Almost everyone with a blog wants to generate some income while blogging. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
As a matter of fact, you can earn a 6-figure income from blogging. But the harsh truth is a majority of bloggers who desire to make some money don’t get anywhere near $100 a month.
So sad!
There are many ways we can make money as bloggers. But in this post, I want to suggest three things to do first.
If you are just starting or you’ve been in the industry for some time, I can say with confidence that if you throw away anything else you are doing and focus on these 3 steps, you will certainly see results.
Quick Navigation
1 – Forget about making money first!
The idea of making money is driving many of us crazy. Some bloggers even get so desperate that they blow themselves out-of-the-way in the process.
Most of us are taught to start a blog to make money. Yes. Blogging is a business but the money-making aspect should not be its foundation. Generating income from your blog should be a long-term gold.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make some quick money. But we all know you need a stable business to be able to see a more consistent outcome.
A majority of those who jump into blogging to make money hopelessly fail so soon. That’s simply because of the indisputable truth that the money doesn’t really flow as soon as you start publishing content.
Now, you want to make money right? And I’m here telling you to stop focusing on the money initially. Sounds like a big irony. So what’s the way forward?
This brings us to step 2.
2 – Build a community and earn trust
There is no way you can generate income without a marketplace. That’s where the community comes in. No one wants to waste money. Everyone in the market wants to be sure of the quality of what they buy. That’s where the trust factor sets in.
You noticed I’m talking about two essential elements here:
1. Community
2. Trust
As a blogger, your community is made up of your readers, subscribers and social media followers. The bigger your community, the bigger your marketplace. Though that doesn’t translate to high conversion, it has an impact on sales volume.
Here are some ideas to help build a thriving blogging community:
First, you have to build and stabilize your blog because that’s the hub of your business. This involves getting a very reliable web host and investing in premium themes and plugins.
Many bloggers take this so lightly and that contributes heavily to their failure. There are so many cheap web hosting packages out there and sadly that’s what we buy. But if you are experiencing growth in your business, you need to upgrade or face the downside of it.
Generally, the amount you spend on something represents its value. “Cheap” will always mean a limited amount of resources. There is no way you can walk around this.
Recently, I was facing serious growth in my business but that was soon broken. My cheap hosting package couldn’t stand the traffic. That led to a series of errors, a drop in traffic and income. My quick solution was to move to Traffic Planet Hosting where service quality, speed, security and customer service are a priority.
Here are some more ideas to help you build a lucrative marketplace:
- Create and publish SEO-friendly and sticky content.
- Read more and more blogs in your niche
- Drop reasonable comments on other blogs
- Reply to comments on your own blog
- Connect with other bloggers in your niche through their blogs and on social media
- Attend live blogging events
- Submit guest articles on successful blogs
- Reasonably engage with others on social media (Facebook comments, Twitter Retweets, etc)
- Help promote others through mentions on social media, linking to their contents from yours, etc
- Start building a list. Offer something of great value to attract more subscribers
Note that I have just listed these factors to help you grow your community. Each of these points however, can be expanded into a full-blown post.
As your community grows, you need to earn trust from your members. Whether you are selling your own products, offering a service, promoting some affiliate products, etc, you need to be trusted by your readers.
Trust is the factor that completes a sale. When people trust you, they know they’ll get value from their investment. Once you earn trust from your readers, they buy from you without a second thought.
That’s why it’s absolutely important you build an active community and earn trust from your members. As you are getting this done, you will see results in your earnings.
Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value
– Albert Einstein
Value is the strongest trust magnet. There is more value in your content and recommendation, the stronger the trust your readers have in you.
There are many ways to earn trust from people around you and from your readers worldwide.
One of these ways is the third step.
3 – Solve your readers’ problems
The most glaring area where people see and appreciate your value is when you help take away their problems. That’s where their trust is strengthened and this takes them very close to a buying decision.
