A blog is an incredibly powerful tool required by all online marketers to drive traffic to their business. Publishing well-curated and informative content to your online business blog will help generate quality leads, and in turn, boost sales. 

However, some online business owners don’t see the need to have a functional blog. They only believe in running ads on Facebook, WhatsApp, or Google. The thing is, running ads is not a bad idea but there are more benefits derived from owning a blog. Below are the top 10 benefits of having a blog for your online business.

1. Generation of traffic to your website

There are several means of driving traffic to your website. You can decide to buy an email list or run ads, however, both are relatively costly. If you want your website to gain more visibility, adding a blog page is the best. Because as you publish high-quality content, it makes Google index your content and rank on Google SERP (Search Engine Result Page) if well optimized.

Google algorithm needs content to index, so as you are consistent in publishing your content, it makes google recognize your page and always check in frequently for more content. If you target your keyword very well, your website will rank on Google’s first page, and in turn, drive more leads to your website.

2. It helps to boost your online presence

As an online business owner, a strong online presence is one of the keys for your business to survive. You can boost your social media presence and get more customers by blogging. You write quality and non-plagiarized content about your brand, publish on your blog page, and then share it on your social media network. However, if you suck at writing, you can decide to hire a content writer to help do the job.

The more the number of people your blog post reaches, the more your audience grows. When people perceive value in what you post, they will consider you a go-to person in your industry and become part of your network. Your customers can also help share your blog post with other people which will help build your social media network.

Also Read: Know This Before You Start a Blog in Nigeria

3. It produces long-term results

This is one of the reasons why having a blog is essential for every online business owner. Unlike other marketing strategies that are geared toward short-term results.

Having a blog produces a long-term result. It will continue to get ranked by the Google algorithm so far the content is still on the blog. This means you will continue to get new audiences over time.

4. It helps to generate more leads

A lead simply refers to your target audience. One of the important benefits of having a blog is also the generation of more quality leads.

As you continue publishing your blog post and sharing, it will reach your target audience. If your post is solving some of their problems. They will crave to know more about your business and eventually become your customer.

5. Generation of income

Blogging helps to generate more income for your business. The more traffic that keeps coming to your blog, the more the number of customers you’ll have, and also the more the in-flow of sales. You will keep generating more income and more customers as you are publishing more posts. 

There are several other ways of generating income from a blog too aside from your own business. You can also run an affiliate marketing business with your blog, where you post content based on the product you are affiliating for and then insert a link as a call-to-action for those interested in the product. 

Once people are convinced about your post and buy the product then you make your money. It’s simple, however, it requires patience.

Read: How To Start A Blog And Make Money In School

6. It helps to build your brand credibility

Customers are now researching extensively on a product before making a purchase. Having a blog will help provide your audience with necessary information on your product which will position you as an expert in the industry.

When they feel your business is credible and trustworthy they will patronize you next time.

7. It helps to grow your email list

Having a blog is also one of the ways to grow your email list aside from email marketing. When people read your blog post and gain useful information, they will be moved to sign up for your email newsletter.

You can do this by including a link to sign up for an email newsletter on every of your blog posts.

8. It promotes strong customer relationship

When your customers realize that you know what you are doing because of the kind of content on your blog, they will keep reading your blog, and patronize your business. This will create a medium for you to interact freely with them and also respond to their comments.

On the other hand, they will feel safer and more secure, even though they have never seen you physically. There will be a stronger customer relationship if you keep satisfying their needs.

9. Free publicity 

Blog also provides free publicity for your online product through backlinks or inbound links. Backlink simply means a link on another person’s blog that people can click on to view your blog post. 

Whenever you post new content on your blog, it will be made available for other bloggers to reference on their sites. They will be able to see, discuss, and share it. If they insert the link on a post in their blog and people click on the link, the new audience will be redirected to your blog. This is a good means of generating traffic for your online business and with that, you will be smiling to the bank.

10. It is cost-efficient

The most ideal cost-efficient marketing strategy for businesses is blogging and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

When applied correctly, you will be spending a low amount of money to run the blog. As long as you are writing a post on your blog and google is indexing it, you will always be getting free leads.

