You’ve probably heard the age old notion of getting a business plan in place whenever you want to start a new venture.
Many people are quick to ignore this step, because, when it comes to start-ups, new businesses and especially online ventures, it’s “out with the old…”. (Not to mention that it can be quite tedious to set one up)
But in this post I want to tell you why it’s important that you get a blog business plan ready before launching (and even afterwards) and how you can create one. Fasten your seat belt!
Why your blog needs a business plan and how to create one
Unless you’re writing for passion, you should definitely treat your blog like a business. It will help you to establish the who, what, when, where, and why of your blog, and also help you to turn your blog into a success.
Table of Contents
The parts of a blog business plan
When it comes to a business plan, most people think about this crazy, 300-page polished document filled with jargon that no one can understand…
You don’t need that!
You just need basic Blog Business Plan that well help you take your blog in the direction it’s supposed to go: Forward!
You blog is a type of business, right? It has a mission and purpose. It has goals, strategies, a target audience and a budget, right? It needs a business plan! A strategy!
If you just want to do a rough draft of your blog’s business plan, that’s totally fine! Most successful companies review their business plan and polish it up on a regular basis, so you can do that as well.
If you simply don’t have the time to figure out how to create your blog business plan from scratch, or go through this entire post, you’ll be happy to know that I have done all the hard work for you! Check out my Blog Business Plan Workbook, which will guide you through all the sections and help you to get a clear direction for your blog!
The following sections are covered in the Blog Business Plan
- Aims and Objectives
- Target Audience
- Competition
- Inspiration
- Monetizing
- Marketing
- Branding
- Budgeting
- Organizing
- Growing
- Blogging Goals
Aims & Objectives of your blog
The aims and objectives of your business plan will help you to drive the blog into the right direction.
What are your aims and objectives?
In other words: What are you trying to accomplish by creating this business? Try to write down at least five reasons about what you are aiming to achieve with this blog.
Example: Are you starting a fashion blog because you love keeping up with the latest trends and accessories? Or do you want to start a fashion blog because you want to help single moms to create a signature wardrobe style?
Why are you starting this new venture?
You need to find a reason why you are starting this blog in the first place, otherwise you will eventually drop it and not follow through with your goals – it happens to the best of us!
Write down the main reason why you are creating a blog, or write down a few smaller reasons, just to motivate yourself to continue.
In fact, write it out on pretty paper, decorate it, frame it, and hang it on the wall! Because THIS is the drive force that will determine the success of your blog!
What will make your blog different from others?
From the top of your head, and without doing any research, what do you think will make your blog different from other blogs?
What can you think of that is different, unique and will spark new interest from potential readers?
This is what I’d like to call: The idea generator!
Take a piece of paper, and jot down a few unique ideas that you think will seal the deal for new readers!
Example: What will make them choose to read your article over someone else’s? Will you introduce a new angle, choice of words, writing style? Are you going to include different types of images, infographics or videos? Will you add your own, self-created media to your posts? Will you give away freebies, such as printables, checklists, planners or other digital items with each blog post? What else will you be able to offer?
Do what you think no one else is doing. Otherwise you will become just another blog that writes about that specific topic…
Target Audience
A target audience, or niche, is the people you actually want to read your blog, or buy your products. These people are genuinely or potentially interested in what you have to offer.
A thing to remember with audience (traffic, visitors, views, followers, etc.) is that some organic visitors are not part of your niche!
(So, while you may pride yourself in the 20+ visits you get on your blog per day, you should know that about 70% of them fall into the categories of: “That single guy who hates food blogs and is into fishing instead” and “Russian bots”. (Russian bots are what we call “web-crawlers” created by hackers who want to steal valuable information from innocent bloggers like you and me – and they are not only from Russia, but all over the world…)
Some people will reach your blog by accident, and some will intentionally go there. It’s all in the way you promote your blog and the strategies you use to get your content out there on the internet. You will always get accidental traffic, everyone does. But, you need to figure out how to convert most of your traffic into returning readers or people who will purchase what you have to offer.
