Create a dream shopping portal within 60 minutes for unlimited income

There are a lot of ways to make money online, but one of the best is to start an online store. But if you don’t have a lot of experience creating websites or selling products and services, where do you even start?

Fear not. Fortunately, a few simple tools make it surprisingly easy to get your feet wet in the world of e-commerce. By using WordPress as your website’s platform and leveraging the WooCommerce plugin to actually build your store, you can be up and running in an hour — or about the amount of time it takes to watch an episode of your favorite Netflix show. The process will still require some upfront work, but it is totally manageable (even if you’re a newbie!).

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll provide you with everything you need to get your online shop off the ground. We’ll discuss the advantages of using both WordPress and WooCommerce and walk you through setting up your store and creating products. Finally, we’ll offer some tips for designing and promoting your site effectively.

An Introduction to E-Commerce

Amazon is probably the most famous (and successful) e-commerce website.

If you’ve never heard of e-commerce before, it’s a blanket term that refers to buying and selling goods or services online. So if you’ve ever purchased something on the internet, you’ve engaged in e-commerce.

We probably don’t have to tell you how vast and complex the world of e-commerce has become. You can buy nearly anything online, from toothbrushes to houses, and most items are offered by multiple sellers. What’s more, you can purchase digital products, services, and all sorts of other non-physical products as well. This means that if you’re interested in becoming a seller yourself, you’re going to have a lot of competition. Don’t be intimidated — it is possible to start your own online store and do quite well. However, you’ll have to put some work in first. The first step is choosing the best tools to build your store.

Why You Should Consider WordPress for Your E-Commerce Store

WordPress is an outstanding platform for building your online store.

While there are other options, such as selling your products through an existing marketplace like Amazon, most people get their e-commerce start by creating their own store. Of course, an online store is just another kind of website. So your first decision will be picking a platform to build your website.

If you aren’t sold on a particular platform already, we highly recommend WordPress. This free, open-source Content Management System (CMS) is a standout choice for websites of all types. It’s beginner-friendly but so flexible and customizable that you can build almost any site with it.

WordPress got its start as a blogging platform, but it’s now used for business websites, portfolios, news sites, and much more. It’s also an incredibly popular choice with business owners for e-commerce sites for a number of reasons:

• The WordPress community has developed thousands of themes and plugins you can use to customize your site, including many tools for e-commerce. This means you can tweak the appearance of your store until it’s just right and add nearly any feature to it, whether you’re running a massive enterprise or a small business.
• As a platform, WordPress is very secure. New updates and patches are regularly released to combat the latest threats. Plus, there are a lot of ways you can boost site security. This is a big deal for e-commerce sites since they typically deal with sensitive financial data.
• There’s a vast community out there to support you. Getting involved in e-commerce can be tricky. No matter what question or problem you have, however, there will be plenty of people who can help you out.

You really can’t go wrong with WordPress for building your online store — no matter how big you want it to be or what you plan to sell. The only caveat is that, out of the box, the platform doesn’t provide dedicated e-commerce features. However, that issue can be quickly resolved by installing the right WordPress plugin.

An Introduction to WooCommerce

The WooCommerce plugin adds e-commerce capabilities to your WordPress website.

There are multiple plugins that can add e-commerce capabilities to your WordPress site. None of them can truly compete with WooCommerce. This free WordPress plugin is the most popular solution for online stores within the platform — and for good reason. Like WordPress itself, WooCommerce is both easy to get started with and endlessly flexible. Installing the WooCommerce plugin will immediately add all sorts of useful e-commerce functionality to your site, such as product pages, a checkout option, and a payment system. It offers a number of useful settings and options, so you can tweak your store to meet your exact needs.

WooCommerce works well for selling physical items, digital products, or both. Whether you’re starting up a small store to sell a few downloads or hoping to move hundreds of products a day, WooCommerce has you covered.

Key Features

• Enables you to create dedicated, customizable pages for each product or service.
• Adds a checkout feature to your site so visitors can make purchases directly.
• Includes various options for payment methods and shipping.

Pricing

WooCommerce is a free plugin and is, in many cases, suitable on its own. If you want to expand its capabilities, however, there’s an extension store offering all kinds of additional features.

What to Do Before Building Your Online Store

WooCommerce-specific hosting is the best way to start your store off on the right foot.

In a moment, we’ll walk you through how to set up an online store using WordPress and WooCommerce. However, there are two things you’ll want to do first. In order for your store to be available online, you’ll need both a domain name and a WordPress hosting plan. Your domain name is the part of your site’s URL that comes after the www — for example, dreamhost.com. Purchasing a domain is simple. You’ll have to pay an upfront cost, then a renewal fee each year, but these are usually quite affordable.

You can think of your domain like an address. It’s one of the key ways people will find you, so it’s important to make your choice carefully. Try to pick something simple and clear but also memorable enough to stand out. Take the time now to find something you’re happy with, so you don’t have to go through the hassle of changing your domain later.

If your domain is your site’s address, your hosting is where it ‘lives.’ Your web host provider will store your site’s files on its servers, so anyone with an internet connection can access it. There are many web host options, a lot of which are quite cheap. However, it’s best not to rush this decision either. After all, your web host will affect your site’s performance, security, optimization, and much more.

If you want to run a successful store, these elements are crucial. In addition, you’ll want to look for a host with a solid reputation, excellent support options, and — ideally — WordPress-specific features. It’s also best to select one with solid domain services since it’s easier to manage your hosting and domain in one place.

Related: Why You Should Consider Keeping Domain Registration and Web Hosting Under One Roof

Since you’ll be setting up a WooCommerce store, you should definitely check out our WooCommerce hosting. This plan is optimized for WordPress and comes with WooCommerce pre-installed (along with some other helpful tools). You’ll get lots of storage and resource scaling options so you can grow your store, and plenty of support for those times when you need help. Plus, it’s very affordable.

Your Store Deserves WooCommerce Hosting

Sell anything, anywhere, anytime on the world's biggest eCommerce platform with optimized hosting, starting at $16.95/mo.

Choose Your Plan

Before we move on, let’s talk a little bit about security. As we’ve mentioned, keeping your online store safe from hackers and malware is essential. One smart way to do this is through the use of HTTPS, which is a more secure version of the HTTP you see at the beginning of many URLs. If you want your site to run on HTTPS, you’ll need a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. We mention this now because, while you can get an SSL certificate through an external source, it’s easiest to obtain it as part of your hosting. For example, our WooCommerce hosting plan includes a free, preinstalled Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. This way, your store will be even more secure right from the very start. SSL certificates are important for most sites these days, but they’re a must-have for e-commerce stores.

How to Start an Online Store in 1 Hour

Once you have a hosting plan picked out and a domain in place, you’re ready to start building your online store! Let’s walk through the process, step by step. No developers required.

1. Install WordPress (5 Minutes)

The first thing you’ll need to do to get your new website up and running is install WordPress. How you do this will vary, depending on your choice of host. In some cases, you may be able to skip this step altogether. For example, if you opt for our WooCommerce hosting (or our regular DreamPress plan), WordPress will be pre-installed so you don’t have to worry about it. If you have a different host or type of plan, you’ll need to log into your hosting account, find the installation button or link, and follow the resulting prompts. If you’re lucky, your host will simplify the process even if WordPress doesn’t come pre-installed. For example, on some of our more basic hosting plans, we offer a one-click install option. You simply need to visit your Dreamhost panel and navigate to WordPress > One-Click Installs.

Select WordPress on the next screen, and you’ll be presented with a few fields to fill out. You can select the domain to use under Install to.

You can usually leave the other fields alone since they contain more advanced options. Check the Deluxe Install button if you want your site to come with some handy themes and plugins pre-installed, then select Install it for me now! After that, you’ll be sent an email at the address associated with your DreamHost account. It will contain your username and a link to your new site. Finally, in some cases, you may need to install WordPress manually. This is a little more involved, requiring a few additional tools, but can still be completed in less than five minutes. If you find yourself in that situation, we recommend following WordPress’ own handy installation tutorial.

2. Install and Configure WooCommerce (10 Minutes)

Next up, we have another step you may be able to skip entirely. After all, our WooCommerce hosting comes with the plugin pre-installed and pre-configured. This way, you’re ready to start building your online store from the moment you first visit your new site. Still, let’s walk through the process of manually installing WooCommerce and setting it up, in case you have a different plan. You’ll first need to visit your WordPress site, navigate to the Plugins tab, and select the Add New button at the top of the screen.

Type “WooCommerce” into the search field and the plugin should come up right away. Click on Install Now, and wait a few moments. A new button should appear, called Activate, which you’ll need to click.

That’s all you need to do to add the plugin to your site. It’s now ready to use and will automatically set up the essential pages you’ll need for your store (such as a shopping cart and checkout page). However, we recommend walking through the short setup wizard to configure a few key options.

This wizard should appear right after you install the plugin. On the first page, you’ll enter a few key details about your store. This includes where it’s located, what currency it will use, and what types of products you’re planning to sell.

Keep in mind that you can go back and change any of these settings later. Next, you’ll select the payment options that will be available to your customers.

By default, you can choose any combination of Stripe, PayPal, and offline payments. If those options aren’t enough, you can always add more through extensions.

Click on Continue, and you’ll be able to configure your standard shipping rates. You can choose from either free shipping or a flat fee (again, more options are available in the extension store).

The next two screens offer a couple of extra tools, which you can safely skip for now. Keep moving through until you reach the Ready! step.

This lets you know you’re done with the setup wizard. There are a few handy links here, such as one to create your first product. We’ll get to that in a moment. First, however, we want to optimize WooCommerce a bit more fully, so select Return to your dashboard instead.

3. Optimize WooCommerce’s Settings (15 Minutes)

The WooCommerce wizard gets your store up and running. However, there are a lot more settings within the plugin to configure. To set up a unique store tailored to your requirements, you may need to spend some additional time tweaking it.

To get started, visit WooCommerce > Settings in your admin panel.

There are a lot of options here. We won’t go through all of them, but we’ll touch on some of the highlights.

For example, under the General tab, you can choose what countries you’re willing to sell and ship to and decide whether to enable taxes. The latter is usually a smart idea since neglecting to collect taxes from your customers can leave you facing a hefty bill at the end of the year. If you’re new to the world of sales tax, the WooCommerce documentation offers a handy guide for understanding it. In the Products tab, you’ll see the same measurement units you set up in the WooCommerce wizard. However, you’ll also find some options related to reviews.

You can let customers leave reviews on products, and even give star ratings. This can encourage new visitors to purchase — as long as the reviews are positive! The rest of the sub-tabs here help you customize how products will be displayed, and determine how inventory will be managed. The Shipping tab enables you to add more shipping zones, if you’d like, to further customize your methods and rates. You can also configure how shipping works under the Shipping options sub-tab.

Moving on, under Payments, you’ll find a variety of settings. You can start by deciding how to accept payments from customers, including through in-person transactions such as bank transfers, checks, and cash. You can also manage default payment gateways such as PayPal.

By selecting a particular sub-tab, you can navigate to a screen containing settings that are unique to each type of payment. There, you can configure each payment type further.

Related: The 10 Most Popular Online Payment Gateways for Your Website, Compared

We’re almost done! The next tab, Accounts, lets you set up how customers’ accounts will work. For example, you can determine where they’ll register on your site and how accounts will be created.

Under Emails, you can customize what types of notifications will be sent to which email addresses. At the bottom of the page, you’ll also have some options for personalizing what emails sent from your store to customers will look like.

The last tab, API, contains some more technical settings for advanced users and can be safely ignored for now. With that, you’ve made your way through the entire WooCommerce settings page! You can always return here and make changes whenever you’d like, as you start building your store and getting a feel for how you’d like it to work.

4. Add Your First Product (30 Minutes)

With your store all set up, it’s finally time to start adding products! Fortunately, WooCommerce makes the process pretty simple. To add your first item, navigate to Products > Add New in your dashboard.

If you’ve ever created a WordPress website before, this screen should look very familiar. In many ways, it’s identical to the Classic Editor (which has recently been replaced by the Block Editor). Of course, there are a number of new options and settings. Start out by scrolling down to the Product data section. Here, you can choose what type of item this product is, whether it’s downloadable, and what its price should be.

Under the next tab, Inventory, you can create an SKU (or unique identifier) for the product and configure a few other behind-the-scenes options. Then under Shipping, you can enter the product’s weight and dimensions and choose its shipping class if applicable. The rest of the choices in this section are pretty optional, although we’d recommend checking out the Linked Products tab. Here, you can determine what kinds of related products will be promoted to visitors, which is a smart way to increase sales. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find the Product short description section.

This is where you can enter a summary of the item, which will appear on your product listings’ pages. Keep it brief and focus on the key selling point. In other words, how does this product solve a crucial problem or make your customers’ lives easier? Scrolling back up, the main editor is where you can enter a full description of your product. Be as thorough as possible here, highlighting its essential features and providing all the information a customer will need to make an informed choice. Most importantly, don’t forget to use the Add Mediabutton to include images of the product, ideally from multiple perspectives. The better potential customers can visualize the item, the more likely they’ll be to open their wallets. To enter a main, featured image for the item, you can use the Product image section in the right-hand column. Just under that, there’s an option to create a Product gallery, which is an excellent idea if your item comes in multiple styles or colors. Also in this column, you can add a category and tags to your product.

This is recommended for a couple of reasons. First, it helps you keep everything organized. Second, it makes it easier for both potential customers and search engine bots to find your products and understand what they are. When you have everything set up the way you’d like, simply click on Publish to make your product live! Then you can repeat the process for each additional item. You can always come back and make changes to your existing product pages if information or images need to be updated.

5. Choose a WooCommerce-Compatible Theme (Optional)

Storefront is the official WooCommerce theme and is a solid choice for most stores.

Your store is now set up, and you’re ready to start selling products. However, let’s address one more optional step. One of the nice things about using WordPress to create your online store is that you can use any theme you want to customize its appearance.

However, you may want to try out a theme that’s specifically designed for WooCommerce instead. This way, your theme will be optimized to work alongside the plugin’s unique features and fit its style. In addition, you’ll often get access to useful content types and functionality that will help you tweak your store further. For most people, the best choice here will be the Storefront theme. This is WooCommerce’s official theme and is built from the ground up to integrate with the plugin. It offers flexible design and display options, and you can customize it to match your branding. Storefront is free, although there are extensions you can use to add more options.

Another bonus? If you sign up for DreamHost’s WooCommerce hosting plan, you’ll have Storefront pre-installed. If you don’t like the look of Storefront, however, there are plenty of other themes you can use. ThemeForest, for example, offers a range of premium themes designed for the plugin. No matter where you get your WooCommerce theme, make sure to take your time and choose carefully. A quality theme can do a lot to improve your store’s odds of success.

Related: How to Customize WooCommerce With a Child Theme (In 3 Steps)

Tips for Improving Your WooCommerce Store’s Design

A simple, well-branded design will help your WooCommerce store stand out.

Before we wrap this guide up, we want to address two more crucial elements. First up, let’s talk about your store’s design. With both WooCommerce and a theme like Storefront installed, it should be looking pretty spiffy. As you’re building your store and tweaking its appearance, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Incorporate your branding throughout your store, and use its elements consistently. This includes your logo, tagline, color scheme, typography, and so on. If you haven’t developed any branding yet, now is the time to get started.
• Make sure your store is easy to navigate and search. If people can’t find the products they need quickly, they’ll probably move on to a different store. This means including a prominent search bar and organizing your items through hierarchical categories.
• Include plenty of images all across your site, not just on your product pages. More importantly, ma ke sure all the images you use are high quality and optimized to show off your items without slowing down your pages.
• Try to avoid clutter. Keep the focus on what you’re selling and don’t confuse visitors with too much information. A minimalist design can go a long way for an e-commerce business.

Promoting Your WooCommerce Store

WordPress offers many tools, like the OptinMonster plugin, to help you market your store.

Finally, we’d be remiss not to mention the importance of promoting your online store. Simply hoping people will stumble across it in search engines won’t be enough — you’ll need to get out there and do some marketing. Again, this is a pretty complex topic, and no one approach is right for every store. So let’s run through some of the best ways to promote your e-commerce site and provide some resources you can use to learn more about each one:

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising — This strategy is as simple as it gets. You pay a website like Google to have your store appear in relevant searches. Even better, you only pay when someone actually clicks on one of your ads.
• Email marketing — Building an email list is a hugely popular strategy. You can capture the emails of interested parties, and then send them targeted messages and promotions. Plus, you can do this right from your WordPress site, using a plugin such as OptinMonster.
• Social media marketing — Everyone is plugged into social media these days, so it’s the perfect place to find potential customers. You’ll just need to choose the right platforms to focus on, then use a few basic strategies to get the word out there about your store.
• Promotions and discounts — Putting your products on sale or running a special promotion is a smart way to drum up interest and convince people to give you a try. WooCommerce offers its own features to help you do this, and you can also combine this approach with your email and social media marketing.

Promoting your e-commerce site takes some effort. Just remember that the more channels you use, the better your chances will be for getting lots of eyes on your products or services. The work of promotion is something to focus on before, during, and after the actual launch of your online store.

Selling, Selling, Gone

Getting started with e-commerce has never been easier, thanks to all the dedicated tools and solutions that are now available. However, it takes some work to ensure that you stand out from the crowd. Understanding how to build, perfect, and promote your online store beforehand is crucial to its success.

When choosing the right platforms for your e-commerce store, you can’t go wrong with WordPress and WooCommerce. First, you’ll need to pick a domain and then select a hosting plan.

Do you have any questions about the platform or how to build your WooCommerce shop? Join the DreamHost Community today and ask us anything!

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Handsome and good profitable niches for blogging in 2019

Want to start a blog because you hear about how amazing it is? I struggled to find a niche that is the perfect balance between passion and profit. 

In order to find a perfect niche, we need to head over back to the ancient Japanese principle called “ikigai”.

You need to find a niche that satisfies the below conditions.

1. Choose a niche that you love
2. Choose a niche you are good and knowledgeable in
3. Choose a niche that’s profitable
4. Choose a niche which the world needs

Almost 80% of the niches in blogging industry fall under any of the below umbrellas!

1. Wealth
2. Health
3. Relationships
4. Lifestyle
5. Education
6. Spirituality
7. Fashion

These niches are so popular because they are tied tightly to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, that is hardwired in the human brain.

Here are some examples of niches under these categories

1. Wealth > Online > Blogging (This is where I’m, a blogger for bloggers at BloggingX)
2. Wealth > Personal Finance (This is where Michelle from Making Sense of Cents is positioned)
3. Health > Dieting > Paleo Diet (That’s where David Sinick found his market)
4. Health > Workouts > Crossfit
5. Lifestyle > Hobbies > Kayaking
6. You need to always find a niche where people have problems. You need to start blogging with a mindset of solving people’s problems. After finding a niche, while validating it you need to ask yourself – “Are there enough people in this niche who are having problems and are ready to spend money on getting their problems solved”.Angling of nichesListen. Only a few of them do it properly. Angling or niche overlapping is the process of overlapping several interests and passions into one niche. Below are the examples of angling Michelle from MakingSenseOfCents started her blog to help student debts
   
   Stefan James from ProjectLifeMastery
   
   Elna Cain from Elna Cain - Freelance Writer and Coach (Follow her if you want to excel in freelancing - she is not only for moms! Her initial target were moms.)
   
