How To Start A Blog That Makes Money (2024)
Are you a beginner…?
Do you want to start a blog in 2024?
You don’t know where to start? And how to start a blog in 2024. Don’t worry you are on the right blog post.
In fact, this article is not only about starting a blog. We are going to guide you from start to grow, and also we share the secret recipe to monetize your blog.
First, know why you should start blogging in 2024.
Blogging Growth Statistics, Source – SEMrush
We show you this data for motivation to start a blog and to answer a burning question Is blogging still worth it?
So this data is from 2020, but blogging is still worth and valuable tool for businesses. Blogging world has evolved over time, with the rise of social media and other forms of online content like reels or any type of short video, but blogs still offer a unique and powerful platform for long-form, in-depth content.
Steps To Start A Blog in 2024
- Choose Your Blog Niche
- Purchase a domain & web hosting
- Choose your blogging platform
- Set Up WordPress
- Customization and Install useful plugins
- Write your first blog post
- Tips to Grow Your Blog
- Way of Monetization
So let’s begin!
Step 1: Choose Your Blog Niche
The first baby step in starting a blog is choosing a perfect niche.
So, What is the niche?
To understand what is a niche? In simple, it is what you’re going to write about.
But the problem is picking blog niches is one of the most challenging steps of starting a blog.
Because the competition is too high and In the beginning, you have no idea how to choose a successful niche?
To choose a successful niche follow 3 golden rules:-
- Interest
- Profitability
- Expertise
First rule: Find your interest
The first rule is to identify your personal interests.
Your interests lay the foundation for selecting a successful niche.
Recognizing your interests is the initial stage in the process of choosing a successful niche.
Second rule: See the Profitability
While having an interest is crucial, it alone is insufficient for ensuring the success of your blog. Profitability is equally important.
Without generating revenue, your blogging journey may become unsustainable.
In the year 2023, approximately 600 million blogs were created. Shockingly, 80% of these blogs failed within a mere eight months of their creation.
This statistic underscores the importance of not only finding your interest but also exploring avenues for profitability.
So, my suggestion is to first identify your interest and then assess the potential for profitability.
Third rule: Can you say I have expertise?
do not start without expertise…
The third rule involves evaluating whether you possess expertise in your chosen niche.
Having identified your interest and explored profitability, the crucial question arises: Do you have the expertise required?
If you have followed these three essential rules for niche selection, then congratulations!
Note: By adhering to these three gold rules, you can increase the hope of choosing a niche that aligns with your interests, offers profitability, and leverages your expertise.
Step 2: Purchase a domain & web hosting
Before purchasing a domain name and website hosting, let me explain to you what is it, quickly.
What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is the URL of a blog that a visitor will use to open a blog.
For example www.key2blogging.com. Learn more »
We have Good News, You will get a free domain name if you go through our recommendation, Hostinger
Let’s talk about Hostinger, What is a Hostinger, and why do we choose Hostinger?
What is a Hostinger, and why do we choose Hostinger?
In this article, we choose hostinger,
To continue to purchase, choose the Premium or Business web hosting plan which includes a free domain name.
Along with that, you can host up to 100 websites in the same hosting.
If you are planning to start more websites in the future you can easily host all of your websites in the same hosting plan.
Hostinger allows you to create free professional Email addresses.
Here, click on the Add to Cart button and it will redirect you to the checkout page where you have to select the Period of the hosting.
I recommend going with a minimum of 1 or 2 years of hosting at a time as the renewal cost will be higher.
You can easily create an account by signing through Email, Google, or Facebook account.
Now you can select your payment method Like a Credit card, Paypal, Google Pay, Alipay, etc fill out your basic details, and complete the payment.
After that, you will get a confirmation email from Hostinger along with Login details.
Step 3: Choose your blogging platform
When it comes to choosing a blogging platform, undoubtedly the answer is WordPress.
If Blogger is your preferred platform, we have created a video and blog post that you can watch or read.
Why WordPress?
Why?? WordPress website is better as compared to other websites.
let’s learn
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers a large part of websites on the internet(43.1% of all websites on the internet are built on WordPress ~ colorlib.com).
Here are some reasons why WordPress is considered better than other platforms for Content Management:-
- User-Friendly: WordPress is easy for beginners.
- Community Support: Large community aids development.
- Cost-Effective: Open source, lower overall costs.
- Themes & Plugins: Extensive options for customization.
- SEO-Friendly: Built-in features enhance searchability.
- Scalability: Grows with your website’s needs.
Step 4: Set Up WordPress
Now you have purchased the domain and hosting, You can install WordPress on it. Go to the websites tab in the Menu.
Click on the “Create or Migrate a Website” option on Hostinger.
Now click on the Create New Website Option.
Here, You can either buy a New domain or Use any existing Domain.
Just Follow the setup widget and choose the Auto installer to install WordPress on your preferred domain.
Now you have to enter your Website name, Email Address, Username, and password and Hit the install button.
And After that Hostinger will automatically install WordPress on your domain.
Now wait for some time to install an SSL certificate on your website and then you can log in to your WordPress Admin panel.
