How to Start a Video Game Blog (And Make Extra Money)

Imagine sitting down after a riveting gaming session and sharing your thoughts, tips and experiences with a world of like-minded gamers.

Yes, this could be your reality.

You’re about to discover how to start a video game blog, the perfect way to share your passion with others.

This allows you to connect with a community that shares your passion and opens up opportunities to turn your passion into a potential income stream.

And don’t worry, you’re not blind.

I am here to guide you every step of the way. By the end of this blog post, you will have a blueprint for your gaming blog and a clear roadmap to get started and succeed.

How to Start a Video Game Blog in 10 Steps:

If you want someone to walk you through setting up your blog quickly and easily, check out Step 5.

The gaming industry has come under fire in recent years. The industry has expanded and is now valued at $300 billion. With over 75% of US households having at least one gamer playing, it’s clear that now is a good time to start a gaming blog.

For some, a video game blog is a new venture. For some, starting a blog is an opportunity to share their passion with the world.

While passion is a great reason to start a video game blog, there are plenty of other reasons why starting one is a great idea:

• Create a career and make money in the esports or gaming industry.
• Create a community of players around your favorite theme.
• Become a gaming influencer in a niche or large industry.
• Get exclusive access to previous game releases and other new technology and hardware.
• The first to get updates on these games before they launch.
• Attend invitation-only gaming conferences and press events.

If that moves you, here’s how you can do it.

1. Decide on The Focus of Your Video Game Blog

Your first step is to decide what the focus of your video game blog will be.

• Which way do you want to go?
• Who do you want to blog for?
• What is the main purpose of your blog?

Answering these questions will help you refine the specific focus or direction of your game blog.

Without a clear idea of the goal behind your blog, you’ll struggle to create a specific niche or type of content. So this is an essential first step, and you need to take the time.

For example, your goal is to help 100 people play Minecraft. In that case, hosting a Minecraft server is a perfect example of building a community around something you love and gives you an easy way to support it.

Or, you can create a blog that focuses on Roblox, which is a great place to earn extra money along with blogging.

No matter what type of sport you are promoting on your blog, it is important to have an in-depth knowledge of the sport. Creating gameplay tools like the guides you find in Solitaire can be a great help.

Choosing a clear look for your blog can help you prevent the type of information overload you see that causes many beginner bloggers to quit their blogs before they start showing results because they can’t keep up with the level of work. . . . .

You need to establish a brand that people recognize. Just like when you start a movie blog, you have to find a way to make a name for yourself.

For example, you might be a better video game blogger writing about everything to do with Grand Theft Auto.

either,

You can become an expert who knows everything there is to know about game graphics cards and writes amazing insights on how they work with streaming on Twitch.

Do you get the idea?

With that goal in mind, it will be easy for you to choose the right niche for your new video game blog.

2. Pick your Video Game Blog Niche

As a gaming blogger, there are many different gaming niches you can focus on. Here we do not want to focus on too many things at once. No one can cover everything, but every new blogger can cover something.

If you want to make a living in sports, you need to focus all your energy on one thing.

So, instead of writing video game stories, posting gaming tips and tricks, reviewing gaming hardware, and selling merchandise to enthusiasts, pick a gaming topic that interests you the most or whatever you’re passionate about. That’s all.

You can always expand your niche later, but when you’re just starting out, it’s important to pick one niche.

All the best gaming blogs started this way, and it’s a proven method for rapid success.

Choosing a niche has the added benefit of helping you connect with your audience more easily.

Also, if you are writing on a single topic, it is easy to write more in-depth articles that go into details that your readers will find valuable.

Below, I’ve listed some of the most popular gaming blog ideas to help you make your choice.

Playful journeys

Game tours are probably the best place to start. They are one of the easiest. All you have to do is play the game you want to write about and then create high-quality, unique content. Two good places to do this are on Steam or Twitch.

You may already have a lot of content, but if you bring your unique style and voice, you can stand out in a sea of game guides.

Aspects of Game Development

It’s tricky because you need to know about it. It’s not just about reading something, and then writing about your blog post.

