Event Blogging: Unlocking the Potential to Make Money Online in 2024

1. More Search Volume Opportunities

Event blogging taps into seasonal spikes in search volume, allowing you to attract more targeted visitors around high-interest topics.

2. Higher Ad Rates

Advertisers are willing to pay more around major events relevant to their products. Expect higher CPM and CPC rates with event-focused content.

3. Ability to Recycle Evergreen Content

Much of your event content can be refreshed, updated, and repurposed year after year. Your existing content assets continue generating traffic and revenue.

4. Predictable Traffic Spikes

Events lead to more organic and direct traffic around the date itself as interest peaks. Prepare for your bandwidth!

5. Holiday Shopping Sales

Many events like Christmas and Black Friday coincide with busy shopping periods when affiliate commissions and sales are at their peak.

1. Long Term Event Blogging

This involves creating an event blog focused on a particular niche that has multiple events throughout the year. 

For example, you may start a blog focused on major tech product launches, annual awards shows, major sporting championships that recur every year, and so on.

The benefit of this model is that once you build an audience around a niche, you can capitalize on the recurring traffic spikes around related events. It takes more initial effort but results in a more sustainable long-term business.

2. Short Term Event Blogging

Here you quickly create blogs targeting specific one-off events that won’t reoccur in the future. 

For example, you may create a blog just about the next iPhone launch, the upcoming World Cup, or an election event. 

The advantage is you can get them up and running faster to take advantage of the immediate traffic surge.

However, the window of opportunity is smaller and you’ll need to keep identifying new short-term events.

For beginners, we recommend starting with short-term event blogging to quickly test it out and learn the basics.

Once you get the hang of it, you can graduate to niche long-term event blogging. 

1. Search volume: Use Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends to gauge search interest. Target over 10k monthly searches for main keywords. 

2. Competition: Check Google results and filter by the past year. Aim for topics with <100k total results and opportunities to rank on page 1.

3. Trends: Look for upward trends around events rather than dying ones. For example, Christmas and the Olympics are evergreen but Harlem Shake is not.

4. Revenue potential: Consider affiliate, ad, and other monetization opportunities around the event niche. 

5. Available content: Ensure there are enough information, stats, data, and multimedia assets available to create content without too much original reporting.

Here are some popular event categories that tend to work well:

Product Launches
Sporting Events 
Award Shows
Cultural Festivals
Education & Career
Shopping Events 

Research Keyword Difficulty and Competition

Once you’ve brainstormed some potential event niches, validate the opportunity with keyword research. 

Use a tool like Semrush to analyze search volume trends and keyword difficulty scores.

Look for topics with strong search volume, low competition, and commercial intent. 

The keywords shouldn’t be completely saturated but still popular enough to drive steady traffic. 

Avoid events that larger sites like Amazon have completely dominated. Try searching Google for “Black Friday [your topic]” and see if big brands pop up or if there are opportunities to rank.

• Save

Tap into Evergreens vs. One-Off Events

Some events like Black Friday occur every year while others like the World Cup only happen once every 4 years. 

It’s best to focus on regularly occurring events as the backbone of your blog since they provide recurring spikes in traffic you can rely on. 

However, you can still supplement evergreen events with one-off cultural moments as they arise to keep your content mix feeling fresh.

Brainstorm Related Events and Hooks 

The best event blogs don’t just cover the main event itself but also related events, angles, and hooks before, during, and after. 

For a Black Friday blog, you could create content like:

Predictions for Top Black Friday Deals
Black Friday Shopping Hack Videos
Cyber Monday Tech Deals
Black Friday Statistics Post-Event Recap

This provides more opportunities to extend your coverage window, rank for a wider range of keywords, and keep producing fresh content.

Analyze Past Examples and Success Stories

Find blogs in your niche that have successfully implemented event blogging. See what type of content performs well and use them as proven examples to model.

Register a Domain Name

Pick a domain name related to your niche or brand. For example:

iphonelaunchinfo [dot] com
fifacoverage [dot] com
holidayrecipes [dot] com
diyhomechristmas [dot] com
blackfridaybonanza [dot] com

Keep it short and memorable. Include important keywords where possible.

Popular domain registrars include GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.

Get Web Hosting 

Hosting provides the storage and servers to host your files and make your blog accessible online 24/7.

We recommend going with WordPress hosting like Hostinger for optimal speed and security. Their optimized servers and automatic WordPress installation and updates ensure your site stays secure and performs well.

Hostinger shared hosting plans start around $2.99 per month.

And, All plans include;

Free Domain Name
Automatic WordPress Installation
SSL Certificates
Automatic backups
Malware Scans
Drag & Drop Website Builder

Exclusive Deal: Hostinger Promo Code 2024 (Up to 90% OFF)

Install WordPress

Once you have hosting, you can install WordPress with one click from the control panel (based on your hosting provider). This will set up the CMS that powers your blog.

After that, create an admin account. This gives you access to the WordPress dashboard to manage your site.

Choose a Theme

Themes control the appearance and layout of your blog. Pick an SEO-friendly, mobile-responsive theme designed for blogging. Some of the popular free theme options include 

GeneratePress, 
Astra, and 
Kadence

For more options, you can choose from premium themes at marketplaces like ThemeForest and Elegant Themes.

Install Essential Plugins

Plugins add extra functionality to WordPress. For event blogging, some useful free plugins include:

Rank Math SEO – Optimizes content for better search rankings 
WPForms – One of the best drag & drop WordPress form builder
Akismet – Intelligent spam detection 
All In One SEO – Simplifies search optimization 
WP Rocket – The most powerful caching solution to boost speed and performance, and optimize your Core Web Vitals. 
UpdraftPlus – Reliable WordPress backup and restore 
OptinMonster – Boost conversions and email lists
MonsterInsights – Effortless Google Analytics integration

Always, check for plugin compatibility and keep them updated for security.

Avoid going overboard with too many plugins that slow your site down.

Set Up Analytics & Search Console

Finally, sign up for free accounts at:

Google Analytics – To connect to your WordPress site and track visitor traffic and engagement.
Google Search Console – Allows you to monitor SEO metrics like keyword rankings, top-performing content, backlinks, and more.
Bing Webmaster Tools – Equivalent of Search Console for Bing rankings.

Perform In-Depth Keyword Research

Use keyword research to identify high-volume keywords and questions people search around your event topic. Some tools to find keyword ideas include:

Google Keyword Planner – See monthly search volumes.
Answer the Public – Reveals common questions people ask.
Semrush – Supercharge your content marketing.

Analyze keywords by expected traffic, difficulty, and commercial value. Choose a primary keyword, secondary keywords, and long tail versions for each post.

Craft Compelling Titles and Headings

Your headline and H2/H3 tags are critical for SEO and click-throughs. Follow these best practices:

Incorporate your focus keyword naturally – like “A Beginner’s Guide to Black Friday Shopping”
Use numbers and lists – “The Top 5 Black Friday Clothing Sales for 2024”
Ask questions – “What Are the Best Black Friday Web Hosting Deals in 2024?”
Use brackets or parentheses – “Black Friday Sale 2024 [Everything You Need To Know About]”
Address emotions – “Feeling Overwhelmed by Black Friday Shopping? Here’s How to Stay Sane”

Structure Content with SEO in Mind

Beyond just keywords, structure your content for readability and SEO:

Use brief paragraphs and subheadings to break up text
Make the most important information top-heavy 
Include keyword-rich image file names and alt-text
Link out to authority sources and internal posts
Close with a summary driving people to take action

Prominently Feature Target Keywords

Work your primary keywords into:

The meta title and description
Image file names 
First and last paragraphs 
Subheadings
The URL slug if possible
Image alt text 
Bolded 2-4 times in the body content

This ensures search engines clearly identify the topic focus. But avoid over-optimizing. Readers come first.

1. On-Page SEO Optimization 

This covers optimizing your blog content itself for search visibility:

Competitor research – Analyze competitors’ ranking on page 1 of Google for your target keywords. Emulate what they do well.
Keyword research – Identify low competition long tail keywords people search when looking for your content. Optimize accordingly.
Metadata – Include focused keywords in titles, headings, Meta descriptions, alt text, URLs, etc.
Internal linking – Link relevant posts together so Google indexes them better.
Page speed – Optimize images, enable caching, and minify CSS/JS to improve site speed. Faster sites rank better.
Schema markup – Use structured data for events, products, videos, articles, etc. to enhance listings.
Quality content – Well-researched, extensive content signals authority to Google. 

This ensures your posts appear for relevant searches and snippets/listings entice clicks.

2. Link Building Strategies

Getting backlinks from other sites signals credibility and boosts rankings:

Guest posting – Reach out to websites in your niche to contribute event-focused guest articles with a link back.
Link roundups – Create roundup posts linking to the best content around an event which earns backlinks. 
Infographics – Create visual data charts and link to your blog as the source. Share them on infographic sites.
Blogger partnerships – Collaborate on co-created assets like guides, quizzes, etc., and link to each other.
Influencer mentions – Get event-specific micro-influencers with engaged followers to mention your content.
Social promotion – Get retweets, shares, and engagement on your posts from relevant accounts to build social signals. 

Slow and steady link building over time raises domain authority for sustainable rankings.

3. Leveraging Social Media

Promoting your content across social platforms helps expand your reach:

Facebook Groups – Join and post your content in Facebook Groups dedicated to your event niche.
Quora space – Answer event-related questions on Quora and link to your pieces as references.
Reddit threads – Share your content where permissible in appropriate Reddit threads around the event. 
YouTube – Create or curate videos around the event and promote them on YouTube. 
Pinterest – Create eye-catching pins linking to your content for visibility in Pinterest searches and feeds.
LinkedIn – Post your content in relevant LinkedIn Groups and also use the publishing platform.
Twitter chats/threads – Find relevant conversations around event hashtags to share your posts.

The key is engaging social users when they are actively discussing your event niche rather than untargeted spamming.