   Once you find a niche, you need to develop an ideal customer avatar and look if you can serve them. You need to know the following things about your customer. You can determine many of these things by using the Facebook audience insights tool, Google Keyword Planner, Facebook communities’ interactions, niche forum discussions, Reddit, and so on. These niches are evergreen and broad so you won’t run out of ideas, ever.1. Health and Wellness: Health and wellness niche still works in 2018. Weight loss tips, exercises to burn calories, nutrition guide, etc… haven’t lost its CPC value. Health-related apps and software are gaining in popularity. A generic keyword such as ‘fitness gym software’ has a CPC of over $60.
   1. Demographics – Their location, age, gender, income, so on.
   2. Psychographics – Their beliefs, values, attitudes, so on.
   3. Technographics – Are they technology early adopters, what softwares they use, what smartphones they use, so on.
   4. Pain Problems – What are the common problems they face?
   In the case of blogging, you need to drive more SEO traffic to your site. Right?
7. 2. Forex and insurance: Forex and insurance have consistently been a lucrative niche for over a decade. ‘Compare car insurance’ has a CPC of 469.12 but the competition is pretty high too. Forex brokers are always looking for leads and CPCs in that niche are not likely to go down. 3. Stress and Motivation: Tons of thousands of blogs are already getting into motivational content and personal development. Most of them haven’t nailed the goldmine yet – stress management. It’s a niche with increasing demand every year. Adults suffering from stress are searching for solutions online. They feel comfortable seeking help online rather than visiting a psychiatrist. 4. Lawyers: Legal matters are discussed all over the internet. Owing to the weight of such discussions, the keywords have high CPC. Local SEO keywords have the least competition. CPC on these keywords run all the way up to $500. Accident attorneys and personal injury attorneys are sought for, in U.S local searches.
   
   Tech And Trending High Paying AdSense Niches 5. Bitcoin: Bitcoin AdSense keywords have everything going for it. The crypto realm is red hot right now. Though the CPC is not over $100, ranking websites in this space are really easy. “Bitcoin merchant account’ is the highest paying keyword in the niche, with CPC of $64. CPCs in this niche is expected to rise in coming years. 6. Tech updates: 1 in 3 searches on the web are tech related. People search for industry news, how-to tutorials, gadget reviews, software reviews, etc… They like to catch up with events discussion and latest trends. Social media related searches have a constant presence too. 7. PC repair: This evergreen niche still has some of the best CPC rates. The niche branches down to hardware and software. Power problems, memory- RAM issues and hard drive/motherboard issues forms the top hardware related keywords. Malware, spyware, viruses, hanging PCs, system errors, pop up ad issues based keywords also have high CPC rates. 8. Vegetarian diets: Veganism and vegetarianism are taking over the internet like a storm. There are over 375 million vegetarians worldwide. People are getting into vegan lifestyle and getting increasing diet conscious. Keywords involving vegetarianism, eastern food, and medicine, etc… have high CPC rates. 9. Entertainment and celebrity news: Celebrities are topics of debate all the time. Entertainment industry comes up with discussions of topical interests. Fan groups are keen to know celebrity insights and receive daily updates about their stars. Hollywood stars like Jennifer Lawrence create plenty of discussions online. 10. SEO and blogging: SEO is a topic that’s going to stay until the end of the internet. Keywords such as ‘SEO Explanation’ and ‘online courses on digital marketing’ deliver a CPC of around $100. Webmasters are always going to discuss the white hat and black hat methods. To teach how to make money online is also a profitable niche for Google AdSense.

There are even mom bloggers making money blogging! Yes, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, you can start a mom blog!

So, I thought I’d share some of the popular blogs for you. You may have been learning that the ONLY way blogs make money is if you….blog about blogging.

That’s not the case.

My other blog helps people become a freelance writer. It’s strictly a service-based blog and that provides most of my income.

I know so many other bloggers that don’t blog about blogging that are making a full-time income doing this. Let’s look at eight blog niches that you can start today and make money doing it!

These types of blogs are killing it!

Want to start your own mom blog that makes money? Check out my free course on starting a mom blog!

8 Popular Blogs Driving Traffic and Making Money

1. Sewing

Sewing and knitting is a HUGE niche on Pinterest. It’s a visual type of blog that fuels the creativity for other people. It’s no wonder that you can make money as a craft blogger.

Ashleigh of  Sewrella, is a stay at home mom and crochet designer. She used her experience with designing crochet patterns to make money with her sewing blog.

She learned that crochet is a huge niche online and she used this to help her grow her blog.

In the crochet niche of the internet, I’ve found one thing to be true – lots of people crochet, but not very many are publishing new patterns and putting out content. There is a very small group of crochet bloggers out there (spend any time on Pinterest and you’ll quickly name several) dominating the market.

Her latest blog income report shows that she made over $10,000 with ads, affiliate marketing and selling her patterns on Etsy.

Wow and amazing!

2. Parenting Blog

Parenting is a profitable niche and one of the popular blogs new bloggers can start. Just think about it – there are entire stores dedicated to newborns and children. There are hundreds and thousands of products just for parents too.

This a niche that is also universal – moms are everywhere!

Carly of Mommy on Purpose is also a stay at home mom who blogs about pregnancy tips and being a mom. She quickly grew her blog to over 400k pageviews and was able to make $5,000 a month in less than a year!

Her main methods of monetization are ads, affiliate marketing and products. You go mama!

3. Health

Health and wellness are HUGE niches online. It seems that universal topics where many people know about them become profitable blog niches. And that makes sense – you are speaking to a big chunk of people in the world.

While blogging about blogging is highly profitable, you are only really speaking to a very (VERY) small percent of people in the world.

So, if you want to start a blog, think about the global scale of your blog and define your niche that way!

Jessica of Easy Living Today is a mom who shares her love of eating healthy and living a fit life.

She mostly targets her help for other moms, but her blog opens up her niche to include women that want to be healthy.

Jessica posted that she earns $12,000 a month from her blog, but recently reported to make up to $20,000 a month with her blog. Amazing!

Her main ways for generating income is from sponsored content, ads, affiliate marketing and her own products.

4. Lifestyle

A lifestyle blog is a poplar blog with many different topics. These blogs usually target one type of demographic – new moms, college kids, pet lovers. Some bloggers think you can’t generate an income with a multi-topic blog.

The reasoning behind that is that a niche blog with one core theme speaks to one type of audience. If you can speak ONLY to them, you can help them with their problems (by promoting products and services to help them).

But, you can make money with a lifestyle topic!

Ashli of the Million Dollar Mama blogs about eight topics – from recipes to blogging to travel and more.

Ashli is a stay at home millennial mom that loves to blog about being a mom and finding creative ways to save and make money.

While she hasn’t posted a recent blog income report, I do know that she routinely makes $5000/month JUST from Amazon affiliate marketing.

5. Frugal Living

Did you know that saving money is one of the biggest niches on Pinterest? There are some massive group boards just for frugal living bloggers.

With my other blog, Smart Mom Ideas, I was going to go in the frugal living vein since one of the most popular posts on that blog is all about ways to save money. But, I found it hard to monetize.

How do you make money by giving tips to save money?

Jenny from This Tiny Blue House knows how!

What’s great about her blog is how ALIVE and thriving it is. She has created a loyal following who read her posts and comments on them. But not only that, her blog generates $1500 a month for her!

Her main monetization strategy is affiliate marketing.

6. Home Decor

Is your Pinterest feed filled with DIY projects and farmhouse decor? I love looking at pins for DIY projects to improve my home decor. It’s another huge popualar blog niche on Pinterest – because it’s eye candy mamas!

Christy from the Harper House is a mom to three kids and started her blog, The Harper House, as a way to make money (and to share her love of design too!).

Her blog is filled with personal projects, new finds and interior inspiration. Her blog generates $6,000 a month from ads and affiliate marketing.

7. Newborn

Aren’t newborns just so darling and precious? But, they also come with a lot of products! From nipple cream to bottles to strollers and more.

Just like how the parenting niche is profitable, the newborn niche might be a tad more profitable.

Caroline of Swaddles n’ Bottles is making a killing with her traffic and income!

Her focus on her blog is all things baby. She’s a mom with little ones and she knows all about the newborn phase! She posts her income reports on her other blog, The Basics of Blogging.

Her most recent income report says her blog generated over $11,000 using affiliate marketing and ads.

That’s amazing!

8. Christian Blog

Many people go online not to only solve a problem, but to connect on a deeper level with others and to help strengthen their way of life. The blogger behind the Christian blog, Arabah Joy, has built a very loyal following that absolutely love her words of wisdom.

Who would’ve thought popular blogs like a Christian blog can be profitable?

Arabah Joy’s monthly income is over $6,000, which primarily comes from eBook sales, printables and affiliate marketing.

Starting a Profitable & Popular Blog

Reading about these income reports from niche blogs is inspiring! There are some common threads between what type of blogs make the most money.

They Love What They Write About

You can tell they are monetizing their passion. They love talking about home decor or craft projects. If you are interested in starting a blog, think about what fuels your creativity.

What hobbies do you enjoy doing the most and can you turn that into a profitable blog?

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Latest Critical Factors of Blogging in 2019 for Experts Bloggers

We’ve done the legwork for you, talking with the web’s blogging elite and garnering their best tips. Consider these 19 tips an all-inclusive handbook to blogging success, chock-full of guidance from a handful of virtual mentors. These expert bloggers will instruct you on the keys to blogging success: how to get the ball rolling, create quality content, and stay dedicated, even in an evolving blogging environment.

Yes, it's. Just a little change came from before. If you write a blog post on something, you can definitely get traffic from Google to your website.

Unless you write high quality and unique articles and do not give time and effort to apply these tips below.

1. Don’t concentrate on quantity, focus on quality.
2. Respond on comments.
3. To encourage conversations.
4. Convert visitors to customers.
5. Collect leads or emails.
6. Start push notifications in your blog.

You will do well with a combination of all those things. That will make your  blog in top. Is this sufficient for an expert bloggers then the reply is that No, these are not sufficient. 

Are you ready to be a better blogger in 2019? Read on!

1. It’s About Time

Before you even think of pursuing a blog — with the intent to make money or simply as a hobby — you have to be real with yourself. Know your capabilities, as far as time and availability go.

“Successful blogging requires time, dedication, and some strategic planning,” says Brittany Watson Jepsen of powerhouse DIY craft blog, The House That Lars Built. “I wouldn’t plan on doing it if you don’t have sufficient time to devote to it.”

According to a survey of more than a thousand bloggers, a typical blog post takes two and a half hours to create. The same study reveals that a large number of bloggers write outside of regular “work hours,” including on weekends and at night. Translation: bloggers are always on; blogging is their lifestyle, and it requires quality time to produce success.

And writing blog posts is just the beginning; in addition to creating content, bloggers must optimize for search engines, make time for social media, market their content, network, and engage with readers.

For design guru, Emily Henderson, running a blog isn’t a back-burner endeavor, either.

“I had to make it a major priority or else it won’t get done,” Henderson says. “Now I have a staff that helps keep it running on a daily basis, and we fill it with original content every single day.”

Not being fully committed is what separates amateur bloggers from the pros.

“I think the main mistake I see in new bloggers is not being totally committed to what they’re doing,” says Jill Nystul, creator of phenom blog One Good Thing by Jillee. “You can’t do anything halfway in the blogging industry and expect to be successful. I see a lot of people start blogs, post a few things over a couple of months, and then wonder why they’re aren’t getting any traffic. Commit to a topic and a posting schedule and show your readers that you are dedicated to providing great content consistently.”

2. Invest in Good Gear

When you decide to start a blog, use whatever tools you have to get the ball rolling. But when you are financially able, your blog will benefit from getting your hands on some professional equipment.

“The look of my blog definitely got a lot better when I invested in a real camera rather than using my phone which I totally did in the early days of my blog,” Nystul says. “And you don’t have to spend a fortune. We still use a Canon Rebel, and it works great.”

A few other popular blogging tools: WordPress software, the Adobe Suite, a web hosting package, email marketing software, and useful plugins. The more professional and put together your blog, the more trust you’ll earn from readers.

3. Your Mission (Should You Choose to Write It)

You’ve got a burning passion for blogging, yes? Well, first, take a breath.