Check Our: Free WordPress Blog Setup

Conclusion

There are many benefits you can derive from having a blog as an online business owner. It helps to build your social media presence and facilitate strong customer relationships. Also, the joy of gaining free leads from your blog without running ads is limitless. If you have been contemplating having a blog for your business, it’s time to clear your doubt and take action.

A good example can be ‘how to make over $10,000 blogging’ or ‘how to make $1000 in your first week of blogging’ etc.

The point here is that they all sound wonderful. Seriously who wouldn’t want to make $1000 in the first week of blogging.

But if it’s true why isn’t everybody blogging already?  Blogging can fetch you serious money, in fact, if you haven’t started blogging I’ll recommend you start now.

But what most people don’t know is that blogging is a business and not a get rich quick scheme.

For you to be successful in any business you much first grow your reputation and brand. Because if the reputation is not there nobody is going to patronize you.

The same thing applies to blogging.

If you want to make money from blogging and be a successful blogger in Nigeria.

You need to forget about making money for the first 6-8 months of blogging that’s just the truth.

And if at all you going to make money, it’s going to be peanuts.

Blogging is a process you just don’t start immediately and start making money immediately.

Think of it as an offline business do you start making money immediately you started a business? Or until people start noticing you?

You start making money when people actually know you are providing values and they see the reason to patronize you.

The same thing goes to blogging, you need to create values, and until you start creating values nobody is going to come back to your blog.

This is why most bloggers don’t make significant money in the first six months of blogging. Because as a newbie, no one knows you.

And with zero online reputation, you simply can’t build trust. Without trust, it’s going to be very hard to make money online.

This is because the trust you build online is in direct proportional to the amount of money you make.

The more people you help the more money you make. It’s as simple as that.

Here are common reasons why bloggers don’t make money and quit early:

• They think blog is an easy way to make money
• They don’t see it as a business
• Never invested in it
• See themselves as a blogger and not a marketer
• Focus on making money and not creating values

My friend if you want to make money by blogging you have to work hard.

There’s no shortcut here it’s just the bitter truth. But the good thing is you don’t need to work as much as depriving yourself sleep as long as you go about it the right way.

Fortunately, this why am writing this post.

Things you should focus on in the first six months of blogging:

• Focus on building a relationship with your audience
• Engage them
• Use your blog as a platform to solve problems
• Make your blog popular by creating a brand and reputation
• Forget about making money in the first six months
• Create values

Once you’ve focused on the right thing which is gaining trust and building your reputation online.

Trust me the traffic will come naturally. Then after this can you start making money from your blog.

Few examples of popular bloggers in Nigeria and how much they are making on a monthly basis

• Linda Ikeji the popular queen bee of Nigeria from  www.lindaikeji.blogspot.com makes around  $15,000 – $20,000 on monthly basis
• Uche Eze Pedro from www.bellaniaja.com  make around 10 – $15,000 monthly

How to make money from your blog in Nigeria:

You can make money blogging by monetizing it in the following ways:

• Google AdSense
• Affiliate marketing
• Freelance writing
• Sponsored post
• Product reviews

#1: Google AdSense-

Google AdSense is one of the most popular ways blogger monetizes their blog. This is done by displaying Google ads on your site. The amount of money that can be made through Google AdSense is proportional to the amount of traffic your blog is generating. This is done in two ways

• Impression: The money earn on impression depends on the page views, for instance, for every 1000 or more page views you get on your blog is going to earn you a certain amount of dollar
• Clicks: you earn a certain amount of money if a visitor clicks on the ad from your site. This can range from anywhere around $0.05 to a few dollars depending on the ad.

Like I said how much you can make from AdSense depends on the traffic your site is generating, however, it’s possible to earn from $100 to $10,000 through Google AdSense on a monthly basis.

#2: Affiliate marketing-

Affiliate marketing is probably the best way to make money as a blogger. This can be done by including links in your post to other business product or services offered through affiliate programs. For everybody that clicks on the links to purchase the product or service is going to earn you a commission.

How much can you make through affiliate marketing? It’s possible to earn from $100- $20,000 on a monthly basis.

To be successful in affiliate marketing through your blog, it will be a good idea if:

•  You promote products relevant to your blog niche
• Promote product you’ve tested yourself and can easily recommend
• You include a disclaimer on your site that you are promoting products and services so as to not mislead your readers.

You can know more about affiliate marketing here.

#3: Freelance writing

Freelance writing is another way to monetize your blog and of course, bloggers are making serious money from this.

Companies all over the world are looking for writers that can write an article about their company and promote their product. They are willing to pay a reasonable about of money for this.

To make money from freelance writing, you can simply add a hire me page awareness on your blog but make sure you make it attractive with a good profile.

There are other ways to make money as a freelance writer other than your blog, there are many freelance writers network you can join and make money from them.

#4: Sponsored post-

A sponsored post is also a good way to monetize your blog in Nigeria. There are companies willing to pay you to sponsor posts for them on your blog once they know your blog is generating reasonable traffic.

To have an effective sponsored post on your blog, the post must be something related to your blog.  Or falls within your niche and it will be wise for you to let your readers know it’s a sponsored post.

#5: Product reviews

Lastly… You can also choose to write a product review on a product that is related to your blog niche.  However, how you choose to do this depends on you. But it’s always good to know the product you are writing a review about.

Most importantly, write all the pros and cons of the product, doing this let your audience trust you.

There are various affiliate networks you can join to do this. Visit amazon and look through their products.

Once you’ve found a product you feel good about, write a genuine review about the product and add a link to the product in your review. On every sale made through your review will get you a cut from the cost of the product.

You can check out one of my review page to learn more.

Finally,  like I said don’t see your blog as a get rich quick scheme but as a business that you are willing to nurture and grow.

Don’t even think of making money for the first 6 months. Just focus on building your brand and reputation. If at all you make some few bucks in the first 6month think of it as a bonus. but let your focus be on building your brand.

Ready to start your blog? You can begin here.

Let me hear your thought on this, having any question use the comment box and i will get back to you ASAP!

The hassle of dealing with the technical know-how and the lack of knowledge on how to create a blog can be the reason why you are not taking the bold and seemingly difficult stride to pursue your blogging career.

Being an active member of the blogging community myself, I have vast personal experience in setting up one’s blog. I know how hard it can be for a newbie.

Choosing the right choice of website theme, the perfect domain name, or even identifying a hosting company can be difficult and daunting.

What if I told you that all of the above mentioned is possible and more? You will get everything for Free, and you will have a blog ready to use in under five days. Great deal, isn’t it?

I set up, you run it!

Get Started With Free WordPress Blog Set Up By Experts

Free WordPress blog setup services are powered by premium our WordPress experts. We will setup a wordpress blog for you for free or guide you how to make a WordPress blog free of charge.

Did you know you can actually start blogging for free and make money online?

Why offer free wordpress installation service? We are on a mission of simplifying the process of starting a blog for non-techies. Starting a blogging site doesn’t have to be a complicated process! You also don’t need expensive blog hosting services to get started.

A Free Blog Starter will set up a blogging site at no cost to you.

Features of Blog Sites That We Will Set Up For You

1. WordPress

We install self-hosted WordPress software with proper configurations.

2. Design

We work with you to pick the best WordPress theme for YOU!

3. SEO Optimized

We help optimize your site for SEO, so you can rank higher.

4. Blazing Fast

We add caching solutions to make sure that your site is blazing fast.

5. Security

We add security plugins to help protect your site from hackers.

6. Training & Support

You will get access to our free training videos & expert support.

All of that for free? Are you crazy?

Yup, we get this question a lot. See why AidTheStudent offer free blog setups.

When I started blogging few years ago, I had to teach myself everything, from setting up a free blog to the paid version, how to buy a domain, where to buy hosting, how to point a domain to hosting, which plugin to use, or study about SEO, digital marketing, etc. It is time-consuming for a non-technical background person like me. So I hope that I can support new bloggers to set up a complete blog to you save a bunch of your time.