There are many reasons why people read your blog. One of these reasons is to get solutions to their problems.
I don’t really know your niche but I’m convinced there are problems faced by your readers and you can help provide adequate solutions.
Now, the main problem here (on your side) is when you are not even able to identify your readers’ problems. This will take you very far from the money-making point.
If you can’t identify any problems faced by your community members, you’ll eventually fail to help them. As a result, there is no money to be made.
Now, here are some tips to help you understand your readers and the problems they seek to solve:
- Pay attention to your comment section. That’s the most accessible area where readers can easily express themselves vis-à- vis your content.
- Look around for niche forums. You are going to find readers seeking solutions to so many problems.
- Run a survey on your blog. Trust me; you are going to get data-driven answers that will help your business.
How do you help your readers as a blogger?
1. Create problem-solving content like:
- how to remove a virus from your PC
- how to treat yeast at home,
- how train your dog not to go on the carpet,
2. Offer your own services to solve problems
3. Recommend products that solve problems
4. Talk to them about someone who can help solve their problems
OK, let’s combine points 1 and 3 to promote an affiliate marketing product and make money.
This is the trick I have used that works like a charm.
First, identify a problem that’s faced by your readers. Tip! A niche forum is the best place to find out about the problems your community members are facing.
Niche: Health
Problem: Yeast Infection in men
Solution 1: Do some research on how to treat yeast in men at home. I’m very sure there are lots of solutions you can write about here.
Solution 2: Recommend an affiliate product like Yestrol that will bring a quick and long lasting solution from MarketHealth.com or any other affiliate marketing platform.
Here is the thing…
This will certainly be a solid problem-solving blog post.
While you’ll get many of your readers trying to follow your home solution, a certain percentage will bounce to the recommended product and that inevitably will give you the commission.
Note that solution 2 is a recommendation within the blog post that you do in solution 1
If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours
Ray Kroc
This saying by Ray Kroc drives straight to the core and summarizes these 3 points I have mentioned here:
1. First, don’t work just for the money because if you do, you will never make it.
2. Secondly, love what you are doing and work towards building a solid community and earning trust from your readers
3. Then third, put your customers first. Seek to solve their problems and they will give you their money
A recap
I hope by now you’ve understood my 3 steps if you really want to make money blogging. You have to forget about the money and focus on building an active community and earning trust from your readers. While you help them solve their problems, they will reward your efforts with money.
Let me know what you think. Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
Thank you so much Enstine this was a very informative post I will be reading it again a few times you addressed most of the things I needed in one post.
Hey Caleb,
Thanks for reading and dropping a comment. I'm sure these points will help you out on your money making journey.
Good luck and have a wonderful weekend ahead
Enstine is just so good as what he does.
Very Informative and Helpful post. I have just started my blog and preparing content.
Hey haridas,
I'm sure these points will help you out as you move on 😉
A solid community will certainly build steady source of income for you.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for the comment
Hey Enstine and Sue,
Making money from the blog is something every blogger dream about. But the money making idea is making people crazy.
I agree with you that people should build trust. Building the community is a great idea. The blog should contain enough content and the traffic to monetize.
Solving the problems of your readers would get you more readers because of your dedication and helping nature.
Thanks for sharing this informative post.
Hope you both are enjoying the day.
~Ravi
Hey Ravi,
Thanks for the engagement. I had a busy day though. Just coming in and I like the engagement going on here already.
I think once we get these 3 points, we can be able to get some income from our blogs.
There are better days ahead so let's keep giving bro
This is the method I always use to build a new website. Firstly, you will need to build the brand name (your website name) and make it popular in search engine by many methods. Next, how to & tutorial articles are always good and useful to attract readers.
When you get enough daily visitors, such as 500 or 1K, then it's time to monetize your website and its traffic, as well as try to increase your traffic day by day.
