How to start a profitable lifestyle blog

Hello lovelies! If you are new here, my name is Victoria and I’m slightly obsessed with blogging. It all started several years ago. I told my besties that I was going to start a blog with the hopes of becoming a full time blogger. I created a blog, made a couple of (terrible) posts, and called it a day.

Then all of a sudden I just stopped. My blog sat and collected dust for years! I don’t know what I was thinking, but I guess I wasn’t as serious as I should have been-until last year.

Last December, I revamped my lifestyle blog and I’ve been full time ever since. Blogging is so addicting. As a naturally creative person, it’s wonderful to have my own corner of the web to express myself and share my creativity.

It’s also incredible to be able to make awesome connections with like minded creatives all over the world. If you are someone who loves photography, writing, and being on social media then blogging is for you.

Earlier this year I finally managed to monetize my blog! Let me tell you the feeling is incredible. Making money doing what you love is such a wonderful thing! I know that many bloggers are making full time incomes off of their blogs while traveling the world and living life to the fullest. This is the motivation that keeps me going.

Today, I’m going to give you the ultimate guide to starting a lifestyle blog and making money with it! It isn’t a get rick quick scheme and it does require lots of time and effort, but it is super fun and rewarding. I hope you are ready to dive in!

What is a Lifestyle Blog?
The difference between lifestyle blogs and other blogs is that most other blogs have one niche that they stick to. Lifestyle bloggers cover a range of different topics depending on their interests.

I blog about style, beauty, minimalism, mom life, finances, and travel…with a touch of food. Can’t forget the food. I have so many different passions in life that there is no way that I can have just one niche.

It’s too constricting to me. If you have several things you are passionate about, I suggest you start a lifestyle blog! Are you ready to start a blog? Let’s go!

Read this if you are ready to take your blog to the next level
–Email marketing for beginners
–How to plan your blog content

Find a blog name

This can be tough because so many names are taken. If all else fails, don’t be afraid to use your real name. I read many blogs like this, and I like knowing the bloggers by name. It feels more personal to me.

If you want to choose a more creative name for your blog, just make sure that it the domain (website) is available, as well as social media channels. You want to have the same name across the internet, so your readers can easily find and follow you.

Get your hosting

When it comes to blogging, you will need a blog host. I highly recommend Siteground. They are super affordable, have awesome tech support, and works with WordPress.

You can register your domain name right through Sitegroundand integrate it with WordPress.

Set up your blog

You will need to get a wordpress.org account and set up your blog! This is super easy to do, doesn’t take long, and you can start making it pretty!

Personalizing your blog

This is the fun part! You can get any kind of theme for your blog for a great price. I recommend checking out other blogs and seeing what style theme that you like before you purchase a theme. The best places to get themes are pipdig, creative market, etsy, R4356932

Add your plugins

You will want to make sure that you have plug ins on your blog. Some plug ins add your social media channels in your sidebar, some have an email pop up, and some add your social share buttons. You must have social share buttons no matter what. I highly recommend setting up the share buttons and the email list asap!

Start your email list ASAP Don’t be like me and neglect your email list! I didn’t even think I would need a list at the beginning which is the absolute most ridiculous thing ever!

When you have an email list, you have direct contact with your followers. No matter what happens to your social media channels, you will always have your email list.

Once you send out emails, your followers will return to your site increasing your traffic and more importantly your loyalty rate. This helps build trust with your audience and it is SO important! I recommend using convertkit for your email list! Super easy to use and integrates well with wordpress.

Writing and publishing your first posts

Before your publish your blog, I suggest having 10-15 blog posts, so that when people visit your blog they don’t bounce because there isn’t enough content for them to read! Your first post should always be an all about me post that tells your story in depth.

This is so your readers can develop a relationship with you and relate to you. I love reading people’s story. I often find more people are like me that I thought. From there, write about whatever you like.

Getting traffic to your blog

Okay! You’ve got a blog, you’ve filled it with awesome content, and now you need some readers! You will need to check out my post about Promoting your blog. This post is jam packed with information for promoting your blog on ALL social platforms. Some people suggest focusing on only 1 or 2 platforms, but I have learned that getting traffic from all platforms diversifies your traffic and helps with security if something were to happen to one of your sources.

MAKING MONEY WITH YOUR BLOG! There are 4 main ways that lifestyle bloggers make money with their blog.

• Affiliates
• Sponsored posts
• Selling services
• Selling products, either digital or physical  

Affiliates are an awesome way to make passive income. You can check out my other post 5 ways to generate passive income. It might have some information that I left out.

What I like about passive income is that you can create a product one time and continue making money it all the time. It’s the same with affiliates. Affiliate income is when you post content for a brand with your special link.

When someone clicks through on that link or makes a purchase (depending on how the program is set up) you make money! It’s that easy! There are so many brands that have affiliate programs that It’s overwhelming at this point, so you won’t have a problem finding awesome programs to join.