How to Start a Blog Online and Make Money Blogging

Learn how to start a blog and make money blogging online using WordPress.

“Mr Oluboba, is it worth starting a blog and can someone still make money from it in Nigeria?” is the summary of questions I receive almost every 24 hours.

Yes, you can make an extra income online even if you have no experience ever in technical skills.

And that’s because blogging remains one of the best online businesses that pays you daily.

So, whether you are just starting or already a full-time blogger, there is always a space to earn more.

It is one among many businesses that guarantees your financial freedom.

By the end of this article, you will learn:

• 9 strategies that I used to start my blog online with WordPress.

• 7 ways to make money blogging.

• 5 things you must do as a blogger.

• 5 questions with answers on blogging.

Let’s begin.

How To Start a Blog Online Using WordPress

1. Understand What Blogging Entails

Understanding why you need to start a blog will fuel your passion for how to make money online.

A blog is a website (or part of a website) with updated posts on any topic. It serves as two-way communication between you and your audience.

And one of the main reasons I prefer blogging to selling online is that it allows for errors.

If you make a mistake, that wouldn’t bring about the end of your site. The worst to happen is that no one wants to read your article.

But order for the wrong products and see the hell you will face trying to sell it.

Besides the low consequence for errors, blogging also cost less to start. You don’t pay to do market research unlike when launching a product.

Why Do You Need To Start A Blog Online?

Blogging:

• Position yourself to be a thought leader.

• Increase your website traffic via SEO.

• Target specific customers and generate leads.

• Increase sales of products or services.

• Connect and network you with like-minded bloggers.

• You will make more CONSISTENT money than any other online businesses.

Unlike other businesses, you don’t need any certifications, credentials, or third-party approval.

Also, you don’t need to be a mighty writer or a pro web designer on WordPress to learn how to start a blog and make money online.

2. Choose An Evergreen Niche

The journey begins here.

If you want to start and own a profitable blog, it start with choosing the right audience. Because working hard is not as important as working on the right thing.

A niche is a category or topic you want your blog to focus on. It can be Health, Relationship, Gospel and more.

Here are three mistakes you must avoid when choosing a niche:

• Choosing a niche for a hobby

• Choosing a niche because of money

• Starting in a niche you know nothing about.

I bet you won’t last before you give up.

The question is not what your passion is or what you like to do but “What are your strengths?”

What can you do better than anyone you have ever seen?

I must confess that most bloggers are struggling today because they missed this from the beginning.

This is the very reason I encourage people to find an excellent mentor to help scale through the hurdles.

Here are 5 major niches and their sub-niches.

• Health Niches (Beauty and Make-up, Healthy Eating and Fitness, Food and Lifestyle, etc.)

• Wealth Niches (Entrepreneurship and Business, Finance and Investment, etc)

• Relationship Niches (Youth Dating, Courtship Dating, Marriage Success, Parenting, etc.)

It is best to start from a sub-niche, as it makes it easy to grow faster and establish authority.

Also, rather than rushing to start on how to make money online in Nigeria with the relationship niche, blog on dating for men.

3. Choose The Best Website Builder

There are a lot of platforms you can use in starting your own blogs such as Wix.com, shopify.com, WordPress.com, and more.

But the downside is that they will limit your options and you will most likely later spend more as time goes on.

So, I recommend you work with the best website builder. And that’s WordPress

WordPress is a software application you can use to create, edit and publish your digital content. It is the most popular among content management systems.

I use it for no other reason than the plugins available for almost any features you need. Also, the support (resources) is great.

So, it is best in your pursuit to make money in Nigeria that you start your blog with WordPress.

4. Choose A Unique Domain Name

A domain name is the name of a website. It is the address that web users can use to locate your blog on the internet.

What an address is to a location, a domain name is to a website. oluboba.com is the domain name (address) of this website.

And it is the first thing your reader will see even before they arrive on your website. So, you have to be careful when choosing your domain name.