4. Tracking and Analyzing Performance

It’s crucial to track key metrics to understand what’s working and optimize further:

Use Google Analytics to monitor traffic volume, sources, top pages, conversions, and other behavior.
Check the Search Console for rankings, clicks, and impressions for target keywords.
Analyze social metrics like follows, shares, and engagement for your profiles and posts.
Run AB tests on headlines, content formats, designs, calls to action, etc. to improve performance.
Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) for your blog.
Track ROI metrics if running paid ads to ensure positive returns. Tweak targeting, bids, creatives, etc. as needed. 
Set up dashboards to monitor essential metrics in one place for an overview.

Analyzing performance data will reveal insights into optimizing content, promotion, and monetization.

1. Display Advertising

Display ad networks like Google AdSense allow you to join for free and paste ad code on your site to automatically display relevant ads. You earn money when visitors click on them.

Ways to maximize earnings:

Place ads smartly without hampering user experience. Test placements.
Create dedicated ad placements like sidebars, content widgets, footer banners, popup/overlay units, etc.
Make use of a variety of ad units – text, image, video, etc.
Enable auto ads for personalized ads based on content.
Use ad management plugins like Ad Inserter to optimize and rotate multiple ad networks.
Join other networks like Media.net, Ezoic, and Infolinks as fallback options.

With good traffic volumes, display ads can become a steady passive income stream.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Sign up with affiliate networks like Amazon Associates, eBay Partners, etc. to promote their products and earn commissions per sale.

Ways to boost affiliate income:

Find products relevant to your event audience and promote them.
Create curated deals/discounts posts, gift guides, etc., and embed affiliate links.
Add affiliate links to naturally blend into existing content.
Use affiliate links in social media captions. 
Enable coupon codes and other incentives for additional earnings per sale.
Promote newly launched event-related products to tap into hype.

Affiliate marketing works best when you’re able to match engaged visitors with products they’re most likely to purchase.

Give a swift look to one of our most recent affiliate earnings, which totals $3500, and it’s all thanks to a single affiliate network.

• Save

It’s rather fantastic, isn’t it?

3. Sponsored Posts

Accept paid sponsorships from relevant brands who want to get visibility in front of your audience.

Best practices for sponsored posts:

Maintain editorial control over the content and only partner with brands you trust.
Ensure sponsored posts match your blog’s niche and appeal to readers for authenticity.
Clearly label and disclose sponsored content as per FTC guidelines. 
Limit to 1-2 posts per month maximum to avoid overwhelming organic content.
Avoid over-promoting the sponsor. Focus on useful information and value for readers first.
Negotiate premium CPM and CPC rates based on your audience and engagement metrics.

When done right, sponsored posts are a win-win generating income for you while giving brands access to your audience.

1. Choose Evergreen Niches

Stick to evergreen events that recur annually rather than one-off fads. This ensures recurring search volume and traffic year after year. For example, focus on holidays, cultural events, or industry conferences.

2. Avoid Overly Competitive Keywords

Don’t target primary keywords where large sites already dominate first-page rankings. Instead, research long tail variations with lower competition but still substantial search volume.

3. Create Truly Useful Content

Don’t just publish thin content to target keywords. Provide extensive value by educating and informing readers on all aspects of an event. Good content builds links and earns traffic over time.

4. Update Old Content  

Refresh your evergreen content regularly with new data, tips, stats, and trends to keep it ranking well. Outdated content will stagnate in search results.

5. Promote Without Spamming

Promote your content across social media, email, and other channels without spamming. Bring value where you share by commenting and engaging rather than just dumping links.

6. Build a Genuine Link Profile

Earn backlinks slowly over time by contributing guest posts to authority sites in your space. Avoid shady practices like buying links that can get you penalized by search engines.

7. Avoid Over-Reliance on One Income Stream 

Don’t depend solely on Google AdSense, for example. Diversify with affiliate marketing, sponsorships, and other monetization options to mitigate risk.

8. Limit Low Quality Sponsored Posts

Accepting low-quality sponsored posts from any advertiser just for money can damage your reputation and trust with readers. You have to maintain standards.

9. Monitor Analytics Closely

Analyze your traffic sources, engagement metrics, conversions, and ROI regularly. Remember to use data to optimize your approach for better results.

10. Beware of Content Theft

Your unique content may get scraped or republished by spam sites. Implement DMCA takedowns and consider enabling copyright protections.

11. Maintain a Balance of Commercial Content

Keep a healthy balance between monetized content focused on revenue vs. organic non-commercial content focused on providing value.

12. Focus on Readers Not Just Search Engines

While SEO and rankings are important, don’t go overboard. Ultimately, creating content your audience loves should be the top priority. 

13. Keep Design On Brand 

Don’t let your blog’s design be dictated by temporary trends. Maintain a consistent visual brand and layout for the long haul.

14. Stay Patient

Success doesn’t happen overnight. Consistently keep publishing quality content while slowly improving and event blogging profits can scale over years.

15. Avoid Being Penalized

Follow search engine guidelines and best practices to avoid penalties. For example, don’t buy links or stuff keywords.

16. Watch for Burnout

Event blogging involves lots of upfront work. Set a sustainable pace for yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.