You want to start a blogging business in Kenya. Not so fast, not until you have read this blog post that lays bare the truth and nothing but the truth.
I do not mean to discourage you, but there millions of blogs that are set-up every day and 90% of them do not reach their first birthday.
The truth is, the odds are stacked against you and it is easier to win a Sportpesa jackpot than build a successful blog in Kenya today.
Just look at these domain names that are dropped every day in Kenya and you realize that it will not be easy. Blogging in Kenya is a business that is already saturated, and unless you bringing something new on the table, you would better, try your luck somewhere else.
However, since you want to know the truth, I give it, as you want it.
Blogging Business in Kenya; what you need to know.
Takes time to build.
One of the mistakes I made when I began blogging was the assumption that I would be an instant celebrity by creating a blog and throwing up some pages here and there and assuming that people would find it. How wrong I was. I failed so many times that I almost gave up.
A blog takes so much time to build, in fact research show that a successful blog take about 2 years of serious work. The is so much you need to do for big brother Google to appreciate that you offer anything meaningful. For it is Google and other search engines that will determine whether you get to the first page or not. Getting to first page (the goal of all serious bloggers) is the ultimate prize. For this drives traffic and traffic in blogging circles equals money.
There are things you need to know before even thinking of starting a blogging business in Kenya. The most important is how to optimize your blog for search engines and humans. Thus most of the time you will be reading to understand Site Engine Optimization (SEO), website design and other technical stuff that will make you succeed.
Unless of course you want to pay someone(there is a cost involved) to do this for you, which I would strongly not advice. It better to have the technical skills yourself for blogging services do not come cheap.
This blog took about 3 months before I saw the first visitors. And for your information, a few visitors won’t make you any money.
If you are thinking of quitting your job to start a blogging business in Kenya, I have very bad news for you, stick to your awful job!
To break even and replace your day job, you have to work very hard and be willing to put in over a year of time. You need to drive serious traffic to your blog.
Besides, maintaining a blog is an expensive affair; you will have to put in lots of money with no return on investment.
Behind that successful blog you see, there is sacrifice, tears, sweats and sleepless nights. I have to wake up at night and work on something that came to my mind as I slept.
All I am saying is that if you are not willing to be very patient, then look for something else to do. Success won’t come overnight.
Not a reliable business.
Having a day job guarantees you that at the end of the month, your bank account will be smiling. The same cannot be said about blogging business. One month you can be on top of the world and the other you are nowhere!
In blogging, money comes when you rank on the first page of Google (by the way Google accounts for most blog visitors). If you cannot be found on the first page, you have no business blogging for money.
Now let us say that you doing well with most of your pages ranking well, then overnight Google updates their algorithms(how they rank pages) and viola you are not found among the first pages!
It only means one thing, And no traffic means no money!
And as I often joke, if you looking for where to bury dead bodies, then do it on page 2 of google search results. Nobody goes there!
That is the better scenario.
What if someone hacked into your blog and wiped all your data away? It means your hard work is all gone accompanied by your income!
Off course, you may begin afresh, but Google believes in the old saying that old wine tastes better. You may take even longer time to get where you are now.
Nothing is guaranteed in blogging!
Run it like any other business.
This is often one of the biggest sins committed by aspiring bloggers (there are other bigger sins). If you cannot give blogging the seriousness it deserves, you are going nowhere.
Blogging means coming up with serious content for consumers at scheduled intervals. However, there are those days that you do not feel like doing anything. I too have those same feelings.
You have to push yourself to do what you ought to do. You have to treat this as a serious business.
Moreover, you need to spy on your competitors, remember you are not alone, there are other people working on what you are already thinking about.
Must be unique.
You would be a fool to try setting up a shop to sell bananas on a street that is full of such shops. To get your first customer, you will really need to convince them that your kind of bananas are imported from the moon.
Unless you are offering something unique, you will be another failure statistics. Let me bring you to perspective. Let us say you want to start a technology blog in Kenya, you have a mountain to climb. For there are so many of that kind and well established.
Bring something unique on the table and success will be smiling your way.
Can be rewarding.
This is what you have been longing to hear. Yes, a successful blog can make you money. I know of a few friends that over about Ksh. 100,000 a month from their blogs. That is not little money in a country where most of us live on a dollar (Ksh. 100) a day.
With serious work and determination, you can make a name for yourself and your bank account.
Now that you know how what blogging business in Kenya is like, it time to build your blog. Here is a complete guide on how to start a blog that will bring hundreds of thousands of shillings monthly.
How to monetize your blog
This is how you make money of your blog. At this point, I am assuming that you have already set up a blog and you are already getting some visitors.
I am going to discuss the common ways bloggers monetize their blogs.
Run ads.
This is by far the easiest way to earn money on your business blog in Kenya. All you have to do is apply and once approved, you place codes on your blog to show ads.
Your blog for most of these publishers must meet minimum traffic, content and design requirements. The most common are
- Google Adsense
- MediaNet by Yahoo and Bing.
- Propelar Ads
- Chitika
- RevContent
- PopAds
- Adsterra
- Inforlinks
- PopCash
- Taboola
- Mgid
Become an affiliate.
Becoming an affiliate is promoting other peoples or companies products on your blog. You earn a commission when someone buys the products through your affiliate link.
The most popular companies that seek affiliates in Kenya are
- Jumia
- Kilimall
- Betin
- Travelstart
- Kenya Pesa
You can also sign up for popular international companies as an affiliate. These are
- Amazon and
- Ebay
Sell ad space.
You can sell space on your blog to people or companies willing to advertise on your blog. This is very lucrative for you decide the price of each ad sport.
Create own products to sell.
You can decide to sell your own products. This again makes you the driver. You can sell whatever you feel will move. However, you may also consider these items that really move fast in Kenya.
Become a Coach
If you are a professional in a certain area, you can takes your skills online and offer them at a fee. This could be law, teaching, counselling, professional business advice or any other field.
Conclusion
Anybody can start a blogging business in Kenya. However, not everyone will be successful. Starting a blog just like any other business require serious strategy and vision.
Most successful blogs begun as a side hustles and have taken time to grow. If you are ready for the challenge ahead, welcome aboard.