How to Make Money Blogging in Kenya {2024}

I have been blogging for 5 years now. No, almost 6 years. And in the 6 years, I have earned more than 10 million shillings blogging in Kenya. Do you want to know how I do it? How do I make money online blogging in Kenya?

If that’s exactly what you want to know then you are in the right place. In today’s post, I have decided to share everything that I have learned about blogging from the time I started in 2018 to date.

Over this period I have tried and tested different methods for making money online and seen what works and what doesn’t.

I have tried methods that earned me as much as Ksh. 360,000 in a day and some that earned me as much as Ksh. 4,000,000 in a year.

Overall, I have earned as much experience from trying and testing stuff writing as you will ever learn from taking a 4-year journalism course at the university.

Without wasting too much time, let me introduce you to my world. The blogging scene in Kenya. Is it easy to start a blog in Kenya? What are the best tools to use to grow your blog in Kenya? How much can you make blogging in Kenya? What’s the best time to post your blogs in Kenya? And most importantly, what’s the best monetization method to try if you want to make money blogging in Kenya in 2024?

What is a Blog? How to Make Money Blogging in Kenya {2024}

If you are new to the blogging scene, let me give you a brief introduction to what blogging is and how it works.

Blogging is simply creating and sharing content on the internet. This can be in the form of articles, videos, or even audio content.

The good thing about blogging is that you can do it on any topic that you are passionate about or have knowledge of.

For example, if you love cooking, you can start a food blog and share recipes, cooking tips, and even videos of you preparing the meals.

If you are good at basketball, you can start a basketball blog and share your insights, analysis, and predictions on games.

The list is endless.

The point I’m trying to make is that you can blog about anything that you are passionate about or have knowledge of.

Depending on the medium you choose to share your content, blogging can either be free or paid.

For example, if you choose to start a YouTube channel, you will not need to pay hosting fees and/or even need to have a professional domain name as your videos will be hosted on YouTube.

The same can not be said about starting a professional blog for writing articles.

Do you want to start a blog like mine where you will be sharing articles from time to time?

Here’s the process which you will need to follow.

How to Start a Blog in Kenya With WordPress.

Have I already mentioned that there are two different types of WordPress? Well, there is WordPress.com and WordPres.org.

Wordpress.org is for bloggers who need more freedom for creativity and to create whatever type of content they want.

WordPress.com on the other hand is for the more timid bloggers.

In this section, I will show you how to start your professional blogging career on both WordPress platforms. WordPress.com and WordPress.org then, later on, we will compare them to see the best option for someone who wants to make Ksh. 8,000,000 or more blogging in a few short years.

Let’s start with WordPress.org.

How to Make a Blog With WordPress.org.

Now, this is a DIY process and it’s something anyone can do without so much help.

I made my blog, this blog with WordPress.org in a day. Without help from anyone.

Do you want to know why that was very much possible? It’s because installing WordPress on your host is just as simple as installing Facebook on your phone.

And for the process to be as seamless as possible, you need to purchase these two things beforehand.

1. A domain name.
2. Hosting.

What do these two things mean you ask? And why are they essential to your blogging career?

Well,

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

For example, my domain name is “Joon.co.ke“. It’s the address which people find on. If you put it in context, it would be something like the P.O BOX address of your house (where your friends, relatives, and acquaintances come to find you).

There is no way around starting a blog on WordPress.org without a domain name.

And the best part? A domain name only costs Ksh. 1,000 in a year which is very cheap if you ask me.

However, you can also get it for FREE in your first year of blogging. Keep reading to learn how and where you can get your professional domain name in Kenya for free.

2). Hosting.

Hosting on the other hand is where your blog “lives” on the internet.

In other words, it’s where all your blog’s files (images, posts, etc) are stored so that people can access them online.

If you put it in context again, hosting would be like the house itself. It’s what contains everything else.

There are two types of hosting. Shared and Managed.

Shared hosting is where your blog shares space with other websites on the same server.

It’s the most popular type of hosting used by small businesses and bloggers around the world because it’s very cheap.

