How To Turn A Blog Into A Business in 10 Steps

Have you ever wondered how to turn a blog into a business? Many bloggers get to a point where they want to do more than just share ideas. They want to transform their blog into something profitable and sustainable.

To turn a blog into a business, you first need a solid, clear plan. You can make a hobby blog into an online business with a few smart steps.

Back in 2019, I had noted that my lifestyle blog was getting traction with the blogging tips posts that I had on it. It was time to take that content and create my blog coaching services at MargaretBourne.com.

Although I created a new blog altogether, I took many of the same steps you would need to take to transform your blog into a business.

With these learnings, in this post, I’ll take you through some of the key steps you’ll need to take to turn a blog into a business and start making money!

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click on a product or service, and decide to purchase it, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All recommended products and services are based on my positive experience with them. For more information, please read my Disclaimer.

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Is Blogging A Business?

You may be wondering, “Is blogging a business?”

The short answer is most definitely yes. Both lifestyle/personal blogs and business blogs can be a business.

However, the two different types have different strategies and opportunities for making money.

What is the difference between Personal blogging and blogging for business?

Personal blogging is focused on sharing your stories. The goal is to inspire somebody with your own personal experiences. They are usually lifestyle blogs on a broad range of interests.

Bloggers who are blogging as a business use their content to attract site visitors. The goal is to take them on a journey from awareness to conversion.

While personal blogging is cathartic, freeing and a creative outlet, making money isn’t a priority. Business blogs are focused on business!

Can personal blogs make money?

Some attempt to turn their lifestyle blogs into a money-making business. However, it’s much more difficult to do so than with a niche blog.

There may be a time when a lifestyle or personal blog is no longer a goal. Making money blogging requires a different mindset.

This is what we’ll explore in this post on how to turn a blog into a business.

10 Key Steps To Turn A Blog Into A Business

Ready to learn how to turn a blog into a business that earns real income?

These 10 key steps will guide you from hobby blogger to confident business owner. They’ll help you build structure, grow your audience, and monetize your blog strategically.

Learn how to make your blog profitable!

1. What Kind Of Online Business Will It Be And Who Will It Serve?

To turn a blog into a business, your first step is to understand who your customer is and determine the viability of your business.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is your current blog niche very broad and all over the place? If yes, fine-tune it into a specific niche.
• Do you have a solid understanding of who your key potential customer is, and is there enough demand for what you’re offering?
• What are your key target customers’ pain points? Is it possible to provide them with solutions with digital products and services?
• What will you be offering?

For many bloggers, the easiest transition is to online coaching, producing content for sale, or physical products. Sometimes it’s a blend of all of these things.

• Service: coaching and consulting
• Educational: e-books, webinars, online courses, masterclasses and more
• Resources and tools: workbooks, printables, swipe files, templates, designs, etc.
• Products: digital or physical – e.g. stock photos, labels, stickers, notebooks, daytimers, etc.

The last one is an interesting option. You can partner with a dropship print-on-demand company to sell actual, physical products. The easiest way to do this is via a platform such as Shopify.

For example, design your own notebooks and sell them on, let’s say, your mental health and wellbeing blog. Design them to appeal to your key consumer.

There are many options!

Choose your services or product types that you know will appeal to your readers and potential customers.

Send out a survey in your next newsletter to get an idea of what they’re open to purchasing from you. This will make you more focused on creating services and products that they will want.

| Read More: How To Monetize Your Blog Even With A New Blog

2. Create A Mission Statement

When blogging as a business, you’ll need a blog branding strategy which includes a mission statement.

If you already have a mission statement for your blog, now is the time to update it.

• What niche is it in? Mine, for example, is in the blogging, marketing and online business (coaching/consulting, etc.) areas
• Who does it serve
• How does it help them?

So something like:

“The MargaretBourne.com site is a blog for new and growing bloggers, sharing useful blogging tips and business strategies. Success is getting bloggers blogging confidently and scaling up their sites into successful online businesses.”

It’s very simple, straightforward and to the point on what it does, who it serves, and how it helps them.

It also conveys a bit of the value it offers to them: “getting bloggers blogging confidently.” This is exactly what I want to do for my readers and clients. Make blogging EASIER to figure out!

