This post is all about how to make money blogging on WordPress

Hi Runners! Are you wondering if you could be the next big health and fitness blogger? Well, let me assure you, the answer is a resounding yes! Whether you’re passionate about sharing your training tips, race experiences, or favorite running routes, there’s a thriving community waiting to connect with your insights and expertise. With the right tools, dedication, and a dash of optimism, you can turn your love for running into a profitable venture. Imagine inspiring fellow enthusiasts, collaborating with brands you admire, and yes, even earning a substantial income along the way. Or maybe you want to write about something completely different than running…? Completely up to you! You can write a blog about anything. 

So lace up your shoes, because the journey to becoming a successful fitness blogger starts right here, right now!

How do I make money blogging?

If you know anything about influencers, influencer marketing, or content creators, you will know that big money comes from a brand or sponsorship deal… but that is really hard work. When I started this blog, my main goal was to be able to make money passively. I knew I didn’t want to be working at my 9 to 5 anymore, but I didn’t want to work on the blog 24/7 either. Yes, I am so blessed and very grateful that the blog allows me to work from home and be my own boss, but the thing I love the most is that sometimes I don’t even work at all… This is what we call passive income, and I will share with you how to achieve this so you can have as much free time as you want!

I’d love to tell you that there is a quick fix for this, but unfortunately, I had to spend a ton of money on online courses from Affiliate Marketing gurus to realize I had to learn it my own way. Fast forward sometime later, and I’m here to pass this knowledge on to you!

How to Monetize Your Blog to $1000/month

There are two main ways (or the best ways) to make money blogging: Display Ads and Affiliate links.

Why do I love these two the most? Because once you have published the posts and added your affiliate links, you don’t have to do a lot of work afterward.

You will make money off display advertising when people visit your website and read your posts. My recommendation is to wait until you have about 5-10 posts before you sign up with a display ads agency. To be honest, I’d wait even a few months until you have a solid foundation of blog posts to start to monetize your blog. The easiest ad network to get into is Google AdSense, as they don’t require a minimum number of visits per month. 

My favorite affiliate program is Amazon Associates – you can literally find any and all products on Amazon, so you will find all the items you want to become an affiliate for. 

It will take a while before your new blog makes money off display ads, so I would recommend starting with affiliate advertising instead. WHY? Because you don’t need much traffic or site visitors to start making money. Imagine. You write a blog post on your favorite trail running shoes, and 10 people read the post. Maybe one of them can click through your affiliate link and BOOM! You got a sale. You will get a commission for every sale that comes through your affiliate links. I promise that almost every single item you love is part of one of the affiliate programs. 

Another great way to monetize your blog is by creating digital products or easy digital downloads related to your niche, but this will be a topic for another day. 

How to Start a Successful Blog Step-by-Step

Now that you know how to make money blogging, let’s start with the basics. Follow these simple steps:

First Step: Hosting

The first step will be choosing your niche (= what you want to write about) and the name of your blog. You want to make sure that your name reflects the main topic you will write about. I’d recommend writing about something that you are very passionate about or you are an expert at. Take some time to reflect on your interests, hobbies, and unique experiences.

Once you have the name, head over to Bluehost and make sure the domain you want to buy is available. 

Second Step: Setting Up Your Blog

Once you have your domain name and web hosting sorted out with Bluehost, it’s time to set up your own blog. Bluehost makes this process incredibly easy with its one-click WordPress installation. Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to your Bluehost account.
2. Find the “Website” section and click on “WordPress.”
3. Click the “Install Now” button.
4. Select your domain name from the dropdown menu.
5. Leave the directory section blank unless you want your blog to be accessible via a subdirectory.
6. Click “Next” and wait for the installation to complete.
7. Once the installation is finished, you’ll receive an email with your WordPress login credentials.

Now that WordPress is installed, you can log in and start customizing your blog’s appearance and functionality. Voilá, now you have a WordPress site. 

