how to earn money with blog

hai this is vijay reddy

i would like to tell about how to earn money with blog

1. idea

2. create blog

3. earn money

1. idea

#1 Run a contest – I’ve run blog contests (currently not available) on this site before, and all I can say is that it gives great attention and new traffic to your blog.
#2 Review books/products/films – Reviews deliver a lot of value to your followers, and people are constantly looking for honest opinions, not the fake ones that the web is full of.
#3 Make comprehensive guide/tutorial – If you’re a professional in a field or know some topics extra well, feel free to help the ones who have less skills and experience than you do. Tutorials and guides provide a lot of value, which can help drive traffic and convert followers. As an experienced blogger, I teach others how to start and maintain a blog.
#4 Interview someone – Know any celebrities or people who have great stories behind their work/life/career? Interviews are extremely popular in two cases: a) you deliver an interview with a famous person who rarely speaks in public or b) your shares rally insanely useful and practical tips and content.
#5 Post a cool infographic – Infographics help to visualize complicated data, and they’re hugely popular these days. As always, when something becomes mainstream, the overall quality is poor. So, if you’re not a designer, hire one to get a viral infographic that stands out from the crowd.
#6 Criticize a website/blog or a person – The web and blogs are great for discussion, opinions and criticizing. Nevertheless, if you are brave enough to say some crispy words about someone, make sure your text has strong arguments and is based on real facts. Random ranting is pointless.
#7 Make a post full of GIFs – GIFs are the symbol of online entertainment and humor. There are thousands of GIFs and generators that help to produce new ones. See example:  Linkbuilding in GIFs
#8 Create a photo post – Share your favorite photos from your niche or personal photos from your latest traveling adventure. Keep in mind that if you’re not the author, you should always give credit to the original photographer by providing a link.

#9 Tell a personal secret – We all have our dreams as well as secrets. Sharing them publicly gives very engaging content to the followers. As much as people love rumors, they love to know the dirty little secrets of other people.

#10 Write inspirational/motivational post with famous quotes – People need little kicks to get going and get things done. Big things start from small ones, and motivational posts can do miracles. Here’s one of the best quotes from Steve Jobs: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else´s life.” Here are some tips for using quotes in your posts.
#11 Share recent travel experiences – Travel blogs and posts are popular, and there are people who earn a living solely from writing about their adventures. Sharing inspiration and tips from your adventures is very useful to your audience, whether you’re in the travel industry or not. In case you haven’t traveled for a while, publish the best or worst experiences you’ve had in certain countries/airline companies/etc.
#12 Host a giveaway – Have you ever thought why products like GoPro become more and more popular with each day? They do giveaway campaigns regularly. People love free stuff, and taking advantage of that helps you reach new audiences.
#13 Write down a conspiracy theory – Have you heard about all the number theories behind important events and people? Now it’s time to start a new one; let your imagination free, or simply share you opinions about the known ones.
#14 Show log files of intense conversations – Who doesn’t like to read log-files that are somewhat offensive?
#15 Write a short story – No previous experience with writing fiction? Publish your short story (about 200 – 500 words), and ask your followers for feedback.
#16 Sing a song – Great artists and singers are not born overnight. First, they’ll have to discover their talent. Find your new hobby or passion in music.
#17 Create a list of something – People are lazy. They don’t want to waste time on searching and gathering information. That’s the reason why lists are popular. Create a TOP10, or better yet, a TOP100 list. Lists of movies, books, influential people, or any other topic can easily generate buzz.
#18 Write down all the thoughts you had in mind today – This is pretty mindf*#?, but if you are bored, then you can try this method as well.
#19 Share your goals/dreams publicly – Write down all your goals for the current year or dreams where you want to be in 5 years time. It gives nice pressure and motivation to achieve the goals, and it will excite your loyal followers.
#20 Make a link carnival and ask others to join – All sorts of link carnivals and linky parties are becoming very popular.
#21 Announce that you’ve turned the comments into “do-follow” so you can get more comments – You will probably get 50% more comments in that way. However, the downside of this technique is that you might receive a lot of “spam” blog comments as well. CommentLuv is a great plugin to start with.
#22 Build your to-do list – There are many to-do list apps and services, but try to publish your tasks on your blog. Other people will have the opportunity to learn from you. How you build your tasks, how broad or narrow they are, etc. can all be helpful to your audience.
#23 Write a post in response to some recent post/news – In other words, become an opinion blogger or analyst. When you manage to write high-level content on hot topics, your blog can be featured on major newspapers and websites.
#24 Make a full case study about something – We covered tutorials already, but case studies reveal what you’ve done, how you’ve done it, and what the results are. This is extremely interesting for many folks, especially for me.
#25 Share your favorite blogs/bloggers in one post – It’s a bit similar to “Make a list” idea, but sharing the blogs and bloggers you follow is never a bad idea. Give the resources to your readers; believe me, they are grateful and won’t stop following you.
#26 Invite your readers to submit guest posts – Are you struggling with new posts or have to leave for some time? Ask people to write guest posts. It’s a win-win situation; you get the content, and they can build up their name or brand.
#27 Publish the best comments that your blog has received throughout the history – Are you using a vote system on your comments or just know the posts where some comments have raised very fruitful discussions? Share them in a separate post.

