Blogging can be a fun pastime—or it can be a profitable side hustle.

For some, it can even turn into a lucrative, full-time job.

So, what separates the hobbyists from the high-earners?

An action plan.

Below, I’ll teach you how to start a blog that attracts and converts visitors.

Including a month-by-month timeline of exactly what to do and when to do it.

With actionable steps for each phase, you’ll learn how to go from initial planning to a thriving business in 12 months.

Plus, you’ll see how other bloggers successfully used this system to build steady blog traffic and revenue. Like Kayla, who used this framework to grow her food blog from zero to 90K monthly visitors in a few years.

Ready to build your blog the right way?

Let’s start with how to validate your blog concept.

Phase #1: Plan Your Blog (Month 1)

Focus on research and validation in month one.

Why?

Because it will set your blog up for sustainable success.

Define Your Goals

Your goals determine everything about your blog.

This includes your:

• Content strategy
• Monetization methods
• Target audience
• Publishing schedule
• Marketing tactics

But your goals should be more specific than “I want to start a blog and make money” or “I want to share advice on [insert topic].”

Break your goals into three parts: purpose, income, and growth.

This will define your “why.”

And clarify your strategy for long-term success.

Purpose Goals

• Core topic expertise you’ll share
• Problem you’ll solve for readers
• Unique angle that sets you apart

Example: “Help busy parents cook healthy meals in under 30 minutes.”

Income Goals

• Primary revenue stream (affiliate, ads, products)
• Target monthly revenue ($500, $5,000)
• Timeline for reaching income goals

Example: “Generate $1,000 per month through affiliate marketing within 24 months.”

Growth Goals

• Monthly traffic targets
• Email subscriber goals
• Content publishing schedule

Example: “Reach 25,000 monthly pageviews and 1,000 email subscribers in 12 months.”

Research Your Niche

Ideally, the niche you choose will be one you have an interest in long-term.

Maybe it’s something you’re already an expert in. Or at least have a serious desire to learn about.

It’s WAY easier to create quality content when you know your stuff and are passionate about the topic.

Plus, your content will feel more authentic to your readers.

Here’s how to pick the perfect niche:

• List your interests: Start by writing down five to 10 topics. These could be hobbies, professional skills, or areas you want to learn more about.
• Assess your expertise: For each topic, rate your knowledge level from one to 10. You don’t need to be a world-class expert. But some familiarity helps.
• Check market demand: Use Google Trends to see if interest in your topic is growing or declining. Stick to topics with steady or increasing interest.

Validate Your Idea

How do you know if your blog idea is any good?

It’s actually pretty simple:

Use Semrush’s Keyword Overview to assess its popularity and potential.

Type your topic into the search bar and click “Search.”

I used “dog training” for this example.

Then, take a look at two things:

Search Volume

This metric tells you how many people search for the specified term per month.

For example, “dog training” gets over 49,500 searches per month in the U.S., which means it’s a viable niche with active searchers.

If your niche has less search volume, don’t count it out.

Small but engaged niches can be really lucrative.

But if it’s substantially less—say 200 searches total per month—consider three things:

• Is this niche likely to grow in popularity? Check Google Trends to see if interest in this term is steadily increasing to get an idea of its growth potential.
• Do you plan to sign up for ad networks? Many ad networks have minimum monthly traffic requirements—something that can be tough for small blog niches to meet. For example, Mediavine requires publishers to have 50,000 sessions per month before they can apply, while Raptive requires 100,000 monthly sessions.
• Does the niche have revenue potential? Some niches with lower search volume can still be profitable if the audience is ready to spend. Consider what products, services, or digital downloads you could offer and the average cost of these items.

Keyword Difficulty (KD)

Next, look at keyword difficulty, a metric that tells you how hard—or easy—it’ll be to rank for the specified term.

“Dog training” has a “hard” KD score, making this niche a tougher one to break into.

Ranking highly will require optimized content and a strong backlink profile.

As you review various niches, use these keyword difficulty percentages as a guide:

• 0–29% = Perfect for new blogs
• 30–49% = Manageable with good content
• 50%+ = Requires serious search engine optimization (SEO) effort and high-quality content

Strike a balance between volume and keyword difficulty to find the right niche for you.

Assess the Competition

Before you enter a niche, it helps to know who you’re up against.

Do a Google search to see which competitors appear in the first five results or so.

Ignore any major sites that would be impossible to beat in search engine results pages (SERPs) for now.

