You’ve decided to become a full-time blogger, but you haven’t yet figured out how to make money blogging. The idea of creating content and gaining readers to support your family can be daunting. There are plenty of successful bloggers out there, but how do you intend to stand out from the crowd?
The reality is, becoming a successful blogger isn’t as easy as it seems. It takes time to build a community and establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry. However, if you follow these seven tips, you will establish yourself as a reliable and trustworthy source of information, and make a name for yourself that won’t soon be forgotten.
1. Create content that is relevant to your audience’s interests.
Your ideal reader is someone who is actively seeking information on the topics you cover. If you create content that is only of interest to yourself or a small niche audience, you will be limiting your success as a blogger. What’s more, your content may not be as engaging as it could be, which is also limiting your audience’s engagement with your blog. Don’t get me wrong, self-reflection and analysis of your own life can be insightful and entertaining. What I’m saying is, make sure the content you create is relevant to the interests of your target audience.
2. Create a community.
It would be great if you could just go live on your blog and gain instant subscribers. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. To become a successful blogger, you will have to create and nurture a community of engaged and interested readers who value your content. One of the best ways to do this is with a little community-building exercise called “guest posting”. Guest posting allows you to share content from another blog or website on your own. In return, the guest blogger will occasionally mention your blog in their piece, providing additional value to your readers and growth to your blog. Consider doing a little research on guest posting before you dive in.
3. Build a brand.
A brand is a distinctive identity that a company builds, grows, and maintains over time. It is the sum of a company’s reputation, along with its products, services, and marketing. To create a distinctive identity for your blog, consider hiring a branding agency to help you develop a branded voice and strategy for your content.
4. Post regularly.
Creating and posting content frequently doesn’t mean that you have to beat out your most read or best-loved blog posts in order to see an increase in traffic. In fact, posting frequently can actually harm your branding. It is best to spread your content out evenly throughout the month. If you struggle to find the motivation to put out content on a regular basis, consider using a content schedule. A content schedule is a regularly published blog post that you commit to creating and publishing at the same time each week. On a side note, establishing a pattern of regular posting with consistency is important because it provides the reader with a sense of reliability. When you post frequently and consistently, your reader knows you will always keep your promise to provide good content.
5. Find your theme and style.
It is essential that your blog reflects your personality and the topics you choose to write about. To do this, you will need to establish distinct themes and styles for your blog. Once you have done this, you can use your blog to experiment with different languages and genres, as long as you keep the “look” of your blog consistent. For example, if you want to make fashion and style your focus, don’t mix it up with medical and health content. If you want to create a blog that is informal and conversational, avoid using overly formal language and diction.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
If you’re truly committed to establishing a blog that will succeed, don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are plenty of people who can help you get started, or even advise you on what to write about, or how to build a community. As a blogger, it is your responsibility to constantly be seeking out new ideas and content to feed your readers. When you are starting out, it is easy to get bogged down in writing about topics you are already familiar with. By doing this, you are denying yourself the opportunity to write about topics that you may not have considered before. Instead, focus on writing about topics that interest you most, and that you think your audience will value the most. As you grow your blog, be sure to keep writing about these interests, because they will make you memorable and even authoritative in your field.
7. Be unique.
To create a blog that will stand out, you need to do everything possible to be unique. Use a different color palette or graphics styles for your blog’s design. Consider using free fonts and graphics instead of commercial ones. Look into the backgrounds and additional images you are using in your blog posts. Are you presenting the content in a blog format? Consider using the “blogged” template on your blog’s website.
Hopefully, these seven tips will help you in your quest to become a successful blogger. By taking the time to build a community, find your theme and style, and find your unique voice, you will be able to stand out among the hordes of other bloggers out there. Good luck out there.