How To Start a Blogging Business in Kenya

In this guide, you will find everything you need to start a blogging business in Kenya. It includes steps you can take now and a guide on how to make money blogging in Kenya.

What is a blog?

A blog is a type of website that people use to share their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Blogs are often created for a specific topic or for a company.

Blogs can be used to create content such as articles, videos, podcasts, and more. They can also be used as online journals or personal websites where people can post pictures and other information about themselves.

People start blogs for all kinds of reasons, including:

Some people start blogs as a creative outlet, while others may use their blog to build a business or find a creative way to make money. But the one thing that all bloggers have in common is the ability to share their thoughts with the world.

• To share their opinions, passions, or glimpses into their lives
• To teach others what they know
• To build an email list
• To develop their personal brand as an expert
• To make money online

Or even the combination of all of the above.

How much money do bloggers make?

Bloggers in Kenya make a good amount of money from their writing. But the amount is dependent on the blog’s niche and its monetization strategy.

What are the average blog earnings?

There is no one answer to this question, but it is estimated that bloggers make between $10,000 and $100,000 a year.

How to start a blog with no money in Kenya

Video Tutorial: How to start a successful blog in Kenya

These steps will help you start blogging for free in Kenya;

1). Find a way for your blog to make money

Here is the thing;

If you are going to start a blog to make money in Kenya, you should start with the money part of your blog first and publish content bit by bit. This approach will determine what types of content you may publish in the future and how you grow.

So to start, you want to think more like a business owner and less like an artist.

There are many ways to monetize your blog, depending on what you’re comfortable with. Here are a few examples of how you can make money off of writing:

a). Create a membership site

Membership sites are an effective way to monetize blogs in Kenya because they provide recurring revenue for bloggers. They can also help you build your audience and increase engagement on your blog.

b). Sell digital products

Selling digital products is another way bloggers can make money from their blogs in Kenya. They can sell ebooks, courses, and other digital products that are related to their blog topics.

c). Sell advertising space on your website

Advertising on websites provides bloggers with recurring revenue as well as the ability to generate more traffic for their blog posts or website in general. It also helps them to fight against the decline of traditional ad-based revenue models.

d). Affiliate marketing

Bloggers in Kenya typically earn more money through affiliate marketing by linking to products and services in their posts or advertisements. Affiliate marketing is a form of advertising that pays the blogger in exchange for referrals, rather than an advertisement on their blog or website. This model can be lucrative if a blogger’s audience is large enough and they often mention or allude to the company they are promoting in their posts.

Once you have decided on the way to monetize your blog, the next step on how to start a blogging business in Kenya is choosing a niche.

2). Pick a niche for your blog

The word “niche” is often used to describe a specific group of people or things. This can be applied to the blog niche as well. A blog niche is a particular type of blogging that has a particular focus and audience.

There are many types of blogging niches, including:

• Fashion
• Travel
• Parenting
• Food

Why is choosing a blogging niche important?

Choosing a niche for your blog in Kenya is important because it will help you target the most people that are interested in your content. It also helps you build a loyal following and gain more exposure.

And ultimately, helps you make money blogging in Kenya

Now, the best way to find a niche is to explore the different niches that exist in your industry and see what resonates with you. If you’re not sure where to start, try looking at websites like LinkedIn or Google Trends for some inspiration!

Once you have identified a potential blogging niche, go ahead and perform competitor analysis.

If you want to succeed in a competitive market, the first step is figuring out what other people in your field are doing.

By understanding what they’re doing, you’ll be able to create a competitive advantage for yourself. This means knowing how they advertise, how they conduct business, and what they lack when compared to you.

You can do a quick google search of your niche, use tools like Buzzsumo, or Ahrefs. This will help you see how content in this niche performs and understand how to get more topics with similar performance.

3). Choose a blogging platform and template

The next step to start a blogging business in Kenya is choosing a blogging platform. There are many platforms available in the market, but which one you should choose will depend on your needs and budget.

The most important thing when choosing a blogging platform is to understand your audience, the type of content you want to publish, and what you want to achieve with your blog.

Some platforms like WordPress are free for personal blogs while others like Medium have a fee for professional blogs.

