Many people consider blogging just a hobby. But it is possible to earn money from your blog. This is a good opportunity for students, as most of them want to start earning money while studying. The will to become independent at a young age is great. Because the earlier you begin making money, the better. You will also have more experience upon graduation.
Blogging seems like a good way to profit for students because you can work from any location you want. A lot of them are in search of a part-time job, but everyone’s dream is to work from home. Especially now, when almost everyone is studying online without leaving the room.
Yet, the biggest problem seen by students is their lack of time. The majority would agree that the fear of having no free time is what stops them from starting not only a part-time job but even such easy things as a web journal.
How to Start
As mentioned before, there are a lot of free blogging platforms. They provide you with an already existing foundation to start. The ones considered the most convenient are WordPress and Blogger.com. But remember they are only good in the beginning. Consider switching to your own website as your content gains popularity.
While using a free service, you will always be limited in terms of customization. You will also be forced to follow the conditions of the resource you’re using. Another problem would be sharing big-sized images or videos.
Having an own website, on the other hand, provides you with endless possibilities. The first attraction is the domain name. You no longer need to have the name of the platform in the URL. What is more, you can create the design from scratch. Place whatever you want wherever you want. But, the key feature is the ability to gain profit by placing banner adverts or affiliate links. We will return to these later.
Of course, starting a website sounds hard. But don’t be afraid, with the amount of information the Internet provides us, everything is possible.
Important: don’t confuse WordPress platform with the content managing system. They come from the same company, but the latter is only a template and hosting service to make operating the site much easier.
Next Steps
Okay, now you have something to work with. What to do next and how to achieve the goal? The plan is simple:
- Choose a topic.
- Increase traffic.
- Monetize it.
Let’s get through each point one by one.
Choosing the Topic
Many people choose their blog subject only thinking about their interests. And it is reasonable, but only applies to those who see it as a hobby. That’s why you need to do a little research. Check what is trending right now. Then, compare it to what you want to write about. Try to find a matching point between your interests and trends.
Now, try to find a niche. You need something special that would distinguish your content from all the others that cover the same subject. It could be writing style, design, your exceptional knowledge, or basically anything. A good idea is to mix different types of content to have a bigger audience.
Increasing Traffic
You made a gorgeous website, came up with the most interesting topic, and made some posts. But where is all the audience you expected? The answer lies in the promotion. People can’t read your posts if they don’t know about the existence of your website.
The first and easiest way to promote is through social media. Create Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages. They should look similar to your site and have links to it. This will make your design recognizable.
Continue making posts on your main resource and sharing them on your pages. Search for people with more followers than you who might be interested in your content. Pro tip: influencers and bloggers who share the same topic with you have a higher chance to help.
You may even become friends with them eventually, resulting in a constant mutual promotion.
Monetization
Now, let’s get to what we all came here for – how to benefit.
- Affiliate marketing means placing certain words or phrases that lead to other sites.
These sites will gladly pay you a small commission for every click their link gets. Make sure that these links don’t stand out, though. They should be naturally inserted in the text.
- Banner adverts are the most obvious and commonly used way.
You enter a website and see some advertisements placed usually on the sidebars? Yep, these are banner adverts. You can place them on your blog, too. Just like affiliate programs, they pay you for every person who enters their resource from your site.
- Sponsored content and advertorials are the posts that you make about a certain product, brand, or service.
You can charge money per post, or even a story on Instagram or Facebook. The prices are surprisingly high.
Eventually, as you gain fame and popularity, you can even sell your knowledge of the topic or the blog itself. If you’re confident enough, it is even possible to start producing merchandise. But keep in mind that fashion design is a completely different field, though.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, having a blog is rather simple. But it’s a whole new ordeal to make it into an interesting, popular, and profitable one. Just don’t forget about the main purpose – to share your thoughts. And always remember about being original.
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