Based on surveys we carried out on several of our successful blogs, we noted the main thing that kill the dreams of many great bloggers is the high costs of blog design plus lack of great resources for bloggers.

AidTheStudent seeks to address these two issues. We are a great resource site for aspiring and starter bloggers especially students. We want to disrupt the blogging profession. We are making it easy to start a blog site and make money blogging from home.

You don’t have keep searching online on how to start a blog for free. You don’t have to worry about getting a free blog site that you don’t have control over. We set up a blog site that will help you succeed online for free. If are looking for how to set up a free WordPress blog, get started with our free WordPress installation service now.

How To Avail This Free Blogging Site Setup Service?

STEP 1: Get Hosting (Click Here),

You will need to purchase a hosting service from our blog hosting partners: BlueHost or CloudWays. 

Note: You will get a free domain name when you host your blog at BlueHost. but if you choose another hosting apart from Bluehost, you will have to pay for the domain. If you already have a domain and just need hosting, then i recommend you use cloudways hosting.

Read how to setup hosting with bluehost or our read review on cloudways hosting.

STEP 2: Fill In The Request Form Below 

Once you have a confirmation from the hosting company, fill in request form below.

Copy and paste the confirmation email and the login to your server. This is essential for us to set up your blog.

Share your blog preferences such as: desired blog color, design, and other preferences. Without these details, we won’t be able to set up your WordPress blog. You can change your login details later, once we have finished setting up your blog and handed it over to you. 

Submit the request form by contacting me on messenger or email me at matthew@aidthestudent.com with a screenshot of the payment and all the details i said earlier.

STEP 3: Blog Creation

We will share available themes for you to choose from Blog set up and delivered in 72 hours. You have 12 hours to request changes.

STEP 4: I Teach You (Learn) How To Monetize Your Blog

Now that you have a blog set up, you will need to start writing or sharing quality content. You will join our community where you will learn how to make money from your free blog.

NOTE: Bluehost is our partner in providing hosting services and it is mandatory for you to use Bluehost, to avail our Free blog setup service. This will guarantee that you will get a free domain name and SSL Certificate provided by Bluehost. You will have to sign up through us as a new user to be able to receive the blog setup service. If you also already have a domain name, then you can sign up with cloudways.

See you on the other side.

“I want to start a blog and make money in school”. This is the trend among students nowadays. Blogging is becoming more interesting and lucrative. There are a thousand and one reasons you should start a blog. In my recent article, I gave 30 reasons students should blog.

It is true that blogging pays, however, it requires hard work and sacrifice on your part. Before I go deep into how you can start a blog and make money  in school, let me quickly introduce you to what blogging requires from you:

• Blogging requires passion and it is all about making an impact.
• Blogging is all about problem-solving. You need to derive your own formula to solve problems.
• It requires your time and commitment.

Now, let’s go back to the title, “How to start a blog and make money in school”. To make it simpler, I will section this topic into:

• How to start a blog in school and
• How to make money blogging as a student
• Nothing is free, you will spend some money
• Life isn’t a bed of roses, blogging challenges will come.

Recommended: AidTheStudent blogging series tutorials

 How To Start A Blog In School

Like I said earlier, starting a blog isn’t so difficult. You don’t need to be a programmer or an expert in writing codes before you can start a blog. In fact, you can set up a blog within 24 hours. All you need is to follow the steps on how to start a blog below:

1. Identify Your Blog Niche:

Blog Niche means areas or topics you wish to cover in your Niche. It should be based on what you’re good at or interested in. If you like to write about students, colleges and universities, stick to education niche.

Choose an area or target Audience. Example, Flashlearners Targets Young Persons and it is about Education and Career. Mixing topics is only good for a personal blog. What impact do you want to make and what problem do you want to solve?

Like I pointed out earlier, blogging requires passion and it is all about making an impact. Action needs passion or it will be sanctioned. You cannot be writing about everything.

Common Blog Niche:

• News Blog
• Politics Blog
• Education Blog
• Sports Blog
• Tech Blog
• Relationship Blog
• Gossip Blog
• Health Blog

Choosing A Blog Niche:

• Choose a niche that you really love or enjoy.
• Make sure the niche audience has at least 300,000 people online.
• Choose a niche that is widely accepted.
• Some niche are already saturated, choose less common ones.