It’s crucial that you figure out a few things first, like what your blog is all about and what you want to do with it. Having a kick-butt blog is a good goal, but let’s dig deeper.

Ever heard of a mission statement? It’s commonly used by businesses to identify values, goals, and purpose — typically in a few easy-to-remember sentences. And it’s critical to the success of your blog.

“I wish I would have found my mission sooner,” Jepsen says. “But I started it in a time when bloggers weren’t making money, and I didn’t know that was a trajectory I could take so I didn’t write it accordingly. If you’re looking to make money, you will write differently than someone who does it just for fun. Create a focused mission statement in order to know what your content should be and who your audience is.”

Let’s look at a few examples of mission statements.

• Amazon: “Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
• IKEA: “Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Our business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”
• Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.”

Can you see how these concise statements guide how each business operates, shepherding big decisions to even the tiniest ones? It works the same way with your blog.

Take creating content, for example.

“Before we write a single post, we ask ourselves, ‘Does this help our readers make or save money?’” says Kathleen Garvin, editor and marketing strategist for finance blog The Penny Hoarder. “That’s key for us. We’re content creators, but we only want to publish a story if we think it’s truly helpful or interesting for our readers.”

A well-crafted mission statement will, ideally, inspire and steer — but not confine — your choices and provide a roadmap for content, structure, and voice. A few minutes of work for a valuable return.

Great! Now. Where to start? Begin by pondering the following questions:

• Why did you start blogging?
• Who is your target audience?
• What questions do you want to answer?
• What are you passionate about?
• In what way is your voice unique?

Next, try to organize these answers into a few short statements that summarize your goals. Try the Twitter approach — spelling out your purpose and goals in 280 characters or less. You could even try this fill-in-the-blank formula:

My mission is to _______ for _______ through _______.

Things to keep in mind: keep it short and sweet, grammar-and-spell-checked, specific but jargon-free, realistic, and focused. Then put it where you can see it — preferably in BIG, bold letters. Refer to it often and adjust as needed.

4. Just Get Started

Achieving top-tier blogging status can seem like a long shot. But every successful blogger started somewhere.

“Produce, produce, produce,” Henderson says. “Leave your perfectionism at the door and just put your work out there. Get feedback, adjust, move on. Without creating and putting your product or service out there, no one will find you and hire you. Just start.”

Begin with exercises to simply get you writing every day. This will help you form the habit that will make blogging easier.

For content ideas, try a brainstorming worksheet to collect ideas (you can do this on a device, too).

“Write as often as you possibly can,” says Erin Loechner, design and lifestyle blogger at Design for Mankind. “This does not mean publish as often as you possibly can. Get in the habit, work on your craft. Discover your voice. It takes great practice and great patience. Do it anyway. Sit down in your chair and type it out. Edit later. Publish later. For now, just write.”

5. You Get What You Go After

If you’ve been around the block, you know that blogging involves two very important Cs: content and consistency. These skills may be the most important keys to success. We already discussed the importance of creating. Now, let’s talk consistency.

It’s proven that the companies that blog twenty or more times a month see the most return in traffic and leads.

“A common mistake early bloggers make is not posting on a consistent schedule,” Garvin says. “Yes, it can be tough, especially in the beginning when you might not have much of a readership, but it’s important for SEO and to build a community. Producing quality content and consistently has been essential to our growth. Like they say, if content is king, consistency is queen!”

Brittany Watson Jepsen found consistency a key to achieving success when she created her blog.

“I think one of the best things you can do as a blogger is to keep your content constant and consistent,” Jepsen says. “Even when I started out nine years ago, I worked on my blog every single day. That consistency kept people coming back because they didn’t have to wonder if there was content. There was! The next best thing to focus on the main message I was trying to convey. It took my awhile to figure out the main thing I wanted to focus on, but once I did that’s when the traffic started to roll in. Once I focused on crafts and DIY making, I became known for that and people started to see me as a trusted voice.”

If you wanted to be the authority, the go-to on a certain topic, your readership needs to trust that your blog will have content they need. Your quality content, consistently posted, will draw a following. The two Cs really are inseparably connected.

“There are a lot of more detailed keys to blogging success like photography, SEO, social media tips and tricks, etc., but the number one thing I always tell bloggers is that content is king,” Nystul says. “That can mean different things depending on the topic of your blog, but readers will always respond to quality content. My team uses CoSchedule for our calendar, and we love it. It helps keep us super organized and on the same page even when we all work remotely. A couple of other things we love are Slack for messaging, and Wunderlist for making to-do lists.”

There a host of useful tools available online for planning posts and establishing a schedule.

“An important key is to have a plan for what you are wanting to post rather than sitting down and writing every time,” says Syed Balkhi, founder of tech-help site WPBeginner. “Tools like Asana or the WordPress plugin Edit Flow are great for planning out blog posts in advance.”

To nail down a consistent blogging schedule, try an online calendar or one of a variety of templateworksheets available.

6. Be Your Own Reader

When you want to have a successful blog, you really should put yourself in a new pair of shoes — the shoes of your reader, that is.

While you are blogging to share a passion, you’ve got to stay focused on the visitors of your blog and how your content can appeal to their needs and questions.

The team at The Penny Hoarder made their content more functional to readers by breaking down complex and jargon-heavy financial information into useful, readable packages.

“When people think of personal finance, they usually expect the content to be dry or boring,” Garvin says. “So, we do our best to make it accessible and fun. We write in a friendly, conversational manner, and try to showcase that tone across all media. With that said, we take our readers’ trust seriously.”

The team at Emily Henderson takes a similar approach to considering their blog’s usability for readers.

“With every post, we want to be our own reader and ask ourselves, ‘Would I find this interesting, helpful, informative, and beautiful?’” Henderson says. “If not, then we come up with different content that we feel will better suit the audience.”

Sure, while you’re slaving away at your keyboard, it’s easy to forget that someone is on the other side. But remembering your reader as you produce will help you to create attractive, useful content that draws a crowd.

7. Think (Twice) Before You Hit Publish

As tempting as it may be, resist the urge to hastily click “Submit” the instant you finish a blog post.

“Once the blog posts are planned out,” Balkhi of WP Beginner says, “a common mistake is not going back through to take a look at some of the finer points of the blog post to ensure it reads well for your visitors as well as search engines.”

