The Ultimate Guide: How to Start a Blog and Make Money in 2024

Here’s my guide on how to start a blog and make money in 2024

Have you been considering starting a blog in 2024, but wondering if it’s still relevant in a world dominated by video-based social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels?

While it’s true that video content is what everyone seems to be doing these days, owning a website should still be a primary focus for anyone looking to establish themselves as an authority in their niche. Niche websites are still incredibly profitable, one of my favorite methods of generating passive income, and can be even easier to create content for nowadays by taking advantage of advancing technologies such as AI.

I like to think of a website as a home base for your content. It’s your spot on the internet where you have complete control over basically every aspect including your message. It doesn’t change with trends and it’s always there for your audience to come back to. Social media platforms, on the other hand, can be useful for enhancing your written content and helping build new audiences while cross promoting between the two.

When it comes to blogging, SEO and organic traffic from the big G (Google) is still king and it’s what I focus the majority of my efforts on.

For this guide, I’m going to walk you through the steps of starting a blog as a beginner with making money as a primary goal, and we’ll explore how you can use social media to enhance your content and grow your audience.

Step number one will be the brainstorming part. You’ll need to decide what your niche website – or blog, I will be using these terms interchangeably from now on – will be focused on.

But how do you go about choosing a niche for your blog anyway?

I’ve made websites that are so broad, that you can write on literally any topic you could think of, and some websites that are narrowed down pretty heavily. There is no one answer that is correct in this part, however, I’ll tell you that each of these styles has their advantages and disadvantages.

If you decide on creating a super broad website, you run the risk of Google not being able to understand what your website is about and you might find that they just don’t show your website in their search results very often.

To combat this, I’ve found that it’s extremely helpful, especially in the initial stages of content creation to stick with topic clusters, rather than completely unrelated topics from one blog posting to the next.

If you decide to make a website on a more specific topic such as r.c. airplanes as an example, you’ll find that you can really become an authority in that specific topic, which does help with Google’s understanding and tends to result in them showing you for more search results over other websites that are less focused around a specific topic.

The disadvantage here is that you might run out of content ideas and may find that your niche isn’t as lucrative as you thought it might be, forcing you into that awkward position of either abandoning your project, re-branding to continue expansion, or making additional projects, which a beginner can find difficult to juggle.

One important thing to keep in mind when choosing a niche that you plan to monetize is its potential for commercial intent. This means thinking about whether there are products or services that people could be willing to spend money on in the niche. This also means that there should be some transactional keywords that are relevant to the niche.

By choosing a niche with some commercial intent, you open up all kinds of opportunities for making money from your blog down the line. You don’t have to focus solely on commercial topics, but as long as some topics in your niche have the potential for commercial intent, it should be sufficient.

Focusing on a niche with commercial intent can also help you attract a more targeted audience, which can be an added benefit when monetizing.

I recommend just keeping this in mind when you are deciding on the topic. It’ll cancel out some potential dead-end ideas you may come up with and keep things on the right track.

Having a clear niche helps you understand what people want and how you can make content they’ll love.

Method #1

The first method, which I use when choosing any new niche, or topic to write on within a niche is to just use Google’s auto-complete feature in its search. It’s simple, but has never let me down. Just start typing a keyword and see what Google suggests. These suggestions are going to be what people are actually searching for, so it’s a great place to start.

Method #2

Another tool to try is Google Keyword Planner. Again, it’s free and provides insights into search volume and competition for your keywords. Given that these results are straight from Google itself, I trust them more than even the paid tools.

Method #3

If you’re feeling fancy, or have the money to shell out for some additional tools to make your job easier, there are paid keyword research tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs. They give you even more detailed insights, suggestions, ideas for improving and analysis, but they’re kinda expensive, so I recommend starting with the free tools first.

Method #4 (Take advantage of the power of AI)

We live in a world where information and ideas are easier to brainstorm than ever before with AI being as good as it is today.

