In this post, we answer the question, “How to start a blog that not only captures attention but also makes money in 2024?”

With the digital landscape continuously evolving, entering the world of blogging can seem daunting.

Yet, the opportunity to establish a platform that reflects your passion and generates income is well within reach.

By following a few well laid out steps, you too, can learn how to go from initial idea to a fully monetized blog.

And this guide is designed to walk you through each and every one of those steps.

You’ll learn how to carve out your niche, analyze competitors to find your unique angle, set up a compelling domain name, and build a robust blog infrastructure that appeals to both users and search engines.

We also dive into developing a content strategy that resonates with your target audience, launching your site with a bang, and eventually monetizing your traffic through various innovative strategies.

Whether you’re looking to share your expertise, connect with like-minded individuals, or build a profitable business, this guide will provide you with all the necessary tools and insights.

By the end, you’ll know not just how to start a blog, but how to sustain and grow it into a valuable online asset.

Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Picking a niche
2. Get a feel for your audience
3. Pick a name for your blog
4. Get web hosting
5. Getting comfortable with WordPress
6. Installing a theme
7. Building your blog infrastructure
8. Keyword research and topic brainstorming
9. Create your first content hub
10. Start writing blog posts
11. Monetizing your blog

How to start a blog that makes money in 2024

Since you have made it this far, I guess that you are very interested in learning how to start your very own blog.

I don’t need to exact reason, I’m just glad that you’re here.

Because blogging is much more than just talking about things. It’s a legitimate business model that has the potential to earn you a substantial income.

Therefore, launching a successful blog in 2024 involves a lot more than just posting random thoughts online.

It requires a strategy, a nice website, topical knowledge, keywords, a will to learn, etc.

In short you need a game plan for your blog.

Sounds complicated?

Well, it doesn’t have to be…

You see, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to start a blog that is successful.

In fact, all you have to do is follow a tried and tested formula that is almost guaranteed to work.

Note that I said “almost”, after all this isn’t magic.

If you can replicate this method, which only consists of a few steps, then you too can create a blog that’s not only looks good and is engaging, but also is profitable.

And this guide is designed to walk you through each of those steps in a straight forward and simple manner.

Covering everything in a logical order an with as much detail as possible, while walking the fine line trying not to overwhelm you.

Sounds good?

Let’s have a look at step #1.

Step 1: Picking a niche

When you start a blog from scratch, you need to do some careful planning and clear conceptualization of what you want to achieve.

Aka. you need to pick a niche.

This step is critical as it lays the groundwork for all subsequent decisions and actions.

Here, you’ll pinpoint your blog’s purpose, select a niche that resonates with both your passions and market demands, and start to understand deeply who your readers will be.

Planning and conceptualization are all about aligning your blog’s vision with the practical aspects of blogging.

By the end of this phase, you should have a clear idea of the direction you want your blog to take, who you are writing for, and how you can position yourself in the niche you have chosen.

How to decide what niche to pursuit

Understanding what you are passionate about and what can also attract an audience is the first step.

A well-chosen niche can help you stand out in a crowded market.

This part of the phase involves deep reflection on your interests and skills, as well as some market research to identify a potentially profitable niche that isn’t oversaturated.

But finding a niche that isn’t oversaturated today is nearly impossible, right?

Wrong.

Think of your blog as a restaurant, even if you open it right next to a few others, you’ll still get customers.

The same goes for blogging.

So, start by asking yourself these two questions:

1. Do I enjoy talking about this topic?

When you start a blog, loving what you blog about is key.

Or you need to at least be interested enough to learn about the topic.

It’s completely fine to dive into a niche you know nothing about as long as you are curious enough about it.

Because, if you aren’t genuinely interested in what you write, it will show in your writing.

Also, if you don’t live your niche with the passion of 1.000 burning suns, you will run out of things to say, and ultimately loose momentum and give up.

And even more importantly, if you’re in this as a business, you need to love it to not lose momentum.

Now I already head you say: “But everyone has already written about the thing I love”.

Here’s the deal, if you love something, you shouldn’t shy away from it just because the numbers say it’s hard to rank for.

Sure you might have to work a bit harder to get posts to rank, but it’s still doable.

And since you’re here, I guess hard work isn’t scaring you.

2. Are someone else interested in this besides me?

Okay, so you have a thing that you have a deep passion for, let’s say lawnmower restoration.

Now you might feel like there is only you and 4 other dudes in the world that loves this.

But the world is big and so is the internet.

Just do a quick Google search and you’ll see just how many shares your interest.

Over 10 million results, so you’re not alone.

So, choosing the right niche is important to the success of your blog.

It determines your audience, influences your content, and plays a crucial role in differentiating your blog from competitors.

But if your initial idea is a bit broad and covered by big companies like The New York Times, Forbes, etc.

Then niching down could be a good idea.

Niching down and picking a sub-niche

When you start your blog and the niche you want to pursuit is covered by major companies like I just mentioned, then it’s time to niche down and pick a sub niche.

You do this because there is no realistic way that you can compete with this large blogs with a brand new blog.

You need some domain authority to do that.

Selecting a niche is not just about honing in on a topic that interests you; it’s about finding a segment within a market that has enough interest yet isn’t too competitive.

Naturally this is also the solution to “oversaturated” niches.

A sub-niche, which is a narrower area of a broader topic, allows you to focus even more closely on a specific audience’s needs and preferences.

This will significantly enhance your blog’s ability to attract a dedicated readership and improve monetization opportunities.

