Blogging 101

If you want to start a blog, you’re not alone.  Providing website development and makeovers, I work with many people who will start blogging and find the process confusing, overwhelming and frustrating.  It gets better with practice – just keep reading.
Why blog?
Maybe you are hoping to be able to earn money on the side, bring more feet into the door of their bricks and mortar business, or even replace your current employment. Blogging can boost your business by bringing more feet in the door due to the increased awareness your business will enjoy due to your blog. Blogging can also be a good business idea to start on the side while you keep your day job. There are some tried and true tips to create a successful blog.  Let’s get started!

Define Your Goals for Blogging

It’s important that you understand what your goals are for the blog. Some potential goals are to teach your clients, to get the word out about your services and / or products, or to create an industry niche blog that earns money through promotion of products like your books and services. What are your goals? We know the Steven Covey quote, “Start with the end in mind.”  Your goals for your blog should be written down and well defined. If you have a real goal to reach you’ll be able to get there easier if you can name it.

Choose a Specific Industry Niche

You do not want to blog to ‘everyone’.  You DO want to pick a well-defined niche – your pool of people who want the information you have. Narrow down the niche to a microcosms so that it’s easier to choose the topics that you’ll blog about. If your niche is very focused you’ll also be able to create blog posts and articles better. You’ll be able to be more focused on the type of content you create as well as be able to monetize it easier.

Monetize Your Blog

In the beginning, unless you are someone who already has a following, no one will be reading it.  Don’t be discouraged and keep writing good content.  Once you get a good amount of content on your blog it’s time to think about how you promote it and will monetize it. Stick to just a few products and don’t overwhelm your viewers with too many advertisements. A nice mix of affiliate products and your own products usually works well. Ensure that each of your products are very focused on your niche.  Small business owners usually just want to monetize by promoting their own products, authors do so with their books, and speakers do by being hired.  Know what your money goals are for your blog and make sure you stay focused on why you are blogging.

Know Your Audience

It’s very important that you know exactly who your audience is. You should be able to actually create a profile of an audience member. Who are they, what do they do for a job, how much money do they make, what do they like to do in their free time? You should be able to really understand what gets them going.  If you’ve missed my Target Marketing posts, I also have an ebook you will find helpful: Target Market Essentials

Consistency Wins

When you first start a blog, in whatever niche, it’s important to keep adding content, and keep creating products for your niche. You need to put up at least 20 blog posts a month to get the most traffic. Some studies have shown a 97 percent increase in traffic when they put at least 20 blog posts up a month.  I know that sounds like a lot.  Most people feel that 2 blogs a month works for them.  I used to blog 5 days a week to meet that 20 posts per month, and have now backed it down to 3 times a week or about 12 posts per month.  It may seem daunting, but especially in the beginning, more unique blog posts will help you get the boost that new blogs need.
NOTE:  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my blog was recently included in the top 200 via the Content Marketing Landscape 2014 – Top 200 Brands and Influencers which shows it is valuable to provide consistent content for your niche.  Click to  Download the Report

​Don’t Give Up

It’s important that you realize that earning money through a blog is a long-term strategy. You need to be willing to be in it for the long game. You won’t make money over night, so if you have a day job, don’t quit. But you can earn money blogging, or earn more money at your business through blogging. One of my new website clients and new blogger struggled with topics and writing a blog post even though he is an eloquent author and speaker.  But as he exercised that new writing muscle it began to get easier and easier.  Just don’t give up.