Starting a blog is always exciting. Whether you’ve wanted to start writing for what feels like forever, or you just know that you have a passion for a certain topic and you’d love to contribute to the industry, blogging is such a great way to do it. It can open so many doors and it can be fulfilling!
The best part of all, is that it can be such a rewarding career choice too. Because that’s the thing about having a blog – it can be a business as well as just a hobby, if you want it to. But, in order to do that, you need to know where you start and where you plan to take things. You’ll want to make sure that you’re on the right path and that you’re doing all that you can to make your niche blog a success. So that’s what we’re going to look at now.
Please note: this is a contributed post.
It’s really not that easy (or obvious) for you to work out what will be best for you and your blog. It can be really tough for you to work out what’s actually going to make a difference to what you’re doing now and really help you to up your game. But, in order to do that, you really do need to step out of your comfort zone. You need to be aware of what options you have, then slowly work on things that are going to get you results. So let’s take a look at what some of the options you can choose from when setting up your first business, beauty, fitness or lifestyle blog.
Blog About Relevant Content
So, the first thing that we’re going to talk about is your content. Ask yourself – how relevant is it? Are you sure that your audience is reading what you’re writing? Are you able to give them what they want? If not, you need to go back to your analytics to see what is performing well. You can write about just about any topic in the universe: Health & Fitness, Arts & Crafts, Home & Garden, Beauty & Fashion, or even the business of blogging and freelance writing.
If you find there are more than a few main topics you are interested in, your best bet is probably to start a general lifestyle blog. If you have a specific focus, say health and wellness, than you can reach a more targeted, niche market. It’s all up to – blog about what makes you happy!
A Better Blog Design
Next up, you should think about how professional your blog is looking right now. Do you feel as if the design is as soon and smart as it could be? Or do you need to do more work in this area? Sometimes, you might be able to purchase a template that looks really smart and professional. But you may also want to get a custom design (and even work on point four at the same time as this too). Some people start their blog on a free site such as Blogger, while others opt to invest a few dollars into their blog using a professional content management system (CMS) such as WordPress.org.
Start a Newsletter
Now, when it comes to the marketing tactics that you’re implementing, it’s safe to say that you’ll be spending quite a bit of time marketing your new blog on social media sites such as Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. And this is always a good start. But something that can be incredibly powerful, and that you have full autonomy over, is email marketing. Building a mailing list can take time, but it really is so powerful. So you are going to want to think about what you might have to say, and how you can build your audience on this platform.
Branding
You might also want to think about the branding you have in place and whether or not you need to do anything more to help your blog stand out from the crowd. Maybe you need a much clearer, well-defined logo, business cards or new banner for your Facebook page. You might need to choose brand colors and the fonts and logos and attributes that will make your brand more distinctive? Here, you could look to work with a design expert – perhaps even when you improve your blog design overall. Sites like Fiver and Upwork are great places to look for graphic design work that won’t cost a ton of money.
Content Series
When it comes to what you’re writing and publishing on your blog and social media sites, you might want to think about starting a content series. Sometimes, coming up with curated content on a set theme, say Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes or Top Inflatable Standup Paddleboards, could be exactly what your readers want. And, once you’ve given them the content they are asking for, you could package your content series into an ebook, white paper or use it to set up your first drip email campaign.
Blog Collaborations
Another great idea to help the new blogger gain more followers is to think about working on a few collaborations. Teaming up with another blogger, or working with your favorite clothing brand is going to help you to grow. As long as you are aligning your blog and what your own personal brand stands for, with relevant people and businesses, you should find that this is something that helps you to grow, and that opens you up to new opportunities too. You can also register your blog on blogger outreach sites, such as Get Blogged, and pitch your story and content ideas to their clients.
Increased Engagement
You’re definitely going to want to look into the different ways that you’re going to be able to increase your engagement with your followers, fans and blog readers. Because the more receptive your audience is, the more success you’re likely to have. But you really do have to think carefully here. You need to make sure that you’re taking steps in the right direction, and that you’re looking to really, authentically, connect with your audience.
Events
Next up, you might even want to think about how you can attend events with your blog too. This could be parties and dinners that are thrown by brands and partners, or it could be expo displays and trade shows for the set industry that you’re in. Here, you’re going to look to network with key people in your industry, or look to open up opportunities for your future. Many trade shows and conferences offer press passes to members of the media, including journalists, reporters and even bloggers!
Monetization
And, of course, you’re definitely going to want to make sure that you have all of the right monetization tactics in place too. Because if you want this to become a big business, you need to be able to invest your time and your money into how to monetize your blog. So think about the ways in which you’re going to be able to monetize your blog, to get the best income possible.
Plans to Grow Your Blog
Finally, you may also find that you want to put some growth plans in place that are going to really allow you to know where you want to be in the future, and how you’re going to get there. If you know that you want to be able to launch a product, start an e-commerce website, or write a book, or you have any other huge goals for your life, then you need to know only know what they are, but you need to go after them. So, actually coming up with some concrete growth plans can help you to do exactly that.
We hope you found these tips on how to grow and monetize your blog helpful. Do you have any great tips, suggestions or stories you’d like to share with The Creative Cottage? Post a comment at the end of this blog or reach out to: info@thecreativecottage.net.
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