Stop looking at only at the surface level, dive a bit deeper and you’ll find an ocean of opportunities.

Lawnmower restoration is fine as a niche, since it’s already very specific, but “traveling” is way to broad.

You have to pick a more specific topic, like “Road Tripping”.

My top tips for niche discovery

Okay, so you want to start a blog, but still have no idea what niche to pick.

This is your last resort to figuring this out. If you can’t find a niche after this, maybe blogging isn’t for you.

Assess your passions and skills:

Start with what you know and love.

A niche that aligns with your interests or professional expertise is more sustainable in the long run.

You need to consider that you’ll be talking about the topic a lot and for years to come.

Can you do that without ruining your passion?

If the answer is “yes” then there you go, start writing about that.

Start reading

When you don’t know where to start, start reading…a lot!

Read about everything, every topic that spikes even the littlest of interest in your heart, read up on it.

See if anything hooks your interest.

Even if you’re no expert, people love reading about newcomers who challenge the status quo.

Follow the demand, not just your passion:

While it’s important to choose a niche you’re passionate about, your ultimate choice should marry your interest with actual demand.

If no one is there to read it, then maybe your niche is too specific, try niching up a bit.

This approach ensures that there is a ready and searching audience for the content you are planning to create.

Build a blog around yourself:

When all else fails, this is the ultimate solution for when you want to start a blog without knowing what to target.

Now your niche is YOU and so is your brand.

So your website would be called your name .com or something very similar.

This is an amazing idea that has produced many successful bloggers.

Truthfully, this is such a good idea I wish I knew about this when I started this site. But I stand by the fact that my name doesn’t look good in as a website name.

Anyway, building a brand bout yourself gives you some massive advantages:

• You don’t lock yourself into one niche.
• You can pivot with ease, meaning that you can start with one sub-niche, and if it done’s work out, just change to another one.
• It’s very easy to scale.
• You can easily build a brand on other platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
• Easy to brand.
• It’s very hard for someone to replicate.

So there is real power in having a blog that is branded to YOU.

Step 2: Get a feel for your audience

Once your niche is selected, you need to learn a bit about who your audience is and what they crave.

I’m not going to go super deep into this right now, but a little knowledge is good to start.

To put simply…

You do this now so you know how to tailor your content to meet the needs and solve the problems of your future readers.

Such a simple thing like this can help you a lot further down the line when it comes to growing your blog.

This sure sounds like you need a masters degree in sales, but you don’t.

It can all be answered with a few questions, which I’ll show you next.

The reason why you’re doing this is because…

Knowing who your readers are, what challenges they face, and what information they seek can help you create content that resonates and builds loyalty.

Start by asking these questions

To start understanding your audience, consider these key questions:

1. Who are they? (Demographics like age, gender, location)
2. What are their interests? (Related to or beyond your niche)
3. What problems do they need solutions for? (Pain points that your blog can address)
4. Why would they read your blog? (What unique offerings or perspectives do you provide)
5. How do they consume content? (Preferred formats and platforms)

These questions can guide your content strategy and help you tailor your approach to meet the specific needs and preferences of your audience.

Now, if you are very passionate about your niche, then all of this will come natural.

You know their interest, whey they’re searching for, how your knowledge can help, and how they like to consume content.

For example, I have a deep passion for cars and motorcycles, and I’ve been modifying them for the past 15 years. This means that I have a lot of experience in the field.

I also know what problems this audience search for, how much they’re willing to pay and what content gaps there are.

This knowledge made it easy for me to conduct further research and create content that solved their problem.

The result, a website that ranked number one for years with only a few targeted posts.

This website had, at the time, 0 domain authority and only 19 posts, and it still generated a top 3 position on Google and over 3K clicks.

Step 3: Pick a name for your blog

So you have your niche, know your audience, now it’s time to give your new blog a name.

Remember, this is your brand so think twice before deciding,

Why?

Because it can be very labour intensive to change later.

The key here is to not do like me and spend way to much time trying to find the perfect name.

Did I find the perfect name after two weeks of thinking…no, are you going to…probably now.

You need to keep the ball rolling and not get stuck in perfectionism.

A brand is built over many years, and the name will become memorable even if it’s not perfect in your mind.

The best way to come up with a name for your blog is to brainstorm and take notes of every idea that comes to mind.

Depending on your creativity level, this could fill up a spreadsheet pretty fast.

If you are as creative as me, then my guide on domain names is for you.

Once you’ve spent a few minutes doing this it’s time to see what’s available.

And just to clarify, a domain is your little piece of land on the internet.

My domain, Thelifestyleoverload.com is my domain and also my brand.

This is the address you’d put into the address bar to find my piece of internet land.

But what this also means is that this domain is taken, which means that you can’t have it.

But how do you know what’s free and for sale?

You do this by heading over to a place like the Bluehost domain checker and start entering your ideas.

Preferably you’d want a .com address, and I’d suggest that you search until you find one that is available.

Your name as domain name

A word of advice when using your own name as a domain name is to think twice about what you want.

If you want a blog that is yours for life, then this route is perfectly fine and it gives you a lot of wiggle room.

However, if you plan on selling your site in the future, then I’d suggest using something other than your name as a domain name.

Alos, sometimes, like in my case, a name doesn’t look good as a domain name.

Take me again, I’m from Sweden and have letters that are unique to the swerich alphabet in my last name. You can’t use those in a domain name, and it doesn’t look good to remove them either.

So I had to come up with another plan, aka. Thelifestyleoverload.

Is it perfect, I don’t know, but it covers what I’m passionate about…Lifestyle in every way, shape and form.