Read Also: Step by step guide to start your blog

2. Pick A Nice Name For Your Blog:

You have heard of or visited google.com, wikipedia.org, Quora.com, Facebook.com Flashlearners.com and so on. Google.com, Facebook.com, Quora.com, Wikipedia.org, and Flashlearners.com are what is called Domain Name. It is the URL of a blog which a visitor will use to open it.

Even if you don’t have a blog yet, you can start picturing the name you want your blog to be called.

Choosing A Domain For Your Blog

• Choose a domain name that is easy to recall and type.
• It should relate to what you want to blog about (your niche).
• Your blog name should be short.
• Use the .com or .org extension.
• Don’t use wordpress.com or blogger.com free domains

There are over 359.8 million domains currently register

When you start a blog on free blogging platforms, you get an address like blogname.wordpress.com or blogname.blogspot.com. It is better to get a custom domain name. Example of custom domain name is aidthestudent.com.

There are hosting companies that offer free domain name when you host with them; an example is bluehost. More will be discussed under hosting.

It is Important you read: A Beginner Guide to WebHosting Packages and 5 Tips to Choose a Best Hosting Provider then Different Types of Web Hosting

3. Decide Which Blogging Platform To Use:

Harsh of Shoutmeloud usually advice new bloggers with no money in pocket to start blogging on Blogspot platform for the first month to learn the basics of blogging. Once your basics are cleared, you are ready to start blogging on the most popular blogging platform in the world.

For me, I suggest you start by writing two or more guest posts for sites that accept guest posts and see reactions from viewers. Share the post with friends and see their reactions as well.

Once you are sure about going fully into blogging, buy a domain name and get the cheapest hosting from Namecheap or Godaddy. That should be enough for you to start off. There are free blogging platforms but I don’t recommend them. Start with very cheap paid ones. You can create a website with just $1/month with Godaddy. which is how i started up this blog before moving to cloudways. Download this free eBook to learn more.

Recommended: Full WordPress blog tutorials without writing a single line of code.

If you need help creating a WordPress blog, you can check our blog service setup page.

4. Host Your Blog:

This is where the real business begins. Hosting means to install your blog on your own server, In this case, you will have full control over your blog. It makes your blog available to the whole world.

For a start, I will recommend Bluehost and Cloudways shared hosting service. Bluehost offers very cheap hosting fee ($1.44/month) and $17.28/1st year and come with a free domain name.  Godaddy offers a free domain name alongside $12 per year hosting (which is the cheapest there ever is). Other hosting providers you can use are Hostgator, and Templ. Read our review on here (Templ review, pricing, speed and all you need to know) AidTheStudent is hosted with Cloudways. Read our Cloudways Review: The fastest WordPress hosting. Another good cheap hosting you should consider is Mifi shared hosting. check our review on Templ vs Cloudways: Which is better and faster?

You should use our FREE domain checker tools to find your dream domain then heading over to acquire it before its too late.

Read: How To Choose A Great Domain Name For Your Blog (5+ Tips & Recommendations)

Recommended: Factors before paying for hosting

5. Content And Design:

Now, it is time to Design Your Blog, add Important pages, Write Your First Post and Learn how to rank higher in search engines.

The best Themes for bloggers is the Genesis Theme. It is the most popular theme in the world and it goes starts from $59. I have many of them and can assist you if are really serious about blogging. You can see A to Z guide to start your blog yourself by clicking here. I recommend you using Astra theme but If you’re wondering the theme am using for this website, AidTheStudent uses Newspaper WordPress Theme

How To Make Money Blogging As a Student

You have learnt how to start a blog in school. The next thing is how to make money blogging in school. The following are two of the ways bloggers make money.

1. Google AdSense

Google AdSense is a program by Google that helps you make money from your blog. I completely explained how to get google AdSense approved in my article on Google AdSense Second Review Process. Read it here. Also there are Alternative to Google adSense. Read theme here

2. Affiliate Marketing

You can make a huge amount of money via affiliate marketing. Do you want to know about affiliate marketing and how it really works? If yes, read the ultimate guide on affiliate marketing here. You can as well be Selling Your Own Products online.

