How to Start a Profitable Blog Course

DAY FOUR

This is my favorite day, because this is where we connect your passion to your paycheck.

When I first started, I was so confused about how bloggers actually made money. It felt like a big, complicated secret. But it’s not. Today, I’m going to show you the two simplest, most powerful ways your new blog will start earning an income, without you needing to be a sales expert or create your own product.

Quick Note: Haven't started your blog yet? You're not behind! This lesson will show you exactly why it's so important to take that first step. When you're ready, your step-by-step guide on how to start a blog is waiting for you right here.

Let's get one more thing out of the way: you do not need to be a 'writer' to be a successful blogger. You just need to be a 'helper.' Can you answer a question your friend might text you? Can you share a story about how you solved a problem? If you can do that, you can write a blog post. Don’t hold yourself back because you're questioning if you’re qualified.

Today, we are going to talk about:

  • The two easiest ways a blog can make money.

  • Choosing a topic for your blog posts.

  • What to think about as you write your blog posts.

  • How often do you write blog posts?

  • How to make money from blog posts.

  • How to create a new post in WordPress & what to do to it.

Part 1: The Two Easiest Ways Your Blog Makes Money

Income Stream #1: Being a Helpful Friend (Affiliate Marketing)

This sounds fancy, but it's the most natural thing in the world.

The Simple Idea: You recommend products and services you already use and love. When someone makes a purchase through your unique link, the company pays you a small "thank you" commission, at no extra cost to them.

Think about it. You already do this in real life! When a friend asks you where you got your jeans, you tell them. When someone on Facebook asks for a good coffee maker, you share a link to the one you love.

Your blog does the exact same thing, but for thousands of people.

How it looks in real life:

  • You write a post about your "5 Favorite Kitchen Gadgets." You include your affiliate links from Target or Walmart for each one.

  • You share a recipe and link to the exact cake pans you used on Amazon.

  • You write about your family’s road trip and link to the travel gear that saved your sanity.

You are simply sharing what you already know and love, from stores you know and love, and getting paid for it. It’s the most honest way to start earning quickly.

Income Stream #2: Renting Out "Billboard" Space (Ads)

This is the easiest, most hands-off way to make money with your blog.

The Simple Idea: You allow ad networks to place small, relevant ads in the sidebar or within the content of your blog. You earn money simply when people visit your blog and see them.

That’s it. You don't have to do anything except write your normal, helpful content.

Think of your blog as a property you own on the internet. As more people start visiting your property (reading your posts), that space becomes more valuable. Companies are willing to pay "rent" for a tiny billboard on your site to get in front of your readers.

You can start with ads even when your blog is brand new, and as your traffic grows, so does your income. It’s truly money you can make while you sleep.

Part 2: How to Write Your First "Money-Making" Post

See? It's not magic. It's a system. And the engine that drives that system is your content.

But don't let that scare you. You don't need to be a professional writer. You just need to be helpful. Here is a super simple template for your very first blog post that is designed to make money.

The "Can't-Go-Wrong" Blog Post Template:

  1. The Problem: Start by talking about a problem your reader has. Use the same words they would use. (e.g., "Finding a coffee maker that doesn't break in six months is impossible.")

  2. The Solution: Share how you solved that problem. Tell your story. (e.g., "I was so tired of wasting money, so I spent a month researching and finally found one that changed my mornings.")

  3. Your Recommendation: This is where you make money! Recommend the product that solved your problem and include your affiliate link. (e.g., "If you're ready to stop throwing away money, this is the exact coffee maker I use and recommend.")

That's it. You just wrote a helpful, money-making blog post. Problem. Solution. Recommendation.

    1. Go to your WordPress dashboard.

    2. Click on the Posts tab in the left-hand menu.

    3. Click on the Add New button.

    4. Enter a title for your blog post in the Title field.

    5. Select a category for your blog post from the Category dropdown menu.

    6. (Optional) Add tags to your blog post by entering them in the Tags field.

    7. Add a featured image to your blog post by clicking on the Set Featured Image button.

    8. Start writing your blog post in the main content area.

    9. Use the toolbar above the content area to format your text, add images, videos, and other media, and insert links.

    10. Publish your blog post immediately or schedule it to be published later by clicking on the Publish button.

  • Do you already know what you want to talk about? If not I would narrow it down to one or two things and then think about these things.

    1. I start by looking at Pinterest and typing in what I want to write about and seeing what keywords are the highest ranking.

    • - I think, "What would I type in if I was looking for information on...." Then I look at the descriptions of the top five and see what keywords are ranking the highest.

    • -I look for phrases like: "How to..." and "The best..."

    • -I also look to see any if any, similar words to the ones I plan to use also came up. (Include those in your post)

    2. After seeing if my idea would rank on Pinterest, I head over to Google and see what comes up when I type in my Ideal post title.

    • -I look to see what words are in bold that I didn't type in. (Include those in your post)

    3. After I have a good idea of what I want to title my post and what keywords I want to use in it I decide if it is something that needs a new email opt-in or any special graphics.

    • -If it needs a new opt-in, I create it and create the email sign-up for it.

    • -If it needs any graphics, I wait until the end and insert them where they would best fit.

    4. Time to get to writing. I write out my post then check it in Grammarly because we all make mistakes.

    • Don't forget to include a pinnable image; you want a long, skinny image with descriptive and enticing text on it. Something people would want to click on. You can include this image at the top of the post or the bottom.

    • Length is important; a lengthy informative post will get you much further than a short post. People like to get information.

    •  White space is important; large sections of text get boring, and people tend to skip through the post.

    • You want to link back to other things you have posted if this is not your first post. You can do this by talking about stuff you have also done and then say read about it here and lay a link over the "Read about it here" text.

    • Include an opt-in within the text to increase your email subscribers.

    • Break down lists with bullets or numbered lists.

    • Posts with titles like "7 cheap outfits for fall" and "8 great and healthy 30-minute dinners" do better than "Outfits for fall" and "Healthy Dinners."

    • Food: If you write a food blog, I recommend posting once a week or once every two weeks because recipes are relatively short posts.

    • Fashion & Lifestyle: If you have a fashion or lifestyle blog, I recommend posting twice a week if they are outfit posts and once a week if there are other types of posts to increase profitability.

    • Business / Finance: If you have a business blog, I recommend posting once every two weeks if you are writing opinion posts (like how to budget), and if you are writing about current business events, I recommend picking one event a week to keep up with.

    • Specialized niche: I recommend writing once every two weeks.

  • If you have kiddos and have to be home: I recommend picking one day a month and spending as long as you can writing. I like to be a month ahead of writing blog posts so that my life can be as stress-free as possible.

    If you have weekends to yourself: I recommend picking one weekend a month and writing one article on Saturday and one article on Sunday.

Your Action Task for Today:

Let's put this into practice. Grab a notebook and combine what we've learned.

  1. Think of one product you absolutely love.

  2. Using the 3-step template above, quickly jot down a simple blog post idea for it.

You’ve just created the blueprint for your first piece of content that can earn you money while you sleep. This is how it starts. This is how you build the blog that pays off your debt, lets you quit your job, and gives you more time with your family.  

Tomorrow:

We're going to talk about "launching" your blog. It sounds like a big, scary step, but I'll show you why it's really just one simple click, and why doing it sooner rather than later is the key to getting your first readers and making your first dollar. You won't want to miss it.

Back to day 3.