Few Rules Before You Buy A Domain Name

• Use .com

There are lots of domains name extensions out there (.org, .net, and more) but none communicate more professionalism than a [.com].

• Choose a Generic Name

If you are in for a long time business, use a generic name. It is a name with no dictionary meaning.

It makes it easy to expand your blog to other topics if you ever decide to do so later. Also, the shorter the name, the better.

Others are:

• Don’t use hyphens or numbers. You readers may forget them.

• Avoid domain names containing double letters.

• Stay away from the trademark names.

5. Sign Up With The Best Hosting Company

The next step to start your blog is to register with any of these best website hosting companies in Nigeria.

Web hosting is a service provided to you so your blog can be accessible across the web.

It ensures your blog is reachable when people type your domain name in a browser.

Choosing the right hosting company is one of the best investments you will ever make.

If you feel, you need a training on this, then, you can contact me.

I have the desire to empower people to fully harness the web. So, I can assure you you are in excellent hands.

6. Choose The Best WordPress Themes and Plugins

Your blog design starts with a WordPress theme. It gives your blog a pleasant appearance. And WordPress has thousands of free themes in its directory you can choose from. 

Personally, I recommend the Kadence theme because it is easy for you to start with as a beginner. Also, it is a fast theme with a clean interface and loads in less than 3 seconds.

Plugins are software you can use to expand and enhance your blog functionality. They can extend your blog theme by adding more features to it.

Below are major plugins I recommend to start a blog with WordPress and make money in Nigeria.

1. Rank Math for SEO

Rank Math is a Search Engine Optimization plugin for WordPress that makes it easy for you to optimize your content and rank on search engines.

2. FlyingPress For Speed

Boost your WordPress websites’ core web vitals in a few clicks with this lightweight and easy-to-use speed plugin.

3. iThemes Security

Keep the bad guys out and protect your WordPress site from viruses and malware.

7. Create Important Pages

Now, you can create the following important pages to start your blog on WordPress.

a) Blog Page

By default setting, your blog page will be your homepage. Whatever articles you publish from the post interface appear here automatically.

So, when people come to your website, they can see your most recent blog post.

b) About Me Page

No one does business with a stranger or an unknown person. People want to know who is behind an idea or a movement.

Learn how to write the About Me page of your website.

c) Contact Page

The worst mistake you can make is not leaving a means for people to reach you.

All you need is putting your phone number and email address on this page. Also, including your social media links and phone number (optional) helps.

d) Privacy and Disclosure Page

Legal pages is necessary if you want to start a blog that makes you money in Nigeria.

Also, add this simple statement about affiliate disclosure that tells your readers that you make money via affiliate marketing platforms.

Here is the statement:

I am an affiliate marketer with links redirecting to third-party websites on my pages. When you click and buy through any of these links, the company may pay me a commission without additional cost to you.

8. Publish Quality Content

Content is King!

That’s what you hear every blogger telling you. While that may be true, it is only one-sided.

The total truth is Relevant Content is King.

It is not enough to write but to write what people want to read. If no one is interested in your article, you are as good as not writing.

The best way to weigh your writing is to ask, “Will a reader find this article valuable and want to bookmark it?”

While most people rewrite other people’s ideas, I encourage you to write to solve a specific problem.

So, instead of writing about online business that pays daily, why not write about how to make money online from blogging?

Write articles that get your audience interested, answer their questions, and solve their problem.

I run the best digital marketing agency in Nigeria.

So, it is no surprise why my articles revolve around marketing.

But you don’t need to be in the business niche before you can have results. You can do better in any of the topics listed in the niche session.

So, start publishing quality content both on your blogs and when you guest post.

9. Start Promoting Your Blog

If you don’t promote yourself, no one else would. Below are ways to promote your content.

a) Share On Social Media

Social media is one key medium to create that lasting impression and reach out to many people.