Hey David,
Thanks for the comment 😉
I started making money with less than 200 daily readers but that wasn't anywhere near what's happening now.
the more targeted traffic you get, the more your chances of making the money 😉
Thanks for those tips man. I hope you are having a great week
Awesome Post Enstine Muki!
I do agree with all your point. But building community & Trust will take.
So it will be better if we focus on single affiliate product at beginning to earn few money.
Since as a startup blogger, We need money to manage.
Hey bro,
I think focusing on a product that converts well with less refunds is a great strategy. However, some bloggers will try as many different products as possible to diversify their chances.
I don't think there is some one method that can work for everyone. We are different and in different niches. Try out and settle on what works best for you.
I hope you are having a wonderful week 😉
Fantastic article Enstine! You are spot on to begin your article with "Forget about making money first!" because that is the first intention why majority of people start blogging (though there is nothing wrong in it). However to gain traction you have to be genuinely helpful and resourceful. If your focus is money when you start, you are looking in the wrong direction for visitors, but if you are up for genuine help, you will find people looking for you everywhere. I have been a regular visitor to your website. That's because I can get to pick genuine advice.
Hi Salan,
Thanks for the comment and for being a loyal reader. You know one of the sources of my strength are comments like this one 😉
Bloggers are not salesmen. We help people get solutions to their problems. In the process, we make money. That's why the money making should be a top priority. It's something gotten in the process of eradicating problems 😉
Thanks for your comment here Salan. There are beautiful days ahead so let's keep giving
Hello Enstine,
Nice to see your guest post here…. i like the way you guys maintain a network between various blogs of same niche…. I often visit your blog Mr. Muki…. Nice post BTW.
Thanks!
Thanks Jimmy for reading and commenting here. That's what it means to build a blogging community.
I hope you stick around for many more years to come 😉
Nice posting Muke,thanks for sharing this content,it really helpful.
Hey Anthoney,
Thanks for the comment. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend starting today 😉
Hi Enstine,
Well said, bloggers first goal should be gain trust of their readers and build fan list. Afterwords, they can think about making money.
But, still many bloggers making this silly mistake. They start focusing on making money from the day one and ends with no money.
Thanks
Umesh Singh
Hi Umesh,
So good to see you here and thanks for taking the time to react to the post.
There are more beautiful days ahead bro so let's keep giving 😉
Hi Sue, and Enstine,
Happy to be here again to read this amazing post.
Great tips/steps you shared here.
Yes, the general thinking is that blogging is an easy way to make money, and added to this thinking there are a good number of income reports floating on the ocean of Internet published by some of the bloggers, in fact many such reports are slightly or may be sometimes fully exaggerated ones! And the gullible visitors blindly believe it, and astonish.
Your first tip, at one read looks like a bit contradictory or as you said 'Sounds like a big irony' But I fully agree with you in this. Yes, one need to forget totally about this in the beginning, and should concentrate on the steps you stipulated in this content. Yes, just by posting some contents will not fetch you any money, lot of other home works one need to do!
Building a solid relationship with the readers is one of the vital or I say a basic thing in this aspect. for this basically, one can get in touch with the fellow bloggers pages and sharing their solid or value added views via comments, I am sure that pave way to build a good relationship with other fellow bloggers. I have recently posted an article on this subject, Indeed, Blog Comments are powerful! yes, our comments on others pages can play great role in our blogging progress. Yes, here reading is an important thing too, one need to read a minimum of 5-6 posts a day in their niche, and if possible air our views on it in the form of comments. Of course in some places this option is closed. In my opinion keep away from such pages!!!
Third step too will work wonders, thru that way, by sharing our help, knowledge to the needy will surely fetch long lasting relationships. 🙂
Thanks a lot Enstine for reminding these vital steps here.
Yes, one need to take these steps and follow carefully!
May you both have a great day.
Best
~Phil
Hey Phil,
Thanks man for such a comment.
I know of these income reports. There is absolutely no way most of these reports can be verified. We simply trust the word of some of the bloggers who share the reports.
