Blogging is easy, right? Everyone is doing it and everyone is making thousands of dollars a month. Not quite. However, with a few strategic steps you can set up a successful, and profitable, blog. You can be one of the success stories.
Tip #1 Blog about something you love.
Seriously. If you don’t enjoy discussing and learning about your blog topic it’s going to be tough. When you love your blog topic, blog post ideas come easily.
When you love your blog topic, writing posts is a pleasure. Responding to comments is fun and engaging. And you’ll be able to blog today, tomorrow and five years from now. This longevity is important because blogs are not overnight successes. It takes time to build a following. You need to love your topic enough that you’re willing to be patient.
Tip #2 Blog about something specific.
Okay, so you love dogs. Great. So do thousands of other people and they’re blogging too. However, if you love longhaired Daschunds then you have a more specific audience. There probably aren’t too many other people blogging about them. And you certainly are likely to have an audience.
The point is the more specific you are the less competition you’ll have. It’ll be easier to attract a loyal following.
Tip #3 Plan, plan and then plan some more.
Most bloggers just blog. They don’t have a niche. They don’t have a plan. They certainly don’t have a monetization model or goals. Before you launch your blog consider:
* What you want your blog to be about
* Who your audience is and how much demand there is for your topic
* How much competition you have
* What you’ll write/post about
* How you’ll make money from your blog
* What your goals are and how you’ll achieve those goals
* What your vision is for your blog. Where is it going? What will it look like/offer in five or ten years.
Tip #4 Promote your blog.
A blog without promotion will grow slowly. That’s fine if you’re not in any kind of hurry to attract readers or make money. However, if you’re blogging for the benefit of others then you may want to promote your blog. Participate in social networking and link to new posts. Be a guest blogger on other relevant blogs. Comment on other blogs and register with your blog’s URL.
Tip #5 Take it slowly.
When building your blog take it one step at a time. Don’t throw up tons of ads, affiliate links, products and services along with your content. Get a good content foundation first. Once you feel comfortable then begin to focus on another aspect of building your blog. Start driving traffic to it. Implement a monetization model. Focusing on one tactic or strategy at a time will help you make sure you’re optimizing it. It’ll ensure your attention isn’t’ divided and your blog shortchanged.
Blogging can be a great way to make a living online. You can also blog part time to simply bring in extra income. However, in order to blog successfully make sure you have a solid plan. Follow your passions and interests and enjoy your success.
Julianne Alvarez-Wish is a military wife, mother, business owner, professional writer, blogger and legislative advocate. She is the Director of Communications for Our Milk Money, the Colorado State Leader for the National Association for Moms in Business and the owner of Buy By Mom and Buy By Mom Blog. She is the Colorado Springs Stay-at-Home Mom Examiner for Examiner.com. She also blogs at A Wishful Thought. Her passion, purpose and goal is to help parents work from home so they can be home with their children.

Author: Our Milk Money