This is a collaborative post
For some people, blogging is a hobby and nothing more, but for others, it’s a valuable income stream and a chance to make money from doing something that they love. Before we go any further it’s important to remember that there are blogs out there that make money without these four things, but in our experience, having them really does help your monetisation strategy.
So without further ado, here are four things your blog needs if you want to start making money.
A domain name
Most brands and businesses will only work with blogs that are self-hosted and have their own domain name. It’s not difficult to become self-hosted, simply look for the cheapest VPS web-hosting site, fill out some details, pay a small fee, and within a few clicks, you’ll have your own domain name and a little piece of the internet. Once you have your own domain name and are self-hosted, a whole new world of blogging opens up to you, including unlimited customisations that enable you to create the blog of your dreams.
Categories
Blogging categories are vital if you want to start making money from blogging because many brands and SEO agencies will only collaborate or provide posts to bloggers who can house their sponsored content under a relevant heading. Lifestyle is a very common and broad blogging category, but it’s best to break it down into more specific sections, such as parenting, house & home, gardening, food, business etc. So long as your categories are neatly organized within your menus then there isn’t any harm in having quite a few of them.
An ‘about’ page or section
The ‘about’ page or section of your blog should never be underestimated and is the perfect chance for you to explain a little about yourself to allow potential collaborators to know who you are, what you write about, and why they should work with you. Brands that work with boggers do so for two reasons, firstly, the exposure that they can gain from a blog with a loyal following, and secondly to be associated with the personality of the influencer. You may have great blog stats but this alone will not be enough to win over some brands, so let a little of your personality shine through.
An invitation to work with you
A ‘work with me’ page or a little section in your about that invites brands to collaborate with you is essentially a call to action. If you are looking for brands to work with, offer product reviews, accept guest content, etc, then make this known by putting it in a ‘work with me’ section or stating it in your about. Make sure to follow up by putting an email or contact form for brands to get in touch with you and, it can also be helpful to provide a link to your media kit showing your latest blog stats and some examples of other companies you have worked with.
So there you have it – four of the things your blog needs if you’re going to start making money, do you have any other tips to add?