These might surprise you if you’re a new blogger, but they are solid blogging advice. Blogging tips and tricks that a successful blogger knows in the reverse.
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A successful blogger won’t say …
#1: It all came naturally. All I needed was common sense to know how to run a successful blog.
Wrong.
Here’s the truth:
It’s NOT something you should JUST know. But when I began, I thought I did.
Once I finally realized I was spinning my wheels, I started signing up for both free and paid courses. I learned there’s a difference in taking a course from an experienced teacher and googling it on your own.
But that was just beginning.
Next, I spent a boatload of time redoing and undoing what I had wasted time doing in the first place. If only. But since there were no easy do-overs for me, I’ll shed light for others coming behind.
Don’t be like me.
Don’t try to figure it out all on your own.
Learn who to learn from.
And if you’d like my personal recommendation for the best training out there right now, this button will send you straight to the ending goodness. (Don’t worry, you can always come back up!)
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#2: I wish I’d waited later to start building an email list.
Actually, this is the NUMBER ONE thing I hear bemoaned in the reverse. Everyone — who didn’t get training early on to know how important this is — wishes they had started with a real email program connecting in a real way with the real people who followed their writing.
When people chose to let you in, open the door and ask them to stay a while. Connection happens in the weekly emails.
I have made new friends, prayed with new readers, and learned so much from my readers who respond to emails regularly.
It’s also your greatest asset when it comes time to expand into areas like monetizing, book publishing, or growing your online ministry.
I have tried many of the email service providers on the market and the two I recommend are ConvertKit and Mailer Lite. I’m working on a follow-up post to explain why, so stay tuned.
#3: I write for everyone about anything that comes to mind.
If you try to be everything to everyone, you’ll end up attracting no one. The most successful bloggers have a very clear understanding of who they serve and what content they create. “The riches are in the niches,” the saying goes.
Even if you’re not in it to make cash riches, you’re still interested in offering rich content. That can only be done when you narrow in.
Once you know what your niche is, organizing your blog’s categories and tags is your next step. This free blog structure blueprint offered by Elite Blog Academy will help you wrap your mind around the organizational aspect.
Don’t miss your chance to grab your copy!
#4: I’m so glad I started with a free site.
Yes, when starting a blog, you CAN choose a free option. And maybe you think, “I’ll just begin with free and then move to a paid option if it works out.”
There are at least four things wrong with that thinking.
1-A mindset of “If it works outs” …
…is framing your efforts to fail and/or hinting that you don’t believe you have anything to say. {Wrong!}
If that’s where your mind is, it’s probably not worth the effort to set up the free site unless it’s just an online diary for family and friends.
2-Moving a blog is a P.A.I.N.
Yes, it can be done, but you’ll likely end up paying someone to help you do it (hello, not free after all).
3-If you’re trying to do this for free you won’t get very far.
The necessary tools to implement best practices early and streamline your efforts aren’t free.
The best training isn’t free.
Without the expectation that you’ll spend something to try something with the possibility of making something, you’ll stop trying before you ever get up to speed.
4-Nothing is ever really “free.”
What you don’t pay for in cash, you’ll pay for in time and options.
Starting out right with paid hosting and a solid theme will set you up for success in both the short term and the long term and it’s not that expensive (less than $4/mo for hosting).
Side note:
I started with Bluehost and would NOT recommend them to anyone for any reason. My site was down anywhere from 2-10 times each day and their customer service was never interested in helping figure out why. As soon as I got serious about blogging, I moved to Siteground and have not had a single issue.
With adequate speed, a real domain name, and the SEO available tools that come with spending a little money, you’ll build a reputation with Google and set yourself up to be a successful blogger.
#5: I just write it and wait to see who reads it.
If a blog post lands in the interwebs
and no one is there to read it,
was it really written?
But I hear you say, “Oh, I don’t really care if anyone reads my posts. I write for me.” That’s called a diary.
If you are placing your ideas, knowledge, and experience out there on a blog, you have a desire to either inspire or educate. If it’s worth writing, it’s worth promoting.*
When I first began my Christian blog, I felt like promoting my posts was somehow prideful. After getting a true vision for why I blog, I understand now that if I feel called to encourage and teach about faith, I should feel equally called to send it forward to be found.
Each week, I receive emails from readers thanking me for being obedient to the call to write. Most tell me they found my post on Pinterest after searching specifically for faith-based truth for their weary hearts.
Pinterest drives 60 percent of the traffic to my blog.
*Many successful bloggers stand by the Pareto 80/20 rule. They spend 20 percent of their content time creating new pieces and 80 percent scheduling and promoting.
#6: This takes so little time and money, I could do it as a hobby indefinitely.
Blogging is work. It may be work we love, but it takes significant time and effort to write, publish, and promote posts. When I started as a Christian blogger, I had no intention of monetizing my site.
Once I began to view it as an online ministry and invested more into it, I watched the costs add up. It’s good stewardship to do what I can to offset those costs, just like a nonprofit raises funds to pay its expenses.
There’s another thing.
Because blogging is time-consuming, there will come a time when you either have to give it up because you can’t contribute to your family or you’ll pivot and use it to help support your family.
Oh how I wish I had started out learning the foundational principles of monetizing in the beginning. It wasn’t until I enrolled in Elite Blog Academy that I even began to understand all the various ways I could both do what I love and potentially earn enough to keep from going back to a j.o.b.
This free download is packed with practical tips you can implement right away to begin earning from your blog.
I got mine as part of the paid course, but for a limited time, it’s free.
Get your copy of “7 Surefire Ways to Boost your Blog Income Overnight.”
#7: My blog just took off overnight.
You’ve heard the quote: “Yes, I’m an overnight success 20 years in the making.”
It won’t take decades, but it will take time. And that time will be filled with days of simply plodding along, putting one step (or one word) in front of the other.
Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” This is true in life and in an endeavor like blogging.
If you’d like help planning those seeds, grab this (yet another FREE) resource from Elite Blog Academy.
I’ve been through this goal planner and it is one of the most effective I’ve seen. I can’t believe it’s free.
Looking for the Training Recommendation?
Here it is:
If you haven’t heard of Ruth Soukup (founder of Living Well Spending Less), she is one to learn from. After her success building a 7-figure business on the back of her blog, she turned her attention to teaching others what works.
I took her paid course Elite Blog Academy when it was open and I returned to it as I began plotting a business for the future.
Enrollment is currently closed. In fact, it only opens once a year.
BUT!
You can get a weekly dose of valuable blogging advice, instant access to the Blog Structure Blueprint, and other insider tips if you simply get on the VIP Waiting list.
There’s nothing to lose. Click below and start listening in on the experts today!
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