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Maybe you have been thinking about starting a blog for profit for awhile. You know you have things to share and say. Or you’ve read income reports and you are getting inspired to start a niche blog for profit and work from home. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to set up a niche blog step-by-step.
What is a Niche Blog?
With a niche blog, you set it up with the intent to serve a particular market or niche. I found that it helps to think of blogging in this way because it helps you identify whom you are speaking to. This audience is generally very dialed in on what they want which makes it easier to suggest products and services to them.
If built correctly, a niche blog can provide a nice income to the blogger because they build the blog based on helping their audience, and in turn, these visitors buy based on valued recommendations.
You as the blogger make a profit from affiliate links (recommended products and service). Every time someone clicks through, you receive a commission.
How starting a niche blog changed my life!
My first niche blog completely changed my life. The website was created around a balloon a helium supply company I started during my twenties while in college. In the first two years of starting the business and blog, I was making more money than I could make using my college degree! It’s crazy that you can turn a hobby or passion for something into a business for less than $5 a month (the cost of hosting your blog).
The niche I originally served was business owners who wanted to drive more traffic to their stores using outdoor marketing. I specialized in balloons and helium and tailored the website to serve this niche. Basically, potential clients would search for balloons and helium online and land on our niche website. We offered product information, videos on how to use the tanks and make balloon designs, and instructions on how they could get set up and receive a delivery.
We offered a very specialized service and our niche blog reflected this. Standing apart from the crowd and offering your own special sauce is the real key to setting up a niche website.
The balloon and helium blog was my very first niche blog, and I later sold it for six figures. I had such an amazing time with that business and enjoyed the process of growing it. Because I am a true entrepreneur at heart, I couldn’t just sit back after selling my business. I decided to create more niche blogs, and now I travel, coach, and teach others to build blogs for profit!
What do I need to set up a niche blog?
You’ll want to self host your niche blog to ensure that it never disappears on you. If you go with a free service, there’s always the potential that a platform will shut down. Plus when you self host, you can also backup your blog just in case the data gets lost.
Click here to setup a niche blog with a host I highly recommend, and then follow the tutorial below for more guidance.
Aside from a hosting platform, you’ll need a niche idea. Read below for tips about picking a niche that works for you.
How to Set Up a Niche Blog:
Step 1: Decide on a Niche
You’ll want to pick a subject or theme you are passionate about or won’t mind writing about for a long period of time. So I usually recommend you pick something you are currently in the process of learning or just learned. This way, you can jot down all the questions you asked Google when you went to inquire about the subject! These questions will be your first topics you will write about for your niche blog.
Also consider if the niche is overly saturated already or if there is room for another blogger. You will have a better chance with your new blog if you are providing help where there might be a gap or lack of information available.
Choose a niche with an upward trend in interest. If the topic was last year’s fad, move on and consider something that has long term growth. Also, subjects that never go out of style are perfect for niche blogs (such as gardening or boating). Even consider blogging about a problem you deal with or just dealt with and share the solutions you found or use (such as snoring or diabetes).
Step 2: Choose and Set Up Hosting
Bookmark this page now so you can come back to get the full instructions on how to set up your niche blog.You can click here to get discounting on your hosting. With this link, you will get a free domain name.
Then come back to follow along with me here:
Once you know exactly what your niche will be for your blog, you are ready to move forward and select a hosting company. If you are aiming to have a profitable blog, you need to OWN your blog and self-host it. This means you need to purchase hosting, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be expensive!
My blog is hosted with Bluehost, and I have VERY happy with them. The hosting is very affordable. Anytime I have had a question or a problem, they have been very helpful.
→Click this link to purchase blog hosting with Bluehost. It will open in a new window (and then you can follow along with me here for step-by-step instructions to get you set up).
STEP 2. Choose and Register Your Domain
Your domain name is your www.blogname.com. PICK ONE YOU LOVE and will work with your niche. This is sometimes the hardest part of starting a blog. You want the name to be memorable and easy to type. It would also help if the keyword for your niche was in the domain name as this could possibly help your rankings in search engines.
