How Long Does It Take to Start Making Money from a Blog?

Written by Jeff Campbell in Blogging Last Updated January 19, 2024

Many people turn to blogging initially as a side hustle with the dream of going full-time and finding financial freedom. Blogging can be very profitable, but how long does it take to start making money from a blog?

Generally, it takes about two years to earn $4,000 per month from blogging. However, without the correct approach to keyword research and competition analysis, many never reach that, while others go well beyond that. And by prioritizing tasks and avoiding unnecessary tasks, it is possible to reach that threshold in 12-16 months.

There is no magic number when it comes to money and blogging.

However, various factors can shorten or lengthen the time it takes for you to start making money from blogging. Do you want to avoid time-wasting and make money faster?

Read on to find out!

How difficult is it to make money blogging?

Contrary to claims that you can make easy and quick tons of money blogging, it is quite difficult.

Search engines do not know what your new blog is about, and there are no views, shares, likes, or followers. Therefore, it is impossible to make money. Beginner bloggers cannot be more wrong if they think they would start making money simply by setting up a blog and publishing a few articles.

However, a few tips can make it easier for beginner bloggers to make money.

Put in Effort

Making money blogging will be difficult if you do not plan and strategize carefully.

Beginner bloggers must work hard and give their best to earn a good amount from their blogs. And with blogging, you need to be publishing at least 2 articles per week until your blog reaches 50 articles. Otherwise, you may never get there.

Many beginner bloggers do not realize the degree of commitment and hard work it takes. Therefore, they are easily discouraged, bitter and end up where they started, with no money.

Creativity

A key ingredient for making money blogging is creativity. People are looking for something new and exciting.

Think about it.

Almost every topic under the sun has already been published. So you have to find a new spin on the topics. First-hand knowledge, unique, original research, or a hands-on product review are key ways you can stand out.

In addition, you may want to eventually hire expert writers to write your posts.

However, you have to do your homework to determine the topics that will rank well in search engines. Also, resist the temptation to plagiarize another’s work. You may be fined if discovered.

Strive for originality and honesty in your business.

Focus your time

Doing too many things at a time can make blogging more difficult.

Therefore, it is better to have an organized schedule. Many people do what’s called “batching” their work.

Maybe Mondays are for coming up with ideas for future blog posts. Then Tuesday is for writing. Wednesday for sourcing or photographing images, publishing on Thursdays, and then Friday can be a catch-up day for any tasks left for the week.

Promote Your Blog

Another aspect of blogging that may pose difficulty is blog promotion.

But there’s a danger in wasting time promoting it in the wrong ways. Think you’ll drive a bunch of traffic by posting every article on Facebook or Twitter?

Think again.

Total waste of time. I used to do that, posting multiple times per day. I stopped 100%, and these days get way more traffic to my sites from Facebook without any effort at all.

Pinterest can still work (not as well as it used to) but only for mommy blogs, fashion, beauty, DIY, or relationship tips. So if your site is about welding, Pinterest is not right for you.

YouTube is always a great way to promote a blog.

But that does require a regular publishing schedule (even more so than blogging). So if this is your first site and/or you still have a 9-5 day job, I would not try blogging and doing YouTube at the same time.

Link Building

Many new bloggers fail to realize the significance of link building.

A website with links from credible sources improves your website ranking. However, avoid buying links because search engines can discover this trick. Your website will not show up due to a lack of credibility.

Google could even penalize your site or de-index it altogether if you use what is known as black-hat link building.

One way of link building is writing a guest post for a high-ranking website. In return, they allow you to use their link on your website.

Signing up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is another great way to get links to news sources. You get questions from reporters in your inbox daily.

If you see a question in your niche you can answer, respond (quickly). If they like and use your answer, they are most likely going to quote you and link to you.

Link building can help increase traffic and ranking for your website. Another way of building links is the creation of excellent infographics. When people use or share them, they use a link to your site.

Link building is one of the many ways to start getting traffic (and thus start making money) faster. What are the other ways?

You can read a recent article on how difficult it is to start a blog that makes money. I get into all the things I do to earn 5-figures a month.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

How long does it take to make $100 a month blogging?

