By Amy Bernstein
Millions of blogs inhabit the internet right now. They are for fun, business, political platforms and everything in between. Many are wildly successful, and many are not.
I’m fairly new to the blogosphere, being a member only since this past September. I have a strong interest in becoming a writer, so starting my own blog seemed like a no-brainer. I didn’t know that not only would I improve my writing skills, I would improve my business skills as well. I found that running a successful blog has many similarities to running a successful business.
I knew I wanted my blog to be successful, hopefully making some profit down the line. “Write what you know,” is what I’ve always been told, so lo and behold: my blog about life and work during your twenties was hatched. Welcome to Roaring Twenties Writer.
The first thing I did was enlist the advice of a few trusted friends who currently blog. I wanted to make sure I knew “crucial to know” or “beware of” information before booting up. After that, I figured I would learn by doing and by reading about blogging.
I quickly realized that creating a blog is very similar to starting your own business. (Luckily, minus the major overhead expenses.) I had to figure out my niche topic, my target audience and how I would promote the blog so people actually read it. That can be a lot of work, but very fun work! Here is my compilation of tips to know if you want your blog to run much like your own successful business.
1. Find something to write about. (i.e., what will you “sell” to your readers?) What will be your niche? Your blog will be far more successful if every post stays within your specific topic because that is what will keep your readers coming back. Are you an expert in any field? Write what you know.
2. Who is your target audience? If you’re like me, your blog is attracting the Generation Y's trying to survive their twenties, leave college behind and become successful, career-minded folks. If you’re writing a blog about antique cars, you’ll likely attract a far different crowd. Keep your audience in mind when you network and promote your blog.
3. Figure out how much time you are willing / able to devote to your blog. Will you post every day? You’ll also need to work in some generous time for reading other blogs, researching your audience, networking and promoting yourself. It’s important to account for this if you want to be successful. A great piece of advice on this came from this Problogger post. You can sign up on this free site to receive almost daily articles on how to improve your blog. When it hits my inbox, it instantly transfers to my blogging folder, and I go through the articles about once a week.
4. Start out slow and make realistic goals! You may have long term hopes for your blog - to make money off ads, be the most popular blog in the world, etc… but reality is that you’re just starting out. So all of your dreams might take a while. Work on the basics first, get some solid readers and then worry about ads and gadgets. Create a list of attainable goals, and divide them into monthly goals or however it works best for you. I was told that beginner bloggers who post ads all over are rarely successful. Think about it: thriving businesses don’t start out this way, so why should you? Businesses start out small, build a customer base and test the waters from there. Work your way up. Plus, this will give you time to make each stepping stone solid.
5. Now you’ll need to brand yourself. Keep it consistent. Think about your blog’s design, how you want to describe your blog and where the blog will show up on affiliated sites. This all goes along with what readers you’re looking to attract and what you’re writing about. For my blog, I chose a background that is visually appealing, yet simplistic and sophisticated. I wouldn’t choose some red and white background with little hearts and the word “love” all over. That screams sixteen-year-old blogger, not exactly my audience. For some cute, free templates visit Cutest Blog on the Block . Once you’re an established blogger, there are several places and people you can pay to customize your blog, strengthening your brand identity. But again, one thing at a time.
6. Once you have all of the above figured out, or mostly figured out, it’s time to hit the internet and start researching. Look at all the blogs you can, which blogs are similar to yours, and see what they have done right. Make friends with fellow bloggers and comment on their blogs. Join blogging networks and get yourself out there. Up your use of social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg and more, all with a link to your blog. This networking can often times take up more time than posting, but it is a good investment of your time.
Hopefully after reading all this, no one goes running for the hills! Just realize how much work goes into popular blogs and how it really can become your personal business. Remember, you’re representing yourself. Work hard, present yourself in the best light, do your research and good luck!
Amy is a twenty-something writer and creative communicator at heart. She recently had her first piece of writing published in Chicken Soup for the Soul’s, Teen’s Talk Middle School. Check out Amy’s blog at www.roaringtwentieswriter.blogspot.com