I first wanted to start a blog to share my collective passions, but my next though was, I’d like to monetize this in a way that allows me eventual freedom to do exactly what I want. Goals quickly escalated and I learned some valuable things as I set out to create a cohesive space for my ideas.
For weeks I tried to figure out the secret, crack the code if you will, because apparently there are thousands of ways to go about this but clearly one path to ease of use and ultimate success. I read hundreds of articles, clicked on a whole bunch of baity pinterest pins…They promised answers but gave none. All I could figure out was there were a million ways to set up this blog and about an equal amount of “experts” begging me to sign up for their master class where all the answers would be revealed. Well here’s the thing, call it my distrustful nature and uneasy attachment style but I ain’t signing up for nothing. I want answers and surely its out there for free.
What are they all worried about? That everyone else’s content will be so much better that the already saturated market of bloggers will just collapse if we make things too easy? Blogs, websites, brands, if you will, still require a ton of work, time and dedication, so I’m not afraid of sharing how I personally did it. Because this list coming up is exactly what I wish I had actually been able to find years ago when I started my journey. Here goes:
Define your Name/Brand
I’m gonna assume you already know exactly what your blog is to be about and have an amazing name picked out. Do your homework and google search your name to see if its popping any others out there similar. Be original and catchy, and have it make sense and be defined enough to your niche but broad enough to fit growing pains. Also, while you’re at it, grab all the social media handles for it as well. Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook (yes I’m still old school, Youtube, etc)
Big Scoots
Scoot on over to BigScoots.com https://www.bigscoots.com/managed-wordpress-hosting/ These guys just signed a partnership with Mediavine (more on that later and why it matters) grab their starter package for $34.95 per month, and make sure you use coupon code DEAL30 for 30% off. I love these guys because you can chat with a human anytime and they are so nice and helpful. Next, walk through their email steps to finish setting up your account, and begin your wordpress.org site
WordPress.org
For anyone with a wordpress.com site, I’m truly sorry but you must be self hosted to be involved with Mediavine ad revenue. I made the mistake of building a website first on wix, which is incompatible with Mediavine, then wordpress.com, which is incompatible because it’s not self hosted and then finally coming to the light of a wordpress.org SELF HOSTED site (Big Scoots is the host) This is where you want to start out, and avoid building ten websites that don’t matter. Not gonna lie, wordpress is challenging for me and I’ve built many websites over the years on wix, weebly, etc. This was just harder for me, but I think it’s streamlined for compatibility and makes sense once you dive in.
Google Analytics and Adsense
After you get your wordpress.org site rocking, it’s time to set up Google analytics and Google Adsense.
Write and Create
Now the fun begins. Write all the posts you can think of. Just create articles, content, fill up your library. When you feel confident that you have a decent repetoire, share it with some really fun looking pins and posts to get traffic from social media.
Mediavine
Now at this point, hopefully if you are creating original, engaging, high-quality content, (around 200 articles) you have alot of readers eventually. Mediavine requires a minimum of 50,000 monthly sessions, which is about 60,000 to 80,000 pageviews. Apply and fingers crossed, get accepted. (They prioritize lifestyle bloggers.) Mediavine has an astronomically higher RPM ($15-$25 per 1,000 views) than any other ad network out there, this is why it’s so important to land with them instead of say, google adsense alone. So let’s say you’re getting 50,000 sessions per month as their minimum requirement to join, you would be earning anywhere from $75-$125 or more each month.
Cash Checks
Now you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You have created a passionate hobby turned side hustle, and can continue to pour your heart into great content now that the heavy lift of setting it all up is over. I hope this helps you, happy blogging!
P.S. I found this article super interesting
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