THE COMP L E TE

Blogging Guide for Beginners

In this guide, you’ll learn all the information and
tips you need to get started today.
The Definitive Guide to Setting up a YouTube Channel for Your Course Business

Use this guide to fast-track your

blog to a money-making channel

4 Step 1: How to set up your blog

6 Step 2: What to write about (aka choosing your niche)

7 Step 3: How to come up with blog post ideas

8 Step 4: Turning keywords into blog topics

10 Step 5: How to format your blog for the best results

13 Step 6: Link building

14 Other blogging terms to know

17 Checklist: What you need to make money with your blog Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our
free course with Adam Enfroy
19 Make money doing what you love
JOIN FREE

2
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

How to start a blog for beginners A blog lives between a thought and a purchase.
It compiles and provides information to help
First things first, before you can begin blogging, you need people buy things. When we think about how
to have a clear understanding of what blogging is and what people consume entertainment online, blogs
it is not. used to be something people would consume
for entertainment. But that has completely
Blogging is: shifted to social media and YouTube. Now blogs
are primarily information-driven. They're about
• A science, not an art. information, not entertainment.
• Being the mediator of purchase decisions.
• Ranking on Google in an evergreen way.

Blogging is not:

• Creative writing.
• A hobby.
• A way to update an audience over time.

Now blogs are primarily

information-driven. They're about
information, not entertainment.

3
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 1: How to set up your blog

Now that you know what blogging is and what it isn't, it's time to set up your blog!

There are a few key things you'll need to get started:

A domain name: This is the address people will type into their browser to find your blog.
It should be something memorable and easy to spell.

A web host: This is where your blog's files will live. Think of it like renting space on the
internet for your blog.
A blogging platform: This is the software you'll use to create and manage your blog
posts. We recommend using WordPress. It's easy to use and has templates to guide you.

Once your content management system is set up, you'll need to focus on
four core pages.

1. Home
2. About
3. Blog Archives
4. Blog Posts
Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our
free course with Adam Enfroy

JOIN FREE

4
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Homepage Blog Archives

The home page is the first thing people will see when The blog archives page is a way for your readers to
they visit your blog, so it's important to make a good easily find all of your blog posts in one place. This can
impression. It's not meant to tell the whole story, but be especially helpful if you have a lot of content or if
it should give a high-level view into what your site's you're writing on a variety of topics. You can also use
about. You should have a hero image across with, this page to highlight your most popular posts or those
hopefully, your face on it, a little bit of information, one most relevant to your readers. Platforms like WordPress
or two sentences about what you teach and why you're make it easy to add this, with premade layouts for easy
teaching it. Don't overthink your homepage. visibility.

About Page Blog Posts

Your about page is where you'll tell visitors who you And finally, we have the blog posts themselves.
are, what you do, and why they should care. We don't This is where you'll share your insights, stories, and
want this to just be like a LinkedIn account, all your experiences with your readers. Remember to keep your
professional things or things that make you look good. tone conversational and approachable—after all, you're
This is about being vulnerable. Talk about why you're writing for a real audience, not just yourself.
teaching what you're teaching—what your story is, and
the journey up to that point. The good news is you can Callout: Don't overthink this part. All you need is a
always edit it and tweak it over time. minimum viable website (MVW). This means you don't
need a lot of bells and whistles, just the basics. You can
always add more later on!

One last thing to keep in mind is that your blog should be

a reflection of you and your personality. So have fun with
it! Play around with different designs and layouts until
you find something that feels right.

5
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 2: What to write about Affiliate marketing is when you promote a product on your
(aka choosing your niche) blog and receive a commission for every sale that you
generate.
Now that you have the technical stuff out of the way, it's
time to start thinking about what you're actually going to For example, let's say you have a blog about knitting.
write about. This can be a daunting task, but we've got you You could sign up for an affiliate program with a knitting
covered. Here are a few questions to help get you started: company and receive a commission for every sale of their
products that you generate. Or, you could work with a local
• What are you passionate about? yarn store to promote their products on your blog.
• What do you want to be known for?
• What do you have experience with? The key here is to choose a niche that you're passionate
• Who is your ideal reader? about, with products that people are willing to buy.

Answering these questions will help you zero in on a niche,

or topic, to write about. If the sole purpose of your blog is
entertainment because you enjoy writing, stop here. But
if you want to enjoy what you're doing and make money
while doing it, keep reading.