Unlike some other blogging platforms, WordPress gives you full ownership and control of your content and data. You’re not at the mercy of a third-party platform, and you have the freedom to customize your blog as you see fit. The majority of the successful bloggers I know of all use a WordPress website. 

Third Step: Choosing a Theme

Once you’ve decided on WordPress as your blogging platform, the next step is to choose a theme that will define the look and feel of your blog. Your theme plays a crucial role in attracting visitors, setting the tone for your content, and enhancing the user experience. Here’s how to select the perfect theme for your blog:

1. Consider Your Niche: Your theme should reflect the specific topic or niche of your blog. For example, if you’re writing about fitness and wellness, you might want a theme with a clean and energetic design. If your blog focuses on travel, a theme with vibrant colors and striking imagery could be more suitable.

2. Look for Responsiveness: In today’s mobile-centric world, it’s essential to choose a fully responsive theme. This means that your blog will look great and function smoothly on all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops. A responsive theme ensures that your content is accessible to a wide audience and improves your blog’s SEO performance.

3. Check Customization Options: WordPress themes come with varying levels of customization options. Look for a theme that offers flexibility in terms of layout, colors, fonts, and other design elements. This allows you to tailor your blog’s appearance to match your brand and personal style preferences.

4. Prioritize Speed and Performance: The speed and performance of your blog are crucial factors that affect user experience and search engine rankings. Choose a theme that is lightweight and optimized for speed to ensure fast loading times. Avoid themes with excessive animations, complex design elements, or bloated code that can slow down your site.

5. Review Demo and User Reviews: Before committing to a theme, take the time to review its demo and read user reviews. This will give you a better understanding of how the theme looks and functions in real-world scenarios. Pay attention to comments and ratings regarding ease of use, support from the theme developer, and compatibility with WordPress updates.

6. Consider Support and Updates: Choose a theme from a reputable developer or marketplace that provides regular updates and reliable customer support. This ensures that your theme remains compatible with the latest WordPress version and security standards. Responsive support can also be invaluable if you encounter any issues or need assistance with customization.

7. Evaluate Additional Features: Some themes come bundled with extra features such as built-in SEO optimization, integration with popular plugins, custom widgets, and page builder compatibility. Assess whether these additional features align with your blogging goals and can enhance your blog’s functionality without adding unnecessary complexity.

Once you’ve selected the perfect theme for your blog, you can install and activate it from your WordPress dashboard. Remember that your theme is not set in stone, and you can always change it later if your preferences or needs evolve. With a well-chosen theme, you’re one step closer to creating a visually appealing and engaging blog that attracts and retains visitors.

Fourth Step: Creating Compelling Content

Now that your WordPress blog is set up and customized to your liking, it’s time to focus on creating high-quality, engaging content. Compelling content is the foundation of a successful blog, attracting visitors, keeping them engaged, and encouraging them to return for more. 

Here’s how to create content that resonates with your audience:

