This is my 200th post here on Leaving Work Behind. When I started back in June 2011 I had barely read a blog before, let alone created one of my own. And yet through application, persistence and surely some luck, I have managed to create a blog that helped me earn (directly and indirectly) nearly $7,000 last month. This is despite me picking one of the most crowded niches (making money online) out there.
I don’t say any of this to boast. After all, there are plenty of other people out there doing far better than me and I don’t consider myself special or innately talented in some way that few other people are. The fact is that there is a lot of money to be made in blogging and the barriers to entry are so small as to be non-existent.
With that said I want to take this opportunity, at a milestone for my own blog, to share with you my thoughts on how to start blogging to earn a sizeable income.
There are affiliate links in this post. If you purchase a product through one of them I will receive a commission. It will cost you nothing extra. I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and tested extensively. Thank you!
The Key to Successful Blogging
Most people will tell you that in order to start a successful blog you must pick a lucrative niche and come at it from a unique angle. While doing that can make a huge impact on the success of your blog, I actually consider more fundamental aspects to be the real key to success.
A good analogy for this is learning piano — something that I started recently. In order to become better at piano (or any musical instrument for that matter) you need to focus on two things:
- Consistent application
- Quality practice
To put it another way, you need to practice regularly and you must make sure that your practice is actually improving you. It is all too easy to sit down for thirty minutes and play pieces you already know for fun, and while that is fine and I wouldn’t discourage it, you must also include “deliberate” practice. You must challenge yourself with more technical pieces and push the boundaries of your current ability. If you don’t do that you will never improve. On the other hand, if you consistently apply yourself in learning piano, practice deliberately and seek to expand your technical ability each time you sit down to play, improvement is inevitable.
The exact same thing can be said for blogging. I know of no blogger that consistently applies themselves and seeks to push their boundaries that isn’t progressing with their craft. The bloggers who have spent a year without growing are just like the pianists that play the same pieces over and over again and wonder why they’re not getting any better.
So above all else remember this when committing to blogging: you cannot fail if you apply yourself consistently and always seek to push the boundaries of your abilities (tweet this). It may take six months, a year or more, but ultimately you will hit a point at which it all falls into place and you start making the kind of money that you set out to make when you first started.
Setting the Foundations
Typically speaking, when you start blogging the last thing on your mind is which hosting provider to go with or what content management platform to use. However, making the right choices at this stage will save you a lot of headaches in the future — I can tell you that from personal experience.
Take web hosting as an example. I started out with Bluehost because a lot of bloggers say that they’re awesome. It turns out they have an awesome affiliate program too, which perhaps explains why so many people sing their praises. I soon found out that Bluehost’s service leaves little to be desired and finally threw the towel in when my site went offline for two whole days and I got the distinct impression from Bluehost’s customer service that they really couldn’t care any less.
After hopping from one provider to the next I finally found WestHost: the best domains and hosting company I have come across by a mile. They offer a 60 day money back guarantee, free backups and awesome 24/7 support from guys that really know what they’re talking about. And after transferring from Bluehost, I found that this blog’s load speed increased by 10%. All of my sites are with WestHost now. Get 30% off Westhost by clicking here and using the discount code LEAVING30 on checkout.
My point is this — make the right choices up front and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches down the line. There are just two vitally important things you need to concern yourself with up front — here are my recommendations:
- Domain name/hosting: WestHost
- Content Management System (i.e. what you will build the blog with): self-hosted WordPress (find out how to install WordPress on WestHost here)
Go with these two and you’ll be set for years to come — I can say that from personal experience.
How to Start Blogging
By this stage you have everything you need to start blogging — a domain name, a hosting account and a WordPress installation. Life need get no more complicated at this stage.
If you’re interested in reading more about the likes of email marketing services and themes for your site then I’d recommend my Beginner’s Guide to Blogging but in this post I want to keep things extremely simple. After all, at this stage you’re probably already overwhelmed with an enormous variety of questions:
- What topic(s) should my blog focus on?
- What unique angle can I bring to my chosen topic(s)?
- How do I publish a post?
- What’s a plugin?
- How can I get people to read my content?
