The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
Do you like to do home improvement projects in your spare time? Do you dream of becoming a blogger? If the answer to both of those questions is yes, you're in luck!
Starting a blog is one of the easiest and quickest ways to learn how to make money online, especially if you have quality content to post. The home improvement niche is widespread and continues to grow as people want to learn more about DIY projects. Read on to learn how to set up your home improvement blog.
How to Pick a Blog Platform
Before you start blogging, you will first need to choose a blog platform. You have several options, but you need to choose a platform that will let your register your own domain name if you want to make money.
If you are new to building a website, platforms like Wix and Squarespace let you choose from various templates and customize with your content. These are easy to use and can be customized to an extent to give your site a unique look.
If you want more control, you will want to build your site with WordPress. You start by getting a domain and a web host and then building your site using the WordPress platform. WordPress has a learning curve, but there is a lot of help available online, and you have many more options to customize your blog.
How to Turn Each Project Into a New Article
To get many visitors to your site, you will want to make a separate blog post for each project. If you are doing a large, multi-step project, such as remodeling an entire room, you may want to split it into several blog posts.
As you do your project, take as many photos (and even videos) as you can. Home improvement blogs with many photos do better than those that do not have as many visuals. Once you have all of your footage, it's time to create your post.
Write a detailed post with step-by-step instructions on how to do the project. If you have an interesting anecdote, you can lead with that. People tend to return to blogs when they can connect with the blogger.
Add in pictures to go along with each of the steps. Visitors want to see your beautiful finished product, but they also want actionable steps they can follow. If you really want to increase user engagement, create a YouTube channel, make a video of your project, and add that to your blog.
How to Set Up and Use Amazon Affiliate Links
One of the best ways to make money with your blog is through Amazon Affiliate links. The way affiliate links work is: you will recommend a product on your blog and link to the product on Amazon using a unique link that lets Amazon know you sent the buyer. If the user clicks the link and makes a purchase of anything at Amazon within 24 hours, you will get a percentage of the sale. (This is an over-simplification of the process; you can find out more on a website called "Amazon.com Associates Central.")
To create affiliate links, you must first sign up for the Amazon Associates program. You will enter information about the type of website you run and your website's URL. Once you are accepted to the program, Amazon will create a bar at the top of your Amazon page. Once you're on the product page of a product you want to recommend, you will have the option of getting a link, an image link, or an image and description link. You will use this link on your website so that Amazon can track your referrals.
How to Write About Local-Specific Terms to Get More Search Traffic
Local search engine optimization can often be quite helpful in getting traffic to your site. This process involves using local cities' names on your site to get local traffic. In many cases, users are more likely to add a location to their search. Let's say that you live in San Diego, and you hire someone to come out and install a water softener system. Write a blog post about it, and use terms when you write it. This will help people find your blog easier than if you just blog about soft water systems in general. When you narrow down your focus to a geographic niche (in this case: San Diego + soft water systems), you'll be competing with fewer websites and blogs (who are all competing for the broader topic: soft water systems in general).
Setting up a home improvement blog to showcase your projects is easy and fun. By using best practices (for example, you can read about how I became a blogger here), you can turn your hobby into an activity that makes you money.