Step 5: Customization and Install useful plugins
Here are some key customizations you need to do after installing WordPress.
First, you need to change the permalink structure of your website. Go to settings > Permalinks choose the Post name as shown in the below screenshot and save the settings.
Now Go to General settings and add your Site title and tagline, Check your Site URL, Admin Email, Time zone of the website, etc.
Now you need to install your Website theme by going to Appearance > Themes.
Here, you can install the theme according to your Requirements. Here are some popular themes you can try on your WordPress website.
List of Popular WordPress Themes
- Generate Press
- Kadence
- Astra
- Zakra
- Hello Elementor
- Blocksy
- Neve
Now you need to install Plugins according to your website type and requirements.
Here are some Popular and most used plugins in WordPress.
List of Popular WordPress Plugins
- Yoast SEO
- Rankmath SEO
- All-in-one SEO
- Short pixel Image Optimizer
- Converter for Media
- Imagify
- Litespeed cache
- WP_ROCKET
- Elementor
- Kadende Blocks
- Generate Blocks
- Wordfence
- Pretty Links
- Scriptless Social Share
- MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress
Remember, Always try to use as less plugins as possible. If you use too many plugins then the chances are the website speed will go down and you may encounter different compatibility issues or bugs in the future.
Step 6: Write your first blog post
Wow, you are going to write your very first blog post.
Writing a blog post is not related to completing your homework or texting your ex; you need to focus on a multitude of things.
You need to Optimize your blog post title, heading, and the way you write.
You need to know where, how, and why your focus keyword should be.
So, Watch this video to learn about all the fundamentals.
After watching the above video I guess you got all clear.
Step 7: Tips to Grow your blog
It’s true that growing a blog in 2024 is more challenging than it was in 2020-2023.
So, what are the exact ways to grow your blog?
Simply writing many articles and sharing them on social media isn’t enough.
To truly succeed, you need to focus on quality content, building authority, and engaging your audience.
Thinking your content is super cool doesn’t matter. Google and your audience don’t care about your self-perception. You need to learn how to create engaging content that keeps your audience hooked. This involves sharing your story and creating a connection with them.
Now, let’s share some valuable tips that top content creators and I follow:
- Connect with other bloggers
- Use guest blogging as a Strategy
- quality content on your blog
- Write about trending topics
- Respond to everyone
- Invest in your blog design
Don’t obsess over your ranking. If you follow these six tips and are consistent in your efforts, you will start seeing blog growth within several months.
Just see the above image, what did you find?
20% ranking of your content depends on Authority? Yes! It’s true.
If you are starting your blog today, then don’t think that you will rank at the top on Google and you will earn a lot of money, you don’t. Most of the top rankers in Google are highly authoritative websites.
Just do what you know and what you love, do best from your side, and after a month you will get an idea about ranking(slowly).
Step 8: Way of Monetization
Now, you have a blog and you build the audience, but what if you’re not generating any money, right?
So, the best way to monetize your blog in the initial stages is by using Google Ads. Yes! You can use Google AdSense to start earning from your content.
Read This, If you want to know more about Google Adsense:-
- What is Google Adsense? How Does It Work?
- How to get an Adsense account approved in 2024
- How To Apply For Google AdSense in 2024
Slowly you will know many ways of monetization, but right now here I have a list of monetization.
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsored posts
- Sell courses
- Sell digital products
- Accept donations
Bluehost
Bluehost is a reputable web hosting company known for its reliability, ease of use, and affordable pricing.
The $2.75 plan includes 50GB disk space, hosting for 1 WordPress site, a free domain, an SSL certificate, 24/7 support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
HostGator
HostGator is a well-established web hosting provider recognized for its variety of hosting plans, including shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting.
The $3.75 plan features support for 1 WordPress site, suitable for 100k visits per month, free website migration, and 1GB of backup space.
SiteGround
SiteGround is a leading web hosting company known for its exceptional performance, security features, and top-notch customer support.
The $2.99 plan includes free setup and transfer, a 30-day money-back guarantee, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, suitable for ~10,000 monthly visits.
FAQ
Conclusion
So, you’ve learned how to start a blog in 2024. This article is just a starting point, offering guidance for launching your very first blog along with some tips on ranking and monetization.
To become a top contender on Google, you’ll need to dive deeper into blogging and ranking strategies. We’ve already shared numerous articles that provide insights into achieving better rankings and resources to support your growth.
Check out some of our best articles listed below:
- Technical SEO: The Ultimate Guide
- SEO Basics: Beginner’s Guide
- Best WordPress Hosting of 2024
- How to Create a Business Plan For Your Blog
- On-Page SEO: The Definitive Guide
- Best SEO Tools for Blogger
If you’re facing any challenges while starting a blog or experiencing issues with your ranking, feel free to use our contact form to reach out.
Thanks for spending time with us. Wishing you success in launching your first blog in 2024.
Interested in tutorials? Visit our YouTube channel: /@key2blogging
Bye! Build your career with key2blogging Helpful tutorials.