More about that later in this post…
Who are your target readers?
You have to identify who your niche is, so that you know who you are writing, or selling to. This will set the tone for your blog: How you write, where you promote, what your branding will look like, etc.
How will you determine your ideal niche?
I cannot simply tell you that there is a type of niche for each type of blog. It’s not that simple. All we know is that your blog is related to whatever topic you choose – so people who are interested in that topic will form part of your niche.
So if you just want to write about food in general, then congratulations! 90% of the world’s population will fall into your niche! (I might exaggerate a little…)
Example: Choosing weddings as your blog topic/niche is not going to work – it is too broad… Why? Because your competition is everyone else who has a wedding related blog, service, article or product. Let’s be honest: Most 14 year old girls on Pinterest are also interested in weddings as a topic because of #alltheprettythings. Will they read every wedding related article you post on your blog, ever? Maybe. Will they buy your wedding related product or service? Probably not…
Define your niche by age, gender, location, interests, personality, and such. Because it is better to promote your content to 10 people who will stick around and possibly buy your products, than to a 1000 people who will not.
How are you going to reach your avid readers?
So, you have identified your niche, and now we simply wait for them…
.
.
Just kidding! You have to go and find them, fetch them and bring them to your blog! And the only way to do this, is by reaching out to them and getting in front of them.
So how will you do it?
You need to have a promotional strategy in place. Will you make use of social media or snail mail for this? (I prefer social media!)
A good promotional strategy is one that you have created for your blog, through trial and error. You need to see what works for your blog and what not. Each and every single blog is different and calls for different strategies.
Example: First, determine what you want to promote (i.e. blog posts, digital products) and how you will benefit from that promotion – purpose, goals, etc. Then, you need to figure out where you are going to promote it, and to whom. Finally, think of how you will promote it to that person so that they can give you what you want. Sounds simple enough, right?
What will you be able to help them with?
Part of discovering who your target audience are, is by figuring out what their problem is, and what tools, resources and content you can create to provide a solution to their problem.
People will be more interested in your blog if they have figured out that you can provide them with solutions. And these solutions will come in the form of helpful and interesting blog posts, media, other content, paid products, etc.
So, focus on what you think most people struggle with, or find entertaining and interesting.
Example: In the case of a fashion blog, common problems will be stuff like how to dress up for a first date, building a functional capsule wardrobe, matching accessories to a spring outfit, etc. What can you offer your readers to help them with these type of problems?
How will you gain their trust?
You have found people to promote to, they’ve found your content interesting (in fact they loved it!) and someone even bought one of your digital products… Well done!
BUT. Now you have to keep those people from disappearing into the massive void of the internet again. In other words, you need to convince them to come back and also eventually purchase whatever else you are offering.
There is a massive list of things you can do to gain your readers’ trust, and get even more new readers… You just have to figure out which method and strategy will work the best with your blog.
I highly, HIGHLY, recommend that you build an email list from the beginning of launching your blog. You don’t need fancy funnels and sequences from the get-go, just start collecting those email addresses so that you can send out email newsletters and updates! Read about the basics of planning out your emails here..
Competition
The next part of your Blog Business Plan is scoping the competition. This will determine the success of your blog. It will also help you determine the efforts and strategies you will have to put in place in order to stand out from the rest of the blogs in your specific niche.
How to identify a competitor
So, how will you know if that gorgeous fashion or wedding blog you’ve just visited, is actually your competition? Here are a few things to look at when you try to identify your competitors (I say try, because in real life, every blogger is actually your competition)…
• Their niche
By reading some of their content, looking at their branding and checking out their social media, can you figure out what their niche is? Who, do you think, is their ideal reader or follower? And compare this info with your own ideal niche or target market.
Example: If the blog features articles about organizing the kitchen, being productive when working from home and a few protein ball recipes, too, you can bet your bottom-dollar that it is a lifestyle blog.
• Promotional strategy
Can you gather which strategies they have in place to promote their content? Do they have an e-mail sign-up? How do they behave on social media? What type of things do they promote? Compare their possible strategy with your own.
