So many people are starting online businesses these days, from full-time entrepreneurs to students looking to make some extra money on the side. All you need these days is your usual laptop, a wifi connection (either at home or at your favorite coffee shop), and the will to keep working. If you’re considering starting a blog as a way to make money, because you’re good at writing and you have an interest you think many people would be interested in, then it’s a great time to get started. In 2019, with so many people sharing articles on Facebook and scrolling through what interests in them on their phones, you can be quite successful as a blogger.
So if you’re ready to start an online blogging business in 2019, read on to learn how to get started and make some money.
Choose the right subject
However good you are at writing, you aren’t going to have a popular blog if you write about something no one wants to read. Think about your different interests, and then do some online research to find out what’s popular. Study up on other bloggers, and look in Facebook and other social media groups and see what posts are popular. And don’t forget that the subject has to be a niche so that it’s broad enough to interest lots of people but specific enough that it’ll draw a particular group of readers in.
Considering that 66 percent of marketers surveyed used blogs in their social media content, you can see how choosing the right topic can be a smart economic decision.
Know your readers’ preferences
Once you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to figure out what your readers want. Do they prefer long-form or shorter posts? If you’re writing an article about whether podcasts are good for learning, will they prefer it in interview form with podcasters, or as a well-researched blog post with sources? You also need to know what design they prefer for your websites, such as layout, color scheme, and fonts. Don’t forget that the design needs to carry over on your social media platforms, and be easy to read on a mobile phone.
After all, the number of worldwide mobile users is expected to pass the five billion mark by this year. So make your design simple so that it’s adaptable to a screen--or go mobile-first, designing with mobile in mind and using mobile-friendly keywords.
Master your SEO
Speaking of keywords, you need to research them so that you’re writing about topics that people are already looking for. For example, if you’re reviewing live music shows in your area, then in addition to reviews you might write about the best venues to visit in your city. Chances are, this is being Googled often by tourists and locals alike, and if you use exactly the right words, your blog will come up as one of the first hits when they search.
According to The UK Domain, some of the best SEO strategies include using Google Analytics to understand how well your efforts are working, checking out what your competitors are doing, creating better title descriptions, and optimizing your images. If all this makes your head spin, consider taking a free online course on SEO. Considering that there are 2 billion websites and blogs, mastering SEO will be what guarantees your blog’s success.
Share on social media
Even though social media posting isn’t technically SEO, it works the same way: it gets attention to your website that you wouldn’t get otherwise. So anytime you share a new blog post, spread the word on your social media profiles (which, by the way, should have the same aesthetic and tone as your website). And don’t stop there. Engage with your followers, by following back and replying to comments. Using a followers service like Social Steeze can be a huge help, too.
Once you’ve started sharing, don’t forget to review your analytics so you can find out what posts are successful. Instagram has a great free feature, Insights, that does exactly this. Posting surveys asking your followers what they want to read is helpful, too, because you can improve your content over time as you get more popular. Considering that more than 2 billion blog posts were written in 2018, you need to use strategies like these to stay relevant in such an oversaturated blogging world.
By using these strategies, you’ll have a successful blog in no time. What other strategies do you think would be useful for making your blog popular enough that it can be a business?