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Did you know that out of a 100% of bloggers, only 39% actually make a living from it? Yep! That's right! Which obviously means that a career as a blogger is a still an untapped market even though there are so many blogs out there!
Granted, we're still a long way away from job advertisement stating: "Bloggers Wanted!"everywhere, but that is not to say that blogging can't be a viable line of work for any Graduate or Career-Changer out there - especially the Web 2.0 savvy kind - you just have to know the ways to make that happen which could be a huge plus for you if you do it right because blogging is fast becoming a prerequisite and a sought after skill for jobs in many creative sectors out there, including Marketing, Journalism, Tech industry, Design, Fashion, and Media so much so that recruiters are catching-on to this trend and are therefore extending job offers to some of the big contenders in the blogging sphere, which begs the question: How can you, as a Graduate or Career-Changer capitalize on this trend and start making a career from blogging?
Well, you may wanna follow these 5 steps first.
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STEP 1: DISCOVER YOUR BLOG TOPIC:
The way to discover your blog topic is by first identifying what you're good at! So, what you're good at? And you do that by answering these 3 easy questions:
Question 1: What do people usually come to you to help them with?
Question 2: What comes naturally to you that can be expanded into a blog topic or niche?
Question 3: Do you have experience doing something that can perhaps benefit others? If yes, that may be the focus of your blog?!
Question 3: Do you have experience doing something that can perhaps benefit others? If yes, that may be the focus of your blog?!
STEP 2: DISCOVER YOUR TARGET MARKET
Once you've discovered your topic for your blog, the next thing on the agenda will be identifying your ideal reader and target market for your blog. This is were you need to get clear on Who you will be blogging for! So, Identify your target audience, and you do that by identifying things like:
1) Who are you hoping to help with your blog topic?
2) What are they into?
4) What are their age groups?
5) What do they do? Do they work? Do they have disposal income? Will the afford what you'll be offering?
Take the time to describe & identify your ideal reader and target market.
STEP 3: ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS AN EXPERT
Once you know your blog topic and who your target market is, it's now time to establish yourself as an expert in the field of your blog topic because the thing is: if you are going to create a career by blogging, you're going to need to showcase a bit of expertise on your part. And that means being an authority in what you're blogging about because here's the thing about blogging as a career: you need to be really good at what you're writing about, especially if you are planning on making a full-time income from it!
So make sure you're really good at whatever it is you want to start blogging about!
[RELATED ARTICLE: How To Establish Your Personal Brand Like A Blogger And Stand Out]
STEP 4: OFFER YOUR SKILLS/SERVICES FOR FREE FIRST
Once you've worked on establishing yourself as an expert in your field, it's then that you should start thinking about bringing in an income from your blogging efforts, but not before you first offer your services for FREE!
Yes, I know that this is not what you expected to hear because it's totally counter intuitive given that your whole point of blogging will be to start earning a living and having a proper career as a blogger! But here's the secret to making any sort of living from blogging, you gotta give away what you know or do best for FREE before you can make any sort of living from it - Fact!
Yes, I know that this is not what you expected to hear because it's totally counter intuitive given that your whole point of blogging will be to start earning a living and having a proper career as a blogger! But here's the secret to making any sort of living from blogging, you gotta give away what you know or do best for FREE before you can make any sort of living from it - Fact!
The reason behind it being: you're letting your readers know that you actually have something of value to offer that way when you finally charge for something later, people will be more inclined to pay for it because they know you always provide something of value!
STEP 5: DECIDE HOW YOU'LL START TO FINALLY BRING IN AN INCOME FROM YOUR BLOG AND HAVING IT AS A PROPER CAREER
So, after you've decided on offering your services/products for free, that's when you can start making a plan on monetizing your blog or indeed offering a few services off the back-foot of being as blogger!
This is when you can start brainstorming a few ideas to bring inn income. So, decide in what way do you want to make a living from blogging? You have 3 options -
This is when you can start brainstorming a few ideas to bring inn income. So, decide in what way do you want to make a living from blogging? You have 3 options -
First: Option: You could provide services - design services, consultancy, etc. So think of what skill do you possess that can be honed-into a service that can be offered to your prospective clients/readers.
Second Option: You could teach others what you know by selling webinars, email courses, etc.
Third Option: You could sell electronic products like - ebooks, ecourses, etc. which are one of the most popular ways to monetize your blog and bring-in an income from blogging.
[RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Must-Know Tips For Beginner Bloggers]
[RELATED ARTICLE: 5 Must-Know Tips For Beginner Bloggers]
So there you have it - the 5 must-follow steps to making a real career from blogging!
Were these tips helpful to you? Let us know by leaving your comments in the comments section below.
For more tips on blogging, head over HERE!
Were these tips helpful to you? Let us know by leaving your comments in the comments section below.
For more tips on blogging, head over HERE!
9 Comments
The hardest part for me was finding my voice on my blog. I had so many ideas but had to narrow it down. Now i'm blogging about wine, earning an income and hopefully can make this my full time gig soon!
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips! Making blogging a full time career is a lot of hard work!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I have done virtual assistant work for other bloggers as I hear about their need for help via social media. It's been a great way to gain experience, learn, and make a little extra money on the side, but offering services for free, for a time, is a great idea to gain experience, focus, and connections.
ReplyDeleteI love my blog and have been feeling really good about my posts and improved quality. However I feel that I am still so far from gaining any amount of income without jeopardizing my style. Any advice on that would be awesome! Great post :)
ReplyDeleteLove this post! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey @Steph Parrell, I totally understand what you mean by not wanting to jeopardise your style. Have you considered putting together an info-product or offering an e course? That's usually the best way of building upon what your blog is all about, plus by doing so, you'll still retain your Blog's integrity whilst providing value to your readers!
ReplyDeleteSo do Let me know what you think and if there's anything else you need to know:)
@Lecy Croson and @Rachel Ritlop I'm so glad you enjoyed these tips because we all know how blogging can be demanding at times!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Thanks for taking the time to leave your lovely commnets:)
@Chelsie Petras I hear you! It can be sort of difficult finding your voice and a focus for your blog in the beginning, that's why we're currently working on a blog post detailing all the ways that can help beginner bloggers find their niche and focus! So do keep your eyes peeled for that because I think it might help you a bit.
ReplyDelete@LeAnnRodriguez how cool is that that you were able to find work as a virtual assistant for bloggers - would've never thought of that! That's amazing plus it's a great way to earn a living whilst you're figuring out ways to monetize your own blog! So cool!
Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think more new bloggers should pay attention when they are choosing their niche and their domain name. You can do some keyword research with tools like Ahrefs or Moz, to find out how much competition you have in that niche and what it takes to rank for your main keywords. Unfortunately, SEO is often neglected by newbies.
Thanks for sharing,
Minuca