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Are you thinking about how to start a blog and make money from it in 2023? If so, WordPress makes setting up your own self-hosted website quick and easy. In my humble but experienced opinion, WordPress is one of the best blogging platforms.
There are more opportunities for content creators and online business owners now than since I started blogging in 2017. I started “You Love 2 See It” in September of 2020 and reached almost 100,000 pageviews within my first year.
Today, more than ever people are looking for multiple streams of income. Blogging can be a good way of making money in 2023 when you have the best blogging tools, hosting site, and SEO strategies.
If you love creating content or are planning to start your own business, I highly suggest you start a self-hosted blog in 2023.
In this post, I’m going to show you:
- Why you should start a blog in 2023 with Bluehost
- How to start a blog in just 10 minutes (step by step guide with photos)
- 5 ways how to make money blogging in 2023
Why you should start a Blog in 2023
Blogging can Become a Business
Blogging is the perfect way to create and build genuine relationships with people online that may later become customers as well. While every other business is only offering subscription services, your blog can be a free platform for your readers to learn from you. Wouldn’t you prefer buy from someone you like, who has previously provided you a ton of value and you trust? Of course, you would!
I’ve used my blog to promote my affiliate products and earn over $150 per conversion in passive income (check out ShareaSales to get started). Affiliate income is money I make while binge watching “Abbott Elementary” on Hulu.
I also promote skincare products and clothing through the free LTK app. I have had months where I have been blessed enough to make enough passive income to maintain Bonnie’s luxury lifestyle.
I’ve used my social media platforms and blog to build authority online, so I get to work with amazing partners like Tailwind, Michael Todd Beauty, or Fleur Marché just because they see I’m consistently providing value for my customers. And I’m currently building my YouTube channel, which I can also promote to my blog readers for what “I hope to be” an additional income stream!
Let me be clear and state blogging successfully is hard work. It is! But if you’re up for the ride, blogging can work for you, especially in 2023.
Your Content from Social Media in one Place
For me the biggest push to maintain a blog is to have one reliable place online where I can bring all my content and social media efforts together. If you’re reading this post, there’s a chance you also have at least one social media account.
Social media is lovely, but we don’t own it. So when something ashy happens (like your account gets hacked or the algorithm changes), your years hard work is lost instantly.
If you start your own blog you won’t have this problem. If you can successfully convert all your followers and content from Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube, your Podcast, Pinterest, and so on your blog, you can build a successful business in 2023.
Your blog can host all kinds of content: your short form videos from Instagram and TikTok. Your Youtube reviews. You’re in-depth blog posts and Podcast episodes. Your Instagram photography, and so on. It will take time to build everything the way you love, but I promise it will be time well spent if done correctly.
Start an Email List that Makes you Money.
The next reason you should start a blog in 2023 is to grow your email list. When someone visits your website you can easily direct them to subscribe to your email list. (You can start your professional Email List with Flodesk here) I have said it once so I will say it again. Please remember you don’t own your social media platform(s) or followers. That’s why you want to get them onto your email list. You own your email list; it’s yours forever.
When I first started blogging in 2017 I had no idea how lucrative a good email list can be. If you offer a product to your social media followers and your email followers, email is more likely to bring you the most money. Here’s your reminder to stand and stretch before we get to the good stuff now — the how for your new blog.
How to start a Blog Tutorial
To start a Blog in 2023, you will need at least three things:
Blog Hosting
Your blog hosting is where your website is located and managed on the internet. For this, you can utilize the help of a service called Bluehost. You can start a money making WordPress Blog at Bluehost for roughly $2.95 a month depending on which plan you need. Click here to start.
Blog Domain
The second thing you need is a website domain. Your domain is your blog name and your URL. If you are a beginner blogger in 2023; don’t fret. You do not have to have your domain picked out at this moment. I recommend using Bluehost or Namecheap for your domain services. Both options are fairly simple due to how their websites walk you through each step.
