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As I mentioned earlier, the secret to success doesn’t require any magic or black magic. Planning is all that’s required to start a successful blog. You’ve heard the old saying, ” Give me six hours to cut down a tree, and I will spend four sharpening my axe.”. Blogging is no different.
These are the six steps I recommend in my book it pays to blog, which is the ultimate guide for making an income blogging.
Step 1: Selecting a topic for your blog
Internet marketing is something I learned many years ago, and it has been proven time after time.
“The riches lie in the niches.”
It is much easier to concentrate on one niche than be all things to all. Choosing the right niche that will make you money and be sustainable is important. To find the perfect niche for your blog, you need to do extensive keyword and competitor research. Many online tools can help with this, such as Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner, and SEMrush.
Laguna Beach stays an example of this concept being used. This blog was launched before Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com and Booking.com. Focusing on “holidaying at Laguna Beach” was a niche that was highly searched for. This allowed me to build a digital asset that generates ongoing income through Google Adwords, affiliate networks for accommodation. This blog was eventually sold for a good profit.
Step 2: Choosing your revenue model
There are many ways to make a living in any industry, just like there is in the real world. These options are available when you blog:
- Image and text ads (manual and automated)
- Sponsored content (blog posts and emails)
- Affiliate marketing
- Sell your digital and physical products
- Memberships, training courses and many other benefits
Your success with these revenue models will be determined by the style of content you post on your blog. It’s crucial to make this decision early in your career.
Tshirt Alert was my first blog. Most of its income came from manual advertising placements, including display ads, paid reviews and text link ads. Manual advertising is still one of the most profitable forms of advertising. You can name your price! It is important to create an environment that is unique enough for advertisers to justify the investment.
Step 3: Coming up with a great name
It is extremely important to have a unique name for your blog. This may sound obvious to most people, but I often overlook it.
Talk to your local and say, “Y you should check out this amazing blog I’m into, its called The Freedom Chaser”. You’re not going to search for TheFreedomChaser.XYZ after you return home. No siree. Without the.com domain, you will lose valuable traffic to another website.
There are exceptions to this rule, however. If you’re focusing on Australia, it might be a good idea to have a.com.au domain as your primary domain. However, I would still recommend that you secure the.com to ensure future expansion possibilities.
It is important to make sure your domain name matches your blog name. TIP: You can find a few free online brainstorming tools to help you choose the right name and domain for your blog.
Step 4. Step 4.
Many tech companies are competing for your attention regarding technology that will power your blog. Be aware that not all blogging platforms are the same.
My 20-years of experience have shown me that self-hosted WordPress is the best blogging platform. You can read more about it and how to set it up in my book. A reliable web host should not charge a fortune to provide a blog home and allow you to adjust some WordPress settings to maximize performance and visibility in search engines. Site speed is important, as humans have a shorter attention span than goldfish. StudioPress and the Genesis framework are the best options to achieve this. It is one of the most popular themes, and it still works lightning fast. Rankings in search engines also depend on speed and performance. Your goal is to please the Google PageSpeed gods.
Doing all this will help you to lay the foundations for your success.
Step 5. Step 5.
This is the fun part! Create engaging content that will make everyone talk! Although I joke about this, there is a deeper truth to the statement: the more you share your content, the faster your authority grows.
To create high-quality content shared widely, do you need the IQ equivalent to Einstein or Andy Warhol’s creative genius? Thankfully, no. It is not necessary to be a master of planning and research to find topical gems. You can find many popular post types, including tutorials, reviews and infographics. Then, you will need to adapt the post structure to your audience and topic.
Bloggers should start with the end in their minds. This means that you should know who your audience is and how they will be reached before creating content. This will make it easier for you to create content that has a purpose.
These are the core components of my WISPR (Who Ideate. Syndicate. Publish. Repeat)content-planning framework.
Step 6. Learn from your successes and your failures! Step 6.
Bloggers aren’t just about free merch or launch party invitations. A blog that generates income is a business. Behind every business is a treasure trove full of data. This data can be used to propel your business to new heights if it is used well.
You’ll need to have the tools to determine what works and do more. Google Analytics and Google Alerts, two free tools that can help you do this, are great starting points. Also, be able to track mentions of your site across the internet. It is also a good idea to keep track of the activity of your competition by creating alerts and then subscribing to their newsletters.
The final word
Being a successful blogger is a rewarding career. It’s easy to see why. You are building a media outlet and crafting content that thousands across the globe will share. Other benefits include the ability to work from anywhere and whenever you like and a supplementary income.
It’s not luck that will bring you here, but careful planning and dedication.
Although blogging for profit isn’t for everyone, I recommend it.
