Starting a blog is a great way to turn a side hustle into full-time dollars. Cha-ching! But it’s a little more complicated than just writing about Precious, your Persian cat, or what you had for dinner last night. So that’s great, but what do you need to know about starting a blog?
There are a few key areas where you want to spend your time and energy in the beginning before you get up and running. There are a lot of great free and paid courses to take out there, but these seven areas are the ones you want to delve into.
How to Start a Blog
You will want to look into the specifics of how you go about starting a blog, what kinds of websites are best, plugins, tools, different types of posts, etc. There’s a lot of information, and taking an introductory course or two will help you figure it out in advance and not doing it on the fly.
What are the Legalities of Blogging
You don’t have to know the specifics of the legal aspects, but you do have to have your legal ducks in a row. This means having a basic grasp of the right legal forms you must have on your blogging site and the general gist of what they mean so you aren’t violating them. You will also need to come by your forms honestly and not copy them from someone else’s website. Big no-no!
Branding and Design
Starting out, you may have the luxury of hiring all the right people, or you may be working with a shoestring budget and having to DIY it. If that’s the case, then there are some freebie and paid courses on making your branding and design look less like a newbie and more like a pro.
SEO
Omg, you absolutely need this one. Yes, you can survive on Pinterest traffic, but learning about and implementing SEO into your website and blogs will make google and other search engines love you, and they’ll tell all their friends (people searching the interwebs).
How to Get Traffic and Social Media
Yes, we all know the basics of how social media works but do you fully understand the magic of it all? Chances are if you don’t have thousands of followers and 300K page views, you don’t. So taking a course or two will go a long way in helping you get a better grasp. Even if you’re an old pro, social media is ALWAYS changing, so keeping up is essential.
Making Money
Yes, some people really do just want a blog to tell their story and connect with like-minded people, but most of us want to make a little dough. So making money at blogging is a topic you’ll want to know more about. From affiliate marketing to creating your own products, there’s a lot of helpful info out there.
Email List
Every business owner needs an email list, and if you want to monetize your blog, that includes you. Create an opt-in and start a list. Then communicate with your list, so they know you care. #hearteyes If that seems daunting, then take a course. Jennifer Maker is the list building queen.
Throwing it All Together
So, making money at blogging is fun, but it does take work. However, the benefits are well worth it. You just need to learn the basics and then implement what you learned and stay active. You have to be present with blogging, but if you’re putting in the time to learn these blogging basics, you’re going to succeed. I have faith in you!
Start with a blogging niche idea. I’d love to hear what you plan on writing about. Drop it in the comments!