Beginner bloggers will likely take 8-10 months before earning $100 per month. The biggest challenge is that, in most cases, it takes Google 6-8 months to fully rank your articles. So initially, you will be publishing in what feels like a ghost town.

And this is where most bloggers give up.

That’s because you are putting in a lot of effort and not seeing any return. So you just have to know that’s how it works for everyone and just keep going.

Earning $100 every month blogging is a milestone, and if you keep improving, the income steadily grows. Blogging requires commitment and consistency if you are to reap the rewards.

Making money is the goal of blogging.

But before you can earn money, you must grow traffic to your site. Beginner bloggers can build traffic by focusing on SEO, keyword research, quality, engaging and relevant content.

In addition, to make money blogging, you have to invest in the right tools. These tools can optimize SEO and generate keywords and topics. This greatly increases your website visibility for search engine results.

Furthermore, you have to post content consistently.

You should publish one or two quality articles weekly as the minimum. This ensures you are active and is a great way to generate traffic. Publishing a lot of content consistently is the best way to earn $500 a month in under 1 year.

What are the things you can do to speed that up?

You can read a recent article on how long it takes to make $500 per month blogging. I share all the mistakes I made when I first started that delayed my ability to earn a full-time income.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

What type of blog makes the most money?

Making money from blogging depends on your niche. Let us explore the types of blogs that make the most money:

Food Blog

Everyone needs to eat. A food blog may include unique recipes for the family or a social gathering.

Suppose you are a vegetarian. You can also share tips on what foods provide adequate nutrients. Food blogs make lots of money because people are always interested in healthy diets.

Having said all that, avoid recipe sites.

There are already too many of those. Instead, focus on a type of cuisine or category of ingredients, party food, or some other sub-section of food.

Health and Fitness Blog

Many women want to look sexy like their favorite celebrity with toned abs. Some men also desire a sculptured body that will rival the Greek gods. There are various aspects to cover. Tips for losing weight, staying fit, and many more will captivate the audience.

That being said, I would not recommend this category unless you have some sort of credentials.

Google is very choosy about anything health-related (money-related too). So if you’re a personal trainer, doctor, nurse, etc., go for it.

If you just have an interest in it, unless you intend to become credentialed, steer clear.

Fashion Blog

With many fashion shows and designers, it is easy to lose track of the latest trends. A fashion blog brings new fashion trends to light. In addition, it could be clothing hacks or what models wear. A well-planned fashion blog can fetch you lots of money.

Baby Blogs

Another high-paying blog is baby blogs.

New parents are often on the lookout for new and relevant information. In addition, you can place ads on baby products or use your blog for affiliate marketing of various baby products.

Beauty Blog

Staying young and beautiful is a trend that is here to stay.

People are looking for the best anti-aging skincare routine, natural skincare, brightening, hydrating, and restorative products. If your blog provides a solution to beauty issues, your traffic may flourish.

Pet Blogs

Pets are some individuals’ best friends and best companions. Many individuals love pet blogs. You could write things that you experience with your pets. In addition, it helps if you address any problem associated with them and how best to solve them. Remember to add pictures and videos where necessary.

Celebrity Blog

The dedication of a celebrity fan base is just amazing. They are always eager to hear the latest updates on their favorite celebrities. They want the juicy information, and once you can provide that, you are on your way to making good money.

The biggest problem here is that which celebrities are popular can change.

And a lot of your content may not be relevant 2-5 years from now. Or, if a celebrity dies, you may find you have to go back and update all your old posts.

That being said, one of my sites is all about musicians, and I have some of those challenges there and still do well with it.

How many views do you need on your blog to make money?

You need about 10,000 monthly page views to begin to earn money consistently.

It depends on RPM (revenue per mille), which is the amount you receive for every 1000 individuals that visit your blog. The RPM depends on location. When people from the United States of America view the ad, you earn a higher RPM than when you get views from Indians.

In addition, the RPM depends on the niche.

Lucrative niches like finance will earn as much as $50. It is possible to earn $0.01- $0.25 per view. Therefore, if you get 1000 views per month, you should be making $10- $25.