- Do I actually have anything worthwhile to say that people will want to read?
My answer to all of these questions is just three words: keep it simple. Don’t sweat it. I launched Leaving Work Behind with little direction and can testify to the effectiveness of this approach in helping you to retain your sanity and remain on course.
The beauty of blogging is that you can pivot at any stage and completely change your design, content, promotional strategy, and so on. Nothing is permanent. Sure — it would be difficult to morph a blog about cooking into a blog about technology but even if you decide to scrap your first blog and launch a new one you’re not starting from scratch. On the contrary, you bring to that new blog the huge wealth of knowledge you have accrued from working on your first blog.
The fact is that any blog can make money. A blog that gets 500 visitors per month will make a minimum of $5. That may sounds like an utterly trivial amount but I’m assuming the least profitable form of monetization and a trivial amount of traffic (anyone can attract 500 visitors per month, trust me).
Focus on the Right Reward
When getting started, worry less about how much money you make and more about enjoying what you are doing and writing about something that you have a passion for. Few bloggers make good money from day one (or month one, or quarter one) so making that your number one priority makes little sense. Focus instead upon blogging being an enjoyable hobby — fuel your accrual of knowledge with enthusiasm for what you are doing, not the hope of what might be. Take pleasure in every visit to your site, every comment and every share.
Consider this: Leaving Work Behind makes me about $65 per hour (if you divide the total monthly income by hours invested), but my freelance work makes me nearly $100 per hour. That’s a $35 deficit per hour, yet I still post here twice a week without fail. I still communicate with my readers via email, Facebook and Twitter. I still pour my heart and soul into this blog.
One might argue that I would be far better off spending less time on this blog and more time on my freelancing work — I’d certainly make more money that way. But I don’t. Do you know why? Because Leaving Work Behind offers me so much more than money. It gives me a forum on which I can publish my views and plans and get feedback from an attentive audience of intelligent and thoughtful people (that’s you guys). It allows me to help others in achieving their goals in leaving work behind, which is endlessly rewarding in a way that money never can be.
If you want to be a successful blogger then put your passion first. Start a blog that means something to you — not something that you hope will make money down the line. While you may succeed with such an approach, it’ll be a hell of a grind. Don’t make life hard on yourself.
What Defines a Successful Blog?
I’ll leave you with the key to starting a successful blog: content. That’s right — content is still king, no matter what you may read.
Let me put it this way — if design aesthetics disappeared tomorrow and the web reverted to plaintext, people would still surf. But if we lost our content and the web was just a huge network of beautifully designed empty shells, the Internet would become redundant.
So if you want to create a successful blog you must focus on content above all else. Not just on your own site though — you should aim for your content to be everywhere: on other blogs, social media, popular directories, search engines, forums, and so on. The web is made up of countless cliques — the key is for your content to be an ever-present in the ones that will care about what you have to say.
It’s not rocket science — it just requires a lot of hard work and faith that your hard work will pay off. Like I said near the start of this post, you cannot fail if you apply yourself consistently and seek to push the boundaries of your ability and expertise.
I very deliberately titled this post “Everything You Need to Know” because although I’ve not given much in terms of actionable advice, you should now have everything you need to start blogging. In understanding the real priorities of getting started with blogging you are far better equipped than the vast majority of people out there.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get started!
Photo Credit: Kristina B and Alina Sofia
Joe Can Write says
Great post! This is a timely reminder I need to get my blog started ASAP, and ditch the free WordPress one I’ve got for now.
Although I’m not sure I agree with you how easy it is to get 500 hits a month. I’ve got plenty of sites that don’t get that much traffic.
Cheers, Joe
Tom Ewer says
Hey Joe,
It’s certainly not easy to get “plenty” of sites to that level. If you’re focused on one it definitely is though.
Cheers,
Tom
Toni says
Hey Tom,
Can you point me in the direction of any posts that deal with how you budgeted your time (or would today) as a beginner? In addition to all that you shared so clearly here, what would you suggest a new blogger do to work toward launching a new blog? I’m thinking, “What are the baby steps?” in terms of having an hour or so per day to work toward that goal. Thanks much.
