What Is a Blog and How to Make Money

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The fact that you are reading this article tells me you already know that I am a blogger but do you understand what is a blog and how to make money with one.

I didn’t always understand blogging and truthfully I am still learning every day.

That is what I love most about it.

Initially, it was my husband who was interested in having an online business.

Oh, I was happy to support him and let him do his thing.

But when he asked me to write a few articles for him, on veteransaffiliatesuccess.com it was a game-changer.

I had no idea I loved writing until those first few articles I wrote for him.

It didn’t take long before the bug got me and I needed to launch my own blog, and grand-parenting-type-1-diabetic.com was born.

I struggled to find information and support when our grandson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in June of 2019. This gave me my topic for my own blog site.

I became obsessed with learning all things to do with diabetes, grandparenting, ageing, earning money after retirement, healthy living.

So here you are looking at the result of that seed that he planted when he asked me to write a few articles.

So what is a blog?

A blog is an informational or discussion-based website and is often written in diary or journal style.

The term blog originated from the original weblog which really was an online diary or journal where writers would log their day.What Is a Blog and How to Make Money - my husband's blog site

Blogs are usually written by a single individual but lately, businesses have been using blogs as a means to educate their customers and expand their customer base.

Posts are usually displayed in reverse chronological order meaning the most recent is shown first.

What you are reading here right now is a blog post that has been posted on a blog-based website.

I most often write about our family’s experience living with type 1 diabetes but I also cover topics related to grandparenting, making money in retirement, crafting and baking as these are all things I do in my own life.

Once travel can resume there may be more posts on that or maybe a new site who knows.

That is the beauty of blogging, it develops and changes over time and is easy to scale out and add more sites if desired. At some point, I may choose to out-source some articles but for now, I enjoy writing my own content.

Why blog?

Each blogger has his/her own reasons for blogging.

For some, it is a therapeutic way to get their thoughts out of their head similar to a diary or journal.

Others, like to explore their creativity and have fun exploring that entrepreneurial spirit within.

Businesses sometimes use blogging as a way to educate their customers, share news and reach a wider audience.

And still, others use it to share news, give instructions, or offer help in various ways.

As you can see the reasons are many and very individualistic.

Blog vs website

To put it as simply as possible, blogs are a type of website.

The biggest difference is that blogs are frequently updated with new content which of course is displayed in reverse chronological order (latest post showing first).

Typical websites are more static in nature and content is usually organized by pages and is not updated as frequently.

Blogs can also be a part of a larger website.

It is becoming more popular for businesses to have a blogging section that is frequently updated keeping their customers informed and educated on what’s new and current within their business.

Steps to creating a blog

Set-Up

To set up a Blog site you will need to buy a domain name, hosting platform, and load WordPress onto it. You will then have to buy security software to keep it safe from hackers. Pick a layout and then start blogging.

If you go with the same training we used, everything you need will be included for you in the free version to try out. They cover all the details about the company and what to expect along with all the pricing if you do decide to upgrade after the free training.

I highly recommend the free trial because you get to try it for free to see if you like it.

The following is included in the free membership

  • Domain Name
  • WordPress
  • Hosting
  • Security Software
  • A Keyword Search tool such as Jaaxy
  • Full support even from the owners
  • Excellent support from the members

They supply everything and will teach you everything you need to know to become successful and stick with you until you are.

Add Content

Once you are up and running, it is important to keep your site current by adding regular content.

What Is a Blog and How to Make Money - my blog site

We try to post 2 new articles on each website per week.

This doesn’t take that long to do and it doesn’t feel like work at all.

You get to meet plenty of other bloggers and you all share advice about each other’s sites. The community is just awesome to be a part of.

I discovered I love researching and writing articles. To me, it is a wonderful way to explore my creative side.

I don’t have to commute anywhere and I can work from the comfort of my home or anywhere I choose for that matter, so when I can travel again I can work wherever I happen to be as long as I have an internet connection.

We have two websites and we each focus on one.

I write almost all of the content for my site, usually, 2 articles per week and I write an article for my husband’s site weekly as well. He writes his other articles himself.

During times like last summer when we spent 5 days on our sailboat, I used the time I was away from the internet to write content and take pictures and of course, just have fun which is also important then we posted our content when we returned home.

Market

As with any business, successfully making money requires marketing.

There are many courses available online to teach you marketing if you choose however you will get all that you need just from this program.

