Are you a new blogger looking to gain an audience and earn money from your blog? If yes, then this post is for you.
Becoming a successful blogger requires dedication, a regular posting schedule, and above all, good WordPress skills. It doesn’t matter how much time or $ you have.
You need to work hard and adopt the right strategies for your own growth as a blogger.
This post will teach you the ins and out of starting a blog. From choosing a niche to scaling your blog down the long term, these tips will take your blogging career from amateur to an authority in your niche.
1). Decide Your Niche
If you want to make money blogging, then you need to decide what niche you want to specialize in.
A blogging niche is simply a topic you want to cover.
If you don’t know where to start, check out this list of best blogging niches:
- Digital marketing.
- Blogging and making money online.
- Health and fitness.
- Personal finance and investing.
- Recipes and food.
- Personal development and self-care.
Once you select your niche, you will want to research and find a blog that specializes in that niche. The blog should be related to your niche, or you could end up with a lot of competition.
2). Don’t Forget About SEO
If you are like most bloggers out there, you have probably neglected SEO. If you are not planning on ever getting your blog out there, then there is no need to worry.
But for those who do plan on getting their blog positioned for search engine results, then your SEO needs to be top-notch.
If you don’t know where to start, there are a number of services that will do the work for you. There are plenty of free SEO tools that you can use.
3). Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help
If you are brand new to blogging and you are struggling to gain traction in the field, you will definitely want to ask your fellow bloggers for help.
Although you don’t need to ask every blogger you know, it is certainly a good idea. You will not only receive helpful feedback, but you will also learn from the mistakes other bloggers have made.
4). Create A Great Content Plan
You should have a content plan for your blog. This plan should cover everything you want to cover.
Your content should cover the broad strokes of your niche. It should not be too specific. You will want to research and post about your niche often, but a general overview is a good place to start.
You should also have a content schedule for your blog.
- How often will you post?
- What will you post about?
- When will you post it?
This kind of planning will help you schedule your content and make sure you don’t miss out on any topics.
5). Build An Audience By Guest Blogging
Guest blogging has become a popular way for bloggers to make money online.
You can post your experience, skills, or knowledge and gain exposure for your blog. If you are a blogger who specializes in weddings, you can guest blog for a variety of wedding vendors.
The same goes for anyone who blogs about different industries. You can guest blog for businesses that are related to your niche or have a similar product or service.
6). Write Consistently
Blogging requires consistency. The more often you post, the more consistent your content will be.
Consistent content leads to consistent views and views equal income.
You should aim to post at least once per week, but if you can post more often than that, you will see even better results.
To help you achieve this, I recommend you set a schedule and follow it. That way, you can get into a routine of writing your blog and not have to worry about it.
7). Build Your Email List
If you are serious about making money online, then you need to get your email list started as soon as possible.
And if you are like most bloggers out there, you probably have a ton of blog comments and questions weekly. You can use your blog comment section to get your readers to subscribe to your email list.
This is a really easy way to grow your email list and make more money online fast.
You can use automated software like Mailchimp to send out emails to your list whenever there is an article, video, or tip worth mentioning on your blog.
Also, consider hiring someone to accomplish the same thing for you. When your readers receive the email, they will be interested in what you have to say. You can also use automation software to send out emails to your list whenever there is an opportunity for you to sell something.
8). Establish a Social Media Presence
You are going to spend the majority of your time on your blog. Why not make the most of your interactions with your readers and build your social media presence at the same time?
A social media presence is just as important as a blog presence for your business.
You will want to interact with your readers on your blog. And even respond to their questions.
In there, post about your products and services on your blog.
The goal here is to engage with your readers on social media platforms.
9). Update Older Content
If you have been blogging for a while and have older content, you may want to update it.
This will help with your SEO. It will also help with the amount of time that people spend on your blog.
People want to know what’s happening now, not months ago.
Updating your content will also help people view your blog as a resource, not just a place to find information. If you have a large amount of content, it may be best to publish a blog post, or series of blog posts, and highlight some of your most valuable content.
10). Use Social Sharing Buttons
You should use social sharing buttons on your blog to help readers share your content with their friends and followers. This will help you build your following and increase your traffic.
11). Have a Call to Action
Every blog post should have a call to action.
The reader should be able to tell what you want them to do after they read your blog post. The call to action doesn’t have to be blatant, but it should be there.
You can use buttons or links in your posts, or you can use text. If you are writing a “how-to” post, then it is important for the reader to know exactly how they can do something that you are talking about in the post.
12). Don’t Forget About Your Readers
Don’t forget about your readers when writing a blog post.
It is easy for bloggers who write for their own blogs, as opposed to others, to get caught up in their own words and forget that their readers want useful content and valuable information that will help them solve a problem or overcome an obstacle in their lives.
People read blogs so that they can learn something new or gain insight into something they already know about.
They don’t want fluff and filler content that doesn’t really mean anything and doesn’t really help anyone with anything (unless it is written as satire).
Make sure that each of your posts has some kind of value so that people will return time and time again because they know they will get something out of it each time they visit your blog.
Summing up
No doubt, blogging is a great way to make money online.
While it is important to decide what niche you want to specialize in, it is equally important to decide what type of content you want to post about.
Be consistent, have a plan for your content schedule, and build your email list, and you will be well on your way to becoming a successful blogger.