Have you recently started a blog and feel like you’re in the dark when it comes to how do bloggers make money?
I was in the same boat not too long ago.
When I started Twins Mommy four years ago, I wanted to see if I could make money as a typical blogger, using typical ways to make money blogging.
And, while I had some fails, I figured it out and can call myself a full-time blogger now.
I want that for you, mama!
To help you achieve your blogging goals, I want to share with you some blogging truths that I’ve learned on this blogging journey. Some might say they are shocking, ugly and harsh truths about blogging…and they are right.
Not many new bloggers – including me at the time – know about these blog truths.
But, I want to help you succeed, so here are my blogging truths from four years blogging.
If you don’t have the time to read my blog post, please watch my video (and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos like this).
Truths About Blogging
1. You Don’t Need to Know Your Niche on Day 1
Look –
I know many successful bloggers tell new bloggers that to make money blogging, you need to know what to blog about before starting your blog.
And, you know what? That’s simply not true.
How can you know who will read your new blog posts?
What if you attract the “wrong” audience?
No one really knows who will read their blog posts, but they will have a blog plan – right down to the 30 blog posts they will write – on the exact topic they want to have for their blog.
But, just because you write it, doesn’t mean they will read it.
To this, I say, just start a blog with some topics you want to write about:
- Motherhood
- Travel
- Parenting
Or,
- Eco living
- Breastfeeding
- Home decor
Or,
- Saving money
- Recipes
- Organization
The list can go on and on.
You will notice that I also have groups of three for your blog plan. I wouldn’t do more than 5 topics for your blog, and that’s why three is a nice number. You don’t have to invest soo much in your content since you don’t know which topic will take off.
Maybe all three will take off! Or just two.
When I took over Smart Mom Ideas, I focussed on:
- Organization
- Money/budgeting
- Food
And you know what? