Can You Make Money Blogging? What I Learned After One Month

ByTara

Making money with a blog is possible, but it requires consistency, patience, and intentional research. After running my blog for just over a month, I’ve learned that success starts long before you ever hit “publish.” Before launching your blog, take time to research your niche and study established websites in your space. Whether you’re starting a food blog or another type of niche site, pay attention to what stands out, what draws you in, and where there may be room for improvement. Writing down your ideas, creating a simple plan, and taking things one step at a time can help you launch with confidence and set your blog up for long-term growth.

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Getting Your Blog Online: Hosting and Design Basics

To get started, you’ll want to secure your domain name and choose a reliable blogging platform with self-hosted WordPress. Two popular website hosting options for beginners are Bluehost and Squarespace. Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing you to test the platform before committing financially. If it’s not the right fit, you can transfer your domain to another hosting provider without losing your investment. For pricing, Squarespace offers beginner plans starting at $16 per month for the Basic plan and $23 per month for the Core plan. Bluehost is a more budget-friendly option, with plans starting at $3.79 per month and a Business plan at $6.79 per month, which makes it an affordable choice for new bloggers building their first website.

When I first signed up with Bluehost, I felt completely lost. Although Bluehost generated a basic starter website using the information I provided, learning how to edit and customize a WordPress site felt overwhelming. A friend of mine who works in website design explained it perfectly: learning Squarespace is like learning to drive a car, while learning Bluehost is like learning to fly a plane. That comparison didn’t exactly calm my nerves, but with more research, I quickly realized that purchasing a WordPress theme was the best solution for beginners.

There are many companies that create WordPress themes, including Creative Market, Design Pixie Store, and TemplateMonster. After searching on Etsy, I found exactly what I needed from StudioMommyDesign. Their themes range from approximately $11 to $65, and I chose a bundle that included a website theme along with Pinterest and Instagram templates, helping my brand stay visually consistent across platforms. Installing this theme was a complete game changer. It included step-by-step installation videos that answered nearly every question I had. While I’m still fine-tuning a few areas, using a professional WordPress theme made building my blog faster, easier, and far less intimidating. (Her store is linked here there is also a promo code THANKS for 30% off)

Now it’s time to get your blog content out into the world. Every blog post should begin with a clear call to action that tells readers exactly what to expect. What question are you answering? What problem are you solving, or what value are you providing? Most importantly, what action should readers take next? Starting your posts with purpose helps keep visitors engaged, reduces bounce rates, and improves overall SEO performance. The stronger your search engine optimization strategy, the more likely your content is to rank higher and be discovered by search engines like Google. A few tips that I have learned along the way, AI is not your friend when it comes to writing your blog posts. Search engines see those posts as spam. Your blog is supposed to be a personalized experience, not generic content. Using AI to do the writing for you will lower our SEO score and lower the number of page views that you have. I will even keep a spelling or grammar mistake in a few of my posts just to show that I am a human doing the writing. So if you see a mistake anywhere on this pagge, it might have been an accident, or it might have been on purpose!

How Bloggers Make Money With Ads and Affiliate Links

Now that your blog is live and you’re consistently publishing content, let’s get to the real reason you’re here — making money blogging. Blog monetization typically comes from display ads and affiliate marketing, where you earn income when readers click on your links and make a purchase. To make that happen, you need traffic, and one of the easiest and most effective ways to drive clicks to your blog is through Pinterest.

As soon as your blog is up, be sure to create a Pinterest business account and start pinning every post you publish. This is where purchasing a bundled WordPress theme with matching Pinterest pin templates really pays off. After writing a blog post, simply choose a pre-made pin design, customize the text or images, and publish it with your blog link. Repeat this process consistently to increase visibility, drive traffic, and grow your blog income over time.

Simple Steps:

  • Choose your self hosted WordPress domain site
  • Start a Pinterest Business account
  • Purchase a theme for your website
  • Edit you site
  • Make your first blog post (even if its just an introduction page)
  • Pin it to Pinterest
  • Wash, rinse, repeat!