Blogging for Money Guide

The Best Guide to Start Blogging for Money

We have already talked about what is a blog for those who don`t know it. Blogging is something that is I always enjoy and it is my passion. Blogging for money is not just a work, it make me feel happy and boost my knowledge and confidence. This is one of the main reasons why I have made blogging my full-time professional career, and even after 3 years of professional blogging, it become more and more interesting with every passing day.
Blogging is like diving in a sea, the more deep I go the more knowledge I get and I always like to share my knowledge and experiences here at eAskme. For many people blogging is not a passion and I also know that everyone need money, because to money is a major need of life. Without money, blogging is only part-time work and never be a top-most priority. We people make this sacrifice to ensure security of future. In this money making guide, we will discuss a complete guide about how to start blogging for making money. I also includes references from my earlier posts you don`t miss anything here.

Blogging for Money : eAskme

We will make it quite easy for every newbie blogger, who are just thinking to start a blog and want to learn the art of blogging for money. Blogging is not for everyone and there are lot many ways available to make money online easily. But I have found blogging is the best way to make money online, this article is for those who want to learn something new  about blogging and make money from it. Here we will try to cover all important parts of Blogging and also share links from earlier posts which will ensure to complete this post. If you really want to start blogging for money then make sure that you open all links mentioned in this post, it will make sure that you won`t miss anything.

How to start a blog which will make money for you:

In field of Blogging you don`t need to have any professional skills like other jobs. You just need to know how to express yourself in words, which adds some value for the visitors then you can become a blogger. Still there are few requirements that you can achieve by hiring others or can do yourself by learning. Blogging has the very lowest investment as compare to any other business to make money online. This little investment will be worth it for making a great future with the help of blogging.

• Adsense Guide

Topic/Niche of your blog:

Finding niche or topic idea for blog is very first and important work to do. When I say niche that means a topic for your blog. You might be king of all topics, and want may be thinking of starting a blog on multiple topic, but believe me people usually like to subscribe to that blog which is authority in particular topic, so it is advisable to start blog on a particular topic.

• How I Built A Micro-Niche Site And Earning $200/Month From AdSense

Even if we talk about search engines, they also prefer blog/website that is dedicated on single topic and it easily rank higher. Main question here is how to find the topic of your blog? Let`s discuss the tips that will help to start making blogging for money:

•     Always choose the topic that you know better than others. It can be anything, you just need not to write about your job only. Only choose the topic that you like to research and talk to others, as it will keep your interest in blogging and you can write more about it.
•     Always pick the topic that you love to read about. Because we only read those things which take our interest.
•     Make sure that you have some knowledge and interest on that particular topic, so when you write you can add some value to others.
•     If you are new to blogging then I recommend you to take pen-paper and write down all the topics in different columns that you like. For example: health care, technology, Scientific research, Photography, Baby care and so on. Now think about at least 20 post ideas and write down n those columns. While writing post title, think of what you can write without taking reference. Till the time you complete this task, you will find out on which topic you can start blogging.

This is a very important step because the topic of your interest can make you work on blog without getting bored. This also make sure that you don`t blog without passion or dedication. Most of the new blogs die just because there is not continuity and passion. To make sure that your burnout period never come again, always choose a topic that you love to read and talk about. So I believe that till now you have decided niche for blog which will make money for you.

•    The Ultimate List of Blog Niche and Topic Ideas
•     How to choose niche of your new blog?
•     Why nicheless blog can’t compete with niche blog?

Blogging platform:

There are so many blogging platforms available online. Most of the famous blogger have started their blogging career on BlogSpot. If you are new to Blogging, I recommend that you should start blogging on BlogSpot platform and it will help you learn the basics of blogging easily. Once you ge some skills in basics then you can move the other platform like WordPress.
After learning basics you are ready to do some meaningful work now. Create a WordPress blog. Never get confuse with self hosted WordPress  blog and WordPress.com. A blogger always need a self hosted WordPress blog. Self Hosted WordPress blog means that you will install WordPress on own hosting and buy a domain, which I will explain further. If you want to know which platform is best then you can check the following.

