Blogging About Mental Health: How to Start And Get Paid

Thinking about blogging about mental health? Here’s how to start a mental health blog…

If you’re a mental health professional, or someone interested in their own mental health in general, you probably enjoy learning about and writing about mental health. And starting a blog could be a great outlet – not just as a creative hobby, but as a money making business.

The question is: how do you start a mental health blog, and get paid to blog about mental health?

In this post, I’m going to cover:

• How to start a mental health blog
• Blogging about mental health in general
• Blogging FOR mental health
• And lastly, getting paid to blog about mental health

How to Start a Mental Health Blog

In my post about “How To Start A Blog: A Basic Beginner’s Guide“, I go through the very basic steps of how to start a blog.

I would highly recommend WordPress.org for this.

Essentially the steps to starting a new blog on mental health include:

Choosing a niche (in this case, mental health)

First things first… Choose a niche! Doing research by checking out Google search results, and networking in Facebook groups, is a great place to start.

Choosing a niche, in this case, mental health, is the first critical step when embarking on your online journey. It’s akin to selecting the foundation of a house. Just as a solid foundation supports the entire structure, a well-defined niche provides the backbone for your website, guiding your content and audience.

You don’t have to be one of the mental health professionals to have a successful mental health blog. As long as you’re transparent and can point people towards professional mental health resources, you could definitely create your own blog! Most mental health blogs are a personal account of how you’ve overcome certain challenges. They cover mental wellness tips from your own experiences, and often share real stories followed by the effective ways you’ve found to deal with your challenges.

You might wonder why people would read YOUR blog. A mental illness blog that shares genuine personal experiences of mental illnesses is often feels like a safe space for readers. They relate to you, and hearing mental health advice from real people is a powerful first step for people that need help.

Buying a domain (this is like the address of a house)

Buying a domain name is like choosing the address for your online “home.” It’s your unique identifier on the internet, representing your brand and helping visitors find your website easily.

Choosing your hosting (foundation of a house)

Selecting your hosting is like building the foundation of your online house. This is your blogging platform. You can use WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and there’s lots of others. I strongly recommend WordPress, and it’s what I use. It’s the technical backbone that keeps your site running smoothly, providing the infrastructure for your content to thrive.

Choosing a theme (design of the house)

Choosing a theme is like designing the aesthetics of your house. It sets the tone and visual appeal of your website, giving it a unique look and feel that reflects your brand and message. The right theme for your website is an important decision that can significantly impact its look, feel, and functionality.

It’s very easy to find a GREAT, free theme. (But you’ll still have to pay for hosting and your domain.)

I have some tips below, but honestly, if you’ve never built a blog before it’s going to sound like I’m speaking an alien language. In my personal experience, talking to other mental health bloggers will be more helpful in choosing a good, updated theme. It’s super easy to find and connect with other bloggers in Facebook groups.

Here are some steps to help you choose a theme:

Define Your Goals: Start by identifying the primary goals and purpose of your website. Are you creating a blog, an e-commerce site, a portfolio, or something else? Your theme should align with these objectives.

Know Your Audience: Consider your target audience’s preferences and needs. For example, a business-focused theme might not work well for a creative arts website.

Consider Your Brand: If you have an existing brand, your website’s theme should reflect your brand’s colors, fonts, and overall aesthetic. Consistency in branding is important for recognition and trust.

Mobile Responsiveness: Ensure the theme is mobile-responsive. In today’s digital landscape, a significant portion of website traffic comes from mobile devices, so your theme must adapt to different screen sizes.

Customization Options: Look for themes that offer customization options. You should be able to change colors, fonts, layouts, and other design elements to match your branding and personal style.

SEO-Friendly: A theme that is built with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind can give your site an advantage in search engine rankings. Look for themes that are optimized for SEO.

Support and Documentation: Check if the theme comes with comprehensive documentation and customer support. This is essential for troubleshooting issues and making the most of your theme’s features.

User Reviews and Ratings: Reading reviews and ratings from other users can provide valuable insights into a theme’s quality, usability, and potential issues.

Demo and Preview: Most theme marketplaces offer demo versions that allow you to see how the theme will look and function on your website. Take advantage of these demos to get a feel for the theme.

Budget: Themes range from free to premium (paid) options. Consider your budget and what features you need. Premium themes often offer more advanced functionality and support.

Learning SEO basics

Learning SEO basics is akin to understanding the rules of navigation in the vast online world. It’s the roadmap that ensures your website is discoverable by search engines, helping you reach your target audience effectively. Watching YouTube videos, or reading my blog post linked above, is the best place to start.

Writing great content

Writing quality content is the essence of filling your online “home” with valuable, engaging, and informative material. It’s like decorating your house with attractive and useful furnishings that make visitors want to stay.

After choosing a niche, you’ll want to brainstorm mental health topics you feel comfortable writing about.

Creating an opt-in

Creating an opt-in, such as a newsletter signup or a free resource, is like offering a welcoming gesture to your online visitors. It’s a way to build a relationship and collect valuable leads for your online community.

Driving traffic

Blogging About Mental Health

There are many benefits to blogging about mental health.

The more people create content around the topic of mental health, the less mental health stigma exists. This helps those with mental health struggles come forward for resources and support they need, rather than hide their struggle or suffer in silence.

There are some things to be aware of when writing about mental health, however.

If you’re a licensed mental health professional, make sure you understand your local laws regarding how you can serve people online, and how your online content should be separated from your mental health blog. In some states, therapists and counselors are able to seamlessly integrate their in-person business with their blog, but in others, these branches of your business need to be separated.

Coaching is very different than counseling for example. So if you plan to leverage your blog to get coaching clients, you need to be very clear what the differences. One of my former clients was able to successfully do this, but it took some mindset work and a lot of work on marketing language. (Read Janika’s story here on how she added coaching services as a mental health professional.)

Blogging For Mental Health

Blogging FOR mental health is a different story.

If you’re starting a mental health blog for your OWN mental health, the ways you’ll monetize will be very different.

It’s important that your audience know that you are NOT a professional, that you are writing from experience, and that you point towards credentialed professionals for more detailed information.

Get Paid to Blog About Mental Health

Lastly, how do you get PAID to blog about mental health?

In my post “Blog For Money”, I go into this in detail. In short, there are many ways to make money online and many ways to monetize a blog in general.

Here are some of the ways you can monetize a mental health blog:

Ads and sponsorships

• Blog Ads: blog ads include ads like Google adsense, where ads are places on your site. You can earn money with impressions and clicks from the ads.
• Blog Sponsorship: With sponsorships and brand deals, a company will pay you to mention or promote them to your audience. They may ask you to write a blog post, an email, social media post, or review a product.

Partnerships

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing involves promoting someone else’s product or course with a unique tracking link given to you by the affiliate. If a blog reader clicks the link and then buys something, you might get a small commission from the sale.

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based online marketing strategy in which businesses (advertisers or merchants) reward individuals or other businesses (affiliates or publishers) for driving traffic or sales to their products or services. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement where affiliates earn a commission or a fee for each sale, lead, or action generated through their promotional efforts.

Here’s how affiliate marketing typically works:

1. Merchants/Advertisers

These are businesses that have products or services to sell. They set up affiliate programs to promote their offerings and attract affiliates.

2. Affiliates/Publishers

These are individuals, website owners, bloggers, social media influencers, or businesses that sign up for affiliate programs. They promote the merchant’s products or services to their audience through various marketing channels.

3. Affiliate Links

The merchant provides unique affiliate tracking links to each affiliate. These links include a code that identifies the affiliate.

4. Promotion

Affiliates promote the merchant’s products or services using their affiliate links. This can be done through various means, including websites, blogs, social media, email marketing, YouTube videos, and more.

5. Conversion

When a visitor, referred by an affiliate, takes a specific action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form, the affiliate link records this action.

6. Commission

The affiliate earns a commission or a predetermined fee for each successful conversion. The commission structure can vary, and some programs may offer flat rates, percentage-based commissions, or a combination of both.

Affiliate marketing has several advantages:

• Cost-Effective: Merchants only pay when a desired action is completed, making it a cost-effective marketing strategy.
• Broad Reach: Affiliates can have diverse audiences, which can expand a merchant’s reach to new customers.
• Performance-Based: Success is tied to results, so affiliates are motivated to maximize their efforts.
• Scalability: Affiliate marketing can be scaled easily by recruiting more affiliates.

