How To Build A Website To Make Money In Just Seven Steps
Not everyone wants to build a website to make money but for those of you that do this post will give you all the information you need in 7 easy steps to give you the best chance of building a website that makes money.
Step one: Choose a Niche
The most successful money making websites are niche specific. Niche specific means that you have one subject matter. It doesn’t matter what it is as there is a market out there for everything. However you need to have at least an interest in it as you are going to have to write about it. You do not have to start out as an expert in the niche but you must be willing to learn to become one.
Think about it as if you were choosing something to study in college. You have an interest and want to become a student and then an expert in the subject. If you want more help in deciding on your niche you can read my post on deciding on your niche here.
You could also go to Amazon. Take a look at the range of products they sell and their categories. You might for example be drawn to technology or garden supplies. Then take a look at their subcategories. This may help you to define your niche website and it’s subject matter.
Step Two: Choose A Domain Name
Your domain name should reflect your subject matter as far as possible. There are several places where you can purchase a domain name but I suggest you buy it from where you will have your site hosted. It just makes life easier for you. You could go for a free hosting plan but I suggest you don’t because they are very strict on what you can do and sell on your site.
Take a read of my post on the best hosting sites to help you make a decision. Buying a domain name should cost around $14 a year. Hosting at basic level will be around $4 month but up to around $60 a month. Remember you get what you pay for. My post should help you out on making a decision.
Step Three: Set Up Your Website
Your website should be built on the WordPress system. Obviously there are other options but WordPress gives you the biggest choice of how you want your website to look and act.
Setting it up is very simple. Read my post I want a To Build A Website. This will show you how to do it in 3 easy steps.
Step Four: Write Content
This is the bit where most people come a little unstuck. We all have our own writing style and that’s fine but you should always remember you are writing for your reader and not you. As we are creating a website to make money then the majority of your posts will be Reviews with a sprinkling of information based posts. You can read my post on writing reviews that sell here.
The more you write the better you wilI get at it. I suggest no less than 3 posts a week, minimum.
Here’s some simple rules to abide by:
Short sentences and short paragraphs
Headlines that give structure and a roadmap for your reader
Use appropriate images
Use call to actions throughout your post e.g Buy here, read more here.
Step Five: Find Affiliate programs
Any Niche you have chosen will have many affiliate programs that are appropriate to sell. Some people will only use the Amazon Affiliate program and make a great living out of it. Most companies today will have an affiliate programme as it is one of the cheapest and most effective marketing there is, in the internet purchasing world we live in today.
My best advice is to join these (its free) and have a good search around for products or services you can review and promote. The next thing I suggest is putting in your niche + affiliate program into Google. You will be surprised at how many you will find. Independently ran programs often pay out more than ones ran through the Affiliate marketplaces.
Step Six: Promote Your Posts On Social Media
Your posts will not get ranked or indexed in the search engines straight away, though that should be your ultimate aim. Organic traffic through search engines is gold. If you want to find out more about SEO (search engine optimisation) read my post on SEO here.
In the meantime social media will be your best friend. Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google + and YouTube. Every time you create a post promote it on all of the platforms. If you don’t have accounts, set one up now. You can also set them up just for your business and leave your personal ones as just that, personal. You may need to work on gaining followers and the best way in my opinion is to join Facebook Groups and join in with the share threads. You can get my Fabulous Facebook Groups to join here.
Step Seven: Rinse and Repeat Steps Four To Six
I don’t really need to say much more other than to say that if you want to build a website to make money you need to be consistent and persistent. Don’t expect to become a multi millionaire over night but if you stick to this rinse and repeat plan and take on board my SEO tips you will start to earn money.
Keep in mind that the more you help your reader in making a decision to buy the more money you will make as an affiliate marketer. Your aim is to become the go to website to find out information in your niche or an authority site as it is known in online speak!
Good luck with your ventures. Remember all you have to do is start. A journey of a million miles begins with a single step.
If you feel like you will need more support then take a read of my review of Wealthy Affiliate. Wealthy Affiliate is the place I learned everything from scratch with the support of a whole community. It may not be for you, some people are great at flying solo and you most certainly can by following my steps but if you need more support Wealthy Affiliate is the best place to learn anything about working online and making money.
Excellent article on 7 steps of build a website and make money. Step 1 is very important as it should be something you enjoy or are very passionate about. On step 4 though it has made me realize that I do not use enough call to actions on my articles/posts and that’s something that I need to change. I do want to come across as informative and not like a pushy salesman so that’s why I don’t have a lot of CTAs. Has using those 7 steps made your website or sites pretty successful?
Lots of people struggle to with the idea of being too salesy, but I think it can be done subtly and it’s just like giving people a choice to make a decision or not. Obviously if your call to actions are all over the place and ruin the readers experience then you are being too salesy. When someone comes to your site, they are generally looking for information and maybe ready to make a decision to buy a product or service. If you don’t give them an option to buy they will go off and find where to buy the product elsewhere and all because you gave them the information they required.
This was a helpful and straightforward post. It is always easier to do something new with a laid out plan, it becomes easier to do it, bit by bit. I agree with your previous commenter Brian, I neither call out to my visitor to take action. I think I will have to make my posts more direct and personal. My website is more informative and less about sales but I think I could give it a little change.
Hi Taetske and thanks for reading.
I’m pleased you got some new ideas for updating your style so you can make money from your work. People still want to learn but they won’t mind being pointed in the right direction to buy either especially if you have taught them something. Wishing you every success and reach out if you need any help.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Brian
atExcellent article on 7 steps of build a website and make money. Step 1 is very important as it should be something you enjoy or are very passionate about. On step 4 though it has made me realize that I do not use enough call to actions on my articles/posts and that’s something that I need to change. I do want to come across as informative and not like a pushy salesman so that’s why I don’t have a lot of CTAs. Has using those 7 steps made your website or sites pretty successful?
Karen Noone
atHi Brian and thank you for reading.
Lots of people struggle to with the idea of being too salesy, but I think it can be done subtly and it’s just like giving people a choice to make a decision or not. Obviously if your call to actions are all over the place and ruin the readers experience then you are being too salesy. When someone comes to your site, they are generally looking for information and maybe ready to make a decision to buy a product or service. If you don’t give them an option to buy they will go off and find where to buy the product elsewhere and all because you gave them the information they required.
No use in losing money. Hope this helps.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
Taetske Guillaume
atGood afternoon Karen,
This was a helpful and straightforward post. It is always easier to do something new with a laid out plan, it becomes easier to do it, bit by bit. I agree with your previous commenter Brian, I neither call out to my visitor to take action. I think I will have to make my posts more direct and personal. My website is more informative and less about sales but I think I could give it a little change.
Regards, Taetske
Karen Noone
atHi Taetske and thanks for reading.
I’m pleased you got some new ideas for updating your style so you can make money from your work. People still want to learn but they won’t mind being pointed in the right direction to buy either especially if you have taught them something. Wishing you every success and reach out if you need any help.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen