How to Start a Blog for Free and Make Money

There are 31 million bloggers worldwide, but few of those blogs are successful, and even fewer are generating any money. That said, it is possible to bring in income through blogging.

If the idea has always interested you and you want to know how to start a blog for free and make money, keep reading! We”re covering top tips you can use to get started.

Choose a Platform

You have a ton of options when it comes to choosing a blogging platform. Depending on how tech-savvy you are, you”ll want one that”s easy to set up without any coding knowledge necessary.

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Some of the most popular options include:

• Tumblr
• WordPress
• Wix
• Medium
• Weebly
• Squarespace
• Ghost
• Gator
• HubSpot CMS
• Blogger

While you can switch platforms later on, it”ll be a challenge. So, try to choose a platform you like from the beginning.

Keep in mind that not all options on the list are completely free. For instance, WordPress.org requires a domain name and hosting, which are both good investments if you plan on making money off your blog. You can host yourself, but finding a WordPress host is not generally too expensive.

Shared hosting, which is the cheaper option, is around $2.50 to $15 a month. Registering a domain name is around $10 to $20 a year. As you can see, both are low-cost investments with a big payoff.

However, if you want to start for free, you might want to look into Tumblr, Blogger, or Medium.

Plan and Write Content

No matter your niche, you”ll need to do some planning. If you want to start a blog and monetize it, you”ll need to find an audience. Products and services fulfill a need, so figure out what your blog”s purpose is.

For example, maybe you”re a huge movie buff, and you review all the latest and greatest films. You could write articles full of recommendations or review movies people are thinking about seeing. Your audience might follow you for the latest film news.

You could write a travel blog and fill it with destinations people should visit and things to do while they”re there.

Next, look for any gap in content. A content gap analysis helps you find information that”s missing from your website and spot keywords your competitors are ranking for that you don”t. Not only can analyzing a competitive gap help you rank for new keywords, but it”ll give you tons of ideas on what to write.

Do research on your blog topic and look for questions that people have. If your blog can answer those questions or provide value, you”ll attract an audience.

Make a list of blog topics, do some keyword research, look at similar blogs for inspiration, etc.

Next, start writing content. Create posts packed with useful information that people will want to read. Make sure you keep your blog professional and consistent.

It may take some time to develop an audience in the beginning. However, the more content you create and promote, the more traffic you”ll bring in. Give it time and treat your blog like a business by devoting time and energy to it.

Post Consistently

Imagine you”re a reader for a moment. You subscribe to a blog and love seeing new content uploaded every week. The blog posts consistently, so you always know there”ll be a new article to read, and that”s why you follow it.

And then imagine the blog goes an entire month without uploading any content.

People might wonder what”s wrong. Over time, they”ll likely unsubscribe and forget about the blog.

This scenario happens a lot when people start new blogs. Bloggers might be excited about creating content and then realize how much time and energy it takes to run a blog and make money off of it.

The best blog posts consistently. If you don”t stay consistent, you”ll lose followers. People won”t stick with your blog, which means you won”t make any money.

Create a posting schedule and stick to it, whether it”s once a day, weekly, or bi-monthly.

Bring Organic Traffic to the Blog

Organic traffic refers to visitors that type in a search query on search engines like Google and then click on a link to your blog they find on SERPs.

If you want to make money, then your blog is a business. Generally, any business will want to mix up the type of traffic they receive and use both paid advertising and SEO tactics.

You can bring in organic traffic for free, though it takes some time.

Use a free keyword tool to find long-tail keywords that relate to your blog topic. For instance, if you”re making a movie blog, the keyword might be “the best movies for date night” or something similar. Do research to find out which keywords will be the most beneficial to you.

Getting Money From a Blog

Bloggers have a few options for bringing in money. They can use affiliate sales, ads, or sell their own products.

Affiliate sales are one of the most common methods, as it”s pretty easy to get started and also fairly reliable. You can sign up to be an affiliate on a site like Amazon and get started in a day or so. Keep in mind you”ll have to add an affiliate disclaimer and privacy page.

You can also combine methods if you want. For instance, some people that sell their own products also create blog posts with affiliate sales links.

Now You Know How to Start a Blog for Free and Make Money

So, now you know how to start a blog for free and make money. The good news is that you can create a blog in a few hours and start bringing in extra income.

It can take some time to see any decent money from a blog, and you”ll have to keep up with it if you want any steady income. However, it”s easy to get started if you use these tips.

To learn more blogging tips and how to make the most of a business, check out some of our other posts!