How to Create an Overseas Blog: A Complete Guide to Earning from Scratch [Recommended for Beginners]

Hello, this is Fujii.

This blog explains overseas marketing tools and techniques. A lot of requests, that are...

"Please tell me how to make money from blogging abroad."

I am often asked.

I myself am not currently an affiliate. However,We also run an overseas blog for English-speaking readers(Detailed explanation in the YouTube video).

Therefore, in this article, we will explain how to create an "overseas blog" that makes money by disseminating information across borders. It's a pretty long article.

I will explain the tips, strategies, and methods based on my experience in creating a blog for overseas. We've summarized the steps from scratch to monetization.

It avoids jargon and difficult content and explains it in an easy-to-understand manner.

Let's learn together how to maximize the appeal of your international blog.

2. What is an overseas blog?

First of all, "overseas blogs" literally refer to blogs that target overseas readers.

This blog you are reading now is a "blog for Japan".

I usually explain how to use overseas tools in Japanese for Japanese.

On the other hand, overseas blogs will be written for foreigners in English and other languages.

In my case, I run an English blog.

The English blog I was running is below.

The above blog has now been moved separately.

(1) Decide on a blog theme (genre)

First of all, the first step to earning money with an overseas blog isDecide on a blog theme, or genre.

This genre choice is an important point that can make or break the success of your blog.

… If you fail in choosing this genre, you will end up with no results at all even if you continue for one or two years.

A common failure pattern is to start with "I want to convey information about what I like". I can understand the desire to send information about what you like. If it's a hobby, that's fine too.

However, when it comes to earning, it is often not possible to do well just by "liking".

This is the same when starting a blog in Japan.

Should you aim for a niche blogging genre that can make money?

And points to keep in mind when choosing a genre for overseas blogs. It's about not trying to find a "niche that no one has found."

Many bloggers think that if you choose a niche genre, there will be less competition and it will be easier to monetize. That's what everyone thinks.

There are many rivals in genres that can earn money no matter how much niche you are.

How to choose a genre

• Profitable
• There are numbers
• There are rivals

These three points are the point. If you try to find a market with no rivals, you will almost certainly fail. Because it's a genre that doesn't make money.

There are always rivals in genres with flavor.

In my case, I look up keywords on YouTube. Look at the number of views to determine if there is demand. You can determine the rival king by the degree of heating.

So how do you judge "profitable"? We will teach you how to do it.

(2) Think about monetization

For some reason, many people put monetization on the back burner. This is the first part you have to think about.

What you meanHow do you make money?

There are many ways to monetize your blog.

• Google Adsense
• Affiliates
• Digital Content Sales
• Sell your services

There are various monetization methods. This is the same in Japan.

Even in genres that are in demand, it will be difficult if there are no products that sell well (low unit price).

Research other earning blogs

I think the most important thing to earn money from overseas blogging is"Thoroughly observe your rivals."

Research how to run and monetize blogs that are already successful, and use them as a thorough reference.

• What do you do to attract customers on your blog?
• What keywords are you aiming for?
• The article that is attracting access is
• How do you attract customers other than blogs?
• How do you monetize it?
• What kind of blog is the name of the blog?

Observe thoroughly. And get hints from it. This is the only time it's not going well.

If you observe other blogs that are actually making money, you can clearly see what and how they sell "how they earn money".

This "observation" is much more useful than buying strange teaching materials.

(3) Get a domain

When starting an overseas blog, an important point is your own domain.

Your own domain is the part of your blog's address. An easy-to-understand analogy is "address".

For example, this blog is a domain called "takeofujii.net". My name is "Fujii Taiyo", so I use this domain name.

"Should I choose a domain that is easy for readers to remember?"

That is also important. In addition, there are tips on how to choose a domain for an international blog.

How to choose a domain for an international blog

In general,In the overseas blog, ". com" domain.

Because it is internationally recognized and reliable.

On the other hand, ". jp" domain is not recommended.

Why shouldn't you use .jp domains?

These forms of domains indicate which country the website belongs to, and each country is unique.

For example, Japan's ccTLD is ". jp", and the British one is ". uk". Just look at the domain to see at a glance which country your website is from.

The ease of appearing in search results in a particular country or region will change when using the ccTLD for that country or region.

If users in the United States use the US version of Google Search, . US domain websites are more likely to appear in search results. This is the same in Japan. This is why jp domains are more likely to appear in Google searches in Japan.

Of course, it cannot be said that jp domains are disadvantageous to overseas blogs. Your domain name isn't the only deciding factor in SEO.

However,It is better to avoid .jp domains for overseas blogs。 The same goes for co.jp domains.

If you are in doubt, you can get a .com.

(4) Actually create a blog

Now let's take the steps to actually create a blog. It's the foundation of blog management.

How do you start a blog for overseas markets?

In fact, there are various ways to create a blog. Free blogs (Medium) also exist overseas. There are other options than taking your own domain and running it on WordPress.

My conclusion is thatContract an overseas hosting service & create a blog with WordPress.

Choose international hosting

To run an international blog, you need a hosting service.

For example, in Japan, in order to publish a blog on the Internet, you need a place to store the data, or a "server".

If this server is located in Japan, it is called "domestic hosting".

Many Japan people use "rental servers" to rent Japan servers to run their blogs.

The same is true for overseas blogs. You need a place to publish your overseas blog online and store your data.

If you are overseas"Overseas Hosting"He says.

Why You Should Use International Hosting

Domestic rental servers in Japan are suitable for running blogs for domestic purposes. However, if you want to start an international blog, we recommend using overseas hosting.

Overseas hosting services areIt can provide fast access speeds for international visitors.

Visitors can read your blog posts without waiting, which also reduces your site's bounce rate.

In addition,Overseas hosting services are often cheaper than rental servers in Japanis. There is also a hosting service that costs $3 per month (approximately 450 yen).

Because the yen is weak, it is easy to think that purchasing overseas services will be expensive, but in fact, some overseas hosting services are cheap.

• For beginners
• Cheap
• Get started easily
• Well-known (many users)

The best international hosting services that meet these requirements are:Hostingeris.

If you have the timing, you can use it at a low price.

399 yen per month is cheap, isn't it?

There are other international hosting services, but at first you start with an international blog that you don't know if it will work. That's why I want you to get started easily.

We will not introduce offshore hosting or bulletproof hosting here. I plan to introduce it if I still have the opportunity. However, if you want to create a general international blog, you don't need these hosting services. If you use Bluehost or Hostinger, you should have no problem.

The recommended way to create a blog is WordPress

I don't know in 5 or 10 years, but there will be no problem if you use WordPress to create a blog at the moment.

I myself create 90% of my blogs for overseas markets with WordPress.

In fact, if you analyze overseas bloggers,Most of them are WordPress.It is used all over the world.

Data shows that about 30% of websites on the Internet don't use any content management system (CMS). In comparison, almost half of all websites, or 43.1%, use WordPress. This means that WordPress has a whopping 63.0% share of the content management system market.

Usage statistics of content management systems

These numbers also show that WordPress is highly regarded worldwide for its ease of use and versatility.

WordPress is also available in English and other languages.

Is Medium (an overseas blogging platform) useless?

The free blogging platform "Medium" is popular overseas,I don't recommend it.

If you want to use it as a side blog, it's an ant.

There are many restrictions in terms of monetization, so WordPress is the best choice if you want to run a full-fledged blog.

Above all, your blog is an asset. We recommend that you manage it yourself.

Risk of blog posts disappearing due to service termination

In the unlikely event that Medium's service ends, there is a risk that your blog posts will disappear.

You may think it's stupid. The Yahoo! blog has ended in Japan. Ameblo articles are often deleted or made private without permission.

That's whyWe recommend running a blog on your own.