AI chatbots such as Chat GPT, Bard, or Claude can be incredible for brainstorming ideas and getting inspiration flowing. I recently wrote a guide on how to use Chat GPT to brainstorm ideas for your niche, so check that out for more on that including example prompts that you can use for Chat GPT to make things even easier!

By being thorough in researching your potential keywords and choosing a good niche, you’ll know what people want and more easily be able to create content they’ll love. This will help you get more readers and establish yourself as an expert in your niche.

Here are a few steps that a beginner to marketing and SEO in general can use to gauge competition in a niche and decide if it’s something you should build a blog on:

1. Identify your desired topic in a broad format. It could be anything, but I recommend something that you have at least some interest in.
2. Once you’ve identified a potential topic, simply type it in to Google search and see what comes up in the results pages (SERPs)
3. Analyze the top pages and websites that are showing up. Take note of if they are a blog, a store, a Reddit post, a forum thread, etc.
4. Copy the URLs of each page and paste them into a domain authority checker tool such as this one. You will get a result that tells you the DA (domain authority) for the entire website on a scale from 0 – 100. You will also see a number for PA (page authority) next to this, also on a scale from 0 – 100, this number refers to the authority it is estimated that that specific page on the website has. Use this is a rough estimation for how difficult this topic might be to rank for. The higher the number, the more difficult it is most likely to be to rank for. It’s not 100 percent accurate, but it is a great guideline. If you can find topics in the 1 – 20 range those are great for starting out.
5. Look at the content that is showing up and ask yourself if there are any gaps or information that is missing from the content you are seeing that you could potentially improve upon in some way. Google’s goal (aside from making money) is to show the most helpful pages first. It doesn’t always achieve that goal but if you can be the most helpful source for a specific topic, it will put you in a position that could lead you to being one of the top results.

Now that you’ve got your niche idea selected (if you don’t go back to step one :P) it’s time to actually make your blog. In 2024, especially for beginners, I still believe the best and easiest option for doing this is creating a self hosted WordPress website. Straight out of the box, WordPress blogs are fairly SEO friendly and secure, and with a few adjustments you can be up and running in no time.

Below I’ll make sure you have all the necessary tools and knowledge to create a successful blog. I’ll cover everything from choosing and registering a domain name, selecting the ideal web host, installing WordPress, and adjusting DNS settings to link your domain with your hosting provider.

These next couple steps are the only ones that require much technical know-how, but I’ll try and explain it as well as I can so even those following along who happen to be tech-illiterate can get through this part on their own.

Your domain name is your online identity, so pick one that is unique, memorable, and representative of your blog’s niche. To register a domain, visit a reputable domain registrar like Namecheap.

Search for available domain names by entering keywords related to your blog’s theme. I recommend that you look for one that is a “.com” TLD, however, you may choose something else if you prefer.

Once you find a suitable domain name, follow Namecheap’s registration process to purchase the domain.

For some tips on choosing the perfect domain name, check out How to Choose and Register a Domain Name.

Every website needs a web host or a server.

Picking the right web host is crucial for your blog’s performance, security, and scalability. If you know what you’re doing, you can research different hosting providers and compare their features, prices, and support. There are a ton of different providers to choose from, each with their own positives and negatives, some more catered towards certain businesses.

Here are two options that I personally think are really great and would highly recommend for your websites. I currently use both of these for my projects:

GreenGeeks: Perfect for beginners seeking an affordable, eco-friendly hosting solution. GreenGeeks provides easy WordPress installation, 24/7 support, free SSL certificates, automatic backups, and a user-friendly cPanel dashboard.

You can sign up for Green Geeks hosting here.

Cloudways: A feature-rich managed web host for those who want a scalable solution with room for growth. Cloudways offers flexible, pay-as-you-go hosting plans, managed backups, advanced caching options, and a custom control panel for easy management. You can also host multiple websites on one hosting plan which is a nice bonus.

You can sign up for Cloudways hosting here.

Bluehost, WP Engine, and SiteGround are also popular hosting choices, each with its unique advantages and drawbacks. Compare their plans, performance, and customer reviews to make an informed decision.

If you’d like some more info on choosing the best WordPress hosting, read this great blog post by the folks over at WP Beginner.

