Making money on a blog makes it possible to live and work where and when you want to, and it is a dream of many people.

But can you make a living from blogging, or is it just a myth?

Let me reveal right away that it definitely is possible, as I know this from personal experience, as I am making good money by blogging myself. There are however also many myths and false claims about how it works.

In this article, I will therefore show you the process, give a reality check so you know what to expect, and some tips to get started, if this is a way you want to make a living.

So if you are considering making blogging into a career you wil, find out exactly what is required and if it is for you or not.

The process of making money on a blog

If you have never worked with internet marketing or blogging before, it can be difficult to understand, how it can be possible to make money on a blog.

I worked with online marketing for years, and before I started looking into blogging, I thought it was only possible for really famous people to make money on a blog.

But that is not the case – it is possible for anyone, as long as you are willing to do the work it takes.

So let me explain the overall process about how it works to make money blogging.

Step 1 – Choose topic

Before you start a blog, you of course need to know what you want to write about. Maybe you already have a good idea, since you are reading this page.

But if you do not yet know, it is not a problem.

The great thing about starting a blog is that it can be about any topic you want. And it is possible to earn money on a blog within more or less any topic as well.

It can be great to choose a topic you are passionate about. It makes it more fun and more likely you will do the work you need to do – great to be able to make a living blogging about your passion right?:-)

The first step is therefore to choose your topic.

Step 2 – Build the blog

You need a place to blog. I prefer using WordPress for blogging, as it is very user-friendly and something everyone can learn to use.

So if you have never made a blog or website before, I recommend to build a WordPress blog.

It works really well, and you can create the design and functionalities you want. Originally WordPress was created for blogging, and it is therefore a perfect system for it.

If you are not very technical, this is not a problem. No matter your skills, you can fairly quickly learn to set up a WordPress website so your technical skills should definitely not stop you.

Step 3 – Get traffic to your blog

If you do not have visitors to your blog, it will be impossible to make money on it.

Therefore, the first priority should be to get visitors. Not by spamming or just inviting friends. Do it by focusing on first of all writing quality content for your blog.

When people come, they need to see it is worth visiting and staying on your site, and maybe even worth coming back to it.

My favorite way to get traffic to a blog is through Search Engine Optimization and organic traffic, as this can really build up over time and create a river of free traffic.

There are of course also other ways to get traffic like paid traffic, social media, email marketing etc., but the important thing when planning your traffic strategy is that it is a long-term strategy.

You want to build traffic that keep coming. Traffic is a very important aspect. Once you have this, many doors will open, and there will be many ways you can earn money on your blog.

Step 4 – Monetize the traffic

Ones you have the traffic, there are many ways you can monetize it.

The more traffic you have, the more opportunities you have. You can for example make money on ads, sell sponsored articles, sell your own products, or through affiliate marketing.

My personal favorite is affiliate marketing, but there are many ways you can earn on a blog.

The great thing is that once you start getting a lot of traffic, you will also start being contacted by companies and individuals that are interested in making business with you.

In the beginning you have to do a lot of outreach yourself and find the way to make money that fits into your plans with your blog. But eventually doors will open that you could not foresee before starting.

I continuously become surprised about the opportunities that comes once you have the traffic.

How long does it take to make a living blogging?

Above is the overall process of making money on a blog explained very briefly.

The important thing to understand is that you can create a successful money-making blog in more or less any niche, and once you have the traffic, there are endless ways to monetize the traffic.

You can make really good money this way, and it is definitely also possible to make a living by blogging.

However, there are also many myths about this. Often people think that blogging does not take much effort and is not a real way to make money.

This is not true. It is very real, and it takes a lot of effort. It is not easy to continuously write quality content for your visitors and make everything run.

To succeed it is important you treat it as creating an online business. It is not just a side project, that you can just write one article a month and then suddenly become rich.

People that treat blogging like this, and think it is easy to make money this way will quickly give up. Consistency and patience is key, if you want to succeed.

