₦airaland Forum

The figures look attractive, right?

What you really don't realize is that the blog attracts about 14,000 visits and generates about 45,000 page views daily. And to get it to that level took me 3 long years.

Here's the traffic report of the site for the last 30 days (as retrieved from Google Analytics):

I see many newbie bloggers getting worried over rejected Adsense applications. But they really don't know that making a decent income from Adsense alone requires massive (I mean, very massive) traffic, which usually takes years to build (or huge amounts of money for those who want quick results through paid promotion).

For example, here is a screenshot of the Adsense earnings of my top earning site (let me call it BLOG A), which I monetize with Adsense and selling ad slots directly to advertisers:

omonnakoda:
You do not have any successful blogs you are jobless and ignorant. Stop making noise.

Thank you.

LECTURE CONTINUES...

Taking blogging as a business

A business is any venture that is engaged in for the purpose of making a profit. If profit is your reason for going into blogging, then you're actually going into a business. And you really need to take your blogging as such.

If you think blogging is all about opening a free blog on Blogger, stealing posts from other sites, spamming Nairaland and Facebook groups with your links, putting up Adsense ads, and sitting back to watch your bank account grow fatter, you're dreaming! I mean, you're only chasing shadows. If that has worked at a time in the past, I'm cocksure it doesn't work again now.

So, what are the things to do before starting a blog?

Just as you would need a business plan to start a physical business, you also need to plan your blog carefully even before launch. Here are questions you need to ask yourself before getting started:

1. What topics are Nigerians interested in and are searching the web for? (If entertainment is your only answer, no problem. Later on, I'll reveal how you can build an entertainment blog that will stand out from the shitty crowd).

2. What topics are you really passionate about, interested in, or knowledgeable on? It doesn't have to be a topic you know so much about. But you must be interested in it and be willing to research extensively about it.

3. Are you targeting a Nigerian audience or a global audience? The Nigerian front is less competitive and you really don't need stellar writing skills to make a mark. On the other hand, the global front if more competitive but much more lucrative. And you'll need to really have world-class copywriting skills for you to be taken seriously.

4. What types of information would you be offering on the blog?

5. Who exactly are your target audience? Wannabe farmers, wannabe small business owners, fashion freaks, tech gurus, job seekers, students, etc.

6. How will you create unique content for your blog? If you're not a good writer and are not willing to pay someone to write good articles for you, then blogging isn't for you. Try something else.

7. What monetization methods will you adopt? Adsense, affiliate marketing, information products, freelance services, etc.

8. What traffic strategies will you adopt? Search engine optimization is by far the most reliable for bloggers who want an "autopilot" blog that pulls in traffic even if they don't publish new posts. Social media, forum marketing, etc is more appropriate for those who publish "transient content" like news updates and entertainment gist.

9. How much would it cost to start the blog? While Blogger is free, I always recommend WordPress, which offers much more in terms of functionality, aesthetics, user experience, and optimizability.

10. What materials would I need to start blogging? Some would say you can use your smartphone, but to me, that's cumbersome. Your best bet is a PC. And it goes without saying that you need a reliable Internet connection.

In addition, you'll need to have a lot of free time on your hands because blogging requires investment of time and effort. If you're able to set aside at least 2-3 hours a day for blogging (and you're consistent with that), then you're fine.

Most importantly, you'll need a mentor. Now, don't ever rush to anyone who calls himself a mentor. A real mentor is someone who has achieved what you're also trying to achieve and has proof of that (not just word-of-mouth claims). Also note that you don't have to meet a mentor physically. Their are many bloggers out there who can be your mentor as far as blogging is concerned. Some of them are Jon Morrow of SmartBloggers, Neil Patel of QuickSprout, Sonia Simone of Copyblogger, Tom Ewer of LeavingWorkBehind, Brian Dean of Backlinko, and many others who teach practical and scalable tips on how to build a successful blog.

Achieving success in today's blogosphere requires learning new things everyday. I mean tips on how to grow your traffic and audience. Your aim here is to discover working strategies and replicate them for as long as they continue to work.

Let me stop here for now. I'll be back later.

babarazy:
Nice info op. But, are you a successful blogger?

Thanks for your question. It all depends on your definition of success.

If what you mean by success is income, then I'm successful. I have a blog that earns at least $900 in Adsense every month. I have another that earns at least $150 from Amazon affiliate program (and I'm even building another that is already making money). And I have a third blog, where I make money from information marketing and freelancing. Finally, I have a fast selling ebook titled, "How to Get Your Dream Job in Nigeria", which also fetches a decent income monthly. You can Google the title to see for yourself. If you're still doubting, I can show you screenshots of my earnings from Adsense and Amazon.

