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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt currently gets over 500,000 monthly visitors<\/strong> and makes over $85,000 per month<\/strong> between affiliate marketing and ad revenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To achieve these results, I created a new approach that focused less on writing and more on scaling my blog\u2019s systems like a real business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this post, I\u2019m going to cover how you can use some of my strategies to create a profitable (and valuable) blog, as content sites are one of my favorite types of online businesses to buy and sell<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s get started. One of the reasons many new bloggers struggle to find success is that they\u2019re taught the kind of blogging that worked years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2010, there were 125 million blogs<\/a>. Today, that number has risen to over 600 million<\/a> and blogging strategies that worked in 2010 don\u2019t necessarily work now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But unfortunately, most of the blogging advice you\u2019ll find today is outdated and written to rank on search engines, not to provide the right tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Common advice from blogging experts will tell you to \u201cwrite about your passions\u201d and \u201cstay consistent\u201d so that you can \u201cpush through failure to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They won\u2019t tell you that growing a profitable blog has almost nothing to do with writing and everything to do with scaling backlink acquisition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They won\u2019t tell you that choosing your blog\u2019s niche based on your passions is often a recipe for disaster, leading you to endlessly churn out content without a monetization strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they will fail to tell you about writing for search intent, manipulating Google\u2019s AI based on semantic keywords, or formatting blog posts for featured snippets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, this advice is hard to find because most expert bloggers that should provide this type of content started their blogs at least 5-10 years ago and are enjoying the fruits of their labor. They don\u2019t need to challenge their assumptions because they are still ranking and making money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, if you\u2019re looking to launch a blog today, you need tactics from 2020, not something written in 2010 and updated a few times over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, I can sum up everything you need to know about blogging today on in one word: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since most of us start blogging businesses while working full-time, you need to develop systems to scale your blog like a startup, not like a writer. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to learn how to start a blog like a business<\/a> from day one so that you have a real chance of taking it on full-time and leaving your day job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With some of the tactics outlined below, I grew my blog to over $80k\/month<\/a> in under two years, quit my job, traveled the world, and took it on full-time. Here are some things to consider if you\u2019d like to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, bloggers need to choose their blog\u2019s niche based on monetization potential over anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finding a niche is one of the first essential steps when starting a blog. Unfortunately, many are still doing it wrong – they pick a niche based on their passions and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here\u2019s the hard truth – passion doesn\u2019t pay the bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Choose a niche the same way you\u2019d pick an eCommerce product to sell – do your market research. For a blogger, this means studying the market and basing your niche selection on four key business factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, your blog is a business, and all decisions must be made like an entrepreneur; especially finding the right niche<\/a>. First, when researching a niche to blog about, you need to look for affiliate marketing potential. While ads can be a good form of monetization, it is affiliate marketing that brings in the most revenue.<\/strong> To conduct your analysis, first perform keyword research and look for keywords that have the words \u201cbest\u201d in them. Here are some examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBest\u201d keywords have commercial intent and are searched by people looking for in-depth reviews and comparisons. Aim for \u201cbest\u201d keywords with good monthly search volume (over 1,000) and low keyword difficulty scores. Then create list posts and add different products with affiliate links. If you\u2019re unsure if a specific keyword or product category has affiliate programs, simply do a Google search for \u201cBrand + affiliate program\u201d to see if it exists. You can also search inside of an affiliate network or look at competing articles to find appended affiliate links. Before starting your blog, niche selection is crucial. You shouldn\u2019t always pick a niche based on your passions, but on business factors and revenue potential. In many ways, money drives passion more than passion drives money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people start their blogs with the aim of ditching their 9-5, but never consider leveraging their professional experience for their blog\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a huge mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a professional network can be vital for building Domain Authority (DA) by publishing guest posts and obtaining early visibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s use myself as an example. I used a lot of SaaS products during my time as a digital marketing leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I launched my blog, I leveraged that experience and created reviews in the SaaS space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only did this make content creation easier, but it also helped me leverage my experience to position myself as an authority in my chosen niche. You simply can\u2019t fake authority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I also was able to easily obtain a number of high quality backlinks because of my professional credentials as the head of digital marketing for a large tech startup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to use your professional leverage when starting your blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you\u2019re a legal professional, it\u2019s gonna be a lot easier starting a law blog than a crossfit blog. Use any professional connections and leverage that you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once, you\u2019ve decided on your niche and written your first 3-5 blog posts, it\u2019s time to scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scaling a blog\u2019s traffic quickly is a matter of implementing the right growth strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And this has almost nothing to do with consistently churning out tons of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So what does it take to scale your blog efficiently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you start writing your first blog post, have a content strategy<\/a> in place. This is a blueprint that will ensure that every piece of content you create pushes you towards your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a content strategy that works, you must consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a content strategy in place, you can now start writing and publishing your blog posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will require high quality writing skills, either by yourself or a ghostwriter, and a good stack of tools at your arsenal, like Ahrefs, MarketMuse, LSIGraph, or SEMrush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with a tool to map out your content calendar, you will most likely need a grammar or plagiarism checker tool like Grammarly, and Google Drive and Docs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To scale your blog\u2019s traffic and revenue, you need to scale and outsource your processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I started my blog, I was working 50 hours a week at my full-time job. That meant I had limited time to work on my blog as a side hustle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the only way I could successfully scale was to give up the notion that I could do everything myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I devised some scaling systems with three goals in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do that, I treated my blog like a business from day one:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There were no goals tied to producing massive amounts of content. That\u2019s because the purpose of a blog is not to random articles, but to generate revenue. To do this, every piece of content you create must be strategic and monetizable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s impossible to grow a successful blog without building relationships with other bloggers and influencers in your niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building relationships with other bloggers is the easiest way to earn backlinks to your blog posts and drive organic SEO growth<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Not to mention, it also helps you drive traffic to your blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reason building relationships is important is that they help you succeed with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building links to your blog is no longer as easy as it was a couple of years ago. That\u2019s because the competition to get backlinks has become extremely high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yet backlinks are vital to your blog\u2019s success as they\u2019re one of the most important factors search engines use to rank websites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why building relationships with other bloggers is important. It makes your outreach campaigns much easier. Besides, when other bloggers know that you\u2019re out to add value to their content, they become generous with their links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another link building opportunity that comes from building good relationships is that of participating in expert roundup posts. This is where a blogger creates content and includes tips or opinions from others in the same niche. Below is an example of one I participated in on effective ways of acquiring blog traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guest posting simply means creating content with the purpose of publishing it on a blog other than your own. Though simple, this strategy is very effective and can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prove the value of guest posting as a powerful way of scaling a blog\u2019s DA and traffic, I carried out an experiment<\/a> in January of 2019. I published eight high DA guest posts in 15 days, and the results were quite eye-opening. Here\u2019s a snapshot of the results:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t Blog Like It\u2019s 2010 – Because it\u2019s Not<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nTreat Your Blog Like A Startup<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Find a Niche with Monetization Opportunities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nLeverage Your Professional Experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Scaling Your Blog to 500k Monthly Visitors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Create a Content Strategy that Works<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nScale Your Processes, Not Your Writing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Build Relationships that Help Increase Your Brand Authority and DA<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLink Building<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGuest Posting<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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