• Social Media Networks
You can collect a magnitude of info from any successful business’ social media profiles. This is the ‘face’ of their business, so go ahead and see what type of content your possible competition are posting on their networks. Also think of how you will promote your content on social media, that will be different from theirs.
Next, have a look at how many followers they have, and what type of posts their followers generally like and comment on. This will give you some ideas for content of your own.
• Strengths and Weaknesses
While you are on someone’s blog or website, see if you can identify their strengths and weaknesses. Some of their weaknesses can be that they write very short blog posts, have zero social media interaction on their accounts, not having a mobile friendly (responsive) website, etc. Strengths can be things like beautiful, representative branding, high social media engagement, great content, many shares, etc.
Who are your competitors?
Go ahead and make a list of all the possible competitors and what their blogs entail. You will regularly visit these blogs, because you need to improve and polish your own blog to be better than theirs! It is a process, because highly active blogs with high quality content are normally ahead of the game.
By making your content better, you give your blog posts a higher chance at ranking on Google, for example.
Example: If your top competitor has a competing blog post of 2000 words, then you need to write one with higher quality content and at least 2500 words (though this might not be the only ranking factor, but it’s a good starting point).
Why are they your competitors?
If you consider all blogs in your niche to be your competition, then your blog is going to disappear. The best way to eliminate those that are not actually competing with you, is to decide why another blog is your competition.
Make a list of reasons for each chosen blog, and focus on the top 3 or 5 blogs. A blog is a work in progress, so you will constantly have new competitors out there.
If you simply don’t have the time to figure out how to create your blog business plan from scratch, or go through this entire post, you’ll be happy to know that I have done all the hard work for you! Check out my Blog Business Plan Workbook, which will guide you through all the sections and help you to get a clear direction for your blog!
Inspiration
Who/what inspires you?
To stay motivated and to push through with your new blog, you need to constantly be inspired with new ideas to stand out from the rest.
Your competition, for example, can be your inspiration. Your competitors are not your enemies! They are the ones that you can sometimes look up to for ideas and inspiration! (Side note: Never copy someone else’s hard work! By inspiration, I mean: what are they doing that inspires you to come up with your own great ideas?)
With blogging, you will also have to figure out what inspires you? Will it be sitting outside in the garden and brainstorming outdoor adventure ideas for your fitness blog? Or watching your guests play games at your house during game night for ideas for your small events blog?
Or can you find new content ideas when browsing through your Instagram feed?
Where will you look for inspiration to create more content?
There are so many places to find inspiration! If I had to make a list, it will be endless… But, to mention a few as a start:
- Pinterest and Instagram feeds
- Shopping at home and décor stores
- Having a brainstorming session with a notepad and a cup of sweet tea
- Art, crafts and DIY sessions
- Browsing the internet
- Searching for topics on Quora and see what questions people ask
Monetizing your blog
I am including this section, because most people want to monetize their blog and make it a source of passive income. If you are simply starting a blog for passion, and not for profit, simply skip this part.
If you are going to sell something, what will you sell?
Thinking of a product to sell is a whole other business plan on its own. However, if you have to start somewhere and had to choose something immediately, what will it be?
Example: Some wedding blog owners simply sell digital products, such as printables, calendars, planners, checklists, invitations, wedding stationery, etc. Other wedding blog owners sell physical items, too. This can be wedding favors, dresses, décor, flowers, gifts and such.
You can also sell services on your blog. Are you a designer who can design lovely mood boards and websites for your clients? Or maybe you are a full time event planner, who have many different packages to offer…
If you don’t have a potential product or service yet, then take your time in coming up with one. In the meantime, you can monetize your blog in other ways…
How can you monetize your blog?
This is such a foreign concept to a lot of people, but you really can make money from your blog! There are so many different ways to actually do this – without selling a physical item.
There are plenty of options to choose from, and you’d have to figure which option is best suited for your blog. Most bloggers with a decent amount of traffic choose to implement ads on their blogs. Others make use of affiliate links, where they earn commission based on items bought through those links…
How will your products/services benefit your readers?