Once you’ve signed up for a hosting plan, you’ll receive a welcome email with login details for your hosting account. Follow the instructions to access your account.

If you ended up going with Green Geeks log in to your cPanel dashboard and look for the “Softaculous” or “WordPress Installer” icon.

Click on it, and you’ll be guided through the WordPress installation process.

Choose your domain, set your username and password, and click “Install.”

For a more detailed guide, check How to Install WordPress on GreenGeeks.

If you ended up going with Cloudways, you’ll first need to set up a server to install WordPress on.

First, log in to your Cloudways account and click over to the “Servers” page and click on “Launch Now”.

Next, navigate to the “Applications” page and click “Add Application.”

Select WordPress from the available options, choose your server, and click “Add Application.”

Once installed, you’ll find your WordPress login details in the “Access Details” tab.

For further step-by-step instructions, read How to Install WordPress on Cloudways.

This step will point the domain name that you purchased for your new website to the hosting account that you just set up.

To link your domain with your hosting provider, you’ll need to update your domain’s DNS settings. Doing this will be a little bit different for the two main hosts that I recommended, so I will go over how you can do it for each.

If you chose GreenGeeks, log in to your Namecheap account and navigate to your account dashboard and then click into the “domain list” from the menu on the left.

Find your domain and click “Manage domain.”

Look for the “Nameservers” section and select “Custom DNS.”

Enter your hosting provider’s nameserver. For GreenGeeks you will add these 3 entries:

Once you’ve added those entries, click “Save” which is the green check mark to the right.

If you chose Cloudways, log in to your Namecheap account and navigate to your account dashboard and then click into the “domain list” from the menu on the left.

Find your domain and click “Manage domain.”

Look for the “Nameservers” section and select “Namecheap basicDNS” if it is not already selected. Cloudways does not have their own name servers so you will leave them as Namecheap’s default.

Then click over to “Advanced DNS” from the menu above.

Here you will need to input a few host records from Cloudways.

So, head over to Cloudways and log in to your account.

Once you are logged in, head to “Server” from the menu and click on the server that you created when signing up for your Cloudways hosting account.

From here, you should see a “Public IP” for your server. Click on the server ip to copy it.

Then head back over to the advanced DNS settings in Namecheap.

Under the list of items in the “Host Records” section, click “Add New Record”.

Select “A Record” from the drop-down list and input “@” into the “Host” box, and paste the “Public IP” that you copied from Cloudways into the “IP Address” box. Click on the green check mark to confirm this change.

Repeat this step one more time by clicking “Add New Record” once more.

Once again, select “A Record” from the drop-down list, but this time input “www” into the “Host” box. Paste the same “Public IP” address that you copied from Cloudways into the “IP Address” box. Click on the green check mark to confirm this change.

Now you will need to wait up to 48 hours for DNS propagation, however, it’ll most likely be something closer to 15 minutes.

Once complete, your domain should be correctly connected to your WordPress website.

For a more comprehensive guide on pointing your domain to your web host if you used a different host, please refer to How to Point Domain Name to Your Web Host from the WP Beginner website.

Next we are going to get the basic appearance and functionality of your blog spruced up a bit.

In this step we are going to get a theme applied so the blog is a little easier on the eyes, we’ll also install some plugins that I think are extremely helpful, and we’ll optimize your blog for speed and SEO.

A fast-loading website is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings. My recommendations will be keeping bloat to a minimum.

A visually appealing theme is important for creating a positive first impression on your visitors.

I’ll be recommending two free themes that I think are excellent starters, but if you would like to choose something different, go for it!

The two free themes which I recommend are Astra and Neve. Both are lightweight, easily customizable, and look great, especially if you have the technical know-how to tweak one of the starter templates on your own.

Paid themes are also available if you want something that looks fancy and might have some extra features out of the box.

If you decide to go with a free theme, it’s very easy to install it. Just follow the few short steps below to do so:

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Appearance > Themes.
3. Click “Add New” and search for your desired theme (e.g., Astra or Neve).
4. Click “Install” and then “Activate” to apply the theme to your blog.