The importance of improving traffic to your site cannot be overemphasized because the views are important. On average, each of my blog posts get around 800 page views per month. And I earn about $35 for every 1000 views.

So, here’s what I would earn at different levels of publishing:

Number of Articles Published Number of Monthly Page Views Approximate Total Monthly Earnings
25 20,000 $700
50 40,000 $1,400
100 80,000 $2,800
150 120,000 $4,200
200 160,000 $5,600

But you can see how more is better as long as the quality doesn’t suffer.

I have some sites that do a lot better than that and some that do worse. And some are slightly seasonal, so they fluctuate. And RPMs fluctuate too.

Jan-March is the worst months while Oct-Dec is the best months.

How can I speed up the process of making money blogging?

Although making money blogging is not an overnight endeavor, there are a few ways to improve your chances.

An often-overlooked strategy to speed up making money blogging is Email marketing. Beginner bloggers must try to build their email list by adding a subscription link to their email newsletter. The email list should comprise those who love your content and are eager to see more of what you offer.

But no one is going to sign up for a newsletter unless your regular content is so good and so helpful that they can’t wait to see more.

After building an email list, it is vital to keep up communication. You create a good relationship with your audience through follow-up. Therefore, it is easier to sell a product.

Pinterest is another platform that can help drive traffic to a site, as I mentioned above.

Pinterest results are often on the first page when people search for things online. The trick to using Pinterest is to pin compelling and captivating images that people want to click, share, and save. For every blog post, create a pin that speaks for it.

In addition, you can use Pinterest for affiliate marketing. Beginner bloggers should learn how to effectively use Pinterest to speed up the process of making money.

Another smart way to improve traffic to your blog is to start a corresponding YouTube channel, which I also mentioned above.

This is a way to drive organic traffic to your blog. Making videos is a huge step from simply writing blog posts. A YouTube channel is an avenue to build more relationships. Also, send out a reminder at least once a month to encourage your audience to visit your YouTube Channel.

What should you avoid doing in blogging that doesn’t help earn an income?

One of the mistakes bloggers make is that they fail to see blogging as a business.

It is a real business that requires planning, hard work, and consistency. When you have a plan, it is easier to stay on track and make adjustments for profitability.

Many new bloggers do not conduct adequate research before they dive into blogging.

Some new bloggers fail to invest in their blogs, which is a mistake. It’s OK to start your site on a shoestring budget. And you can get started very inexpensively.

But before long, it will be worth it to invest in some paid tools or a blogging course like the one I’m a member of called Project24. Click on that link to check it out and see if you think it’s worth it. It took my blogging business from $4,00/month to $10,000/month in less than a year.

In addition, avoid using Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to promote blog posts. They are an unreliable source of generating traffic which I also mentioned above.

Furthermore, avoid starting an email list unless you have something to offer.

Creating an email list is an impressive strategy, but without a good plan, it all works with little or no result. Bloggers should plan to offer a paid course or useful products to their audience.

How do I get started blogging?

Starting a blog is not a challenging process once you get all the right tools. Here is a step-by-step process of how to start blogging.

1. Decide on a niche (pick something you are at least a little bit into)

Deciding on a niche is an important process.

It helps if your choice is something you are interested in. Choosing a niche you are not interested in may lead to unsuccessful blogging and burnout. The niche determines the topics of your blog posts.

You can choose related topics from the niche. Examples of niches are Food, Fashion, Sport, Health, etc.

Various factors influence the content of a blog. Blogging is unique as you can choose to write about personal experiences. In addition, hobbies and passion play a role in determining the niche.

For example, suppose you love cooking. Your topics may involve new recipes, the right way to cook a meal, and more.

2. Find and register a domain name for your website using NameCheap

Once you have determined a niche, the next thing is to find a blog name.

The blog name should make a good first impression. It may reflect the niche you are working with, a combination of your favorite words, or a name.