You need to have experience as a video game developer or programmer to advise you on this topic.

If you want to take it a step further, you could mention that people can get jobs in the gaming industry as well.

Although there are sites devoted to gaming operations, that doesn’t mean you can’t grab some of that traffic yourself.

Watch The Game

Writing game reviews can sometimes be difficult, especially when you have big names in the industry (like IGN, Metacritic, and GameSpot) already reviewing games.

But, don’t let this stop you. Your point of view can be to connect with your audience and bring an interesting angle or twist to the topic, such as reflecting on music in the game or other quirky and quirky insights.

The Story of The Game

Sports media is a huge topic. Even if you choose this as your niche, you will need to dig deeper to focus on a specific sub-topic.

There is so much to talk about and if you choose this niche, you will have endless things to talk about with your audience.

Choose a sport, category, or genre to focus on so you can keep up with the news and not be overwhelmed by information.

Console Views

You can focus on making reviews and unboxing the gaming hardware. You can write articles for your video game blog, and video reviews to add to YouTube.

Make sure you’re helping your audience make better choices by covering all the details of the product you’re looking at.

You have to be very thorough and very honest in all your reviews. Your audience can smell a lie from a mile away, and they think you’re dishonest and you lose.

Broadcast Channel Blog

If you already have a Twitch or YouTube channel, you can go one step further by creating a blog for your video game streaming channel.

However, this means a lot more work for you, especially if you’re doing all the blogging yourself.

However, you can always team up with a friend and one of you runs the blog while the other focuses on the streaming channel.

Esports News and Events

It’s a popular niche that in recent years has seen a huge expansion in the esports industry. There are already several popular sports blogs devoted to this topic,

including TheScoreEsports, ESPN, Gamurs, and EsportsObserver.

But there is always room for new bloggers who want to produce high-quality unique content.

Starting a blog focused on esports events is great so you have a large audience to market to. But, don’t try to cover all the news.

For example, find your niche by writing only about teams and events.

Any of the gaming niches or categories listed above would make a great choice as a topic for your new video gaming blog.

As mentioned earlier, focusing on a single topic will help make your posts valuable and relevant.

The good news is that a gamer blogger like you has a lot of potential content in the back of his head so you won’t face the usual problems in coming up with ideas.

Once you’ve settled on where you want to be, you can move on to the next step where we cover how to choose the right blogging platform for your blog.

3. Choose Your Blogging Platform

To learn how to start a video game blog, you first need to learn how to use the blogging platform. There are countless options available to you, both free and paid.

First, you need to analyze and compare different blogging platforms based on your chosen gaming blog idea.

The game blog ideas you follow will determine the type of content you provide, which means that some blogging platforms are better than others.

Plus, many beginner bloggers choose free platforms like Tumblr, Blogger, Squarespace, and Wix when starting their blogs, but that’s a big mistake.

If you want to grow your video game blog and (eventually) make money from it, it’s best to start with a paid platform.

This is because free platforms come with many limitations, making it difficult for your new blog to succeed.

Here are some of the downsides of free blogging platforms:

• Some customization options
• Unprofessional look and feel
• Very low financing potential
• If you violate the rules, you may lose your blog (and all the content you write).
• They (technically) own your content

You can see why using a free blogging platform is not a good idea if you want to be taken seriously.

How to Blog for Free

If you still want to get started learning how to create a blog for free, it’s pretty easy. All you have to do is sign up for one of the free blogging & hosting platforms and create a free blog.

In some cases, they are not allowed to have a single domain, and more than one subdomain belongs to that hosting platform (for example, ‘yoursitename.xyzbloggingplatform.com’).

Plus, you may be limited to a few tools, but for good purpose, it helps to understand some basic tools. Furthermore, the only good thing about starting a gaming blog for free is the ability to prepare the content of your blog and upgrade it to a paid plan later.

I recommend using WordPress in conjunction with hosting. If you don’t know what I mean, keep looking. That’s exactly what I’ll explain about exactly what to do in the guide.

