How do Blogger Make Money? | Can anyone start a Blog? (Part iii)

 

How Do Bloggers Make Money?

Usually, people think of bloggers as hobbyists. While some people have lifestyle blogs, a large number of bloggers make money from their blog websites. This enables them to focus more on their blog, quit their day jobs, and build successful online businesses.

The more successful blogs can make six-figure, seven-figure, and even eight-figure incomes in a year.

Below are a few ways that most bloggers use to make money from their blogs:

The most common and probably the easiest way to make money online is by displaying ads. However, as a new blogger, you will not be able to contact advertisers directly or manage them on your own.

This is where Google AdSense comes in. It takes care of finding ads, displaying them, collecting payments from advertisers, and sending you those payments for a small cut.

Many bloggers also make money through affiliate marketing. Basically, they recommend products on their websites and earn a commission when users buy those products. For example, you can share your favorite Amazon products and earn a referral fee when users purchase using your link.

Other common monetization methods include memberships, selling online courses, or adding an online store (eCommerce) to the blog.

See our list of proven ways to make money online from your blog for some more examples.

We also have a list of “easy-to-start” online business ideas that you can check out.

Can Anyone Start a Blog?

Yes, anyone who wants to start a blog, can easily do so.

In the early days of blogging, users needed HTML and PHP coding skills to even update their blogs.

Now, there are plenty of blogging tools like WordPress, Tumblr, Medium, Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, etc that allow you to easily create your first blog without ever writing code.

Basically, if you can point-and-click, then you can build a blog within minutes.

With that said, choosing the wrong blogging platform to start a blog is the most common mistake that beginners make. But, since you are here, you will not be making this mistake.

We recommend using WordPress. It is the world’s most popular blogging platform and website builder. Over 41% of all websites on the internet are built using WordPress, just so you can get an idea of how popular it is.

There are two types of WordPress: WordPress.com, which is a limited hosting service, and WordPress.org also known as self-hosted WordPress. See our guide on the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org for more details.

We recommend using WordPress.org because it is open source which means you get instant access to all the powerful WordPress features. It also allows you to easily make money from your blog without any restriction.

Want to learn more about WordPress? See our complete WordPress review for detailed breakdown of its functionality.

You will need the following things to start your own WordPress.org blog.

A domain name (This will be your blog’s address and what users will type in their browser to visit it. For example, wpbeginner.com)

Website hosting service (This will be home of your blog’s files)

20 minutes of your time

Normally, a domain name will cost you around $14.99 per year and website hosting $7.99 per month. Now if you are just starting out, this seems like a lot of money.

Thankfully, Bluehost has agreed to offer WPBeginner users a free domain and discount on web hosting. They are one of the biggest hosting companies in the world and are officially recommended by WordPress.

Basically, you will be able to get started for $2.75 per month.

After purchasing hosting, you can head over to our step by step guide on how to start a blog for detailed instructions.

The best part about WordPress is that it comes with thousands of pre-made templates also known as WordPress themes. You can choose a theme and then customize your blog design with drag & drop tools. See our list of best free WordPress blog themes.

There are over 58,000+ free plugins available for WordPress. These plugins are like apps for WordPress website that let you easily add features such as contact forms, podcasts, online store, and more. See our expert pick of must have WordPress plugins.

We hope this article helped answer your questions about what is a blog and what’s the difference between a blog and a website. You may also want to see our list of the most useful tools to manage and grow your WordPress blog.

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