•     Why WordPress is better than BlogSpot platform

Domain Name:

Domain name is name of your blog and yes it is very crucial and important part of blog or site. A domain name is the URL of a site or blog which allow user to visit the blog. For example: www.eAskme.com
When you start on Blogspot or Wordpress the default domain name they give you look like blogname.WordPress.com and blogname.blogspot.com. Then you need to buy a custom domain name like www.eAskme.com, for which you need to pay around $11 (if you want to buy cheaper domain name, then contact me) . You should buy a custom domain as custom domains always work better. So it is always good to make little investment on domain name, now the next thing we will cover in “Webhosting”.
How to pick the best domain name ? to get the answer of this question, you should follow below mentioned tips:

•     I recommend you to use only .com domain. If you are targeting people in India only them you can use .in domain also.
•     Domain name need to be easy to remember, type and pronounce.
•     Domain name should never confuse listener.

I always follow two basic rules for selecting a domain:

Long term venture:

When you plan to do blogging for money or blogging for long term then you should buy a domain with the brand name, like Lablnolblog, easkmeblog etc.

SEO advantage:

If your mains goal is to make money only and you are not sure to do it long term then you should choose a keyword rich domain. You can have main topic first and then use suffix like resource, guide, help or so on. For Example: WikiHealthBlog, Techguides and so on.

• A DIY Guide for WordPress Blog SEO Tutorial

You can use domain name suggestion tools like ubersugget or Bustaname to get suggestions for a domain name. Use your own creativity and choose a domain that make some sense, and easy to make a brand. Now let see what should not do when selecting a domain name:

•     Never use personal name as blog name. As it will not look professional. You have to target international audience so your domain name should look professional.
•     Never use too long domain name. Try to keep domain name to 14 characters. Ex: WikiHealthBlog
•     Never use domain extension like .net, .info and any other than .com, because they usually rank bad in Search engines. I always recommend to use a domain name extension like .com or .org.

Suggested read:

•     How to select great domain name for your business
•     How to find best domain name for your Website
•     How to write blog business plan in 9 easy steps

Webhosting:

Now when you have learnt the basic steps of blogging or running blog from some time on a blogging platform like BlogSpot or WordPress, and Now you should move to self-hosted WordPress. When I say self hosted platform, It means to install your blog on your own purchased server. This give you more control on your blog, and you are responsible for all actions.

• How to Install WordPress on Hostgator Using QuickInstall

I recommend you to get a hosting package from Bluehost. Why Bluehost, because WordPress itself recommended it the best hosting for WordPress sites and blogs. Now use this guide to install WordPress on Bluehost hosting. Bluehost hosting also give you free domain along, and it will cost around $4.95/month which is in budget. If you face any issue then you can let me know in comments.

Set up your blog:

Here are few guide to make your blog perfect and to start its branding:

•     Learn how to set up WordPress blog for the first time. 
•     Places to submit your blog for the first timer. 
•     Must have subscription option for your blog. 

It can be tricky to make your blog a brand, wth time you will learn many things.

Plan your content:

It is always recommended to have a content strategy before starting a blog. For example, if you choose a niche like “WordPress” then think of basic questions what people can ask, and you will have ideas to write content title according to that. We will discuss about Keyword research and other stuff later. Lets focus on planning content according to user point of view. So, lets assume your niche topic is “WordPress blog” and here are basic questions a newbie user will have:

•     What is WordPress 
•     Why WordPress is better blogging platform 
•     Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org blog 
•     How to create a WordPress blog 
•     Must have plugins for your WordPress blogs and so on

Create a spreadsheet in excel and write down your ideas. You can also take advantage of mind mapping tool, but that need some technical skill. Note down your own ideas ans your content planning always keep you stay focused. Planning is most important part of blog.

Design of blog:

Blog design is very important part of blogging, A good and simple design help you visitors become loyal followers. There are many free and Premium themes available online but I always recommend to you to have a premium theme. You will get support and stay away from unnecessary links and also good quality design for your blog. Following are the premium themes for WordPress that I personally recommend.

•     Genesis : This is best theme framework but also a little bit costly. Get their pro-package as it will allow you to access all their future updates and skins for free.
•     Swift: If you do not know anything about technicality of themes them you should go for this theme and theme created by “Satish Gandham”, and who give you priority support.
•     Theme-junkie: This theme help you design your theme yourself. You can easily design your own wordpress theme.

These are the few recommendations to start with your blog on WordPress.

WordPress plugins:

There are limitless WordPress plugins for WordPress platform, and Here We will show you some must-have plugins:

•     WordPress SEO by Yoast
•     Akismet
•     Smush.it
•     W3 total cache
•     Jetpack by WordPress.com
•     Google XML sitemap
•     SEO friendly images
•     EasyWPSEO (Paid plugin)
•     No self pings
•     PushPress

There are many more plugins available but these are the must have plugins for your blog.