#28 Share your blogs income + traffic numbers – Prove that a blog in your niche can have reasonable traffic numbers and maybe even be profitable. Bring Google Analytics data to daylight and it’s very nice if you provided some analysis in important points, for example a major change in traffic numbers etc. Pat Flynn has done that, why don’t you?

#29 Tell a joke – That’s pretty straight forward. Humor never gets old, and great jokes are really entertaining.
#30 Bust a myth – There are thousands of well-known things that actually are not true. In other words, they’re called myths. Take some time and do some research to disprove some of them. If your followers love it, feel free to become a MythBuster.
#31 Produce or publish your art – Online galleries and portfolios look cool and can be the first step to the world for artists. So publish your paintings, comics, graphical design masterpieces, and other creations as well.
#32 Publish a post about your success and epic failures – Being successful means making mistakes (or in other words: failing). But failing is not all bad. It’s a learning experience that allows you to be better the next time. So, that’s the reason why you should talk publicly about your success and failures, to let others learn from it.
#33 Ask your readers to tweet, like, and share the posts they like – Spreading the word about your blog or posts is important, but sometimes people need a little extra kick to do that, so write a post for that.
#34 Start a poll – That’s simple. Want to know what other people prefer or think about a certain topic? Start a poll to get quick overview.
#35 Write a post about things you regret doing/not doing – When you surf around Quora or Yahoo Answers, you’ll find many very popular topics and posts about the things people regret doing and not doing. Try to write down your own list.
#36 Pose a rhetorical question in your blog post – This blog post idea is similar to posting random quotes just to produce some content, but it can really spark a discussion, even if the question is rhetorical.

#37 Post a picture that speaks more than thousand words – Sometimes you can and SHOULD post images that tell us a story. It does not only grab attention and increase your visitors average time spent on the blog, but it’s also extremely interesting. Check this.

#38 Publish some little or unknown facts – The Internet and different encyclopedias are full of facts, some of them really random. For example “Did you know that the pink/red/white color of flamingos comes from the food they eat?” You can gather those facts in your own post to generate buzz.
#39 Publish an In Memorian post – It’s polite to commemorate the people who pass away.
#40 Bring out the most important dates in history – Pick a country/war/invention/company, and write down the important dates of it. People love to get general but detailed overviews.
#41 Tell about your latest event experiences – Visited a concert or a festival lately? Write a review about it.
#42 Publish your CV online – Show your previous experience and the things you are good at. You might get a job offer for doing that.
#43 Post an obvious lie – You can turn things upside down when you tell an obvious lie inside your blog post. People might get mad at you, but that doesn’t matter.
#44 Write where you’d like to travel – … and encourage others to do the same in your comments. This kind of conversations usually turns out pretty big.
#45 Blog about marketing secrets – Tell your readers about your top secret strategies, techniques, and tactics you use to get more followers and traffic.
#46 Write about the most important lessons you’ve learned in your life – What is more kind than helping others and analyzing yourself at the same time?
#47 Tell your readers what they should do to succeed – Create a blog post that explains your readers what they should do in order to become successful as you are.

#48 Do a video post about your day – Let your readers see about your daily life. For me, it’s extremely interesting, but you also need to have some courage to do that. In either way, it’s up to you.