Let’s say you want to start a blog on growing tomatoes.

Focus on the rivals you’d have a realistic chance of outranking.

Check each competitor’s traffic using a tool like Semrush’s Traffic Analytics.

For example, when I searched this term, The Old Farmer’s Almanac had one of the top spots.

But this site gets 4.1 million monthly visitors.

That’s a hefty amount of traffic.

Let’s cross this site off the list for now.

In comparison, another blog that appeared highly in the search results, The Maker Makes, gets 25,400 visits per month.

That’s still a lot of traffic, but it’s a much more attainable number.

Add them to the list.

Next, scroll down to see this blog’s top-performing marketing channels:

As you can see, The Maker Makes gets 99.93% of its traffic from organic search.

This is both good and bad news.

It means users actively search for this niche on search engines.

But it also means the SEO is strong with this one.

You’ll need to invest serious time learning optimization fundamentals to beat them in the SERPs.

(Don’t worry—I cover SEO basics in Phase 3.)

Next, check out their blog to get a feel for their content.

Study their top posts to identify what they do well and areas of improvement.

You’ll also want to review how competitors structure their sites—is the navigation intuitive? Does the site provide a good user experience?

Note your likes and dislikes to make your blog’s design a better experience for visitors and search engines.

Rinse and repeat the above steps for three to five competitors.

Phase #2: Build Your Blog (Month 2)

Month two is when you’ll make the technical decisions that set your site up for success—from choosing a domain name to designing your layout.

Select Your Domain and Hosting

Your domain name is your blog’s permanent address on the internet.

So, make it count.

The best domain names share four key features.

They’re:

• Short (3–13 characters)
• Easy to say and spell
• Related to your topic
• Memorable enough to build a brand

Examples include “Backlinko” for SEO and “NerdFitness” for health—they’re concise, clear, and instantly tell readers what to expect.

Make a list of possible names and use a site like GoDaddy to check availability.

Next, decide where your blog will live.

You’ve got two main options:

• Hosted platforms: The company handles everything—hosting, security, updates, and maintenance. Perfect for beginners who want simplicity over control. Examples include Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress.com.
• Self-hosted platforms: The main self-hosted option is WordPress.org, an open-source platform that powers 43.6% of all websites. You’ll need to choose a hosting company like Bluehost or SiteGround to install it, but you’ll get complete control over design, features, and monetization.

Hosted vs. Self-Hosted Platforms

Hosted platforms are undeniably the easiest option for new bloggers.

This is because they come with everything you need: hosting, domain name, templates, and basic SEO tools.

The big advantage?

Everything works right out of the box. You don’t need to think about technical setup or maintenance—it’s all handled for you.

But there’s a catch.

Hosted platforms make starting easy, but they also limit what you can do with your blog. This includes monetizing it with affiliate and ad networks.

Think of it like renting an apartment versus owning a house.

When you rent, you’re not allowed to change the paint color or make any other upgrades.

But when you own, you can do whatever you want.

Yes, you’ll need to get a domain name, find a host, and set everything up yourself. (Or hire someone to help you.)

But you’ll have MUCH more control over your blog.

You can customize everything about your site. Add any features you want. And scale without hitting platform or monetization restrictions.

It’ll take more setup time (many hosts will connect your domain to your site for you), but the flexibility and control are worth it.

The key takeaway here?

If you want more control over your blog, I highly recommend a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Design Your Blog

Your blog’s design affects everything from user experience to search rankings.

While it’s an essential foundation, don’t get caught up in unnecessary details like colors or custom fonts,

The faster you launch, the faster you can start driving traffic to your blog.

Choose a Clean Theme

A blog theme is a pre-designed template that controls your site’s visual elements and layout—including fonts, colors, navigation, and spacing—without requiring you to write code.

WordPress themes like GeneratePress, Astra, and Elementor are popular for a reason.

They’re:

• Lightweight, which means faster loading
• Mobile-responsive, so your site works on all devices
• SEO-friendly to help you rank better on Google
• Customizable, which makes it easy to tailor it to your niche or needs

Avoid themes packed with flashy animations, complex layouts, or built-in features you won’t use.

These can slow down your site and distract readers from what matters most—your content.

Focus on Readability

Don’t make your readers work to read your content.

(Because they’ll likely go elsewhere if you do.)

Follow these best practices:

• Use large, readable text (16 pixels minimum)
• Keep plenty of white space between paragraphs
• Stick to black text on a white background

Optimize for Speed

Your design choices affect your website’s loading speed.

