It really is possible to make a decent living or at least generate side income by blogging—but you have to have a strategy. Problogger points out three key factors that influence how successful, revenue-wise, your blog might be.
The first factor might be the most important: Choosing what your topic will be. If you’re blogging for fun and don’t care about making money online, you can write about anything. If you do want to make money, though, you’ll need to find a profitable niche and choose a topic that is broad yet also specific:
One of the first things you want to think about is your niche and whether it is profitable. Some experts advise being a big fish in a small pond, but I think the exact opposite. You should try the big pond because that is where the money is.
While your great Aunt Mary’s unique recycled dress quilts might be amazing, not that many people are as interested in reading about them as about quilting in general. Don’t limit your topic too much.
When I first got started, I created a site selling inflatable boats online. Can you imagine how many people might buy inflatable boats online? That’s right, not many.
To find that niche, Problogger recommends looking at keywords that advertisers pay the most for, using tools like Google Adsense to see average prices per click or SpyFu, a paid search engine marketing tool (with a 30-day money back guarantee, so you could try it just for this purpose). Similarly, take a look at affiliate programs at Commission Junction to get a feel for potential earnings.
Of course, you should be interested in the topic too and be able to write about it, but these are other considerations if you want to get cash out of your endeavor. Check out the full post for other important factors.
Make Money Blogging for Real: 3 Must-Know Factors | Problogger
Photo by Udo Herzog.