Don’t just create products or offer services simply as your main purpose. Think of what you can offer your readers that will truly benefit them.
If they come to your blog with a problem, you should say “oh! I have a printable checklist for that!”. The best way to do this, is by first letting them read a relevant blog posts, then placing links or images to related products or services in the blog post, thoughtfully. In this post, I write more about how you can focus on solving key problem areas in your niche with a digital product.
Researching which problems your readers have will also help you create products and services to help them – and there is a bigger chance of them making a purchase.
What makes your products/services different from the competition?
If your products or services are well thought out or unique, people are also more likely to purchase. That’s why testimonials and reviews are so great: Because people can determine for themselves whether or not your products or services are worth their money.
Again, you need to stand out from the rest, because if you just sell another weekly planner printable, it is going to be difficult to compete with the thousands already out there. If you want to sell something that is already on the market, try to make it different from everyone else’s.
Charging for products and services
Always price your offerings right. If it’s too expensive, people won’t fork money out for it. If it is too cheap, people will wonder what is wrong with it.
Set your prices according to what you think you will pay for it. How much will you be willing to spend on it?
Also, remember that you cannot go with competitive prices, especially for selling digital products. There are some people who will ask $50 for an item, and others who will ask $0.50 for the same item. You need to ask yourself, how can you convince people to buy your product in stead of someone else’s?
Do a bit of research on the potential price of your product. And if you are just starting out with your first one, I highly recommend looking on both Creative Market and Etsy. They each have a marketplace, so it’s easy to get an idea of how people price their products.
Read more here about how you can create and sell your first digital product online…
Marketing
The marketing section of your Blog Business Plan is all about how you are going to get your content in front of your audience.
Which social media platforms will you use to promote your blog?
As you probably have already discovered, there are many social media networks out there. Each comes with its own layout, features and strategies. And you need to fully understand and use these platforms in order for it to work for you.
An important note on choosing which social media network is the best one for your blog: Don’t choose all of them at once right away. You are going to promote your stuff 24/7 and not have time to actually create high quality content, never mind trying to monetize your blog. This can easily lead to overwhelm, too.
That is why some people refer to blogging as a full-time job! And since it is an entrepreneurial business, you will put in twice as much effort than a normal 9-5 job.
I recommend that you choose one or two networks, get the hang of it, utilize it fully, gain enough followers, learn it, then move on to the next…
Let’s quickly look at the top ones. I’d be lying if I said there are only 4! But these are the most popular ones right now:
Facebook: The Network of Networks (of Networks)
Facebook is a network of many branches in which you can promote your blog. You can have your personal account/feed to promote to friends (and hopefully they will share your work).
You can create a page for your blog, where you can post updates about new blog posts, videos, images, competitions, events and also shop items.
You can start an open group where people can join and engage, or a closed group which a lucky few can join and participate in. For your blog, I recommend that you create a Facebook Page first. Groups can be created at a later stage, because they require some work and maintenance. However, you should eventually have one of these, too, so that you can connect with your target market (those who join) directly.
Also, take note of Facebook Ads. You can pay Facebook to run your ads to a targeted audience. Be warned though: Even though it doesn’t look like much, Facebook ads can really add up in the end. Be sure to have a marketing budget in place and understand the basics of ad campaigns!
Twitter: The Now-You-See-Me-Now-You-Don’t Network
This is the fastest moving network of them all, and the “Tweets you have missed” feature really isn’t doing it much justice. In order to be seen on Twitter, you need to post a lot! And frequently. And use the right tags + tag the right people…
Numbers are important: If you have plenty of Twitter followers, that means that more people will see your Tweets, like them, comment on them or even share them.
The great thing about Twitter is that you can add images and video to your tweets as well, and insert working links to your blog posts in your tweets.
Twitter is hard work and takes lots of time and patience. But don’t write it off just yet. Many bloggers get loads of traffic just from Twitter alone!