#49 Show off your personal stuff; car(s), house, accessories – This is something that creates many different opinions among your readers. Don’t be scared to show your stuff. It can also turn out as a motivational blog post from someone who doesn’t own those kind of things. People love those kind of things.
#50 Build a list – Build a list of your readers. You can use Aweber or Mailchimp for that; in that way you can inform your readers about the new posts you’ve made.
#51 Create a blog post about your bad habits – Smoking, alcohol, drugs. Tell them something shocking!
#52 Offer free help in your industry to get new contacts – Free help gives you great reputation and people will start sharing your blog more often as well as suggesting to their friends. It helps to grow into a branded expert.
#53 Research and analyze a topic in your industry – Well written and analyzed posts get great attention. Invest time and grow your followers by that. Many professional bloggers write one post for more than 12 working hours, they invest a lot of time to produce perfect posts.
#54 Answer to every single comment personally – Make your readers feel special and honored. It takes only a couple of minutes to answer them personally but you can get new friends, co-authors or even business partners.
#55 Write a longer “About Me” post – Classical About Me posts are a couple of lines but introduce yourself more and write a longer one. People like to know what’s the background of the content they’re reading but they usually don’t have time to check LinkedIn accounts or just Google the name.
#56 Create a post that utilizes a bar chart or pie chart – Infographics is one of the hottest keywords in the web industry. Visualizing data makes it easier to read, gather interesting data and build charts!
#57 Write down your monthly personal budget and expenses – You can document what ever costs you like. Take your website and show how many dollars you’ve spent on it and also show the income/revenue side of it. Additionally, you can use the same model on your family budget.
#58 Participate in reciprocal guest blogging – Talk to your followers and look for people who’d like to write you a guest post and you’ll write one by yourself.
#59 Post linkbait – Don’t know what linkbait is? Have a look at here: 10 extraordinary linkbait examples
#60 Make a post about your most popular posts – Gather the data behind the most popular posts (traffic, shares and comments) and write them down in a single post.

#61 Publish a “What If” post – Use your imagination and write a post about what if you’re going to move to another country or travel the world or win billion dollars. People love to dream and believe that these things will happen to them.

#62 Publish online courses/e-books – If you’re an expert in your field, invest time in writing and publishing courses and e-books. Create quality content, and people will be ready to buy it for nice amount of money. When money is not an important aspect, publish the content for free.
#64 Turn on Gravatar images on your blog comment – Make it as a real conversation by turning on Gravatar images (just like my blog has).
#65 Build your portfolio – A portfolio is a great way to showcase experience. It’s a wide-spread myth that only artists and photographers can use it. Build a portfolio of projects you’ve run, the applications you’ve coded, and so on.
#66 Write in your own everyday language/writing style – Forget the well-known rules, and use the expressions you use every day. It’s a great way to make your posts more enjoyable and stand out.
#61 Share food recipes – Don’t know what to write about? Share the recipes of your favorite meals and desserts.
#68 Publish a post about cons and pros about something – Things are never black & white, and there is nothing perfect in this world. There’s always some cons about something.
#69 Show others how to secure their blogs – This is something that is useful and interesting at the same time. I recently posted an infographic about “What if Your WordPress Gets Hacked.”

#70 Hold a conference or a webinar through blog post – Have a “group” meeting at next Saturday 9 PM. I’m more than sure that if you hold a live event through your blog then there will be people watching it.