Quick tips on choosing domain name

Here are some quick tips on how to choose a domain name that will work every day of the week:

• Always pick a .com address.
• Stay away from homophones, hyphens and in some cases numbers.
• Keep it short and sweet (I failed miserably at that).
• Make sure it’s easy to say and spell.
• Avoid using misspellings.
• If you can, use wordplay to give things a fun touch.

Here is a few examples of great wordplay brands:

• Curl up and Dye – hairdresser
• Baguetty Junction – sandwich bar
• Spruce Springclean – cleaner
• Cash 22 – pawn broker
• British Hairways – barbers
• Crumbawumba! – sandwich bar

If these didn’t give you a little smirk then I don’t know what till.

If you’re done with the domain name, then let’s move on to the next step.

Step 4: Get web hosting

We’re now at the point where it’s time to get your blog live.

Exciting, I know, this is where the really fun stuff begins.

If you’re not that technical, this can sound like it’s way out of your comfort zone, but we’ll get there togheter.

It’s not that hard, and I’ll guide you through it all right here.

To start, your blog need web hosting (this is your property on the internet) and you need a domain name as well (your blog’s digital address).

With these two people have a way to find you and you have a place to build your brand on.

For this I like to use Bluehost since they offer hosting and domain name as a package deal, which makes things easier for us.

And I like it when things are easy, how about you?

Plus, these deals are also very affordable, which is great if you want to get started in the blogging game.

1: Picking a hosting plan

Start by heading over to Bluehost and scroll down until you see hosting plans.

Here you’ll see four options – I’d recommend that you start with the “Choice Plus” plan simply because it have everything you need to get started.

This plan starts at 3.99/month.

In fact, I used this exact plan when I started, now I’m on a Pro plan.

But to start 40GB of storage should get you though your first 100 posts or so.

You could save a few bucks and go for a Basic plan, but you’ll quickly run our of space. And the extra security that comes with the Choice Plus is well worth it.

If you want the best deal possible, then go for the 36 month subscription plan. Typically with Bluehost, the longer duration you buy, the better deal you get. So if you know that this is what you want, then go for a 36 month plan.

This also gives you an extra bit of accountability since you now are in for a while.

I like that, and it really helped me keep pushing through the hard times when I started. I mean I paid for it and I’m not going to let that money go to waste.

However, if you don’t want that kind of commitment, then the 12 month option is sweet deal as well.

Once your happy, click on “Select” and go to the next step.

If it by chance asks you to add an online store to the mix, click on Skip and move on. We don’t need to complicate things with a store right now.

2: Adding your domain name

The next step is to add the domain name you came up with in step three.

If you did your homework back in step three then this should be as easy as adding the name to the box on the left and press “Next”.

3: Finishing the web hosting deal

Up next is the boring stuff aka. paying for things.

In the first boxes you create the account, here you’ll need to fill in:

• First name
• Last name
• Country
• Street address
• City
• State
• Postal code
• Phone number
• Email address
• Password

Then, in the next section you get information on the plan you selected.

In the third section you get to pick additional services.

I like to add the SiteLock Essential to the mix when you’re a beginner, since this keeps your site safe from malicious attacks while you learn things. However this can just as well be done with free plugins, and Yoast SEO free is more than enough to get you started.

The rest, you can leave unchecked.

All that is left now is to go through the checkout process.

Once that is done you’ll be taken to a setup wizard that guides you trough every step of setting up the environment for your blog.

The one thing you need remember is that when it asks you how you want to build your site, select WordPress. This is important!

Alright, your’re done, your new blog has a home on the internet.

Now it’s time for the really fun stuff.

Step 5: Getting comfortable with WordPress

When you start a blog, you need a blogging software or platform.

There are many to choose from, but from my experience, WordsPress is the best. It’s user-friendly, easy to learn, free and very powerful.

After all there is a reason why over 43%, or 810 million websites uses WordPress in 2024. (Stats from SearchLogistics).

What makes WordPress so powerful is because it offers thousands of free plugins that gives you the power to customize your blog infinity.

This is also why I like Bluehost, since they take car of the WordPress installation for you. You don’t have to be a computer expert or install anything, it happens automatically.

Anyway, now it’s time for you to familiarize yourself with the WordPress platform.

So, from the Bluehost dashboard, click on “Websites” and then “Edit Site”, this will take you to your blog’s WordPress dashboard.

From here you can add plugins, create posts, add pages, edit themes and much more.

What I want you to do is to simply get to know the interface to the left, since that is where all the action happens.

Click around, explore the menus, and when you’re ready, move on to the next step.

Step 6: Installing a theme

So, now that you’re a bit more familiar with WordPress, it’s time to get to work.

In the world of WordPress, pre-built sites are called themes and that’s what we’re going to be working on now.

From the start, your website will look extremely plain and boring, like this:

But it’s not going to stay that way for long.

You need something that fit’s your name and brand better than a white, boring page.

You want something that will make your readers go: “Wow, that’s a nice site”.

So, how do you choose, I mean WordPress comes with thousands of themes for a variety of purposes. Honestly, it’s easy to get stuck here for hours browsing theme after theme.

But we need to keep the momentum going, so we must pick something.

Even if it’s not the perfect one, it’s a start, you can always change it later, or can you…

Technically you can, but there is a better way of doing things.

You use a good premium theme from the get go.

And I always recommend that you go with a good premium theme instead of trying to make free themes “work”. Ask me how I know…

Free things are after all free for a reason, and with WordPress themes you will run into limitations very quickly.

