Blogging as a Hobby VS. Blogging as a Profession

There are a lot of platforms that you can use for your blog. You can either use WordPress content management or WordPress premium service. You can either use website builders like weekly, winx, squarespace, etc. or use custom domain with your blogger and build a blog. You can choose from a lot of content management systems or build a blog from scratch by using programming language. However, what is the best platform when it comes to create a blog?
In my opinion and experience, WordPress content management is the best option. WordPress can be used to create a highly responsive website without any coding skills. In order to create a blog, you just need a domain and hosting.
As opposed to WordPress, a lot of people use website builders like weekly or wix, however, these are not only expensive services but also do not allow you to control your site fully.

in order to become a blogger, you need four things, one, writing skills, two, SEO skills, three digital marketing skills, and four, website designing and development skills. You can become a blogger even when you do not have web designing and development skills as you can use content management systems to create your blog, but the first three skills, writing, SEO, and digital marketing are very essential. A lot of people fail in blogging because they do not have these essential skills.

Blogging as a Hobby VS. Blogging as a Profession

Individuals can blog either to showcase their work and build readership or to make money through ads, affiliate marketing, sponsorship, etc. Businesses can blog for building traffic on their websites, build customers, rank on search engines, build authority, etc.  Blogging is one of the common ways to increase visibility for individuals and businesses. For instance, an author can improve his online visibility by creating a blog and showcasing his books. Likewise, an ecommerce website can create a blog to rank on search engines and build traffic.

If you want to blog, you need to be clear about your goal. Why do you want to blog, what do you want to do on your blog, where do you want to go with your blog? You need to answers to these questions.

For an individual, some of the reasons for blogging could be as follows:

·         Blogging to build a portfolio website and showcase your work

·         Blogging to build your authority on certain niche

·         Blogging to make money online

·         Blogging to build your online business

No matter what your goals, you can either blog for hobby or blog for profession. When you blog for hobby, you are a hobbyist blogger, and when you blog for profession, you become a professional blogger. A hobbyist blogger writes blogs just for fun, he might be exploring his writing skills or promoting something. Professional bloggers use blog to make money, they make money from their blogs through multiple methods. Blogging for fun means you have no intention of making money, therefore, you are not in the pressure to build traffic through SEO or Digital Marketing. But if you want to earn from your blog, you need to be highly skilled. You should not only have writing skills but also web designing, SEO and Digital Marketing skills. You will have to choose a blogging route based on your goal.

Blogging doesn't need a lot of money to start or manage it, so it's sustainable as a hobby. Even if you blog for fun or a hobby, you can still monetize your blog by running ads, showcasing affiliate products or asking for donations.

Blogging for money requires you to invest in skill development as well as some money on marketing. However, based on how much you can earn, your investment can be considered pretty low. As a professional blogger, you should focus on improving your writing, SEO, and digital marketing skills. If your blog starts generating traffic, you will also start making money. A blog that gets traffic can make money through multiple methods.

Self-Hosted Blogging Vs. Free Blogging: How to do blogging through third-party website?

If you want to start a blog but don't have money for a domain and hosting, or do not want to spend any money on your blog, there are two ways to start blogging

The first method uses blogging platforms. You can create accounts on free blogging platforms like Blogspot and WordPress, or use free version of website builders like Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, etc.

The second method is to publish your blog posts on free blogging sites. You can publish your blog posts on sites like Medium, Hubpages, publish0x, etc.

The second method is easier than the first one if you also want to make money through blogging. Between self-hosted blogging sites and free blogging sites, where do you earn more money?

Well, you can of course make more money on your own self-hosted site because you are in full control of the revenue stream. However, the main problem is generating income. You need substantial traffic to earn from ads. You also need money to maintain the site.

You don’t have to spend any money to start on free blogging platforms and free blogging sites. While earning from free blogging platforms like wordpress and blogspot is difficult as you need a lot of traffic, it is somewhat easier to earn by publishing on free sites like hubpages, medium, etc. You can start earning immediately as you can easily get views because these platforms are huge communities. Some blogging platforms can let you earn even from tips. If you have loyal readers, you can easily earn tips. On some platforms you can earn from upvotes and likes. If you are good writer and if you reciprocate well, you can also earn from this method.

How to Make Money on Blogs

If you have writing skills, if you have SEO and digital marketing skills, and if you are passionate about writing and publishing online, blogging can be a lucrative source of income. You cannot make money from your blog immediately and it takes really long time to earn substantial amount of profits, however, by using various ad networks, affiliate programs, selling freelancing services, and selling physical and digital product through your blog, you can build a steady online income.

Having your own blog provides a platform for diverse income streams and online success. A blog can also improve your online visibility and also establish your authority on your niche.Your blog can become a wonderful income source. Network ads like Google AdSense can bring you money from ad impression and ad clicks. Affiliate partnerships with companies like Amazon or ClickBank can earn you money for every purchase your visitors make through your links. These are good methods but the real riches lie in selling your own products. You can sell digital art, ebooks, educational courses and transform your blog into a money making machine. If you want to earn better explore these diverse revenue streams and watch your blog grow into a profitable venture. Now, you might be wondering, how easy is it? Nothing is easy in this world, you have to work hard, and you have to work hard for a long time to become successful.

You can make money through blogging in numerous ways. Some of the common methods are running ads (network ads, affiliate ads), selling physical products (inventory-based, dropshipping, or print on demand), selling digital products (ebooks, online courses, digital arts, SVG files, etc.) selling services (freelancing services), selling ad space, sponsorship, etc. In fact, there is no dearth of money-making methods through blogging. However, in order to make money from your blog you need traffic. When you have traffic, there will be engagements on your ads (ad click or action performed), there will be product sales, etc. When things like these happen, you will be generating income. So, without traffic, don't ever think about making money from your blog. Therefor, you need to work hard on building traffic. You can build traffic through SEO and digital marketing. If you want to make money from your blog, you actually need to be an expert on SEO and digital marketing.