How to Start a Blog and Make Money in 2025

Is it worth starting a blog this year? Does blogging still bring a good income? I bet you're asking yourself these questions. I was in your shoes about seven years ago, but today I'm a full time blogger earning over $10,000 a month on average.

So I'm going to tell you what works today and the fastest way to grow your blog from scratch. And here is the best part. It is easier than ever to start a blog, no matter where you live or what skills you have. Thanks to AI tools, even if your English isn't perfect or you don't know much about SEO, you can still create a successful blog.

AI will help you write better content, optimize it for search engines, and even make stunning images for Pinterest. And stay tuned till the end, because I will know you how you can start monetizing your blog and make that first $1000 faster.

Steps to Start a Blog and Make Money

Step 1: Pick a Niche for Your Blog

And the first thing that you need to do is choose your blog's niche. Beginners often make a mistake by choosing a niche that isn't profitable. I know it is tempting to write about your daily life or your hobbies, but not all topics are equally good for making money.

If you plan to earn something with your blog and potentially at some point even replace your current full time income with it, then this step is crucial.

For example, niches like home decor, recipes, weight loss and lifestyle blogs tend to do really well. And these are especially strong niches for Pinterest, which we will get into later in this article. And if you want to explore the most profitable blogging niches in detail, I will link for you my other article up here.

Step 2: Choose Your Blog Name / Domain Name

Now the next step is to choose your blog name or domain name. Once you have a niche in mind, it is time to pick a domain name and here are some guidelines that I would recommend you:

• Short and memorable.
• Avoid numbers & hyphens.
• Look for .com domain.

One is keep it short and memorable, two avoid numbers and hyphens and three try to find a .com domain and if it's not available maybe you can go for something like .co. And try not to overthink this part.

Your domain name can even be your own name, giving you flexibility if you want to switch niches down the road. And if you're interested in more tips on how to pick the perfect domain name, I've got another article here and it covers this topic in detail.

Step 3: Technically Set Up Your Blog

Now step number three is to technically set up your blog. So now that you've got your blog name, it's time to get it up and running. Don't worry because it is easier than you think. You can set it up in less than 15 minutes by following my step by step guide.

I actually think that it's easier to follow these technical steps if you have an article in front of you with some screenshots and a video tutorial all in one place. So I already have this guide ready for you here.

Here is what you will need to set up your blog. One is WordPress and this is the best content management system or CMS for bloggers. It's free and it's built for flexibility which makes it different from other platforms that you maybe heard about, something like WIX or Squarespace.

And the second thing that you'll need is web hosting. Personally, seven years ago I started with Bluehost hosting provider and I would have done it again these days if I had to, because their plans are still very affordable and they offer 24/7 support.

Plus they provide a free domain name for the first year. So you can use my exclusive link for a special discount on bluehost. And once you've set up your blog, you're ready to customize it.

Step 4: Choose a WordPress Theme

Step number four is to choose a WordPress theme. So the look and the feel of your blog along with how fast it loads, all of this depends on the theme that you choose.

I recommend starting with some of the free themes like Astra or Kadence, which are known for being lightweight and fast. These are key factors for SEO, especially if you're trying to grow your Google traffic as well.

Other speedy WordPress themes might include Neve and Ocean WP, and if you're considering a paid premium option then you could look at GeneratePress. It's another very good choice.

Step 5: Set your Blog for SEO

Now the next step is to set your blog for SEO. So when you start a blog, I think no other WordPress plugin is more important than an SEO plugin.

Why do you need it? One is for better search rankings. SEO is all about optimizing your site so people can find your blog on Google and other search engines.

For example, "AlOSEO" which kindly sponsored this part of the article, helps you set up your blog so it's search engine friendly right from the start. This means that you will get more traffic which will eventually mean more money for you.

The second reason is because you can use this plugin to verify Pinterest account. If you are planning to use Pinterest to drive traffic, which I highly recommend especially for new blogs, then "AlOSEO" makes it super easy to verify your Pinterest account by just inserting the verification code over here. And this helps you boost visibility on Pinterest.

Features of AlOSEO

And here are some standout features of "AlOSEO" that you will not find in other SEO plugins:

Keyword Rank Tracker

One is Keyword Rank Tracker. This feature allows you to track how your blog's keywords are performing and just this feature alone will save you a ton of money because other SEO tools that offer the same keyword tracking functionality have monthly fees starting at around $100 per month.

