Since my short time on Nairaland, I've been asked by a few people how to get started with blogging, and earn an income online.

I should mention that I do offer a training series on the subject, but I realize not everyone can afford to pay a monthly fee for training, so I thought I would create this thread, and share a few ideas here. I won't reveal everything that I offer in my private training, but I will offer enough to get you started down the right path.

My hope with this "guidebook" is to solve as many of your inquiries, frustrations and confusions about blogging, or building an income or business from a blog site.

But before we dive too deep into this content, I need to be honest with you in that, while I can assure you that you will succeed in building a blog using the strategies mentioned in this thread, I can not guarantee any income level.

For one, earning an income online isn't as easy as many people try to make it out to be. It takes more than setting up a site and publishing content with ads. There is a process to it, and that usually means you will have to invest a lot of time and energy (and sometimes money) into your blog before any revenue can be obtained.

It's a marathon, not a sprint.

But what I can say is that this method is proven. I know it's proven because it's the same method I used 2 years ago to build an online business, and is the same method I teach in my private training. I will share some of that process here, but if you want the full disclosure of my strategy, you will have to subscribe to the private training.

I also want to point out that while I would LOVE for you to subscribe to the private training, I will say that you DON'T have to. I will include enough detail and techniques in this thread that will allow you to get start, build and grow your blog just fine.

Having said that I do not want to waste your time, as I'm sure that you want to start taking action and build your own money making system with blogging sooner rather than later.

So let’s get started...

I dey your back

CHOOSING A TOPIC: Part 1

Some people will say that your journey to a successful blog begins with finding a hot topic or niche. I say (and I'm speaking from experience) but a successful blog can come from ANY topic or niche that you can make relevant to a particular audience.

Some gurus like to promote the idea that a blog has to be of a certain niche or topic to make money. While I don't disagree that a blog in the investing and personal finance niche might have a greater earning potential than a blog about growing a particular kind of herb, it doesn't mean the personal finance blog will be more successful because of its niche.

What will make it successful is the relevance of your content to the reader. If you fail to connect with your audience, your blog will NEVER grow. No matter what you write about.

People want to be informed, entertained and engaged. They want content that's going to inspire them, motivate them or teach them how to acquire a skill or talent that's going to elevate their lives in some way. There is a reason why blogs in the weight loss, finance, technology, business and celebrity gossip niches do so well. Because they entertain, inform and engage readers.

These niches give people something to talk about among their friends. Information that makes their lives better such as lowering cholesterol or making more money. No one wants to learn about making money if the material is boring. If it fails to excite, inspire or inform.

Too many "experts" will have beginners focus too much on the niche or topic, rather than the audience they intend to market to. The health niche is a very lucrative one, but I personally have no interest in writing about matters of health. Which means my content and connection with my readers will suffer because of my disconnection. The same will apply to you.

The most successful bloggers don't write about what's profitable or what they believe is profitable, they blog about things they're knowledgeable of and/or passionate about. They then leverage that expertise and passion to create content and a platform that addresses the needs and concerns of their target audience. Whatever those needs or concerns might be.

My point is that, while a marketable niche is important, it is also important that you be able to connect with your readership. So when choosing your niche, choose something you will WANT to research and write about. Something that will allow readers to connect with you from an emotional perspective. Something that will allow you to write in a manner so that the reader feels you genuinely understands their concerns or problems. And most importantly, choose something that will allow you to establish this trust and credibility, that people are willing to spend their time and money on.

I will follow up with another update later today.

Thanks for reading!

Ra

wahabian:
I dey your back

Sorry, I do not understand.

radragan:

Sorry, I do not understand.

I'll be following your posts.

wahabian:

I'll be following your posts.

Oh okay. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

radragan:

Oh okay. Thank you for clearing that up for me.

uwc,im just about to start a blog, so I Could use some advice from you.

wahabian:

uwc,im just about to start a blog, so I Could use
some advice from you.

What sort of blog are you about to start? Have you chosen a name and platform yet, or are you still in the pre-planning phase? If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Ra

radragan:


What sort of blog are you about to start? Have you chosen a name and platform yet, or are you still in the pre-planning phase? If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Ra

yes,i chose my nickname. The platform is WordPress and I picked a niche in motivation.

wahabian:


yes,i chose my nickname. The platform is WordPress and I picked a niche in motivation.

Sounds good. It will be easy to get started with motivation and self-improvement. But will you focus on general motivation or target a more specific group like athletes or people suffering from an emotional trauma? Just curious.

radragan:


Sounds good. It will be easy to get started with motivation and self-improvement. But will you focus on general motivation or target a more specific group like athletes or people suffering from an emotional trauma? Just curious.

ill prefer the emotion stuff

wahabian:


ill prefer the emotion stuff

I see.

When you have the site up, let me know. I'm building a list of new and growing blogs for research purposes. I would love to add you to the case study if you are interested.

radragan:


I see.

When you have the site up, let me know. I'm building a list of new and growing blogs for research purposes. I would love to add you to the case study if you are interested.

no p bro

pls add www.prolificient.com

joshmoy:
pls add www.prolificient.com

Hi there! I will add your site to the list, but may I make a recommendation? In browsing your site I noticed a lot of Lorem Ipsum placeholder text. Particularly on the 'About' page and the 'Trainers' page. This is HURTING you blog's branding. I would post something here, giving people a little idea what the site is about until you are ready to publish your actual content for the page. Or if you don't have anything as of yet, remove the sections until they are ready.

