Are you tired of searching for civil service jobs that rarely pay well? Perhaps you are already a public servant but cannot make ends meet or a student that won’t just stop relying on HELB. If so, you should consider blogging in Kenya and make passive income.
Here’s what I mean by passive income: money you earn without active involvement. It’s simple; create your blog (an online journal or content website), post at least once a week, and then sit back and wait for the dollars to hit your account.
Well, that’s what we’ll talk about today. I’ll help you set up your blog with Bluehost and earn passive income.
Remember, we are talking about writing and writing about what you enjoy. It could be an area of your expertise, a passion, or just an answer to a need within the community.
Let’s get started. But before we can get into how to start a blog in Kenya, let me explain what blogging is and why Bluehost is the way to go.
What is Blogging?
Blogging means any of the following:
- Write about something in a blog
- Add material to blog
- Regularly update information in a blog
So, there must be a blog for you to do blogging and a blog is simply a content website or an online journal.
Why Bluehost for Blogging in Kenya?
As you’ll learn later, you need a hosting service to hold your blog online, and that’s where Bluehost comes in. Perhaps you have heard about other hosts, especially in Kenya, and you wonder why I’m not recommending them.
Well, it’s about reliability and many other things. Most Kenyan web hosts are not reliable. You cannot count on them for the best speed, site security, or customer support. That’s unlike Bluehost.
Bluehost hosts over 2 million websites globally, yet they guarantee up to 99.9% uptime and speed. They also promise optimum security, one-click WordPress integration, and excellent support.
Additionally, Bluehost offers a user-friendly interface with video tutorials. That means you don’t need an expert to help you set up your blog, as you can do it yourself by following the tutorials and guides.
And when it comes to pricing, Bluehost prices are pretty reasonable.
Bluehost’s basic package, (Click to see the package) which is best for beginner bloggers, goes for a discount price of $2.95 a month for the first year. That’s equivalent to $35.4 yearly or Ksh 4,000 (at a rate of $1=Ksh 113).
Mark you; you don’t pay for the domain name (your blog’s identity online) for the first year. So, that’s another plus for picking Bluehost. You can also see here why bluehost is good for beginners
But is the Ksh 4,000 Investment Worth It?
From our calculations, you only need Ksh 4,000 or slightly more if you factor in the transaction charges to get started on Bluehost. So, the obvious question is – How much do bloggers earn in Kenya?
The answer is Yes. Blogging does pay, and I’m living proof of this. I earn about $2,000-3,000 a month from blogging, but I’m only a tiny fish in a pond. Some of the highest paid bloggers in Kenya make up to Ksh 1 million or more a month, and it’s all passive income.
So, would you want to make that much? Then you should start blogging.
There are no guarantees that you’ll make money right away as it takes time, but patience and dedication are the recipes for succeeding as a blogger in Kenya.
Let’s get started with how to start a blog and earn money in Kenya!
How To Start Blogging In Kenya In 10 Steps
Below are the steps to follow to start blogging in Kenya:
Step 1 – Niche Selection
What do you want to blog about? What is your topic of interest? That’s what a niche is.
You should pick a topic that inspires you to write content that your site visitors will love reading. So, it should be something you are passionate about, people like searching for, or an area of expertise.
More importantly, it should be profitable. Even if you are writing about a hobby, it should earn you passive income, and we’ll talk about ways to make it through blogging later in this post.
Essentially, you can blog about general topics like health and wellness, finance, travel, food, technology, education, sports, politics, fashion and beauty, parenting, among others.
But if you ask me, the general topics have lots of competition. Try a less exploited niche if you want to have a successful launch. Some of the less exploited but most profitable blogging niches in Kenya include:
- DIY (Do it Yourself)
- Crafts
- Betting
- Human Rights
- Environmental Issues
- Education
- Special Diet
- Farming
- Self-improvement
- News
- Gadgets
- Entertainment
Step 2: Topic Research
Other people call it keyword research, but I prefer to call it topic research as the keywords will form the basis of the topics of your blog posts.
Now, since you already have a niche in mind, you need to talk about something specific which will make or break your blogging journey.
Remember, there are probably a thousand or more bloggers in your niche competing for the same readers. So, you’ve to beat them, and one way to do it is by picking the right keywords and key phrases to form the titles of your blog posts.
You probably have seen a few poorly written blog posts ranking on Google, and you wonder, ‘Is that all they could write about?’ or ‘how did they do it?’
Well, the answer is title research. These guys have figured out what people search for. So, they write about them. Even though their writing is not good, Google indexes their posts first because of the keywords.
Here’s what I suggest:
- Think about something you would search online that’s within your niche
- Use ‘Google Auto Complete’ to see the keywords that pop out – It’s simple; start typing what you want to write about and see the top searches that pop up and note them down
- Also, consider the ‘People Also Ask’ section after the search results of your target keyword pop up. The questions in this section are things people ask or search about. So, they could form your titles too.