So keep things simple:

• Compress images with a tool like TinyPNG before uploading
• Keep plugins to the essentials (SEO, security, caching)
• Avoid elements like sliders and animations that can slow down your blog

Phase #3: Launch Your Blog (Month 3)

Now comes the fun part.

Month three is when you’ll research topics and create content that will help you build an engaged audience.

Write (and post) at least five blog posts before you officially launch.

Why?

Because you want people to stick around when they land on your site.

If you only have one post… they probably won’t.

But if you have five+ awesome articles?

They’ll have a good sample to read (and share).

Research Topics

Instead of guessing what to write about, research relevant content ideas that’ll attract your target audience.

Start with Google’s autocomplete feature.

For example, if you blog about organic coffee, type this term into Google to see what people search for related to this topic.

Add “how to,” “best,” or “what” to get more targeted suggestions.

For example, typing “organic coffee what” brings up potential blog post topics like “Why organic coffee is important” and “Is organic coffee worth it?”

You can also use a content ideation tool to get targeted blog post ideas.

I used Semrush’s Topic Research for this example:

Type your topic into the search field and click “Get content ideas.”

The tool will reveal popular topics related to your term along with monthly search volume.

For example, searching “organic coffee” results in ideas like “Arabica beans” and “organic coffee syrups.”

Click any card to see a difficulty score, headlines, questions, and related searches.

Look for topics with solid search volume but reasonable competition.

Pay special attention to questions people are asking.

And topics your competitors haven’t covered yet or well. (Remember that competitive research I suggested in Phase 1? This is where that information will come in handy.)

Conduct Keyword Research

Once you’ve selected blog post topics, it’s time for keyword research.

Adding a target keyword to each blog post helps Google understand what your content is about.

It also helps you rank higher on search engines.

A target keyword is the primary phrase you want your post to rank for in search results—like “store coffee beans” or “coffee cocktail recipes.”

You’ll need a keyword research tool like Keyword Magic Tool for this task.

Type your term into Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and click “Search.”

For example, I searched for “organic coffee,” and the tool returned over 11,000 potential keywords.

While this list has many great keyword suggestions, you can refine it to make the suggestions more relevant and targeted.

The trick—especially for a new blog—is to find keywords with decent search volume and low keyword difficulty.

Select the “KD %” filter and click “Very Easy” or “Easy.”

Now, you’ll see terms you’ll be likelier to rank for in the SERPs.

For example, “is organic coffee sprayed with chemicals” gets 1,900 searches per month and has an easy KD score of 22.

Not bad.

Next, check the search intent column.

Search intent is the reason behind a user’s search.

There are four main types:

• Informational: People want to learn something (“how to brew french press coffee”)
• Commercial: People are researching products (“best coffee makers”)
• Navigational: People want to find a specific site (“Starbucks near me”)
• Transactional: People are ready to buy (“buy Ethiopian coffee beans”)

Start with informational intent.

Content that solves your readers’ problems will boost your blog’s credibility.

As you build authority, expand into commercial and transactional (if relevant) keywords.

• Select the “Intent” filter from the menu
• Choose “Informational”
• Click “Apply”

This refines the list even further.

Now, you’ll only see keywords with low keyword difficulty and informational intent—perfect options for your first blog posts.

Optimize Your Content

By optimizing a blog post, you’ll help it perform well in search results while making it easy for readers to consume.

This means using your target keyword in the right places and structuring your content clearly.

H1

Every blog post (and page on your website) should have an H1 (aka headline).

The H1 should include your target keyword and be compelling enough to attract readers.

For example, if your keyword is “how to store coffee,” your H1 might be “How to Properly Store Coffee, According to a Professional Roaster.”

Subheads

Break up your content with descriptive subheadings.

Use H2s for main sections and H3s for subsections.

(H3s, H4s, and H5s nest under H2s in that order.)

So, your blog post’s structure might look like this:

• H1: How to Properly Store Coffee, According to a Professional Roaster
• H2: Coffee Storing Tips
• H3: Avoid Storing Coffee in the Fridge
• H3: Keep Beans Airtight and Cool
• H3: Buy Small Batches

You’ll find heading options on the WordPress editor:

Include keyword variations in your subheads if you can do so naturally, but focus on making your content easy to scan and skim.

Title Tag and Meta Description

Every time you search on Google, you see title tags and meta descriptions—you might just not have known that’s what they’re called.

• Title tag: The clickable headline your audience sees in search results. It should include your headline and range from 50 to 60 characters.
• Meta description: Appears under the title tag in search results and is what persuades people to click. Keep it under 155 characters, include the target keyword, and make it compelling.

Here’s what these elements look like on Google:

URL

Every blog post you write needs a unique URL.

Keep it short and keyword-focused.

Like this:

Remove unnecessary words like “the,” “and,” or “to.”

Focus on Quality

Optimizing your blog content can only get you so far.

Your content also needs to be high quality to rank and attract readers.

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines are an important framework for creating content that delivers tangible value to readers.

E-E-A-T stands for:

• Experience
• Expertise
• Authoritativeness
• Trustworthiness

Let’s say you’re starting a cooking blog.

Instead of just listing recipe steps, talk about:

• How you discovered the recipe
• The mistakes you made while making it
• Photos, videos, and screenshots you took to highlight recipe steps
• Tips you’ve learned from making it multiple times

That’s experience in action.

You don’t need to be the world’s leading expert to demonstrate expertise.

But you DO need to know more than your target reader.

Here’s how to show expertise:

• Address common questions and problems
• Feature your credentials prominently
• Consider having experts review your content
• Include detailed step-by-step instructions

While backlinks are a vital way to build authority, it’s also important to create blog content backed by solid research and real expertise.

Reference authoritative studies, add expert insights that support your points, and include author and team credentials in detailed author bios.

Focus on transparency and delivering consistent value to build trust with your target audience.

• Disclose affiliate relationships
• Keep your content up to date
• Include reliable sources and expert quotes
• Show real results
• Feature star ratings and reviews from users (if applicable)

Create Internal Pages

Before you launch, you’ll want to set up at least three core internal pages to look professional and build trust.

• About page: This is your chance to establish expertise in your niche. Share relevant experience like industry certifications, years working in the field, or results you’ve achieved. Help readers understand why they should trust your advice over someone else’s.
• Contact page: Keep it simple with a contact form and email address. This makes it easy for readers—and potential partners—to reach you.
• Privacy policy: If you collect any data about your web visitors, like emails or information from analytic tools, you’ll need a privacy policy. Use a template or free privacy policy generator to create one quickly.

Create a Lead Magnet

Don’t wait to build your email list until you get steady traffic.

By that point, you’ve already missed countless potential subscribers.

The solution?

Create a lead magnet that launches with your blog.

A lead magnet is a free resource you give away in exchange for email addresses. The key is making it so useful visitors can’t help but download it.

Focus on creating lead magnets that are quick to make but highly valuable:

• Templates
• Checklists
• Guides
• Calendars
• Email newsletter signup forms

For example:

At Backlinko, our main lead magnet is an email newsletter signup form:

You can also put relevant lead magnets on individual webpages and blog posts like HubSpot did with this free Ebook.

When users click “Download Now,” it prompts them to enter their email address.

Whether your lead magnet is sitewide or on individual pages (or both), what matters most is that it’s valuable to your target audience.

So, create something awesome your readers will love.

And start collecting email addresses from the get-go.

Once you’ve established your list, use it to:

• Promote blog content
• Advertise products or services
• Provide exclusive content
• Keep readers engaged with your blog and brand

Set Up Blog Analytics

You’ve spent a lot of time and energy getting your blog up and running.

Now it’s time to find out if your hard work is paying off.

Analytics tools can tell you:

• Which posts are getting the most traffic
• Where your readers are coming from
• How long people stay on your site

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Google Analytics and Google Search Console are two must-have analytics tools to track your website’s progress.

Even better?

They’re free.

Google Analytics (GA4)

Google Analytics helps you understand exactly how visitors interact with your blog by tracking key performance metrics.

This includes:

• Traffic sources: See where your readers come from, such as search engines, social media, email, or direct visits
• Content performance: Track your most-viewed pages, average time spent reading, and which posts keep readers engaged (and those that don’t)
• User journey: Learn how visitors navigate your blog, which pages they visit first, and where they exit
• Audience insights: Learn about your readers’ demographics, interests, devices used, and geographic locations

Installing Google Analytics requires adding a tracking code to your website or CMS.

Not technically savvy?

Follow along with our Google Analytics 4 Tutorial to get step-by-step setup instructions. (Or ask a friend to assist with setup.)