#71 Ask for general feedback on your blog – Sometimes you can improve your blog by the way your readers want. Minor tweaks here and there can add value that can bring you more traffic and returning visitors.
#72 Curate or summarize someone else’s work – Write short summaries to bring out the most important aspects or points in other published writings. This helps save a lot of time for the readers who are only looking for the most important information.
#73 Publish a list of your most successful Tweets/social media posts (based on re-tweets & likes) – Have you had any success with massive re-tweeting, liking, or sharing? Share the tweets and posts with others.
#74 Compile a list of common mistakes in your niche – Many people don’t know the basics and make common mistakes. Write tutorials to help them prevent these misunderstandings.
#75 Publish a manifesto – See a sample here.
#76 Make a post about future plans – Dreaming of being a world-class analyst or an entrepreneur in five years time? Looking to start studies at a university? Write the plans down; it’s interesting to read them later on, and it gives new ideas to other people as well.
#77 Write down an extremely long blog comments – In that way you can show your readers that you actually care about their comments & opinions.
#78 Thank your audience for following you – Show that you respect them.
#79 Write about why you actually started blogging – Simply tell your followers how it all started…
#80 Abandon your blog for a week and make others think “what happened to you” – It’s pretty risky, but if you are famous blogger – this will get you a lot of buzz.
#81 Write the list of things and activities you want to do before death – Ever seen the books in the bookstore called “1001 places to visit/foods to eat/artists to listen before you die?” Build your own list, and inspire others to do that as well.
#82 Show others how to do something extremely FAST – Everybody likes to do something quickly. As you know, time is the most valuable thing in our lives. For example, David Risley teach you how to blog fast.
#83 Write a satirical blog post – Satire never gets old, but don’t be too harsh. These posts can easily go viral, but be sure you’re prepared for backlash.
 #84 Write a series of blog posts – To make your readers constantly engaged with your blog, then I suggest you to start a blog post series. Here’s a good example of blog post series: How to Make a WordPress Plugin #1.
#85 Publish a questions and answers blog post – Make a “Questions Monday.” Promise to answer all the questions your audience has.
#86 Post a quote – People adore quotes that make them think and spread motivation, so use them wisely.

#87 Launch a free e-book about your best blog posts – Gather the most viewed and commented posts together and convert them into an e-book that can be published on Amazon or other online bookstores.

#88 Run PPC campaign through Facebook to your blog posts – It costs a little, but this option means a lot of new traffic and followers.
#89 Update/invest in customized blog post design – Great blogs and posts need great design to keep the readers coming back. Hire professionals; never try to do “something” in PhotoShop unless you’re not a designer.
#90 Make 404 page that is a game – That’s a fun way to get people staying on your page. See the tutorial HERE.
#91 Make a handwritten post and publish it by taking a photo – Hand-written texts look amazing and shows your creativity as well as character.
#92 Make an ultimate resource post – Operating in fishing niche? Publish a list of most useful resources for that.
#93 Invite experts to comment your posts – Busy people work the most, but they’re quite often ready to help if you offer them value from your side. If you ask them, do it kindly, and state clearly why they should do it and what they get for doing it.
#94 Publish a post as an audio file (mp3) – Write your post and record it as an audio file. It allows the readers to follow the blog on the go; all they need is an mp3 player or a smartphone.
#95 Make list of useful & interesting people to follow in your niche – This is another “TOP” category post idea. List the useful people who provide great insights; these posts become viral quickly.
#96 List nostalgic post about different blogs in your niche, and show readers how they’ve changed from 2000 by using web.archive – Web design and trends have changed a lot. It creates great WOW effect for people to see how ugly the websites used to be back in the dot.com bubble times.
#97 Link to new or interesting patents in your niche that amazes people – Ever heard that Apple patented the two-finger movements on smartphones and tablets? Here’s your chance to shine.
#98 Ask some billionaire to write a post for you – As these people are often too busy to respond, they enjoy fame and publicity. This is definitely worth a try, even when you fail.
#99 Rant about something that REALLY disturbs you – Ranting on the Internet is sometimes pointless, but well-argumented posts may get a lot of attention.

#100 Create a list of online tools you find useful – There are literally dozens of tools that can make life a lot easier, create a list of the ones you use or would like to use.