Add important pages on your blog:

When you start a blog you must have few important pages on your blog as following:

•     About page: Details about you and your blog.
•     Contact page: A page with contact form. 
•     Privacy policy: Add privacy policy details of blog.
•     Comment policy: Add a comment policy to blog.

Branding of your blog:

You should start working on making your blog a brand from very first day, as everyone like to be part of a brand. If you follow above steps and design, then your 50% branding already done. Few additional ways to make branding are following:

•     Create a logo for your blog.
•     Create a favicon for your blog.
•     Create a Pages for your blog on Social networks like Facebook, Google plus, and Twitter.

First content:

Writing good and quality content can be challenge. Content not only be good quality but also need to be useful. We will also share links about writing tips. here are few tips to avoid making any mistake:
When you write any article,  always imagine that there is someone who is asking you about it and he has no knowledge. This will bring all questions that they can ask in front of you. Content of article should always cover all the aspect of basics to advanced about the topic. Always write all details about the topic.

•     Content should have good length and that will happen when you write all details about the topic.
•     Write as first-person tone. 
•     To use images take screenshots, or use free images available on flickr.

Make Money from Blogging:

Easiest and best way to make money blogging is AdSense.You can check following articles about Adsense.

•    How to monetize self-hosted WordPress blog.
•    How to make money from your blog without advertisement

When you have a new blog, make sure you use minimum ads. Too many ads on a blog can make your visitors turn away. Here are few tips that you should always keep in mind:

•    Why you can’t make money blogging like the pro-bloggers

Here are some advance topics to learn basics of money making via affiliate marketing:

•    What is affiliate marketing and FAQ
•    How to make money with Amazon affiliate program

Basics of SEO and Search engine optimization of your:

SEO is a vast topic and we can`t complete everything in just one article. Search engine optimization help you get traffic from search engines that help you make money online. SEO is divided in 3 main parts:

•    On page SEO: Creating keyword rich content and well optimized
•    On Site SEO: Crawling & indexing
•    Off Site SEO: Backlinks

Two more things that you need to know about SEO:

•    Social signals: Google Plus is a social network that help you to get good ranking.
•    User experience: SEO is all about giving a good user experience with Content, Design, site loading, Navigation, readability and much more.

Here are couple of articles, which you should definitely read to learn about SEO:

•    What is Crawling and indexing in SEO
•    Understand Dofollow and Nofollow links
•    Why Keyword matters for SEO 
•    Keyword research for dummies using Google Keyword tool 
•    How to write SEO optimized articles in WordPress
•    How to use Post permalink and post title combination for SEO
•    How to SEO optimize Post Title for Readers and for Search engines
•    How to optimize WordPress robots.txt for SEO
•    What is anchor text
•    How to index a Website in Google search within 24 hours
•    What is backlink for SEO
•    Understand Permalink and best WordPress Permalink for SEO

Traffic:

If you do everything that we have mentioned till now then you start getting social and organic traffic. As targeted traffic makes money, so we are sharing few more posts to get more traffic.

•    10 ways to drive traffic from forums to your blog
•    How to drive organic traffic to your blog
•    Using Flickr to give free traffic to your blog
•    How to promote your old blog posts

Readership:

Detailing is the biggest difference between an a-List blog and normal blog. A list blogger take care of every single details of the topic and it make their readers to become subscriber and follower. Soe lets see some tips to take a blog to next level:

•    Why blog readership is more important than SEO
•    How to get more blog readers and keep them
•    5 Killer and working tips to attract readers to your blog
•     Blogging Passion 

Learn from Mistakes:

Also learn from the mistakes that usually new blogger make and that help you to avoid doing such mistakes. Here we show some articles that will show you the mistakes common bloggers make and it cost them money and they waste their time:

• Top 21 blogging mistakes that can ruin your blog 
• 11 costly mistakes that may reduce your blog traffic
• 5 Common mistake a new blogger frequently make
• What common mistakes an amateur blogger makes

So this is a complete Blogging for money guide. If you read the articles seriously with all the given links, then you already 3 steps ahead than any common blogger to get success in blogging. It take time to start earning but when you do, there is no stoppage.
If you do have some questions to making money from a blog or bloggin, feel free to ask me in comments. If you find blogging for money guide resourceful, Don`t forget to share it on social networks. Happy Blogging!