While there are many social media platforms out there, I advise focusing on The Big 3 – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Here are tips to make the best of your social media pages

b) Leave A Comment

I have had people visit my website because they saw my comment on another blog article.

And when you do comment on people’s blogs, please be genuine about by writing something worth reading.

c) Email Your Subscribers

Before ending this section about how to start a blog and make money in Nigeria, I would speak about building your email list.

Publishing content is not enough. You must ensure you have a means of reaching out to your interested readers all at once.

So, start collecting emails.

To know better, I encourage you to read more about the best email marketing strategies.

d) Do Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a beautiful way to reach millions of readers on other blogs. It offers you the opportunity to submit relevant articles to other blogs.

Spotile is the best platform to express your thoughts and share ideas. Start writing today.

7 Ways To Make Money Blogging

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is persuading people to buy a company’s products from you. This concept has proven the easiest way to make money online without stress.

This company then pays you a certain amount for every successful sale. They can pay you a fixed amount or by an overall percentage.

All you need to do is to register with the best affiliate marketing programs and networks.

I started this business model as far back as an undergraduate. Unlike now, most affiliate programs then wouldn’t need you to have a blog to start.

Then, I would help both students place orders on Jumia. By doing this, Jumia pays me a commission.

And since people are skeptical about internet transactions, they trusted me to make the order. Which means more money for me.

While it was fun in those days; it was also stressful reaching out to each person.

But today, with just one blog post, Jumia Black Friday Phone Price List, I have had more sales than you can imagine.

Now, this is a way of letting you know that having a blog makes it easy to start a successful affiliate marketing business.

Because a criterion before any major affiliate companies approve your account is verifying the organic traffic on your blog.

Here is a list of the best affiliate marketing platforms.

2. Sell Your Products

While it is good to sell someone’s products, it is more honorable to sell yours.

This way, you don’t have to share the profits with anyone. Another reason to sell your own product is because of the values it brings you.

Let me give you an example.

When I started with this blog, my goal was and remains to help people with the best content and resources to start a business and grow their finance.

Soon, I began receiving emails upon emails, on how my contents had been of help (Thank you all).

Then, a site visitor emailed me about how she had spent so much on social media ads to sell her products.

That even though the ads were bringing returns, she knew it was not the best business model.

She then asked for my advice.

Right there, I knew it was time to write a book. Five weeks later, I published a book, Social Media for Businesses.

SMB explains the within and without a strategy to boost your social media presence and win customers on noisy platforms without paying for ads.

Just three hours of listing SMB on my blog, I had sales coming in, today and till tomorrow.

So, apart from the money, there is no greater joy than seeing people buy your products–you feel honored. A sense that they recognized your value and reward you 100% for it.

Informational products like books are one of the best products you can sell. Because they are easy to produce and have low production costs.

Here is a full guide on how to sell your products online.

3. Sell Membership Access

Forum is an easy way to make money blogging. You create a site where only people who pay can access specialized knowledge.

The concept behind private membership is to offer premium services that are not available to the public.

There will always be this raw and unedited truth of a business that a coach only shares only share with insiders.

While I try to give out my best content for free, it takes signing up for my coaching program to have me guide you step by step.

So, if my audience will show more commitment by paying for a coaching program, then they deserve better.

The same thing applies to you. You will go the extra length to do more for those who pay.

If you are wondering, “Do people pay for premium content?” Yes, they do.

People pay membership fees for one or two of the following reasons.

• They want specific knowledge tailored to their challenge, not the general ones on blogs.

• They want to network with other like-minded members of your ecosystem.

• It interests them to know they will learn more in close contact.

• They need you to be with them and watch them as they implement whatever they had learned from you.

You can show people the finished products of your works while you ask them to become a member to access video tutorials on how you built the products.

The complete business model of paid membership lies in the quote below.

Give the public the WHAT, but let them pay for the HOW.

Oluboba Ayodeji

In the end, your success with a paid membership forum depends on creating tutorials and sharing exclusive resources.