WordPress.org (CMS – Content Management System)
If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed with information I have good news for you. Once your hosting and domain has been selected, you will spend all your time on WordPress. WordPress.org is the backend of your blog. It’s where you create your posts, upload your images and video, etcetera.
Now that you have learned about the blogging essentials let’s set up your new blog together.
CLICK HERE TO START YOUR NEW BLOG!
How to set up your blog in 5 simple steps:
- Head to Bluehost to Start your money making blog in 2023 here. Then select your preferred hosting plan:
- Next, you will choose your Domain name. If you already have a domain name, select “I have a domain name” to connect it. If you don’t already have a domain, please enter your chosen domain name. Then hit next to continue with the process.
- After that, simply fill in your contact and billing information.
- After filling in your information, you will need to select your preferred package and pay. If you have questions about any of the features Bluehost offers email support and live chat assistance.
- Now that Bluehost has successfully set up your hosting and domain, it is time to design your blog. WordPress has so countless blog themes to choose from. You can choose from one of their free or paid (premium) WordPress themes. I used a free theme for a long time before ever investing money in a paid design.
SUBSCRIBE TO MY MEDIUM BLOG TODAY
7 Ways How to Make Money Blogging in 2023
Here’re 7 ways how to Start a Blog and Make Money in 2023!
1. Selling Products
Blogging and selling products go together better than Bonnie and Enzo. The girls who get it, get it. If you’re selling your products online, maybe through your Etsy or an e-commerce platforms like Shopify, you can use your blog to promote those products.
You create free content that’s educational and valuable, such as “How to Tutorials” or “Shopping Guides,” where you provide free value. Then, you insert your product where it feels natural. I am more inclined to click on a post that says “How to Create an Ideal Home Office” than “Home Office items for $15”. Chances are, you would too! Provide value and make your product the logical next step.
It is also way easier to promote a post online that’s helpful rather than just informative. If you help people solve a problem, they will appreciate you and happily buy your product.
I am a fan of digital products as well. I am referring to e-books, Lightroom presets, templates, videos, software, WordPress themes, and so much more. You can use a Shopify store or even Etsy to sell your digital products, or you can use a checkout service like Thrivecart to provide a direct link to the checkout page of your product. There are so many options to selling digital products including simply on your own blog. I have created and sold many digital products over the years.
2. Freelance Writing for Various Platforms
On January 3, 2022, I was accepted into Medium’s Partner Program! This means I am no longer an aspiring writer, I am a writer. Granted, I have been writing content for years now, but this feels different. Medium’s Partner Program allows writers to earn money in two ways. You can earn money based on how much time people spend reading your work. Alternatively, you can make money from referring readers to become members for less than a cup of coffee a month.
If you’re an aspiring writer I encourage you to follow me (shameless plug) and learn more about their program here. Keep in mind there are many different platforms writers can earn from their posts. Medium is just my current favorite.
3. Selling your Services or Coaching
If you’ve been following me for awhile then you know one of my favorite things to say is “Everything isn’t for everybody and that’s okay.” Please keep this in mind if you decide to offer coaching or online services. Establing and truly knowing who your ideal customer is a must. Secondly, whatever you decide to offer services in be sure to actually be proficient in that topic. Ask yourself why should someone pay you when Google exist? Harsh? Perhaps, but very valid.
In your blog content, you can give free tips and strategies that attract the right people for you services. (Start your client attracting blog here now). For example, a fellow blogger I’ve now followed for years offers multiple services and coaching. I love the way Ell has set up her blog to provide all the details needed for a potential client to understand what she is offering and why it is beneficial. As long remember the golden selling rule of: Under promise, Over deliver. What this means is your services offered should always exceed the expectation(s) you have set. Not the opposite.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing simply put is making money by promoting someone else’s product. For example, let’s say I post an affiliate link from Target. If a visitor clicks on the product link and ends up buying the product, I earn a commission. This commission can be as small as a percentage per sale, e.g., 3%, or a fixed amount such as $75 per sale. The amount of money you can earn per lead generated is based on each particular affiliate program.