How to choose a niche that makes money

Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our
There are two main ways to make money from blogging:
free course with Adam Enfroy
through advertising and affiliate marketing.
Advertising is when you're paid by a company to promote JOIN FREE
their product on your blog, usually in the form of banner
ads or sponsored posts.

6
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 3: How to come up with blog post ideas Simply put, keyword research is the process of finding
words and phrases that people are searching for.
One of the most common questions when starting a blog is,
"How do I come up with ideas for my blog posts?" You can use keyword research to come up with blog post
ideas, find out what topics are popular, and even optimize
The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer to this your website for search engines. There are a few different
question. But here are a few ideas to get you started: ways to do keyword research, but we'll just focus on one
for now.
• Use social media: Social media is a great way to see what
people are talking about and what's trending. You can use this The first step is to think of a few topics that you want to
information to come up with blog post ideas that are timely write about. For this example, let's say we want to write
and relevant. about knitting.

• Look for gaps in the market: What information is missing Next, head over to Google and type in your topic + the
that you could provide? This is a great way to position yourself word "keyword." So in our example, we would type in
as an expert in your field. "knitting keyword."

• Use keyword research: Keyword research can help you This will bring up a list of related keywords. These are the
identify topics that people are searching for. You can use words and phrases that people are searching for.
this information to come up with blog post ideas that will be
popular with your audience. Scroll through the list and find a few that are relevant
to your topic. For our example, some relevant keywords
The 411 keyword research might be "knitting patterns," "knitting for beginners," and
The term keyword research might sound a little daunting, but "knitting supplies."
it's actually pretty simple.
Now take those keywords and turn them into topic ideas.

7
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 4: Turning keywords into blog topics Affiliate articles: These are articles that promote a
product. In our example, an affiliate article might be "The
Remember, a good blog topic is something that is relevant Best Knitting Supplies for Beginners." These types of
to your audience and that you're passionate about. With articles are popular because they help the reader make
that in mind, here are a few ideas for our knitting example: a purchase decision. They have affiliate links within the
articles to specific companies, and when clicked on and
• Knitting patterns for beginners purchased, you can earn a commission.
• The best knitting supplies for beginners
• How to knit a scarf for beginners

As a knitting blog, there are two types of posts you should

be focused on: how-to articles and affiliate articles.

How-to articles: These are articles that teach your

audience how to do something. In our example, a how-to
article might be "How to Knit a Scarf for Beginners." These
types of articles are popular because they provide value to
the reader. They help the reader learn something new or
accomplish a task.

Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our

free course with Adam Enfroy

JOIN FREE

8
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Keyword research tools Here are a few tips:

There are a number of different keyword research tools Look for long tail keywords: These are keywords that are
available. Some are free, and some you have to pay for. specific and usually have low search volume. An example
Here are a few of our favorites: might be "best knitting needles for beginners."

• Google Keyword Planner: This is a free tool offered by Look for questions: People are always searching for
Google. You can use it to find keywords related to your answers to their questions. You can use tools like Answer
topic. the Public to find popular questions related to your topic.

• Moz Keyword Explorer: This is a paid tool, but they Look at what's new: What products are coming out? What
offer a free trial. You can use it to find keywords related trends are happening? You can use Google Trends to see
to your topic. what's popular and on the rise.

• SEMrush: This is a paid tool, but they offer a free By following these tips, you'll be able to find topics that
trial. You can use it to find keywords, run a competitor offer value to the reader and that you can easily rank for in
analysis, and much more. Google. And once you have a few articles published, you'll
start to see traffic coming to your site.
Once you have a few tools in your toolbelt, you're ready
to start finding topics that aren't saturated.

9
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 5: How to format your blog for the best results

Now that you've chosen your topic and done your keyword
research, it's time to start writing your blog post. But how do you
format it for the best results?

Here are a few tips:

• Use subheadings: This will help break up your content and make it
easier to read.

• Use images: People are visual. Adding images to your blog post
will help break up the text and make it more visually appealing.

• Use short paragraphs: Again, people are visual. Short paragraphs

are easier to read than large blocks of text.

• Use bulleted or numbered lists: These are easy to scan and will
help highlight the main points in your article.

Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our

free course with Adam Enfroy

JOIN FREE

10
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

More on headings

Headings are important for two reasons. First, they help break up your content and
make it easier to read. Second, they give you an opportunity to include keywords and
help improve your SEO.

Here's an example of how you might format a blog post:

Heading Hacks: How to Write Headlines that Get Results

Subheading: Why Headlines are Important

The first thing people see when they land on your blog post is the headline. And if it's not
catchy or attention-grabbing, they'll move on.

Your headline needs to do two things: it needs to be interesting, and it needs to include
your target keyword. If you can do both of those things, you're well on your way to writing
a headline that will get results.

11
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

More on headings (contiuned) Next, let's look at how we can include our target keyword
in our headline. Here are a few examples:
Now let's take a look at how you can write headlines that
are both interesting and include your target keyword. • The Secret to Writing Headlines that Get Results
• The Hack for Writing Catchy Headlines Every Time
First, let's start with a list of words that are known to be
attention-grabbing: • The Tip for Writing Better Headlines in Less Time
• The Trick to Writing Headlines that People Can't Resist
• Secrets • The Method for Writing Headlines that Get Clicks
• Hacks • The Strategy for Writing Headlines that Get Shares
• Tips • The Tactics for Writing Headlines that Go Viral
• Tricks
As you can see, each of these headlines includes our
• Methods
target keyword, "writing headlines." But they also each
• Strategies offer the reader something they can't find anywhere else.
• Tactics
So now let's put it all together and write a headline
As you can see, these words are all about offering the that includes our target keyword and is also attention-
reader something that they can't find anywhere else. grabbing:
They're intrigued and want to learn more.
The Secret to Writing Headlines That Get Results Every Time

12
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 6: Link building

While doing your keyword research, you may find sites that are ranking on the first
page of Google even though they have a low domain authority (DA).

Call out: Domain authority is a score that ranges from 0 to 100. It's a measure of how
well a website is likely to rank in search engine results.

So how are they doing it? The answer is link building.

Link building is the process of getting links from other websites back to your own.
These links act as votes and signal to Google that your site is popular and relevant.
The more links you have, the higher your site will rank.

There are several different ways to build links. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Guest blogging: This is when you write an article for another website in your
niche. In return, they'll link back to your website.

• Broken link building: This is when you find a broken link on another website and
offer them an article from your site as a replacement.
Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our
• Resource page link building: This is when you find websites that have resource free course with Adam Enfroy
pages with links to articles in your niche. You can then contact the website and ask
JOIN FREE
to be added to their resource page.

13
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Other blogging terms to know Here's an example of how you might use internal links in a
blog post:
The blogging lingo is a long list of terms you may or may
not have heard of before. Here are the top ones to know if If you're new to blogging, you might be wondering how
you want to create a successful blog. to choose a domain name. I've written a whole post
about it, but the short answer is that you should choose
Internal links a domain name that is relevant to your niche and easy to
Internal links are links that go from one page on your remember.
website to another page on your website.
If you want some help choosing a domain name, I have a
For example, let's say you have a blog post about how to great post that will walk you through the process.
start a blog. You could include a link to another post about
choosing a domain name in that blog post. That would be See how I linked to the post about choosing a domain
an internal link. name in the sentence above? That's an internal link.

Internal links are important for two reasons. First, If you're not sure how to add links to your blog posts,
they help improve your SEO by giving Google a better most blogging platforms make it easy. For example, in
understanding of the structure of your website. Second, WordPress, you can simply highlight the text you want to
they help keep people on your website longer by giving link and click the "Link" button.
them more content to read.

14
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Other blogging terms to know (continued) Nofollow links

Nofollow links are links that tell Google not to follow them.
Anchor text
Anchor text is the text that people see when they hover For example, let's say you are writing a blog post and you
over a link. want to link to another website. But you don't want Google
to count that link as a "vote" for that other website. In that
For example, let's say you are writing the blog post case, you would use a nofollow link.
mentioned above. In that blog post, you want to include
a link to another post about choosing a domain name. Nofollow links are important because they can help you
The anchor text for that link might be "choosing a domain control your link profile. That's the number and quality of
name." links pointing to your website.

Anchor text is important because it can help improve If you have a lot of low-quality or spammy links pointing
your SEO. That's because the anchor text helps Google to your website, Google could penalize your website.
understand what the linked-to page is about. But if you use nofollow links, you can prevent that from
happening.