And since you are in this for the long haul, buying a theme that you can grow with is a good investment.

There are a bunch of premium themes out there, and some top contenders are:

• Elementor
• Kadence
• Elegant Themes
• and more…

I like using Elementor Pro since it’s powerful, comes a WordPress editor, has a lot of features, is easy to learn and is fairly cheap, only $59/year.

Installing the best Elementor theme

First and foremost, you need to know that Elementor is a theme builder plugin for WordPress, which means that everything is done inside the WordPress dashboard.

Simple, right?

And by getting Elementor Pro you unlock tons of features that makes website building super easy, and it also comes with a theme specifically built for the Elementor editor.

First, if you’re new to WordPress, then the dashboard and menus might look complex and confusing. But you need to keep calm, becoming an expert doesn’t take long.

First you need to pick a theme that works well with Elementor Pro. Actually you need a theme that was build with Elementor in mind.

Luckily for you there is such a theme available called “Hello Elementor”.

To install this, go to the “Appearance” menu and click on “Themes”.

From there click on “WordPress.org Themes”. It could also say “Add New”, but it’s the same thing, just click on it.

To find the “Hello Elementor” theme in the sea of themes, head over to the search bar on the right and type in “Hello Elementor”.

Once it shows up, should be the first one, click on “Install” then “Activate”.

There you go, the theme is installed, now all we need is an editor.

Installing the Elementor editor

Like I said earlier, the theme you just installed is build to work flawlessly with the Elementor theme builder and editor.

So let’s install that now.

From your WordPress dashboard, head over to “Plugins”, then “Add New Plugin”.

Then go to the search bar and type in “Elementor”.

You should now see the website builder as the first result. Click on “Install Now” and then “Activate” to activate the plugin.

Perfect, you now have the theme builder installed. And if you look in the left hand menu, you’ll find it there just waiting for you to get to work.

Purchasing and activating Elementor Pro

You could start you journey with the free version of Elementor, but if you want the most out of this editor you need to go premium.

This will unlock templates, 50 pro features, landing pages, popups, and more…

To Install this, simple head over to Elementors homepage and hover in “Pricing”, when the dropdown displays, click on “Page Builder Plugin”.

Now you need to pick a plan, I’d recommend that you start with the “Essential” plan and upgrade from there if you need more.

SImply click on “Buy Now” and then go through the checkout process.

Now, to activate Elementor Pro, login to your Elementor dashboard and click on “Billing”, then “Subscriptions”.

Next, click on “Download zip”.

Now, to activate the Pro plugin go to your WordPress dash, then to “Plugins” and then click on “Add New Plugin” just like before.

From there click on “Upload Plugin”.

WordPress will now ask you for a .zip file. Now choose the Elementor .zip file you just downloaded and click on “Install Now”.

When the installation is done, click on “Activate Plugin” to activate Elementor Pro.

After the installation is done, you’ll be prompted to connect Elementor Pro with your Elementor account and activate your licence. This is very easy, just follow along the activation wizard, it’s only 5 steps.

Alright, you have the theme and a theme builder, and in the next step we’ll start building and customizing your blog.

Step 7: Building your blog infrastructure

After setting up your blog’s name, domain, and CMS, the next step is building a robust infrastructure that will support your blog as it grows.

Here we focus on creating a solid foundation for your blog.

Creating a blog that not only looks good but also functions efficiently under increasing traffic and content demands.

This step is about setting up a practical, navigable, and aesthetically pleasing site that will form the backbone of your blog.

And by ensuring that these elements are in place, you will provide a seamless experience for your visitors and lay the groundwork for the future.

Creating your minimum viable website

A minimum viable website consists of the essential elements needed to start engaging with your audience and rank in search engines.

Initially, your focus should be on setting up a website that meets the basic requirements to start attracting readers and search engines.

This includes creating key pages, and ensuring that your site is mobile-friendly and fast-loading.

So let’s start with the pages your site needs.

Key website pages to create:

You’ll need to develop a few core pages that every professional blog must have, such as the Home page, About page, Contact page, and a dedicated Blog section.

Each page serves a specific purpose and contributes to both user experience and SEO.

• Home Page: This is often the first page visitors see. It should clearly communicate what your blog is about and highlight recent or key posts.
• About Page: Tell your story and explain what readers can gain from your blog. This page helps build a connection with your audience.
• Contact Page: This page is the gateway for your audience to reach out to you, and it gives your site a more professional look. It’s also great for deepening the relationship between you and your readers.
• Blog Standard Page: This is where your blog posts are displayed. Ensure it’s well-organized and easy to navigate.
• Archive Page: Helps visitors find older posts based on categories, tags, or dates, enhancing the discoverability of your content.

If you want to know how to build a website that looks as good as it performs, I highly recommend that you read my guide on the topic. It can be found here…

In that guide I cover exactly how you build a website that both search engines and readers love.

Optimizing your site for SEO

A word that you’ll hear a lot when you start your blog is SEO and its importance.

And to a certain extent SEO will be your bread and butter for bringing in traffic.

SEO is basically the practice of optimizing your site so it can be found by search engines for specific keywords and phrases. It’s also a way for you to structure your site so it becomes easily indexable by web-crawlers, but that’s a rabbit hole in itself.

So you might as well set it up right away right away, before you even start writing your first blog post.

The good thing is that WordPress makes easy work of setting up and optimizing the technical aspects of your blog.

And your first step into SEO optimizing your blog is to install the Yoast SEO plugin.

