Picking up from my previous article on How to Start a Blog for Money Making, this post, Start Blogging and make money online, will take your blogging to the next level by showing you the steps you will need to take, after trying the free method outlined in the previous post.
The Free method of posting online, using the Google Sites templates to publish your material, is fine in itself. I demonstrated it in order that you could ‘dip your toe in the water’ and see if Blogging or article writing is for you.
If So, and you want to look at blogging and writing articles as an income stream then read on.
In my opinion, If you are looking to earn an income from your articles and posts you will want to be developing your own brand and presence online, so looking at using other platforms to host your articles, will give you freedom to design your own Sites, and earn money from them.
You will need to carry out further actions which will involve developing your own brand and getting your own unique, specific to your subject Idea or Niche, Domain Name, and creating a website and presence online.
With the right platform, domain, hosting, and design, you’re going to set yourself up for success.
It all sounds rather Technical at this stage, but fear not. Setting yourself up online is quite straight forward and with a bit of application you can soon have an online brand and presence building for you.
After all, if you used the google sites method I showed before, then you have already published an article or two, the next steps just takes that a bit further.
The Next Steps in Blogging to make Money Online
Pick Your Subject Niche
You will already have thought about an idea and subject matter that you want to follow for your writing and publishing. Like my previous article here are a couple of tips for you where picking your niche is concerned.
Ensure your subject matter is something you are interested in and/or have experience of. This is because you will want to Make your content Expert, Authoritative, and Trustworthy.
This means providing accurate, well-researched information written concisely
For me, my interests are Well Being, Health, and Financial Opportunities. I have no interest in Kites, or Kite flying (not yet anyway) so there is no way I would want to write about the merits of say: Kite flying on a windy day.
My point, pick a niche subject you are interested in.
Once you have your subject niche drilled down this will help you with the next step and that is getting your own Domain name that can convey you professionally online, as well as being your Brand that people can look for, search online and be directed to your content and finding a Platform to ‘Host’ your website on.
How To Buy a Domain and Host a Website
This is a two-stage process. The first involves picking and buying a Name, and the second is to find the platform you wish to use to host your website; that you will then go on to link with your Domain
Picking Domain Name Tips
A Domain Name is like having an Internet Address. If someone types your Domain name in to the search bar of their browser, The search engine (Google, Bing etc) will take that person to your Domain, or Website.
Your Brand Name as a Domain Name, should reflect what your content and blogs are about. but the name could also be one that is more overarching.
My website FutureYouSuccess.com is not about one particular theme in being successful, but more about linking success in different aspects of life, such as health success, diet success, financial success etc.
Another example if we take the Kite flying mentioned above, and I was writing about Kites I might call the website (my Brand) ‘Flying High’ or ’Soaring High’
So, use your imagination and see what you can come up with around your specialist subject.
Once You have done this you need to check if the Domain name is available for you to use and buy.
How To Check If Your Domain Name is Available
The easiest and simplest way to check domain names available is to visit one of the Business start up type websites, that specialise in online businesses. Usually, they will have a search bar where you can type in your business brand name idea, and usually you will receive in a few seconds, what is available, be it as a dot com, or dot co etc, and how much to purchase that name.
For Example, taking our Kite Flying idea, I went to Go Daddy and typed in ‘Soaring High’ as a search, and below was what was returned
You may have to play around with your theme and intended brand name until you find one that fits. Oh, and make your Domain name easy to remember, avoid numbers and complex chains, and try to keep it 16 characters or less. Remember you want your audience to easily remember it.
The next step will be to find a platform for you to create your website on, and where you can link your Domain name to so people searching for your brand, have something to land on.
Choose a Platform to Host a Website
The platform you choose to host your website becomes the foundation of your Business. You need a reliable, proven trustworthy option to partner with … You can’t build a skyscraper on sand so choose a provider that is reliable and used by others.
Also, make sure that who you choose actually supports Blogging and Article Publishing. You don’t want to build your business on a platform that specialises in E-Commerce or Online Shopping.
When starting out and it comes to web hosting, you will want to find the balance between reliable performance and staying within budget. Good providers used by bloggers when they start are
Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost , also WordPress is a key platform with nearly 30% of all online publishing sites following their format.
From my experience, the design of your website doesn’t have to be over the top, but it should cater to user experience and reflect the personality of your blog articles
There are plenty of themes with clean designs and user-friendly interfaces that come with the platform providers, and that can make your blog and article stand out, without confusing, swamping, and overwhelming your visitors and readers.
Again, my site is fairly straight forward and built on a simple template theme. I have kept colours to a minimum (Logo apart) as I did not want to baffle my audience with swooshing rockets and exploding stars. (Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t know how to integrate those anyway)
As time goes on you will change the appearance of your site and refresh it so don’t get too hung up on having the perfect, polished Website to start with.
You can build your Website in draft form, tinker with it, try different styles, all until you are ready to link your Domain (Brand Name) and go Live.
Publishing Articles on a Website
Now that you have your website you will want to load your blog posts to it. Rather like the method I showed in the article How to Start a Blog for Money Making you simply open a blank template that your web host provider has in the theme you have chosen on their platform…and add your content.
Every thing at this stage will be in ‘Draft’ mode so you can play around, load up images to support your content, get your titles in… just have fun. You can do no damage at this stage to your draft site or content as you are not live online yet.
Play around and get a feel for how your site will look and the enhancements you can apply from your hosts options and menu’s to visually improve your content.
When You are ready you will want to link your Domain Name to your new Draft Website
How to Link Domain Name Website and Publish
Linking a Domain Name to a Website is a straightforward process. Usually In the ‘Tools’ section of your Website Theme you will see something similar to a button that says
‘LINK DOMAIN’
Here you can press the button and enter the domain name in full you purchased. The Website Host Company does all the work in the background automatically in synchronising and linking your Domain to your Site.
The automated process can take a couple of minutes or up to 72 hours for it to complete, so be patient. You will receive a message telling you when this is done.
And that’s it.
If you understand and can work through the processes and the ‘Linking’ of Website Platform Hosts and Domain name providers that is fine.
I am told it is an easy enough process but, for me, who had no experience of this type of thing I looked for a solution that was ‘straight out of the box’ with a methodology and training I could follow.
You can find more on the option I chose in my article on The Right Online Business Opportunity here.
Now that you have done this your website is live. Congratulations. Go and search it. That’s you!
The final piece in the puzzle is to log back in to your webhosts Dashboard you have for your new website, select your Draft Article and press the ‘PUBLISH’ button.
Now you are a Blogger/Online Writer/Content Creator whatever you want to call yourself with a real live business that you can, if it suits you, work on anywhere you choose, as long you have a laptop and internet connection.
You now need to regularly load your articles on a consistent basis, ready to monetise and earn money from your new venture. I will cover the aspects of further developing your blog posts to make money in the next article.
Good Luck in your Website Launch, Let me know in the comments below how it goes, and if you have any questions. Also let me know what challenges did you come across.
Other Articles to Help You
Start an Online Business Free to Join Read Here
Why Consider Starting a Blog Read Here
How to Start a Blog for Money Making Read Here
Best Regards
Del