So you want to make money blogging? You and everybody else, it seems.

Making money blogging isn’t the impossible task that some might lead us to believe it is. It is possible – very possible indeed… if you follow the right rules of course.

How do you make money blogging? Here are five hard and fast rules you must follow in order to succeed… or not:

Do it every single day

In order to make money blogging you must publish at least one post every day. Yes, including weekends. Preferably, you must post several times a day.

Or not.

Actually, no, it is not necessary to post several times a day. Nor is it necessary to post every single day. Twice a week is fine if you can manage it.  Or even once. We do know that it pays to post ‘regularly’ although what ‘regularly’ means exactly differs from one blogger to another. To me, it could be three times a week while you might prefer it weekly. Blogging, that is.

Don’t publish short posts

We are told time and time again that content is king and that we should make sure our posts exceed a minimum limit, so if you want to make money blogging make sure your posts exceed a minimum 400 words each, preferably more.

Or don’t. 

If you want to post a three-lined anecdote about something funny that happened on your way to the store, or you want to embed a video clip with nothing but a one-lined introduction, do it.

Spend time on your posts

Ensure you spend time and trouble on each and every post you write. After all, your blog is your stage. Spend time planning it, researching it, editing your original plan and finally, writing about it.

Or don’t.

While it always pays to spell correctly, use good grammar and keep your punctuation in check, sometimes the best posts are those you just fire off on a whim. One rule I’d firmly recommend though, is not to write something that you wouldn’t say to someone, or that you wouldn’t mind coming back at you. Taking back something hurtful or libellous isn’t as easy as hitting the delete key.

Find your niche and stick to it

Choose your subject, preferably one you know extortionate amounts about, and stick to it. make sure it’s on one subject only.

Or don’t.

Many successful bloggers have managed to combine several interests within one blog; the use of categories makes this extremely efficient to do. As long as you clearly define the different areas of your blog, your readers won’t mind and you’ll also attract a variety of readers who might not otherwise come together.

Write authoritatively and expertly on something you know about

In order to make money blogging you must establish yourself as an expert in the field you are writing about.

Or not. 

You don’t really have to be an expert in anything in particular in order to be a successful blogger. People love to follow learning curves as bloggers work their way through a journey, whether it’s a debt-free one, a financial independence building one or a teaching-yourself-to-cook series.

So there you have it – the definitive guide to making money blogging.

Except it isn’t, is it?

The truth is, no matter ‘rules’ you have heard about and whatever you do to try to follow them, there is no absolute how-to guide to creating a money-making blog, and there is no single recipe for certain success.

Take a look at a handful of the successful bloggers out there. Some update several times a day while others only update a couple of times a week. Some write about stuff they know about and others don’t. Some stick to one topic while others combine them. Yet, they are all successful money-making bloggers.

There are millions of internet users out there, and there is already a readership for your blog regardless of how many times it is updated, what you write about or how you write about it.

It’s your blog.

Nobody else’s.

Blog simply for your enjoyment, not for what might be, and consider anything else that comes of it a bonus.