How many times have you heard someone say they want to start a blog and then they do nothing about it? Honestly, for us, the number is too high to even count. This is the thing, people think the blogging market is completely saturated and although there are a lot of blogs out there, it does not mean that there is no room for yours. I mean, c’mon, if we are going to say that blogging is saturated, then we can say working at a restaurant is saturated, starting your own business is saturated, or even becoming a teacher, firefighter, or lawyer is saturated. The simple fact is there are a lot of people in this world who are looking for something worthwhile to do, whether that be a passion project, something to pay the bills, or both, but does this mean there is no place for you? Let us answer that for you... no. There is room for you at this table, we promise.
So, please, stop with the list of excuses you have made to protect yourself. Throw it away and start fresh. Do you want to blog for fun? Do you want to create meaningful content? Do you want to build an online community? Or, do you potentially want to make money from the things you post? If you answered yes to just one of these questions, then these five tips are for you.
1. JUST START & SILENCE THE NOISE.
Like we said, stop with the excuses. If you feel passionate about something, there is a reason why. When you are a few months into blogging, the only thing you will most likely regret is the fact that you didn’t start sooner (as with most things). Do yourself a favor and just ask yourself if you have anything to lose by putting in an extra few hours a week to start writing and creating. Be honest with yourself. If nothing really stands out or is a huge compromise, maybe give yourself permission to try the blogging process, even if it is just for one hour a week. Baby steps are still helping you set foot in the right direction.
Secondly, if one of the things that is preventing you from starting your online blogging business is outside noise a.k.a those people that really don’t have your best interest at heart, then let them go. We get it, everything nowadays is amplified with social media, which also includes people’s personal opinions about you. Let’s get this clear though, the only opinion about you that matters is YOUR OWN. Yes, that’s right, and more often than not your opinion of yourself isn’t going to be looking that great if you aren’t going after what you really want and living in your truth. So, just be honest with yourself. Acknowledge that people may not ride with you on your journey due to an endless list of possibilities, none of which has to do with you. AND JUST START THAT BLOG!
2. BE YOUR OWN BIGGEST FAN.
You will have to self promote at some point and although that sounds a bit awkward at first, it can be crucial for bringing readers to your blog. There is a huge movement happening with vulnerability and authenticity which means that putting a face and personality to your work can drastically change how people interact with your posts… in a positive way! Yes, that’s right, not hiding who you are and how you feel IS the new trend.
So going back to blocking out the outside noise… you cannot care if people have something bad to say about your journey. Be confident in yourself and what you are doing. Let your work speak for itself. Post it on your socials, let people know what you are doing, and be proud of yourself for following your passion. This can truly be a game-changer as said before, there is now a face and personality behind the written content.
Lastly, do not be afraid to invest in yourself. If you need help setting up your website while you are still working your full-time job, just do it to save yourself time and headaches. If you want to run some ads, do that too (Pinterest has been absolutely amazing for us and is extremely affordable and accessible to people who are just starting out)! Oh, and a quick plug, if you need someone to help with the daunting task of creating email templates and helping you with your amazing email list (that you WILL get when you start blogging), we are just one click away. (-;
But really, it is okay to invest a little extra cash (if you can) into your passion project to give you an extra boost when starting out. Just promise that you will do it smartly and research before!
p.s. a blog post with all the intricacies of making your blog successful after you’ve started IS coming!
3. CREATION IS KEY.
So as stated in the bullet before, self-promotion and advertisements are totally okay, but keep this in mind... no matter the hashtags, keywords, PPC advertisements, or SEO tools you use to attract people to your blog, your content is what will always bring them back. The cold hard truth is that even though people see your blog, it does not mean that they actually will like or engage with it. We see this all the time on social media. You know the people with 500,000 followers yet only get 1,000 likes and 5 comments on their post? Yeah, we hate to break it to you but the math just doesn't add up. They are most likely paying for their followers and posts to be seen, but don’t have the meaningful content to back it up hence the small amount of likes to large follower ratio.
So, basically, even though advertisements and hashtags are wonderful tools to get people to your website, you have to keep them there by making engaging content. You can do this by tailoring your posts to your target audience and giving them the informative posts they want. You can also be extremely creative, writing about things that people may not be knowledgeable about yet, and creating a niche audience. Or, you can be extremely authentic and tell your stories your way, which in turn gives back to both yourself and your community. Whatever you do, just don’t copy other people’s work and make sure you are bringing something new and beneficial to the blogging world.
4. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.
Just like any other job, blogging takes a lot of work and it can also be quite discouraging in the beginning due to the probability of low traffic and low engagement. This being said, when starting out, do yourself a favor and try not to compare yourself to bloggers who are already making a full-time income. These people were once beginners and trying to figure it all out, just like you. The number one rule we can give you is that you cannot compare your day three to someone else’s year three and so on, plain and simple. The truth of the matter is that blogging takes a lot of hard work, consistency, and just like any other job, you need to be responsible and dedicated to the task at hand which in this case, is creating great and useful content for your readers.
5. GET CLEAR WITH YOU INTENTIONS.
Be honest with yourself, why are you creating this blog? If you want to blog for a hobby, then you can have fun with your writing and not worry about much else. This being said, wanting to make money from blogging is a completely different story. In order to make blogging a worthwhile venture moneywise you have to plan, invest time and energy, research, promote, and really connect to your readers. Making money from blogging may not be easy at first so reminding yourself of why you are doing all of this in the first place is always good to keep the motivation going strong. Write it down, read it out loud, and when you get discouraged, maybe even scream it out loud (haha). Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, we know that, but it will get easier as you practice your craft more and more.
So, in conclusion, STOP THE OVERTHINKING. What you want is enough. What you want to say is enough. What you want to create is enough. What you want to share is enough. YOU are enough. If you feel a passion to share and express topics you believe in, then write about them, there is nothing stopping you except for yourself.
Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below. Also, if you ever need any guidance in any of the areas we write about, please feel free to reach out to us, we love hearing from you!