When we started the balloon and helium supply company, we actually purchased many domain names. We thought of keywords that people might type into search engines, such as heliumtanks and heliumtankrentals. No one owned those keywords at the time, so we grabbed them and had them all point to one website.
I recommend doing a little research before you just pick a domain name on the next step. You can try typing in domain names in another webpage to see what’s available. You can also try https://instantdomainsearch.com to find available domains. It’s a free service and worth taking a little time.
I also suggest making sure the name is not licensed or trademarked already and that it’s available on social media accounts. You don’t want to secure this domain name to find out that someone already has the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram handles to your domain name!
Once you figure out a great name, type it in the new domain box when you sign up for Bluehost.
Related Article: If you need a step-by-step guide to set up your blog on Bluehost, you can head to this article.
STEP 3. Research Affiliate Products for Your Niche Site
Next you want to brainstorm what your perfect client would need to solve their problem. Is there a product or service that would help them? The easiest way to start a niche blog and make money right away is to become an affiliate for companies which offer products that you can talk about on your site. As an affiliate you earn a commission anytime someone clicks on your link to the product.
When I started the balloon and helium company, I didn’t manufacture the balloons or helium, I called up a few companies and got quotes and instructions on how I could become a middle man supplier. With a little research, I found the perfect balloon and helium companies. Then I posted prices on my website and promoted the site online using blog posts and videos. With time, my little site started to rank number one on the search engines under major keywords like helium.
To get set up with affiliates for your own niche site, think about what your visitors will need to solve their problems. For example, if you are creating a site to help people lose belly fat, then you would want to become an affiliate with companies that have products related to losing weight.
Some of my favorite affiliate companies to get started with are: Amazon, ShareASale, MagicLinks, Clickbank, FlexOffers, JVZoo, and Teachable.
With time, you will learn how to sign up as an affiliate with companies you love and want to recommend. The course I recommend you work through to learn how to best monetize with affiliates is Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. This course has been a game changer in helping us make money faster with our blogs.
STEP 4. Outline and Write 10 Niche Articles
Next you want to brainstorm what your perfect client would ask or search for in relation to your niche. Of course you will also post articles about the products and services you offer, but you want to incorporate those reviews into helpful articles.
It comes across as spammy if you are just talking about the products all the time. Take some time to think about what your audience struggles with the most. What’s their greatest pain point? List out things they might search for in Google.
Then write to them as if you are talking to a friend. If your friend confided in you that they have been struggling with back pain and you overcame the same problem, what would you say to them to share how you overcame it? What product did you use? How did it change your life for the better?
Use your own style to write the blog posts and share your testimonial to the product or service. If you recommend a product based on the outstanding results, say so! You could even interview others who have been through similar experiences and now live a better life due to the affiliate product.
STEP 5. Promote Your Site
The two best ways to promote your site when you first begin is Pinterest and YouTube. Pinterest is really considered a search engine and because of this, people are looking for solutions to their questions, problems or ideas.
YouTube is also a place where people go to find instructions on how to use products and so it is the perfect platform to help others. You can create short videos providing guidance and then lead potential clients back to your site where they can sign up for your newsletter to receive more tips.
STEP 5. Don’t Give Up!
Starting a new business takes dedication and commitment. I see new bloggers get setup and then they get stuck on a step and give up. What I will say to you is Don’t Give Up! It takes time for your niche blog to be searched and found by Google, but with time and persistence, your website will start to gain traction.
More than anything, congratulations on setting up your very own niche blog website! Think of this as your own little piece of the internet, where you will create something amazing. And, if you do it right, you will provide help to others, connect with new friends, and make money while you’re at it.
It’s gonna be awesome.
If you would like all my tips for getting your business up and running quickly, head over to the Be Passionate and Prosper course. This training is loaded with step-by-step tutorials to help you select the perfect business and get it up and running in no time. And remember, if you need help with setting up your Bluehost website, be sure to check out my free step-by-step guide – How to Start a WordPress Blog on Bluehost!
I love hearing how you are doing on your new business and blogging journey! So please comment or share your comments below about how it is going for you. Feel free to ask any questions if you need help getting setup.
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