Make Money as a Successful Blogger — Even as a Beginner
Blogging isn’t dead. You can still make a living sharing your interests with others while helping them along the way. Here’s how even a beginner can prosper in the blogosphere.
If you’re like many people these days, you feel the need to communicate your thoughts and ideas about the things that interest you. Blogging has become a great way for people to express themselves and even make money doing so.
However, if you’ve never tried it before, then it may seem overwhelming or intimidating. If you have tried to start a blog but quit out of frustration, then you already know that it’s not that easy to do without some measure of commitment or sense of satisfaction. Many people only succeed at this through trial and error.
That’s why I’ve developed this handy-dandy little guide for succeeding at blogging even if you are a beginner. You can skip the long learning curve, skip the trial and error and hopefully skip all the frustrating mistakes that most beginning bloggers make when they try to gain satisfaction or make a living as a blogger.
So let’s get started…
Step 1: Pick A Topic You Enjoy and Stick with It
If you’ve ever written articles before, then you know there are several ways to approach it. However, I’ve discovered that the best way to write consistently is by writing about topics that I’m passionate about. This is true if you are into the arts, politics or obscure historical facts. It’s important to know what you’re talking about, so get started on research. You’ll want to know more about your subject than your audience.
Here’s what to do…
Create asset folders. You’ll want to have a library of support material that you can go to when you’re ready to create your first draft. You’ll want to have swipe files, research materials and keyword lists in your asset folders. Your resources will help you make the work go faster and smoother.
Work on your writing voice. You can freestyle blogging for sure, but you risk losing your audience after a while. If you’re a beginner and you’re looking to develop your content for financial purposes, you’ll need to develop your writing voice. This means working on your delivery as much as your content. You’ll need to be relatable and identifiable to your audience. You don’t have to be too serious and academic or too lighthearted based on your material. However, there is nothing wrong with having a sense of humor as you impart information to your audience.
Step 2: Know Your Target Audience
This second step can be a little tricky, which is why I’ve broken it up into multiple smaller steps. Do some research to find out who your target audience is and where to find them.
But before I get into those smaller steps, let me toss a word of warning your way. Take note that many fledgling bloggers think they can build an audience just by putting the material out there. It’s that tired old maxim “if you build it they will come”. That’s a fantasy, just like the movie from which the quote originated.
With that warning out of the way, here’s how to complete this step:
Fire up the Internet and start looking at social media platforms: there are two types of audiences that marketers look for. There are in-market audiences; people who are actively researching or planning to purchase products or services within your niche.
There are also affinity audiences. These are people whose interests and habits relate to what your topic concerns. Most interests boil down to one of three areas; survival, entertainment, or emotional satisfaction. These three categories cover everything from making money, favorite hobbies to finding a mate.
You can build a profile of your audience by participating in conversations with them. Sites such as Reddit and Quora or Blurtit offer a lot of insight into different topics. I recommend spending some time getting to know more about the people with whom you will be communicating.
Before you write your own blog, build your reputation on an existing public platform. Invest some time in communicating on a public platform to see if you can build a following. If people are interested in what you have to say about a topic, you can always invite them to your blog as your audience develops.
Start looking for the major influencers within your niche. These are the people that have a massive following in your chosen arena. They will also give you a great opportunity to see who your potential fans will be.
Once you’ve been writing consistently on an open platform, then move on to Step 3…
Step 3: By now, you should have established yourself on a social media platform with some measure of credibility with a small following. For example, if you’re into woodworking and have been posting your projects and ideas in woodworking forums for a while, get some responses. If no one has read or seen your material, you may need to spend more time injecting valuable content in the comment sections of popular posts created by others.
This step requires some patience. There are lots of people who want to become blogging superstars because they have so much to give to the world. That’s not necessarily how it works. Find your audience on a public platform as you develop your voice and style. If you wish to become successful at this, it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of exposure to build the numbers you need for consistent engagement.
There are a lot of moving parts to this model and it’ll be tricky for beginners to navigate and to get it right, but it’s worthwhile. Here’s how to do it…
When you’re ready to branch out on your own, you should be able to bring several hundred followers with you. Your journey up to this point may be hit and miss. You may have started out on one platform only to find that it went nowhere. Other social platforms catering to your subject may be more amenable to your style. The point is to get to know your audience and have your audience get to know you before you go solo.
