Starting a blog in 2019 is nothing like it was a few years ago. The competition for most niches is fierce. Carving a place for yourself is difficult, but not impossible. That is, of course, as long as you choose a niche with real potential.
If you’ve read that it’s possible to start a blog and earn hundreds of dollars in a couple of months, someone lied to you. You can get to that point, but it usually takes a significant amount of time and work. That is something not everyone is willing to put in.
For this article, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to start a new blog in 2019. Then we’ll go over how long it usually takes for new blogs to find an audience and how much you should expect to earn from yours. Let’s get to it!
What it’s Like to Start Blogging in 2019
The short version is, starting a blog in 2019 is not for the faint of heart. At least, that is if you intend to make money from the whole thing and aren’t just looking to blog for fun.
Even a handful of years ago, it was possible to launch a blog, monetize it using affiliate links, and start earning money rather quickly. That has changed a lot due to how competitive most niches have become. Chances are, no matter how particular your niche is, you’ll be far from the first person to try and break into it.
To put it another way, blogs nowadays require a lot more content to start ranking well in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). Moreover, visitors have high expectations when it comes to User Experience (UX). That means you can’t just slap a blog together in a couple of hours and expect it to hold its own. You have to worry about optimizing every aspect of the UX if you want to be competitive.
I’m not trying to scare you away from the idea of blogging for profit. However, I do believe if you’re going to go through the effort starting a new blog involves, you need to know what you’re in for. It’s still possible to earn a decent income from blogging. However, it’s nowhere near as easy as some people would have you believe.
How Long Should It Take for Your Blog to Find an Audience?
Just as with most things in life, the hardest part about blogging is getting started and sticking with it. A lot of people get really pumped up about the idea of launching a blog and writing. However, once they realize the effort it involves, they quickly burn out.
In my experience, it’s very rare for any type of website to gain traction within its first few months of life. For blogging, it’s a well-known rule of thumb you should temper your expectations during the first six months. At the very least, it’ll take a few months before you start getting decent amounts of traffic. It will also be that long before you start earning more than chump change.
That six-month rule is not set in stone, of course. If you know what you’re doing, you can get a blog ‘up to speed’ much faster. However, to do that, you’ll need to hit it out of the park in all of the following:
- Researching what topics people care the most about in your niche
- Writing engaging content on a consistent basis, covering new angles each time
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social media and email marketing
- Designing a website that looks and handles great
That’s a lot of work for any one single person to pull off, hence why it usually takes so long for blogs to find its footing. Keep in mind, though – the more prolific you are as a writer, the faster your blog can find an audience.
Of course, that all hinges on you targeting topics people are looking for on search engines. Otherwise, you might write thousands of words only for no one to read them, which is every blogger’s nightmare.
How Much You Can Expect to Earn from Blogging in 2019
We’ve talked a lot about blogging earnings in the past. As I’ve already said ad nauseam, expecting to earn thousands of dollars from your blog is highly unrealistic. That is until you have a broad library of content, you’ve managed to build an audience, and have found the best way to monetize traffic.
Usually, when someone launches a new blog, I tell them to focus on a reasonable figure, such as $100 per month. An extra hundred bucks a month might not change your life, but it does tell you that your blog has real potential. Most people don’t ever get close to that figure, so if you hit that number, you’re on the right track.
In my experience, the real hurdle lies between the $0-300 per month range. Once you break into that upper echelon, it’s all about scaling your blog by continuing to publish great content. However, don’t expect to get to that point in less than half a year unless you’re a well-oiled writing machine.
Aside from growing your audience, you also need to carefully consider how you’ll monetize your blog. For example, if you only rely on affiliate marketing, increasing your earnings can take time.
The most successful bloggers in the business rely on multiple monetization methods, the most lucrative of which is selling services or your knowledge. That means online courses, ebooks, and the likes. However, that only works if you’re good at marketing your own products, which is a whole different ballgame.
To sum things up – keep your expectations low when you start a new blog. Focus on getting to a reasonable number at first, such as $100 per month. This will enable you to test if there’s real potential in the niche you chose. If after three to six months you’re not seeing any results, then it’s time to move on to something new or figure out if you’re doing something wrong.
If you find your blog has potential, then it’s just a matter of putting the work in, week after week. Refine your approach to blogging and your earnings should continue to increase over time.
Conclusion
Starting a blog is simple from a technical standpoint. However, growing a blog to the point where it becomes successful within a contested niche is anything but. In my experience, even if you do everything right, it’ll take months to start gaining serious traction.
Once you begin to see results, money won’t start rolling in overnight. It usually comes in a slow trickle at first and then keeps growing with the more work you put into your blog. Of course, that all hinges on you choosing a niche with potential and how you monetize your blog.
Do you have any questions about what blogging in 2019 is like? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay.