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Blogging is a growing business that shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. In fact, after the pandemic, there was a surge of new blogs that launched in a bid to make sense of what was happening. If you feel that you want to start a blog, here are some of the first steps you can take to make sure that you earn money.
Have a niche
A lot of people have a vague idea about the content that they want to write but you need to be very specific about it. As nice as it would be to write about anything and everything, this is a tough nut to crack. The only way that these blogs make any money is if they have a brand worked out instead of a specific subject. Working with a niche is a surefire way to find your audience a lot faster than going any other route. For example, you could have a blog dedicated to spooky stuff or a blog with a focus on books. The choice is up to you as you will have complete freedom about the content, just keep it specific.
Find your community
This is a set of buzzwords that have been floating about for years, and you may have heard it worded as “finding your tribe” but what does it mean? Well, we would like to take this moment to point out that “finding your tribe” is offensive to Native Americans, so please don’t talk about finding your tribe. The correct term which you should use is community and this is a group of people that are interested in the content that you create. Using community building apps, you can discover more about the people who are interested in what you do as a blogger and can focus on the feedback that they give you instead of internet trolls.
Post regularly
To be a successful blogger, you do not have to post stuff every day. Of course, you can do this if you want to. But, a word of warning, if you do post every day, you run the risk of burning out and can find it difficult to create new content. Create a schedule that works for you. You might want to post content once a week on a Monday morning, twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever you choose, make sure it works for you and stick to it! One of the biggest issues that people face is the sudden change in content schedule. If you have a reader base, they will expect content to appear on these days. If you suddenly change the schedule it can throw them off.
Use social media
The internet is a big place and your little website might get lost in the mountains of content that is out there. In order to hit the ground running, you should take advantage of the connections that you have on the internet already, namely your social media connections. Getting this first bit of traffic from social media helps to build up and makes the algorithm work in your favour. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your site with your friends and family, set up a business social media account and share your blog through this. There are many different ways to use social media and they all have different ways of making them work in your favour.
Think like a business
One of the most difficult things to do is to get into a business mindset. When it comes to your blog, it is not your baby, it is not a pet, it is a digital item that you own that is there to make you money. There is a chance that you will grow very fond of it and put a lot of effort into it, but it is a business. You need to remember this every time you sit down to work on it. And, this is why the previous points are so important. Yes, you are your own boss, and yes, you can pick all of the content, but there needs to be a level of discipline that ensures that you make money. It also helps to have a plan and an endgame. Is the blog going to be your main source of income or is this a way to springboard into another writing career? It can be tough to think of your blog in such a big way but it can help you take it in a good direction.
A lot of people have a vague idea about the content that they want to write but you need to be very specific about it. As nice as it would be to write about anything and everything, this is a tough nut to crack. The only way that these blogs make any money is if they have a brand worked out instead of a specific subject. Working with a niche is a surefire way to find your audience a lot faster than going any other route. For example, you could have a blog dedicated to spooky stuff or a blog with a focus on books. The choice is up to you as you will have complete freedom about the content, just keep it specific.
Find your community
This is a set of buzzwords that have been floating about for years, and you may have heard it worded as “finding your tribe” but what does it mean? Well, we would like to take this moment to point out that “finding your tribe” is offensive to Native Americans, so please don’t talk about finding your tribe. The correct term which you should use is community and this is a group of people that are interested in the content that you create. Using community building apps, you can discover more about the people who are interested in what you do as a blogger and can focus on the feedback that they give you instead of internet trolls.
Post regularly
To be a successful blogger, you do not have to post stuff every day. Of course, you can do this if you want to. But, a word of warning, if you do post every day, you run the risk of burning out and can find it difficult to create new content. Create a schedule that works for you. You might want to post content once a week on a Monday morning, twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Whatever you choose, make sure it works for you and stick to it! One of the biggest issues that people face is the sudden change in content schedule. If you have a reader base, they will expect content to appear on these days. If you suddenly change the schedule it can throw them off.
Use social media
The internet is a big place and your little website might get lost in the mountains of content that is out there. In order to hit the ground running, you should take advantage of the connections that you have on the internet already, namely your social media connections. Getting this first bit of traffic from social media helps to build up and makes the algorithm work in your favour. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your site with your friends and family, set up a business social media account and share your blog through this. There are many different ways to use social media and they all have different ways of making them work in your favour.
Think like a business
One of the most difficult things to do is to get into a business mindset. When it comes to your blog, it is not your baby, it is not a pet, it is a digital item that you own that is there to make you money. There is a chance that you will grow very fond of it and put a lot of effort into it, but it is a business. You need to remember this every time you sit down to work on it. And, this is why the previous points are so important. Yes, you are your own boss, and yes, you can pick all of the content, but there needs to be a level of discipline that ensures that you make money. It also helps to have a plan and an endgame. Is the blog going to be your main source of income or is this a way to springboard into another writing career? It can be tough to think of your blog in such a big way but it can help you take it in a good direction.
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