One of the most important reasons to write on a free publishing platform is exposure. The only investment you have to make at this point is time. Remember that your words are competing with billions of others. You’re going to need some experience and an audience. There is no better way to develop both than through an existing online publishing platform. Here are 11 great free online publishing platforms to choose from:
· Medium
· LinkedIn Articles
· EzineArticles
· Scoop.It
· Issuu
· Yudo
· Article Alley
· PUB HTML5
· Joomag
· ArticleBiz
· Substack
You may be wondering why I haven’t covered the various blogging platforms such as WordPress at this point. That’s because it’s not as important as you may think at this point of your adventure. If you’ve got several hundred people reading your material regularly on social platforms like Medium, Quora, Facebook, EzineArticles etc., It means you developed a style and format that is marketable in a subject you find interesting. It might take some time to get this combination right. There is no need to spend money at this point.
There’s more to blogging than writing content. You also want to connect social media links to promote your work. The top social media sites that can bring you a fan following:
· YouTube
· Tick-tock
· Snapchat
If you can use these platforms to drive more viewers to your content, you’ll see faster growth in record time. It’s much easier to know how to reach your audience on these platforms after developing your initial audience profile.
For example, if you have been writing on woodworking for Medium, over six months, you can create quick clips related to woodworking for YouTube, Facebook, twitter; etc. These brief video clips should lead back to your articles. Remember, don’t be in a hurry to branch out on your own until you have an audience that will follow you.
While you’re building your audience and your content on a public platform, you can also prepare your own personal blogging platform. There are quite a few blogging platforms to choose from. As a beginning blogger, you’ll want to choose one that is easy to set up. Here’s a list of the top blogging platforms currently available.
· WordPress.org
· Web.com
· Wix
· HubSpot CMS
· Gator
· WordPress.com
· Blogger
· Tumblr
· Medium
· Squarespace
· Ghost
· Weebly
Each of these platforms will offer training and advice for setting them up. You can learn the ins and outs of each while you’re still developing your credibility and skills elsewhere. As you can see, it’s easy to get started in blogging — you just need to complete the process step-by-step using my instructions above. But before you jump in, let me share with you five tips to make it even faster and easier for you to get to successful blogger status:
1.
You don’t need a million followers to be successful. Kevin Kelly wrote an article called 1,000 True Fans. I suggest looking it up on the web, however it’s been quoted so many times by so many people that is very easy to get the gist of it elsewhere.
The point of his article is that having 1,000 loyal followers who will pay money for what you provide is not that difficult. It will take work to establish, but at $50 to $100 per year per follower; you could do all right. Sure, this would be a small fraction of your general audience, but these are the folks that matter when the bills need to be paid.
2.
Avoid being all things to all people. Part of the joy of writing is finding your voice and learning about yourself in the work that you’re doing. Another part of the joy of this business is finding others in the crowd who get what you’re saying. Over time, you’ll become great at this if you stick with it. Most people don’t, but that’s what will make you the expert in the room (some day).
3.
So how do you make money in this profession? There are several ways to monetize your blogging once you have developed an audience. While you are developing your audience and your style along with your marketing skills, you’ll want to look at monetizing options. Don’t wait until you have the audience; start early.
Eight most popular monetizing strategies for bloggers:
· Sponsored Blog Content.
· Affiliate Programs.
· Blog Advertisements.
· Sell Online Courses.
· Physical Products.
· Release a Software Tool.
· Selling Your Own Services.
· Writing and Selling eBooks.
4.
Learn to do keyword research. Content marketing is something that every blogger should pursue as part of their overall strategy for success. One of the most important components of content marketing is keyword research. Keywords allow you to take advantage of the search engine’s ability to guide their audience to relevant information. Applying the proper keywords in your articles and blog posts helps search engines target your content for the right audience.
5.
Use existing resources, shortcuts, templates, as well as writing and marketing tools in your business. That’s right, you are now a business. That means maximizing your time, energy, money and other resources. This is how the professionals get it done. As a beginner, give yourself 12 months and work at it every day. Whether it’s an hour or two or a full day’s schedule, do it like you mean it.
Congratulations — you now know how to get started as a blogger and become successful at it. So the next thing you need to do is take action. Because the sooner you do, the sooner you can tell people you work at home in your pajamas every day.
Of course, there’s a lot more to the process than I’ve mentioned. However, this is a start. Now, keep reading, writing and exploring. Use any tool you can find to make the process easier and more productive, but in the end, it comes down to writing. Subscribe here for more information on content marketing and blogging success.
