Not a day goes by where you see a blogger getting views and likes in masses and earning a nice sum of money on the side.
And all they have to do, to generate that audience and money, is talk about things they experience in life.
You can’t even go through 3 pictures on your Instagram account, without seeing someone famous in the blogging community.
Some are even featured on billboards on high streets and the face for certain brand products.
Being the unique person that you are, you decide to create your own blog and start documenting your life and experiences, to make a living from it.
After all, it seems easy enough to write a blog post occasionally and snap a few pictures here and there, as the rest picks up on it’s own.
With all the things you’ve been through in life and all the funny stories you have to tell, you have an endless list to blog about.
Fast forward a few months and suddenly you realize, you still haven’t made a single penny and you start to doubt you know anything about how to start a blog that will make you money.
On average you get about 10-15 views per day (most of which are family members and friends), no one seems to be leaving comments and you’re drying out on material to blog about.
Your social media profiles have a few followers and everything seems to just stay the way it is although you put in so much effort on a daily basis.
Eventually, you decide that blogging is not for you and that all other successful bloggers know the secret or have something special you don’t, which is why you failed at it.
Plus it is a time-consuming activity and you’re busy with your real life anyway so it’s time to throw in the towel.
The Traps
Here’s a list of things most new bloggers forget, ignore or fall into, which usually is also the reason they never earn any income and give up eventually.
#1 Blogging isn’t easy!
If you want to become a serious blogger, you have to realize that the “secret” or “special thing” all the other successful bloggers have, is that they are actually hard workers.
Have a look at their blog or their social media…
There is constant new content on there and professional looking one as well. How often do you update your blog? How many times a month do you consider a lot of content?
Especially with social medias such as Instagram, you should be posting at least 1 image a day, with several hashtags, to grow your audience and maintain your existing one.
Anything below that simply won’t cut it out.
That doesn’t mean you have to be active within every area of the online world. You can be successful with just a YouTube channel or just your Instagram account.
But if you pick one area, make sure to stick with it and eventually branch out to others. So first rule of becoming a successful blogger, is to have the right mindset.
#2 Pick the right niche!
The second mistake most people make is not narrowing down their audience.
You have to pick the right niche and know your audience before typing your very first word.
Actually pick the right niche, even before you buy your domain!
You don’t want to invest in a great domain name, just to realize later on that it doesn’t fit your niche. It will only be misleading towards your audience if you do.
The other reason you want to have that right niche for you, is to keep it interesting for yourself.
Remember the times when you were assigned different types of homework and you would keep the worst for last? You don’t want that same feeling when it comes to your blog.
Creating new content should be fun and maybe a little tedious but exciting. You should want to research new things about your topic because you’re generally interested.
It will make your task so much easier and more personal when you type out your text, which also converts onto your text. You audience will notice your sincerity and honesty.
So remember to Pick the right niche!
#3 No need to spend a fortune!
The next point is a bit of a controversial one, but I find it important to at least mention it if you’re considering a blogging career in the future.
I’ve seen a lot of people come and go and spend way more money than I ever did in my 8 first months of blogging.
As soon as they find out about outsourcing, they hire people to do all their work and wonder why they get no traffic, penalties from search engines and no conversions.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve outsourced a fair amount myself, but if you want something done properly, you should understand how it works first.
You can’t join the game and expect someone else to do all the dirty work before you know the basics.
Once you understand these, you can consider outsourcing and hiring freelancers. For instance, if you hire someone to write your nextblogpost, it should have a similar style to the previous articles you’ve written.
But if you start off with hiring people, you’ll have a different type of text with no identity to your blog.
Additionally you might not even know how to check it for copyrights or other factors that could get your site penalties.
The truth is, you can start off blogging, pretty much for free. The minimum investment should be a domain registration and a hosting plan.
Therefore, lesson number 3 is start spending once you see money coming in and you’ve understood the process!
#4 Know the basics!
As for the final point, I’ve briefly addressed it above but, it definitely needs its own sub category.
When it comes to basics, I can’t stress enough how important it is to get them right. You could be blogging for months and see barely any improvement.
None of your articles rank on Googles first page, people spend less than 30 seconds on your site and creating a single post takes ages for you to get out.
If you’re familiar with these issues, you might have to go back to the beginning.
Make sure you familiarize yourself with the basics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Find out what keywords are what LSI keywords are and what long tail keywords are.
Most importantly find out how to use them properly. It may seem tedious at first and requires some effort but it will be so much worth it in the long run.
Therefore remember to know and master the basics!
But now that you know some of the typical mistakes people make and how easy it is to fall in these traps, let’s look at some of the solutions there are.
Regardless if you’re already blogging or about to start, don’t throw away the efforts you’ve made. Nothing is lost and you can still become a success.
Solutions:
As you know now, blogging requires a lot of work and it can be tough to keep up with all the tasks you set yourself.
But one thing you should start implementing in your daily routine, is a checklist. Write down all the things you have to do the night before, and prioritize accordingly.
(Small tip – Do the most tedious ones first! Once they’re out the way the rest flies by!)
Next, you want to stay organized (which usually goes hand in hand with creating checklists).
As for choosing the right niche and knowing your audience, we’ve learned that this is vital to continuously have new food for thought and ideas to blog about.
But even the best niche can give you a writer’s block at one point or another. There are several things you can do to avoid this:
- Set up a Google alert or more to get news stories directly to your email
- Go back to old content and pick out ideas and create an entire post about it
- Find blogs, forums and other online communities in your niche and get inspired
Often a question on forums make great posts people would love to read. Plus you know there’s a high chance other people are curious and ask themselves that same question.
Seeing other authority sites in your niche can inspire you and show you which way to go.
As for not spending a fortune, this still applied! However some people may find it easier to sign up to trusted courses to learn the basics and get support when needed.
But before you go and chase every online product promising to make millions online, make sure to read reviews about each product and do realize that all the information you need to be a successful blogger, can be found online for free!
It may require a bit more effort to find the right sources and dig through the information, but it’s out there!
Try connecting with bloggers, comment on their posts, learn from them and pick their brains. Go through older posts and see what they can teach you.
Eventually it will click and you’re just a step away from becoming an authority in your niche yourself.
And don’t forget that the shiny object syndrome is very real and many fall victim to it (I did so myself).
You have all the resources and skills it takes to know how to start a blog that will make you money.
Once you find your path, you should stick to it and not get distracted by the many other options, possibilities and ways of earning an online income.
Do these things and you are well ahead of many other bloggers that fail within the first few months. It’s often a matter of persistence.
Now continue blogging!