For example, you can get started with shared hosting on BlueHost for as little as Ksh. 340 per month paid yearly.

Other than getting a hosting package cheaply on BlueHost, they will also offer you: –

• A free domain name
• Free SSL certificate (more on this later)
• 24/7 support.
• 1 click WordPress install.

What a deal!

Managed WordPress hosting, on the other hand, is a type of hosting where you lease an entire server. Under this environment, your blog or WordPress operates alone. You don’t share your website resources with anyone.

Though shared hosting is the best option for most established websites like mine (Joon.co.ke), it’s also more expensive than shared hosting.

At this stage though, you only need to get started and shared hosting is the best and the cheapest option available.

I used a shared hosting package up until my website started making a consistent income of Ksh. 50,000 a month or more before I switched to dedicated servers.

How to Install WordPress on BlueHost in Kenya.

Did you manage to buy your hosting service on BlueHost? If you did, then you should have the login details sent to your email.

Plus, you will have a free domain of your choice.

Now, it’s time to install WordPress and start blogging in Kenya.

Here are the steps you need to follow to install your WordPress blog on Bluehost:

• First, log in to your Bluehost account using the credentials sent to your email.
• Find the website section and click on “Install WordPress”
• Click again on “Install”
• Choose the domain name you want to install WordPress to.
• Check the box for license and service agreements
• Select “Install now” to complete the setup.

It’s that simple.

The next thing that you need to do is choose a “theme” for your website and/or add some features like the sharing buttons, make the menu sticky, change the colors and feel of the website, and more.

For all that you can read this post which I wrote earlier outlining how where to find these “themes” for FREE and how to install them to have your website look like mine.

If you ask me, this is a day’s work. Anyone can start a blog regardless of whether they have ever installed an app online or not.

How to Start a Blog for FREE on WordPress.com.

I have already mentioned that blogging on WordPress.com is FREE and unlike WordPress.org, you don’t need to buy a domain name or pay for hosting, haven’t I?

What I did not mention is that the process is also seamless and can be done by anyone.

Here’s how to start a WordPress Blog For Free.

Visit WordPress.com and click on “Start your blog”

Enter your email, username, and password, and click the “create your account button” to proceed to step two.

2). Choose a domain name.

Do you remember what we said a domain name is? It’s the name of your website, for example, mine is “Joon”. Depending on the country where you live and the people you want to target with your blog, you can choose the extension of your domain to b, .com, .ke, .co.ke, .in, .biz, .school, .net, .org.

Whatever domain name extension you want, you can get on sites such as Namecheap, and TrueHost Kenya among other platforms.

If you have decided to go with the free version of WordPress though then your professional domain name will not be supported.

Instead, your domain name will be a sub-domain of WordPress. For example, if you choose your domain name to be “Simcard” then instead of .com, .co.ke, .org, .new…

Your visible domain name will be “simcard.wordpress.com“

Remember, this is a domain name that you get from WordPress for free and it works just as well as a professional domain without the “wordpress.com.” extension.

Later on, when you have decided to become a professional blogger, you can upgrade to the paid version of “WordPress.com” to be allowed to use your preferred domain name.

3). Choose your WordPress.com Hosting Plan.

Do you still want to use WordPress for Free or you have decided to upgrade to the paid version?

Well, if you choose the paid version then WordPress.org will charge you $15 per month billed annually which if you ask me, is way higher than what you pay annually if you choose WordPress.org and choose BlueHost for Hosting.

Whatever your decision, click on the “Start with pro” button if you want to start as a professional blogger on WordPress.com or “Start with FREE” if you want to start blogging without spending a dime.

In this case, you will get 1GB storage which you can use to post over 100 articles online.

It’s that simple. You just created your first free blog on WordPress.com.

You can now start writing articles, selling products or services, or begin customizing your website to your taste.

Click on start writing to give your website and name and to add a tagline to your blog.

Done that? Click on Continue to draft your first blog, watch videos on how to get started, or choose a design for your blog.