To customize your theme and adjust basic settings, navigate to Appearance > Customize. This area allows you to modify your site’s colors, typography, layout, and more.

Customizing your theme can get pretty advanced. It’s important to not stress about this part too much initially, as you can waste a lot of time for nothing here. It’s better to get a basic appearance for the website that is presentable and move on to the more immediately important aspects.

You can always come back to this part later when the blog starts to see some success.

To keep your website running smoothly and efficiently, keep the number of plugins you install to a minimum. Every plugin you have will cause your website to load slower. While some are incredibly useful, the tradeoff is sometimes not worth it.

Here are the plugins that I recommend based on your chosen host:

A caching plugin improves your WordPress blog’s performance by storing static versions of dynamic content. This reduces server load and response time, leading to faster page loads, better user experience, and improved search engine rankings.

Instead of a caching plugin, you could opt for a CDN instead, but each will have their positives and negatives.

Cloudways users: Breeze is a great option as it’s pre-configured for Cloudways applications.

To install Breeze, go to Plugins > Add New, search for “Breeze,” and click “Install Now” followed by “Activate.”

GreenGeeks users: LiteSpeed Web Cache is an excellent choice that is compatible with Green Geeks hosting.

You can install this by going to your WordPress dashboard, on the menu to the left navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for LiteSpeed Cache and click “Install”. Once that is finished, click “Activate”.

Regardless of your hosting choice, we recommend Rank Math SEO in this spot. I’ve used AIOSEO and Yoast in the past, but this is my favorite option with some additional features that I’ve found to be extremely helpful including instant post indexing and great analytics integrations.

To install Rank Math, go to Plugins > Add New, search for “Rank Math,” and click “Install Now” followed by “Activate.” For optimal configuration, consult this Rank Math setup guide.

By carefully selecting your theme and installing only the essential plugins, you’ll create a fast, SEO-friendly blog that appeals to your readers and ranks well in search engines. In the next section, we’ll discuss monetization strategies to help you start making money from your blog.

Creating high-quality, engaging, and SEO-friendly content is the most important step in all of this and the key to running a successful website.

While this topic can be incredibly in depth, I’ve put together some of the key points to adhere to with every piece of content that you write to give your work the best chance for success. This portion will make up the majority of your work, however, the good news is that it is easier than ever to be productive at this. While I don’t condone using AI to write articles for you, they can be incredibly useful in getting you a rough outline, and even a rough draft out in an instant, which you can then go through by hand and rewrite on your own with some support to fall back on.

1. Understand your audience: Knowing your audience is the first step to creating compelling content. Define your target demographic’s age, interests, professions, and challenges. Engage with them through comments, emails, or social media to understand what kind of content they’re interested in. The more you understand your audience, the more you can tailor your content to their needs.
2. Keyword research: Keywords are the terms your target audience uses when searching for content like yours. There are 4 different types of keywords which target different intent that a searcher has. They are informational keywords, navigational keywords, commercial keywords, and transactional keywords. Familiarize yourself with each of those types before deciding on the keywords you choose for your content. Then use keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find keywords relevant to your niche and preferably longtail keywords with low enough competition that you can actually rank for them. These tools can provide insights into search volume, competition, and even suggest new keywords. Incorporating these keywords naturally into your content helps search engines understand what your content is about and improves its visibility.
3. Craft compelling headlines: Your headline is often the deciding factor whether a visitor clicks through to your content or not. Make it catchy, intriguing, and descriptive. Tools like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer provide insights into the overall structure, grammar, and readability of your headlines, helping you make them more attractive.
4. Write high-quality content: Your content should offer value and address your audience’s needs or interests. Keep it unique, informative, and engaging. Break up your text into short paragraphs and use subheadings, bullet points, and images to enhance readability. Use storytelling, data, case studies, and personal experiences to make your content more compelling. Refer to this guide for more in depth information on how to write high quality content.
5. Optimize for SEO: Using Rank Math SEO, optimize your content for search engines. This includes including your target keyword in the title, headings, and meta description, using alt tags for images, and linking to high-quality external sources. Refer to Rank Math’s detailed guide to learn how to optimize your posts.
6. Include a call to action (CTA): A CTA encourages readers to take a desired action, such as subscribing to your newsletter, sharing your post, or purchasing a product. A well-placed CTA can significantly increase reader engagement and conversions.
7. Update content regularly: Keeping your content fresh is important for retaining readers and improving SEO. Regularly add new posts and update old ones with new information, images, or resources. Updating an old post with new information can add years to a blog posts life.
8. Proofread and edit: Before publishing, proofread your content for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and readability. Tools like Grammarly can help you ensure your content is grammatically sound and clear.

Remember, creating compelling and SEO-friendly content is a continuous process that requires practice and patience. But it’s also the most rewarding part of running a blog as it helps you connect with your audience and grow your online presence. Next, we’ll explore various ways to monetize your blog.

Social media is more than just a platform for sharing personal updates; it’s a powerful tool that can significantly boost your blog’s visibility. By actively engaging with your audience on these platforms, you not only foster a community around your blog but also extend its reach to potential new readers.

You can also leverage social media in the early stages of your blog to get traffic when Google organic traffic hasn’t yet begun to trickle in.

Not all social media platforms are created equal, and the best one for your blog largely depends on where your target audience hangs out. For example, if your blog caters to professionals, LinkedIn might be your best bet, if it is highly conversational in nature, maybe Twitter is a safe bet.

If your content is highly visual, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest could be more suitable. Research and understand where your audience spends their time online, and focus your efforts there.

Personally, I have had the most success driving traffic to a niche site through social media using Pinterest. It is basically a visual search engine and I find it to pair incredibly well with promoting a niche website.

Consistency is key in social media marketing.

Establishing a regular posting schedule helps you stay on your audience’s radar. But it’s not just about promotional posts; sharing valuable, non-promotional content helps to build trust and keep your audience engaged.

Managing multiple social media accounts can be overwhelming, but tools like Hootsuite or Buffer can simplify the process.

These tools allow you to schedule posts, manage all your accounts from a single dashboard, and track your performance.

Building an email list opens up a direct communication channel between you and your readers without having to rely on a 3rd party platform.

It’s an opportunity to share exclusive content, updates, and promotions, driving consistent traffic back to your blog.

Several reliable services like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or AWeber can help manage your email list and campaigns and using one of them is basically essential if you’re going to be building an email list. Some of these services have free plans to start off so that takes away the risk if you don’t end up building your list as quickly as you hope.

These services come with user-friendly interfaces and features like email automation, list segmentation, and analytics to help make sure you are getting your message out to the right people.

An effective email strategy involves more than just sending out regular emails. You need to craft enticing subject lines to increase open rates, deliver valuable content that your readers will appreciate, and include strong calls-to-action to encourage reader engagement.

Segmentation and personalization of emails can also significantly improve open and click-through rates.

Email automation can be a real time-saver, allowing you to set up emails to be sent out at specific times or in response to certain actions.

Most email marketing services offer this feature, helping you maintain constant engagement with your readers without having to send each email manually.

Tracking the success of your social media and email marketing efforts is crucial. Utilize the analytics tools provided by social media platforms and email marketing services to understand what’s working and what isn’t. This data will guide you in refining and improving your strategies over time.

You’ve learned how to create compelling content and expand your blog’s reach. Now it’s time to dive into monetization – the most exciting part of blogging.

Monetizing your blog means implementing strategies that generate revenue from your blog’s traffic or services you offer through it. But remember, patience is key. Successful monetization often comes after you’ve established a loyal audience and consistent traffic.

Display ads are one of the quickest, easiest and most common ways to monetize a blog. Google AdSense and many other platforms allow you to display ads on your blog and earn some money either per click (CPC) or per thousand impressions (CPM).

This is the option that I think most people should start out with. Simply let Google put some ads on your website and see how they perform and adjust from there.