3. Others Ways

Apart from Google AdSense, Blogging and Affiliate Marketing, there are over 30 other ways you can make money online. Click here to go through them.

Conclusion: It is easy to start a blog and if you focus very well, you will earn more than you expect. I designed my blog and got AdSense approval within two months. Feel free to get in touch with me for more questions on all platforms @dbestofmasquare or @aidthetudent

Drop your questions and suggestions below. Don’t fail to use the share buttons below or sign up to get future posts. Good luck!

START A BLOG

Hot Articles I’ll advice you to open each of them in a new tap.

• 19 New Strategies Ways to Make Easy Money Online In Nigeria [2021]: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Increase Traffic to Your Blog
• 14 Legit Ways To Make Money Online In Nigeria- 2021 (Student Focused)
• 30 Convincing Reasons why every student should blog
• How to speed up your WordPress performance (blog or website)
• How to start a blog in 2021 Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
• How To Start A Blog That Makes Money Quickly in 2021
• How to make money online (complete guide)
• How to make money with Google AdSense
• Five (5) persons you must meet to be a successful
• 57 Most Profitable Business Ideas in Nigeria For Student To Do & Make Money Now

Apart from the fact that you will learn SEO, Marketing, Writing and Technical skills as a blogger; you will also earn very cool cash. In this article, I will list the 30 reasons why students should blog.

Remember, time is one of the biggest assets given to students equally. What you do with time determines your level of success in School.

Top 30 Good Reasons Students Should Blog

1. Blogging is a Good Use of Time: Having a blog is a good investment of your time and it will change things drastically for you.  In addition to your studies, blogging is a great use of your time.

2. Blogging is a Good Source of Income for Students: Looking for money to pay some bills in school? Starting a blog to make money will help. With good effort, your blog should start bringing money as soon as possible.

3. Writing Skills: When you start a blog as a good writer or just an average write, you will surely improve with time. Blogging helps you to improve on your writing.

4. Fame in School: As a blogger, you become very popular in your class, school, Nation-wide and may even become known worldwide. For example, I started this blog as a student and it has really made me popular both in school and outside school.

5. You Can turn Blogging into Career: With the trend of unemployment, starting a blog as a student will make it very easy for you to go professional after school.

6. Blogging Boosts Your Passion: Blogging boosts your passion for writing, learning and design.

7. Confidence Boost: It will boost your confidence exponentially.

8. It makes it very easy for you to answer comprehension and summary questions

9. Blogging makes it easier for you to convince your friends and lecturers to get a favour.

10. You become an authority and a successful Student.

11. You can add your blogging skills as your job experience in your CV.

12. Your posts are permanently stored and can be accessed anytime. This implies that you are making a lifetime impart.

13. It helps you to write a perfect practical report as engineering students

14.  Blogging exposes you to new terms and concepts like SEO, webmaster tools, Algorithm Update, ranking signal, Google Panda, etc.

15. It increases your relationship with the internet.

16. Blogging makes you more popular than your lecturers.

17. The more you blog, the more your vocabulary improves.

18. Through blogging you can impress girls or guys in your class.

19. Blogging makes you express yourself freely so the whole world to hear your views.

20. You can change bad things happening in your faculty by crying out through your blog.

21. You become a solution to problems.

22. As a blogger, you will have people that will look up to you.

23. Your parents will be proud of you.

24. You will have the opportunity to partner with Google via Google AdSense.

25. The company you dream to work with might meet you to help them advertise in your blog.

25. Owning a blog automatically makes you a CEO, like me (lol)

26. It will help you engage more on critical thinking.

27. Blogging will make you as current as CNN.

28. You can have fun blogging.

29. Blogging boosts your creativity.

30. Blogging drastically increase your exposure.

If you are impressed with the 30 reasons to blog above, then you may want to click here for how to start your blog today. Trust me, you will surely enjoy the blogging journey.

See Also: How to get traffic to a new blog