Blessings,
Toni
Tom Ewer says
I think these two posts (and the posts that they link to) will help:
http://www.leavingworkbehind.com/how-to-run-an-online-business-from-home/
http://www.leavingworkbehind.com/change-your-life/
Cheers 🙂
Tom
Toni says
Thanks much.
Tom Ewer says
Pleasure Toni 🙂
Jai Catalano says
Congrats on 200 posts. 7000 a month is nothing to laugh at unless you are laughing all the way to the bank.
I found you by reading in the warrior forum post where you asked about referring domain links.
By the way you wrote that on Aug 2011. Look at how far you have come. Congrats again.
Jai
Tom Ewer says
Hey Jai,
Thank you — you have a very good memory! That does put things in perspective quite nicely… 🙂
Cheers,
Tom
Diane Aksten says
Congrats to you Tom!! Been following you for awhile and this post is exactly what I needed to get going on my own blog again.
Greeting from the States,
Diane
Tom Ewer says
Thank you Diane!
Ericson Ay Mires says
I’m glad that the “keep it simple” approach worked out for you. Trying to figure out my brand was really tough, I just knew I wanted to do a blog on personal development.
So I just went with it for now and am focusing on creating quality content (which was tough for a guy who never wrote much before).
Once I got some material done I felt like the direction of the blog would come out naturally.
Tom Ewer says
Sounds like a great approach to me Ericson 🙂
Vanessa says
Great tips, thanks! I’ve been in the blogging world for a while and my followers constantly grow but people making money with their blogs is such a mystery for me…
Tom Ewer says
It’s not so much a mystery…it’s just about finding what your audience wants and giving (or selling) it to them 🙂
Hyptia@Process services in South Africa says
One thing is much true in blogging if you want to watch good number of comments on your blog then first of all you should know very well on which topic you are creating your post and secondly always keep one thing in mind “”Niche of Readers”‘ these are the very important point to notice in blogging.
Deli says
Thanks for the very helpful tips. I am glad that I have subscribed to your blog. It’s been really helpful.
Tom Ewer says
No problem 🙂
Kally says
This was a great post Tom and congrats on your 200th post. 🙂
I really appreciate the advice about being able to pivot at any time and finding passion rather than worrying about money. Its so easy to feel overwhelmed by doubts at this stage.
~ K
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Kally! And no problem 🙂
Sarah Russell says
Congrats on 200 posts and thanks for sharing such a great collection of insight. Looking forward to seeing what the next 200 posts hold!
Tom Ewer says
Now there’s a thought…200 more posts!
Chris says
Hey Tom, one thing I am interested in is how you set up your business from an ‘entity’ perspective. Do you work as a sole trader or have you actually set up a limited company and trade through that. What in your experience works best or would you recommend considering?
Tom Ewer says
Hey Chris,
I have been working as a sole trader but I am incorporating at the start of the next financial year. I would say to start as a sole trader, get yourself a good accountant and get plenty of advice pertaining to your specific situation!
Cheers,
Tom
Olatunji Femi says
Great post, Great tips, content is still king. congrats on your 200 posts looking forward to your 1000th post, just like most soccer fans awaits there favorite stars 1000th goal.
Tom Ewer says
Yikes — 1,000 posts! At my rate it’ll take another 8 years or so!
gedichte says
Congrats on 200 posts and thanks for sharing all this useful informations
Tom Ewer says
My pleasure 🙂
Rod Austin says
Hi Tom,
You recently wrote that guest blogging is dead, but the article disappeared from your site.
Do you still feel that way?
Tom Ewer says
Hi Rod,
If by nearly two years ago you mean recently, then I suppose it was recently 😉
The post you’re talking about hasn’t disappeared: http://www.leavingworkbehind.com/is-guest-posting-dead/. I never actually said that guest posting was dead — I just asked the question. My opinion of guest posting is far more positive than it was in that post though — I think it’s a great marketing device (when done right).
Cheers,
Tom
Rod Austin says
Thanks Tom. Wasn’t trying to be snarky, but I found a 404 page with that title and made the assumption.
And I agree!
William Bailey says
Hey Tom,
I just started a wordpress site and found you through a friend. Your post are very helpful and this one encourages me to keep the direction I’m going, which is to post about what I’m passionate about and keeping it simple.