#101 Dare your readers to do something – And then ask them to report back on how it went. Or, have them dare you to do something, and then post a video of you doing it.
———–
Update: Since I got lot of great feedback from the post, I decided to add another 35 blog post ideas to the list.
#102 Host a voting contest – Ask your readers to nominate the best blogs in your niche. This can turn into several posts since you can take those nominations and write a “Top 100 Blogs in the Industry” post. Notify the winning blogs so that they’ll send some of their followers your way.
#103 Curate content in your niche – Did you read some interesting articles this week? Link to the best ones in your blog post as a resource for your readers.
#104 Wish yourself happy birthday – Are you entering the second year of your blog? Wish it a happy birthday, and then show readers how far you’ve come.
#105 Make a list of interesting stats in your niche – Want to blow your reader’s minds? Create a useful resource of stats in your niche.
#106 Repost a long email response to a reader’s question – Do you often get personal readers’ questions only to respond in a long email? Share that response with your other followers. (Just be sure you’re keeping any emails, names, etc. confidential.)
#107 Write a FAQs post – What questions do you get asked constantly, either about yourself or your industry? Create a FAQs post answering all these questions. Repost this as a page on your website so that it’s easy to find for newcomers.
#108 Write an ultimate list – Choose a topic and write an ultimate list of ideas so that it’s the first go-to resource for your readers.
#109 Create an A-Z post – For example, write an A to Z post on travel tips or an A to Z post on the best WordPress plugins.
#110 Develop a profile on an influential figure – Is there someone in your niche you admire? Write a profile on them detailing who they are, what they do, why you love them, and where your readers can learn more.
#111 Shoutout to your mentors and fans – Write a post naming specific people who have influenced your blogging journey. Be sure to let them know when the post is public to help drive their followers to your site.
#112 Showcase a reader – Do you have a strong relationship with some of your loyal readers? Ask one of them if you can interview him or her and post his or her responses on your blog.
#113 List the best apps in your niche – Are you in the finance industry? List and review the top 50 mobile accounting apps. The more apps you list, the better.
#114 Write a makeover post – Did you just get a haircut? Maybe you remodeled your kitchen. Show your readers the before and after photos.
#115 Run a month of giveaways – Each day, post a new blog post (or have a guest author), and then include a quick gift for one winner at the end of each post. Be sure they have to earn it, such as by leaving a blog comment to be eligible. Add in a few “surprise” gifts so they don’t always know what’s coming.
#116 Hold a guest post pitching contest – Do you accept guest authors on your blog? Hold a pitching contest where readers can pitch their idea in the comment section and give each other feedback before you decide which pitch will turn into a published blog post on your site.
#117 Develop a quiz – Use a quiz-building application like Online Quiz Creator, and make your next post into a game for your readers.
#118 Create a glossary – Do people get confused about terminology in your industry? Write a post detailing the definition to commonly confused words in your niche.
#119 Write an open letter – Do you have someone you’ve always wanted to say something to, whether it’s your child or a celebrity? Finally say those things, and then post it on your blog for the world to see.
#120 Share a worksheet – What’s the number one thing your readers want to know about themselves and your niche? Create a worksheet that will help them answer that question. For instance, if you’re in the finance industry, you might develop a “Get out of Debt” worksheet that will help readers better plan their finances.
#121 Share coupon codes – Do a bit of research and find out which online stores in your niche are offering discounts or coupon codes right now, and then share that information with your readers.
#122 Create a list of free eBooks – People love free stuff, so help generate some buzz by creating a long list of helpful and free eBooks in your niche.
#123 Predict the future – Tell you readers where you industry is going in the next five years, or talk about where you think a celeb will be in a year or two.
#124 Compile a list of jokes – People love to be entertained. Make them laugh with a list of jokes related to your industry.
#125 Draw a comic – Show your personality by drawing and uploading your own comic. Try to make it clever and funny to drive more traffic.
#126 Write a poem – This is a great option for lifestyle bloggers, but if you can provide enough entertainment value, your poem can become wildly effective in any niche.
#127 Tell your readers who to follow on Twitter – This type of posts provides a lot of value to readers, and you just might get the attention of some influential people in your industry.
#128 Make a list detailing influential people’s response to a single question – Connect with a dozen or so popular individuals in your niche, and ask them all the same question, such as, “What’s your go-to marketing tactic that you believe is the most successful?” Compile their answers in a blog post, but be sure to ask their permission and to give them credit for the answer.
#129 Highlight the key takeaways from a recent conference – Are you planning to attend a conference in your niche? Be sure you’re taking notes so that you can report back to your followers the most important points covered.
#130 Make a list of hacks – People love it when they discover something that will make life easier. Write a list of hacks that will make your readers say, “Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
#131 Write about your plans for the holidays – No matter what holiday is approaching, share with your readers what you’ll be doing. This gives them a heads-up if you’ll be gone, but it also sparks conversation. Be sure you ask them to share their plans as well.
#132 Record a Skype call – Get in touch with a well-known person in your niche and talk with them via Skype. Record the conversation and post it for your viewers to see later. You can also host live calls via Google Hangouts.
#133 Put on a skit – People absolutely love short entertaining videos. Video tape a quick skit, whether you want to send a political message, educate your viewers, or just produce a spoof that will make them laugh.
#134 Host a free live workshop – Who would pass up something free, especially if you have something valuable to offer? Share some of your training and consulting material with your readers via a live online workshop.
#135 Write a blog post about 135 blog post ideas (or more) in your niche – List down 135 blog topics in your niche; a lot of people find it useful :).

