success as a blogger.

I can honestly say that consistency is what allowed me to reach my first 100 views, then 1,000, then 10,000, my first 100K+ views, and now MILLIONS of views. The next target is 10 million and above.

All it takes is truly wanting it.

Tips for Growing Your Blog

Publish Content regularly
Create high quality content
Share every post on social media
Consistently update your SEO
Revisit old posts and make them better
Grow your newsletter
Provide outstanding value to your readers
Monetize your website
Get people engaged

Read: 10 Easy Ways To Exponentially Increase Blog Traffic

Below are some questions most people tend to ask regarding blogging. If you have other questions, feel free to comment on the blog or personally send me an email!

Is blogging dead?

Absolutely not. In fact, blogging is now more popular than ever before. According to Letter.ly, 7.5 million blog posts are published every day.

When you look something up on Google, chances are you’re more than likely going to stumble on a blog that’s going to answer your question.

Blogs are continuously growing despite people thinking blogging is dead.

Why do blogs fail?

Like any entrepreneurship endeavor, blogs fail due to bloggers quitting. It’s usually people who stop innovating or possibly should have used another niche.

Blogs need to be published by experts or people highly knowledgeable in a specific niche.

Other reasons include:

Not learning every day
Avoiding leaving the comfort zone
Using the wrong webhost provider
Not dedicating any time to update their website
Forgetting about what the audience needs
Lack of creativity
Not having goals to optimize growth
Never posting on social media

Often times the reason for failure is not being committed. As long as you’re committed to your growth then you will succeed!

How often should I blog?

Beginners should publish new posts on a weekly basis to gain some sort of traction.

You will need to have some content on your website in order to provide value to new visitors.

Publish quality content oppose to ~~quantity~~ content.

This will ensure your posts rank on Google’s search engine.

As you become more experienced, you’ll want to go back to your old posts and really work on them to the point where they begin to rank higher.

I’m at the stage where I’m publishing fewer posts but writing longer and more detailed content for my readers.

The goal moving forward is to revisit my older content and give a refresh for the new year.

This is going to help my SEO and rank higher on Google and other search engines.

In the beginning, blog enough to provide a catalog of posts to your readers.

How many posts does Franknez.com publish per month?

I’ve been blogging for 3 years now.

In 2022, I published anywhere between 20-40 articles per month.

Sometimes it’s less, other times it’s more.

How long should my blog posts be?

WordPress and Yoast SEO recommend your blog posts are no less than 300 words.

But let’s be real, you don’t ever want to do the minimum.

Especially if you’re aiming to blog like a champ!

If you’re new to writing this is going to be a little difficult.

Try starting off with a minimum of 500 words.

Shoot for 700 if you have experience writing.

With time you’ll see that you can write more detailed posts as you gain more and more experience throughout your blogging journey.

Eventually set a goal to write on average 1,000 words per post.

As you learn more about ranking and SEO you’ll find out most high ranking posts actually contain over 2,000 words!

If you’re a beginner, don’t feel discouraged.

All this takes practice and time.

What can I do to make my blog posts longer?

Here’s something that I’ve done on my long form blog posts.

Once I’ve published a lengthy article without burning out, I come back to it.

Sometimes it’s the following day, other times it’s in a week or a month.

If I’m covering an important story that requires to be updated frequently then it will be updated consistently.

Blog posts like this one, I’ve tend to come back to include even more value by answering questions you might have.

It’s really a matter of coming back to a published post and adding more value.

A newsletter is going to help your blog in so many ways.

You can share new blog posts with your subscribers.

If you have more value to provide such as products or services, you can always let them know too.

A newsletter also helps your SEO.

When you email blog post links to your subscribers, you generate a backlink.

This let’s Google and other search engines know that your link is being shared and actively clicked on from various of locations and emails.

As a blogger, I am committed to my readers.

I love emailing every single one of them regarding posts or news I know will help them in one form or another.

I also get a strong sense of fulfillment knowing I’m in a position to provide tons of value to other goal-oriented individuals in my circle.

Yes. I believe a blog really does need a newsletter.

As a blogger, your readers should be your number one priority and you should always be looking for ways to further provide value to their lives.

Our job is to enhance our readers lives.

Another thing I love about my blog is connecting with likeminded individuals.

There’s something very pleasant about spending the evening sending out emails one on one to my subscribers.

Depending on which blog post you subscribed on, I will send you personally tailored posts that you will find of value.

So if you subscribe here you’ll receive posts on how to monetize your blog and other blogging tips to help you grow!

How does a blog make money?

There are several ways a blog can earn you money.

We’ve talked a little bit of monetizing your blog with ads.

Other opportunities include:

Affiliate marketing
Sponsored posts
Self-promotion
Selling programs via. video or eBook

Affiliate marketing: your blog can promote/recommend products that you use to your readers. You earn a commission for every sale closed.

Sponsored posts: people can pay you to feature them on a particular blog post.

Self promotion: You can promote your tangible business on blog posts that can generate leads.

Selling programs: Sell your eBook on your blog or other courses that can help your readers become more successful.

By the way, my latest eBook walks your though in a much more in-depth way of how to create your personal brand and monetize it.

This is perfect for those who want to create a personal brand instead of a business brand.

Here’s how I’ve used these all in 1 blog post

On my blog post, How to distribute your music on all major platforms, I use four out of these five strategies to earn money through my blog.

Here I show independent artists how to earn passive income through streams.

On this blog post you’ll see my recommended music distributor (affiliate marketing), self promotion (my music), video in sponsored post format, and by ads.

That blog post earns money from ads.

It also has the potential to make money from possible streams, readers signing up using the affiliate link, and requests wanting promotion.

Blog posts like these create value all-around.

Have any questions? Get in contact

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below or personally email me.

You can find my contact information at the bottom of my post. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!

You can also support the blog on Patreon.

If you found this post valuable be sure to subscribe to my newsletter!

I Want To Hear From You!

Let me know in the comments section below if you’ve started blogging yet. Our readers would love to hear from your experience. And if so, what is your niche?

About The Author

Frank Nez

Frank Nez is an American journalist whose research has been cited by SEC and Congressional reports. Frank Nez has been featured by prominent outlets such as TheStreet and NewsBreak. ‘Daily Crypto News’ is now an official CoinMarketCap news source.

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