(5) Choose a WordPress theme

There is also a need to pay attention to how to choose a WordPress theme to make money from international blogs.

The design of your blog is not that important. If it's easy to see, there's no problem.

More important than that is"Don't use a Japan WordPress theme"is.

Japan-made WordPress themes should be avoided even if they are paid

This does not mean that the level of Japan-made WordPress themes is low, but it may not be suitable for international blogs.

For example, the WordPress theme "Stork19" used in this blog is one of them. Each part of the theme is not available in anything other than Japanese.

Therefore, you may not be able to change the items displayed on the site to languages other than Japanese.

Even if other parts can be in English, some of them remain in Japanese.

If you are blogging for overseas, avoid themes made in Japan.

There is also a Japan WordPress theme that says "It also supports overseas blogs", but personally,It's better to use an international WordPress theme from the beginning.

Recommended for overseas blogs! WordPress Themes

Here are some of my top recommendations for overseas WordPress themes. I have experience using them all.

• Astra: Lightweight and fast theme. It is highly customizable and easy to handle even for beginners. Popular overseas
• Blocksy: Modern design and responsive. Multifunctional yet lightweight. Great compatibility with page builders (Brizy, Elementor, etc.)
• GeneratePress: simple and fast. The SEO measures are also solid.
• Divi (Paid): Features a drag-and-drop builder. High degree of design freedom. Although it is paid, it is popular overseas.

See below for more information about GeneratePress. My customer is a fanatic-like GeneratePress user.

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How to buy a WordPress theme at Themeforest?

Themeforestis a marketplace that sells many international WordPress themes.

Other than that, you can purchase themes and templates for various platforms such as Joomla, Drupal, Magento, Shopify, and more.

We also handle design materials, fonts, music materials, etc.

Buying WordPress themes from Themeforest is cheaper.

You can buy a great-looking WordPress theme for $39.

One option is to buy a WordPress theme from Themeforest to run an international blog.

However, the WordPress themes sold on ThemeforestDevelopment may be abandoned suddenly.

There are many themes that you pay for and purchase, but the functionality is not updated at all, and you become completely unusable.

When buying a WordPress theme on Themeforest, we recommend buying from the popularity ranking.

Don't buy cheap but minor WordPress themes through ThemeForest. There is a high probability that you will regret it.

(6) Put in a WordPress plugin

One of the great things about WordPress is that you can customize your blog's functionality with a variety of WordPress plugins.

In particular, you can add rich features such as SEO measures, site speed, image optimization, and more.

… However,Blogs for international markets also do not require special plugins.In fact, a free WordPress plugin is enough.

In the first place, it is not possible to generalize what is considered an "absolutely necessary" plugin. Depending on the purpose of your blog, the plugin you should choose will vary.

Recommended WordPress Plugins

In this article, I will introduce some of my top WordPress plugins.

• ShortPixel: Lighten images and increase site loading speed.
• Autoptimize: Speed up your site, optimize CSS and JavaScript.
• Squirrly SEO: SEO enhancement. You can also check the SEO score of each article.
• Affiliate Booster (Paid): Packed with affiliate-specific features.

For ShortPixel, see the article below.

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Regarding "Affiliate Booster", a detailed explanatory article will be published soon, so please look forward to it!

(7) How to create blog posts for overseas markets

There are several points that make writing articles for overseas blogs different from those for Japan

Keyword Research & SEO Enhancement

In blog management, both domestically and internationally,Keyword research is an essential task.

We thoroughly research which keywords are being searched for and which keywords to write articles with that will catch the reader's eye.

As a result of your research, you can develop a strategy to increase the number of visits.

Then, think about what kind of articles your rivals are writing and what approach you need to take to achieve higher rankings.

It's not just about the number of visits, it's also important to choose keywords that lead to actual product sales.

Recommended SEO & Keyword Research Tools

My favorite keyword research tools are:「Squirrly SEO」is.