  

2. create blog 

• Steps to making a blog
• STEP 1: Know WHY you want to start a blog
• STEP 2: Decide WHAT your blog will focus on
  • So… what type of blog should you start?
  • What are your hobbies?
• STEP 3: Decide WHICH of the blogging platforms you’ll use
  • The free blogging platforms aren’t really free.
  • How much does a self-hosted blog cost?
• STEP 4: Decide which web host to use
  • Why eHost is reliable
• STEP 5: How to create a blog using eHost
• STEP 6: Install WordPress on your hosting account
• STEP 7: Login to your new blog and start blogging

Steps to making a blog

STEP 1: Know WHY you want to start a blog

When you know your destination, getting your direction becomes easier, right?

People start blogs for different reasons. Today, blogging is a great way to:

• Become a better person. Blogging helps you think clearer, communicate with intentionality and build your creative flair.
• Improve your writing. Writing proficiency comes with regular practice and starting a blog helps you write regularly
• Make your voice heard. Gone are the days when only powerful politicians and wealthy businessmen could air their views. Now, you, too, can!
• Make a difference. You want to help people take control of their personal finance? Start your own blog. You wish people would exercise more, take healthier meals and rest better? Start a blog.
• Get published. The world is changing, and traditional publishers are falling into irrelevance. Smart authors now make a blog, build a loyal audience and publish their works. This approach works always.
• Make money. It takes time and commitment but people make real money from blogs. I’ve made tens of thousands of dollars myself from blogging. And many folks I’ve taught how to create a blog are doing fine too.

If you’re still undecided, see: 34 Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog. (opens in a new  tab)

You can start a cool blog for any or all of the above purposes. Just use this simple guide, and you’ll see how easy it is.

STEP 2: Decide WHAT your blog will focus on

People start different classes of blogs.

Travel blogs. Vegetarian blogs. Romance blogs. Writing blogs. Marketing blogs. Political blogs. Religion blogs. Fashion blogs. Photography blogs.

So… what type of blog should you start?

What will be the focus or theme of your blog? This theme is called a niche –– and you should have one.

The best is to choose a niche you’re passionate about. Blogging is to be enjoyed. You know, there’s fulfillment in connecting with others and providing helpful information. You’ll experience this joy, and be able to do it for long, if you’re passionate about what you blog about.

When I finally launched my first blog, I found I was really passionate about writing and publishing. So I made that my niche and was able to connect with, learn from and impact many nice people. I even made money from it. I was fulfilled.

What are your hobbies?

What do you feel happy doing? What are you always excited to talk about to your friends?

Is it fashion, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, food, traveling, relationship, movies or fiction? That’s probably what you should be blogging about. If you’re passionate about it, you can keep sharing useful information about it.

Create a blog today, and talk about what you love, what you know, and what you’re learning. It’s easy, and you CAN do it.

STEP 3: Decide WHICH of the blogging platforms you’ll use

The question, “How do you start a blog?” has many alternative answers. You can do it on blogging platforms like:

• Blogger: e.g. webgvr.blogspot.com
• Hosted WordPress: e.g. webgvr.wordpress.com
• Self-Hosted WordPress: e.g. webgvr.com

The first two options are free. But they’re also clumsy and ugly, don’t you think?

If your interest is to start a blog for business, a self-hosted WordPress blog is more professional. If it’s to do it for a cause or as a hobby, a self-hosted WordPress blog is more elegant.

The free blogging platforms aren’t really free.

They come with TONS of annoying limitations that just enslave you. Here’s 5 of them:

Limit #1: if you think the companies allowing you to create a blog on their blogging platforms for free do so because they love you, you’re wrong. They only do so to make money off of you. That’s why they put up adverts on your blog and ask you to pay to enjoy upgrades. Go for a self-hosted blog so you won’t be a wheel in a car working to make another company rich.

