Ready to learn how to start a profitable blog and make money?!Blogging has completely changed my life. I now make an average of $2,500$3,500 a month by blogging just a few hours per week, and I’m going to show you exactly how you can do the same!
If you want to make money from a blog and create the life of your dreams, you first need to start one. From day one, you need to view your blog as a business. If you really want to learn how to start a profitable blog and make money, you have to be in the right mindset from the get go.
In my first year of blogging, I made just over $18,000! It was a mix of freelancing and blogging, but most of my freelance jobs came because of my blog.
Now, I make over $3,500/monthjust from my blog. It’s pretty amazing. I was even able to quit my full-time job to focus on my blog. Crazy, right?!
UPDATE: I took 2019 completely off from blogging (and most of 2018, too). I made over $6,000 last year doing nothing. Who knew blogging could be such a passive form of income?! I really encourage you to get started today. Your future self will most certainly thank you 🙂
Why I Started a Blog
I had been thinking of starting a personal finance blog for well over a year. In college, I majored in finance and have a huge passion for saving money, investing, earning passive income and one day becoming a millionaire (hence the name of my blog!). I actually started a personal finance blog on blogspot.com but after doing some research, decided that if I really wanted to be legit, I needed to start a blog on wordpress.ORG (not .com), pay for my domain name, hosting and theme.
Blogspot.com can be appealing because it’s free, I get that. But again – if you want to learn how to start a profitable blog andmake money, you need to be on a self-hosted site.
I finally bit the bullet and started my blog in September 2014 – right after we made a cross-country move from Arizona to North Carolina. There is SO much to learn when it comes to blogging, but the key is to take it one day at a time. The “technical” side of it can be time-consuming when you’re first building your blog (how do I get social media icons on my blog? How do I add an image? How to I insert links for advertisem*nts?), but it honestly won’t take you more than a week or so to build out. I basically had to figure all that out on my own but thanks to Google, it’s really not that bad. And, once you start figuring things out, it only gets easier!
(And – if you sign up using Bluehost, I’ll send you my book The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging for free which will walk you through everything! Yes, that’s right! My book will show you how to do all the tech stuff so you can focus on writing!)
The best way to learn something – whether it’s building a blog or investing your money – is to dive in and do it!
I’ve been blogging now for three yearsand am finally starting to see a consistent (and growing) income. And…this is just the start. Most bloggers who learn how to start a profitable blog (like me) begin making money after six months to a year. You can expect to see part-time earnings within two years, and full-time earnings (and beyond) in 3-5 years.
There is no magical formula for blogging success. Anyone can make money blogging, I promise you. What separates the ones that make money from the ones that don’t are simply the ones that make money don’t give up. You can do this!
I hope you’ll follow along my journey! I will be updating this page regularly along with posting monthly income reports so you can follow my progress. If you have any questions whatsoever, please feel free to reach out!
Here is how to start a blog a profitable blog and make money.
1: Brainstorm a topic
What do you like? What do you enjoy doing in your free time? And, most importantly, how will you make money with your chosen topic?
I already mentioned how I had been thinking for over a year about starting a personal finance blog. It’s my passion and even though I’m not really an expert by any means, I want to share my story and hopefully help others out there. So – what’s your passion? What do you find yourself thinking about on a daily basis? How can you use your knowledge to help others?
You can keep your topic general, too. There’s no rules that say you have to have a specific niche when you start a blog. If you’re a mom who loves all things babies, interior design, saving money and DIY projects, start a blog that encompasses all of those things!
During your brainstorming session, I recommend also researching ways to make money through blogging. One of the best ways to make money is through affiliate marketing – or showcasing products and then earning a commission when your readers purchase those products. Another way is through Google Adsense. Some bloggers create ebooks and other products to sell. What do you want to do? Come up with a game plan and a strategy before starting your blog.
No matter your niche, you can earn an income!! Choose something you are passionate about!
Some of the most profitable blogging niches include:
- Lifestyle
- Personal Finance
- Parenting / Mommy Blogs
- Self-help
- “How-to” Blogs
- Food
- Diet
- Home Decor
- Review Blogs
- Educational Blogs
- News
- Blogging
- Minimalism
- Organization
- Pets
- Sports
- Working from Home
- Marriage
- Travel
- Pregnancy
- Fashion
- Crafts
- Hobbies
- College Life
- and more!
2: Find a domainname
I recommend writing out a long list of domain names that you like. Once you’ve settled on a few, head over to Bluehost(where you’ll receive a special discount from me) and see if it’s available. Once you have your domain name, sign up. I recommend the basicplan. With that plan, you will receive your domain for free!
If you are having trouble narrowing down a topic, use your full name as your domain name. This way, YOU are your brand and your blog can change and grow as you do! You aren’t limited to just one topic this way.
You can check available domain names here:
Also – a special discount is given to my readers!! You will pay $2.95/month instead of $3.95/month. Every single plan is discounted through my link!
Here is a step-by-step tutorial – with pictures! – on how to install Bluehost:
Step 1: Head to Bluehost and select “Get started now”
Step 2: Select your plan. I recommend the basic plan for $3.95$2.95 per month if you’re just starting out.
Step 3: Enter in your domain name.
Step 4: Enter in your account information.
Step 5: Choose your plan.
The best deal will be the three-year plan for $3.95/month. I also added on Domain Privacy Protection for $0.99/month.
Congratulations! Now it’s time to install WordPress!
3: InstallWordPress and Bluehost Together
Bluehost makes it SUPER easy to connect WordPress. Create your password, log in and choose a theme. Launch your website (photos below) and you are all set!
The first step is to log in to your Bluehost cPanel account. Then, find the Website section and click “Install WordPress” followed by “Install.” Read through the licenses and click “Install Now.” That’s it! Photos below 🙂
You are completely done with getting your blog started! Woo-hoo! You just learned how to start a profitable blog on Bluehost.
Now, all you have to do is make it look nice and more importantly, you want it to be easy to navigate for your readers. I used a free theme for a while, but quickly decided that I wasn’t in love with the theme and I just didn’t like the overall feel of my blog. I searched for themes and came across Genesis* – which is the number one recommended theme for WordPress users. It took me a while to get it figured out, but I couldn’t be more happy with the theme overall. Then, you chose a “child” theme to make your theme customized and pretty. I choseto purchase a Studiopress theme.
*Genesis is needed in order to purchase a child theme.
4: Start blogging
I would give yourself a few days to get everything up and running on the technical side before you try to write up a bunch of posts. My brain felt dead after installing everything, buying a theme and trying to figure out how to navigate through WordPress. If I would have blogged during that time, I don’t think my posts would have been very high quality. One thing I strive for as a blogger is to have high quality, helpful posts for my readers. Whether I post 3x’s a week or 5x’s, I want to deliver valuable information.
And most of all – have fun!! This has been such a fun journey so far and like I said, I’m only a little over a month in. Good luck!!
Are you reading to get started?! What are you waiting for?! Click here to get started now, and feel free to email me directly with any questions you may have!!
Here’s a guide on how to make that blog profitable >>
How to Get My Book for FREE!
I createdmy very first eBook for all new bloggers, titled “The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging“!! It’spacked with information to get your blog up and running. This book is designed for brand new bloggers and those that have been blogging for up to six months. The book includes tech stuff to get your blog set up, post ideas, how to make money, and more!
For those of you that purchase your blog hosting and domain name through my link on Bluehost, you will receive the book FOR FREE! For those that already have a blog, you can purchase the book here. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you!
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