WordPress is a popular self-hosted blogging platform. It provides a great alternative to free blogging websites like the ones mentioned above.

With WordPress, you get a one-click installation, quick updates, and a user interface that is manageable enough for beginners without a huge learning curve. Below are some of the benefits of using premium WordPress.

Self-provided WordPress advantages over Free Blogging Platforms

• WordPress is stable, powerful, and easy to use
• The platform is flexible and offers excellent customization features
• It’s easy to optimize the site and extend features with 50,000+ plugins
• WordPress is optimized for good SEO and there are many other SEO tools to take advantage of
• Great community of developers and great technical support
• You can use different media formats on your blog
• It’s easy to monetize your video game blog the way you want it
• To use WordPress for free, you just need your domain and hosting

Here are some interesting statistics about WordPress:

• Today, over 35% of all websites online use WordPress
• 22% of newly registered domain names use the WordPress self-hosted platform
• For the past 8 consecutive years, WordPress has been the fastest-growing CMS
• WordPress offers more than 50,000 plugins and more than 3,500 themes

Is this enough to convince you that WordPress is the best blogging platform? I’m looking forward to that. I use this and recommend it to all my readers.

With WordPress, you can start a great-looking video game blog with all the features you need to create amazing posts.

Now that you’ve chosen your blogging platform, it’s time to choose your domain name. So, on to step 4!

4. Decide on your Domain Name

A domain name is the name of your website or blog. This is the online address (or URL) where users can access your website.

This part of learning how to build a gaming website is critical because you just have one shot at choosing your domain name (for free, anyway).

You can have a different domain name depending on your blog name, it is a good idea to make sure you use your blog name as your domain name, to avoid confusing your visitors.

So, for example, if you want to name your new video game blog ‘AwesomeGamingBlog’, you should get the same domain name as ‘www.AwesomeGamingBlog (dot) com’.

When choosing the best domain name for your gaming blog there are a few things you need to keep in mind. This video explains each of the 10 steps in detail:

1. Buy a .com domain name: This is a good idea because .com domains are the ones that make up the internet and are still ahead of the pack.
2. Be broad with your domain name: Do not make a video game blog domain name too focused, as this will limit your ability to expand and grow in the future. 

   For example, a specific name like GTA V Reviews will force you to stay in a small niche, while a name like Big Game Reviews will give you more room to expand.

3. Keep your domain name short: Short names are best because they are easy to remember and write. Look for a domain name of less than four words if possible.
4. Alliteration key: Alliteration refers to the use of two or more words that begin with the same sound or letter, such as Polygon Players or Gamer’s Guide.
5. Be creative to find your perfect domain name: If you’ve already got the name you want, use creativity to find something similar.You may find other words that have similar meanings. For example, if your favorite name is Game Zealot, you can use Game Fanatic… or something similar.
6. Add Extra Words: Once you have tested everything, you can add extra words to get the name you want. 

   For example, a Pocket Gamer blog might be called The Pocket Gamer, or you might add HQ to Pocket Gamer HQ.

7. Think of a concept: When coming up with a domain name for your video game blog, it helps if you come up with a concept around your blog. 

   Think about what you hope to achieve with your blog in the future and that will help you come up with some possible names.

8. Use name generation tools: There are name generation tools that you can use if you are still stuck. Websites like InstantDomainSearch and LeanDomainSearch provide helpful suggestions for blog names.
9. Don’t buy a domain name: Once your name is taken, you may find it selling for hundreds or thousands of dollars. 

   It’s not worth wasting your money, so get a standard domain name and focus on developing your website instead.

10. Don’t get stuck here: This is probably the most important point on this list. Don’t get stuck at this stage. 

    Take a few hours to complete this exercise, brainstorm a few names choose your favorite, and move on to the next step.

To help you think, I’ve listed 5 popular gaming blogs and why their domain names make sense.