Thanks,
Tom Ewer says
My pleasure William!
Kat says
Hey Tom. I started blogging back in late 2003 as a personal online journal. I still keep a blog for the same reasons (with mostly friends and family as my readers) but lately I’ve been thinking of going to a different direction and concentrating on a niche. This post of yours is definitely a great guide to know where to start. Thanks!
Tom Ewer says
No problem Kat!
Ivan says
Tom,
Great post! I love how you have described the basic process of starting a blog without getting mired in the technical details.
Sure, the technical details are important. But that stuff doesn’t matter as much as people may think. Like you’ve said, what matters more are the basics like writing good content, always improving your craft, and knowing WHY you are doing what you’re doing.
I would also add “build relationships” and “be generous” to be 2 more keys to starting a blog. Get out there and connect with other bloggers. Share content. Do guest posts. Give value and help others. Be good (with what you do and with others).
The web is a connected place. Ultimately, having great connections is what will take your (hopefully) great content to the next level.
Tom Ewer says
Hey Ivan,
Absolutely — networking is vital to establishing a successful blog and is typically poorly utilized by new and even intermediate bloggers.
Thanks!
Tom
Raphael says
My blog gets at least 400 visitors per month 😉
Katherine says
Hi Tom! I’m a new reader and I think this blog is great! I have a question on one of the topics touched upon in this post though. I know that webhost is very accessible, but what if: a) as a student, I can’t really yet afford the cost, and b) I’m not sure yet if the blog I’ll start is as permanent as to justify the cost for me. So, taking those ‘ifs’ into consideration, does one need to start a blog on a payed domain service? And if one does not do that – say, if one starts through the free .wordpress.com domains – how difficult is it to change later into your own domain? Also, can one make money from blogging in those (for example) .wordpress.com accounts?
Thanks!
Tom Ewer says
Hi Katherine,
You don’t need to start with WordPress but I think that most people can afford $10 for a domain and $6-8 for hosting per month. It’s a matter of priorities.
Also, the whole “not sure if it’s permanent” deal is not necessarily the best way to think. If you’re going to have a go then convince yourself that it’s going to work and throw yourself into it!
You can transfer from .com to .org but I don’t know how laborious (or otherwise) the process is.
Finally, WordPress.com blogs are not easily monetized.
Cheers,
Tom
krobodo says
Nice article! I’m just starting blogging and need that kind of advices! You make it sound so easy (saying for instance that anyone can have 500 readers!
Cheers,
Caro
Tom Ewer says
No problem Caro 🙂 The fundamentals really are quite simple, I promise!
Zul says
A really helpful resource for me..thanks for putting your experience documented like this…
What plugin you use to show related post ” other post that you enjoy ” at the bottom of your post…???
Thanks
Zul
Tom Ewer says
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin 🙂
Davita Egeland says
Hey, I was just wondering if I could get a little advice. I have been blogging with Blogspot since 2005 as a hobby. I have never really had anything to say, so much as what ever I’m feeling at the time, I have Google Adsense but that never made me any money. Should I just give in now? How do I find my unique niche? I love to write and I really want to make it my career, or at least make a living out of it. Is there anything you can suggest to help me? Thank you.
Tom Ewer says
Hi Davita,
I’m afraid your question is way too broad for me to offer you any kind of advice! Could you ask me a more specific question?
Cheers,
Tom
Davita Egeland says
Umm… okay. I will try and be more specific. Should I just ditch my blog and start a new one? Or is it possible to make my blog profitable? Am I just wasting my time? How do you find your niche? I think I probably over did it there. Thanks in advance.
Tom Ewer says
What’s your blog Davita?
frilancer says
Tom, your posts thrill me. Am a newbie very interested in creating and selling products like ebooks, freelance blogging and writing. I have a blog that i currently post great ebook information for IT Professionals. Thanks for your manifesto and giveaways. Good work Tom
Tom Ewer says
My pleasure 🙂
Antara Sahai says
Hi Tom,today I read ur post.its inspiring and I myself been working as an SEO content Writer but still feels to be more polished and confident as a writer..