This tool is available as a WordPress plugin that allows you to do keyword research directly from your admin.

It may not be suitable for blogs for Japan, but it is a great choice for English blogs.

In Japan, tools such as "Rank Math" and "All in One SEO" are well-known, but "Squirrly SEO" is really useful for blogging for international audiences.

The tool can also track the search rankings of your articles and provide specific advice to improve your SEO.

They will suggest necessary SEO measures such as "Please do this to get this article to the first place in searches." It's insanely convenient.

Again, if you are blogging for Japan, it is definitely better to use "Rank Math" or "All in One SEO"

Make high-quality articles

How to earn money with an overseas blogContinue to provide "high-quality content"is. It's repeated. It's piling.

Can't read DeepL Translate or Google Translate?

In particular, there is a need for articles that native readers can read naturally.

If you think, "Is this something that was forcibly translated by Google Translate?", the browser will be immediately reverted.

This is a big challenge for non-natives.

When I first started blogging in English, I didn't have any AI writing tools like I do now. Therefore, I struggled to write English articles manually.

AI tools × compatible with overseas blogs

However, times have changed, and nowChatGPT and other AI tools are evolving.Blog posts in English and other languages can now be written more naturally and with higher quality.

My most recommended blog post writing tools are Katteb and ChatGPT.

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Kattebis suitable for creating fact-based and accurate blog posts. On the other hand, ChatGPT can produce articles of sufficient quality even in its free version.

Personally, I think it's even more advanced「ChatGPT Plus」I recommend it.

You can create native articles in the local language without spending too much money, so it is especially recommended for those who are running a full-fledged overseas blog.

Be sure to stock up on words that sell.

When running a blog for overseas, a natural level of copywriting is required overseas, just like copywriting techniques in Japan.

For example, displaying "Learn More" on a button and "Grab This Deal" can make a big difference in click-through rates.

It's really a small difference, isn't it? I can understand that kind of feeling. However, click-through rates can vary considerably.

Common expressions in English-speaking countries and which are more likely to be clicked on will be revealed by actually testing them.

The way I did to make sales, it is to thoroughly analyze your competitors' blogs.

It's important to research in detail what language they use, how they present their products, and how they structure their sales and how they are written.

Observe your rivals anyway

When I first started my overseas blog, my sales were sluggish.

To be clear, sales were zero. ThereforeWe have listed rival international bloggers and thoroughly studied their strategies and writing styles.

And by incorporating the appropriate parts into my blog, I have now launched several blogs for overseas. I was able to achieve results.

Refer to and imitate the success stories of others. And customizing it to your own style is the key to the success of your international blog.

Points that are easy to get frustrated with overseas blogs

Continuation is the key to blog management, but it is said that it is easy to get frustrated at the following points.

The first challenge of overseas blogs is "attracting customers"

The biggest challenge when running an overseas blog is"Attracting customers"is.

Obtaining a domain and keyword research is relatively easy, and it is not difficult to create blog posts in English once you get used to it.

However,Even if you write an article, you won't get access, this is the problem that many bloggers face.

It is natural that attracting customers fails

There was a time when I myself wrote 100 articles but only received 100 accesses a month.

At such times, I often worried that my method and keyword selection were wrong.

However, once you succeed in attracting customers, access increases rapidly. Therefore, when running a blog for overseas for the first time, it is important to continue to challenge on the premise of failure.

It is a shame that a native English person does not receive access even if he writes a blog post in fluent English.

After all, everyone fails at first.

Trial and error is unavoidable

As an example, let's take the title of an article.

At first, I chose the title "How to start a blog and earn money".

As I continued to operate, I noticed that people clicked on "How to start a blogging and make money".

And I realize that it is more effective to use "How to Start a Blogging and Make Money".

This kind ofAll about trial and error in the detailsis.

Attracting customers to overseas blogs requires detailed trial and error.There is a lot to learn from failures, and if you fail once or twice, there is really no end.