Simply head over to the plugins menu in the sidebar and click “Add New Plugin”.

Then do a quick search for “Yoast SEO” in the search bar, and it will be the first result you see.

Click on the “Install Now” button and once the installation is done, hit “Activate”.

You can now access the plugin, wither by clicking on the little “y” icon in the top bar, or by the “Yoast SEO” menu in the sidebar.

Now, to keep this guide at a reasonable length, I have created a separate guide on exactly how to set up Yoast for a blogging website.

If you’re interested in learning this, the guide is right here.

Adding a XML sitemap

This is a part of Yoast SEO as well which makes it very easy to configure. (Also found in the guide I talked about one sentence ago).

It’s a set and forget kind of deal.

Here’s the deal, you need a XML sitemap for one good reason.

It helps Google and other search engines to crawl your site for new posts and pages.

First, you need to double check that Jetpack XML Sitemap is disabled. It sometimes is active by default, and we don’t want two sitemaps, that’s just one too many.

So head over to Jetpack and click on “Settings”.

Then click on “Traffic” and scroll down until you see the “Sitemap” option. Simply click on the toggle to turn off this sitemap generator.

Now, with that done, go to the “Yoast SEO” menu and click on “Settings”.

From there, scroll down until you get to the menu called “APIs”, then click on the “Enable Feature” where it says “XML Sitemaps”.

But you’re not done yet, now you need to define what the sitemap will contain. I like to only contain posts and pages, the rest, like tags and categories, will be excluded.

To do this, scroll back up again and look in the left hand menu.

Under “Content Types” you’ll see posts, pages, landing pages and legal pages, click on each to display the option to include or exclude them form the XML sitemap.

Do the same thing in the “Categories & Tags” menu.

Submitting your sitemap to Google

Now all that is left is to submit this to Google Search Console. I assume that you’ve already set this up.

First, copy the sitemap URL to your clipboard.

You do this by heading back to “Site Features” and then scrolling down to “XML Sitemaps” again.

But this time, you click on the button that says “View the XML Sitemap”.

This will open a new window in your browser. Copy the URL behind the / of your URL., for example: https://yoursiteisawesome.com/sitemap_index.xml

Then head over go GSC and click on “Sitemaps” in the “Indexing” menu.

Now, paste the URL into the “Add New Sitemap” input field and click on “Submit”.

Congratulation, you just added a sitemap to your site and now Google will have a much easier time understanding your site.

Setting up a permalink structure

A permalink is the complete URL used to access specific content on a website, such as a post or page.

It’s called a permalink because it is meant to be permanent and unchanging.

It typically includes the domain name (www.yoursite.com) and a “slug”, which is the part of the URL that follows the domain name.

This “slug” can contain a date, category, or custom text.

Simple permalinks help make URLs straightforward to understand and share.

As you can understand, permalinks are very important and one of the few things you need to get right from the day you start your blog. Changing it later can be a true hassle and really hurt your SEO score.

Luckily for you, this is very easy to set up.

Start by heading to the “Settings” tab in the WordPress side menu, and then click on “Permalinks”.

Then simply click on the “Post name” option to select it.

This is by far the best and cleanest looking permalink structure your new blog can have.

And before you leave, remember to hit “Save”.

That’s it, permalinks done.

Optimizing for mobile devices

Once you start building your site, one important thing to keep in mind is mobile devices, especially phones.

Nowadays people use phones for everything and not optimizing your new blog for it could be a costly mistake.

I mean, don’t you hate it when you visit a site and the site doesn’t fit the screen?

I know I do, it’s a big deal breaker for me.

So don’t let your audience down with a bad user experience.

It’s very easy to be mindful about this when you use elementor as a editor.

Everytime you’re in the page designer, simply toggle responsive mode button and you’ll get device option at the top of the screen.

I have a guide walking you through how to optimize your blog for mobile users if you’re interested in learning more.

Step 8: Keyword research and topic brainstorming

Just like when you named your blog, getting started with keyword research also involves a bit of brainstorming.

You do this to get the wheel rolling then you use keyword research tools to dive deeper figure out the data.

I’ll be honest, I can’t cover every aspect of how to do keyword research for your new blog here. If I did, then then this post would go on forever…

So I’ve decided to put the deep dive on keywords and how to research them in a separate guide.

But here is the quick TL;DR version.

Start by creating a new sheet in Google Sheets, you’ll need it.

Now, if you know your niche, then you can probably brainstorm a few keywords in less than 10 seconds.

But once those are out things get harder, and this is where you have to sit down and think.

Think about all the question someone might have about your niche.

Think about the pain points and struggles.

Even go as far as thinking about your own experiences and your unique angle.

Do you disagree with the rest of the world talking about this, great, now you got a lot of “Why’s” to talk about.

Start writing down every idea that comes to mind, no matter how small or insignificant.

It doesn’t have to be complete blog titles, a word or two is enough, like this:

This list is your seed for the research that is about to come.

Once you get the hang of this brainstorming strategy, you can come up with new awesome ideas on the fly everywhere. I can get a random idea at work when in a meeting, then I have to discretely take notes of this so I can add it to the list later.

Expanding your research with keyword research tools

Once you’re tapped out and can’t come up with any more ideas then it’s time to turn to the tools.

These tools can help you expand your keyword list hundredfold just by entering a seed word or phrase.

When using these tools, there are two metrics keep track of: Volume and Keyword Difficulty (KD).

