How to Build a Profitable Blog

So you want to build a profitable blog? Great! Many people are making a good living from blogging full time, and others are part time, making enough to pay for some bills. Everyone had to build a blog and start somewhere, so for you, there is no better time than now. Please follow the steps below to build a profitable blog.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Decide what you want to blog about. Most profitable bloggers build a blog in a niche or topic that has a lot of interest to many people, because the more people that visit your blog, the more money you could potentially make. Therefore, try and find a topic that you and many other people are passionate about.

2. Get a domain name and hosting package. This is where you will build your blog and will be where you point your audience to. It will also be where the search engines will find you, so that other people will be able to locate your blog from keyword searches.
   
   Many domain names are already taken, and getting a premium one that fits your niche can be fairly expensive. It's best to be creative and find a domain that is available because it will be significantly cheaper.

3. Install the Wordpress blogging platform to build your profitable blog. There are many blogging platforms available for you to choose from, but Wordpress is by far the best because it's easy to use, very flexible, and you can easily incorporate some of the most popular web plugins, for free, that will make your blog look very professional.
   
   In most domain and hosting services, there is a one-click Wordpress installation button. Check the Control Panel (CPanel) when you sign into your account and look for something called Wordpress Install, or Fantastico De Lux.

4. Install a Wordpress theme on your blog. Wordpress comes with a generic default Wordpress theme, but it's best to select one that fits your personality and will help you build an audience and a profitable good looking blog. Many themes are free, which you can install right from your Wordpress control panel. Just click on "Appearance", then "Themes" in the left hand sidebar to scroll through and find a blog theme for you.
   
   Instead of a free theme, you may want to build your profitable blog with a premium theme. Premium themes are already built and optimized to look professional and have a lot of functions and customization options that free themes just don't have. Many run between $15.00 and up to $125 dollars, depending on which company you go with.
   
   Woothemes.com is a great place to start. There is a link below in the resources section if you'd like to browse through premium themes.

5. If you'd like to customize and build your profitable blog even more, you can easily hire someone to do this for you. There's really no point in spending money on books and classes, when someone can do it for you for a fraction of the price, and you can be sure they'll provide quality results. Again, there are links to places to find and hire developers to customize your profitable blog below.
   
   Make sure there is room on your blog for advertisements, such as 125x125 pixel private ads, or Google Adsense advertisements, which is where you'll be making money from.

Tips & Warnings

• When bogging, it's very important to keep a consistent schedule of when you post. You don't have to blog each and every day, but the interval between posts should be fairly equal, which your readers will indeed appreciate.
• Make the titles of your post interesting and keyword rich. Getting search engine traffic is one of the best ways to get people to look at your blog.
• In addition to selling advertisement space on your blog, look for programs and other things you can sell as an affiliate, which will earn you a commission each time one of your readers uses or purchases that product or service. Many people make a living just from affiliate sales, so this is definitely something to look into.
• Building a profitable blog is easy, but it's going to take some time before you see results. The top bloggers didn't get rich overnight, and neither will you. Work hard, be patient, and you will eventually see results!

Resources

• Blue Host Domain and Hosting Company
• WooThemes.com - Premium Wordpress Themes
• More Information about Wordpress
• Wordpress Plugins

[miasavc]

on 11/10/2009 This is very helpful and informative.

[sullysee]

on 9/27/2009 Lots of helpful blog info.

[iwantwhatiwant]

on 9/25/2009 very helpful article. thanks TheWriteGuy.

[1960texan]

on 9/22/2009 Good tips, the most important can be found in step one. Passion.

[youaskme]

on 9/20/2009 This is very informative post. An inspirational one to the aspiring blogger. 5*