Google Search Console (GSC)

Google Search Console shows you how your content performs in Google search results (but it doesn’t provide data from any other search engines or traffic sources).

You’ll learn:

• Search performance: Monitor which keywords bring visitors to your blog, your average position in search results, and how often people click through to your content
• Technical health: Identify issues like broken links and security problems before they impact your rankings
• Loading speed: Track Core Web Vitals metrics that affect user experience and search rankings
• Indexing status: Ensure Google can find and index all your blog posts properly

Installing GSC requires uploading an HTML file to the root directory of your domain.

This is Google’s way of verifying you actually own the domain.

Sounds a bit too technical for you? Enlist someone to help.

Or read our Definitive Guide to Google Search Console for detailed setup instructions.

Phase #4: Grow Your Blog (Months 4–12)

By this point, you should have a solid foundation of content.

Focus on growth in months four through 12 by setting publishing goals and promoting your posts.

Establish Your Publishing Cadence

To determine how often you should post, refer to the goals you set in month one.

For example, say you want to have 50,000 monthly visitors in two years.

Determine how many blog posts you’ll need to achieve that goal, such as 50 posts total, each bringing in 1,000 visitors monthly.

Next, do some quick math: 50 posts ÷ 24 months = about two posts per month.

So, you’ll need to write around two high-quality posts per month to achieve your goal.

Factor in writing time to see if the publishing cadence is manageable with your schedule.

This will help you create a sustainable schedule that aligns with your goals and available time.

Most importantly?

Focus on quality over quantity.

One quality post per week beats five rushed ones.

Create a Simple Distribution Process

Want to get as many eyes on your content as possible?

Create a distribution plan.

The key to making this work for you (especially if you’re a solo blogger) is to keep it simple.

You can always expand later.

Focus on doing a few things well rather than spreading yourself thin across every platform.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to get your audience’s attention.

In fact, for every $1 spent on email marketing, marketers receive $36 in return.

That’s a mighty fine return on investment (ROI).

Once you’ve started collecting email addresses (you made that lead magnet in month three, right?), put them to work immediately.

Start with a simple email schedule, such as sharing new posts and exclusive tips weekly.

Pick one day (like Tuesday morning) and stay consistent.

Write your emails in the second person to connect with your audience.

And share specific tips rather than general advice to show subscribers the value of staying on your email list.

For example, Backlinko’s email newsletter is sent by the head of SEO, Leigh McKenzie.

In each newsletter, he talks directly to subscribers and uses compelling hooks to entice subscribers to read the featured blog post.

Like this:

“Want to know how we generate 722,000+ monthly sessions at Backlinko?”

Encourage engagement (and increase the chances of making it into subscribers’ inboxes) by asking readers to respond to you.

This is what Erica Schneider, founder of content marketing coaching business Cut the Fluff, does in their weekly emails:

Social Media

Pick two social media platforms (for now) where your audience spends time.

This way, you can focus on building a consistent online presence on these platforms. As you grow, consider adding more social media platforms to your distribution plan.

But don’t bite off more than you can chew at the beginning.

Here’s what works for different niches:

• Instagram: Great for lifestyle, fashion, and fitness content
• LinkedIn: Ideal for business, marketing, career, and professional topics
• X: Works well for tech, news, and trending topics
• Pinterest: Perfect for visual topics like food, DIY, home decor

Relationship Building

Build relationships with other bloggers in your niche to make valuable connections and promote your content.

The most important thing to remember about this tactic?

There needs to be mutual value.

So, how do you build these mutually advantageous relationships?

Creating a blogger outreach strategy is actually pretty simple:

• Make a list of 10–20 bloggers and industry leaders in your niche
• Follow them on social media
• Leave insightful comments
• Share their content

Do this consistently, and you’ll start building a network of bloggers who will also share and comment on your posts.

This drives more engagement and traffic for your blog. And it can also help you get more backlinks.

This is something Leigh knows well.

He often comments on posts from digital marketing bloggers and thought leaders on Linkedin.

This strategy helps build relationships and connects you with subject matter experts who can guest post on your blog or provide quotes to enhance your content.

Paid Ads

SEO can be extremely effective at driving blog traffic—but it takes time to see results—especially for new blogs.

A quick way to get traffic is by using paid ads.

Start with Facebook and Pinterest—they’re beginner-friendly options that allow you to quickly create ads and target specific audiences, even if you have no advertising experience.

Set a small budget to see how your content performs.

