So, you’ve started blogging but want to turn it into your full-time career. You’re not alone. The industry has grown at a rapid rate with millions of posts made every single day. But while the sector is worth billions, it is shown that around 8% of bloggers make a full-time career from it. If you want to be one of them, it will be necessary to develop a clear strategy.
Focus on the following features, and your prospects will look much brighter.
Set Goals
It’s hard to reach your destination if you don’t even know what it is you want to achieve. So, setting goals for your blogging career is a vital first step.
For some bloggers, the goal is to quit a job they hate to blog full-time. For others, building a community based on something they love is the answer. Either way, learning to write down clear objectives will provide guidance for the journey ahead. For the best results, you will want to establish little milestones along the way. Each one you hit will boost your confidence and help you move on to the next.
Besides, when you know what you want to achieve, you can build the strategy to make it happen. From funding the venture to thinking about the type of content you wish to create in the short and long-term future, the benefits are huge. If nothing else, the added sense of organisation will put you in the right mindset.
Learn to Monetise
If you want to turn a passion into a career, knowing how to make money from it will be essential. Your blogging career is no different.
First and foremost, you should remember that it’s likely to take some time before your platform can generate a good level of income. Thankfully, platforms like Blogger Tuesday can help you find paid roles creating content for clients. Through freelancing and contracting, you can build a solid foundation of stable income. It will lift a weight from your shoulders.
As for your blog itself, you can monetise in several ways. Display ads and banners are a good starting point. As you grow, there may be merchandising opportunities as well as sponsored posts, paid content, and other ideas like tutoring. Creating multiple revenue streams should allow your overall profits to reach a good level.
Develop Your Writing Voice
The recipe for blogging success includes many ingredients. However, the harsh reality is that you will not see sustained results if your writing isn’t up to scratch.
There is a degree of writing for your audience involved. Ultimately, though, the best bloggers write with an authentic voice. After all, it’s very likely that you will write about topics you love, which means you are a member of the target audience. In turn, if you love the content, your readers will too. Besides, it will make blogging far more enjoyable and that passion will shine through for all to see.
One of the best ways to become a better writer is simply to do it more frequently. Whether this means writing for your blog each day or taking a creative writing course is up to you. Either way, you should find that you’ll become a more confident blogger. Not least because you’ll quickly discover what does or doesn’t resonate with your readership.
Embrace Different Content Types
The quality of your writing will always form the central focus of your content. Still, you should not overlook the multimedia opportunities presented by working for the web rather than print.
Many readers will decide whether to open a blog post simply by looking at the header photo. Learning to take better photos will have a huge impact on the aesthetic appeal of the blog. Besides, it’s often a very effective way to express yourself, especially when documenting your life. Video content is another popular choice. It’s enjoyable for the user, can break down language barriers, and is memorable.
In today’s climate, it has become increasingly common for bloggers to dip into audio content like podcasting. While you don’t want to spread yourself too thin, becoming a multi-talented content creator will deliver the best results. Aside from benefits for your audience, it should make the content creation process more enjoyable too.
Become a Marketing Master
Writing great blog posts is one thing, but it counts for very little if nobody visits your platform. With two billion websites available, knowing how to make yours stand out is crucial.
A strong marketing strategy should begin with standing out on Google. Experts like Alphageek can support your business with the strongest SEO strategy. This will bring a lot of organic traffic from users who are actively looking for content like yours. For the best results, you will also want to make good use of social media pages. This can generate clicks and get people to tag their friends.
Social proof is a powerful tool that can work wonders for your company. Therefore, it’s vital that you also look to social influencers or affiliates as well as your loyal readers. If they can bring new people to your site, this will have a huge impact on helping the fan base grow. And it will open the door to a plethora of new opportunities.
Look for Collaboration Opportunities
Falling into the trap of thinking it’s you versus the world is one of the worst things you could do. In fact, other content creators could be your secret weapon.
Collaborations can take many forms from producing a podcast together to publishing an eBook or guest writing for each other. Either way, building an audience together will allow you to improve your prospects. Furthermore, combining your skills and experience with another creator can boost the quality of your work. In turn, this will inevitably help you cement a stronger reputation.
This step also introduces a healthy competitive nature. This will drive all parties to create better content, which will only strengthen your love of blogging. Again, maintaining that passion will help you create a better career. Aside from allowing you to earn more, it will make you a happier person. Ultimately, that’s the point of blogging in the first place.