If what you mean by success is the number of people I've helped in one way or the other to establish profitable online businesses, then I'd also say I'm successful. Here are some of the blogs owned by people I've mentored (blogs that I'm sure are already making cool money consistently):

homeremediesbox.com (Adsense, affiliate marketing)
(Adsense)
reviewcious.com (Adsense)
sheiscomplete.com (Freelancing)
nigeriafashiontrends.com (Adsense)
naturalhealthbag.com (Adsense, affiliate marketing)

Those are the ones I can remember for now. Feel free to contact the owners and ask if they know Abass Toriola.

Empredboy:
Nice points. Please can i open a google Adsense account on my free blog?

Which blogging platform are you on? If it's Blogger, the answer is YES. If it's , the answer is NO.

omonnakoda:
Not everyone is in it for money.I have come across a blog that is very good and almost a secret. But then wisdom is often a secret and often scorned, pearls before swine and all that......Some blogs may only be appreciated after the creator dies. So success is not about money always but touching lives and like a good book a good blog will be useful in 1000 years.
With respect the last sentence is silly for someone who is positioning himself as a dispenser of insights.
Come back when you have a "successful " blog and CAN BOTHER to edit. Rubbish!!!

Of course, this post wasn't aimed at those blogging for fun or as a hobby. It's targeted at those who want to make a living blogging and see successful blogging as profitable blogging.

Well, I think your comment on my last sentence is sillier because I don't see how it should give you headaches or palpitations. And for your info, I have a number of successful blogs, and all I'll be revealing here is based on 5 years of blogging experience. I don't need your opinion on my words at all.

DJBIGGY:
forget all that yans.... u can still be an entertainment blogger and be successfully any day. problem is that Nigerians are messed up lazy and want the easy way out. what stops a health blogger from copy issues from health sites and claim they wrote it.

there are a thousand and one product in the open market and online market. what make you unique us content, content, and still content.

if Nigerians can learn to be innovative, blogging can still take over as the best entrepreneurial business one can. offer.

Please learn to read between lines. I already stated this in my post: "I'm not saying you can't build a successful entertainment blog now,..."

realGURU:
@ webincomeplus, "I understand that you probably read physics with electronics in the university. But if you start a blog on that topics just because you're an expert on it, your blog would be read by you, one of your siblings, and probably your fiancee."
this part u said got me shaking my head in disbelief. If blog like www.physicslectures.info can have such huge traffics in less than six month[ i check from the blog archive] i doubt ur statement. Infact am copying that physics blop but my niche will be biology. See what blog expert said about niche blogging and stop misleading people https://www.nairaland.com/3121336/profitable-blogging-niche

And what has the expert said about niche blogging? Who is the expert?

Well, I don't see any huge traffic on the blog you showed. Alexa ranking was over 9 million. So, there's nothing spectacular. The visitor count shown in the sidebar is majorly visits by spambots and crawlers, if you know what those mean -- it's not human traffic. If it were human traffic, which Alexa a blog attracting an 73,000+ visits in 6 months won't rank 9 million+. The gold standard for traffic monitoring is Google Analytics. It's more accurate than most other analytics tools out there.

Moreover, if the visits shown in the sidebar were truly by humans, how come there's no comment on the posts despite the fact that comments are enabled. Or you want to tell me that none out of the 73,000+ "visitors" deemed it fit to leave a comment?

And when I stated the part of my post you quoted, I was referring to the Nigerian audience majorly. How many Nigerians search the web for materials related to Physics or Biology? Don't chase shadows, my sister. There are far better niches out there where you can do better.

jmichlins:
Let me teach you or better give you advice. Posting half topics here and asking us to visit your blog for the complete stuff is a failed way to drive traffic to your site so save the stress

Bro, I hate that strategy myself, and I discourage people against it. If you don't have comprehension problems, you should have seen that part where I wrote "I'll be back to continue."

My plan is to work on the thread every day until I exhaust all I planned to reveal. As for the link in the post, I put that because I can't copy and paste a 3000+-word post that took me several hours to write. And it's the reader's choice to click or not. I have a good number of well-established and developed blogs that pay my bills every month, so I'm far beyond adopting the "half-post" strategy.

My aim here is to help newbies, not to sell anything whatsoever.

So, learn how to think before drawing conclusions. Peace!

Everyone and their dogs are creating blogs everyday. Yes, that's because blogging can be very lucrative. After all, Linda Ikeji, Uche Pedro, and several others are proofs to that effect.

But with the rate at which everyone is hopping onto the bandwagon of blogging, one might start to get worried about competition and all that. My friend, the truth is there are much fewer successful blogs than useless ones that will never make a dime. So, the blogosphere might seem saturated, but there's always room for new entrants to turn blogging into a business if they play their cards right.

Here in Nigeria, we have several thousands of people who claim to be bloggers, but the truth is only few of these people really make decent income online. Majority of blogs run by Nigerians are either struggling or outright failures. So, there's no fierce competition! Unless you think competition entails running a race with failed ventures.