I seriously urge you to check out the training we used.

What Is a Blog and How to Make Money - social media marketing

They will teach you marketing and where to find free traffic to visit your website. They will also help you set up your site for ads where Google will pay you for allowing them to place ads on your site.

They will also teach you strategies such as creating email lists for retargeting your visitors.

You will also learn how to use other platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and others to boost your exposure to your website or even create a video to take advantage of Youtube.

You don’t have to do everything or even do it all at once. As you learn and grow you can expand. The main goal is to build your site and be happy doing it. If you are enjoying what you are doing, you will keep doing it.

Add Income Streams

As with any business having multiple income streams increases your profitability.

There are several ways to make income from your blog:

  • affiliate marketing (Sell other peoples products on your site)
  • Google Adsense (Allow Google to place ads on your site)
  • creating your own information products (ebooks, courses etc.)

Why not learn to incorporate all these methods?

Training

My husband and I knew absolutely nothing about creating a blog or any other type of website when we first began.

While it isn’t difficult, there is a learning curve.

The question is, “Where do we start?”

What is the first step and the next and the next?

We didn’t know if things needed to be done in a certain order or not.

One day my husband came across this amazing training platform that literally walks you through the process.

The best part is you can get started with that training for free.

Yes, I said FREE.

You get 10 training sessions when you sign up for free.

Amazingly, you will have your very own website up and live by the end of the third lesson.

Then you learn how to continue adding content and value to your website.

Check out the free training that got us started.

When you get started you will discover a great community(where you will find us), that is always there to offer support and guidance when needed.

Conclusion

I am so grateful I now understand what is a blog and how to make money in retirement.

My life has been enriched in so many ways since I began my blogging journey.

I have learned so much about diabetes but I have also learned so much about myself.

This journey has been some of the best times of my life and I eagerly look forward to the future.

Blogging has put me on a path of self-discovery that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

Take your time to look around and read any article that strikes your fancy, there are plenty to choose from, over a hundred and that only took just over a year to accomplish on a part-time basis.

My husband’s site also has over a hundred articles to choose from, feel free to browse around there too, there is plenty of great info there, also over a hundred articles, read a few leave comments and most of all have fun.

If you are interested in learning to blog check out the training that got us started.

Oh, if you happen to have some ideas on topics you would like us to write more about please let us know in the comment section below.

Thank you and take care.


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4 thoughts on “What Is a Blog and How to Make Money”

  1. This is a very useful post. It’s great that you can start a website for free! Wow! Are social media really helpful in promoting your blogs and/or products you have on your website? I heard that it all depends on how many followers you have and/or if you have contact with an influencer. What are your thoughts on this?
    Is publishing 2 articles a week enough to get noticed by Google? Is that the ideal number?

    Reply
    • Hi Christine, thanks for dropping by. I am grateful you found this article helpful.

      When it comes to social media, I have found consistency in posting is key. For example, I use Pinterest and have found I need to make a pin daily for the best results. Skipping even one day I notice a significant drop in traffic.

      Being associated with an influencer may help but like anything web-related, it is no guarantee.

      We are still learning in this arena ourselves so if anyone else out there has something to say please comment.

      I am not certain there is a magic number for how many articles to publish in any given time period.

      Currently, we post 2 articles a week on each site because that is the amount of time we have to devote. If we wanted to publish more we would need to outsource the writing but it is certainly worth thinking about moving forward. I am not certain I can squeeze out three articles a week myself because my main topic (diabetes) requires so much research.

      Almost all of my posts have been indexed by Google so I think I am ok there.

      The biggest thing is consistency, find out how much time you can devote to your blogging business and if all you can do is two articles a week then post them regularly on the same days each week as much as possible.

      I post mine on Tuesdays and Thursdays so my readers will always know when to look for new content.

      I hope this helps. Take care.

      Reply
  2. Thanks for sharing this great article on a blog and how to make money.
    Your post is very useful and informative. Which social platforms are most effective for promoting your content?

    Keep up the good work!

    I am Looking forward for your more posts

    Reply
    • Thanks for dropping by Saba, I am grateful you enjoyed the article and found it helpful.
      I personally find Pinterest to be an effective social media tool for driving free traffic to my content.
      Facebook and Twitter are also popular amongst many bloggers.
      Thankyou and take care.

      Reply

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