Joint Venture

A joint venture is similar to an affiliate, but you partner with the product provider to collaborate on the promotion together. This involves more work on your part, but results in a higher payout.

A joint venture, when it comes to monetizing a blog, refers to a collaborative business arrangement between two or more bloggers or online content creators. In a joint venture, these bloggers or content creators work together to combine their resources, expertise, and audiences to achieve a common goal, typically related to monetizing their blogs or websites.

Here are some key aspects of joint ventures in blog monetization:

1. Shared Objectives: Bloggers in a joint venture share a common goal related to monetization. This could include increasing ad revenue, promoting affiliate products, launching and selling digital products or courses, or any other income-generating activities related to their blogs.

2. Pooling Resources: Joint venture partners may combine their resources, which could include content, email lists, social media followers, and other assets.

3. Collaborative Content: Bloggers may collaborate on creating content or promotional materials that support the joint venture’s monetization efforts.

4. Revenue Sharing: The partners typically agree on a revenue-sharing model, where they split the proceeds from the joint venture activities.

5. Cross-Promotion: Joint ventures often involve cross-promotion, where each partner promotes the other’s blog or content to their respective audiences.

6. Complementary Skills: Partners in a joint venture may have complementary skills. For example, one blogger might excel at content creation, while another is skilled in SEO or digital marketing. Combining these skills can lead to a more successful monetization strategy.

7. Mutual Support: Partners provide mutual support and encouragement, helping each other stay motivated and accountable for their monetization efforts.

Common examples of joint ventures in blog monetization include co-authored blog posts, co-hosted webinars or podcasts, joint product launches, and partnerships where bloggers promote each other’s products.

Successful joint ventures in blog monetization can be a win-win for all parties involved. They can accelerate growth and income generation for each blogger. However, it’s crucial to have clear agreements and open communication. Make sure everyone benefits and that any revenue sharing is fair and transparent.

What is the difference between affiliates and join ventures? (summary)

Affiliates and joint ventures are both forms of collaborative partnerships, but they differ in their nature, purpose, and how they operate. Here are the key distinctions between affiliates and joint ventures:

Affiliates:

1. Independence: Affiliates are typically independent individuals or businesses that promote another company’s products or services in exchange for a commission on sales, leads, or other desired actions. They don’t have ownership or direct involvement in the product or service itself.

2. Promotional Role: Affiliates primarily focus on marketing and promoting the products or services of the company they are affiliated with. They use affiliate links or tracking codes to earn commissions for driving traffic or sales.

3. No Shared Risk or Investment: Affiliates do not share financial risks or investments with the company they promote. They earn a commission only when a sale or action is generated through their efforts.

4. Limited Collaboration: While affiliates may receive some marketing materials from the company, there is typically limited collaboration beyond the promotion of products or services. Affiliates operate independently.

Joint Ventures:

1. Collaborative Partnership: Joint ventures involve two or more parties coming together to collaborate on a specific project, business, or venture. Each party contributes resources, expertise, or assets to achieve a common goal.

2. Shared Ownership and Control: In a joint venture, there is often a shared ownership and decision-making process. The parties involved have a stake in the venture and share the profits or losses.

3. Shared Risk and Investment: Joint ventures entail a mutual financial investment and risk-sharing among the partners. This can involve the pooling of funds, assets, or efforts to achieve the venture’s objectives.

4. Diverse Business Activities: Joint ventures can encompass a wide range of business activities, such as product development, marketing, sales, or service provision. The scope of a joint venture can be broader than the marketing focus of affiliates.

In summary, affiliates are primarily focused on marketing and promoting products or services for a commission, and they operate independently. Joint ventures, on the other hand, involve collaborative partnerships where multiple parties contribute resources and share ownership, control, and risks to achieve a specific business goal or project. Joint ventures often entail a more substantial commitment and mutual participation in various aspects of the venture.

Original offers

Monetizing a blog by creating your own offers, such as products or services, has several advantages over relying solely on ads and affiliates:

1. Higher Earnings Potential:

When you create and sell your own products or services, you have the potential to earn a larger share of the revenue. With ads and affiliate marketing, you often receive a smaller commission or payout per click, sale, or lead. In contrast, your own offers allow you to set the prices and keep a more significant portion of the profits.

