The complete guide on how to create a blog and make money. earn $1,000+ Monthly, A-Z tutorial on how to make money blogging
Complete Guide to Create a Blog Exactly like BizIQ.ng and Earn $1,000+ Monthly
When we talk about making money online, starting a blog is something I highly recommend for everyone, because of my experience and success.
I’ve had a couple of friends, family members and my blog readers asking me how I created www.BizIQ.ng and how it makes over $1k monthly.
I thought I would share it with everyone here for free. Without wasting any of your time, here are the steps that will be covered:
- What is a Blog?
- How Blogs make money.
- Complete guide to create a blog like BizIQ.ng, build traffic and make money
- Choose a blogging platform
- Create your blog
- Install blogger template
- Buy a custom domain name
- Link your domain to Blogspot
- Set Up Google Analytics
- Making Money – Set Up Advertising
- Getting Traffic to Your Blog
- Learning More
- Can Someone Do This For Me?
What Is a Blog?
The word "Blog" is derived from "web-log" A blog is a website that displays postings of articles, images and video by one or more individuals in chronological order and usually has links to comments on specific postings.
A blog is a "website" that has some automatic organizing features included in it. Your theme, the look and feel of your website will be consistent on every page.
Your readers will find navigating your website very easy if it is in a blog format.
Readers of your blog can browse by category, tags, or date. And you can make money while offering your content free to your readers. How?
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How Blogs Make Money
The answer to this is very simple. Blogs make money through having advertisements on them and also by selling products or services.
Have you seen websites or blog sites with advertisements on them? Or a blog selling eBooks, product or services? If yes, that is how blogs make money.
I will cover all of this in detail when we get to step 7 below. For now, know that if you are persistent in building your blog, your content, and your readership, over time you will have the potential to make good money.
Some people make very little and give up. Don’t do that! Winners don't quit, over time you could quite easily earn an extra $1000 per month from advertising revenues alone.
Complete Guide to Create a Blog like BizIQ.ng, Build Traffic and Make money
Step 1: Choosing a Blogging Platform
First, You need to pick a blogging platform. A blogging platform is a software or service that you will use to publish your blog post or content.
It serves as the foundation of your blog, it dictates the look and functionality available in your dashboard and also provides the underlying code your blog is built upon.
There are two most popular platforms, WordPress (by Hosting) and Blogger (by Google). I built BizIQ with blogger platform. Not just because it is owned by Google but here are 6 reasons why I choose blogger platform.
6 Reasons Why I Choose Blogger Platform
Reason #1: It is Free!
No subscription fees, no monthly payment, no registration fees, no upsell fees. Free. No strings attached. The hosting is not just free, but 100% up-time hosting!
Your blog site can never slow down when you get a lot of traffic (people engaging) on your blog. But WordPress hosting companies might get mad at you for a lot of traffic or even shut down your site.
Creating your blog with "Blogger" from Google will make your site to serve at peak performance because it is hosted on Google platform. With hosting like this, you don't need to worry about getting too popular.
Reason #2: High Level of Customization
You can see the level of BizIQ customization? That is the power of the Blogger platform. Beyond thousands of free templates for download from 3rd party websites, you can use the customization tool to transform your template without knowing CSS.
And if you want to go in and edit your template, you have full access to the HTML, CSS, Javascript and underlying Google template code.
Reason #3: Integration with Google Product Suite
Remember that Blogger platform is owned by Google? All their product suites like Google+, Google Places, Picasa Web, Picasa Creative Kit, Google Drive, Google Docs, FeedBurner, Google Webmaster, Google Analytics, Google Merchant are already integrated. Awesome advantage! Isn't it?
Unlike WordPress hosted blog, you will still need extra customization with plugins, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and so on...
Reason #4: Show up in Search Results Faster
Did you know that Blogger sites are added to the Google search index within 24 hours of you creating your Blogger site? And did you know that it can sometimes take weeks or even months before your Wordpress site is indexed?
Faster indexing means your site can start getting traffic even sooner.
Reason #5: Ability to use a custom Domain Name
When I created BizIQ on blogger platform, the sub-domain name was "www.biziqblog.blogspot.com" before I bought a custom domain name www.biziq.ng and then linked it up.