- Use Keyword Tool, Uber Suggest, or any other keyword search tool to find secondary keywords and key phrases which could form the titles of your other blog posts
- If possible, have at least 50 topics or key phrases to get you started
Step 3 – Domain Registration
Domain registration is a critical step on how to start a successful blog in Kenya. You need a name for your blog or identity online that we call a domain. It’s what begins with a https://www or https://
Overall, you can choose a .co.ke if your target market is Kenya or a .com if you want to go global. In this case, your domain name can take any of these formats: https://yourdomain.co.ke or https://yourdomain.com.
Remember to make your domain name as short as possible, memorable, and brandable. It’s equally important to pick a domain name that hasn’t been used before. You can confirm that by running it on web.archive.org.
Like I mentioned earlier, one of Bluehost’s advantages is that you get a domain name for free during the first year. So, unlike most hosts, you won’t pay for the domain. However, you must pay for the hosting (next step) to claim a free domain.
Step 4 – Blog Hosting
While you can go for any other host here, I recommend Bluehost for the reasons I stated earlier. Cost-wise, you’ll need $2.95/month or about Ksh 4,000/year for Bluehost hosting (Click to claim the offer) for the first year if you exclude the transaction charges.
Step 5 – Blog Setup
After paying for the hosting, the next thing is to set up your blog. Luckily for Bluehost customers, the hosting service offers video tutorials and guides to get you started.
Overall, this step involves the following:
- WordPress installation – With just one click, you can install WordPress, your content management system (CMS). WordPress is what allows you to create blog posts.
- Theme selection – With WordPress comes many custom themes that you can choose from. A theme is basically how your website will look when you launch.
- Plugin installation – You should install special applications or plugins like Yoast (for SEO), Akismet (for anti-spam), Jetpack (for Google Analytics integration), and any other you may want.
- Home page design – Go ahead and create your homepage using Bluehost and WordPress guide. It usually’s straightforward.
Step 6 – Content Creation
Now that your blog is set up, it’s time you create your first article. Pick a key phrase or title and start writing about it. You can do it on WordPress directly or on Word or Google Docs and copy-paste it to WordPress.
For the sake of beating your competition and earn from blogging in Kenya, consider the following:
- Creating high-quality content – Look at your competition and create something similar, if not better. The information you share should be easy to understand, credible, and informative.
- Target at least 1,500 words – Long articles generally rank better than shorter ones. You don’t, however, write a lot. 1,500 words or thereabout will do. Just ensure it’s no filler content.
- Keyword use – Use the primary keyword in the introduction, conclusion, and one topic. Also, use secondary keywords (related keywords) sparingly within the content.
Step 7 – On-Page Optimization
Assuming that you’ve already used the keywords correctly within the content, you should also optimize your page to ensure that the blog post ranks.
Here are the priority areas:
- URL – Use the target keyword in the URL and ensure it’s readable, without dates, and in lower case.
- Title – Reflect the target keyword in the tile and make it catchy. The title shouldn’t be more than 60 characters.
- Meta Description – This is the page summary. It should have the target keyword and shouldn’t be more than 160 characters.
- Image Optimization – You’ll need to use a few images in the content. Just like the content, the images should be optimized. Consider using the primary keyword on the feature image and the related keywords on other images.
Once you are through with the on-page SEO on WordPress, you can go ahead and publish the content.
Step 8 – Content Promotion
People must get to know about your blog. For that reason, try promoting it as much as you can. Depending on your influence on social media, you can promote it on Facebook, Pinterest, and other platforms.
Step 9 – Google Analytics Integration
Though you can do it without this step, it’s essential to monitor traffic on your website. Google Analytics helps you to know how your blog is performing online. You can use it to determine your traffic source and improve it.
Step 10 – Blog Monetization (Ways to Earn Blogging in Kenya)
Let’s now talk about ways to make money blogging in Kenya. Depending on your blog, you can monetize it using any of these ways:
- Ads – Google AdSense and Ezoic ads are great options for beginners
- Affiliate marketing – Join a program like Amazon, Jumia, or other affiliate marketing programs to earn commissions from product recommendations.
- Product selling – You can sell physical products (crafts) or digital products like e-books, guides, online courses, or audiobooks.
- Membership subscription – Applicable to blogs that sell services like coaching and online courses.
- Freelance service – You can also sell your freelance writing service or any other service through your blog.
- Sponsored post – Once your blog starts to grow, you can earn from posting other people’s blog posts on your blog.
Bonus: Blogging Sites That Pay in Kenya
Now, as you wait for your blog to ring in some money, you may find it necessary to earn some while blogging on other platforms. Here are sites that pay handsomely for bloggers:
- Upwork
- Medium
- iWriter
- HiviSasa
Also Read:
- 10 Best Online Businesses with Little Capital
- 10 Legit Websites to Make Money Online in Kenya
- How to Make 10K Fast
Closing Remarks On Blogging in Kenya!
Now you know what it takes to set up a blog with Bluehost. Using the above ten steps, you can start your blog today and earn passive income like top bloggers in Kenya.
Remember, however, that blogging is not a sprint. You cannot make a thousand dollars or more in a month or two. It may take time, but it’ll happen at some point if you stay committed and love what you do.