Focus On Your New Target Audience

3. Turn A Hobby Blog Site Into A Business Website

To turn a blog into a business, you will need to change your blog’s website. Here are some ways you may need to do this:

• Update your blog name and domain to one that better reflects your business. Be aware you’ll need redirects so you don’t lose links in search engine results.
• Upgrade your website theme. Go from a blog theme to one designed for businesses. Some favourites to look into for women solopreneurs:
  • Bluchic
  • 17th Avenue
  • Restored316
• Change your site’s navigation to point to your key “money pages” – like “Work With Me”, “Tools” (Recommended affiliate products).

Your existing blog theme may have limitations that prevent you from transforming it into a business site.

Once you have the basic structure of your site changed, it’s time to update how it looks and the perception it creates.

NOTE: If you’re starting a new blog from scratch, read this post on Starting A Blog with self-hosting.

| READ MORE: Gorgeous Feminine WordPress Themes To Elevate Your Blog Into A Business

4. Update Your Branding

A refresh of your branding is a key next step when blogging as a business. Your messaging should connect with your target customer’s needs.

When you’re doing a rebrand, there are many things to consider:

• Do you need to change the site’s name? See the previous section. (Harder to do, but there are steps to ensure you don’t screw up your good SEO)
• Will you need a new logo?
• Is it time to change your brand’s colour palette to work with your business/target audience?
• You’ll need to update your keywords for your business and messaging on your site that ties into your mission statement
• Change your photography to suit your business

My recommendation is to also get a better headshot of yourself, either taken by you or a professional photographer.

Another cost-effective solution is to partner with a new professional photographer who charges less.

PRO TIP: While it’s kind of cool right now to use AI to create your professional headshot, I suggest you don’t. It’s obvious it’s AI-generated, reducing the perception of credibility and authenticity.

5. Update And Create Your Key Pages

Your old About Me page won’t suffice. It’s time to do a complete overhaul of what you’ve written before.

Turn your blog into a business by writing new copy for your key pages:

• Updates About page (note I omitted the “Me” because you have to start thinking more about them – your target customer)
• Create a Services/Work With Me page where you outline the types of general services you offer
• Contact Me page with a contact form
• Legal Pages – including Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Terms & Conditions pages. These are non-negotiable as they protect you and your business legally.

The last point is important. Get the same customizable legal page template pack that I use on my site – written by a lawyer who blogs.

Always remember that with a business site, your site visitors don’t really care about your personal story.

They care about how you can help them. Always address their needs first. Your storytelling is only part of the bigger picture.

If you’re having trouble with your About section, here’s a helpful worksheet.

| Read More: How To Write An “About Me” Page That Converts Readers Into Customers

6. Set Up Your Shop To Sell Products And Services

One way to turn a blog into a business is to start selling products and services through it. This means setting up a shop.

However, there are specific considerations when selling digital products versus services.

If you’re selling services, such as coaching and consultations, there are three ways to go about this:

1. Preparing and sending manual invoices, with payments set up through PayPal, direct transfer, etc.
2. Through a platform such as WooCommerce (a WordPress plugin), Calendly or Paperbell (a client management platform)
3. Through a third-party platform, such as Podia

The easiest way is through a third-party platform. I use Podia, where I can sell both my digital products and my one-on-one blog coaching services.

My call to action is to have a potential client contact me first before I share the link on my Confident Blogger Academy (on the Podia platform) for payment.

If you’re selling digital products, platforms like SendOwl, Sellfy or Podia are great options to get started. Podia is a favourite because it also gives the opportunity to create and sell courses.

You can also send digital products through WooCommerce, but the setup and delivery system for digital products is a bit more complicated.

| READ MORE: Podia 2026 Review: Why It’s A Top Digital Selling Platform

| RELATED: The Top 15 Online Coaching Tools For Business Success And Productivity

Switch From Content Machine To Selling Mode

7. Add Sales Pages

Your “Services” page will not be enough to attract potential clients. This is why you need to set up sales pages. People want to know how you can help them and what kind of specifics you offer.

Sales pages are carefully crafted pages that address the problem your potential clients may be having, offering them a result if they purchase your product or service.