• Volume: This is an estimation of how many searches was done on this keyword the past month.
• Keyword Difficulty: This is a calculation these tools do to figure out how hard the keyword is to rank for. 0 is easy to rank for and 100 is damn near impossible.

What you want to find is keywords or phrases that has high volume and a low KD.

Depending on your niche this can be either easy or hard, which is why it’s important to niche down.

Sure you might want to write for a keyword that has a KD of 98, but since you just started your blog, you can’t.

You need to start by targeting easier search terms.

However, in my experience, I have found that these numbers are simply a vague indicator of what’s possible to rank for.

Typically a very high number is usually very accurate because of the data surrounding it. But lower numbers are a bit more fuzzy.

You can even put in a term you know people ask for and get a 0 traffic result in these tools.

Does this mean the keyword is useless and that you shouldn’t target it…

Hell no!

You should write about it anyways, because of one good reason.

15% of daily Google searches are brand new, which means that the keywords tools don’t have any data on them.

And with 8.5 billion searches being done daily, that is 1,275.000,000 new searches.

How to use a keyword research tool – the simple way

Using a keyword research tool to expand your list of post ideas is never a bad idea.

And it’s something that can be done with a very little upfront investment.

There are many of these tools to choose from, for example:

• SpyFu
• Ahrefs
• Ubersuggest
• SemRush
• Moz

Personally I like to use SpyFu, since it’s very affordable and gives you a lot of tools for research, competition spying and tracking.

You can get started with it for free and do some rudimentary keyword research, however if you want to build lists and track your sites ranking, you need a paid plan starting at $39/month.

So, how do you use these tools?

First head over to SpyFu and enter a keyword in the search bar and press “Search”.

For this example I used “Golf swing” as a search term.

Now you will be presented with a bunch of results.

You will also notice that some are grayed out, which is because this is the free plan.

On the left you’ll see a overview of the keywords, showing:

• Monthly volume
• Esitmated clicks
• Paid clicks
• Difficulty

Now if you look to the right, you’ll see the “Questions” results. This is a great place to find long tail keywords to target on your blog.

And if you want to get more information on a particular phrase, simply click on it and the data for that phrase will be displayed.

Then, rinse and repeat for as many times you want.

A bonus way to find keywords with a lot of potential

“How do you find keywords that I know people are searching for?”

Great question, and there is a way to find valuable keywords for free.

Use Google…

It’s as simple as that.

Whenever you search for something on Google, the top results for that term will be displayed.

But what many don’t know is that Google also displays valuable keywords to target if you’re just starting your blog.

If you scroll down a bit you’ll see the “People Also Ask” section.

This is a gold mine for keywords, because these are terms that Google has identified as popular questions people have asked when searching for the original topic.

And since Google thinks these are important questions, they will guaranteed have traffic flowing to them.

To unlock even more questions, click on the arrow of a question and the close it. This will automatically display more related questions.

Do that a few times and you’ll have a goldmine of potential blog posts right in front of you.

You can slow scroll down until you see the “People Also Searched For” section.

This will also display interesting keywords and phrases that has a lot of potential.

However, these tends to be a bit broader relations compared to the “Also Asked” section.

But I highly recommend that you spend a bit of time doing this when you start your blog.

If you do this well, it will be like hitting the ground running for your blog.

Step 9: Create your first content hub

So you have a great big list of keywords now, but how do you make sense of all this?

Where do you even start?

Great question, a list of 150 keywords can sure overwhelm anyone who’re just starting out.

One tactic I like to use is to utilize content hubs to structure your keywords into more manageable sections.

Then your list will look like this, much more manageable.

By using content hub you not only group keywords together, but you also create an amazing SEO strategy.

You see, search engines like to make sense of the content on your blog. By having a neatly organized content hub that links to many other posts and vice versa, you make it easy for web crawlers to crawl your site.

And since every piece of content in your hub is closely related, search engine have an easy time understanding your site.

You want to be a go-to source for a specific broad search term, like “Golf” for example.

Ultimately, content hubs is a strategy used for topical domination.

Which is both great for SEO and for traffic as well as revenue.

Plus, content hubs makes it easy for your audience to navigate your site.

Now content hubs take time to build, therefore it’s a long term strategy.

But it doesn’t matter…

You are still going to write a blog post for every keyword on your list anyway, so why not use a killer SEO strategy while doing so.

There are a lot of technical aspects to building content hubs, and if you want to know more about how to do it, read some of my guides.

I recommend starting with this one covering what types of content hubs there are.

Now it’s time to move on to writing your first blog post.

Step 10: Start writing blog posts

When you start a blog, you want to be blogging right?

And the only way to do that is to start writing content that you’ll be publishing on your new blog.

But what type of blog posts should you publish, aren’t they all the same?

The short answer is, no…

4 types of content should every newly started blog should focus on

Before you write anything, you need to know where to focus your efforts.

Not all content are created equal and knowing where to start gives your blog the best chance of rapid growth.

And seeing some actual progress now in the beginning is crucial to not loose inspiration and motivation.

Don’t do like me and start writing hyper targeted, in depth posts targeting far too difficult keywords. That will only leave you questioning your sanity a year in without any result.

Trust me, I questioned my sanity more than once when i struggled the most and I don’t want you ending up doing the same.

During my trial and error perion, I spoke to industry leaders, watched seminars and read/watched what felt like every blog post and video on the topic…

But I managed to come to a conclusion that actually proved to work…

There are four types of content you should focus your efforts on.

Honestly, these four are the only once you need to focus on…period (if you want to make money).

So what are they?

How-To posts

How-To posts is, at least according to me, the bread and butter of your blog for one good reason.

Tons and tons of people are using the internet to figure out how to do things.

I do it daily, you probably do it, even your mom is doing it.

Spending a lot of your blogging efforts here is good for two things.

One, you help solve real problems for your readers, and people love when they find a solution for a problem.

Two, you build credibility by posting how-to content that actually works. It shows that you know what you’re talking about and that you can be a trusted resource.

Best X for Y posts

These sort of tag along with the theme of the “How-To” posts.

Best X for Y posts are basically you listing and explaining what you think are the best X to solve Y.

For example “Best long range golf clubs” or “Best turbocharger for a 2.5L engine”.

Think of these posts as a combination of a expanded lists post and a review.

People love reading these posts when they are in the research phase looking to buy something.

They have a problem and they want to find the best solution for it.

And there you are, listing X best ways to do so.

Review posts

When people are looking to buy something, the last step before the purchase take place they typically look for review of the product.

I bet you do the same.

So putting some extra effort here and publishing good reviews can be a money maker.

And you can start reviewing with whatever is related to your blog and niche.

Have a cooking blog, how about doing a review of your favorite frying pan.

A word of advice with review post it that you focus on these a bit later in your blogging career for two reasons.

Frist, you might not have enough experience whit the tool (or whatever it is) to write a good review about it.

Readers can detect this inexperience like bloodhounds sniffing for a steak.

And secondly, you haven’t yet mastered the art of writing blog posts…yet.

Once you know how to write and have enough experience, then start reviewing the tools and thing in your niche that you actually use.

List posts

People love lists, that’s a known fact.

They are easy to consume, and very sharable which is good to drive traffic.

List posts can be about anything from fastest cars under $5000 to Google ranking factors (which actually is a real post you can read here).

How to write your first blog post

The good thing about WordPress is that offers a simple editor that makes easy work of getting your ideas onto paper and ultimately online.

You can create new blog posts directly from the dashboard.

In the left sidebar click on “Posts”.

This will take you to a list of all your blog posts, and since this is your first one the list will be empty.

To create a new post, click on the “Add New” button either at the top or in the sidebar.

This will take you to the editor where you can start scribble down your thoughts and ideas.

Now you might be tempted to use Elementor to create your blog post, but that is something I recommend against. Use the WordPress Gutenberg blocks instead, which allows you to easily add headings, media, buttons and a bunch of other stuff.

Writing blog posts is much faster using the Gutenberg blocks instead of the Elementor editor. You loose a bit of style editing features, but with a good post page set up, this doesn’t matter.

To access the Gutenberg blocks, click on the “+” in the left corner.

When you start working on a new blog post, WordPress automatically adds an empty H1 and the first paragraph.

So you can start writing right away.

Once you’ve added an amazing H1 title, save the post as a draft. WordPress will now create a permalink based your title. Don’t worry about that one for now, you’ll change it later.

Now it’s time to start writing the meat of your post, and you do that in the large text area.

To speed things up, WordPress recognizes the block you use often and adds them to a “quick access” menu. Just click to button on the right to open it.

Add as many headlines and paragraphs you need to speak your mind. Just remember that there is only one H1 heading, then you’ll use H2, H3, etc.

Once your happy with the writing it’s time to add images to your posts. Images are great to break up your content and make it easier to consume while also engaging your readers.

To add an image, click on the “+” sign and then select the “Image” block.

Since this is your first blog post, your media gallery is empty, so click on “Upload” to add an image or two to it.

After the image is uploaded, highlight it and click on “Select” to add it to your post.

After you’ve finished your article it’s time for the final tweaks, namely SEO optimization.

This is not a lengthy process since you did the smart thing and installed the Yoast SEO plugin.

To make your blog more optimized for SEO, scroll down to the bottom of your post and click on the “Yoast SEO” bar. This will open post optimization.

There are four main things you need to focus on:

1. Focus keyphrase
2. SEO title
3. Slug
4. Meta description.

In the preview window you’ll see what your post will look like when someone sees it in Google’s search results. And changing slug, title and meta description will alter the look of this.

The focus keyphrase (your keyword) is a set and forget deal, and this is what Yoast will use to tell if your post is on topic or not sort of speak.

What I like about Yoast is that is gives you real-time feedback as you write, making it easy to optimize while you work. I does this for both SEO and readability, below is an example of SEO.

So how much should be in the green for a well optimized post?

Naturally you’d want as many green dots as possible, but it’s not the end of the world if you can’t get a perfect score every time.

80-90% in the green and you’re good to publish.

Once you have written a few masterpieces, you’ll learn that some dots are easier to achieve then others. Personally I always struggle with: Keyphrase in subheadings and subheading distribution.

Now it’s almost time to publish your first post, but before you do, do a preview of it. You do this by clicking the little computer screen at the top, choose a device and click “Preview in new tab”.

Does the post look good?

Can you confidently say that you achieved these items:

• Do you use a conversational tone?
• Does the post have a good flow?
• Is the spacing correct and not to cramped?
• Are you using a appropriate heading structure?
• Is the post grammatically correct?
• Is the focus keyphrase baked into the post in a natural way?

If you said “Yes” to all of the above then feel free to smash that publish button.

Here’s what my post look like:

Congratulations, you just published your first blog post on your blog.

Not only that but you have now set up a blog that both looks good and is optimized for SEO traffic.

It feels pretty good knowing that you did all of this by yourself, doesn’t it?

I think you deserve a pro tip for all the amazing work you’ve just done.

To get your site indexed quicker, submit them to Google Search Console.