Paid membership will increase the value of your website. If you can, please do.

4. Sell Banner Space

Another way to start a blog and make money is by selling ad space. This method is very convenient since you decide the terms and conditions.

So, let’s assume you blog about lifestyle. Once you get to a particular success height, traveling agencies will start reaching out to you to place their banners on your blog.

This way, you can charge per banner or use the subscription business model.

These banners come in shapes and sizes, which makes them easy to place in major positions without distracting your readers.

About making money with banner placement? You can do so in two ways.

You can sell banner space directly using digital marketing tools like Ad Inserter Pro.

Or you can partner with a banner ad marketplace like BuySellAds to sell advertising space.

I mostly prefer the first because of the control it offers. The banner advertising business is very much alive and ever-growing.

5. Google AdSense

You can’t finish reading an article on how to start a blog and make money online on WordPress without mentioning AdSense.

AdSense remains one of the easiest ways to earn a living with your blog.

Google has made this process so easy that the only work on your part is to place the code in key positions on your blog.

The other work is being consistent with your core duty of posting articles, while Google keeps rewarding you when people click.

I could remember when I earned my first dollars via AdSense. You need to see the joy all over me.

Soo, I had to remove it because of its downside. You won’t earn much compared to what you are giving out.

Also, AdSense has a way of affecting one of your key digital marketing metrics called bounce rate.

While you may think you are earning, you are actually hurting your website except you run a news blog.

That is why I encourage you to see AdSense as your last option and use it with caution.

5 Things Every Serious Blogger Must Do To Make Money Blogging

• Own Your Brand

With the ever-growing number of blogs, there is definitely one way to stand out. That is to own your brand.

Branding is key if your business must excel on the internet because it is the light of the business.

• Get Your Domain Name

Naming is so important in business that it is the first thing people see even before they interact with your brand.

If your domain name sounds well, it makes it easy to become a household name. But if it’s awkward, nobody wants to associate with it.

Name can also be the reason your audience lands on another website because of spelling errors.

I explained here the best tips on how to choose and buy a domain name.

• Choose A Color

Whether or not you like it, you have associated red with Coca-Cola and blue with Facebook. That tells you the power of color.

So, you must be selective to choose a color that appeals to your audience. In most cases, a primary and secondary color is all you need.

• Use A Logo

You cannot underestimate the place of the logo in building a successful brand for yourself or your blog.

Getting a professional logo is affordable. Contact a graphics designer around you to get you a great logo design.

• 5. Get A Professional Website Design

You were told not to judge a book by its cover. But trust me, people will judge your website by its look.

A unique website design will stand you out in the ocean of competitors.

Rather than struggling with free themes, choose your design from the list of best WordPress Themes.

Conclusion on How to Start a Blog Online

And here come my last words on how to start a blog on WordPress and make money online.

Blogging is an online business that pays you daily. It is a business that is profitable if only you would be diligent.

You need to take advantage of the opportunities I am presenting to you today because your blog can only go as far as you allow it.

Now is your best time to start a blog in Nigeria with WordPress and make money online.

I congratulate you for making it this far.

Make Money Blogging FAQs

1. Do I need a website to start a blog online?

Yes, you do. Now, your blog does not have to be fancy and all that professional to start. As time goes on, you can upgrade to the best WordPress themes.

2. Is Wix or WordPress better for blogging?

Yes, both are some of the best website builders with resources that teach you how to start a blog and make money online.

3. Does a blog make money online?

Yes! Bloggers have made money, making money, and will continue making more. So, blogging as with any other legit online business pays daily.

4. How much can a blog make?

There is neither minimum nor limit to how much money you can make blogging. So many factors like hard work and skills influence your pay.

5. How do I start a blog online with WordPress and make money blogging.

• Understand the Benefits of blogging

• Choose a niche from areas of your core strength.

• Install from this list of best WordPress Themes

• Publish quality content and promote your blog

• Monetize your website.