You speak to the problem they’re having and show them how you can transform their situation. So, for example, you could do something like:

• Help them do something more easily
• Make them feel better about themselves
• Help them be better at something

There are many pre-made sales pages that you can purchase that offer great templates. I like the ones from Bluchic as they’re easy to add and implement.

You’ll need to focus on your copywriting to create a reason why the page visitor should purchase YOUR services.

Finally, your sales page will lead your site visitors to wherever you want them to go. In the case of services, it’s usually to email you directly to take the next step as a coach or consultant.

For digital products, you can add a link to the product page for purchase (as I did with my course sales pages – eg. Pin It Better course).

8. Update Your Social Media

Next, ensure that your new branding and messaging are consistent across your social media accounts.

Consistent branding is important when you’re turning a blog into a business.

If you’re using your existing social media accounts, it’s always good to pre-warn your followers that changes are coming and what they’ll be.

It builds anticipation and helps you weed out those who aren’t interested in your new direction.

Remember to update:

• Twitter
• Facebook page
• Pinterest
• Instagram

You’ll also want to update your LinkedIn if you’re offering services. Remember – this is YOUR business. You’re now a business owner.

It’s wise to position yourself in a professional way.

PRO TIP: Tease your upcoming “official launch” for a week or two leading up to the big reveal of your new site. This will prime your followers to keep an eye out for what’s coming up.

| Related: 100+ Marketing, Blogging and Business Hashtags For Instagram

9. Adopting A Business Mindset

The key to turning a blog into a business is changing your mindset from content creator to business owner.

Adopting a business mindset means you still need to think about how you’re helping people solve their problems or transform their lives.

However, it’s also key to focus on how you’ll smartly monetize your site and scale it up over time.

Four ways to adopt a business mindset with your online site and blog include:

1. Stop thinking of your blog as just a resource. Start thinking of a site where people go willingly to invest in a transformation which you can help with.
2. Monetize every blog post. Think about the affiliate or product/service you want to promote in your blog post and write your content so that it flows naturally. Every blog post that I write has at least an affiliate link that might spark interest in purchasing. Before, I used to write only on the blog topic itself. Now I think of how I’ll monetize the post.
3. Consider how to grow your business. How will you scale it up? What will you start with as a service or product? How can it evolve into something bigger? Plan and strategize on how you’ll get there.
4. Every business requires investments. To make money, you’ll need to smartly invest in it. This is inevitable.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that:

“…everybody is a potential ally that you can turn to when you’re looking to grow your business.”

From a beginner who’s following you to get ideas, to a seasoned professional who works in a similar field as you.

Use smart business etiquette to reach out to them, help them out, network, etc. Don’t just think about the money.

You never know when somebody you’ve willingly helped out, free of charge, will give you the support that can boost you to the next level.

10. Launch Your Business

Now that you’ve completed all of the key steps of turning a blog into a business, it’s time for the big launch.

The best ways to launch your new business include:

• Posting on your social media accounts
• Sharing your news with your email newsletter list
• Posting on your LinkedIn and making the official change to your new “job”
• Announcing it to your family and friends on Facebook / your personal social media accounts, if you have them
• Let your allies and others in your network know so that they can help promote you and your business

There you go! A few easy steps to creating a big reveal.

Blogging As A Business: Step By Step

No more wondering how to turn a blog into a business!

You’ve now got all the key steps to transforming your blog into an online business. How fast you do it is up to you.

There’s no set timeline you need to follow. For some, the transformation is quick. They get down to business (pun intended) quickly and can launch a new site in a matter of weeks.

For others, there’s more time needed to think things through and plan and implement the changes.

Your next step is to learn how to make your blog profitable.

Keep promoting it, promoting yourself and being present where your key audience is, to start generating traffic and income.

Don’t lose heart if you’re not making huge amounts of money from the start.

Every great business evolves and grows over time, with trial and error and blogging mistakes along the way.

You’ll get there too!

Related:

• A Complete “Start A Coaching Business” Checklist
• How To Fix A Blog That’s Not Making Money
• Key Investments to Make To Grow Your Blog And Monetize It

QUESTION: What’s the biggest challenge for you to transform a blog into a business? What’s standing in your way?

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