I started working online as a writer in 2013. I came into this industry, I didn’t have the first clue what I was doing. I’m not one of those people that does a lot of information gathering before I jump headlong into trying things.
Believe me, I was in for a wild ride from the beginning, because of my lack of strategy and education. I put out writing gigs on a platform that has brought me an incredible number of clients over the years- 300+ to be exact.
I’ve had the incredible privilege of working alongside over 300 business owners that were in need of website, blog, and sales content. The majority of these people came into the industry and fizzled out within a few months. However, I have a few clients that have been doing this for years and years, and still going strong.
Not only have I worked for others over the years, but I’ve also managed my own blogs since 2014. I’ve taken the blog from costing me money to making me money; which is more than I can say for many bloggers I know and have worked with.
What’s the difference between someone that is successful as a blogger and someone that isn’t? I’ve narrowed it down to 7 major things that you have to master in order to have a successful blog.
1. Affiliate Programs
In order for you to earn money through your blog, you need something to sell. Of course, you don’t want to sell just anything. You want to sell things that will interest your readers. There is definitely an art to selling without being salesy.
One of the ways I’ve drastically increased my revenue this year has been through success with affiliate programs. It has required me to sign up for more programs and intentionally place more links in my articles.
2. Building Lists and Sending Email Newsletters
Oh, the dreaded email newsletters! If you have been in this industry for any length of time, you’ll know that email newsletters are all the rage. Why? Because they freaking work, that’s why.
When you build a targeted list, invest in those subscribers by providing consistent content, you will increase your sales. Not all lists and newsletters are effective though. In order to see a return on your time, you are going to have to be personal as well as strategic in link placements.
3. Social Media Strategies
Generally speaking, website traffic is down. People are staying on social media outlets more and more. This means that you have to up your social media game to reach them. If you are one of those bloggers that thinks you’ll pay the bills by simply putting a few ads on your page, you are sorely mistaken.
You have to be very purposeful in the things you are posting on your social media outlets. The unfortunate thing is that you can spend a lot of time doing social media and see no return for it. You have to strike the balance between engaging content and affiliate links, otherwise, you’ll turn people off.
4. Facebook and Instagram Ads
Facebook and Instagram Ads are becoming the bane of my existence. These jokers are not easy to figure out, but 100% essential to running an effective blog. Why is that? Because this is a place where you can develop a following, earn money, and build brand awareness.
Here’s the problem with ads- Facebook baits you into spending money that likely won’t bring you any return on your investment. Have you ever seen that little button at the bottom of an update that says, Boost Post? Yeah- you can boost your posts all day long, but that doesn’t mean you’ll increase traffic to your site or sell things.
This is why ad training is so important. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending a ton of money and have nothing to show for it. We can all get excited about likes and reach, but those numbers mean nothing. It’s the conversions that are most important to look at.
5. How to Create an eBook From Your Existing Content
With platforms like Amazon, you can publish an ebook very quickly. Why do you care? Because there is money to be made in ebook sales. Besides that, when you publish on an authority site like Amazon, you gain more exposure for your website and brand. You can also embed affiliate links in the ebook, giving way to more profit.
Who has time to write an ebook? Probably not you, if you are writing on your blog regularly. That is why it is best to take the content you’ve already written and re-package it. Turning old blog posts into an ebook is a great idea for that reason.
6. Photos and Videos
Using the right photos or videos will make the difference between someone clicking on your post or ad or not. People base many of their decisions off of the videos and images that you use. That is why it is important that you develop picture taking and editing skills as well as video skills.
These things don’t have to be hard but definitely take practice.
7. Tech Stuff
Or…as I prefer to say…tech crap. I am not a techy person, but I built Love Hope Adventure along with 5 other websites by myself. When I say I’m not a techy person, I genuinely mean it. For example, my husband and kids were unavailable the other night and I couldn’t figure out how to cut on the television with our new remote- yet, I’ve been able to launch my own website and keep it running.
I tell you that so that you don’t get scared away by the tech side of blogging. To be honest, tech and taxes are the two reasons I didn’t want to get into blogging to begin with. I’ve figured out a lot of the tech stuff on my own; not taxes though, that’s on Austin.
*I use affiliate links
