Starting a blog takes more than just setting up a website and writing a few posts. It requires passion, purpose, consistency and a clear solid plan.
You scroll through a blog and you think “I can actually do this”. Well, maybe you can. But you have to always remember that you need to put in the work. I’m talking about years of consistency.
Therefore, as a Nigerian looking to make passive income from blogging, you’re ready to share your experience and ideas, connect with people worldwide and share your expertise, then this guide is for you.
It’s designed to confidently move you from a total blog newbie to one who would be ready to start making money. So read on!
How to start a blog
1. Set a clear goal/plan
Having a clear goal is always the first step to take in any endeavour. Now, as a beginner, you need to identify why you want to start a blog.
Is it to share personal experiences, connect with people all over the world, build awareness for your brand or build authority as a thought leader.
Whatever your reason, having a clear goal is the foundation you need to start a profitable blog.
Pick a pen and paper, write down exactly why you want to start a blog. Failure to do this could affect the success of your blog.
2. Choose the right blogging niche
Your niche in the blogging world is the topic you want to focus on. Choosing the right niche is crucial because it affects your reach, audience and even your blogging potential.
A good way to go about this is to find a topic you’re passionate about and research it’s market demand.
If the market demand is low, there is need to find something else. It could be something similar—just make sure it has market demand.
And if it’s in demand, craft your own niche. You can use tools like Google trend to see if there’s an audience for your niche.
Popular blog niches that make money
—Health and wellness.
—Food and recipes.
—Personal finance.
—Travel.
—Technology and digital marketing.
Although most of these niches are already populated and competitive, you can always craft out your blue ocean in the Red Sea.
For instance, if you decide to go into health, you can niche down to diabetes—then further niche down to diabetes good recipes. The goal is to have fun with it, share your expertise and make money.
3. Pick a blogging platform and domain
Your blogging platform is the platform where your blog is hosted. While the domain name is simply your blog’s address (what you decide to call your blog).
We have different blogging platforms like:
- WordPress.org: This is the most popular choice for bloggers. WordPress powers 43.5% of all websites as of January 2025. It’s free, but you’ll need to pay for hosting.
- Wix: An easy to use platform for beginners. Limited tor monetization.
How to choose a domain name
If you’re using your blog to sell your digital products or share your experiences, using your name as a domain name is alright.
However, if you’re creating a professional website for your business, there is need to choose a name that positions you as an authority.
Here are few steps on how to choose a domain name:
- Keep it short and memorable.
- Make it relevant to your niche.
- Avoid numbers, spaces or punctuation.
- Use domain extensions like .com.
You can use tools like Namecheap or GoDaddy to register your domain.
4. Set up your hosting account
A hosting provider is where all your blog files are stored. Without a webhost, your website cannot be accessed online.
Here are a few recommended hosting providers for beginners.
1. Bluehost: Plan starts at $2.95/month, beginner friendly and officially recommended by WordPress.
2. Siteground- Has great performance and customer support. Plan starts at $3.99/month.
3. Hostinger: plan starts at $2.99/month.
Steps to set up your hosting account
—Choose a hosting provider and plan.
— Register your domain.
— Install WordPress using one click installation.
— Once installed, head over to your dashboard and start customizing.
Hosting providers like Bluehost already have WordPress pre installed. However, if the hosting provider does not have it preinstalled, you will find the WordPress installer on your hosting dashboard.
Click on it, follow the process and install WordPress in just a few minutes.
5. Create your content
Content is the heart of your blog. The main reason you’re going through all this process in the first place is to be able to put out your content.
Here are a few steps to create nothing short of value for your audience:
- Determine your goal: If you already penned that down, then you’re good to go.
- Let every single content be for your audience: Whether you’re promoting a business, selling digital products or just sharing your personal experiences, having your audience in mind makes the process easier. Let your content provide value, insight and answer to their questions.
- Use headlines that stop scroll: 80% of people read headlines but only 20% read the content. Let your headline lead with value.
- Include visuals: Use images to enhance the readability of your blog post.
6. Promote your blog—Drive relevant traffic
The aim of creating a blog is to solve problems and then make money. However, without readers, your blog won’t solve any problems and ultimately won’t make you any money. Therefore, you have to promote your blog to attract your target audience.
Here’s how you can promote your blog
Drive organic traffic to your website (SEO)
Include relevant keywords in your blog post. Use tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to find your keywords. Optimize for both on-page and off-page SEO.
Social media promotion
Share your blog posts on platforms where you know your target audience is active. Create social media content around your blogs and encourage people to go and take a read.
7. Monetize your blog
Your blog is live and gaining a lot of traffic already (without this traffic, you can’t make money from blogging).
Steps to monetize your blog
—Affiliate marketing; This is the process of promoting other people’s products or services in order to earn a commission.
Choose products/ services that are aligned with your niche. Make sure the product you’re promoting is tested and trusted (you don’t want to lose the credibility and authority you’ve built).
Create content around the products and market it on your website and social media channels.
—Paid ads: Networks like Google AdSense make it very easy to monetize your blog.
—Sell digital products: E-books, online courses, templates are examples of digital products you can sell on your website and generate revenue.
—Sponsored content: You can collaborate with brands and create sponsored contents that will generate sales.
—Offer your services: As a freelancer, consultant or coach, you can offer your services based on your expertise using your blog posts as a point of contact.
Conclusion
Making money from blogging is pretty straightforward. Anyone can do it. But it requires consistency and a lot of hard work.
Remember, the first step to making money from blogging is to actually understand why you want to start a blog.
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