5 Popular Video Game Blogs

1. Joystick: Keep this blog name short and memorable. The ‘joystick’ had been adopted and the owner got creative to come up with something different, which still means (slightly) the same thing.
2. The Video Game Blog: This name is simple and easy to remember. That’s a good name for a blog of a casual nature to offer interesting articles on almost everything in the gaming industry.
3. Nintendo Life: This title is short and sweet. The video game blog niche appears in the name, which tells the reader what the blog is about.
4. Game Reporter: This is a great name. It’s short, and unique and lets visitors know that this blog is the place to go for news, sports reviews, culture, and more.
5. Game Fanatic Reviews: You don’t have to wonder what this video game blog is all about. Everything is in the name.

Always check out what the best gaming blogs are doing because not only will you know more about every aspect of gaming blogging, but you can also get inspiration from the gaming blog ideas that they focus on the most.

You can also get insight on how to start a better gaming blog.

5. Buy your Domain Name and Hosting

Now that you have decided on a name for your video game blog, you need to register your domain name and find blog hosting.

Hosting is where your video game blog resides online. Blog hosting providers are companies that provide services to store your blog files on their servers and ensure that your website is always available to find your website online.

For beginner hosting, I recommend Bluehost because they are reliable and they offer reasonable prices. Also, they have the best support in the industry.

The YouTube video and screenshots below will show you the exact step-by-step process, and choose which tutorial works best for you.

Step 1: If you haven’t already, click on this link and you will be brought to the WordPress hosting page you see below.

Step 2: Then, you will be brought to the hosting plan page. You can choose to get a “Plus” or “Choice Plus” plan, but of course, it’s not necessary.

The Startup plan is cheaper at $2.95/month with my link and regularly $8.99/month.

This plan includes everything you need, including 50GB of web space (plenty of room for your files), a free domain for one year, plus other standard features for free like SSL and a secure WordPress installation.

Feel free to do a bit of research to decide which plan is right for you, but if you want to keep your investment down, rest assured Basic will do just fine.

Step 3: After clicking the Plan button, you will be taken to the next page where you can register your new domain or choose “I’ll create my domain later” if you haven’t decided yet. . . . . A domain is a URL that people type into a browser to view your website in the future.

Step 4: After submitting, the next page will ask for all your information. It starts with your account information, which is self-explanatory.

Step 5: Next, you need to install the package information. This is to select how long you want to continue the plan. My advice is that you can choose 24 months to get the discount and save some money, but you can go for less than 12 months if you want.

Step 6: Then you need to select your desired “Extras Package”. You can scroll down to “more info” to understand what each of these things are, but here’s my advice.

I accept “Domain Privacy + Protection” so no one can attach your name to the domain name you created. For me, the only thing worth noting is “CodeGuard Basic”.

The other two I personally don’t get. But choose what works best for you.

Step 7: The next step is the payment statement, which is self-explanatory.

Step 8: The last step to register is to confirm that you have read and understood the Bluehost Terms of Service, Cancellation Policy, and Privacy Policy. Click Check and then click “Submit”.

Step 9: Next you will be asked to create an account and password. This includes information you use to log into the Bluehost platform to manage your site and account information.

Step 10: At this point, Bluehost will ask you some questions to better understand your scenario. You can answer all of these questions or click “Skip this step” below.

If you are a newbie, I recommend you answer these questions as it will help your onboarding experience.

Step 11: Once you are done with this, it will prompt you to select an item. For now, you can choose to use a free theme. You can always change the subject later if you want.

Step 12: From there, you will be brought to the backend of WordPress in the admin panel. You manage your site from here.

You can add posts/pages as you see fit, but when you’re ready just click the blue button that says “Launch Your Site”.

Step 13 (Final): Make Your Blog Live. Go to a browser and enter your domain name. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to access your website!

Congratulations! You officially have a website. That concludes the first major part of learning how to start a gaming blog – doing it.

If you are wondering how to edit things on a website, from here all you have to do is enter your website URL in the browser with /wp-admin at the end and enter it.

For example http://mostawesomewebsiteever (dot) com/wp-admin

And don’t worry, we’ll cover how to fix things in the rest of this guide as well. So please read on.

6. Choose a Theme For Your Video Game Blog

Once you’ve set up WordPress on your hosting platform, it’s time to get a theme for your blog. A theme is a piece of software that manages the layout and functionality of your gaming blog.

There are free and paid WordPress themes to choose from. Choosing a good theme is important to get the features you need from your website.

This is hard to find in free WordPress themes. Of course, free themes often come with several disadvantages, such as:

• Customizing is not easy
• No technical support
• Slow and not optimized for mobile
• Complicated and prone to problems
• Sometimes there is malicious malware

You should choose a high-quality premium WordPress theme that allows you to customize your blog the way you want.

Since you are creating a video game blog, you need a theme designed with that specific purpose in mind. It allows you to feature stunning videos, images and video game graphics on your blog.

Here’s what you should look for in a premium WordPress theme:

• Fast and mobile responsive design
• The professional look and feel
• Easily customizable templates
• Fast and efficient support
• Famous brand
• Big appreciation from the developers

Check out theme marketplaces like ThemeForest and StudioPress to find a theme that meets the above criteria. There you will find many options that will inspire you.

Here are the top video game blog WordPress themes to get you started.

• Divi: If you’re looking to easily create a stunning website, Divi stands out as the best WordPress builder available today from Elegant Themes.
  
  Its intuitive visual drag-and-drop interface empowers users to quickly create stunning sites.
  
  What sets Divi apart is its vast array of customizable modules, real-time design feedback, and a responsive editing feature that makes your website look flawless on any device.
• Astra: While Divi is known for its versatile design capabilities, the Astra theme offers distinct advantages for those who prioritize speed, performance, and seamless integration.
  
  Astra stands out for its pen-light weight, ensuring websites load at lightning-fast speeds—a key factor for SEO and user experience.
  
  Plus, Astra’s deep compatibility with major page builders, including Elementor and Beaver Builder, means developers aren’t limited to a single-build environment.
  
  The theme is also designed with a focus on personalization. You can read my Astra theme review for more details.
• Themeforest.net: Themeforest is one of the most popular themes away from other platforms. With a total of 48,000 themes on this platform, you can find what you need.

7. Create Important Pages & Logo

In this section of my guide on how to start a gaming blog, we’ll cover some of the key elements and elements your blog should have.

Once you’ve purchased and set up your theme, it’s time to create the important pages of your blog. These include information, contact, and privacy pages. 

If you’re having trouble figuring out the format for these pages, check out the best gaming blogs for some inspiration.

About: On this page, add information about yourself and the services you offer. Tell your readers who you are and what you’re about. 

Share your reasons for starting a video game blog and don’t be afraid to show some personality.

You may want to add an image to this page to let your readers know they are connected to a real live person.

Contact: The contact page should contain all the information your readers, followers, and customers need to interact with you.

This includes using your email address, social media profiles, Skype ID, phone number, or any other means of contact.

You don’t have to choose them all, just choose the ones that work best with your audience. It’s also a good idea to add a FAQ section to this page, so you don’t get tons of emails with questions that could easily be answered on your blog.

Privacy Note: This is an important page that every video game blog should have. You can write it yourself or have a professional write it for you.

It’s a good idea to hire someone to write your blog rules pages because they can generate on-page information for your gaming blog.

See my list of privacy policy providers for free and paid options for help.

Logo Design: Beyond that, now is a good time to think about designing a logo for your video game blog. There are many ways to do this, but I like to use an online logo designer. 

A logo should reflect who you are as a video game blogger and what your blog is about. 

Remember: Brand image is important.

8. Start Blogging

This is the part where many new bloggers get stuck. When it comes time to create content, there are many things to choose from, but it can be difficult to know exactly where to start blogging.

Listed below are some topics and categories that will help you get started creating content for your video game blog:

Make sure you have at least 10 blog posts published on your blog before you start sharing your new blog with anyone. 

There is no point in promoting your blog if readers arrive there only to find an empty blog. It only kills them and many leave, never to return.