Plus you will have everything in your WordPress blog and you don't need to toggle between multiple SEO tools this way.

Content Rankings

Second thing that you'll see here is Content Rankings. This feature helps you monitor the performance of your posts on search engines and it even alerts you if any of your content is losing traffic so you can take action quickly and keep your rankings strong.

SEO Revisions

And three is SEO Revisions. This feature tracks all the SEO changes that you make on your website, giving you a detailed history and showing you how this affected your positions in Google.

And to compare to implement this information "AlOSEO" also has a new feature that shows Google updates in the Search Statistics module, so use this link to install "AlOSEO" for free.

I'm sure you will like the free version and you can upgrade at any time to use some of the pro features that I mentioned. Having your SEO set correctly will give your blog a long term success, so don't skip this step.

Step 6: Start Driving Traffic to Your Blog

Now that your blog is set up, it's time to focus on getting traffic. And if you want fast results, I actually recommend starting with Pinterest.

Pinterest is a goldmine for blogs in niches like home decor, recipes, lifestyle because its audience is mostly female audience and it's highly visual audience.

So you don't need a ton of content to start driving traffic from Pinterest. Just create at least a couple of pins per post and optimize them for keywords and you will see the results quickly.

I actually have a popular article on how you can use AI tools to scale your growth on Pinterest. And if you want to dive deep and understand how I'm getting over 80,000 monthly visitors from Pinterest to my blog for free, then you can check my on demand free class here.

For more evergreen traffic, you will want to focus on Google SEO as well, but keep in mind that it takes a lot longer to rank in Google. Pinterest is a quicker traffic source so I suggest mastering that traffic source first.

Step 7: Monetize Your Blog

The next step is to Start monetizing your blog and I bet this is the part that you've been waiting for.

You want to learn how to actually make money with your blog. So there are several ways to monetize your blog, but I will focus on the top three:

Affiliate Marketing

One is affiliate marketing and here you will promote products related to your niche and you will earn a commission on each sale.

This is one of the best ways to start making money with lower traffic, so I recommend checking out networks like CJ Affiliates, ShareaSale, Impact and Partner Stack.

You can also partner directly with sellers of high commission digital products which can pay you up to 85% per sale.

Display Ads

The second way to monetize your blog is with display ads and once your traffic grows to around 10,000 sessions per month, you can apply to networks like Ezoic, Monumetric and Journey by Mediavine.

I would recommend you to avoid Google Adsense early on because it pays very little unless you have a huge amount of traffic. When you reach around 50,000 sessions per month, you can apply to premium networks like Mediavine.

Sell Services or Digital Products

So if you have an expertise in a particular area you can offer services like writing, maybe virtual assistants or consulting. And you could also sell digital products like ebooks, templates or courses, which all of this have high profit margins.

Step 8: Start an Email List

The next step is to start an email list. Now this one is a big thing and I know that most beginners tend to ignore email marketing for a few years at least into blogging.

They usually skip it until their traffic gets hit by an algorithm change and they suddenly realize that they don't own their audience.

I don't want you to be in that position, so listen carefully. You have to start building an email list as soon as you can.

Email is the only thing that you truly own in this blogging business. Whether it's Google traffic, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram or any other traffic source, they can all be taken away from you at any time. But your email list, that's yours to keep and it can be a consistent source of traffic, engagement and revenue.

To start building your email list, you need a plugin that allows you to collect emails on the blog. I recommend wpforms.

This plugin makes it super easy to add contact forms to your blog. It easily integrates with all major email marketing providers such as ActiveCampaign, Kit MailerLite and many others.

And here is the most important piece of advice for you. Stop doubting and procrastinating. If you're thinking about starting a blog, just dive in. You will learn everything as you go.

As promised, I've got a plan to help you start your blog and make your first thousand dollars faster. I understand how overwhelming it can feel at the beginning, so I've created a free one week blueprint for you. It will be delivered straight to your inbox with some lessons and video tutorials covering everything from setting up your blog to exploring monetization options. So check this link to get started.

And before you leave, you might want to read my article with my income reports for the first few years of my blogging journey just to get an idea of what is possible and hopefully to get some inspiration from it.