Prep your post for publishing by working through a checklist (or a WP plugin) to help you optimize the content — a tool like Naytev works well — and make it appealing to search engines (48 percent of consumers start mobile research with a search engine) and readers.

Take time to make sure you’re citing sources correctly and that you haven’t overlooked glaring grammar mistakes (don’t make the off-putting their/they’re/there error). This extra time is a worthwhile investment.

Related: 10 Legal Questions About Your Online Content, Answered

8. Talk About Yourself

It may seem like a silly thing, but talking about yourself on your blog is important. And by this, we mean: don’t neglect your blog’s About Me page.

This page is crucial for helping readers to get to know you, your purpose, and what they can expect to find on your site.

“This is one of the most highly trafficked pages on any blog, because it tells people who you are, gives your background, and explains why someone should follow you,” writes Matthew Karsten, travel blogger at The Expert Vagabond. “Keep it fun and personable. Let your readers know who you are!”

Instead of listing random facts about yourself, have a purposeful statement that answers the following questions.

1. Who Is Your Audience?

Let’s look at Karsten’s blog, Expert Vagabond. On his “About Me” page, he writes:

“It’s a place for people like you who are looking for daily inspiration and motivation to live a life full of adventure.”

For whom? Check. Karsten clearly identifies the intended audience of his blog.

2. What Value Are You Offering to Readers?

Look at The Penny Hoarder’s manifesto:

“We help millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more.”

Bam. Garvin and her team have readily identified what they’re offering to those who visit the site.

3. What Credibility Does Your Blog Have?

You could share sites your blog has been featured on, like done on WPBeginner’s About Me page or reader testimonials. Share why your content can be trusted.

4. Why Are You Passionate About What You Do?

While it’s better not to be haphazard about the info you share, you should let readers connect with you by offering a snapshot of yourself and specifically, how your blog grew out of your passion. After all, your readers’ connection to you is what will likely draw them back for more.

Take Jepsen’s About Me for example. A little of her bio:

“Brittany Watson Jepsen here. I grew up teething on the seaweed of Southern California though I preferred reading and creating in the great indoors. My mom’s favorite quote was ‘a creative mess is better than tidy idleness’ and so my childhood was spent creating artwork, music, and yes, lots of messes.”

See? Well-written, purposeful statements connect Jepsen to her readers, and them to the purpose of the blog.

5. What Is Your Call to Action?

Don’t let your readers browse your About Me page and click away with an “Oh, that’s nice.” Encourage them to visit other pages of your blog by providing links to more content, whether that be additional blog posts or social media handles. After all, more clicks equal more traffic.

And if it wasn’t already obvious, make sure your About Me page is accessible and easy to navigate.

9. Give Your Blog a Facelift

Ever happened upon a website that seems like it never left the dial-up, over-animated era of the early internet? Well, we have.

Shudder.

Even if your site isn’t outfitted with rainbow colors and crowded layouts, its design could be unintentionally frustrating readers. A smart design sets your reader up for a good experience that will entice them to visit again. Never neglect a user-friendly design.

“A good site design is like settling in to write at a clean, beautiful-to-you desk,” Loechner says. “It is surprisingly important, for you and for those who might be visiting such desk. Pay attention to it; design needn’t be complicated.”

Be flexible and willing to alter your blog design based on what works best for your readers.

“Keep learning and always be willing to adapt,” Garvin says. “For instance, we recently got rid of display ads on our site because it negatively affected our user experience. It can be scary to remove a revenue source and pivot, but it’s necessary for continued growth. Don’t be afraid of change, but do find out what works best for you and your readers.”

Have a friend or outsider look at your blog and consider a few questions:

• Is it dated, confusing, or “broken” or attractive, functional, and engaging?
• Is there clutter?
• Does the site load quickly?
• Would a first-time visitor immediately know what it is about and how to navigate it?

Utilize themes on WordPress for tried-and-true designs, consult experts, or outsource to a designer (we can help with that!) to ensure your design is aesthetically pleasing. Trust us — no one wants spinning graphics or animated mouse icons. No one.

10. Think Mobile

It’s a pretty startling statistic: 80 percent of internet users own a smartphone.

Chances are good that readers are accessing your blog on a mobile device, likely while they’re commuting to work, sitting in a waiting room, or logging miles on the treadmill. So along with establishing a good-looking design, you’ve also got to optimize for mobile users.

“Blogs are widely read on the go, so consider a simple and minimal design that looks just as great on your phone as it does in the cubicle,” Loechner says.

Often, this means choosing a responsive template, but you can also utilize plugins to optimize a WordPress theme. In addition, you should consider the following:

• If using a pop-up opt-in form or ad, are mobile users able to navigate around it?
• Are outbound links mobile friendly?
• Do your social media buttons work properly?
• If using video, does the player work? Some mobile devices don’t allow Flash.
• Is your comment platform still mobile friendly?
• Are slideshows functional?
• Can users read infographics?

And really, the only sure way you have to analyze your site for effectiveness across devices is to test it. Use this handy Google tool.

11. You’ve Got Mail

You’re probably used to sending most of your inbox to the trash bin, so you might not think that email plays a big role in blogging success. Think again.

“One mistake we’ve talked about is neglecting our email list,” says Garvin. “In the beginning of The Penny Hoarder, Kyle used to write a regular, personal email to readers; it was one of his best traffic sources, and he had an open rate of over 50 percent! However, as the site started taking off and he was pulled in different directions as CEO, we dropped the personalization in favor of a simpler format. We turned things around this year: We’ve started offering a ‘weekender’ roundup email, a daily newsletter, and several other targeted ones. So start an email list early, and keep working to improve it for your readers.”

Think about this: a survey reported that most of us spend four hours checking our email each day. FOUR! Why not capitalize on the habit? It’s easy to monitor your success with email marketing, and it can help you establish a lasting relationship with readers.

12. Accept the Daily Grind

You’ve heard that the biggest part of success comes from showing up, right? Ask anyone at the top of their field — Michael Jordan, Martha Stewart, or Yo-Yo Ma — and we’re pretty sure they’d be the first to say that their success amounts to hours, days, and years of putting in hard work.

Well, that’s true in blogging too.

“Determination is an essential quality to have as a blogger,” Balkhi says. “There are no overnight successes with blogs, but when you write about what you are passionate about they can be great successes.”

Remember Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours principle? Just like playing the piano, painting, or running sprints, honing your blogging skills requires lots of work.

“Our keys to blogging success are practice, practice, practice,” say Ryan and Sam Looney of travel blog Our Travel Passport. “Seriously, it’s just about putting in the time to learn your skill and becoming an expert at what you do. We think it’s important to remember that the industry is always changing and content is king. Be original and adaptable and authentic. Don’t use bots. Focus on what makes you unique and tell your story in a way that people can relate to what you have to say.”

Try a goal chart to keep you motivated when the going gets rough (blogger’s block is real). And of course, keep your mission statement close by. Sometimes all it takes is to remember why you started in the first place.

“I think the main quality that is essential for bloggers is passion,” Nystul says. “Blogging is not an easy business, and when the going gets tough passion is the thing that keeps you motivated and working hard.”

13. Have a Strategy

Say you’ve got great content and a snazzy site. How do you get people to see it? If you have social media platforms, then you have multiple channels to market your content.

“Our social media, video, and PR teams work to amplify our content, engage our readers, and raise our profile,” Garvin says. “All of these things contribute significantly when growing our community.”

The Penny Hoarder team is right. According to consumers, the three characteristics of an effective social media strategy are:

1. The brand shares new content.
2. The brand’s content is relevant.
3. The brand engages with followers.

In addition, social media is the most effective digital marketing tactic for customer retention after email; it’s essential to choose the right social platforms to get your content in front of readers.

If you intend to manage your social media marketing on your own, then utilize tools like HootSuite or NUVI to manage and monitor on one dashboard. And there’s no shame in admitting that assembling a social team or hiring an agency to help distribute the content online could be best for your blog. You can only bootstrap so much, right?

14. Engage With Others

In the blogging game, it’s not you against the world. In other words, it’s not you against every other food/travel/tech blog in your field. Running a successful blog can be a collaborative, community effort that’s personally validating (as opposed to competitive). Go, team!

Good engagement starts with your content. (Need a refresher? Return to tips No. 4 and 5.)

The Looneys recommend staying engaged by posting regularly. “Whether that means posting blog posts once a week or on Instagram every day, it’s important to keep your community involved in what’s going on and what you have to share.”

But connecting with others goes beyond your own site, the duo says.

“Respond to all of the messages, emails, comments, etc. that you receive. And engage with other people in the community as well. Comment on their pictures, send them emails or messages about how much you love their work, and find ways to collaborate together.”

Say it with us: one, two, three — go team!

15. Go Easy with Analytics

Numbers say a lot. For instance, a game score tells us who’s on the winning side — and who’s not. The nutritional information in a meal tells us whether or not we can justify dessert.

Numbers are important. But they aren’t everything.

We know it’s tempting, but clicking the refresh button every ten seconds on your website’s analytics page fuels an unhealthy obsession that won’t help your success as a blogger (or your blood pressure). Instead, focus on your content, prepare for fluctuations in the stats, and breathe.

“Forget stats,” Loechner says. “People are not numbers. Readers are not stats. They are humans in all of their lovely complexities. Do not fret yourself over bounce rates and conversion metrics. There are plenty of other things to fret over, after all.”

Keep an eye on a few metrics for goal purposes, but don’t obsess — numbers change.

16. Understand Revenue Sources

The ideal for most people is that their blog becomes a valid source of income. Now, this won’t happen right away, so don’t panic (see No. 11). But you should understand the different ways that you can make money online, so you can decide how — and if — you want to incorporate those methods into your blog.

Consider using affiliate programs to earn a kickback for the products you promote on your site or running display ads with Google’s AdSense. These revenue streams increase as traffic increases. So if you want to make money from your blog, your first priority should be getting eyes on your content.

“The more traffic your blog receives, the more money you can make with it,” Karsten says. “But it takes time to build an audience and grow traffic. Don’t focus on making money right away. Focus on building your audience.”

17. Combat Internet Trolls

It seems like anyone who dares to send their work out into the web is, sadly, bound to face the ceaseless negativity of cyber bullies.

You don’t have to grin and bear it, though. Be intentional about combating the mean-spiritedness you might encounter (no boxing gloves required).

“For better or worse, I can be really emotionally affected by how people perceive or respond to my blog,” says Lindsay Ostrom, creator of viral food blog Pinch of Yum. “I wish I had that toughness factor, but what I have is more like Sensitivity with a capital S. So I set rules for myself when it comes to reading and processing my social media content and blog comments. Bottom line: be selective about what voices you let speak into your life.”

Whether you decide to refrain from reading blog comments before noon or you post a motivational message above your computer as a reminder of your potential, know that it’s your blog. Take control and set your own rules.

18. Don’t Be a Copycat

Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but in the blogosphere, it’s just plain ol’ copying. And it’s not going to do anything for your online rep — readers can see right through it. With the inundation of blogs and content creators out there, it can be H-A-R-D to produce content that’s new, fresh, and original. But for a quality blog, a loyal following, and a distinguished brand, it’s more than essential to think outside the box.

“It’s important to remember that you need to create your own original content,” the Looneys say. “A lot of people go to the same places and pose in the exact same way as big travel bloggers. That’s not creative or original. That’s copying someone else’s work, which doesn’t tell anything about you or your story.”

Build a blog that allows people to get to know you — and what you’re passionate about, not just simply posting a CTRL + C reproduction of similar work produced in your field or industry. Be aware of the exhausted been-there-done-that content and remember: followers will reward the extra effort you take to put your own touch on what you produce.

19.Find A Cheerleader

With all the hard work, long days, and (probably) blood, sweat, and tears that go into creating a successful blog, you really need someone in your corner — an encouraging mentor who will wave that foam finger when the going gets rough.

“Having a single person — literally just one, although more friends equal more party — to talk with when things are spinning into that downward spiral is so important to your ability to bounce back,” Ostrom says. “I guess that’s just true in life, right? And it’s especially true for me in blogging. Find someone who really understands and can relate in some tiny way or another why it’s frustrating when people scrape your content, or what it feels like to deal with that rude comment, or how challenging Facebook’s news feed changes have been lately. It is one thing to talk about this stuff, but it’s another thing to talk about it with someone who really understands blogging.”

Who is this person for you? A spouse, a friend, a coworker? Finding that supportive someone will help you to overcome the difficult days and celebrate your blogging successes.

Because, after all, success is just around the corner. 2019 is your year!

Share Your Blogging Know-How

We want your input! Have you tried out any of these tips? What are your best words of wisdom for creating amazing content, an appealing blog design, or dealing with internet trolls? Share with us on social media — we’d love to hear from you. 

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