But don’t throw money at just any content.

Get more out of your investment by promoting:

• High-performing content (check analytics to see which posts have the most traction)
• Posts that contain affiliate links
• Blog posts with a lead magnet so you can capture your readers’ emails

Review Analytics for Year Two

Your first year of blogging has provided valuable insights.

Now, it’s time to use that data to fine-tune your strategy and achieve even greater results in year two.

Assess Your Top Content

You’ve hopefully already been looking at your content’s performance on a regular basis.

But you’ll want to review how things performed overall for the year.

Pull up Google Analytics and look at your top posts.

Go to Engagement > Pages and Screens.

Then, select the date in the upper right and change the filter to “Last 12 months.”

Look for patterns:

• Which topics performed best?
• What content length performed the best?
• Which titles got the most clicks?
• What content types (how-to, lists, case studies) drove the most traffic?

For example, you might find that your step-by-step tutorials got 3x more traffic than your roundup posts.

That’s pure gold for planning year two’s content.

Evaluate Traffic Sources

Next, look at your top traffic sources for the year.

Go to Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition and change the filter to “Session / medium.”

Look at:

• Which social platforms drove the most engaged visitors
• What percentage came from search
• Which referral sources were most valuable

Then, ask yourself: “Where should I double down? Where should I pull back?”

Consider Advanced Analytics Tools

Now that your blog is growing, consider using analytics tools that provide deeper insights to reach your blogging goals.

Start with a rank-tracking tool like Semrush’s Position Tracking.

It tells you how your posts rank for each keyword, how those rankings change over time, and top keywords.

More importantly, it reveals ranking drops early so you can fix issues before they hurt your traffic.

A site audit tool is another helpful addition to your analytics arsenal.

These tools check for issues on your site and tell you how to fix them. Like missing meta descriptions, indexing issues, slow pages, duplicate content, and much more.

Platforms like Ahrefs and Semrush provide free, limited access to site audit tools.

Finally, consider using a heatmap tool.

These interactive tools are helpful (and fun to use) because they reveal how users interact with your content and blog.

You’ll learn the percentage of visitors who click on buttons and links.

And where on each page visitors stop reading.

This information can help you refine your blog’s content and layout to keep readers on your site for longer and improve your conversion rates.

Use a free heatmap tool like Microsoft’s Clarity or check out the budget-friendly paid options by HotJar and Mouseflow.

Bonus: 3 Blogs That Thrived in Their First Two Years

Want to see what’s possible in your first two years?

These bloggers built engaged audiences and steady traffic streams faster than most.

Below, I break down how they did it.

1. Broken Oven Baking

Kayla Burton loves baking.

So much so that she started a blog in 2020 to share her favorite recipes with the world.

After just two years of consistent blogging, Broken Oven Baking shot up the SERPs and attracted an engaged audience.

By January 2022, the blog had:

• 3.2K monthly organic visits
• $2.1K in traffic value
• 3K ranking keywords

This was enough for Kayla to start earning income from affiliate marketing.

But she also focused on growing her Instagram presence to promote her blog and recipes.

This led to lucrative brand sponsorships.

These collaborations provided enough income for Kayla to quit her job and start blogging full-time.

But quick wins don’t mean much if they’re not sustainable.

Luckily for Broken Oven Baking, success wasn’t fleeting.

By November 2024, Broken Oven Baking’s monthly visitors skyrocketed to 76,600.

So, what’s her secret to success?

From day one, Kayla read everything she could about blog SEO to help Broken Oven Baking rank highly in search engines.

Then, she implemented what she learned on her site by optimizing content and ensuring her blog theme was fast, responsive, and user-friendly.

And it paid off—Broken Oven Baking currently has over 3,000 keywords in Google’s top 20.

Kayla’s blog also displays clear E-E-A-T signals.

With step-by-step written instructions, videos, and visuals, it’s clear she tests each recipe before sharing them with readers.

There’s also an “Expert Tips” section where she provides helpful advice to help her readers perfect each recipe.

It also builds trust with her audience and search engines.

But one of the smartest things Kayla has done is diversify her blog’s income sources.

Today, Broken Oven Baking brings in revenue from multiple streams:

• Display ads through Mediavine
• Brand sponsorships
• Affiliate marketing programs
• One-on-one food blog coaching

Kayla’s recipe for success might have a lot of ingredients, but she never cut corners.

With a commitment to quality, thorough recipe testing, detailed instructions, and optimization, she’s been able to set her blog apart from the competition.