Commenting is a great way forward. Dropping comments like this you've done here positions you above many and attracts attention to your presence.
While this is not an easy thing to do, it has its positive results.
Thanks therefore for being part of the party Phil
I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend starting today 😉
Thanks this post was one of the best you have written as far as helpfulness. I'm sure you have many helpful post but I think this one gives people a good starting point. The whole blogging thing is so confusing and thier are so many people pushing thier solutions, it's hard to know where to start.
Hi Will,
I know what you mean in your comment bro. It's even more confusing today because there is more information than ever seen. But the real way forward is to hire a coach and I'm glad Sue is a good one 😉
Maybe you should talk to her
Hello Enstine Sir,
Happy to see you here and you have contributed a great post for the bloggers who wanna make a passive income with their blog.
I agree with your 2 and 3 points that the newbie bloggers should network with other bloggers and influencers to gain trust and make a community.
However, I feel that it is nothing wrong with having a goal of make money with blogging, even in the initial phase.
I work very hard to make money with my blogs and thus I would always try implementing different strategies to reach my goal. So, I am partially accepting your first point!
If you have a passion for making money, you'll certainly be work with dedication.
Anyway, opinion varies from person to person. Nice to know that you have moved to the new host for the better performance. I too moved my new blog to InMotion hosting and their support is just awesome.
Thanks for writing such an excellent post for the novice bloggers and they can easily understand that they should solve their readers' issues to make a steady income.
You have shown some great examples to solve the difficulties of the people and make money with it.
Have a happy weekend!
Hi Nirmala,
Thanks my dear friend for the comment. I like when people share their sincere opinion and not just fall in line with something to appear pleasing.
The problem is that many people who want to make money often see the money, skipping over the essential steps that bring the money. Truth is, to be able to build a consistent flow of income, focusing on the money may be doing things amiss. If you focus on user satisfaction, you end up with a more stable source of passive income.
Thanks again for the contribution. I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend
This is an honest tip Enstine, and that's the big mistake most newbie bloggers make. The first thing on their mind when starting out first is to make money (that is if they're not marketers) and they seem to forget that making money with blogging depends on the niche and topic of interest. You possibly don't expect a medical doctor to start making money with a blog that isn't functioning in the neighborhood and expects to sell something. Just like your point states; solving readers problems should be #1 priority and everything else will follow, becasue that's where trust is built and once that's accomplished, I wouldn't mind paying a consultant whom I trust compare to one whose sale's page speaks too-good-to-be-true copy.
Thanks for the reminder Enstine, I believe it's a moment of reflection for older bloggers to not lose focus.
And it's good to be back here. Missed this place so much.
Tessa.
Beautiful comment, adding a lot of value to the post, Tessa.
Where were you btw?
Now you are back, let's keep giving. Hope to see you around my home as well 😉
How are you planning the weekend?
Hi Enstine,
thanks for your guest post and sharing your experience.
As you stated, helping your audience to solve a problem is a great way to gain trust and credibility. In this case nobody will mind you recommending a product that helps solving this problem faster. It will even result in a higher conversion rate.
I found that niche related forums and Facebook groups are a great place to identify problems the targeted audience is facing.
Have an amazing weekend ahead,
Torsten
Hi Torsten,
Thanks for reading this post, commenting and sharing on social media.
I have had some posts doing really well just by picking ideas from discussions on forums. So you are right in the point you raised.
I hope you too are set for a more exciting weekend 😉
Very Detailed info you have shared how to setup blog and make money online from blog, It is useful post for all bloggers and for those who have setup your blog and earn money from blogging.
Thanks for reading and dropping a comment Ankita.
I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend 😉
I agree that it is important to solve users problems and build a community. Focusing on providing information to help readers solve problems they face is a great way to build a loyal community.
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing your opinion here.