I recommend that you choose a design before you start writing.

You can preview the designs and/or activate them by hovering the mouse on top of the design you are interested in.

After activating the design you are interested in, you will see a popup that looks like the one shown below.

Click on “start writing” to write your first post or “I’m not ready” to postpone writing.

Between Wordpress.com and WordPress.org Which Platform is Best?

Now that you know how to start a blog on both WordPress.com and WordPress.org let us now compare the two platforms.

The main difference between these two blogging platforms is that with WordPress.org, you need to buy a domain name and hosting while with WordPress.com you don’t need to do that as they will give you a free domain name and hosting.

WordPress.com is however more expensive in the long run as you will be forced to upgrade to a paid version ($15 per month) once your 1 GB storage is used up.

Other than the expense of upgrading, you will also incur the cost of buying plugins which by the way are offered for FREE on WordPress.org.

And worst of all, you can not use Adsense or any other blogger-initiated advertising program on the platform to name but a few cons.

Other Paid And Free Content Management Systems (CMS) That You Can Use to Start a FREE Blog in Kenya.

In case you want to start a blog on another CMS other than WordPress, here are some of the most popular ones that you can choose from:

• Wix.com
• Blogger.com
• Tumblr.com
• Weebly.com
• Medium.com”

How to make money blogging in Kenya.

If you have read this post up until this post, then I know that you are very serious about blogging and have either bought a hosting plan on BlueHost or followed the steps outlined above to start a blog with WordPress.org.

Whichever route you have decided to take, you are now a blogger. Of course, if owning a blog is enough to make you a blogger.

But you don’t want to use your blog as a trophy, right?

You want to start making money with that blog as soon as it can start making you money right?

Here’s how to make money blogging in Kenya {The easy way}.

1). Pick a Niche (step 1).

The first step to making money blogging is to pick a niche. And what is a niche you ask?

A niche is the topic that you will be blogging about.

This can be anything from Technology, Business, Lifestyle, Fashion, Travel, Health & Fitness, Food & Drink, or any other topic that you are passionate about and have enough knowledge of to be able to write quality content about.

You can’t just wake up one day and decide that you want to blog about “Fashion” because you like the way some celebrities dress.

You have to have an in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry, trends, what’s hot and what’s not, etc.

The same goes for any other niche that you might want to blog about.

You have to be an expert in that field or at least have enough knowledge on the topic to be able to write quality content that will keep your readers engaged.

The good news is, if you are reading this post then chances are you already have a passion for writing and have some knowledge on the topic of blogging which makes you more than qualified to start a blog.

Do you need help choosing a niche for your blog?

Maybe you should also read this post to get some tips.

Otherwise, the best way to find a niche is to look at your hobbies and interests and see if there is anything there that you can blog about. It will save you the headache of searching for what to write about every other day.

Lest I forget. You also need to consider who your audience is likely to be and how profitable that niche is.

Types of Blogs That Make Money in Kenya.

There is no good or bad niche when it comes to blogging in Kenya. However, some blogging niches are better than others.

For example, I can argue that lifestyle blogs are not as profitable as make-money blogs but there are still ten folds lifestyle blogs that make more money than most niches in Kenya.

This means that the question of if a niche is better than the rest is relative and depending on the entrepreneurial skills of the blogger, they can either make money blogging or not.

Have I also already mentioned that I earned my first cheque from blogging within the first week?

Again, depending on the niche and how entrepreneurial you are/or not, you can start making money sooner or later than you anticipated.

That said,

Here are some of the best niches to consider blogging around in Kenya.

• Business and marketing blogs
• Finance blog
• Health blogs
• Fashion blogs
• DIY and crafts blogs
• Nutrition and food blogs
• Lifestyle blogs

On this blog I write about personal finance and month in and month out, I make at least £900 in ad revenue and more with other methods.

Keep reading to find out more about these other methods.

2). Be Consistent With Your Blog.

One thing that no one will tell you but is just as important as picking a niche is consistency.

You see, when you start a blog, the first few months are always the hardest. Mostly, you will be writing content with no one to read it.