I have experienced many failures and wanted to quit thousands of times, saying, "I can't do it." At that time, I was really stressed.

At some point, I naturally began to think, "It's natural that it won't work, now that I've made this mistake, let's try this next time," and then my overseas blog started to go well.

Differences between Japan and foreign languages

If affiliate and advertising revenue is sluggish, it will be difficult to continue blogging.

I say it as an experienced person.Overseas blogs are quite difficult at first.Especially if you are not good at English.

Needless to say, it is more difficult than starting a blog in Japan and making money, and even if I forcibly create 100 articles translated from Japanese to English with DeepL Translate, they will not read them at all. … I am the one who has experienced it.

For example, the words used in English-speaking countries and Japan are different. In Japan, "SNS" and overseas "social media" are common.

The meaning of the word SNS is common in English, but most of them use "social media".

In Japan, it is called "online business" and in English-speaking countries, it is "online business".

It's a small difference, isn't it? However, there are many small differences.

My Strategies and Methods for "Earning Money with Overseas Blogging"

Absolutely use AI for overseas blogs (ChatGPT recommended)

If you are not good at English, it may be difficult to run an overseas blog at first.

But don't worry. In the past few years, translation tools and AI technology have developed at once. By using these tools, you can efficiently get closer to monetization on your overseas blog.

DeepLandGoogle Translate、ChatGPTTools such as this provide strong support for overseas blog management.

In particular, I would like you to use ChatGPT. There is also a free version, but the paid version expands its functionality even more.

I have also subscribed to ChatGPT Plus to help me run my blog for overseas markets.

Attack from YouTube videos

Rather than attracting customers on your blog alone, we recommend that you combine it with YouTube.

Watch the video below.

This is my video. Translated into English. It has only 140 views. It's few, isn't it?

However, even my Japan version of YouTube channel also has an average of about 150 views. It doesn't change in English or Japanese.

And in my case, in terms of the products I handle, it is easier to sell overseas. Even if the number of views is small, it will sell overseas.

Although the number of views is small, you can get proper comments from viewers.

The recommended method is:

• Create a YouTube video with an explanation in English
• Transcribe the content of the video
• "Transcription" is turned into a blog post with ChatGPT.

We recommend this method. This is what I am currently raving about.

In 2023, many apps have emerged that allow you to dub videos with AI. I use Dubverse AI to automatically dub Japanese → into English.

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Instead of just writing a blog, it is more efficient to post a YouTube video, transcribe the content, and post it as a blog in English.

Anyway, face it sincerely

What I always try to do is:Sincere communication with readersis.

I carefully reply to questions on my blog and YouTube videos one by one.

To be honest, it takes quite a bit of time to answer each person's question. Still, I want to treat those who read my content with gratitude.

This is the same for overseas blogs. We will also reply to English comments from overseas readers in English.

And follow up until the other person is satisfied. I believe that this attitude gives the impression that "this person is trustworthy" and can gain the trust of many readers.

👇 Look at this man.

This is a photo using a profile. How is it? It's suspicious, isn't it?

I myself am not confident in my appearance or appearance. I don't think there is an element of trust as a human being.

That's whyI put more effort into communicating with my readers than anyone else.I want to provide the best service to everyone who reads my blog.

In the coming era, whether or not you can "get involved in a muddy and thorough way next time" will be the deciding factor.

Automate customer support with AI too. Product creation is also automated. Even email exchanges are all AI.

This is true not only in Japan but also overseas. That's why I want to continue to face others as a human being.

I'm not denying AI. Rather, I think we can use AI to communicate more thoroughly and sincerely.

Well, in this article, I wrote about what I value in running an overseas blog. I made various mistakes. I still don't think I'm successful.

In 2019, I was able to do better than when I was a beginner.

I can now earn a decent amount of money from my overseas blog. I also talked about the muddy method, but in practice, "these muddy methods" are useful.

If I have the opportunity, I will dig deeper and explain.