Simple answer is “Yes”. However, the real answer to – can you make money for living from blogging – question is much broader. Although it’s slightly different than traditional blogs, PlatoPost is also a type of blogging platform. So, I’ll try to answer your questions with information relying on my experiences and knowledge from researches I made. There are many different aspects you must consider before dedicating yourself to blogging. No matter how easy it is, there will be some sort of technical requirements will occur. On the other hand, blogging is a time-consuming career, so make sure you are ready for a commitment. Now, I will start explaining my experiences throughout the process and answer some common questions every beginner blogger has.
When I decided to create PlatoPost News, I wanted a platform where students could freely express opinions. It’s been almost one year since we hit the publish button for the first time. I have to admit it’s been harder than I thought to encourage people to make a commitment to writing. However, its worth it. I enjoy every moment I spend writing and helping others to put together a sophisticated article making a difference. Though it’s necessary in the long run, to make money for living from blogging has never been my primary goal.
SEE ALSO: Why Should I Become a PlatoPost Author?
How can I Start Blogging?
Today, I think starting a blog is the easiest part of blogging in the online world. There are number of websites offer free blogging opportunities for new beginners. However, you need to determine your future goals before starting a blog at this point. Because you need to monetize your work if you’re willing to make money for living from blogging. Personally, I wouldn’t suggest you use free blogging platforms if you’ll commit to blogging career.
If your purpose is writing an article/blog occasionally to share your opinion sign up PlatoPost and create an author profile. By creating an author profile, you’ll be able to share your articles registered under your name. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to provide payment at this moment though we’re working on creating a payment stream for our authors to support their effort. So, you can have a strategic advantage by starting before payment system installed.
Back to the answer, there are various systems that will help you to create your own blog. Some of them are much easier to use and provide detailed features for its users. My personal favorite is WordPress which is the most-commonly used open-source blogging platform on the internet. If you’re determined to create your own blog, WordPress is the best option available online.
SEE ALSO: Top 5 Things you must know before Starting a Blog
Why is WordPress the Best Platform for Bloggers?
I’m creating a full article for how to make a WordPress blog tutorial for starters and I’ll publish it soon. In that article I’ll explain each step with all the details but let me briefly answer it in this section.
As you know, most amateur blogs lack of well-established design and advance technical features. However, WordPress provides outstanding opportunity for bloggers to create their own website with no coding knowledge. There are limitless WordPress themes available in the internet that’ll appeal to your interest.
Other than design options, WordPress also offers many plugins that’ll help you professionally run your blog. Moreover, you don’t even need a single line of coding information for becoming your own blog’s webmaster. There are numerous websites provide information with step-by-step tutorials for beginners. When I run into trouble, I use WPBeginner Platform which explains everything in extensive detail. WPBeginner is one of the most resourceful websites about WordPress in the internet.
In addition, most of the freelancers have expertise on WordPress software, so you’ll conveniently find technical help when needed. Once you reach to a certain level with your blog, you can easily turn it into more professional platform. WordPress is competitive with pricing in comparison to other software and customized websites offered by developers.
Do I need Technical Knowledge to Make Money for Living from Blogging?
Technical knowledge would provide you inarguable benefits, yet it’s not mandatory. Especially, if you’re using free blogging platforms, platform handle technical issues for you. Even if you’re going to use WordPress, you can handle it without acquiring coding knowledge. As I mentioned above, there are many resources available online for you to overcome obstacles.
Once you build your website, you should also consider other technical details such as social media, seo, etc. In my opinion, the most important aspect of blogging is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which will help your blog to be reachable in the search engines including Google, Bing, etc. Moreover, your focus keywords will allow you to become primary target on search engines. In this matter, you can use free resources published on the internet for understanding and implementing the basics.
Handling social media accounts that will increase your visitors are also similar to search engine optimizations. There are many different case studies that allow you to understand basics and attract new audience.
What are the Easiest Ways to Make Money for Living from Blogging?
There are number of different ways to earn money from blogging including advertising, affiliate marketing, guest posts, etc. The best part of making money from blogging is that you can always change your income line. Of course, the most common way to make money from blogging is advertising.
Online advertising has become much more popular with increasing smartphone use in the last decade. As you can see, companies like Google & Amazon are taking over the business from traditional ones with online strength. Because of the technological advancements, online marketing campaigns are much more targeted. Therefore, this focus reaches better success rate on sales and returns. However, the important question is how can you use this power to make money for living from blogging?
Find your interest. If you like the content, you will have more knowledge and enthusiasm about the subject. If you target on specific line about this content, it’ll be much easier to hook people with your opinions. Let’s say you are a housewife with an infant. For sure, you enjoy picking up tunics for your baby and take adorable shots of him/her. You can use this desire to reflect your view on a blog. Visit local shops and explain what you are planning to do. Use your social media to increase visitor from your neighborhood.
Is there other ways to make money from blogging different than ad placement?
Of course, advertising on your blog is not the only way to make money. If you believe that the content you create is unique and shouldn’t be public, you can create a blog with paid membership. Honestly, this is much harder target to achieve as people tend to use free websites instead. Most of the paid-membership websites have turned into free membership and started advertising. However, mobile apps selling paid membership to avoid ads reaching much better numbers than websites. In case you are considering building a mobile app, this could be a good option for you.
SEE ALSO: How Blogging can Help to Get Your Dream Job?
You can sell your eBook! Yes, it’s possible as long as you find an appealing content to attract people. Since Amazon has created a revolution with Kindle, eBooks have become much more commonly used income stream.
You can also sell guest posts or reviews. Most companies who are new in the industry or new in the online competition are looking to find blogger who will support them. Especially, cosmetics have been a big income provider for bloggers over the years. In the beginning, you might only enjoy receiving free items, but it’ll turn into income line very quickly. Guest posts are mostly used for search engine optimization purposes as it’s highly critical aspect for becoming trusted source. However, there are certain specifications your guest post buyer might require, so it will take some time.
How Long It Takes to Make Money for Living from Blogging?
It all depends on the effort you put into your blog and how lucky you get. You can do everything right, but it might never reach to the level you are looking for. So, being lucky is also an important part of your success story. Having said that, you should always get help from your own circle. Using your social media will help you a lot for building returning visitors which is the key factor for success.
Another important essence is the content and your focus. One article or video can go viral immediately and increase your audience to sky while some can become dreadfully boring for your readers. So, it’s important to keep your content entertaining.
If you are looking to make quick income from blogging instead of long-term goals, you can use your writing skills. There are number of websites connecting creative writers and companies/individuals looking for content. Although writing articles for companies might not provide you actual living, but it’d still support you as an extra line of income. The most common freelancer website is Fiverr where you’re likely to reach to sales quickly.
What are the Challenges to Make Money from Blogging?
The toughest challenge a blogger will face is being patent about reaching your goals. You should understand that it’s a normal process to take time, so you should maintain your interest. Here is a list of possible other challenges a blogger might face:
- Creativity for new content
- Creation of enthusiastic content
- Reserving enough time for planning
- Lack of technical skills
- High competition
- Reaching out to brands for advertising
How Often You Must Write to Make Money for Living from Blogging?
Your writing cycles might be more related to focus topic of your blog. You can write about news daily, but it might become boring if you write about diapers ever day. So, it’s more important that decide how often you should write about. It’s not always good to write every day which might overwhelm your readers. Consider how well you can write about certain topic you are laying out which will provide you a road map.
This is the end of my article about how to make money for living from blogging. No doubt, I would suggest you start blogging today! I hope this article helped you to clear some of dark spots you have in your mind. If you have anything to add to this subject, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. I will gladly update the content.