Don’t be troubled if you have difficulty coming up with a suitable blog name. You can use a name generator software to help you find the perfect one. Here are some guidelines for choosing a good domain name:

  • Keep it short and simple
  • It is best to use “.com,” but “.org or .net” could also work.
  • Try not to use numbers or hyphens; they are confusing
  • It should be easy to pronounce
  • Avoid names that mention a brand
  • Avoid names with more than one spelling

Note: after choosing a name, you need to confirm if it is available. Suppose you are dissatisfied with domain names gotten. You can buy one for as low as $0.99 from NameCheap (click to check out the options on their site).

NameCheap is a reliable and affordable platform for registering domain names. However, the reduced cost does not affect its functionality. Registering your domain name on this platform costs about $8-$15, and you need to renew the subscription every year.

3. Get website hosting from NameCheap for as little as $1.24/month.

Getting website hosting is the next step after registering the domain name.

This means getting a server space to host your website. Many new bloggers look for an efficient and price-friendly web hosting service. The good news is NameCheap has got it covered. The following are the advantages of using NameCheap to host your website:

free domain name and migration. Migration only applies if you already had a site elsewhere and want to move it to NameCheap.

Creating an account with NameCheap gives you access to free domain names. However, you may need to pay the yearly renewal fee to maintain the name.

Also, suppose you are already hosting your website on another platform. NameCheap will migrate the service from other hosting providers for free within a day.

Great load time and uptime

The speed of a website is a factor that may determine the success of your blog. Users’ experience will be poor if a website takes more than 5 minutes to load. Therefore, there will be little traffic on the site.

In addition, you lose users to competitors because they will head to another more responsive page. When choosing a web host provider, it is crucial to consider the uptime. NameCheap’s average uptime is 99.97, which is excellent.

In addition, NameCheap’s average page speed is super fast.

Affordable plans

It is quite rare to find inexpensive web hosting services that can provide what you need. However, you can be assured greater value for even the cheapest plans with NameCheap.

NameCheap offers free backup twice a week.

In addition, they can host three websites for you. It does not end there, you get 50 MySQL databases and email addresses. All the benefits mentioned above are from the basic (least expensive) plan.

30-day money return policy

When signing up for NameCheap, you have to subscribe for 30 days.

Your money will be returned to you completely. However, if you are not satisfied with the services, you can terminate the plan and ask for a refund.

CLICK HERE to see just how affordable NameCheap is.

4. Use the Acabado theme for your WordPress site

It’s super-fast, great-looking, and inexpensive (what I use on my site).

There are several blogging platforms available, but I use WordPress. Selecting the right platform is a major step in building your website. You can read a recent article that provides details on building a website from scratch. WordPress is simple, thus making the blog fun.

In addition, there are lots of plugins available. I use the Acabado theme on WordPress for designing my blog. Here are a few benefits of using the theme:

Speed

Acabado is a super-fast theme on WordPress and one of the fastest I have ever used. One quality of a good site is that the pages load very quickly. You can achieve this by using the Acabado theme.

SEO Features

Acabado theme ensures your blog works faster and better. Acabado theme comes with SEO features. Therefore, you do not have to install SEO plugins which may slow down the site.

Simple

The Acabado theme is unique for its simplicity and ease of use. Therefore, beginner bloggers will have little or no challenges using it. After installation, you are ready to start designing your blog.

Mobile friendly

Acabado theme is built for excellent performance on mobile phones and desktops. Another exciting feature of this theme is that it is mobile-friendly. A mobile-friendly theme is crucial because more than half of users may access your blog from their mobile phones.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Acabado on their site.

5. Use RankIQ to locate great topics

Great topics will quickly bring traffic to your blog.

After designing your website you are set to begin writing. However, you must find engaging topics and content if you want your blog to flourish. Suppose you are unsure about what topics to blog about. You can use RankIQ to locate topics that will generate more traffic to your site.

RankIQ is a tool launched in 2021. It runs on artificial intelligence and aids bloggers in choosing excellent topics.

An interesting feature of RankIQ is its keyword libraries.

The aim is to help you discover the best keywords for your niche. You may wonder, what if various people with the same niche are using the software?

The software keeps track of the number of times a keyword has been selected. Once it reaches the maximum value, the system automatically withdraws it.

The AI runs a comprehensive search to provide a detailed review of how to optimize your proposed keyword or topic.

Furthermore, RankIQ provides reports on topics and keywords. RankIQ can also be used to optimize old posts to rank higher in Search Engine results. This helps to increase traffic to your blog.

CLICK HERE to learn more about RankIQ on their site.

6. Plan to write at least two articles per week

More is always better as long as the quality doesn’t suffer.

A question that plagues beginner bloggers is how many articles per week will do the magic for their blog. Although there is no magic number, some expert bloggers may argue that the more articles, the better your blog. Nevertheless, I would recommend a minimum of two articles per week.

Irrespective of how many articles per week, the quality must not suffer.

Suppose you can only manage two articles per week. As a blogger, it is crucial that these articles are engaging, relevant and search engine optimized.

Alternatively, writing more articles that are not standard is a waste of time. It will not increase traffic to your blog.

7. Plan to put between 100-200 articles on the site

Setting up a blog is an easy process. The hard work lies in building it such that it becomes profitable. Therefore, you must post engaging content consistently. In addition, you have to use the right keywords to increase your SEO ranking.

As a general rule, plan to upload about 100-200 articles on your blog.

Suppose you upload a minimum of two articles per week. It will take about a year to have about 100-200 articles on your blog. Your blog is well established at this stage, and you can be sure to earn good money. Therefore, do not quit your job for blogging when you don’t have an alternative source of income.

Remember, blogging is not an overnight success.

8. Sign up for ads from Ezoic

Bloggers often make the bulk of their income by placing advertisements on their sites.

Once you have good traffic to your site, you can register with an ad network. Although there are various ad networks, I recommend Ezoic for beginner bloggers.

However, you need to have at least 10,000 visits per month to your site to register on Ezoic. A benefit of using Ezoic is that it does not reduce the speed of your website. In addition, you can withdraw your commissions within 30 days, even if they are as low as $20.

CLICK HERE to get started making money with Ezoic.

9. If it makes sense for your niche, sign up for Amazon Associates

There is an increasing buzz on earning much from affiliate marketing.

Bloggers can use their blogs for affiliate marketing to earn more money. Affiliate marketing is a marketing strategy where a blogger advertises products and earns a commission when a sale is made through their link. Also, it does not matter if the product is related to your niche or not.

Beginner bloggers can sign up for the Amazon Affiliate program once they get at least 4,000 visitors per month.

After successful registration, bloggers get a unique identification to generate a link. Bloggers can earn about 3-4% commission when visitors to their site use links to purchase these Amazon products.

10. Avoid wasting time on Facebook or Twitter promoting your articles

Suppose you are not getting impressive traffic on your blog.

You may be considering promoting your articles on Facebook or Twitter. I would advise against that. Facebook has a wide audience, but it mainly connects with friends and loved ones and makes new friends.

Alternatively, Twitter is great for sharing trending news and not promoting your blog. In addition, you could connect with people globally on Twitter.

Therefore, avoid wasting time on Facebook or Twitter promoting your articles. Instead, use SEO tools to optimize your keywords and topics to improve the quality of your articles.

11. Pinterest can work in certain niches where the target audience is women

When the target audience for your niche is women, Pinterest may work to promote articles. Pinterest is a platform that allows you to share images.

People search for pictures of fashion, hairstyles, and more on Pinterest. In addition to SEO articles, quality images also improve traffic to your site.

Suppose the topic is men’s sneakers. After writing an excellent article that talks about the best brands, you can include pictures, which you may upload on Pinterest. When people see the images, their interest is piqued, and they click on it, and it takes them to your article.

Conclusion

Blogging is a profitable business that will not lose relevance in the near future.

You can conveniently work from home on your blog while earning a good income. However, remember that blogging is not magic. It helps if you do proper research and investment to start a blog that makes money.

You can see a complete list of blogging resources I use on my website. I list every resource (both free and paid) that I have used to build my sites up to multiple 5-figures per month in about 4 years.

Just click that link to read it on my site.

Image by free stock photos from www.picjumbo.com from Pixabay

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