You do this by copying the URL of your post, heading over to GSC, pasting it in the top fiel and pressing enter.

From there click on “Request Indexing” and you’ve successfully submitted your post URL to Google.

Now it’s all about repeating the process for every keyword on your list.

Step 11: Monetizing your blog

I don’t know the exact reason you had for starting your blog, but I know that one of mine was to make some extra cash on the side.

Ultimately I want to be able to live on my blog full time, and maybe you want too.

So once your blog is up and running, monetizing is something you should keep in mind from day one.

Having the goal of turning your blog into a money making machine early on will in the end decide how you approach blogging.

It is a hobby or a business?

I vote for business!

There are several strategies to consider when it comes to moentixing a blog, each suited to different types of content and audiences.

So now we’ll explore both direct and indirect monetization methods, as well as some innovative avenues that might be less traditional but can be highly effective.

What monetization options do you have?

Monetizing a blog involves a mix of strategies that can generate income directly from your audience or through partnerships with other businesses.

The choice of strategy will depend on your niche, audience size, engagement level, and content type.

Also, it also depends on what you’re comfortable doing.

But is very simple terms there are two ways of making money: direct or indirect.

Direct monetization: Ads, affiliate marketing, selling products

• Ads: Utilizing advertising platforms like Google AdSense allows you to earn money by displaying ads on your blog. The revenue can be based on clicks or impressions.
• Affiliate Marketing: This involves promoting other people’s products and earning a commission for each sale made through your referral. There are many affiliate programs to choose from and generally, if you want those high commissions, look for software and digital products.
• Selling Products: Depending on your niche, you can sell digital products such as ebooks, courses, or physical merchandise directly to your audience.

Indirect monetization: Influencer marketing, sponsored content

• Influencer Marketing: As your blog grows in popularity and credibility, brands may pay you to promote their products or services. This requires building a strong personal brand and a loyal audience.
• Sponsored Content: Partnering with businesses to create content that promotes their offerings can be lucrative. It’s essential to maintain transparency with your audience about sponsored content to keep their trust.

Innovative avenues: Crowdfunding, selling main business services

• Crowdfunding: Platforms like Patreon allow content creators to receive funding directly from their audience in exchange for exclusive content or perks.
• Selling Main Business Services: If your blog is tied to a business, use the platform to promote your primary business services, such as consulting or coaching, which can be a significant revenue source.

So where do you start?

My opinion is that you look into affiliate marketing when your first start out. This unless you have your own product you want to sell, then focus on monetizing that.

Why start with affiliate marketing for a new blog?

The reason is very simple, low startup costs and zero development needed. Plus, you don’t have to worry about customer support.

Also, for the majority of times, it’s free to join a affiliate program.

Another cool thing about becoming an affiliate is that there is no cap on how much money you can make, some affiliates make millions per month.

So if you get good at driving traffic, there is no limit to what you can do.

However, it’s important to experiment with multiple methods to find what works best for you, your blog and your audience.

BONUS: Maintaining and growing your blog

After launching your blog and beginning to monetize it, the next challenge is maintaining its growth and keeping your audience engaged.

This requires consistent content production, a solid strategy for engagement, and community building.

This bonus section offers guidance on creating an editorial calendar and strategies for audience engagement that fosters a sense of community.

Creating an editorial calendar

An editorial calendar is a good tool for planning your content strategy.

It helps you organize your posts, balance your content types, and ensure you consistently publish new content.

But most of all, it helps you maintain a consistent publishing schedule.

Here’s the basics of a content calendar:

• Planning: Determine how often you will post and what types of content you will deliver on specific days. For instance, tutorials on Tuesdays and industry news on Fridays.
• Tools: Use tools like Google Calendar, Trello, or specialized software like CoSchedule. These tools can help you visualize your content schedule, set deadlines, and assign tasks.
• Flexibility: While consistency is key, your calendar should have enough flexibility to accommodate trending topics or urgent updates that need to be addressed.

Engaging with your audience and building community

Engagement is not just about driving traffic; it’s about building relationships and community around your blog.

Ultimately, without your audience you’re blog is nothing more than pieces of words floating around on the internet.

Here’s a few ideas on how you can engage with your audience:

• Interactive Content: Encourage comments and discussions by asking questions in your posts and responding to comments and feedback.
• Social Media Integration: Use social media platforms to extend the conversation, share behind-the-scenes content, and promote user-generated content.
• Email Newsletters: Regular newsletters can keep your audience updated and bring them back to your blog. Include exclusive content or early access to create a VIP feeling.
• Webinars and Live Events: Hosting live events or webinars can deepen the connection with your audience by offering them real-time interaction.

By using these strategies, you can ensure that your blog not only retains its current audience but also continues to grow and thrive in a competitive digital landscape.

Conclusion

There you have it, the essential steps to starting a profitable blog in 2024, each tailored to guide you from the foundational planning stages to advanced monetization strategies.

By now, you should have a pretty clear roadmap outlining how to identify your niche, analyze your competition/audience, and carve a unique space for your blog on the internet.

Additionally, setting up a strong domain, crafting compelling content, and effectively engaging with your audience should no longer mysteries.

This comprehensive guide aimed to arm you with the tools needed not only to start your blog but to ensure its ongoing success and profitability.

The skills and strategies discussed here are designed to turn your blogging aspirations into tangible outcomes, enhancing both your personal and professional life.

Now I’d like to hear from you:

What aspect of starting a blog do you find most challenging?

And what is your biggest takeaway from this guide?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.