When you create your blog on a blogger platform, your domain name will look like this: (www.YourDomainName.blogspot.c
To make your blog more professional, you must remove the ". blogspot.com" at the end of your name by buying a custom domain name like (www.YourDomainName.com) or (www.YourDomainName.ng)
Custom domain names can also come in ".net" .org" .ng" or .com.ng" just as I used it here www.BizIQ.ng
Ability to use a custom domain name is another great reason why I choose a blogger platform from Google
Reason #6: Easy to Use and Understand
Blogger is considered the easiest blogging platform to use, mainly because the interface and editor are so easy.
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Step 2: How to create your own blog (with blogger from Google)
1) Open Blogger by typing www.blogger.com into the address bar, or click here.
- Click the CREATE YOUR BLOG button. This is an orange button in the middle of the page. It will prompt you to sign in with your Google account.
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| How to create a blog using blogger from google |
2) You will need to use your Google account to sign in and use Blogger. Sign in with your Gmail account.
- Enter your Google email or phone number. and click Next.
- Enter your account password and click Next.
- If you don't have a Google account, click the blue Create account link at the bottom of the sign-in form.
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| Sign-in with your Gmail account to use blogger |
3) When you sign in, you'll be prompted to create your new blog in a pop-up window. Click the text field next to "Title" at the top of the pop-up, and enter your blog name
- If you don't automatically see this window, click the orange CREATE NEW BLOG button in the middle..
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| Enter your blog title and URL address |
4). Enter a URL address for your blog in the "Address" field. Click the text field next to "Address" below "Title," and type the URL address you want to use for your blog.
- As you type, available URL addresses will show up on a drop-down list. You can click an address here to select it.
- You will see a white checkmark icon in a blue square next to the Address field. It means this address is available, and you can use it for your blog.
- If you see an exclamation mark "!" icon in a red square, you will have to change your URL address.
5) Select a theme for your blog page. Scroll down the blog themes in the "Theme" box, and click the one you want to use.
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| Create your blog |
6) Click the Create blog button. This is an orange button on the bottom-right of the pop-up window. It will create your new blog, and take you to your blog's admin dashboard.
How your blog is ready! Hit "New post" to publish your first post.
Step 3: Install Blogger Template
Now that you have created your blog, it's time you install a template. There are thousands of free blogger templates on the internet and there are premium templates too.
I recommend you buy a premium template because your blog will be more unique. The chances of coming across a website with the same design like yours will be lower if you use a premium template.
Premium templates offer a lot of features and customization options. The name of the premium template I used on BizIQ is "MagOne blogger template". by Tien.
You can purchase it if you want your blog to really look like mine (contact me if you need help on that) or you can download a free one on the internet and follow my instructions on how to install it.
How to Install any Blogger Template
At first, you must have a template .xml file when you download a free or buy a template. Extract it first to find the .xml file. Open it with a text editor (recommend Notepad++) then select and copy all code in the file.
From your blogger dashboard click on Theme and then click on the drop down icon beside the customize as you can see in the image below;
After you click on the drop down icon, click on Edit HTML. When Template Editor showed, select all code and paste the new code (that you copied from template .xml file) then click Save Template.
Step 4: Buy A Custom Domain Name (remove blogspot)
First of all, What is a domain name? A domain name is the "Address" where Internet users can access your website. In other words, domain name is the name of a website e.g. (www.YourBlogName.com).
An example of a domain name is www.BizIQ.ng or www.google.com or www.Facebook.com. it is the web address that directs users to your website.
When choosing a domain name think about how you want to brand your blog. You can choose a name related to your blog’s theme, you could choose to brand with your own name, or you can make up a name that sounds cool. Or you could do some combination of those.
Usually ".com" ".ng" or ".com.ng" is preferable to other extensions such as (“.net" .cc” or “.tv” or “.co”) because it makes it easier for people to remember.
Point Your Domain Name to Blogspot
In this tutorial, I will be using DomainKing.ng as an example. Click here to buy from DomainKing and follow the below step to point your domain name to blogger and remove blogspot.
Once your domain name is registered, you can use this guide to integrate your Blogger blog with your activated domain name.