Now, let's talk about how to become a successful blogger in Nigeria.

You've probably been told that all you need to do to start making money from blogging is to create a free blog, copy interesting articles from other blogs (or probably formulate lies and false news), slap up Adsense ads, and sit back to watch your bank account grow fatter. My friend, that's bullshi.t.

Now, let me ask you this: If you already read an interesting news update on Linda Ikeji's blog or Vanguard newspaper's website, would you still go ahead to click on the link to the same news posted by one unknown blogger? No, you won't! That explains why copy-and-paste blogging is one of the best ways in the world to waste your precious time.

And it drives me crazy when anyone tells me he/she wants to start an entertainment/celebrity gist blog. For crying out loud, that's one of the niches where it's hardest to be creative, and to attract an audience. I'm not saying you can't build a successful entertainment blog now, but it's far more difficult than what obtains in other niches.

So, your first step towards becoming a successful blogger in Nigeria is to find a niche that allows for expression of creativity. One that you're passionate and knowledgeable about. And most importantly, one that Nigerians (or others outside) are searching the web for information on.

I understand that you probably read physics with electronics in the university. But if you start a blog on that topics just because you're an expert on it, your blog would be read by you, one of your siblings, and probably your fiancee.

So, the most important factor to consider when choosing a topic to blog about, to me, is not interest or passion. It's a market for that topic! Although interest and passion are equally important, an impressive number of online followership of that topic is more important because that's what determines how much money you'll make. Well, the financial worth of your target audience is also something worth considering.

Yes, virtually every Nigerian is interested about entertainment and celebrity gist. And they search Google for information regarding celebs and others. But entertainment isn't the only lucrative niche. Others include job search/careers, visa acquisition tips, education-related information, and lots more (see here].

I still have a lot to teach as far as blogging in Nigeria is concerned. But let me stop here for now. I'll be back to continue.

PS. Pardon any typographical, grammatical, or style errors you see in this piece. I typed this quickly and didn't bother to edit.

Everyone and their dogs are creating blogs everyday. Yes, that's because blogging can be very lucrative. After all, Linda Ikeji, Uche Pedro, and several others are proofs to that effect.

But with the rate at which everyone is hopping onto the bandwagon of blogging, one might start to get worried about competition and all that. My friend, the truth is there are much fewer successful blogs than useless ones that will never make a dime. So, the blogosphere might seem saturated, but there's always room for new entrants to turn blogging into a business if they play their cards right.

Here in Nigeria, we have several thousands of people who claim to be bloggers, but the truth is only few of these people really make decent income online. Majority of blogs run by Nigerians are either struggling or outright failures. So, there's no fierce competition! Unless you think competition entails running a race with failed ventures.

Now, let's talk about how to become a successful blogger in Nigeria.

You've probably been told that all you need to do to start making money from blogging is to create a free blog, copy interesting articles from other blogs (or probably formulate lies and false news), slap up Adsense ads, and sit back to watch your bank account grow fatter. My friend, that's bullshi.t.

Now, let me ask you this: If you already read an interesting news update on Linda Ikeji's blog or Vanguard newspaper's website, would you still go ahead to click on the link to the same news posted by one unknown blogger? No, you won't! That explains why copy-and-paste blogging is one of the best ways in the world to waste your precious time.

And it drives me crazy when anyone tells me he/she wants to start an entertainment/celebrity gist blog. For crying out loud, that's one of the niches where it's hardest to be creative, and to attract an audience. I'm not saying you can't build a successful entertainment blog now, but it's far more difficult than what obtains in other niches.

So, your first step towards becoming a successful blogger in Nigeria is to find a niche that allows for expression of creativity. One that you're passionate and knowledgeable about. And most importantly, one that Nigerians (or others outside) are searching the web for information on.

I understand that you probably read physics with electronics in the university. But if you start a blog on that topics just because you're an expert on it, your blog would be read by you, one of your siblings, and probably your fiancee.

So, the most important factor to consider when choosing a topic to blog about, to me, is not interest or passion. It's a market for that topic! Although interest and passion are equally important, an impressive number of online followership of that topic is more important because that's what determines how much money you'll make. Well, the financial worth of your target audience is also something worth considering.

Yes, virtually every Nigerian is interested about entertainment and celebrity gist. And they search Google for information regarding celebs and others. But entertainment isn't the only lucrative niche. Others include job search/careers, visa acquisition tips, education-related information, and lots more (see here].

I still have a lot to teach as far as blogging in Nigeria is concerned. But let me stop here for now. I'll be back to continue.

PS. Pardon any typographical, grammatical, or style errors you see in this piece. I typed this quickly and didn't bother to edit.

Tecno haters would be wailing right now. I mean those who don't see any good in Tecno products.