Instagram: The Love-This-Love-That Network
You have probably already seen what Instagram looks like, and it is totally great! On Instagram, you can “heart” someone’s post, or save and share it. (If you hold the ‘save’ button in, you can actually create categories for your saved items)
If you know how Instagram works – and it is worth studying Instagram marketing strategies – then your blog can truly benefit from it. You can post images and videos, and you can also go live. A nice perk about Instagram is, if you have more than 10,000 followers, Instagram enables the “swipe up” feature, which will be able to take your followers immediately to a link in your post – perfect for promoting new blog posts!
The dreadful downside of Instagram is that there are many instances where Instagram can ban your account, such as if you post too much, you’re being spammy, you are using the same hashtags over and over, or you post offensive stuff – no matter how passionate about something you are. But that being said, try it out to see if it works for you.
Pinterest: The Snowballer Network
Pinterest is a blogger’s best friend! I call it the ‘Snowballing network’, because once you have a Pin that starts getting engagement, it will get even more and more engagement, causing a snowballing effect.
Create great Pins, and post them on Pinterest with compelling blog titles. Use colors strategically (do some research on Social Media color branding). Also, make sure you have proper Pin descriptions with carefully selected keywords. This will help people to find you pins whenever they search for something.
Set up a Pinterest account right away to start getting traffic to your blog!
How will you use each social media platform to reach your audience?
The next step in marketing your blog is to decide how you will use each social media platform to get your content out there.
The best way to determine this, is by having a social media plan/strategy in place. Take a weekly calendar, for example. Write down which platforms you are going to use, what type of content you will promote, in what media form will you promote it (text post, image, video, live) etc. Then you need to schedule your posting times and your posting frequency (how often are you going to post and where).
Your social media strategy all depends on your content, media and location + the type of social network you are trying to promote in. Again, you have to tweak your social media marketing strategies through trial and error, to find out what works for your blog.
To e-mail or not to e-mail?
Another method of reaching out to your readers, besides using good ol’ social media, is by building an e-mail list. You can then e-mail updates and newsletters to your subscribers to keep them posted on the latest happenings.
However, there are a few things you’ll need to consider when it comes to building an email list, such us what type of emails you’ll send out, how frequently you do it, how you’ll monetize your email list and so on.
You might find this blog post really helpful where I talk about the basics of planning out your email content and campaigns.
How much time, effort and money are you willing to spend on marketing?
The golden question of the marketing section. And the ugly truth is: Money gets you places – even in the blogging world. But just as you are willing to invest money in your marketing strategies, you should also invest in your efforts and time, too.
The best way to answer this question, is by having a blogging budget in place, as well as a daily, weekly and monthly blogging schedule. Always plan and prepare ahead, to keep yourself from drowning.
A note on time and effort: Consistency is key! You need to put the same time and effort into each aspect of your blog each day, week and month – to get the results that you want!
Branding
Branding is the ‘look and feel’ of your blog. And it can truly make or break your brand new venture – so make sure you put some effort into this section, no matter how small of a factor you think it is.
What to brand on your blog
Just having a pretty header image on your blog is not enough. You need to brand more than that in order to portray your blog ‘image’ to the world. You should brand every image that you use, and on every platform (including social media). Use the same colors and elements throughout.
The more you brand everything, the more people will start recognizing and trusting your content. So every Pin that is created, should be branded accordingly. Each image posted on twitter or Instagram should have your branding, and so on.
Here are some ideas of what you can brand for your blog:
- Header Images
- Logo
- Fonts used
- Color Scheme, patterns and textures
- Embellishments
- Images and other media
- Your e-mail signature and header
- Pins
- Other promoted content
Be consistent
In order for people to start recognizing your brand, you have to be consistent with your brand elements. Your images, logo, colors, etc. should all be the same throughout everything you create.
People who discover you will soon realize that you are a trusted source who provides high quality content every time and they will most likely revisit your blog again and again. It will be easier for them to find you, let’s say, through your Pinterest pins, because they recognize your branding through your pins!
Review and polish - if you already have a blog in place...
Don’t be afraid to re-brand your blog. If you feel the need to change the look and feel of your blog, then go ahead and design new things – but do so in a subtle way, especially if you’ve already established yourself.