15
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Step 6: Link building

While doing your keyword research, you may find sites that are ranking on the first
page of Google even though they have a low domain authority (DA).

Call out: Domain authority is a score that ranges from 0 to 100. It's a measure of how
well a website is likely to rank in search engine results.

So how are they doing it? The answer is link building.

Link building is the process of getting links from other websites back to your own.
These links act as votes and signal to Google that your site is popular and relevant.
The more links you have, the higher your site will rank.

There are several different ways to build links. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Guest blogging: This is when you write an article for another website in your
niche. In return, they'll link back to your website.

• Broken link building: This is when you find a broken link on another website and
offer them an article from your site as a replacement.
Learn how to grow your blog and generate sales in our
• Resource page link building: This is when you find websites that have resource free course with Adam Enfroy
pages with links to articles in your niche. You can then contact the website and ask
JOIN FREE
to be added to their resource page.

16
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Checklist: What you need to make money with your blog

So ultimately, we have to think about making money with a blog, and that comes down to many different factors.

There's your content strategy, keyword research, search intent, and mastering what people want to read.

Then there's monetization. How do you join these affiliate programs? How do you make money selling?

SEO Content strategy

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing your Your content strategy is the plan for what kind of content you will
website for Google search. create and how you will publish it.

Many different factors go into SEO, but the basic idea is to make sure For example, let's say you want to start a blog about fashion. Your
your website is relevant and easy for Google to find. content strategy might include plans to write blog posts about the
latest fashion trends, do-it-yourself fashion tips, and interviews with
If you want people to find your website when they search for specific fashion designers.
keywords, you need to ensure those keywords are included in your
website and in the tags and titles of your blog posts. Your content strategy should also include a plan for how often you
will publish new content. If you want people to keep coming back to
You can also use Google AdWords to pay for ads that show up when your website, you need to give them a reason to do so. One way to do
people search for certain keywords. that is to publish new content on a regular basis.

SEO is important because it can help you get more traffic to your website. Another way is to create evergreen content, which is content that
will be relevant and useful for a long time. For example, a post about
And the more traffic you have, the more opportunities you have to make how to choose the right jeans for your body type will be relevant and
money from your blog. useful for a long time, even as fashion trends come and go.

17
The Complete Blogging Guide for Beginners

Keyword research Search intent

Keyword research is the process of finding the right keywords to target in Search intent is why someone searches for a particular keyword.
your blog posts.
For example, someone who searches for "buy shoes" probably has
When you do keyword research, you are essentially trying to find out what the intent to buy shoes. But someone who searches for "how to tie a
people are searching for on Google. tie" probably has the intent to learn how to tie a tie.

You can use keyword research tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner Understanding search intent is important because it can help you
and Moz Keyword Explorer to find keywords that are relevant to your topic. write blog posts that are more likely to be found by people who are
looking for what you have to offer.
Once you have a list of keywords, you can start writing blog posts that
target those keywords. For example, if you sell shoes, you would want to write blog posts
about "how to buy shoes" or "where to buy shoes" because those are
Monetization the kinds of things people who are interested in buying shoes would
be searching for.
Monetization is the process of making money from your blog. There are
If you write a blog post about "how to tie a tie," on the other hand, it's
a few different ways you can monetize your blog.
not likely that people who are interested in buying shoes will find it.
One way is to sell products or services through your website.
So when you're doing keyword research, make sure to pay attention
to the search intent of the keywords you're targeting.
Another way is to place ads on your website. You can do this through
Google AdSense or by working with ad networks.

Another way to monetize your blog is to work with brands as an influencer.

This can involve writing sponsored posts, working with brands on
ambassador programs, or doing product reviews.

Finally, you can also make money from your blog by selling e-books or
online courses.

18
The Definitive Guide to Setting up a YouTube Channel for Your Course Business

Make money doing what you love

If you love writing, blogging is a great way to share your passion with the world,
build an audience, and even make some money.

Use this guide to get started, and you'll be well on your way to becoming a
successful (and money-making) blogger.

If you want to learn more about tips on using a blog make money, check out Adam
Enfroy’s course on Building Your Content Empire. In this course, he’s going to
show you how he built a machine for making $300,000/month in only 3 years.

Join today for FREE

Interested in creating a course? Get started with Thinkific.

19