How to start a blog to make money online in Kenya

Last Updated on 15/09/2020 by Steve Wanjie

How to start a blog to make money online is a blogging guide for beginners. Yes, it is a guide on how to blog and make money online blogging.

How to create a blog. How to make money online with a blog. Both topics are discussed here.

Blogging pays when done right. I will give you examples of dollar millionaire bloggers. I want to prove to you blogging can make you rich.

Piggy bank

So, my friend, if you seriously want to become a rich blogger, pay attention. This guide is for you. There are seven critical footmarks in blogging. Namely;

a) Blog Niche – or Topic, or Subject

b) Blogging platform

c) Domain name

d) Web host

e) Blog installation or set up

f) Blog design

g) Quality, useful, and entertaining blog content

Having said the above, lets us get into details on how to start a blog to make money online. Welcome.

How to create a blog – the process:

  1. a) Blog Niche – or Topic, or Subject

For a blog to make money online it needs a lot of content. The content could be in the form of articles (or blog posts,) photography, videos, or music, etc.

You need to choose a blog niche and specialize in it. Your niche or topic has to be something you comfortable writing about.

If your chosen topic is golf stick to it. Specialize in golf until you become an authority on golfing. Golf is a huge topic.

To make money in golf you need a niche. You could pick golf balls as your niche. Then become a specialized marketer and seller of golf balls online.

For clarification purposes, I have used golf as an example to highlight a point – niche blogging. What you blog about is your choice. There are thousands of topics to choose from.

Take away blogging tip:

You need a niche in a given area (or subject) to excel and make money blogging. Pick a Topic. Become an expert in your chosen topic by focusing all your energy on your topic. Period! 

b) Blogging platform 

To get your content on the internet you need a quality blogging platform. Blogging platforms are many. 

Some blogging platforms are free while others are paid. The important blogging platform for you is WordPress.org. It offers a self-hosted solution to millions of bloggers who take blogging as a serious business opportunity.

No other blogging platform is better. Do not use free platforms to make money online. Use free blogging platforms to learn and practice blogging.

WordPress.com, Blogger.com, Medium, and Tumblr, are free blogging platforms.

Why not use free blogging platforms to make money online?

i) You have no control of the blog

ii) You cannot use it to make money online because it’s not allowed

iii) It can be deleted any time without warning

iv) Lacks important blogging features and tools

Why use WordPress.org as your blogging platform?

You pay to host your blog because it’s your business. With a self-hosted blog;

i) You have total control of your blog

ii) You use your custom domain

iii) You use your chosen website host

iv) You use it to make money online

v) Customers respect you for being a serious blogger

That is it. Your chosen blogging platform is WordPress.org 

c) Domain name

You need your blogs’ address. A domain name is your blogs’ address on the internet. You need to find a simple, easy to remember and unique domain name. Google.com is a unique, easy to remember, and yet a simple domain name.

Characteristics of a good domain name:

Top-level domain names such as .com and .net are the best because they are known. The point is – use top-level domain – only

– Your domain should be less than 15 characters long. The shorter the better it becomes

– Avoid using hyphens in your domain. Hyphens are associated with spammers

– Do not use subdomains to create blog categories

After finding your domain name you buy it from a registrar of domain names. Search for domain name registrars in your country.

I use the international domain name registrars. The best domain names registrars on the planet include:

– Namecheap.com

– Domain.com

– Bluehost.com

– GoDaddy.com

– HostGator.com

My domain name is dijitomarketing.com and it’s a mixture of English and Swahili. Dijito is a Swahili word for the English word – digital.

What will your domain name be?

d) Web host

Your blog needs a home. A web host provides a home for websites. You buy hosting services from website hosting service providers. The recommended web hosts for WordPress blogs are;

– Blue host

– Site ground hosting

– HostGator

– Dreamhost

– WPengine

– Name cheap hosting 

– Hostinger

Any of the above will do. Many people like Bluehost. Hostinger is the cheapest.

d) Blog set up

If you have chosen one of the recommended WordPress blog hosts, installing your blog easily. From your hosting account’s Cpanel, you click install WordPress.

There you have your blog. Bluehost has a short video tutorial to help install a blog.

-e) Blog Theme

WordPress gives you many free blog theme options. You can choose any of the free themes or you could choose to buy a premium theme.

The premium theme I use is Avada. You could also choose StudioPress. You could do some research on blog themes.

You could search for “best free WordPress themes.” The other option is to search for the “best premium theme for WordPress.”

Either way, you will find a theme that you like. You don’t have to use a premium theme in the beginning.

Free blog themes:

  • Zillah
  • iMax
  • Neve
  • GeneratePress
  • VentureLite
  • OceanWP
  • Astra
  • Hemingway

Characteristics of a good blog theme:

  • Has a sidebar
  • The theme must be SEO ready
  • The theme must be Mobile responsive
  • Must have Effective navigation
  • Allow Images in post
  • Has Colour schemes
  • Subscription forms integration
  • Social media integration
  • Footer design
  • User friendly
  • High loading speed
  • Beautiful

f) Configure Your Blog

The next thing is to configure your blog. The WordPress.org has instructions on how to configure your blog. They are easy to follow instructions. 

g) Blog Content Development

Quality, useful, and entertaining blog content will help grow your blog. Quality sells. Useful content creates a following.

Entertaining content helps sustain a happy fan base. Satisfied users come back for more and they pay.

Thus, your goal is to develop content that is helpful to blog readers. Being helpful and useful implies finding and solving user problems. Yes, providing solutions is the bread and butter of a blogger.

Hence, every bit of content you publish on your blog should aim to solve a user problem. A blog post that helps solve a problem will attract many readers. 

The question is, how do you produce content that is useful to your blog readers? 

i) RESEARCH

You need to research before you begin writing. You need to please yourself that the topic is relevant, useful, and helpful. You need to be certain that the topic is going to offer a solution to a blog user.

Keyword Research

To reach the right blog user you need to use appropriate SEO keywords. You have to do keyword research first. What words are people using in search of your target topic? Some tools help you find keywords. These keyword research tools are free while the best ones you pay for their use.

Free keyword research tools:

  • Google Keywords: Keyword planner
  • Adword & SEO Keyword Permutation Generator
  • Google Correlate
  • IMforSMB Bulk Keyword Generator
  • Keyword In
  • Soovle
  • Ubersuggest
  • Wordtracker Scout
  • WordStream Free Keyword Tool

With these tools, you should be able to find the right keywords.

 ii) Strive to Provide Value

 You don’t want readers to think you made them waste time reading your post. Sometimes you feel cheated after reading an article only to realize you got no value for your time.

What is the value?

Value is a promise. When your post title promises a reader – 10 best free keyword research tools, – you provide the list. That is providing value. The user didn’t know but now they know courtesy of your blog post. That is a solution provided to a blog user.

If you understand a user’s search intent, you will begin to offer concrete solutions on your blog.

iii) Write Readable Blog Posts

Great content is not only useful and helpful but sweet entertaining grammar masterpieces. Informative and yet easy to read and comprehend.

To help write readable blog posts use free writing tools. Some of these tools are;

  • Prowriting Aid
  • Sapling
  • Ginger
  • Paper Rater
  • Sentence Checkup
  • Hemingway
  • Grammarly
  • Slick Write 
  • iv) SEO – Search Engine Optimization

All your blog post should be Search Engine Optimized. This way readers will find your content on the internet through Google search. Thus if you are not familiar with SEO you need to learn it.

A tool to help generate killer blog posts:

BuzzSumo for blog post writing ideas 

v) Blog Marketing

After you have written and published your blog post, you need to promote it. Otherwise, very few people will ever read it. Blog promotion tools:

  • QUUU Promote
  • Bitly helps track your link
  • Buffer for content scheduling
  • Zapier for automation and integration
  • Later for Instagram Publishing
  • Meet Edgar for evergreen automation

Use every means possible to promote a new blog post immediately you published it. You should spend most of your blogging life promoting your CONTENT.

How to make money online with a blog 

 How do you make money with a blog? Here are a few examples of making a living online with a blog. There are many other ways though.

  • Advertising – Sell AD Space on Your Blog:

The easiest and quick way to make money with a blog is to sell ad space. Advertisers are looking for opportunities to advertise their products and service online.

When you have over 100 articles on your blog you could begin to sell ad space to companies.

How do you sell ad space on your blog?

Create an account with Google Adsense. Adsense finds advertisers willing to buy ad space from you. Hence Google ads will appear on your blog. When one of your readers clicks an ad you share ad revenue with Google.

  • Affiliate Marketing – Sell Products or Service on Your Blog:

Affiliate Marketing is a good way of making money online with a blog

Once you start getting more than a thousand visitors per day you should get into affiliate marketing.

What is affiliate marketing?

When you market and sell a product or a service that doesn’t belong to you, that is affiliate marketing. You sell products belonging to a company or an individual to earn a commission.

How do you find affiliate products to promote through your blog’s content?

The easiest way to find a product or a service to promote online is to create an account with an affiliate program.

There are many excellent affiliate programs online. Search for – affiliate programs- and you will find one that fits your blog topic.

Examples of affiliate programs;

– Amazon Associates

– CJ Affiliates

– Shareasale

– Jumia

– ClickBank

– Affiliate Window

– Apple

– Bluehost

– eBay Partner Network

– HostFiti Website Builder

– Travelstart

– Kilimall

– iPay Africa

Write product reviews. Give the advantages and disadvantages of a product or service with utmost honesty. The pros and cons of the product. And then give a recommendation.

  • Accept Sponsored Content on Your Blog:

 Companies pay bloggers to write promotional articles about their products or service. As long as your blog as a large following companies approach you to blog for them.

Create and publish content on your blog to promote their product. This is a fine method of making money with a blog online.

  • eCommerce Use Blog to Sell Your Product or Service:

You could create an online store to sell products of your choice. You either make the product or buy in wholesale from manufacturers. Then use your blog to market, promote, and sell.

What types of products can you sell online with a blog?

Digital products:

– eBooks

– Online courses

– Software

– Music

– Comedy

– Webinars

– Info-graphics

Physical Products:

– Wall decorations

– Artwork

– Jewelry

– clothes

– shoes

– etc.

Online Services:

– Freelance writing

– Web design

– Couching

– Teaching

– Social Media management

– Virtual assistant

Etc.

How to start a blog to make money online F.A.Q  

  1. How long should a blog post be?

Your blog post should have a minimum of 1,500 words. Anything less is not serious blogging. No short cuts. Write for human beings.

That way you provide value or meet user expectations. Longer detailed articles give in-depth information to your readers.

Answers are exceptions:

But there is an exception – when answering a question you don’t have to write a long article. You would use any number of words as long as the question is answered adequately. 

Take away tip:

Provide as many details as you possibly can to satisfy user intent.

 2. How many blog posts should a blog contain?

If you want a money-making blog you need to publish a minimum of 100 blog posts. These blog posts should be at least 1500 words long. They must be search engine optimized and well promoted. This way you will start seeing a small improvement in daily traffic numbers. But a serious money-making blog should have thousands of quality blog posts. The more quality content you have the more money you could make with a blog. Write more. Deliver more quality and value to make money online.

 3. Can You Make Money Blogging? Can you get rich from blogging?

Yes, you can make money and you can get rich from blogging. But there are things you need to fulfill first. For you to make money with a blog you must;

  • Reach a daily traffic count of at least 1000 visitors:

The more visits you have the more money you make. That means a blogger’s success depends on the quantity and quality of visitors to his or her blog. With daily traffic of 100,000 visitors and proper monetization, you become rich within a year. With over 1,000,000 visitors daily you will become a millionaire sooner than expected.

  • A Sound Blog Monetization Formula:

You need to have a diverse blog monetization plan. Depending on a single product to generate revenue is risky. At least promote an affiliate product or service, sell ad space, and a digital product. You could also create and sell a digital course. With these four income streams, you will make money online blogging.

Take away tip:

  • traffic is the meat and bones of blogging. Work hard to generate high traffic numbers. Traffic is everything to a blogger.
  • The higher the traffic numbers the higher the income amount.

How to start a blog to make money online Conclusion:

 How to start a blog to make money online concludes here. As shown above, you can start a blog and start making money online blogging.

It is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of work to succeed in blogging. Thousands of content pieces of high quality need publishing on schedule.

You need to meet user intent when creating content otherwise, the blog wouldn’t make money.

In the end, if you follow the above guide, you will succeed. The more you develop the content, the better you become.

Well, thank you for reading – how to start a blog to make money online.

Steve Wanjie

Founder – Dijito Marketing

Make Money Online Free Blogging Tips for beginners

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How to start a blog to make money online References:

https://problogger.com/how-to-start-a-blog/

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293597

https://www.jeffbullas.com/best-blog-content/
https://neilpatel.com/blog/content-promotion-tools/

https://www.savethestudent.org/make-money/how-to-make-money-as-a-blogger.html

By Steve Wanjie

Steve Wanjie is a digital marketing specialist, SEO Expert, expert article writer, blogger, sex educationist, and businessman. He is the founder of Dijito Marketing and Laikipo.com. He works and lives in Nairobi Kenya.

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