It takes time to completely re-brand everything, especially if you have already been at it for months. Make sure to recreate images and save them, then have dedicated days on which you update and upload new elements of your brand.
Reasons why you should consider your re-branding your blog:
- You have finally discovered who your niche is, and can re-brand according to their interests and personalities – example: You have a funky, colorful style in branding, but your niche is more towards modern, late 20’s readers. Think of how you can portray your niche through your branding. A clean and classic look, maybe?
- As you blog more, your style changes. So does your knowledge about blogging. You might want to re-brand, because you feel your blogging style have evolved.
- When you first start out, you are eager to choose your branding quickly, because you just want to get your content out there. You can always focus on the perfect branding for your blog at a later stage. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Writing the “About” section of your blog
If people are genuinely interested in what you have to say, they may want to get to know a little bit more about what is going on behind the scenes of your blog.
The “about” section of your blog is where you get to portray yourself, what it is you do, what your passions are, and how it all connects with the current blog, etc.
If you simply don’t have the time to figure out how to create your blog business plan from scratch, or go through this entire post, you’ll be happy to know that I have done all the hard work for you! Check out my Blog Business Plan Workbook, which will guide you through all the sections and help you to get a clear direction for your blog!
Budgeting
How much are you going to spend on your blog initially?
Before starting your blog, determine how much you are willing to spend on your blog to start it up. You have to take into account that there are expenses such as hosting fees and internet usage.
Also consider your time spent on working on this blog = labor fees (and possibly the allowance you pay yourself for general upkeep).
You might also have utility expenses such as the electricity needed to charge your laptop or using your computer, or the coffees you pay for at your local coffee shop when using their WiFi… Sounds drastic, but you need to determine these expenses, no matter how small, because it all adds up!
How much are you willing to spend on promotion and marketing?
You will soon realize that promotion and marketing expenses can add up to be the most costly of all blogging expenses.
Example: Facebook ads might not look like a lot of money when you first start out, but if you run multiple campaigns at a time, it can become quite costly – and, if you don’t utilize these ads fully, and you are unsure what you are doing, then you are throwing money down the drain!
Another Example: If you are constantly active on Pinterest – promoting and growing numbers – which uses a lot of internet data or WiFi, that in itself is another costly marketing expense.
Decide where you think your ideal readers are hanging out, and try to work out a marketing strategy to promote to them. If they are mainly on Pinterest, start there. You can always expand to other social media platforms, once you have established a following on one platform.
I highly recommend that you do expand to other platforms eventually. Why? Because putting all of your eggs in one basket is never a good idea. What if something is to happen to Pinterest? Or Twitter? Or even, dare I say it, Google?
Your traffic will come crashing down! And, we already know how much time and effort you would’ve put into getting that traffic…
What other expenses will you possibly have, besides the usual blogging expenses?
In the beginning of this section I have mentioned that you should determine your expenses up front. There are common, well known expenses and then there are not so common ones.
Try to figure out which other expenses you might have besides the ordinary ones. Maybe you need to be able to afford a bus ticket, to get to an internet cafe? Or maybe you still need to buy a laptop, or register for an internet data package? Make a list of all of these possible expenses, and budget for it.
Organizing your blog
I have said before that your blog is like a business. And an organized business makes it easier to reach goals and complete projects, which leads to success. You have to find a way to keep your new blog organized.
How will you keep your blog organized?
There are many ways to keep organized, you will just have to find a method that suits your needs. Having a blog is a lot of admin, and if your blog looks like a hot mess, people will assume that it is not very professional.
How will you handle blog admin?
There are more admin aspects to your blog than just the website itself. Your statistics and finances are a huge part and should be organized, so that you can benefit from as much “behind the scenes” info as possible. Your blog will need maintenance, in that you need to update plugins and themes. You’ll also have to polish older blog posts, and maybe get rid of the irrelevant ones. You’ll need to check that links still work…
And these are only a few of the things! You’ll need to keep your blog in a good state, all while creating new content and promoting on social media.