There are a ton of affiliate partners out there; I promise there’s something that will fit your interests and blog niche. But, I do recommend you start by signing up to free affiliate networks like ShareASale first. These networks contain thousands of partners to choose from. One of my favorite perks of most affiliate programs is that there is no cap on how much money can be made.
5. Selling Online Courses
One thing about me, is that I’m going to enroll in online courses. I have actually lost track of how many courses I have taken over the years. I love to learn in a self paced online environment, and shockingly enough, I am not alone. I have learned so much from Pinterest strategies, editing photos and even SEO tips all from online courses. I ran my own online course for a few years before I discontinued it in 2020. Teachable was the platform I used from start to finish. I love how their simple their set up was for creating classes and your own ”school” home page. Teachable even allows you to create an affiliate program for your course so your students can earn a profit as well.
6. Making Ad Income
Getting accepted into Mediavine has been a goal of mine since I learned about it. In case you aren’t familiar, Mediavine is an ad network that a lot of bloggers use to earn additional passive income. The gag is, you need a ton of blog traffic to even be considered to be accepted into Mediavine.
They are the best of the best because of the services they offer and of course their hefty payouts. Just as the freelance writing option offers plenty of different platforms you can use. Mediavine is just my go to when explaining ad networks because it’s on my goal list. Networks like Mediavine have increased their entry-level from 25,000 to 50,000 monthly sessions. That’s a lot of eyeballs who need to read your blog to finally make some money.
MediaVine had said in their press release:
The minimum traffic requirement for NEW publishers is now 50,000 sessions per month. (If your application has already been submitted prior to this announcement, it will be reviewed using the previous 25,000-session requirement.) We are ending our unofficial policy of accepting second sites, including from current publishers, if those sites are below the minimum traffic requirements.
The thought of making money in your sleep from ads is a beautiful day dream I often have. But there are cons. My main con being frankly how unattractive it is to visit a blog and have a million ads pop up. I understand everyone has to make a living, but sometimes it can be overkill with all the ads and video pop ups and banners.
7. Getting Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are of my favorite ways to make money from blogging. As your experience and audience grows you can decide what to charge for sponsored content. A year after I started my first blog in 2017 I completed my first sponsored blog post.
I am pretty sure I wasn’t even hitting 1,000 pageviews a month at that time. I received a free product, a shopping stipend, and $275 for the post itself. You would have thought I won the lottery.
Now as an experienced writer I am going to tell you something that I wish someone told me. Even though $275 sounds like a great payout for a blog post. You need to consider the time, skill, and energy it took for you to create that blog post.
Break it down into hours if you really want to be accurate. How many hours did it take you complete that task? Now, how much money are they offering you total. With these numbers you can figure out how much you’d roughly make per hour by accepting this sponsored campaign. If that number fits what you’re looking for then perfect.
But if it doesn’t then don’t feel bad to decline the offer. Know your worth and stick to it. I am five years into my content creation journey and I went from accepting every sponsored offer to declining probably 90% of them.
I have not spent five years building my relationship with my readers just to throw sponsored content at them for the heck of it. I only promote products that I actually enjoy or believe in. This only helps to build your trust with your readers. They will know that despite there being a #Ad on my Instagram post, this is a product Lex has tried and enjoys herself.
That’s it Lovely! You made it all the way to the end. I am very excited for you to begin your blogging journey. Leave a comment with your blogging niche below from your blog once it is all set up; so I can check it out. Now you know how to start a blog and make money in 2023! It’s always a beautiful day for a new adventure, right?
I’m happy to answer any and every question you got to my best ability; Just leave your questions, comments, and concerns below.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out this post for my discount codes and offers just for you ♡
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Your journey from accepting every offer to being selective is inspiring. It’s a testament to your commitment to authenticity and building a genuine connection with your audience. Readers can sniff out insincerity from a mile away, so sticking to promoting products you genuinely enjoy is a game-changer.