1. Identify Your Audience: Before you start writing, it’s essential to understand who your target audience is. Consider their demographics, interests, pain points, and preferences. Tailor your content to address their needs and provide value that resonates with them.
2. Brainstorm Content Ideas: Generate a list of potential topics and ideas for your blog posts. Draw inspiration from your own experiences, expertise, industry trends, keyword research, and feedback from your audience. Keep a running list of ideas to refer to when you’re ready to create new content.
3. Create a Content Calendar: Plan your content schedule by creating a content calendar. Outline when you’ll publish new posts, what topics you’ll cover, and any special events or promotions you want to align with. A content calendar helps you stay organized and consistent with your posting schedule.
4. Craft Compelling Headlines: Your blog post headlines play a crucial role in grabbing readers’ attention and enticing them to click and read further. Write clear, descriptive, and engaging headlines that promise value or evoke curiosity. Use power words, numbers, and questions to make your headlines irresistible.
5. Write High-Quality Content: Focus on creating well-researched, informative, and engaging content that provides value to your readers. Use a clear and concise writing style, break up your content with subheadings and bullet points for readability, and incorporate multimedia elements like images, videos, and infographics to enhance engagement.
6. Be Authentic and Personal: Share your unique perspectives, experiences, and insights in your blog posts. Be authentic and genuine in your writing, and don’t be afraid to inject your personality into your content. Readers appreciate honesty and authenticity and are more likely to connect with bloggers who share their stories openly.
7. Optimize for SEO: Optimize your blog posts for search engines to improve your visibility and attract organic traffic. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords and phrases related to your topic, and incorporate them strategically into your content, headings, meta descriptions, and URLs. Use descriptive alt tags for images and optimize your site’s loading speed for better SEO performance.
8. Promote Your Content: Once you’ve published a new blog post, promote it across your social media channels, email newsletters, and other marketing channels. Encourage engagement, shares, and comments to increase visibility and reach a wider audience. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and questions promptly.
9. Monitor and Analyze Performance: Track the performance of your blog posts using analytics tools like Google Analytics. Monitor metrics such as page views, time on page, bounce rate, and conversion rate to evaluate the effectiveness of your content. Use this data to identify top-performing content, understand audience behavior, and refine your content strategy accordingly.
10. Stay Consistent and Adapt: Consistency is key to building and maintaining a successful blog. Stick to your content schedule and continue to create and publish valuable content regularly. Stay informed about industry trends, audience feedback, and changes in search engine algorithms, and adapt your content strategy accordingly to stay relevant and competitive.

By focusing on creating compelling content that resonates with your audience, you can build a loyal following, establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and achieve your blogging goals with WordPress. Continue refining your content strategy based on audience feedback and performance metrics to drive continuous growth and success for your blog.

To optimize your content creation process and ensure that your blog posts are fully optimized for search engines, consider using RankIQ. RankIQ is the perfect tool for WordPress bloggers, providing keyword research, content optimization, and performance tracking all in one platform. With RankIQ, you can discover high-performing keywords, analyze competitors’ content strategies, and optimize your blog posts for maximum visibility and engagement. Try RankIQ today and take your content creation efforts to the next level!

The Number 1 Tool That Has Helped Me Make $1000+ with My Blog

Starting my blog was so hard and devastating in the beginning. I poured my heart and soul into creating content, but it felt like shouting into the void with zero readers to hear me. I was spending hours and days trying to figure out and struggling to know what to write about to start getting some eyes on my blog… 

I was writing about a topic that I am very passionate about, creating premium content, but my blog had exactly 0 readers and 0 clicks. It was really disheartening to keep going, but I knew I had to make it work. 

Somehow I stumbled across RankIQ on TikTok. Yes, really. One of the bloggers I follow shared her monthly income (a number with 5 digits, wowza!) and quickly explained that her blog had seen a complete 360 after using this keyword tool.

I was desperate to try anything so I signed up for RankIQ right away! This tool became my guiding star, and I am not exaggerating! All of a sudden instead of spending a day creating a blog post and finding the right keywords, I knew exactly what to write about and work was cut in half!

It is very intuitive to use, also if you’re not very technological like me. The feature that has helped me the most besides keyword research is the content optimizer, which helps you create your posts and make sure your post will rank (aka it will get eyes on your blog content!)

Thanks to RankIQ, in only a couple of months I have gone from 10 daily visitors a day to 30,000 visits a month!

Now that I have shared my best tips on blogging and how to make money blogging on WordPress, I’d like to hear from you. Are you at the beginning of your blogging journey and do you feel stuck? Remember to practice patience and perseverance; blogging is not a sprint, it’s a marathon!

By following these steps and staying dedicated to your blog, you can build a successful online presence and even generate a steady income from your passion for running (or whatever else you choose to write about).

So what are you waiting for? Start your blogging journey today and share your unique voice with the world! Happy blogging!