It can definitely be worth all the effort, and give you a lot of freedom, but it will not happen overnight.

It is impossible to say exactly how long it will take, before you can start making a living, as it depends on so many things like the time you put in, the competition of the niche you have chosen, how quick a learner and writer you are, etc.

It is possible for everyone to learn, but you have to be willing to put in some effort and time.

If you are completely new, you should probably expect at least 6-12 months of work on your blog, before you start making any real money. I know people that have made it happen at lot sooner, but also people where it has taken longer.

For me personally, it took just over a year before I started seeing any real income and progress. I did also not work so hard that year, so it can definitely be done faster:-)

But the takeaway here is to be realistic. Blogging is not a quick fix or easy way to make a living. It can be an amazing way, and it is possible to make really good money this way. But you have to be prepared to work to make it happen.

Does it cost anything to get started?

If you start a regular brick and mortar business, I am sure you know there will be a lot of costs just to get started.

One of the great things about starting a blog and online business is that you can do it very cheaply.

You can get a WordPress website for free. But if you are serious about making money with your blog and want to make a living from it eventually, it can be a good idea to invest a little.

I would for example recommend investing in a good domain name (website address) and hosting, as these are important for having a blog that runs smoothly. You can get this for less than $20 per year.

In addition to this, I would recommend getting some further training, if you have never made money on a blog before.

Before I started looking into blogging, I had worked with online communication for years, and thought I could figure it out on my own. I could not, and ended up failing:-)

It can therefore in the long run save a lot of time to get some extra guidance. This is possible to do very cheaply, and my total cost for my first year was only around $320 for hosting, training, tools, and everything else I needed to start making money.

This is very cheap compared to the cost of starting a regular business, and it can even be done cheaper, depending on your preferences and needs.

Below, I will tell you how I learned the full process of making money on a blog for this budget, and how you can get started too.

The best way to learn to earn money by blogging

It is possible to learn to build a blog just by reading other blogs and watch tutorials on YouTube. But it will be very difficult to put things together in the right order, and it can take A LOT of time to do it this way.

I know, as I first tried to create a money-making blog like this, and did not succeed, as I missed several important steps, and did not understand the full process.

I finally ended up joining the learning platform Wealthy Affiliate. It has amazing step-by-step training for all levels, and a membership there includes all the tools you need to create a successful blog, hosting, and 24/7 support.

This is how I learned the process myself, and the training there is how I Iearned how to make money on a blog. Because of the extreme value for money you get there with both training, support, and tools, it was also possible for me to keep the cost as low as I mentioned above.

You can actually even get started with your first 10 lessons for free there.

There are of course other ways to learn to make money on a blog. I have taken several other courses and read MANY blog posts etc. about this topic. There is a lot of valuable info out there, but in my experience nothing comes close to the skills and step-by-step training you get at Wealthy Affiliate if you look at value for money.

If you are serious about wanting to create a successful blog, this is therefore my top recommended way to do it, as in my experience, it is the most effecient way to learn everything and build a good foundation.

You can read more about the training and tools you get there in my full review of Wealthy Affiliate by clicking the link below, and this will help you decide, if it is the right solution for you or not.

Final thoughts

It is definitely possible to make a living from blogging. Many people however fail. Often because they think it can be done without much effort.

It is however something anyone can learn, with the right attitude and willingness to make an effort.

You need to go into blogging with the right approach. You will not become successful overnight, and it will take work and time, but it can definitely be worth it and give a lot of freedom.

Personally I love the opportunities blogging has given me, and highly recommend it as a way to make money, as long as you are willing to make an effort to make it happen.

You can check out my top recommend learning platform Wealthy Affiliate, check out some of the links throughout this article with further resources, or you can look for other programs that fit your needs better. No matter what, you should know that it is definitely a real opportunity to make money on a blog.

 

I wish you all the best of luck with creating your blogging business, and if you have any comments, questions, or have any experiences with blogging for money yourself, I would love to hear from you in a comment below.