Content Creation Ideas for a Video Game Blog:

1. List: This is an article with a list of topics like ‘Top 10 Gaming Blogs You Should Follow in 2020’.
2. Image Galleries: Depending on your video game niche, images are a great way to provide visual content to your readers.
3. Tutorials: If you are big enough to do something in the gaming niche, why not create a tutorial for your readers? Use lots of images, videos, and screenshots to illustrate your point.
4. News: Share the latest video game industry news with your readers. Make sure you post your unique angle by adding your opinion so you can stand out from all the other sports news blogs.
5. Product Reviews: These types of posts are usually in-depth and full of useful information so are great for providing value to your audience.
6. Checklist: Find out what questions your audience is asking in your industry and create a simple checklist to provide answers for those who don’t want to read tons of information.
7. Tip Articles: This is like a listicle, but offers various tips on how to achieve something in the gaming niche.
8. Interviews: Professionals in the game industry love to be interviewed. From gamers to other bloggers to game designers and everyone in between, you can get endless content for your blog by doing interviews and posting them on your blog.

Let’s move on to the next part of learning how to start a video game blog.

9. Promote Your Video Game Blog

Now that you have content on your gaming blog, it’s time to start promoting it to bring visitors to your site. Here are some of the best ways to promote video game blogs:

Share your blog with your family and friends

This is the first thing you should do after your blog goes live. Share the link with everyone you know.

Ask your family and friends to visit your blog, read your posts, comment, and give feedback. 

Ask them to share the blog with all their friends to give you more exposure.

Use Social Media

Get free targeted traffic from social media. Share your new blog link on all social media to drive people to your blog.

Use eye-catching images and catchy copy to grab attention.

Share in Groups Related to Your Blog

One of the easiest ways to get people to your blog is to share the link in relevant groups and forums. 

Find out where your best readers hang out and join their community. 

Share your link and ask them to check out your new gaming blog.

Guest Blogging

This is a proven method to get visitors to your blog.

Write posts for popular video game blogs in your niche and link back to your blog.

This leads to a steady flow of visitors over time.

10. Start Making Money

And now you have come to the end of your journey to learn how to start a video game blog – make money. There are many ways to monetize your blog.

Here are some of the best blog monetization techniques used by many video game bloggers:

Affiliate Marketing

This is probably the most popular way to monetize a blog. Gaming blogs are good for having thousands of affiliate programs that you can take advantage of.

To make money with affiliate marketing, sign up with an affiliate network like Amazon Associates and include affiliate links in your blog content. 

If a visitor clicks and buys something, you get paid a commission.

In Google Adsense

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a great way to start making money with traffic to your blog. Sign up for the Google Adsense program and ads will be placed on your blog. 

Every time one of your visitors clicks on the ad, you will be paid a small commission. Remember, many Adsense alternatives can help you earn more money.

If you’re one of those brands spending thousands of dollars on PPC, you might want to invest in PPC management software to manage it all.

Marketing AD Space

It’s similar to PPC advertising, except that you’re selling ad space on your blog directly to companies in the gaming niche or larger industry.

Whether you add their banner to your blog and visitors click on it or not, you still get paid.

Set up an E-commerce Store

It allows you to purchase your products (for example, an advertising product such as an ebook, audiobook, or course designed to help players reach a goal in a video game), as well as various physical items such as sports equipment and gear.

Are Game Blogs Good?

Now that we’ve come to the end of this guide, you’re probably thinking ‘Okay, are video game blogs profitable?’

Yes, they are!

If you come up with an effective and efficient content strategy, then create a feasible content & brand marketing strategy, and constantly work on your blog to fix bugs and attract more traffic – you will profit with your sports blog.

It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s just that – it’s a lot of work, but once you start seeing the results, it’s all worth it. 

The end

Starting a video game blog is a fun and rewarding way to share your passion for gaming with others.

Not only does it give you a platform to share your thoughts and opinions on the latest games and trends, but it’s also a great way to connect with like-minded people, build a community of readers, and earn huge profits after completion. Successfully.

If you love video games and want to share your thoughts with others, starting a blog is something you should consider.