Andyteetopy:
Guy, it does more than that now. This time around, it will not disappear and will give u confirmed H+ but to use 1mb from ur data, U would use like 50% of ur phone's battery life. That is even with proper settings oh (gloflat as apn, flat for username and pw). stewpeed network.

Same experience I've been battling with since last week. And nobody should tell me that "it might be your location" shit. My neighbour here is using the good old BBM plan and the thing is blazing. But my own 6GB is almost useless! It was clearly a plot by Glo. They separated BBM plans from these new plans and decided to frustrate those who jump on the new bandwagon.

I shake my head for those telling the OP to flash his phone. Those are Google in-app ads for God's sake. You can see "Adchoices" in the bottom left corner, and that's the same label used on Adsense ads.

OP, there's nothing to worry about. Those ads are the developers own way of making money from their apps. If you're not comfortable with them, simply uninstall the apps or pay for the ad-free version, if made available by the developer.

donhils:
We're really tired of hearing this same story from clueless people that don't know how to use data on their phones. U didn't use the data personally doesn't mean your phone can't use it. It's possible you have some automatic updates going on in your background. I used that 1.5gb data plan from mtn and every 1mb of it was accurately accounted for.

Mr Clueful, you don't have to insult before making a point. I personally did a practical test and have confirmed what the OP said.

Here are my findings so far:

MTN's new data plans get exhausted very quickly.

Glo's new data plans (not the BBM plans) are slow as a wounded snail

Yet to test Etisalat and Airtel

kfrosh:
My colleague @work made same complaint concerning Glo until I checked her data usage and noticed that what took out 50% of her data was instagram, still her data usage corresponded with her used data on her network.

Note - Instagram has increased their video limit to 1min instead of the normal 15s which simply means more data usage.
My point now is that you need to look into issues critically before jumping into conclusions.

That's why I clearly added "with the same usage rates and devices". All my life, I've never used Instagram, and my PC and phone aren't on automatic updates.

Before now (up until earlier this month when I switched to the new plan), logging in to Gmail on my PC and checking my email for 15 minutes gulps less than 10MB. Now, the same operation gulps over 25MB. This is a practical experiment that I've studied over and over.

I'm a die hard fan of MTN, and I've been using their data plans for years. So, this isn't out of hatred.

kfrosh:
I am sorry to disappoint you sire but that assumption is flawed. I have been using MTN for a year now and I have also switched to their new data plan, it's still blazing hot like ever without any unusual data consumption.

Bros, it wasn't an assumption. I've been using MTN for 3 years now, and with the new plans I observed faster exhaustion with the same usage rate and devices.

As much as I love MTN, I just noticed that there new data plans get exhausted faster than the previous ones.

Good riddance to bad nonsense

Dexema:
pure nonsense! do you know how old lagbaja is? lagbaja is well over 50 with almost if not all his children married and you are posting a picture of one unknown 35 year old looking dude just to get attention.

YEEES! This is Lagbaja!

This isn't Lagbaja. Lagbaja has bigger eyeballs and a pointed nose. And he's not bald.

seunlayi:
why should i watch a video of a man I can hardly hear what he is saying or you expect me to watch his body movement.

You mean you've still not recovered from the hearing loss you suffered when you heard the 2015 election results from Kano and Katsina states? Sorry about that, but it's over one year already.

Some are selling because they've made a business out of creating Adsense accounts for bloggers who need it but are finding it hard to get approval.

However, most sellers are disappointed bloggers who hopped onto the bandwagon of blogging with the hope of becoming the next Linda Ikeji within 2 months of doing "copy and paste". Ironically, such people get approved for Adsense, but they're unable to earn any decent income from it. So, they decide to sell the account as an exit strategy.

And now that buying Adsense accounts is the trend among those who can't get approved, it's expectable that someone would buy now, sell after some months to another aspiring blogger who will also sell later due to disappointment.

Howinspiratic:
Don't mind those figures, it doesn't stop them from swallowing your data as if there's no tomorrow.

From my experience, only Airtel is notorious for what you just stated. I've been using MTN data plans for 4 years now, and they've been very fair with their data reduction rates.

You don't have to be paranoid about good offers all the time.

Firefighting engine got burnt? Lobatan!

legalbizonline:
The OP is right by not including online business.
See most of these online businesses are easier said than done. Even most of the so called gurus who claim to have made millions through online business are lieing. They make money by just teaching people and charge a fee.

Most people who fall victims of these online business Crap/bullshit are either lazy or have a Lotto-Mentality (i.e want to make millions with little or no capital).

I am speaking from experience.

The business ideas listed are the best as long as Nigeria is concern.

Your pain is understandable, but you don't have to jump to an erroneous conclusion. At least, you should know that Linda Ikeji doesn't sell ebooks and she's raking in big money every month. That one example alone nullifies your post.

LOL! So true!