1) Login to your blogger dashboard. On the Left of the navigation bar you need to click on "Settings" as shown in the screenshot.
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2) After clicking on Settings, Scroll down to Publishing section and click on "Custom domain".
3) Now you need to type the url of the domain you've purchased and then click "Save"
- Note: Keeping in mind that it must begin with www in order to work. You could mention blog.yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com or whatever url you want your blog to be. www is preferred if you want to keep the blog on main domain.
4) When you click on "Save" You should see an error, and two CNAMEs listed below. The first CNAME is the same for everyone, Name being "www" and Destination "ghs.google.com".
After getting the CNAMEs record you need to enter those CNAMEs in your domain's panel. You can use their quick blogger Installer to enter these CNAMEs in your domain's panel.
If you are not able to enter it yourself as shown in the above guide then you can send us those CNAMEs by raising a support ticket.
After you have input the two CNAMEs in your domain's panel. Go back to the Step in which you saw an error, and two CNAMEs and click "Save".
Input your domain name in the address bar and it will automatically redirect to your blogger blog
Step 6: Set Up Your RSS Feed with Feedburner
Setting up RSS Feed with Feedburner will allow your readers to subscribe to your blog via a reader or via email for free. It will also allow you to monitor the growth of your subscribers! Steps:
- Visit feedburner.google.com and sign in with your Google account. NOTE: feedburner will have created your feed automatically because both blogger and feedburner are owned by google and they are connected together
- Click on your blog name
- Click on the Publicize Tab > Chicklet Chooser in your Feedburner account and copy the HTML code below.
- Go to blogger dashboard and click on 'Layout'.
- Click 'Add a Gadget' and a small window will pop up
- Scroll down to the HTML/JavaScript
- Paste the HTML you copied in step 3
Step 7: Set Up Google Analytics
This will allow you to monitor and analyze the traffic to your site. It’s very powerful and it’s FREE! You can use Analytics to find out where your readers come from and what they read on your blog. Here are the steps:
- Go to www.google.com/analytics and sign in with your gmail account.
- Learn how to fine your Analytics tracking ID.
- In the top left, select the blog you want to analyze.
- From the menu on the left, click Settings.
- Under "Basic," click Google Analytics Property ID.
- Enter your Analytics tracking ID.
- Make sure you enter the ID in this format: UA-XXXXX-XX.
- Click Save.
Important: It can take up to 24 hours for your data to show up in Analytics
Step 8: Making Money - Setup Advertising
This is what top bloggers will not tell "When starting out, you might only make a few dollars or nothing in your first month while you are building your readership". But over time you could quite easily earn an extra $1000 per month from advertising revenues.
Some top bloggers make a full living off their blog earning 5 or 6 figure incomes. Your income potential is only limited by your belief and the work you put in. Of course you will need to be persistent and stick with it even when it seems like things are going nowhere.
Build your network of blogging friends over time and compare notes, ask for feedback and share learning with each other. And, of course, continually provide great content for your readers and they will reward you with loyalty and referrals.
There are several ways to make money. I will cover the 5 main ways here. They are:
- Contextual Ads
- Affiliate Ads
- Ad Networks
- Direct Ad Sales/Sponsorships
- Selling you own products/services
Contextual Ads - These are ads that display on your website that are related to the content of your site. For example; if you post about phone, advertisements about phones with display on your blog.
The most popular is Google AdSense and is probably all you need. It is important to note that you should be sure to follow Google’s rules closely because if you don’t you can find yourself kicked out of their program and will have no chance for appeal again forever. (You need to actually read their rules and understand them.)
Being banned from their program could be a really bad thing if a lot of your income comes from them. That is why a lot of super top bloggers look to find ways to diversify or replace that income over time so as not to be so dependent on an income source that could be taken away at a moment’s notice.
I still recommend using these ads because they are easy to implement and as your blog traffic grows so will your income.
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How to Set Up Google Adsense on Your Blog
- Sign up with Google Adsense. It’s free.
- Create the ads you want with Adsense’s tool.
- Copy the code they give you.
- Blogger Dashboard ->Layout->Add a Widgets -> HTML/JavaScript and paste your AdSense code
- Leave the title bar blank
- Drag the widget to the desired location in the sidebar.