Either way, there are two types of blogging platforms;

• Hosted. There are a number of hosted sites that will allow you to start and run your blog quickly and easily. One example is Shopify, which includes hosting in all its plans. However, some hosted sites like Blogger and Wix limit customization options so be sure to do your research before purchasing or using them.
• Self-hosted. Self-hosted platforms offer a range of customization options and usually come with a monthly fee, but they are well worth the cost. They provide you with greater freedom and control over how the site looks. If you’re considering self-hosting your platform, WordPress is the best option to consider.

4). Choose a blog and domain name

The next step to start a blogging business in Kenya is choosing a domain name. It’s more important than the blog title or your social media username because it’s the first thing people see when they visit your blog.

Choosing a domain name is not as easy as picking up any random word and putting it in front of your blog URL.

You need to consider different factors, such as the length of your domain name, search engine visibility, and brand recognition.

When choosing a domain name, aim to make it:

• Memorable 
• Fun to say
• Easy to spell
• Unique

A good domain name can help you build an audience and make it easier for people to find you online.

Do the following:

• Find a website that has domain name ideas and analyze to see which options are available.
• Search for similar domains so you can find out what other people in your industry or niche are doing with their domain names.
• Look up the word to make sure you’re not infringing on someone else’s trademark or copyrighted work.
• Check the country code to make sure you’re not violating naming laws in your area.-Make sure the name is available for use.
• Check if it’s available for purchase or if it can be rented
• Obtain feedback from friends, family, and colleagues to see if the name is a good match for you

Once you’ve chosen your name, it’s time for the next step! Domain registration.

See, to own the domain, you need to purchase it from a domain registrar. Don’t worry, the process is pretty simple;

1. Identify a reputable domain registrar like Truehost Kenya
2. Search for the domain name using their tool
3. Add it to cart and checkout
4. Include a hosting package
5. Pay for the order

Congratulations!

You now own a domain name for your blog in Kenya.

Next step?

Install WordPress. Your hosting provider can do that for your free of charge. Once installed, go ahead and install a theme and wordpress recommended plugins.

5). Plan your publishing strategy

The publishing strategy is an important part of your blogging business plan. Without a proper strategy, you will not be able to grow your blog and generate revenue.

You should also know where your audience will come from and what kind of content you need to create in order to attract them.

A publishing strategy can help you define your goals, establish milestones, and set up strategies for growth and monetization.

It’s important to plan your content calendar using a spreadsheet of some kind. However, as there are many options out there, I recommend Trello since it’s free and also makes for a good place to dump your ideas and organize them.

Your content calendar should include: 

• What content you’re creating 
• What audiences you’re targeting 
• Which distribution channels you will be releasing on and on what date

Once you have the ideas, go ahead start writing the blog posts.

6). Get people to read your blog consistently

Once you have published blog posts, you need to find ways to keep people coming back for more. Here are some strategies that will help you maintain a consistent flow of visitors:

• Have an engaging headline that captures the reader’s attention
• Create a compelling value proposition for readers in the first paragraph of each post
• Add an enticing call to action at the end of each post
• Add a compelling visual appeal in the post’s first few paragraphs to encourage readers to keep going- Link out and share other relevant blog posts in your site footer
• Tie your blog posts to current events
• Buffer up your blog posts in the coming weeks
• Edit each blog post to reflect the latest information, which hopefully will entice readers to come back and check it out
• Have a consistent style in your content across all channels

Go after search engine traffic

Search engine traffic is a potential source of revenue for companies. But, it’s not easy to get to the top of the search rankings.

The most popular way for companies to go after search engine traffic is through paid ads on Google and other search engines. However, this can be a costly option for companies with limited budgets.

A better solution would be to focus on organic traffic instead of paid ads and use content marketing strategies to drive quality organic traffic to their website. Content marketing strategies are more cost-effective than paid ads and they can help companies reach their target audience better than paid ads do.

There are many ways that content marketers can go about driving organic traffic such as creating high-quality content that’s interesting enough for people to share, using social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and using their email list to send out content marketing emails.

Create a social media strategy

Another way to drive traffic to your blog is using social media. You can share content on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for free. Then use paid ads on these platforms to target specific audiences and increase the cost per click (CPC).