In April 2020, right when Covid-19 was changing everything, I suddenly had a lot of time. Just like tons of other folks, I thought, “Why not start a side gig?”
That’s when I found a website, pretty much like this one, that said blogging could be a cool way to make some extra cash.
The idea? I’d start a blog and get some pros from Upwork to write for it.
I didn’t want to spend all day writing, but I sure liked the idea of earning from it.
Every article I put up made about $10 each month from ads. I’d pay a writer $30 for their work, so after 3 months, I’d break even. After that? Pure profit.
Now, jump to today. I’ve pocketed over $200k just from this blogging thing. Crazy, right?
Keep reading, and I’ll spill all the beans on how I pulled it off, even though I had zero clue about blogs when I started.
Income Proof
First, let me prove that I’m not full of sh*t.
Below, you can see a screenshot from the ad network I am using to show ads on my website.
More specifically, you can see that I’ve earned exactly $248,215.35 since I started running ads on my website in 2020.
And I’ve managed to build this income without any previous experience.
There is so much knowledge out there on the internet that you can use to build a profitable side hustle.
And the best part? I didn’t even write any of the content myself.
I started with a few hundred bucks and built from there, reinvesting my earnings in the business and getting my writers to publish more content.
If I can do it, you can too.
Check out my full guide to get started with online blogging: How to Start a Blog That Makes $10,000 per Month
Here’s the story of exactly how I did it.
My Story
When I started my blog, I had a boring finance job.
Yes, I had a lot of experience with numbers, but I didn’t know anything about creating a website or writing stuff that people wanted to read.
So, I decided to exploit a key concept in finance: leverage.
By paying other people to write for me, I didn’t only end up with better content.
I also established a much more scalable setup, where I didn’t limit the growth of the business by having to write all the content myself.
Generally, I don’t recommend hiring writers from day one, unless you’re really bad at writing.
It’s much easier to get started if you minimize expenses.
How I found my niche
The first thing you need to do when starting a blog is to find your niche.
There are two ways to look at it.
Either you need to pick a niche with really low competition, or you can choose a niche where you have expert knowledge and know that you can produce better content than what’s currently available on the internet.
Since I didn’t want to write about finance and already knew I wanted to hire writers, I went for the first option: a niche with really low competition.
Another advantage of low competition is that you can expect to see results very quickly.
I’ve found a great example.
In the video below, you can see how Sarah started a food blog and makes $30-40k per month.
How I find topics for my blog
After finding a niche, where you either have an edge or see low competition, it’s time to develop a content plan.
I find topics for my blog directly on Google. All you need to do is start searching for topics related to your niche.
Then, observe what appears and what Google suggests you search for. These results are based on what other people search for and serve as an excellent starting point for new bloggers.
In this video, Mike has explained exactly what I mean:
Once you’ve begun seeing your initial earnings and are prepared to invest in your business, you can start using premium tools like Ahrefs or Semrush. These can save you hundreds of hours.
In this video, Adam takes you through how to use Ahrefs. As you can see, it’s a lot better to find many keywords at once compared to Mike’s video.
How I created my website
WordPress.
That’s the straightforward answer. By using WordPress, you can easily create a fast and attractive website that your visitors will love.
I found a great video by Charlie that shows you how to build a website using WordPress in just 10-20 minutes.
How I earn money from blogging
I earn money from display advertising.
It’s those pesky ads that follow you around on the internet based on your search history.
However, I assure you, they are a money-making machine.
The real advantage of using display ads is that you can focus on producing quality content. You don’t have to endorse subpar products or spend your time trying to pitch sponsored content to advertisers.
All you need to do is sign up with an ad network like Ezoic, Raptive, or Mediavine, and they’ll automatically add banner ads to your website.
You don’t have to do anything more than watch those earnings accumulate in your bank account.
In the following video, Anastasia shares how she uses Mediavine to monetize her blog:
Final Thoughts
And that’s it!
To succeed with a side hustle, you need to excel at searching for information online.
With the videos included in this article, you’re already well ahead of most people.
However, you’ll also need to hone your problem-solving skills by becoming adept at using Google search.