There are many reasons why this hurts a website's design and branding, but this article outlines a few very quickly.
http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/blog/2013/09/why-lorem-ipsum-bad-health-your-website

If you need help drafting copy for your site let me know. I know a freelancer who will be more than willing to help you out.

@ OP,is there any prospect for someone that does'nt really have passion for writing in building a successful blog?

gafmod:
@ OP,is there any prospect for someone that does'nt really have passion for writing in building a successful blog?

Yes there is, but you would have to hire someone to write the content for you. Lots of bloggers do this. Especially many who operate niche-based websites.

You don't have to be in love with the idea of writing, but writing copy and content is part of the blogger experience.

You can also create video posts and blog that way. So instead of writing what you want, you can focus on saying it. However, it takes some effort and investment to produce amazing, quality content through video.

Another idea you can use, and it's one I use all the time, is to use a speech-to-text program or app on your smartphone or computer. This will allow you to speak your words and record them as text that you can later go back and edit before publishing.

Hope that helps.

Ra

Interesting,i just got the needed inspiration to start my blog. One more favour,i'll need your mail ad. to view my blog hopefully by nextweek.

gafmod:
Interesting,i just got the needed inspiration to start my blog. One more favour,i'll need your mail ad. to view my blog hopefully by nextweek.

sure thing. It's ra@getnorthofzero.com

Bests of luck to you!

radragan:


Hi there! I will add your site to the list, but may I make a recommendation? In browsing your site I noticed a lot of Lorem Ipsum placeholder text. Particularly on the 'About' page and the 'Trainers' page. This is HURTING you blog's branding. I would post something here, giving people a little idea what the site is about until you are ready to publish your actual content for the page. Or if you don't have anything as of yet, remove the sections until they are ready.

There are many reasons why this hurts a website's design and branding, but this article outlines a few very quickly.

thanks a lot. The site is still under review and test running. Pls i need d draft and i wil do smth abt the lorem ipsum

joshmoy:

thanks a lot. The site is still under review and test running. Pls i need d draft and i wil do smth abt the lorem ipsum

Oh okay. I thought you might just be testing, but I was not sure. But so far it looks good.

What niche in the healthy industry will you focus on? Or have you not gone that far with your planning just yet?

radragan:


Oh okay. I thought you might just be testing, but I was not sure. But so far it looks good.

What niche in the healthy industry will you focus on? Or have you not gone that far with your planning just yet?

fitness aspect tho. But u know that fitness and nutrition go hand in hand. People r nw realising d benefits of keeping fit. Nw the target audience are the ppl who need a fitness instructor to keep fit. The blog is by the way to keep supplying lil bits of info on how to remain fit.

joshmoy:


fitness aspect tho. But u know that fitness and nutrition go hand in hand. People r nw realising d benefits of keeping fit. Nw the target audience are the ppl who need a fitness instructor to keep fit. The blog is by the way to keep supplying lil bits of info on how to remain fit.

Very good plan.

radragan:

Very good plan.

thank u sir

I want to create a blog solely for celebrity gist and news what advice can you give me thanks.

smartlordestiny:
I want to create a blog solely for celebrity gist and news what advice can you give me thanks.

I don't have a lot of experience with blogs in the celebrity gist niche, but from what I've seen, the more successful ones either report on celebrity news first, or report on details that the mainstream media outlets don't because either they don't know or they overlook them.

Celebrity gossip is a very popular and profitable niche, but if you don't have time to do a lot of research or follow other gossip blogs or celebrities social media, then it will be quite difficult to follow up and report on the latest gist as it breaks.

You can also try to reporting or blogging in a different format. Look at some of the major publications in the niche and takes notes on what they are doing, and what they are not. Then determine how you can offer readers a more unique experience through your blog.

To be a successful blogger, means to create and present content to your readers in a way that best engages them. Both Forbes and Bloomberg Businessweek are very popular financial and business blogs, but both offer different approaches in the way they present their content. And that's what you have to do. You have to create articles, videos and other content that will make people want to connect and hear from you.

I pray that helps.

mm

ultrazone:
Blogging is one cool way to make money online.

It is, but it takes some time to get things going. But if someone is dedicated, they can succeed.

radragan:

It is, but it takes some time to get things going. But if someone is dedicated, they can succeed.

I've posted on my blog, please help me check it and give some recommendations.

wahabian:


I've posted on my blog, please help me check it and give some recommendations.

No problem. What's the link?

radragan:

No problem. What's the link?

ouahabiane..com

wahabian:


ouahabiane..com

Hi there!

I've taken a look at your blog, and so far, it looks good. I like that it's clean and there isn't anything to distract readers from viewing the content.

The only thing I would suggest at this point, is to offer more specific examples and comparisons in your posts. This way, readers can visualize themselves more in your posts, which will allow them to make a more emotional and repeatable connection to you as the writer.

While self-help and motivation is a wildly and highly profitable niche, it can also be one of the most difficult to navigate because there are so many different things people struggle with on mental, emotional and psychological levels. Which is why so much self-help advice comes off as basic and over-generalized.

My advice would be to think of someone/a type of person who you want to help. And then build your content around helping this "imaginary" person. For example, one of my newsletters specifically targets entrepreneurs and business owners who are struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance. While anyone can benefit from this content, all of it is written specifically to target, attract and help a specific group of people.

Doing so will make it easier for you to establish a brand, and when the time comes, create products and content that can be sold through your blog to generate revenue.

All in all, you are on the right track. Just keep working at it. I would say commit to your blog for a solid 3 months then consider whether or not you want to continue or change course.

Hope this helps.