Getting Started with Blogging as a Source of Income

Earning money from home is my number one priority since I'll be laid off from my job outside of the home by the end of the year. My first step in getting started with using my blog as a source of income is to continue to learn as a blogger. While I'm not new to using my blog to create income, there is always something to learn. Knowledge is limitless!

Choose Your Blogging Platform:

 If you're new to blogging, you'll want to choose a blogging platform for your niche. If you're on a tight budget like I am, both WordPress and Blogger are free. I have tried them both and in my opinion, blogger is still the best.

Blogger's platform is simple to work with and you don't need HTML or any high tech fancy knowledge to get started. Blogger's even has a guide on setting up your own blog.

If you're setting up a new blog, keep in mind, you'll need a lot of patience. You want a catchy blog title and you will need to grow your blog with at least 20 or more blog posts before you will see any real progress with your blog. You will also want to gain the right audience for your niche before you can expect your blog to become profitable.

For some, a month of blogging or at least 20 posts with the right audience may result in a small profit as long as you are willing to put in a lot of hard work. For others, it can take several months before seeing a profit, especially if you don't have a lot of time to invest in your blog.

For me, it took several months before I saw a small profit, because I worked outside of the home full-time.

Your Blog Posts:

Most newbies think that writing about their day (I was one of these people) will make a great post. Unless you're a celebrity, no one wants to read about how your day went. 

What your readers want is a post, a niche that solves a problem for them or is useful in some way, but profitable for you. If it doesn't do that for your readers, chances are you will lose your audience and your blog will be a huge flop. 

Your niche should be one that you have knowledge in.  For example, my niche is creating  income online while living in a small town with an Autistic child. Two other niches I have knowledge in are creating recycled crafts and publishing books.

 If you're not sure if your niche will be profitable, you can do a Google search for your topic. Are there a lot of websites devoted to that niche in the search results? If not, you may want to consider another niche.

Some hot niches that are turning a profit:

• Making Money Online 
• Relationships
• DIYers
• Recycled Crafts
• Flea Market Flipping
• Health and Fitness

Growing Your Blog:

 If you plan on making only enough money to quit your job like I am, you probably won't need a domain name. However, if your goal is to make as much money as you can, you will want to invest in a web domain name for your blog, which can cost as less than $5 a month. If not, you can lose all of your hard work and believe me, it has happened. So please don't risk it.

If you're one step ahead of me and you want to learn more about how to make bigger money with your blog, I would suggest investing in a blogging program like The Money Mom Masterclass. I'm not there yet because I'm still working part-time  away from the home and my day is booked, but these guys have  a lot of good information and many moms are making thousands of dollars a month with the program.

My goal is to start with affiliate links as a source of income. I'm currently focused on Clinkbank for affiliate links, but there are other programs out there that are just as profitable. But before we get that far ahead, you want to make sure you have valuable posts and enough of them before you begin adding affiliate links or other sources of income for your blog.






 Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. She can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ and LinkedIn.

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