Blogging Success – Your First Steps

With the current environment of social distancing and limitations on our movement, more people are turning to digital forms of communication and interaction. This can be a very daunting step if you have never explored this world before. If you are looking to enter this space as a blogger, your first step to blogging success is to just make a start! If you do not try something, you will never know – do not let your fear of failure limit you!

Your First Steps to Blogging Success

In this article, I have unpacked a few basic steps to help you on your way to understanding this virtual community and blogging success. I wish someone had pointed these out to me when I was starting out.

Just a side note – there is no magic formula for overnight success! Like most other things in life, blogging or content creation does require hard work, dedication and perseverance.

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.

Edwin Land

Find Your Passion

Find your PASSION. Focus on something that you love, that thing that keeps you awake at night and write about it! Writing from a point of knowledge or interest is essential, and it will definitely come across in your blog and help you create a distinctive “brand”.

Establish Your Niche

Next up, establish your NICHE. I know that this may sound simple but believe me, it is not, especially when you are interested in a few different subjects. Having a niche will give your blog direction and clarity, allowing your readers to know precisely what you are about. I originally started out writing a more personal journal style blog, which over the years developed into a Lifestyle Blog. More recently I niched myself even further to focus mainly on Travel, Food and Wine.

Find Your Voice

Find your VOICE. It is essential to write something that is grammatically well written and researched. You do, however, need to find the inner you, essentially “your voice”, which in turn will help your readers identify your writing from the millions of other bloggers out there.

Choose the correct platform

Choose the correct PLATFORM for your blog. There are many to choose from; if you can, I would suggest opting for a self-hosted platform, which you can customise. WordPress.org(self-hosted) has always been my go-to platform, which allows you to create a space that will reflect your own personal style. Other popular platforms are Tumblr, WordPress.com, Blogger, Typepad, Wix, Joomla and Medium. If you are uncertain about which platform will be the best fit for you, then seek out a website designer to give you some direction.

Great content

Great CONTENT is essential. Content, however, is not only what you write; readers also enjoy eye-catching visuals. If you are a good photographer, I highly recommend using your own images. Alternatively use one of the many stock photography websites, where you can source free images. A few that I can recommend are Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, Burst(by Shopify) and FoodiesFeed. Remember to use good quality, high-resolution images but ensure that you optimise them for faster loading. It is also not necessary to spend a fortune on expensive camera equipment, especially when you are starting out, as most Smartphones take excellent photos.

Use Social Media

Use the SOCIAL MEDIA platforms available to you to help build your readership. I mainly post on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to get my content out to my readers. Twitter is more conversational and fast-paced, making it is easy to miss something if you are not on it 24/7, while Instagram {my personal favourite} and Facebook tend to be more content-driven and visual. You also have the option of promoting or boosting your posts on social media, which can give you more reach. This is, however, a paid feature, so if you are starting out, this may not be a something you will make a lot of use of, budget dependent. Other popular social platforms are Bloglovin, Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Remember to Engage

Remember to ENGAGE with your readers. Whether it is on your blog or on social media, start a conversation. You can ask questions, run competitions or a sponsored giveaway; people love to win something, and it is a great way to give something back to your loyal readers! It is also essential to respond to readers’ comments and direct messages. As well as engaging with your audience, make contact with other bloggers and like-minded individuals in your niche, to help build your network.

Monetise your blog

As blogging has grown as an industry, it has become much easier to MONETISE your blog. Again this is a very personal choice and not for everyone. There are various ways to monetise your blog or website, one being affiliate advertising. To make this type of advertising worthwhile, you will need to have a reasonably high trafficked site. Other ways to earn money from your website include advertising on your blog with Google Adsense, selling Ad Space directly, accepting Sponsored Blog Posts, or getting paid for Writing Reviews. However, if you are merely looking for a platform to express yourself, then keep your blog ad-free.

Share your tips on Blogging Success

I hope you find these steps to finding blogging success helpful. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions or more tips to share. Also, look out for more articles in my blogging and influencer series.

Images

©2010 – 2020 Inspired Living and Fiona Rossiter. Certain images used under license from Shutterstock. Please do not use any images featured on this website, without written consent from the copyright holder and owner.

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