I hope you are having a wonder Friday over there 😉
Hey Enstine,
You mentioned right here, most bloggers nowadays enter in the blogging world because they see money, though money is one of the motivation factor here but it is not the only factor that one should consider while starting a blog. It then can lead to disappointment.
Hey Enstine,
Your post is great as always!
This is the issue that is faced in a lot of online business, there are a lot of opportunity seekers look for an opportunity to make money online and they end by giving up in a month or two, they don't like to hear about being consistent and persistent.
Blogs need more care from you, and thinking always of the money will make anyone lose the energy in the middle of the journey, especially if he didn't make it quickly.
To address the community needs, I think we should put ourselves on the other side, what is the reason that brings us again and again to Enstine's blog and other successful blogs like this one, isn't it the value? Actually, each post there gives you a reason if not reasons to read.
Thanks for sharing this valuable post, Enstine!
Regards
Hussain
Wow I really want to thank you. I came across you blog about 2 months ago. All the great Info you have been sharing. It has been helping to launch my blog soon. The info will also help once my post is launched.
You are so welcome, George!
Sue
Enstine,
Great post, my friend! You really did an excellent job of bringing reality to the subject of blogging. I especially liked the way you didn’t hold back on telling people not to think about the money in the beginning.
I recently wrote a book on blogging and in the second chapter I told everyone to NOT quit their day job.
But hey, take heart everybody! I’d give that same advice to almost everyone that starts a business, whether it’s a bricks and mortar business or an Internet based biz.
Just take a look at these stats :
? About 543,000 businesses get started each month
? 52% of those are home-based
? 8 out of 10 businesses that get started fail in the first 18 months
? 6.7 million people publish blogs
? Businesses that blog more than 20 times a month get 5 times more traffic than everyone else
? Almost 60 % of blogs haven’t been updated in the last 7 months
? The average life of a website or blog is 100 days
As you can see, it is rough in any business and it is rare for any company to make money on or off the Web in the first two years.
Unless you have the means to survive for a few years in the bank, you should make sure you are working enough at your regular gig to keep the lights on.
That’s just the way business rolls.
As the author and copywriter Robert Ringer likes to say, “Slow and steady wins the race.”
But look at the flip side of this.
If you hang in there and blog with quality posts and information for at least 7 months, you’ve just beaten the averages!
As a parting piece of advice, I saw Michael Hyatts video on traffic for blogging last night and he emphasized the importance of not writing junk, but high quality posts as much as you can.
Once again, Enstine, great post!
Elmo
Most excellent post Enstine! Thank you for the simplified guidance, very well explained. You cleared a lot of fog from my brain. I do appreciate it.
Hi Enstine,
Excellent Post.
Obviously, as you said money also an important factor while doing Blogging.
But Many of them are not concentrating how to bring out smart techniques to make money through blogging.
I agree with your point on creating Community and Trust.
It is a most important one.
Thanks for nice post.
Hey Enstine,
You said it all, I totally agree with you on this. Solving the problems of readers should be the paramount priority of every blogger. Having money at heart alone will only get you frustrated and get you off track in no distant time.
Readers visit a blog for a purpose; to find solution to their problems. When a blogger fails to deliver that problem solving factor, the reader simply walks away never to return again.
This is a must read for every newbie seeking to succeed in the blogging world.
Thanks for sharing
-Chinedu
Hey Enstine,
As simple as that, always a useful write up 🙂 I would like to rename it's title to "The 3 Mantras to Make Huge Money Blogging".
Like we say for gymming "eat sleep lift", same way we could call it as "build,solve,earn" where build stands for building community and trust, solve stands for solving problems, and definitely earn stands for earning dollars 😉
Good to read your post here buddy.
Cheers,
Karan
Money should not be the only motive behind your blog. You should be passionate enough to write daily something new and creative. And yes solve customer problems as it will help in building relationship also.
What an educative article and learnt a lot especially the number 3 on the need to Solve your readers’ problems.
Glad it helped!