You will start to feel like what you are doing is pointless and a waste of time and you might even be tempted to give up. But don’t! Just keep going!

The fact is, the longer you stick with it, the better your chances are of making money from your blog.

You need to give it time to grow and develop an audience.

If you are consistent with your blogging, eventually people will start to take notice and before you know it, you will have a loyal following of readers.

And why is blog readership or the number of subscribers/following important to a blogger?

Well, the more people that read your blog, the more chances you have of making money from it.

It’s simple math. The more eyeballs you have on your content, the higher the chance that someone will click on an ad or buy something from you.

So how do you stay consistent with your blog?

The best way is to set yourself a schedule and stick to it.

For example, you could decide to publish a new blog post every Monday and Thursday.

Or you could even commit to writing 500 words every day.

The important thing is that you find a schedule that works for you and then stick to it.

The more consistent you are with your blog, the better your chances are of starting to get other brands who want to advertise and/or pattern in other ways.

3). Try Guest Posting (build a reputation).

For those who are not already familiar with the guest posting concept, it is simply when you write a blog post for another person’s blog.

In most cases, the owner of the blog will give you a byline or author bio at the end of your post which usually contains links back to your blog and/or website.

This is a great way to get exposure for your blog and can also help you to build up your readership.

When done right, guest posting can be a great way to make money from your blog as it may help you redirect targeted traffic to your blog and to the products you are promoting.

The key is to find blogs that are in a similar niche to yours and that have a large enough audience that it would be worth your while to write for them.

4). Promote And Grow.

Much as consistency, guest blogging, and collaboration with experts are all ways to drive traffic to your blog, you can also promote your blog content.

How is this done you ask?

There are some ways to go about this but some of the most effective include:

• Use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to share your blog posts with your followers.
• Create attractive visuals (e.g. infographics) that accompany your blog posts and then share them on Pinterest.
• Emailing your blog post links to your subscribers.
• Reaching out to other bloggers and influencers in your niche and asking them to share your content with their audience.

The bottom line is that if you want people to read your blog, you need to put yourself out there and promote it.

And still, I insist, you will not make any money blogging if you don’t have people (bloggers) to sell stuff to.

Here’s how to make money blogging in Kenya {The Monetization Process}

How much traffic have you gained on your blog so far? Do you get 100 consistent visitors daily? How many new visitors do you get in a day? How much time do they spend reading your posts?

You now need to start monetizing your blog and other than using Adsense which I already mentioned, pays me upwards of £900 a month, you can also make money blogging through these other methods.

1). Affiliate Marketing.

This is probably the most popular way bloggers make money and it may also be the most tricky one for beginning bloggers.

It involves promoting other people’s products or services on your blog and then earning a commission whenever someone buys something from the company you are an affiliate for.

For example, if you have a blog about travel, you could sign up to be an affiliate for a travel booking site like Expedia or Booking.com.

Then, whenever you write a blog post about a place you’ve visited, you could include a link to the booking site where your readers can book their trip.

If someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you will earn a commission from the company.

The amount you earn will depend on the company you are an affiliate for but it is typically a percentage of the total sale.

So, if someone books a $500 hotel room, you might earn a $50 commission.

Sounds good right? But why do I still insist that it is the most tricky on the list, especially for beginners?

Well, to become a successful affiliate and even make that $50 on a single sale, you will need to have traffic; have an affiliate marketing strategy, create an email list, use relevant keywords, and most importantly, write persuasive blog posts that will convince your readers to click on your affiliate links.

The problem is, it’s easier said than done. And, it might take you forever to figure out everything and put all the stuff into perspective.

But, if you can do all that, then you are well on your way to making money from affiliate marketing.

And I need not mention that every year for the past three years, there isn’t a single one that I have not earned Ksh. 1,000,000 plus with affiliate marketing.

If you have a blog and you still aren’t using affiliate marketing, start now. Learn when you don’t know by reading online or watching YouTube videos.

2). Join Ad Networks.

