Did you know that you can earn through blogging? Oh yes, you can.

However, earning through blogging is not as easy as it seems. It does not mean that as long as you write something in your blog, money’s going to come in.  The thing you need to remember however, is that making money with your blog takes hard work, dedication, and patience.

It won’t happen overnight.

Got it?

Now, let’s walk you through the things you need to do, step-by-step.

Step 1: Website Scaffolding

Setting up a solid website would require these two basic elements:  a website host and a mailing list provider.

Website Host. A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. A good web host must be able to handle traffic well. It needs to be fast, and is convenient to set up.

For my websites I used Bluehost, they have very good deal that perfect for your blogging business.

Read: The Best Web Hosting Services for 2015

Mailing List Provider. Email marketing is the ultimate key to a solid audience base. Your mailing list will be a vital source of targeted traffic and monetization, which you can tap into in an instant. Choose a reliable mailing list provider.

Read: The Best Email Marketing Services of 2015 

Step 2: Setting Up Your Website

A great blog or website needs to be strong, and reliable. However, it also needs to look good, and sound good – meaning, it should be marketable.

Choosing a Domain Name. Your domain name is your address in the Word Wide Web, say http://toplistnetwork.com/, that’s a domain name, an address to a specific website in the vast web.  An ideal domain name should:

• Roll easily off the tongue – it needs to be easy to say, to spell and to type;
• Be memorable – it might be tempting to go for something long and detailed but keep in mind how memorable that will be to your readers. A shorter, snappier URL is much more likely to be remembered;
• Reflect your topic – think about what you’re going to be writing about. If it’s about blogging, consider incorporating that word into your URL somewhere. This will make it easier to find and will give readers an idea of what they’re likely to expect.

Registering a Domain Name. You can use independent domain registration sites like Namecheap to register your domain. Then, you add it to your hosting package. But there are web hosting providers where you can register your domain name on top of your hosting package (like BlueHost or HostGator).

Content Management Systems. Content management systems (CMS), also known as “blogging platform”, helps you curate your content and build how your website will look like. There are many CMS to choose from. The more popular of these are WordPress, Blogger by Google, Drupal, and Joomla. Don’t worry, web hosting providers have one-click installation options for these CMS.

I personally recommend WordPress. It is incredibly easy to design with and make your own. There are plenty of resources about building a WordPress site – impressive plugins, beautiful themes, and awesome flexibility.

Step 3: Creating Content

Content is king. And, content marketing is leading the way. Your content is your connection to your audience. Content is the fuel of your site.

Content Marketing. The key thing to remember in content marketing is your audience. Who are they? What problems do they have? What questions are they asking? What are their pain points? Effective content is the kind of content that alleviates pain.

Here’s a few ways you can do all these:

• Create personas of your ideal reader. Flesh it out with everything about this person and use it as a guide.
• Research where your ideal reader hangs out online and listen in on their conversations.
• Conduct a survey asking your ideal reader what they struggle with and write posts about the answers to their questions.

Niche Content. The catch about blogging is that there are plenty of content online, and it is basically extra difficult to stand out and build a good following. The key is to provide a unique, niche content – the sort of niche where only a few dare discuss.

Research about what people are looking for and how the current web contents address this inquiries. You can use Google AdWords, and other keyword research tools.