It is still possible to make money from a student blog in 2017 however, you will face a lot of competition and will be scrutinized by your academic institution. Awareness is rising across academia to the power of the blog. It is a fantastic source of creativity and communication, but for the financially savvy student, it’s a great way to make money too.
Pick a Topic with Money in Mind
Are you going to write a lifestyle blog? Is is highly personal about your life? Is it offering advice to fellow students? Or do you want to write about the specifics of your area of study? Like all blogs, your student blog can cover a wide range of areas though it is good to have a main focus so it does not get lost in the general content swirl. Before you do anything, therefore, think about who you are and what you want to write about in general.
Warning: Choose Your Content Wisely
At the beginning of the last French academic year, students found themselves having to deal with overflowing lecture theaters mixed with crumbling infrastructure. They were naturally unhappy and protested. However, others decided to blog about it, taking the situation national and international. Bloggers as well as looking to help people, provide services, and write about the cool things they are learning while making money, can also be on the review/investigator side of the coin.
However, raising awareness of deficiencies at university can be a double edged sword. Like any large institution with huge financial resources and a need to generate money off the back of a good reputation, colleges and universities dislike negative news stories. Be aware that writing negatively against your academic institution, even though you are a fee paying customer, can land you in hot water with administrators instead of fixing the situation.
Get Stuck in Right Away
The simple, 3 step process to setting up a blog includes finding a platform, choosing a name for your blog, and customizing it to reflect who you are and how you want to appeal. This can be done in a matter of hours meaning you are ready to get stuck in and get writing. There are several options for this before you begin sharing with friends, promoting your blog, and looking to make money. Some just dive right in while others build up a good amount of content first.
Whichever way you take, you need to get writing right away, so think of the first 20+ blog ideas you can write about and continue to jot down ideas as you go about your daily life. When doing so, consider how you might make money – for example, will you have affiliate marketing links? Will you have advertising? Or will you sell a product or service? Your blog posts can reflect this whether you are writing about trialling a product, trying a recipe, linking to books on the subject you’re writing about, or writing what comes to mind and using adverts.
