In order to understand how to start a blog business from home, you have to first learn how to create the blog, then learn how to make money with it. Thousands of people start a blog, but they don’t know how to get traffic to it and therefore, they never make any money with it. So if you want to learn how to start a business with a blog, it’s imperative that you get training so you’ll actually be successful.
How to Start a Business with a Blog
To make money with a blog, you have to understand how to make money online to begin with. This can be most easily explained by describing the four steps it takes:
4 Steps to Making Money Online:
Choose a niche/topic
Create a blog
Drive traffic to your blog
Earn commissions/revenue
How to Start a Blog Business from Home
The best way I know to tell you how to start your own business from home by blogging is to tell you how I learned. I learned from a company called, Wealthy Affiliate. They teach people, in step-by-step video trainings, how to make money online. They teach, in a nutshell, the 4 steps I just described:
1. They teach you how to choose a niche/topic for your blog that you enjoy (and one that will be profitable)
2. They teach you how to create the blog (with step-by-step, easy-to-follow instructions. They taught me how to make this blog you’re on right now!)
3. They teach you how to drive traffic to your blog, and
4. They teach you how to earn revenue/commissions – in other words, they show you how to make MONEY with your blog. That’s the thing I think that confuses most people when they’re thinking about blogging as a business. They understand what a blog is, but they don’t understand how blogs actually make money
That’s Where Wealthy Affiliate Comes In
Wealthy Affiliate teaches you how to make money with your blog using affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is where you sign up to be an affiliate (or “rep”) for different products and services, you promote them on your blog in the form of articles and blog posts (or videos if you like the YouTube idea), and whenever someone uses your affiliate link to purchase a product or service you’re promoting, you get a commission.
That’s where the money comes from. That’s how you create a blog business. There are many other ways to monetize a blog as well…you don’t have to be an affiliate. You’ll learn all of the ways to monetize your blog in the training at Wealthy Affiliate, and you get to choose what works best for you.
Can You Start Your Own Blogging Business?
You might be having a hard time picturing this. Most people wonder what they could possibly sell, or what they could possibly write blog posts about. Here are a few examples just to get your brain started in the right direction…
Example: Say you like gardening. First, do you know anything about it? Of course you do. You could write blog posts about what you like about it, how you started. You could tell stories about your experiences with gardening. The money could come from you recommending products and services relating to gardening. In my mind, that list is absolutely endless…everything from tools, to seeds and plants, to books and guides, gardening gloves, garden treatment products…see?
The list of product links you could have within your blog posts is endless. All things you link to where you get a commission if they buy.
Example: Let’s say you love the Los Angeles Lakers. Again, do you know anything about it? Of course you do. You could write blog posts about what you like about basketball, why you like the Lakers. You could write endless articles about the history of the team, you could write articles about each and every player. You could write about your experiences going to games, or maybe how your dad got you hooked when you were a kid.
The blog post ideas are endless. And, as I’ve said, the list of products you could recommend are endless. T-shirts, hats, mugs, blankets, lunch boxes, slippers, pajamas…everything Lakers!
You Get the Idea, Right?
Those are just a couple of examples of what your blog could be like. Right now, grab a pen and paper and write down 5 or 10 things you’re interested in. I mean it – do it now – grab a pen and start mindlessly jotting down anything that comes to mind when you think, “Things I Like.” I bet you, within that list you’ve just quickly made, you have a topic/niche you could make a blog business out of.
There’s No Risk Involved in Trying!
Wealthy Affiliate has an absolutely free Starter Membership where you can sign up with your email and go through 10 beginner classes to first, get a handle on this so you understand what it is, and second, to pick a topic, and actually create a blog to make money. Yes, you’ll get that in the free training. After that, if you like what you’re doing and you think you’d like to continue, you can upgrade to their Premium Membership (which isn’t expensive). But you’re under no obligation.
The Starter Membership is totally free and your first blog is included for free, with free hosting as well.
This is how I learned how to start a blog business from home. I signed up for Wealthy Affiliate’s free starter program, did the beginner training, then upgraded to the premium membership and I’ve been a premium member ever since. I have several websites and am now a full-time affiliate marketer. Join me! Go ahead and give it a try. And please feel free to comment below with any questions. I’ll be glad to help! Debra 🙂