How to Start a Blogging Business

Five Things Top Paid Bloggers Have in Common

In order to understand what it will take to learn how to start a blogging business, it's important to look at those who have done it successfully. Here are a few things that top paid bloggers all have in common.

Top Paid Bloggers Have Something Interesting to Say

Above all else, people read blogs because they are interesting, funny or a source of useful information. Top blogs have unique content that is well written and engaging. They provide readers with information that cannot be obtained on other sites. (Want an example of a uniquely hilarious blog? Check out Because I Said So).

Top Paid Bloggers Have Paid Their Dues

Bloggers that make a lot of money have been blogging for at least a year or more. It is unreasonable to expect that blogging will yield high results right away. It usually takes a year or more of consistently posting in your blog to build traffic. Rember that successful professional bloggers paid their dues early on by adding creative and informative content daily.

Top Paid Bloggers Play the Social Networking Game

In the early days of their blogs, professional bloggers spent lots of time simply commenting on others' blogs, posting in forums and participating in net wide blog carnivals. They made a point to add to their blog rolls because, after all, it's likely that bloggers whose sites you add to your blog roll will reciprocate.

Top Paid Bloggers Spend Time Knowing What Else Is Out There

Along with the social networking aspect of blogging, top paid bloggers also spend time reading other blogs in their niche. They offer commentary about other blogs in their posts, and they know what is going on throughout the blogosphere. If it's related to their blog, they're on it.

Top Paid Bloggers Are Technically Savvy

Bloggers who make top dollar for their blogs understand how to create and manage a website. It's true that there are more than ample amounts of templates out there, but usually a top paid blogger is going above and beyond with his widgets and other site functions. Also, most top paid bloggers use their own domain name.

Steps on How to Start a Blogging Business

Now that you know more about what it takes to make money from blogging, let's learn how to go about setting up your own business.

Step 1: The Niche

You need to decide on a niche. This is your topic of expertise. Remember: no one will read your blog if it's not interesting, well written and if it doesn't provide useful information.

Step 2: Select a Domain Name and Hosting

You need to buy a domain name. Your domain name should easily identify you and ideally, your domain name should have the title of your blog in it. Many bloggers choose to go with a domain name hosting site such as Godaddy.com. When you go with this option, you can get your domain name from the same company that hosts your blog.

Many bloggers choose to use WordPress blogging software becasue it's user friendly and there are plenty of free templates. Keep in mind that you shouldn't host your blog with WordPress if you're planning to monetize it, because ads are not allowed on blogs hosted by WordPress. You can, however, easily use WordPress for monetized blogs with your own domain name, published with your own hosting account.

Step 3: The Content

Now that you have a host, and you have a niche, you just need to add content to your site. Here are a few pointers on content:

• Content must be interesting, original, and offer the reader something he cannot get anywhere else.
• Content must be posted regularly. You should post a blog at least once a day if not more.
• Your site should offer certain "pillars of content." For example, if your blog is on breakfast, your pillars of content might include basic instructions on how to make an omelet, a variety of pancake recipes, and a variety of waffle recipes.
• Content must be posted regularly for about a year before you will begin to see any type of significant return.

Step 4: Sharing the Link Love

Linking to other blogs and promoting your own blog is a big part of the blogging business. There are several ways to do this:

• Leave comments on others' blogs with the link to your blog. Most often, the blogger you are commenting on will return the favor.

• Participate in a forum that's related to your niche topic. Your signature, with a link to your blog should appear on every forum entry. (This can be set up when you first sign up with the forum.)

• Participate in web wide events. Sometimes this is a "carnival" where one blog writes a post linking to several posts on a particular theme. Another hidden advantage to doing this is that you get to know other people who are also writing in your niche.

Step 5: 3 Easy Ways to Monetize Your Blog

Monetizing your blog simply means signing up with affiliates or Google ads so that your blog makes money. Here are a few simple ways to monetize your blog:

• Google ads-This is one of the most popular ways to monetize a blog. You sign up with Google and they run ads across your blog that are related to the keywords in your posts.

• Affiliates-Sign up with a business or two that promote a product that pertains to your readers. When your readers click on the link to the business through your blog, you get a percentage of the sale. It's good business because it's a means of 'free advertising' for the business (or at least they don't have to pay anything up front), but you profit off of sales made through a link coming from your blog.

• Pay per Post-Pay per post is a system that allows you to get paid by writing a post that advertises a product or service on your blog. If your whole blog consists largely of pay per post advertisements, it will ruin what you're trying to do. However, a few well placed posts advertising things that your readers would likely want to know about can augment your overall purpose.

Tips and Resources

Now you've read about how to start your own blogging business, the next step is to get blogging! Before you do, consider researching some of these top blogs about blogging:

Problogger.net

You will find everything that you want to know about making money on your blog at problogger. Problogger also has a very popular job board listing for those who love to write but would prefer not to own their own business.

The Truth Laid Bear

The Truth Laid Bear is a ranking of the most popular blogs on the internet.

Blogosphere News

The Blogosphere News boasts any and everything pertaining to the Blogosphere.