Do you want to start a blog and learn how to make money blogging? Well, great! That’s what I’m doing, and you can too.
I started my first blog (this one) in April 2024. I didn’t have a clear direction other than I wanted to use my skills as an SEO writer to drive traffic so I could monetise with affiliate offers and, eventually, ad revenue.
I had a head start in getting traffic because I’ve been an SEO writer since 2020, getting blog content successfully ranked on page one SERPs. However, you don’t need to be an SEO expert to build a successful blog.
What you need is patience, consistency and a growth mindset. I’ve learned so much since I started, and as I venture into building multiple blogs, I am using what I have learned to improve.
A Bit About Me
I’ve been a freelance SEO writer since 2020, working for clients to get their content ranking in SERPs. I don’t use expensive keyword tools. I mostly use free AI tools because there are multiple ways to maximise potential without emptying your wallet.
I achieved a lot of blog writing success for clients, but in 2023, I got stuck in a toxic work environment, which crushed my spark for client work. I took a few months off to recover from burnout, then decided to do the following: –
- Only write for clients who value and appreciate me and my work
- Start creating content for myself with my first blog
My Blog Monetisation Process
Initially, I did social media marketing, but I hated it. I found it exhausting, time-consuming and unrewarding. I can get better results from ranking blog content. After some research, I decided to drop social media and focus on search engine marketing, utilising Google, Pinterest and YouTube.
Pinterest is a powerful search engine and ally for driving traffic to your blog and offers. I took Pinterest Rank Boost 2.00, a Pinterest SEO course. Later I studies Pin Design Perfection, a fabulous pin design courses and started pinning.
Unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake on my first Pinterest account, which got permanently suspended just as I reached 9k monthly views after months of pinning. I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to.
Read: Pinterest Account Suspended? What To Do if it Happens to You
Building Digital Marketing Into Your Business
I began transitioning to digital marketing in early 2024 after three years as a freelance SEO writer. I wasted money on buying master resell rights products (MRR) that didn’t teach me enough to make money.
There are many angles to digital marketing. You might want to learn how to create and sell digital products, focus on mastering social media or learn affiliate marketing. The latter is where my heart lies.
You can learn about branding, faceless marketing, affiliate marketing, and content creation, or sell digital products and templates online, such as Etsy or Beacons (which you can start for free).
Eventually, after a lot of fruitless faffing, I joined Catalyst Collective, an affiliate-based program that gave me the tools to start thinking like an entrepreneur. The clouds parted, and I finally got a sense of direction. I know how to make money – it only took decades 😊
I also joined the DFU Biz, and my reasoning for that is we get a Shopify store packed with 800+ digital products we can sell for affiliate commissions. At least 50% of my weekly Pinterest content is pins from my Shopify store.
Affiliate Marketing Can Grow Your Business
I remember feeling so confused about affiliate marketing that it stopped me from taking action. Now, I know affiliate marketing is surprisingly simple.
My ethos is promoting products I use or have used and am happy to recommend. I recently joined a hosting company and started promoting, but after shi**y customer support, when I had a major technical issue with a new blog, I stopped promoting them.
Affiliate marketing success is about finding the right partners and knowing how to drive traffic to your offers. This blog will help you with that as I share my experiences, good and bad. For example, now my blog is getting traction, I’m researching ad revenue partnerships. Wish me luck!
As we work together to monetise your blog, finding the best way to grow and monetise will be our prime focus.