2. Brand Control:

Developing your products or services gives you full control over your brand. You can ensure that your offerings align perfectly with your blog’s message and values. This consistency can lead to a stronger and more trusted brand identity.

3. Diversification of Income:

Relying solely on ads and affiliates can make your income vulnerable to changes in market conditions, ad platform policies, or affiliate program availability. Creating your own offers diversifies your income streams, reducing dependence on external factors.

4. Audience Engagement:

Offering your products or services can deepen your engagement with your audience. You have the opportunity to address their specific needs and provide tailored solutions. This can foster stronger relationships and trust with your readers, leading to repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.

5. Content Relevance:

Your own products and services can be closely related to the content on your blog, making them a natural fit for your audience. Ads and affiliate products may not always align perfectly with your niche, potentially leading to a disconnect with your readers.

6. Data Ownership:

When you sell your own products or services, you retain ownership of customer data, which can be valuable for future marketing and customer relationship management. With ads and affiliates, this data is often controlled by the platforms and advertisers.

7. Personal Growth:

Creating your own offers can be a rewarding experience that fosters personal and professional growth. You’ll gain new skills, develop a deeper understanding of your niche, and become more entrepreneurial in your mindset.

8. Long-Term Sustainability:

Building your own brand and creating your offers can lead to long-term sustainability. Your products and services can evolve and adapt to the changing needs of your audience, ensuring your blog’s continued relevance and income potential.

While creating your own offers offers many benefits, it’s important to note that it also requires more effort, including product development, marketing, customer support, and sales management. It may take time to establish your own offerings, and success is not guaranteed. Some bloggers opt for a combination of monetization strategies, integrating their own offers alongside ads and affiliate marketing to achieve a balance that works best for their specific circumstances. Ultimately, the choice should align with your blog’s niche, audience, and your long-term goals as a blogger.

Here are some of my favorite original offers:

Create a Course

One effective way to monetize your blog while offering valuable content to your audience is to create online courses. Drawing from your personal experiences in dealing with mental health challenges, you can develop a comprehensive course that provides insights, strategies, and support for others facing similar issues. Sharing your journey and coping mechanisms can resonate with your readers, and they may be willing to invest in your course to gain access to your expertise. By addressing mental health in a structured and educational format, you not only offer guidance but also establish yourself as a credible resource, potentially generating a sustainable stream of income while making a positive impact on your audience’s well-being.

Create a Physical Product

Another monetization strategy is to create physical products related to mental health and well-being. Consider developing care packages or subscription boxes filled with items that promote self-care and mental health support.

These products can include items like relaxation tools, journals, self-help books, or mindfulness exercises. By providing tangible, curated items that align with your blog’s message, you offer a unique and convenient way for your audience to incorporate self-care practices into their lives. This not only diversifies your revenue streams but also strengthens your brand by demonstrating your commitment to mental health advocacy and self-improvement, all while delivering a thoughtful and tangible solution to your readers.

Provide a Service

Offering mental health services directly on your blog can be a powerful way to monetize your expertise. You can provide counseling services if you are a licensed mental health professional, offering virtual sessions to clients seeking support and guidance. Alternatively, you could offer “done-for-you” services, such as crafting personalized self-care plans for individuals struggling with mental health issues. By providing these services, you become a trusted source of help, and you can charge fees for your valuable support. However, ensure that you comply with the laws and regulations in your area when offering mental health services, especially if you are not a licensed therapist or counselor.

Provide Coaching

Coaching is a distinct approach from counseling and can also be a profitable avenue for monetizing your blog. If you have expertise in mental health or have overcome personal challenges, you can offer coaching services to assist others in setting and achieving their mental health and wellness goals. While coaching doesn’t typically require the same licensing as counseling, it’s essential to be well-informed about the legal and ethical considerations in your area. Through coaching, you can guide your clients in developing strategies, setting objectives, and making positive changes in their lives. This one-on-one support can be a valuable resource for your readers and can generate income while making a meaningful impact on their mental well-being.

Read this post to learn about the pros and cons of each monetization method.

Should You Start a Mental Health Blog?

So, should you start blogging about mental health?

It depends on your goals, but if you like to write and are looking for a side hustle or a new way to get clients for your business, then starting a mental health blog could be a great option!

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