If your admin is in place, you can make blog decisions and set new goals with ease.
The Blog Business Plan Workbook, which I have created to save you time in setting up your business plan from scratch, works fantastically as a blog audit workbook, too! If you already have a blog, you can use the Blog Business Plan Workbook to identify and fix weak spots, tweak strategies and set new goals or a new direction for your blog. Have a look at it over here.
Growing your blog
It’s all great when you have a well maintained, up and running blog. But you will have to grow your blog constantly to keep up. Growth can be achieved in many different ways – you need to put a growth plan in place. And remember: always reflect on the growth of your blog.
How will you maintain and grow your blog?
Have a few action plans in place to maintain and grow your blog. For instance, dedicate one day each month for blog maintenance. You can update plugins, polish up some old blog posts, change images, etc. on these days.
Having a growth plan in place will also require a few days each month to review your blog, check stats, think of more ways to draw in readers and make more money with your blog. Think of ways to maintain and grow your blog.
What techniques will you apply to grow your audience and followers?
Growing your blog means to make your blog better in different areas so that your can gain more readers and followers, and make more money. You need to figure out which techniques work for you, as each and every blog is different and needs different strategies to be implemented.
Some well known techniques for blog growth:
- Have an opt-in freebie (such as a free PDF or e-mail course) so that you can grow your e-mail list
- Share on social media platforms to grow your followers
- Frequently post new, high quality blog posts on your wedding blog to grow your traffic numbers
- Use more high quality affiliate links and programs to grow your affiliate income
- Make use of giveaways and competitions to grow your reader engagement
How will you grow your income from this blog?
As I have mentioned in some of the previous sections in this post, there are many ways to create income from a blog. It is all great when you’re already making some income from your blog. But you want to grow your blog income, right?
To grow your income, think of some strategies to implement so that you can potentially gain more possible buyers. Will you make use of more affiliate programs and links? Will you advertise more of your services on social media? Have you considered hiring a virtual assistant to help you reach your blogging money goals more easily?
How can your audience recommend your blog to other readers?
One of the best ways to grow your blog is by encouraging your readers to share your blog on social media.
Your readers will only share your content if:
- They find it useful
- It is comprehensive and brings a lot of great information to them
- It’s a high quality blog post
- They enjoy reading from your blog (make use of writing techniques that will draw your readers in!)
- They think others will also benefit from your blog post
- It is clear to them how much time and effort you have put into creating an amazing blog post
- They enjoy following you on social media
Blogging goals
How will you know if you are making progress with your blog if you don’t set any goals and achieve them? Having blogging goals in place is essential to move your blog in the right direction and can help you to expand on all areas of your blog.
What type of reachable goals are you going to set for yourself?
There are many types of goals that you can set for your blog. It is up to you to identify and implement them.
Example: You can have monetary blogging goals, where you set measurable goals in order to make more money from your blog. For example: In 3 months, I want my blog income to be ‘x amount’ and I will achieve this goal by [doing]…’
Another Example: If you want to gain more followers, an achievable goal will be something like: By January 2019, I want ‘x amount’ of followers on Instagram, and I will achieve this goal by [doing]…
Why are these goals important?
To keep yourself motivated and encourage yourself to reach the goals you set for yourself, think of why you want to achieve those goals. Having a clear vision of how and in which aspects you want your blog to grow should already be in place.
How will you measure if you have reached these goals?
As with blog growth, having a reflection session after your goals have been reached is super important. Reflect on how you have reached your goals, when you’ve reached them, and how successfully you have reached them. Ask yourself what you can do in the future to improve on your goals. That includes goal setting as well as goal reaching.
Tanya Viljoen
Hi there! I'm Tanya, the owner of this blog, and I love teaching people how to start and run a creative business online. Whether you’re interested in starting a blog, selling digital products, or anything in between, stick around!
Tanya Viljoen
Hi there! I'm Tanya, the owner of this blog, and I love teaching people how to start and run a creative business online. Whether you’re interested in starting a blog, selling digital products, or anything in between, stick around!