Sue
Great post. I have always started with the goal of monetizing by blog first and helping my audience. It has helped me to truly focus on the type of content that my readers want. Also, knowing their needs has always been the formula for finding an affiliate product to help with their needs and content to reinforce.
By the way, this is the first time I have ever read your posts and am looking forward to learning more about you, Enstine.
Hey this is the actual way to earn money from blogging. You have changed my attitute towards this completely. Thanks for this awesome stuff.
You are so welcome, Sanjay!
Sue
Nice post, Enstine. This post will definitely work as a reminder to many who get distracted in their blogging journey and drift towards money.
Thanks for the comment Mahesh
Most of those who focus on the money often end up turning their backs on blogging because it's often to easy to see the money as early as they expect.
I hope you are having a wonderful week
Hi Hussain,
Thanks for this comment and words of encouragement
The more value we publish, the more we are able to keep our readers and gain new ones.
I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend
Hey George,
You can't be wrong sticking to this blog 😉
Hi Elmo,
Thanks for adding value to this post with your comment. You brought up a couple of very useful points and those stats make us understand more why it isn't easy for a majority of startups to drive into success.
Hmmm “Slow and steady wins the race.”
This reminds me of my Chinese partner who keeps saying "Don't worry, don't hurry" 😉
BTW, how is your new book doing? Hope you are seeing sales 😉
Enstine,
Thanks so much for the reply, I'm glad I am able to contribute comments to your awesome post. Truth be told about the book, I have sold very few of them. However, I have given away hundreds to people that have requested them. Good thing I branded the tar out of it because it's great advertising for my copywriting business!
God bless, my friend!
Hi Bob,
Thanks for stopping by and dropping the comment.
I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend 😉
Thanks to for the comment and engagement bro 😉
Do have a wonderful weekend
Hi Chinedu,
Good to see you here and thanks for the comment.
Once your blog can help readers with solutions, monetizing will be quite easy. If we understand this, we will surely get to our goals.
Do have a wonderful weekend and thanks for being part of the conversation
I like the new title man 😉 and the brilliant summary
The 'earn' phase should be the last, the result of an action, not an action in itself.
Always good to have you around man. I hope you are set for a wonderful weekend
You are right about the passion Siya. It keeps you going even when things are tough.
Thanks for being part of the conversation.
Do have a wonderful weekend
Hey ENSTINE,
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful, informative post with us. I totally agree with all of your points, especially, "Earn your reader trust"
This is going to change the mindset of those bloggers who really want to create an authority site or blog.
I love the first point " Forget about making money first! ". Most of the guys start their blog to make money instead of providing quality content. They should work hard to help people by providing quality content or services. They should keep calm and wait.
Overall great post. I have learned a lot from here.
Thaks for writing.
Yes i do agree with your 1st point that forgot about making money first. Because if you want your business to be successful in long run then you need to build trust with your audience at the first place or else your life in internet marking or in any field is going to be very short. Thanks for this post
Regards
Salman Noorani
Very well written Enstine. Yes, first we need to stop thinking about monetizing our blogs. From day one, if a blogger is looking at making money..he/she will never get to build quality content for their readers.
Money will automatically flow in if you build an audience for your blog.
You most certainly nailed it Enstine!
Thanks for sharing such evergreen advice. And by consistently
applying your proven advice, there absolutely no doubt, we can and definitely
will build much stronger communities, and thereby create opportunities
to consistently earn more and more income.
With less and less effort! So very well said as usual!Thanks Sue, you always provide
some extremely valuable and practical advice and resources!Whether it be
through your own blog post, and or outstanding guest bloggers, such as Enstine!
I love the first point ” Forget about making money first! “. Most of the guys start their blog to make money instead of providing quality content. They should work hard to help people by providing quality content or services. They should keep calm and wait.
Overall great post. I have learned a lot from here.
Thanks so much!
Sue
I appreciate your comment!
Sue