Ad networks are companies that connect advertisers with publishers (you) who want to host their ads on your websites.

Some of the most popular ad networks include Google AdSense, Media.net, and BuySellAds.

Out of all the ad networks available on the internet, if you ask me what to go for, I’d probably say, to use Google Adsense.

Google Adsense is probably the most well-known and easiest to get started with and it pays promptly too.

I’ve been using Adsense for years and I get a payment every month, on the 22nd.

The other ad networks are also good but they have their specific requirements which you might not meet, especially if you are just starting.

To join an ad network, simply Google the name of the ad network followed by the word “publisher” and then fill out their application form.

If you are approved, they will provide you with a code to insert into your website so that their ads can start appearing.

And whenever someone clicks on one of the ads, you will earn money.

How much you earn will again depend on the ad network but typically it is a few cents or even up to a dollar per click.

If your blog is new though, expect nothing but hope for something as your website continues to grow.

3). Sponsored Posts.

A sponsored post is a blog post that is written by someone in exchange for money or some other form of compensation.

The sponsor could be a company, an individual, or even another blogger.

The compensation can take many forms but the most common is cash.

For example, if you have a blog about travel, a travel company might pay you to write a blog post about their latest product or service.

Or, if you have a food blog, a restaurant might pay you to write a review of their establishment.

The key thing to remember with sponsored posts is that they should always be marked as sponsored so that your readers know that the post is not an impartial review.

You should also disclose how much you were paid for the post and by whom. Of course, if you want to.

Again, just like all the other methods of making money blogging in Kenya and the rest of the world, you will only get sponsored post opportunities if you have enough traffic needed by the sponsors.

The key thing is to work towards traffic and only expect rewards at the end.

4). Write And Sell eBooks.

Do you consider yourself an expert in the field you are currently blogging in? If so, then why not share your knowledge in the form of an eBook?

You can write about pretty much anything you want and then sell it as a PDF file on your blog.

For example, if you have a blog about cooking, you could write an eBook with recipes or cooking tips.

Or, if you have a blog about personal finance, you could write an eBook with money-saving tips.

The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can write about. And, once you have written your eBook, all you need to do is set up a PayPal button on your blog so that people can buy it.

It’s really that simple.

I have written 3 different ebooks which I started by selling and I have since changed them to gifts for my lead magnet.

1. Introduction to Forex.
2. The One-on-One Guide to Options Trading
3. The On-on-One Guide of Options Trading 2.0

With the right marketing strategies and using your blog as your shop, you can sell so many eBooks and make so much money blogging in Kenya.

5). Make Money With Blogging Mentorship.

As soon as you establish yourself as a thought leader in blogging, you should start thinking of ways to make money-making prodigies.

As a blogging mentor, you will get to help other bloggers grow their blogs while making an income for yourself.

This is a great way to make money blogging in Kenya as it requires very little work on your part but can generate a lot of revenue.

To get started, simply create a course or eBook that teaches people how to start and grow a successful blog.

Then, promote your course on your blog and social media channels. And, when people sign up, you will get paid.

It’s really that simple.

If you are good at what you do, this can be a great way to make a full-time income from your blog.

And believe it or not, there are ten fold millionaires who have made their fortune just by mentoring new bloggers.

6). Make Money Blogging By Creating And Selling Blogging Tools.

Do you have a unique perspective or tool that you use to help you with your blogging? If so, then why not sell it to other bloggers?

This is a great way to make money blogging in Kenya and beyond because it requires very little work on your part but can generate a lot of revenue.

You can start by coming up with a useful idea and sharing it with a developer.

Once it is developed, go ahead and list it on your blog or a third-party site like CodeCanyon. And, when people buy it, you will get paid.

Conclusion.

Blogging is still one of the best ventures that you can start in Kenya and make money from.

With over 47 million Kenyans now connected to the internet, the potential to make money from blogging is huge.

So if you are looking for a way to make money online in Kenya, then starting a blog should be at the top of your list.

I hope you benefited a lot from reading this post to the end and see you on the next one.