Have you been working on your blog without seeing growth or income? Do you need some new tips to get you to the next blogging level? If you are, then here are 5 strategy tips to use right now!
by Kimberly Pangaro
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Blogging success comes from having a business plan, a social media plan, diversified methods of making income, determination, confidence, being fearless, and the big one… having a really good business strategy. That’s why I’ve put together this list of 5 strategy tips for your blogging success.
#1 A Schedule
When you start a blogging business, it’s not enough to just have your legal ducks in a row. You also need to have a schedule and you need to stick to it as best as possible. Especially, if your new office is the couch.
Having a schedule allows you to stick to consistent posting. Allot yourself an amount of time, one or two hours per day, (personally, I set my time for one hour in the morning and two to three hours at night, each day) to sit and work on your blog. The point is to just write for that amount of time, no matter what. If you have kids like I do, time is tough to give away, but it’s not impossible. You can set an alarm to wake up an hour earlier than normal. You can set the phone timer to fit a certain allotted time for writing.
Remember, it’s your time and you can make or break your writing schedule as you see fit. Keep in mind, sticking to a writing schedule is like forcing yourself to clock in every day at an actual office job. You have a time to clock in and a time to clock out.
#2 A Deadline
Maybe you’re not the time keeper you hoped you would be, but deadlines are another way to keep yourself on target to meet your blogging goals.
Whatever your blog plans are, a deadline is just as important as having a schedule. Give yourself a hard deadline to finish your projects by. So if you’re working on a new article or writing up a pitch to get guest bloggers, set a deadline for when you need to finish the project by. Deadlines help you stay accountable.
#3 Goals
Goals are different than deadlines and you need goals to start a blogging business. That’s because your blog business goals help you stay on track for the longer term of where you want your blog to be in the next year or two.
You need to set goals for each blog project as well as yourself, because let’s face it, you are the author AND the business. Maybe you’ll set a goal to write three blog posts per week and as the business owner, you’ll set a goal of getting ads up on your site within a certain amount of time.
Planning to have goals is also different than writing out your goals. Writing a list of goals for your blog business helps you stay on course without letting all the distractions deter you. You can make pit stops along the way, but because you’ve written out your long term goals as well as your short term goals, you’ll always know what your end destination is.
#4 Tools
Every blogger needs their handy, dandy toolbox. For bloggers, there are a great deal, some are free and others are costly. But they are all worth having!
For bloggers, it’s important to have tools like a blogging network, a few guest bloggers, the right software, and so much more! The tools available are endless.
So, how do you know which ones to pick? The answer depends on your blogging goals. If you’re trying to turn your blogging into a money making business, then your tools are going to look different than someone who just wants to blog for fun. And it’s for this reason, that the greatest tools a blogger can have is a blogging coach.
Related: Start A Blog
#5 A Long Term Plan
More often than not, bloggers don’t realize that a game plan is needed for more than just starting out. You also need a plan for what happens after you set up the blog. No one wants to spend all day everyday on social media, trying to advertise their blog and get more readers. You need a long term plan that establishes your blogging business into a self-sufficient business. You want to be able to earn income while doing nothing, right?
Let’s take into consideration, the Facebook/Instagram shut down back in October. If your long term plan only includes social media sites like those, then you are setting yourself up for an income loss. You need a long term plan–one that produces income for you without requiring too much from you.
As a formerly successful real estate agent, I will share with you a little secret. The financially successful realtors learn how to plan as far as 20 years in advance for the business. We often ask ourselves, “Where do I want to be in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years?” And while that may difficult to do in an industry like blogging, it is still needs to be done.
So, what’s a blogger’s long term plan? Consider creating a content strategy calendar with a full year’s worth of content ideas. Put together a schedule of when you are going to publish–for real income producing results, aim for at least 2-3 times a day. Create an outreach email for link insert companies and sponsored content. You’ll be pitching your blog to these companies as a viable option to promote their clients.
While the above ideas are just a quick introduction into what you could be doing long term for your blog, keep in mind that each blogger is uniquely individual. Therefore, you need to think about what you want for your site. What equates as “success” when you think of your blog. Some will think posting regularly is a success, while others may believe having one sponsored content partner as a success.
Figure out what you want for your blog, and what you think success looks like for it. Then build a roadmap of how you plan to get there.
Bonus Tip: You Need Fast Internet
One thing worth mentioning, you can’t blog properly without having fast internet. Sites often get bogged down by having too many photos, ads, or even too many posts. Other times, your content may simply not load because of slow internet speeds, and you can’t have that. Check your area to see if they offer windstream internet— it could mean the difference between gaining new readers and losing them!
The Takeaway
Building an amazing income producing blog does not need to leave you feeling overwhelmed. Yes, it will take time to build, but the income potential is there. If you stick to a strategy, you could end up leaving your full time job to blog full-time. And that’s the ultimate goal!
To all the newbies out there, the moms and dads who aren’t sure if they should take the leap, and the people who think they’re not an expert in any field, just remember… you CAN build a financially successful blogging business!