- Save your layout
Affiliate Ad - Affiliate marketing is all about referring people to buy a product or services for a commission. Sales are referred by your readers clicking on a banner ad or a text link ad that takes them to the company’s website
Most products and stores have an affiliate program. Once you join the program you may promote their product with a banner ad in your sidebar. You set this up similar to setting up Google Ads by inserting the affiliate code into a text widget
Once you find products and services that you think are good quality and that your readers would be interested you will seek to join their affiliate program.
You can promote affiliate products directly in your blog posts. This will be more effective because you can give a description and personal recommendation of the product.
Here are a few well known networks:
- Amazon Associates
- Clickbank
- Commission Junction
- e-Junkie
- myhelphub (many great writing products)
- Linkshare
- Shareasale
Ad Networks - These are networks that work as a middleman. They secure the advertisers and you provide the advertising space. The way they come together is by placing their ad code in a sidebar text widget. When you sign up with any of these they will give you the code you need and instructions for placing it in your blog.
They will keep track of all sales and they will usually pay you monthly either through ACH, PayPal, or a check. Learn how to open a verified PayPal account in Nigeria.
- Text Link Ads
- PeopleJam
- Blogher.com
- Adbrite
- Kontera
- Chitika
- ShoppingAds
- BlogAds.com
Banner Advertising Services - If you don’t want to keep track of your banner ads there is a great solution: Banner Advertising Services. There are two major options at this time: PassionFruitAds and Adproval. I use PassionFruitAds. They have a very nice service and don’t take too much off the top of your revenues.
Selling your own products/services - This is pretty self explanatory. You come up with the products and services that you want to sell personally. Then you design the text or banner advertising to go along with it.
You place the promotion for your products and services into blog posts and/or into your sidebar with text widgets. You can also outsource the production of products that you’d like to sell and have them drop-shipped to your buyers so that you never have to handle inventory or shipping.
One example is CafePress that will produce t-shirts, mugs, and other items with your artwork on them.
Step 9: Getting Traffic to Your Blog
When you think about getting traffic to you blog, the first thing that should come to your mind is to create valuable contents. This is really important because you want people to keep returning to your site. Time and lots of effort are what you need.
I’ll cover both online and offline strategies. Try them both. The easiest to start with are the online ones.
Get Blog Traffic - Offline Strategies
- Tell all your friends.
- Write a press release.
- Do some interviews on TV, radio or in newspapers.
- Post flyers in places where your target audience frequents – also try libraries, the post office bulletin board, supermarkets, and community centers.
- Create a local access TV program where you present similar information that your blog presents and be sure to make your blog URL prominent on the show.
- Merchandise: bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc.
Get Blog Traffic - Online Strategies
- By Social Networking - Join the top social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn to grow your audience and friends who are interested in your topic and who are willing to support your writing with likes and shares.
- By Email - email all your contacts that might be interested in your topic and ask them to pass the info to their contacts that might be interested too.
- By SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - Optimize your site for search engines.
- By Writing really good content - Write really good content. And write some more really good content that will make readers want to come back again to see what you have posted.
- By Building links to your blog - commenting on blogs that have “dofollow” links which means that search engines will see those links. This helps you get more search engine traffic eventually.
- By Comment on other blogs - Every time you drop a comment you will get a link to your blog and people who read your comments might come to visit your site. Seek out blogs that are similar to your blog and have a large readers which you can tell by the number of subscribers they have and the amount of comments the blog gets.
Step 10: Learning More
All the steps I listed above take time, but if you are persistent while you write good contents, you will have success. And once you have the basics knowledge you’ll probably want to learn more.
Please don’t forget to subscribe to my blog by email and follow me on social media as I will be publishing more of interesting articles about how to make money online.
Can Someone Do All This Setup For Me?
If after reading all the above tutorials, you want someone else to do all the heavy lifting of setting up your blogger blog for you including the domain name, custom theme and installing of template, etc Contact me
My Final Words
I wish you success in making money from your blog. With practice of your writing craft and persistence in building traffic to your blog, you will definitely succeed!
Please Share! Share your comments, thoughts, questions, and links to your new blog! Please come back and fill us in on your progress & success!
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