Key Takeaways:

• Focus on SEO fundamentals: Knowing how to optimize your content and blog is non-negotiable—read tutorials, take SEO courses, and apply what you learn
• Prioritize quality over quantity: Build a sustainable business by taking the time to create content that provides real value to your readers and stands out from the crowd

2. Drawings Of

Next, let’s look at a blog that proves you can turn your creative passion into a thriving business.

Lillie Marshall launched DrawingsOf.com in 2020 with a unique vision: teaching English through hand-drawn illustrations while making learning fun for kids, teens, and adults.

By December 2022—just two years after launch—Drawings Of had:

• 34.2K monthly organic visits
• $6.9K in traffic value
• 14.9K ranking keywords

With an impressive number of keywords bringing in targeted traffic each month, Lillie was able to quickly monetize her blog.

She created an ecommerce shop with clothes, classroom posters, printables, and more.

Drawing Of’s traffic has continued to grow at a rapid pace.

In November 2024, it had:

• 201.7K monthly organic visits
• $19.3K in traffic value
• 49.5K ranking keywords

So, how’d Lillie do it?

Instead of creating generic teaching content, Lillie leveraged her dual expertise as a teacher and artist to create something unique.

The blog attracts and retains readers through:

• Original hand-drawn artwork for every post
• Keywords that bring in targeted traffic each month
• Educational content from a teacher with 20 years of experience
• Clear author credentials and background

Lillie also has a smart monetization strategy that includes multiple income streams, from affiliate marketing to display ads.

The key to Lillie’s success was finding an underserved niche.

Creating content that serves teachers and students enabled Lillie to build a loyal audience that keeps coming back for more.

Key Takeaways

• Combine unique skills: Use multiple areas of expertise to create content that stands out in your niche
• Build diverse income sources: Start with strong content, then expand into various revenue streams like ecommerce, digital downloads, and ad networks

3. Malena Permentier

When Malena Permentier launched her self-named blog in 2020, she created a unique mix of practical and aspirational lifestyle content.

Instead of focusing on just one niche, she combined four topics that naturally complement each other: apartment living, decor, organization, and productivity.

By June 2022, the blog was attracting 6,600 organic monthly visitors.

With a decent amount of traffic coming in from search engines, she joined Amazon’s affiliate marketing program, Amazon Associates.

Every time someone buys a product through an affiliate link in Malena’s posts, the blogger earns money.

But you might be surprised to hear that search traffic wasn’t her goal.

While many bloggers focus solely on SEO, Malena took a different approach. She invested heavily in visual content, particularly on Pinterest.

Her secret?

Spending a significant amount of time learning how to create eye-catching Pinterest designs in Canva.

This helped her drive serious blog traffic from the social media platform.

In September 2024, Malena’s blog had 23,600 monthly visitors.

69.47% of this traffic comes from organic social alone.

So, how did she succeed in a competitive lifestyle niche?

This visual-first approach works perfectly for her lifestyle content, which is often full of eye-catching home decor tips and ideas.

Thanks to her blog’s lightning-fast growth, Malena was accepted into Mediavine’s ad network.

But that’s not the only way Malena’s blog brings in cash—the blogger created digital products her audience can download for a fee.

This includes a “Viral Pinterest Strategies” course and Pinterest templates.

Prices range from $9 to $120.

Malena claims to make over $20,000 per month from her blog monetization strategy, which now also includes YouTube and TikTok videos.

While I can’t confirm or deny this, her traffic numbers and various income streams certainly back up the potential.

Key Takeaways

• Find your audience online: Invest in platforms where your readers naturally look for content. Pinterest worked for Malena, but your niche might thrive on YouTube or Instagram.
• Break niche boundaries strategically: Combining complementary topics (like home decor with productivity) can create a unique value proposition—if the connection makes sense for your audience.

Start Building a Profitable Blog Today

This 12-month timeline isn’t set in stone.

You might spend less time on research and more time on blog design.

What matters most is focusing on three proven blogging fundamentals:

• Quality content
• SEO
• Diversified income strategy

These aren’t just nice-to-haves.

They’re essential for starting a blog that ranks highly and generates income.

Ready to advance your SEO knowledge?

Read our Ultimate SEO Tutorial to learn how to optimize your content for UX, build backlinks, and drive more qualified traffic to your blog.

The post How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step 12-Month Action Plan appeared first on Backlinko.