The key to your online business success is specialized information, training, and support along with consistent action and effort on your part daily.
Your online business needs a solid foundation, and that digital foundation is your own website and blog. Contrary to what you may be thinking – it isn’t that hard or expensive to get your blog up and running almost immediately. That’s the easy part. The thing that is going to take you some time and a lot of work is writing and creating the content that you will need to attract and retain readers.
Notice – this blog post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links then I will earn a fee, and if you are interested in affiliate marketing I can teach you how to do the same thing if you wish. This is one of the ways blogs are monetized.
In this article, we will look at how you can go about doing all that too – but before we get to that – let’s look at what you need to get your blog built and make it live to the whole world.
- Choose and Obtain a Domain Name – You need a domain name. For example, you are on my site at this moment and its domain name is www.ldsewell.com. This is how people will find and get access to be able to read your blog. Your domain name depends on what topics and what niches you want to cover, and what your overall goals and objectives are. If you want to talk about KETO primarily then you need a domain name that has the word KETO in it, for example. If you are trying to build your own brand then you might want to use your own name or some variant of it, such as your initials and last name, etc. Do keep in mind that it is going to be much harder and take longer to do – especially when starting from scratch with no readers, no students, and no followers at all. It can be done – but it will take longer. The easier route is to choose something that is relevant for a key niche you want to cover and go with that – for now. It is also important to know you can have multiple niches and multiple websites and blogs too if you like, but you need to start with building your first one first!
- Get Hosting – Your blog has to have a home. It’s a place where it exists on a server where it can be accessed by people. Common examples include GoDaddy and HostGator – Wealthy Affiliate also provides hosting services.
- Select a Theme – A theme is basically a template for your site/blog. It determines how it will look and how it will function in many ways. It can also be customized with your own colors, pages, art, and content making it unique to you. You will want to choose a theme that is reliable and user-friendly – and one that looks good across all devices. many people use cellphones, others use tablets, and some laptops and desktops – your blog needs to look good and function equally well on them all. A good theme is essential to have.
- Create Some Core Pages – Every website/blog needs some key pages. First, create an About page. This is where you are going to tell readers who you are and what you are all about and what your blog is focused on. It’s a chance to tell them about yourself and why you are doing what you are doing. Next, you will need some other pages for Disclosures, Disclaimers, Terms of Use, etc.
- Add a Logo – There are both free and paid software products you can use to create your own artwork, and you can also choose to hire someone else to do it for you. Another option is to simply start out without it, and then add it later if you like.
- Content – This is where the real work truly begins! You need to write and do it on a continuous basis consistently. How often do you need to publish new content? I would say at least weekly – and more is better. It’s not easy and I don’t always do that either, sometimes it is far longer between posts, and other times I may post several new articles in a single week. But better is more consistent, and that generally means at least once per week. The more the better, especially when just starting out – even daily if you can manage it and maybe three times per week later if you can manage that much. You need content so start writing and write as much as you can until you get traffic. Start now!
- Attract Readers – Share your posts on your social media accounts and use multiple platforms and methods to attract readers to your site.
How Bloggers Really Make Money
People don’t really make money just by blogging on their own blogs.
They have to find a way to monetize it – a way to get paid for their efforts.
You will read and hear about people making a full-time living from their blogs, and some even getting wealthy from blogging. Many others will tell you about how they at least make a very good side income from their blogging.
But they are not always clear at all about HOW they are really making money. Most don’t actually make any money from blogging directly – or in other words, nobody is paying them per article, per word, or per post just to write articles on their own blogs!
What they usually are doing is one or all of the following;
- Courses – selling their own online courses
- eBooks, Books, Manuals, and other Publications – they write or pay someone else to write and create publications for them which they sell on their blogs
- Affiliate Marketing – this involves marketing and selling products for other companies and other people who pay a fee for each sale
- Their Own Products – Some have cups, mugs, hats, clothing, artwork, and other things. Sometimes it’s made and shipped via print on demand partners and other products may be made by hand or by contract manufacturing companies. Other products are purchased wholesale to be resold – much like any other store does. Many bloggers use some combination of these things
- Ads and Sponsorships – Once you have enough readers and a following advertisers will be willing to pay you to place ads on your site or have you do what amounts to a commercial for them
- Creating Posts and Content for Other People for a Fee – So far I have written all of my own content on all platforms – and it is a crapload of work! I am looking forward to hiring some help in the near future in the form of contractors or Virtual Assistants and others who will be given a topic, and outline and general guidance – then they will go do the research, write the post, create the art, or other content I request and submit it back to me for approval. Once approved they get paid a fee – and I own the content. I will edit and modify it as needed – or have others do that for me too (for a fee) and then I can upload and publish it. This will allow me to scale and create far more content than ever possible alone. There are all kinds of people already hiring them to do this every day. In essence, they are paid writers. Some make a very good and very stable income doing this – but to do so you need to be both good at it and fast
As a blogger, the formula is to provide value-adding free content to attract readers. Some of those readers will want more information and more products and services and will buy additional products and services if they are available. When they buy these things, that generates revenue and ultimately profit for the blog owner.
Sometimes it is measured in just a few cents to a few dollars here and there. Other times it can be hundreds or thousands, and even tens of thousands for the most successful bloggers out there.
But it isn’t easy and it isn’t simple either to get to serious levels of success and as with most things – most of the people who try it will not be successful at all. Some will make nothing, others not even enough to justify the time and expense involved in creating and maintaining their blogs to begin with.
Why? Because success requires hard work and time – and both of those things are things most people are not really willing to do long enough to achieve success.
This is a PRIMARY reason for failure of many people. Make a note here and read this again! You need to have realistic expectations and be prepared to stick with it and see it through over the long haul. When you know that your likely earnings will start with cents and dollars – little more than pizza money vs thousands per week and tens of thousands per month that the guru’s promise (lies and guru garbage that doesn’t work!) and you know it will take you months of work before you see ANY income in some cases, then you will be better prepared and more likely to keep doing the work until it begins to pay off.
And it WILL if you keep showing up and keep working at it – but NOT if you quit!
Do yourself a BIG favor and read that last part a few times and make sure it really sinks into your brain.
You Need Ideas and a Plan Before You Build a Blog
There are many reasons to start a blog and an unimaginable number of variants for you to use doing it. Every blogger is unique and that makes every blog unique even though there may be tens of thousands of people writing about and covering the exact same niches and the exact same topics at any given time. You are you. You are unique and there is no other exactly like you in this world.
That means the way you write and the way you communicate is going to be different too – and it will resonate with some people better than others. That is a good thing. Find your people and you will achieve success!
They will find you more and more on their own as you produce more and more content. It will take time and it will take hard work – but it will happen if you do the work and keep doing the work over the long haul.
But What Matters to You That Also Matters to Enough Other People Too?
Think about that. Then come up with some ideas and then go do some research. Figure out what will work for you and what is more likely to be successful.
Some topics do better than others. Some are highly competitive – and that is a good thing! It just means you are going to have to really be creative and produce some great value to pull your share of those readers.
Choose a marketable niche that you like enough to stick with – then build a blog and start writing. Keep in mind you can add other niches and other blogs later – if you choose – but you need to make a decision and pull the trigger and get something done. Come up with a domain name, research it and make sure it is available, and if it is buy it now!
Then get your hosting, and pick a WordPress theme and start building your site. From the time you have a domain name purchased, you can literally have a blog up and live in less than five minutes! Just five minutes and you are up and running… How many other businesses can you start and get the doors open in that time?
How to Learn More and Start Your Own Blog Now
If you don’t know how to start your own blog – but want to, then it is simple really, when you have access to the right information and support.
You need to do the same thing other people do when they want to learn how to do anything else that is new to them. Find information and find an instructor.
Think about it. If you want to learn how to fly airplanes how would you do it?
You would probably do some online research, maybe some Google searches and search for some YouTube videos and go watch them. Perhaps you find a flight training school in your area and call them up. You ask questions, get information and if you decide to proceed you go out and talk to them in person. Maybe take a discovery flight for a few bucks ad a half hour or so.
Then you sign up for their class and get started.
An instructor will teach you the principles and fundamentals – usually on the ground in a classroom first. Then as you progress you will go get some practical skills training in the aircraft. Little by little and step by step, they show you what to do and then have you practice it. You will practice each key thing over and over until it makes sense and you begin to learn basic skills.
Finally, after enough time and practice, you will be tested by your school. If you pass that test then you go take the government test to get your pilot’s license.
If you want to learn how to drive a tractor-trailer and become a professional truck driver the process is very similar.
Want to become a real estate agant> Again a very similar process. Get information. Find a school. Complete the school training program – pass their test and then the state and federal exam. Then find a broker to affiliate with and work under.
Building your own website – and monetizing it is similar but simpler and cheaper. You don’t need a license or have to pass a licensing exam of any kind. You just need to learn what to do, get some practice, and develop an understanding and level of competency to keep going. Then do it.
It is far less expensive and far less risky than most other options – yet it can be very rewarding and very profitable if you are successful at it.
If you want flight training that is going to set you back a few thousand dollars and several weeks of your time. If you want to go to a truck driver training school – again several thousand dollars and a few weeks of your time.
Real estate training isn’t quite as expensive but it will be several hundred dollars and a few weeks of your time.
With starting a blog there is no license and no mandatory training required. However, from a practical standpoint, you still have to learn how to do it. You could do endless google searches and watch all kinds of YouTube videos and try it. But you will be getting bits and pieces of information here and there – some of which is in direct conflict.
In other words, one will tell you to always do a certain thing – and another will tell you to NEVER do that same thing! So who is right and which one should you listen to? Good luck with that approach.
You can take some inexpensive courses on Udemy or other online course platforms. That’s better. But it is usually still in parts and not the whole collection of information you will need to do better. But it is still good – so long as you know going in you will probably need several courses to get all the information you need.
Books, ebooks, and other publications are also useful. Yet they are all missing a critical element – COMMUNITY.
A community is simply a group of people who are also working to do the same things you are doing with common interests who are willing to help each other by sharing information, encouragement, and other resources.
A community can clarify information and make complex things seem far more simple. They can also lift you up and motivate you when you need it most. Without this kind of support it can be very easy to get so frustrated you just quit – and many people do just that each and every year. They throw in the towel and give up.
My Number One Suggestion for You
What if there was ONE place that had all the basic core training you need to be able to build and launch your own site, monetize it and begin to make money – and that had a thriving community of well over a MILLION other people doing the same things as you are – and where thousands of people at all levels would be willing to help you and share information and resources with you.
Would such a place be of interest to you?
How much would you be willing to pay for such a valuable resource?
If that sounds like something you want then you are in luck my friend because it already exists and has been around for well over 15 years and counting. It has all that and MORE and if well-proven and respected – and easy to verify.
It also is one of the very few that will let you join completely for FREE and come on in and test everything out, look it all over and talk to other members and ask questions BEFORE you ever have to spend a penny.
I am a member and have been for a couple of years now – and it has dramatically helped me improve my online businesses and increase my online income significantly. It continues to do so and I continue to make more and more money online over time and I am very excited about continued growth.
That community is Wealthy Affiliate or WA for short.
You can click the link HERE – fill out the info and click the submit button. Then you will have access so you can see for yourself
Want your own blog TODAY and want to finally Own and Operate your own Online Business? Then that is how you can do it.