There are also premium, managed advertising platforms that may yield more income such as Mediavine or Raptive (formerly Adthrive), however these require higher traffic requirements prior to acceptance into the programs.

Affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services from other companies and earning a commission from any sales made via your referral link. This can be a lucrative strategy if you promote products relevant to your blog’s niche and useful to your audience. Networks like Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate, Shareasale, or Awin are reputable platforms to start with.

Depending on your expertise, this could be anything from e-books and online courses to consultancy services or handcrafted products. Platforms like Shopify for physical products or Teachable for digital products can help you get started.

The options are endless. If handmade items are more of your thing, you could start up and Etsy shop and sell products that way, you could even buy and sell things by setting up an Ebay store.

If you’re a writer, you could even use Amazon KDP to get your books published quickly and easily and sell through there! There are more ways than ever to make money online through selling your own products.

Sponsored content is another way to monetize your blog. Brands pay you to write a post about their product or service, either on your website or on your social media platforms. It can be a great way to earn a sum of money at once rather than waiting for traffic and sales via other monetization sources.

I’d like to quickly note that you should always ensure transparency with your audience about sponsored content. Your audience are who support you and allow you to do this kind of work, so treat them well!

You can check platforms like Izea or Upfluence for sponsorship opportunities.

If your blog offers high-value content, consider setting up a membership or subscription model. Readers pay for access to exclusive content or resources.

Tools like Patreon or Memberful can make this process easier. More social media platforms are beginning to add this monetization alternative to their programs as well, Tiktok recently added this feature and I believe Youtube now allows this as well.

Donations or crowdfunding can be effective, especially for blogs focusing on creative projects, community initiatives, or niche content.

Check out Kickstarter for crowdfunding or PayPal for direct donations.

The most successful bloggers diversify their income streams, combining several monetization methods. As you venture into blog monetization, consider which methods align best with your blog’s content, your personal skills, and your audience’s interests.

In the next section, we’re gonna go over how to maintain and grow your blog over time.

To keep your audience engaged and attract new visitors, make sure to publish quality content consistently.

Create an editorial calendar to plan your posts and stick to a schedule that works for you, whether it’s daily, weekly, or bi-weekly.

Interact with your readers through blog comments, social media, or email. Responding to comments and questions encourages engagement and helps you build a community around your blog. This fosters loyalty and increases the likelihood that your readers will share your content with others.

Continuously optimize your content for search engines to improve your blog’s visibility. Regularly update your keyword research, ensure your content is well-structured, and follow best practices for on-page SEO. Keep track of changes in search engine algorithms and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Actively promote your content on various platforms to reach a wider audience.

Share your posts on social media, participate in relevant online communities, and consider guest blogging on other websites.

You can also try paid advertising, like Google Ads or social media ads, to boost your reach, however, unless you have an actual product of your own to promote, I often find that this isn’t worth the investment. But it is a great way to test out how a piece of content converts before it starts ranking organically in the search engines.

Use analytics tools, like Google Analytics, to track your blog’s performance.

Analyze key metrics such as page views, bounce rate, and conversion rate to identify what’s working and what needs improvement. Continuously refine your content and marketing strategies based on data-driven insights.

Stay informed about the latest blogging trends, tools, and best practices.

Regularly read industry blogs, attend webinars, or participate in online courses to improve your blogging skills and stay competitive.

Connect with other bloggers in your niche and build relationships.

You can learn from their experiences, collaborate on projects, or exchange guest posts to grow your audience.

Blogging success doesn’t happen overnight.

Stay motivated, persistent, and patient. Keep learning, experimenting, and refining your strategies.

Your dedication and hard work will eventually pay off.

Now it’s time for you to get at it young grasshopper.

Remember, consistency, engagement, and adaptation are essential for long-term success.

Good luck, and happy blogging!

The Earnings Engineer

Hi there! I’m Carmine, the chief editor and friendly face behind Earnings Engineer. With nine years of experience marketing and making money online, I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and empowering others to achieve financial freedom. As we explore new opportunities together, let’s build our dream lives—one smart move at a time!