Thousands of new blogs are created every day. But how many of these blogs stand the test of time?
I have been blogging for over six years, and I can tell you that many of the bloggers who got in with me have already abandoned their blogs.
Setting up a blog is easy. It’s not difficult to purchase a domain name and hosting plan, install WordPress, and set up a theme. But what about building that blog to a thriving business? Well, that part isn’t so easy.
This part tends to be an issue for most bloggers, and this is mainly due to over expectations, and a lack of goals and strategy.
Many people who get into blogging believe it’s a click-to-profit business. But if you’ve been around for a couple of years, you know it’s far from that.
You can’t just get up one morning, post a few articles, and think you’re going to be the next Pat Flynn. Successful bloggers in this industry all have three things in common, and those three things are what I want to discuss here.
Important Note! I won’t be covering the legalities of starting your business; however, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have a Terms and Conditions for your business. I highly recommend The Contract Shop for attorney-approved Terms and Conditions. This is one of the BEST ways to protect your business!
1. Invest in Yourself First
Pick any big name in the blogging industry, and you’ll see that their blog is about more than just the content. It’s also about the person behind the content. Sure, people love the content that Neil Patel produces, but they also love Neil Patel the personality. Same with Brian Dean from backlinko.com.
People often make the mistake of putting too much attention on the appearance of their blog, or purchasing tools that they don’t need.
Successful bloggers are those who invest in themselves. They invest in themselves whether it be through professional training programs or by hiring a coach to help them avoid making silly and costly mistakes.
To build a successful blogging business, you need to first of all train yourself to acquire the skills necessary in the market.
I know some people dabble, trying to find out what works and what doesn’t, using materials gathered from here and there. The Internet is full of free stuff but trust me most of this information is merely scratching the surface.
If you want a successful blog, don’t only rely on free information. Get professional training. Set achievable goals for yourself and follow a well mapped out strategy. If you follow this advice, you won’t be part of the thousands who abandon their blog so soon.
2. Connect with Like-Minded Folks
One thing I keep telling my students is that they can’t succeed in this business standing as an island. You must network with like-minded bloggers.
Show me any successful blogger, and I will show you one who is connected. If you blog in isolation, your chances of not succeeding are greater. And if you seek to connect to the wrong people, you are simply shooting yourself in the leg.
Networking with other bloggers doesn’t have to be hard. One of my students asked me how I managed to have so many top bloggers in my community. The simple answer is to seek to connect with people in your industry, functioning within your horizon.
Connect with bloggers within as well as slightly below your reach. Trying to connect with folks who are far above can often be a waste of time. You may succeed in one or two cases. But for the most part, you will face rejection.
Now, if you’ve invested in yourself, you’re positioned to attract others. Each time you make a step towards networking with someone, your chances of making a connection will be higher.
Here are some few points to help you create and maintain strong connections:
- Don’t try to sell anything to anyone you want to connect with
- Promote the person you seek to connect with selflessly
- Share their content on social media and tag them
- Complement their works
- Seek to help solve their problems
- Comments on their posts with meaningful comments
- Link out to their content from your blog
Have the mindset to give out and to be of help. Inevitably, you will receive the connections you desire.
3. Promote Your Content the Right Way
In the process to connect with savvy bloggers, you’re already doing some amount of promotion. But there is more to that.
I consider content promotion to begin with the quality of the content. Poor quality ruins your promotion efforts. But top-notch content has a better chance of being shared, leaving you with less work.
When it comes to promoting your content, you need to identify what works. Not all strategies will work for you.
Here are some popular ideas for promoting your blog:
- Optimize for SEO and pull traffic from search engines.
- Be active and positive on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Use Pinterest
- Share on content sharing platforms (Medium, Zest, etc.)
- Guest post on relevant blogs
- Build an email list for your blog
Following these three steps will help you create a successful blog. Remember this is a challenging business. Things are often changing, which means you must be updating and upgrading with the frequency of change. Be in the loop of industry changes, and you will always see results.
Thanks for reading. Do let me know what you think.
About the Author
Enstine Muki is a Full-time blogger and Certified Cryptocurrency Expert.
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