Limit #2: you’re not allowed to do affiliate marketing on free blogs. Some of them further prohibit Google Adsense and other cool ways to make money blogging. That’s not how to start a blog rightly.

Limit #3: you can’t use any of the thousands of amazing plugins and themes available to a self-hosted blog. After making a blog, plugins help you extend the functionality of the blog, the same way apps extend the functionality of a phone. Imagine having a phone without being able to install and use apps. Is it cool to live in a house you’re prohibited from painting and designing? If it’s not, then it sucks to have a blog without being able to use a theme on it.

Limit #4: you can’t use a custom email like 13vijayvijay13@gmail.com. That’s not cool. You deserve something better.

Limit #5: on free blogging platforms, your blog can be deleted at anytime if the company’s server mistakes your blog for a spam, or if you accidentally violate their rules. And guess what – you have no remedy if that happens.

So the smart choice is to go with a self-hosted blog.

How much does a self-hosted blog cost?

Turns out, not much.

What you’ll pay to set up your blog is less than a movie ticket. First, you’ll need a domain name – usually sold for $15 but I’ll tell you how to grab it for FREE.

Second, you’ll need a hosting account which costs less than $60 for the first year.

I’ll show you how easy both steps are in a moment.

STEP 4: Decide which web host to use

In my many years of creating and managing blogs, I’ve learnt from bitter experiences that NOT many web hosts are awesome. I’ve used some big name web hosts in the past, and while they make sweet promises, their services are not really that good.

• Their servers often had issues and make my sites load slowly and go down too often (this gave me nightmares in day time)
• Their customer care agents were often too lazy, clueless or too busy with other things to properly offer a help when I needed it
• They do some aggressive, spammy marketing like installing plugins or placing their links on my websites without my consent

Today, the reliable web host I recommend is eHost.

Why eHost is reliable

#1: they provide 24/7 customer support through chat, phone, or email and in my experience, their customer service reps are helpful, polite and professional.

#2: they guarantee and provide an amazing server uptime of 99.9%. Very few web hosts can match that feat.

#3: they give you a free domain name FOR LIFE – some web hosts sell a domain name for $15 per year.

#4: their service is extremely easy to use, and specifically tailored for WordPress blogs. Whether you’re an expert or a non-geek, they’ll make your experience memorable.

#5: they offer unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, and unlimited email accounts.

#6: they’re inexpensive. When you use the discount link on this page, you’ll SAVE some extra money and pay less than $60 for the first year.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of eHost and if you sign up through any of the links on this page, I may get a little commission (at no extra cost to you). But this didn’t influence my recommendation, because all hosting services have similar programs. I recommend eHost because I have personal experiences with them and honestly believe they offer amazing quality. And, I’ve been able to get a special 50% discount for my readers who use any of the discount links on this page.

#7: they have a “one-click WordPress blog” installation, so you can install WordPress with few clicks.

#8: they offer a 45-day money-back guarantee. So if you start a blog today and decide later that blogging is not something you want to do again, you can cancel your account and get a refund.

STEP 5: How to create a blog using eHost

First, go to eHost and click “Get Started Now.”

On the next page, enter the domain name you want to register for free and click “Get My Domain”. If you already have a domain name, check the box, “I Already Own a Domain.”

If the domain name you’ve chosen is already taken, you’ll be prompted to choose another domain name. If it’s available, you’ll see the page below. Enter your full name, correct email address and choose a password. Click “Continue“.

On the next page, enter your personal details, package duration and payment information (you can use PayPal or a credit/debit card):

Check that all your information is correct and click “Complete“.

If you’re using a credit/debit card, the next page shows that your order is successful. If you’re using PayPal, you’re taking to PayPal.com to make payment. After that, you’ll be good to go.

After payment, you’re invited to buy some optional add-ons. I would click “No Thanks!” and not buy them but it’s up to you.

The next page also prompts you to buy some more add-ons. Just scroll down and click “No Thanks!”

Congratulations! That’s all it takes to create a hosting account with eHost.

STEP 6: Install WordPress on your hosting account

After the last step above, you’re shown the inside of your eHost account. The page displays “cPanel Hosting” and “Website Builder”. What I use and recommend is WordPress, so I’d choose “cPanel Hosting“.

IMPORTANT: If you choose “Website Builder,” you won’t be able to switch later, so make sure it’s “cPanel Hosting” you’re choosing.

