The #1 Way to Start & Make Money from a Blog in 2015

Is starting a blog & making money from it one of your New Year's Resolutions? Here's the #1 way to start a blog & make money from it this year!

Update: This freebie is no longer available for download.

It's the time of year for resolutions and promises. When people embark on journeys to change their lives; when they vow to do things differently and hope for different outcomes than what they've always known. On this day going on six years ago, I told myself I wanted to start a blog, a successful blog. It was one of my New Year's Resolutions and I was adamant about making a go of it.

The only issue? I had never managed to maintain a blog for longer than a month or two. But this time, I wanted it to be different. I knew I wanted to be a blogger, I just didn't know how. Today, people all across the world are sitting down and saying the same thing: I want to start a blog. But starting a blog isn't just about the community like it was in the first decade of the 2000s. Now, blogging is a way to supplement your income. It's a way to make a buck from the comfort of your home and it's why a big percentage of bloggers even get started. 

I didn't make money my first year of blogging. I didn't even know you could. I didn't make money my second year of blogging, either. In my third year, I was still failing to generate an income from blogging (not that I was trying, mind you) but in my fourth and fifth years, I started to make money from my blog. And no, not small potatoes, enough money so that I didn't have to work outside my home and I loved it!

I've never been one of those bloggers to make monthly posts about all the money I've made, because, personally, I think it's tacky and boring. No one wants to be friends with people who'd invite them over and start reciting the figure on their payslips, right? Why do bloggers think their readers are waiting each month to see how much they've made? I'm not sure. That's never been my style: I don't write those posts and I don't read those posts. So if you're looking for a month-by-month breakdown of how much I've made, you won't find it here. 

What you will find, though is the number 1 way to start a blog and make money from it in 2015: through a blog planner! It might seem a bit strange and anti-climatic, but the in the first few months of 2014, I'd made nearly £4,000 and it's all down to being organised and planning meticulously. To help you on your way, I've developed a blog planner that you can download for free. This planner is everything I use day in and day out to organise, promote and maintain my blog. Use it and you're guaranteed to see a difference in how you blog.

How to Start a Blog & Make Money

At the end of November, I attended a blogger's Christmas party and the majority of bloggers there stated that they were fly by the seat of their pants bloggers. They didn't plan posts, they basically just winged it and wrote what inspired them. The speaker asked if any bloggers in the room planned what they were going to write about. I rose my hand, the only person in the room to do so. She didn't notice my hand was in the air and began to lament how that type of organisation was unrealistic.

I completely disagree with this mentality to just blog about what happens with no forethought. It makes it that much harder to write well and to stay motivated to maintain your blog. All of my failed blogging attempts happened because I couldn't stay motivated. Because I'd sit down at my desk to write each day and agonise over what to write about. The very first time I started filling in a monthly content schedule, it became easier. I knew at any given moment what type of posts I was going to write and I could start to prepare them. The art of blogging became fun, creative and, ultimately lucrative. But I didn't get that way because I just winged it.

Of course there'll always be exceptions.You might be the type of person who thrives best without the restraint and predictability of a blog schedule. You might actually be one of those bloggers from that Christmas party who enjoys the spontaneity of what you post. Furthermore, it might be that what you blog about requires a bit more flexibility and spur-of-the-moment posts. As a food blogger, I've got to plan everything out: to make sure all the ingredients are in each week, to take photos, to stay seasonal et cetera.

Unfortunately, if you're anti-organising, my number 1 method for starting a blog and earning from it this year won't work for you. I only know how to blog successfully when I'm organised and that's where my blog planner comes in.

What's Inside:

• Over 50 pages of schedules, charts, forms and lists that will make you a better blogger. 
• I'll show how to organise your content plan monthly and weekly. 
• I'll show you how to optimize your involvement on Pinterest boards to be beneficial for you and your blog growth. 
• I'll provide you with charts for tracking your success so you can be sure that come this time next year, you'll have grown your blog. 
• I've even given you prompts, tips and encouragement along the way to ensure you do this.

Follow my planner; print it out, fill it in and use it to grow your blog!

Ultimate Blog Planner Sample Pages:

Monthly content calendars for filling in with the name of your post each day.

One of the most invaluable blogging tools I can share with you. Download to find out how to use this to your advantage.

Blog success is nothing if you don't track it and remain inspired by it. Use these sheets each month to motivate you.

  Plus much, much more! 

Love everything you see? Download the planner today and start 2015 on the road to blog success!

If you're in the UK & Europe, download the Ultimate Blog Planner in A4 format.

If you're in the US, download the Ultimate Blog Planner in 8.5 x 11 format.

Leave a comment and let me know how you get on with the planner!

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