Author: Erik Emanuelli

Building a successful blog and making money with it takes more than just publishing content and waiting for visitors to come.

You need to have a plan and work through it in order to drive traffic, build your brand, and keep your readers coming back for more.

Luckily, there are ten key factors you can focus on that will help you create a successful blog.

Research a Niche

When researching a niche for your blog, it’s important to make sure you are creating content that people will actually be interested in.

Take the time to do research into topics and trends related to the niche you are considering.

Focus on things like who is going to read your blog, what problems they might have that could be solved, or even what other people in your niche are doing wrong that you can do better.

Practical Advice You can use Google to find topic ideas. Just type a broad term you’re interested in and check through the suggestions the search engine provides. For example, via the Autosuggest:

Or in the People Also Ask section:

Or related searches

Pick a Domain Name

This is one of the most important steps for website creation.

When it comes to choosing a domain name, you want something that is memorable and easy to type.

You also want it to reflect what your blog is about without being too long or complicated.

Practical Advice. There are a few things you need to consider. Your domain name should be:

• • Easy to remember
  • Short, with your keywords included
  • Without numbers or hyphens
  • Brandable

Once you have some ideas, check if the domain name you want is available via a domain registrar like GoDaddy.

Now, since most of the .com domains are taken, you can also opt for other popular domain extensions such as .net, .io, or .blog. You can even choose among new ones like these:

Get Web Hosting

Once you have chosen the perfect domain name, it’s time to select a web hosting provider.

You want one that is reliable, secure, and offers good customer support.

When it comes to web hosting, look for a provider with good customer reviews and one that offers the features you need.

The amount of storage and bandwidth will depend on the size and traffic of your blog. It’s also important to check if they offer automatic backups, security features, staging environments, and other useful tools.

Practical Advice. Based on my experience, you want to focus on the server response time and uptime statistics.

You can find this information on the web hosting provider’s website or ask their customer support team before signing up. I recommend WP Engine since its uptime is 99.99% and then they have the highest percentage of sites loading under 200ms:

In fact, checking my Google Search Console data, I found that my site’s average response time is under 160!

Install WordPress

After choosing a web hosting provider, the next step is to install WordPress. This content management system (CMS) will allow you to manage a blog and promote content easily. You don’t need any coding skills and it only takes a few minutes to set up.

Do you know that according to W3Techs, 43.1% of all websites on the internet are built on WordPress?

No wonder why it is so popular and user-friendly.

Practical Advice. You can install WordPress in a few easy steps:

• Log in to your web hosting account and go to the control panel.
• Find the one-click installer (such as Softaculous or Installatron) and select “WordPress” from the list of applications available.
• Click on “Install Now”
• Follow the instructions to complete the setup.
• When it’s done, you can log in to your new blog with your username and password.

Choose a Theme

WordPress comes with hundreds of different themes that you can customize and use for your blog.

After logging into WordPress, go to Appearance; Themes and select one from the list.

When deciding on a theme, consider the type of blog you are creating and select one that matches the design you have in mind.

Practical Advice. There are many free templates available but I recommend using a premium theme. Moreover, if you opt to be unique, there are many sites to hire web designers. The top ones are Upwork, PeoplePerHour, and Flexiple.

Add Important Plugins

WordPress plugins are like small pieces of software that can add extra features and functionality to your site.

They are essential for creating a successful blog, as they will help you do things like optimize your content for search engines, create contact forms, integrate social media, and much more.

Practical Advice. I suggest starting with popular and reliable plugins such as:

• Yoast SEO (to optimize your blog for search engines)
• Akismet (to fight spam comments)
• Broken Link Checker (to avoid any broken links)
• WP Super Cache (to make your pages load faster)
• Jetpack (for added security and performance )

You can find these plugins in the WordPress repository or look for third-party options. Be sure to read reviews before installing any plugin.

Do Keyword Research

Successful blogging requires you to target specific keywords that will help you get more traffic from search engines.

For this, you can use keyword research tools to find relevant terms that have high search volumes and low competition.

These are the so-called long-tail keywords. And there are still plenty of opportunities.

In fact, did you know that based on Ahref’s research, almost 95% of their U.S. database is made of terms with 10 searches or less?

