8 Important Questions Smart People Ask BEFORE Starting a Blog

Starting a blog can be intimidating for a lot of folks. I should know, since it wasn’t too long ago I found myself wanting to start a blog, but I wasn’t sure where to begin.

But I just started banging out content, started my blogging journey knowing that better tools would appear along the way, searched for Web traffic generating solutions, learned useful blogging tips, and eventually I figured it out.

I’m not saying that’s the best way to approach blogging, but it’s a start.

However, if you punched in a search term into your search engine of choice regarding how to start a blog or blogging tips for beginners and stumbled across this article with advice for new bloggers or people interested in learning how to start and run a successful blog, well…you’re in the right place!

I’ve recently gotten back into the blogging Game after taking most of 2019 off.

Aside from posting up the occasional guest post sent to me by one of my business editorial partners, I really did not do much in terms of any real effort to grow my blog.

However, eventhough I took a break from blogging for a few months, the online business aspect of the blog was still working for me 24/7 generating leads, making product sales, and growing email newsletter subscribers on autopilot whether I was actively blogging or not (and I wasn’t!).

Pretty cool, right?

That’s why I believe that anyone with an email address should also have their own blog.

Starting a blog and sharing your knowledge with billions online instantly on their smartphone is just a fantastic way to generate an additional income online doing what you’re already doing (but getting rewarded for it either monetarily or better!)

Let’s jump feet first into these popular blogging questions I get asked frequently both online and off about blogging.

What is a blog?

A blog is a short name for a “Web log”. In a nutshell, it is a website that provides information and is updated regularly.

People discover blogs from a variety of ways, including Web searches, online videos, guest posts on other blogs (with links back to the guest blogger’s original blog) and social media posts.

What are the different types of blogs?

There are a variety of different blogs out there, ranging from online running commentaries to information posts that allow other readers to submit comments.

Just do a search on your favorite hobby and add the word “blog” and you will likely find hundreds if not thousands of various blogs devoted to or at least posting up content about your hobby.

What types of online income opportunities are available through blogging?

Blogging is becoming a hugely popular form of communication as more and more people start blogs each day and more and more people read and engage with them.

In fact, it has been projected there will be over 31.7 million blog readers of US bloggers by 2020. This means there is a growing opportunity to earn advertising income from blogging.

This is called “monetizing a blog“, and it’s seriously one of the coolest if not the BEST way to earn income online simply by sharing your knowledge… and getting rewarded handsomely for it!

I’ve written numerous blog posts sharing ideas on how to monetize your blog, but if you are brand new to blogging, then I’ll share some candid advice with you coming from a seasoned blogger:

If you’ve NEVER blogged previously, then I recommend that for your first 6-8 months of blogging, devote yourself to being a student of blogging and simply learn the basics and build a solid foundation on how to write a blog post and create your blog.

Then after you master that, you can consider implementing the monetization techniques I’m mentioning here into your blog. Sound good?

However, while you are sharpening your iron blogging sword with more iron, I can at the very least share with you some important things your blog will need in order to achieve these favorable income results from blogging.

You will find out what those are in the answers to the remaining questions about blogging…

If I want to make money from blogging, what do I need to do?

At the bare minimum, a monetized blogging website must be updated and maintained on a regular basis with content that people are searching for to help them overcome a challenge in some area of their life or business.

But if your blog is not even up and online sharing content and generating leads by collecting email newsletter subscribers (more about that shortly), what good is it doing you or humanity with your useful knowledge and helpful message?

A whole lot of nothing, right?

The reason your blog (especially in the early stages of your first 6 to 8 months blogging) should be maintained, tweaked, checked, and updated on the reg is because the online material must be fresh and updated to be relevant to your growing audience.

This will help ensure steadily growing Web traffic and a steady flow of leads clicking on your offers leading to sales generating profits.

Also, search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! are more likely to list blogs that are regularly updated towards the top of their search results, and these are the links that generally get the most clicks.

Keep your blog updated to ensure a steady stream of new visitors mixed with returning blog readers who can’t get enough of your online content and knowledge.

Why does my blog need an email newsletter?

Another strong recommendation when starting a blog is to add a landing page that captures email addresses for those who wish to be subscribed to your blog’s email newsletter.

Subscribers can get alerts from you straight to their inbox every time you add a new post, or perhaps you can share other products and opportunities with your readers.

And to further entice email newsletter signups, you can offer an incentive like a free eBook (or better yet…TWO free eBooks!)

The email newsletter program I recommend adding to your blog is GetResponse.

What should my blog be about?

Most blogging sites are dedicated to a particular topic like politics or a personal hobby or interest.

My best advice for anyone interested in starting a blog is this:

Blog about something you are truly passionate about.

Why?

Because if you really are passionate about whatever it is you are blogging about…then it’s not really work, is it?

Instead it’s just you sharing what you know in your own voice with the world.

And you get paid to do it.

Make sense? Do it right, it’ll make a lot more “cents” if you catch my drift!

Moving on to the real meat and potatoes of blogging…how do you make money from it? Keep reading and you’ll find out.

What are the best ways to make money from blogging?

In your blog posts, you will likely include a few “keywords” that are relevant to the content, and also match closely to the search terms people are searching online.

These keywords can be easily identified for programs like Google Ads, a proven income source for blogs, but definitely not the only one.

Other ways to make money on a blog include:

• Google pay-per-click ads (you get paid for each click from your blog’s visitors)
• Affiliate ads (clicking these brings your blog’s readers to another website or product listing that pays you a referral commission for each sale you originate from your blog)

And just like with outdoor highway signs, you can also sell advertising space on your blog site to promote other businesses online (for example, a banner ad or a guest blog post promoting a product or service with a direct affiliate link that credits you for each sale made. You can make income from sales made even when you are sleeping or away on vacation!)

And some people earn money as contracted bloggers hired by others to create blog posts and generate leads.

What do I need to start my blog now?

If you are serious about starting a blog and you don’t want to get ripped off, then you’ll want to work with a top notch, well run, and reputable Web hosting provider that will host your blog online and get you started on your blogging journey.

You definitely don’t want to leave this huge responsibility for handling your important blog data to the untrustworthy fly-by-nights and never-heard-of-’ems of the Web hosting world.

No way, you want to go with the industry leader that will undoubtedly help you change the future outcome for you and those you teach with your blog.

The Web hosting provider I personally recommend is Bluehost, one of the highest rated and most established Web hosting companies in the world.

I’ve inked an affiliate partnership agreement with them that lets you grab a smoking hot deal and save some significant bucks on Web hosting services with all the essential WordPress blog (the industry standard in blogging platforms) tools and 24/7 live customer support you need to help you create and maintain your blog for life.

Take advantage of this offer now and start your blog on the right foot with the right Web hosting company in Bluehost.

The time for thinking about starting a blog is over. Now it’s time to start you blog by clicking the banner below now to get started with Bluehost as your new blog Web hosting provider of choice:

Get started with Bluehost now and then you can follow the click-by-click instructions and Web tutorials on setting up your blog using WordPress.