Do you want to earn money blogging, even if you just started blogging today? You may not know it, but it’s true. One of the fastest ways to make money online is through blogging. It’s not only the fastest, it’s also the easiest, because anyone can do it. That’s the reason there are different types of blogs on wide range of niches and topics.
There’s a blog for every niche possible. Sometimes even niches that doesn’t seem like anyone would be interested in. Yet, there are those who read them. That shows you can blog about anything you want. But let me show you how you can earn money blogging in any niche you choose.
In Nigeria, it’s even more important that you know how you can earn money blogging before you start a blog. Because what most startup bloggers know about making money from blogging is advertising. That’s why most of them only think about Adsense money.
But there are many other ways to earn money from blogging that’s suitable for startup bloggers.
How Startups Earn Money Blogging
If you just started a blog or about to start one, I have the biggest secret about blog money you need to know. This would change the way you start a blog. I know the idea of most people on earning money from blogging is to create news blogs, then add more contents to drive more traffic to earn from Ad clicks.
But how many Ad clicks can a startup blog get to earn money blogging? As a startup blog, you don’t even get traffic. I remember when I started MyBlog, the traffic was around 20 page views per day. If I had depended on adverts I wouldn’t be around today.
You need to shift your focus from adverts to products and services. The reason being, you need lots of traffic to make money from Ad clicks. But you only need one customer at a time to make money from selling products or services. You get the idea?
Don’t Try To Become A Blogger
Now, let me break it for you. Don’t try to become a blogger if you want to make money. Most startup bloggers are too consumed with blogging than actually making money. You don’t need more content to earn money blogging. You need the right content for the right audience.
You don’t even have to be a blogger. But you have to be blogging. Let me explain what I mean by that. The idea of a blogger is someone who can write good blog posts. Well, if that’s what you think blogging is about, you don’t have to be that. If you know to talk to someone, just convert those talks to blog posts and you would always have good contents to post on your blog.
Also, learn how to sell your product or service. Become a good blog marketer. If you can put the marketing content in a way that helps the target audience understand how you want to help them without sounding exploitative, you are doing well.
Impression Matters A Lot
Don’t create the wrong impression to your readers. They must see you as a truthful and open blogger, who is interested in helping them and not exploiting them. If that’s how your content make them feel, you are getting it right.
People will judge you by how your content make them feel. So, be mindful of what you are writing. Remember that you are blogging but with the mindset of a marketer. That means you don’t miss the purpose of a blogger, which is to share useful information with a target audience.
So, start with sharing useful information that would help them as well. Those useful information would open them up to trusting your knowledge of their problems. If they trust you to know how to help them, they will come to you for more.
Win Their Hearts First
Once your audience is getting real value from your blog, they will start asking for your help. If you do it very well, you can even let them know in your content that you can help them.
I like to do this in a subtle way. I highlights the problems, which they know they have, and also highlight the kind of solution that solves their problem. Then, I fix a cost to it. I don’t push them to buy or hire me, but I let them know they need to hire someone. In most cases they don’t know anyone to hire, and they would come asking me for help.
But your real advantage is in winning their trust first. And that’s very simple. Give them value. Help them to learn something that’s helpful that’s not known to them before. Show them new ways of doing something more profitable and cost saving.
When you help your target audience, they will trust you and won’t mind paying you for further services.
This Is How To Get It Started
I have shown you what to do. Now, let me show you how to do it. If you already have a blog, you just need to start making some adjustments to move away from Adsense focused blog to whatever would help you sell a product or service.
Don’t mistake the idea of selling to mean starting an eCommerce site. Well, if that works best for you, no problem. I’m just showing you how to use blog content to promote a product or service idea and sell them to your readers.
This process must be first understood by you. If possible, put it down on paper, how you intend to implement your own strategy. I’m going to show you the step by step process that I used.
Step One: Pick A Niche
A niche helps to define what your blog is about and attract the right audience to it. Avoid trying to do general niches. And don’t fall for those popular niches either. You can start from a little known niche and gradually move to a closer popular one as your blog grows.
For example, starting a book blog is a niche, but can be classified as popular niche. Start a children’s book is considered a very niche blog
Step Two: Choose Your Role
The second step is to decide what your role would be like. This step is critical, because it defines the focus of your blog as well, especially if you want to start a niche blog, which I strongly advise. If possible, make the niche as close to a focus group as possible.
To pick your role you need to decide what you want your target audience to see you as. Do you want them to see you as a teacher, a counselor, consultant or adviser? It’s up to you to decide. But whatever role you choose should be one you can play very well.
The role you choose is very important to how you want to earn money blogging. It’s also the way your potential clients see you that would determine the kind of value they would place on your offer. This step is very important. And don’t choose a role you know nothing about or can’t play well.
Step Three: Find Your Writing Style
Sometimes we fail to understanding that blogging is writing, and every blog should have its writing style. That’s your brand identity. Your audience are going to know you for it. But due to copy and paste bloggers, most people have forgotten they should have their own writing style.
Apart from branding your blog, it also stands you out from non serious bloggers. Anyone can identify that your posts are always original and not copy. Even when similar story lines are found elsewhere, yours will always be original.
It also helps Google in ranking your blog. There’s nothing as hurting to your Google Ranking as plagiarized contents. But your own writing style gives Google the impression that you are original.
Step Four: Find The Right Product Or Service
I can’t emphasize this enough. It’s your key to start earning money from blogging. And that’s why you should take it seriously. Most importantly, you should learn how to repackage a product or service. Yes, that’s because you don’t really need to find a new product or service, but you can take existing products and repackage it better.
The trick to pick the right product or service is depended on the role you chose to play. Whatever you pick to sell, make sure it’s well packaged to meet the needs of your target audience.
You must know something you can exchange with your readers for money. It’s your fastest way to earn money blogging. Faster than you can ever make from Adsense or even any form of advertising as a startup blogger.
Step Five: Make Them Want To Pay For It
The best way to sell with this idea is to create a product or service that your potential clients know that they have to pay for it. You won’t be the one convincing them that it should be paid for. They should on their own know it’s worth paying for.
One key ingredients is selling them solutions to their problems. People pay to get their problem solved. If I had packaged this post as a guide titled: “Secrets To Earn Money Blogging”, you won’t mind paying me N10,000 for the guide. Because every blogger out there is looking for how to earn ‘more’ money from blogs, including those already earning money.
Conclusion
If you are starting out in blogging, don’t make the same mistake others are making. You can’t make money from Adsense as a startup blogger. Adsense is for blogs that already has huge traffic. And if you don’t mind I tell you this truth, it will take years for your new blog to start gaining lots of traffic.
I learnt this truth when I started. From that moment I knew I had to find another way to earn money from my blog. And what I have shared with you now is how I’m doing it. I earn millions annually from my blog. I don’t even have lots of traffic yet.
I have given you the same secret that worked for me. Products or services are more profitable than Adsense. If you must do Adsense, let it be as additional source of income. Don’t depend on Adsense as a startup blogger.
If this post inspired you, just drop a comment below and share your inspiration with me.
