Think blogging's just a hobby? Think again – it can actually make you quite good money. Here's how to get started, find your niche and turn your blog into a nice little money earner.
How to start a blog
Getting started with blogging can seem like a bit of a minefield, particularly if you don't have much tech knowledge.
You have two main options when it comes to actually setting up a blog – you can use a free blogging platform, or you can create your own website. We'll take you through both, and outline their pros and cons, so you can make the right decision for you and your blog.
Best blogging sites
• WordPress.com – This is a free basic blog hosting service that's easy to use. You'll have to put up with WordPress ads and branding unless you pay a monthly fee, and you can't put ads on your site. There are also limited options for customisation and expansion
• Blogger – Google's free blog hosting service, Blogger, is really simple to use. But, the customisation and design options are very limited, and there aren't a lot of options if you want to add new features
• Medium – With Medium, the emphasis is on the writing rather than design, and it's used by lots of journalists, writers and experts. It's a great way to share your work with a particular community, but you can't run any ads and it's difficult to create your own personal branding.
Create your own website
Credit: Kalamurzing - Shutterstock
Best for: Dedicated bloggers and those looking to make money from their blog
Pros: Complete control over design and customisation, your own custom URL and the ability to use adverts and affiliate links how you like
Cons: You'll have to pay – firstly for your domain name (URL) and then for hosting, but we've got tips on keeping costs low.
If you're not particularly tech-savvy, the thought of creating your own website might seem quite scary – but it's actually pretty easy to do, and you can create one in just 20 minutes.
Save the Student's founder, Owen, has written an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to show you how to start a website.
With your own website, you'll be able to create unique personal branding (with your own URL), and there's no risk of your blog being deleted by the platform – you'll own the site and be in complete control.
WordPress has an insane amount of templates or 'themes' for you to choose from – take your time to decide on one which suits both your personality and the topic of your blog.
Opt for something clear and simple, with space for large images and easy-to-read fonts (Comic Sans and Courier fonts are no-nos).
How to choose a blog topic
This can either be the easiest or the hardest part of starting your blog.
The most important thing at this stage is to choose a niche which you can call yourself an authority in – the biggest mistake new bloggers make in such a crowded blogosphere is starting a blog without trying to do something surprising or different.
For example, if fashion's your thing, instead of combining generic fashion content, you could combine your love for clothes with your big-hearted concern for the environment by blogging about environmentally-conscious designers instead?
These are the best ways to find a topic for your new blog:
Look at other blogs – This should be your first port of call. What's already successful? And more importantly, what's missing? Find the gaps in the market
Use Google – What are people searching for? Use Google suggested searches and auto-complete to discover what people are looking for – if they're searching for it, that shows there's a demand
Search forums for common FAQs – When people can't find answers to their questions, they go to forums. What are they asking? What do they need advice on? This will show what people are interested in and what there's a lack of available information on
Track current trends – What topics are in the media right now? It's good to pick a topic with longevity, but if you can piggy-back on a trend early on, you can quickly establish yourself as an expert on it before anyone else. Searching #journorequest on Twitter shows what kind of themes journalists are currently reporting on
Think about different types of content – Could you do tutorials/how-to guides? Reviews? Interviews? Lists? It might not be what you write about, but how you write which sets you apart
Identify your own interests and passions – While all of the above are important, there's no point in blogging about something you have zero interest in. You'll quickly get bored and people will spot your lack of enthusiasm. Write about something you really, truly care about.
How to increase your blog traffic
Once you've created your website, come up with a kick-ass blog topic and you've published your first posts, the big question is – where are all the readers?
You can't just expect people to magically find your blog and start reading it. You have to promote it!
Here are the best and easiest ways to get more readers for your blog:
Promote your blog on social media. As with any business nowadays, you're not likely to get noticed if you don't have social media accounts.
We recommend setting up pages/accounts for your blog on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and even LinkedIn (you're essentially your own business anyway, right?). Design these accounts in a similar colour scheme/theme to your blog so your brand is consistent and easily recognisable.
Use them to share new posts and tag fellow bloggers/influencers/companies who might share your content and help it to reach an even bigger audience.
You could also dabble in some paid advertising to help your blog reach a wider audience, or run a competition to generate more likes. Once you've got the followers, keep them interested by posting on a regular basis (not just for new blog posts).
Connect with other bloggers
Make yourself known to other people who blog about similar topics. Despite the fact you're technically a competitor, you're likely to be pleasantly surprised by how supportive the blogger community can be.
Many bloggers even have a 'links' page on their site which they use to link to loads of their friends within the community in return for a link on your own blog. This will help massively with your SEO (that's search engine optimisation – how likely your blog is to pop up in Google searches).
If you engage with other bloggers and share their content, they'll likely return the favour – you could even work on some collaborations!
Respond to news stories on your blog
Credit: Warner Bros
If something happens in the news which is related to your niche, get involved. This is what we refer to as 'newsjacking' and it can work a treat for getting you some great exposure.
For example, if you blog about cheap student cooking, keep an eye out for things like the reveal of our latest Student Money Survey. Students might spend an average of £92 a month on groceries, but you can tell them how to spend less (while eating better food!).
You can get on social media to say your bit with relevant hashtags, get involved in discussions and even reach out to journalists to say you're available for comment.
If you're really great at owning your niche, journalists might even come to you.
Create viral content
Creating viral content will help you reach a new market and, in turn, increase your readership.
This might be easier said than done, but the key to creating viral content is to tap into controversial or highly-discussed topics related to your niche blogging field – as you can imagine, this often involves newsjacking, as mentioned above.
As this is your niche, you'll be passionate, opinionated and knowledgable about it, so you'll be able to post an opinion that people want to read, share and talk about.
Making money from you blog will be continued in the next post stay tuned
Very informative. Thank you so much 😍