Practical Advice. During this phase, you can use tools like Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer or Ubersuggest. You can also take advantage of Google search to get ideas for long-tail keywords. But my favorite one is Keyword Surfer. Once you download and install the Chrome extension here, you can use it to find keyword ideas and even the monthly volume!

Write Your First Post

Now it’s time to create your first blog post.

Choose a topic that is relevant to the ones you want to focus on and make sure it adds value to your readers. Keep in mind that good content is informative, entertaining, and useful.

You should target a target keyword when writing your new articles and include it in your title, headings, slug, and meta description.

Try to cover the topic in-depth, as long-form content has been proven to be among the most successful ones.

In fact, according to Backlinko research, the first page on Google search results contains more than 1400 words, on average.

Practical Advice. Writing a blog post starts with selecting a good title. This should be catchy and it should include the keyword you are targeting.

It’s also important to keep in mind that titles should not be longer than 70 characters (including spaces).

Once you have chosen an interesting title, start writing your post, and don’t forget to include visuals like images, infographics, and videos. These will make your content more entertaining and will help you keep visitors engaged!

Set Up an Editorial Calendar

To stay organized and create content consistently, you must set up an editorial calendar.

This will help you plan ahead and manage the topics you will cover in the future.

It’s also a great way to keep track of the marketing strategy for each post and measure your blog’s performance over time.

Source

Practical Advice. You can use tools like Trello or Asana to create an editorial calendar. Or you can use a simple spreadsheet, with columns for the title of your post, its keywords, the date it should be published, and even notes related to each topic. This way, you will always have a clear view of what needs to be done!

Monetize Your Blog

Once you have a steady amount of visitors, it’s time to start thinking about monetizing your blog.

With the right strategies, you can start earning money from your content. But first, you’ll want to get familiar with the different ways you can monetize your blog.

Practical Advice. Choose among these monetization options:

• Advertising
• Affiliate Marketing
• Sponsored Posts
• Digital Products
• Donations

Advertising

Advertising is perhaps the easiest way to monetize your blog. You can use Google AdSense to display ads on your site and get paid for each click they generate.

Here’s an example of how AdSense looks on a blog post.

Other alternatives include Media.net and AdThrive.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing consists of promoting products or services from other companies in exchange for a commission.

You can register on affiliate programs like Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate, or ShareASale, and promote them on your blog.

Here’s an example:

In this post, the author reviews Elite Trader Funding, writing about the pros and cons.

Sponsored Posts

Sponsored posts are content created for brands in exchange for payment. These can be reviews, tutorials, or even giveaways.

You will need to reach out to companies and establish a partnership with them before you start earning money.

Platforms you can join to find brands to work with include IZEA, Tapinfluence, and Influence. co.

Digital Products

Selling digital products is another way to monetize your blog. You can create ebooks, courses, templates, or any type of product you think your audience will find useful.

You can use services like Gumroad, Selz, or SendOwl to set up your store and start selling.

You can also join platforms like Teachable, Udemy, or Skillshare to offer courses and other products.

Donations

Finally, if you have been able to build a strong and engaged community of readers, you can ask for donations.

There are tons of donation apps you can use or services like Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee to create donation buttons and let people support your work.

The key is to provide value with each post and be transparent about how you will use the money.

Bonus Tips

• Be patient: Building a successful blog takes time. You won’t see results overnight so keep working hard and stay motivated!
• Connect with other bloggers: Join groups on social media platforms like Quora or Reddit and connect with other bloggers. This will help you establish relationships and find new opportunities to grow your blog.
• Be consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to blogging. Keep producing content regularly to stay in your readers’ minds and increase their engagement.
• Learn from others: Pay attention to what other successful bloggers are doing and apply what you learn to your blog.
• Analyze your analytics: Use Google Analytics or other tools to track your website’s performance and understand what works and what doesn’t. This will help you adjust your strategy and make better decisions in the future.

Final Words

Building a successful blog requires dedication, time, and effort.

Remember that it’s about providing valuable content that is useful to your readers.

You should also focus on SEO and the basics of blogging to make sure you create content with high-quality standards.

Finally, you will be able to monetize your blog and start earning money. Leverage different options like advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, or digital products.