The Ultimate Guide To Blogging: How To Start A Blog That Makes Money [Updated]

So you want to start a blog and make money, huh?

Great idea.

Just like starting NicheHacks.com was a great decision for me.

Here's why:

NicheHacks has given me the freedom and control in my life I always dreamed of as well as the ability to live comfortably, travel the world, and not stress about money.

Not to mention how it's helped over 1 million visitors and counting.

Many have finally found their niche, learned online marketing skills, and profited with some tribe members crediting myself and NicheHacks for being the catalyst that allowed them to quit their jobs and live their dream lives.

Though here's the thing...

Starting a blog (or starting an affiliate website or authority site or whatever else you'd like to "name" it as) is not as simple as throwing up a few posts and hoping for the best.

At least not if you want to start a blog that actually makes money.

Because a survey by Blogging.com found that 81% of bloggers never make even $100.

Largely due to the fact that most people don't know all the different steps needed to go from start to profit.

Because here is the very real deal:

Before you create a blog you need to figure out your niche and draw up a launch plan.

It's essential to know what topics you'll write on and understand where your traffic will come from.

You also need to know in advance how you plan to monetize and the correct way to build an email subscriber list.

And that doesn't even touch on themes, plugins, getting social shares and comments, blog security, and images for your posts.

By knowing all these things before you start blogging you'll be able to launch an epic blog that people love, and that makes you money.

Does that sound daunting?

Don't worry, I've got your back...

In this Ultimate Guide I have covered each and every one of the steps to make the process from start to profit super simple for you.

So if you're really serious about starting a blog that makes you money then read on...



Things You Need To Know Before You Start A Blog

Before you even think about starting a blog you need to know a few fundamental blog tips.

With these resources you'll learn what it takes to be a successful blogger and find out whether blogging really is for you.

What To Blog About?

How To Pick A Profitable Niche For Your Blog

Every blog needs a niche topic to write about.

You can't blog about everything and anything as it's too unfocused and no one will read it.

In this section, you'll learn how to pick a profitable niche for your blog so you can profit from your hard work.

Pick a niche you are passionate about so you don't get bored blogging about it.

What's The Best Blogging Platform?

Free Wordpress vs Self Hosted Wordpress vs Blogger vs Tumblr

A common problem when you first start a blog is deciding what is the best blogging platform to use.

There are lots of options including a free Wordpress blog, self-hosted Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr.

The only sensible option is to use a self-hosted Wordpress blog with your own domain as you have full control over your site but in case you want a second opinion check the resources below.

How To Choose A Memorable Domain Name For Your Blog

Choosing a domain name people remember and associate with is a skill.

You'll learn how to pick a domain name people never forget and instantly associate themselves with.

Try and avoid generic domains like 'myblogaboutmylife.com' and create a 'brand' like 'QuickSprout.com' or 'PinchofYum.com' or NerdFitness.com for example.

How To Set Up A Blog: The Technical Stuff

Setting up a blog is a daunting task with hosting, domain, and other technical worries.

You have to get this bit right or you can't start blogging.

You'll learn the basics of how to set up a really great blog that runs smoothly here :

(or if you're a more advanced user, consider Liquid Web)

You're about me page should actually be about what you can do for your reader and not just about you!﻿

Website Security: How To Stop Your Blog Being Hacked

Blogs are hacked all the time and if you don't have adequate website security or backups in place you could lose all of your work in an instant.

Take website security seriously!

These great resources will stop your blog from being hacked...

Backup your blog automatically using a backup plugin - if you get hacked you could lose everything!

Best Wordpress Plugins To Make Your Blog Epic

Wordpress has plugins for just about everything, some good and some not so good.

For my best Wordpress plugins check out the toolbox page.

These resources will help you pick additional Wordpress plugins that make your blog epic:

WordPress plugins slow down your site so only use when 100% necessary.

How To Select The Best WordPress Theme & Make Your Site Stunning

A premium WordPress theme is essential for any serious bloggers as the free themes are just too limited in what they can do.

I personally recommend either Genesis Generate or Thrive Themes but with the resources below you'll find the best WordPress theme for your blog and how to create a blog logo

Your site should look good but it has to be functional and easy to navigate too!

To discover 200+ profitable niche markets click the image below now...

Speed Up Website Loading Time & Reduce Bounce Rate

Faster Websites Get More Readers, Higher Search Rankings & Make More Money

A slow site causes a high bounce rate (people leaving immediately after they arrive) which means most of your visitors are wasted. Google also penalizes sites with high bounce rates.

You'll learn how to speed up your website and keep your visitors on your blog

How To Brand Your Blog & Stand Out

There's a lot of blogs out there, over 153 million in total according to WpVirtuoso.

And WorldoMeters reports that over 3 million blog posts are written every day.

Most of them completely forgetful.

Even some blogs with great content don't do enough to stand out and make people remember them due to poor blog branding.

So what will you do to stand out?

Discover how to brand your blog, stand out from the crowd, build trust and authority, and have people remember you here:

How To Create Launch A Blog With A Bang

Get Traffic, Subscribers, Social Shares & Links On Launch Day.

Most bloggers decide to start a blog, write a post, publish it, and then sit around wondering what to do next and where the traffic is.

This is NOT how to create a blog that makes money,

You'll learn how to have droves of visitors, backlinks, email sign-ups and social media shares ON DAY ONE, here:

Create a landing page to capture email sign-ups before you've even launched and promoted it so you already have an audience on launch day.

Content Is King: How To Create Better Blog Posts

How To Create Epic Content That Gets You Loads of Links, Stupid Amounts of Social Shares & Torrents of Traffic

Epic content is the cornerstone of ALL blogs.

Without it you have nothing and can do everything else right but still fail because people come to blogs looking for great content.

Content really is king so don't make it mediocre.

Below you'll learn how to create captivating content & inspiring new topic ideas.

How to get people linking and sharing your posts.

And how to effortlessly drive torrents of traffic to your blog through content marketing....

Get content ideas from your readers - ask them what their problems are and solve them!

How To Pick Profitable Buyer Keywords For Your Blog Content

Using 'buyer keywords' (keywords search users type that shows an intention of making a purchase) in your blog content is the difference between attracting readers and customers.

You'll learn how to pick high converting buyer keywords for your blog content that will turn your visitors into buyers.

Write for your readers BUT keep search engines in mind by using relevant keywords in your content.

How To Find Blog Images To Make Blog Posts Sparkle

Finding blog images is a common problem for bloggers especially those who want free blog images.

If you use images from Google images and they are copyrighted you can get into serious legal trouble.

I personally use PhotoDune for the images on this blog as they are high quality and affordable.

How To Get Endless Blog Traffic & Promote Blog Posts

How To Drive Torrents of Targeted Free & Paid Traffic To Your Blog

Traffic is one of the most vital parts of any successful blog.

Without blog traffic, you'll never have a popular website.

You'll learn how to get website traffic from search engines.

How to find visitors through content marketing.

Build up huge social media followings you can leverage.

How to get easy and targeted blog traffic just by interacting on your favorite sites and forums.

And more free and paid traffic generation strategies that will help you promote blog posts.

Syndicate and re-purpose your content in as many places as possible to drive traffic back to your site and promote blog posts.

SEO Traffic:

Guest Blogging For Traffic:

Social Media For Traffic: General

Only be involved on the social media sites where your target audience hangs out.

To discover 200+ profitable niche markets click the image below now...

Social Media For Traffic: Facebook

Social Media For Traffic: Twitter

Social Media For Traffic: Pinterest

Social Media For Traffic: Reddit

Social Media Traffic: LinkedIn

Blog Commenting

Forum Marketing

Video Marketing & Youtube

6 Ways To Use Video Marketing [RECOMMENDED]

Blogging For Money: Run A Profitable Website

How To Make Money Blogging.

Blogging isn't easy however it can make you a full-time income if done properly.

Here are some incredible resources that will help you make money blogging:

Have a monetization plan BEFORE you start your blog and execute it from day 1, it makes no sense to wait!

Networking & Outreach

How To Get The Attention of the Best Bloggers In Your Niche

One of the greatest ways to grow your blog traffic is to network with authority bloggers in your niche and have them share and link to your content.

You'll learn how to get the attention of the best bloggers in your niche so you can tap into their audience to divert traffic to your own blog.

Treat other bloggers like friends rather than competitors it will benefit both of you.

How To Build An Email List & Get More Subscribers

It's vital to build an email list as a blogger.

It allows you to keep in touch with your visitors, update them of new blog posts or products, build a relationship with and market to them.

You'll learn how to build an email list and increase your subscribers so you can build a relationship, drive more traffic and make money from blogging through email marketing

Build your email subscribers list from day 1 - it's never too soon!

Testing & Tracking Your Blog

Increase Website Traffic, Email Subscribers & Sales.

Testing and tracking your blog is crucial otherwise you don't know what is working and what isn't. You need to be tracking website visitors, clicks, email opt-ins, and sales.

You'll learn how to test and track your blog to boost your traffic, get more email subscribers, and make more sales.

To discover 200+ profitable niche markets click the image below now...

Wrapping Things Up

The Ultimate Guide To Blogging: How To Start A Blog That Makes Money has hopefully given you everything you need to create a profitable blog.

You know how to get over the tech hurdles, pick your niche, monetize, get traffic, grow your email list, and pretty much everything else.

Did I miss anything?

Tell me below in the comments.

Also, let me know which of the resources in this guide you enjoyed the most below too...

Niche Hacks