On the next page, navigate to the “Software/Services” section and click on the “Quick Install” icon.

In the left menu, under “Popular Installs“, click “WordPress“, then click “Install WordPress“.

Complete the form displayed on the next page.

• Choose your domain name in the first field
• Leave the sub directory field just in front of your domain name blank
• Go with a username you can remember later but which is difficult for any other person to guess. Choose your username wisely – it cannot be changed later.

When you click “Install WordPress“, the page may say it looks like files already exist in that location. You need to overwrite them, so click “Continue“.

If a pop-up shows on the screen, prompting you to buy a theme, just close it. Within few seconds, eHost completes your WordPress installation. Here’s what you’ll see at the top of the page:

Click “View Credentials” to see your password.

STEP 7: Login to your new blog and start blogging

Open a new browser tab and go to “http://YourNewBlog.com/wp-admin” (replace “YourNewBlog.com” with your blog domain name). Login with the username and password you chose in step 6.

You’ll see your blog dashboard. This is the “back side” of your website from where you set everything that your readers see on the “front side”.

Look to the left of your dashboard and you’ll see menus.

If you want to publish a new post on your blog right away, that’s totally fine. The post doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be published, to get you started. So go ahead and do it.

Hover the mouse on “Posts” and click “Add New” from the sub-menus that pop out.

Add the title of your post in the first tab and the content in the second tab.

Hit “Publish”.

When the next page loads, click “View post” to see how your new post appears to your readers.

Woo-hoo! That’s all there is to creating a blog. 20 minutes is all you need.

3. earn money

The 5 basic steps to make money blogging

Here are the five basic steps if you want to make money blogging. I’ll discuss them in more detail as we go, with an emphasis on #5.

1. Establish your home base
2. Produce valuable content
3. Build relationships
4. Grow your platform (and branch out)
5. Choose and implement streams of income

If you find yourself getting overwhelmed as you read through, you’re normal! Don’t worry, I’ll give you some tips for starting at the end. Also, please note this post contains affiliate links.

Alright, let’s break it down.

1. Establish your home base

If you want to make money blogging, obviously you’ll need a blog. If you don’t already have one, no worries, simply follow the steps I outlined inHow to Start a Blog. This is the easy part (even if you’re not technically-inclined).

2. Produce valuable content

Once you have a blog, write. Draw from your expertise and experience and write informative posts and articles about your chosen topic. Make your content excellent. In order to make money, you must have visitors, but in order to have visitors, you must have content worthwhile to visit.

Writing and producing content is the time consuming part. It’ll be a while before you start seeing an income. There is no way around this. There are no shortcuts. We all have to put in our time.

3. Build relationships

While you create your content, start building genuine and sincere relationships via social media, commenting on other blogs, forums and the like. Reach out to people in your niche. Find people who could use the information you provide. Get to know them, interact, be friendly and helpful by offering no-strings-attached tidbits of your expertise. Building authentic relationships is important for a few reasons:

• You will establish a reputation of being trustworthy and generous.
• Your site will be found. People won’t naturally find your site if you don’t put yourself out there.
• It’s very possible these relationships will turn into much more than just acquaintances to chat with online. These people will likely support you in the future and more than that, they may become fantastic, life-long friends.

4. Grow your platform (and branch out)

Keep growing in the knowledge of your craft so the content you produce gets increasingly great. Use your blog to get exposure, build authority, gain trust and be helpful. (Have I said that before? It’s just so important.)

A lot of people don’t realize that for many bloggers, much of the money they make does not come from their blog directly.

A blog is a platform. It’s online property, a digital home. After proving their trustworthiness, bloggers use their blogs as springboards to launchother projects that bring in income, such as ebooks, books, speaking, products, etc.

Only think about making money once you have earned trust. Many, many people want to skip ahead to the money part, but if you try to dive into monetizing before you’ve really built your platform, you run the risk of damaging the good reputation you so desperately need.

5. Choose and implement streams of income

This is the part you’ve been waiting for—the actual ways people make money blogging.

Before we dive into the details, I’ve put together a bonus pack which provides an analogy to help you understand what I call the 4-legged approach to making money as a blogger. It’s free to all Useletter subscribers. Sign up here and I’ll send it to you right away: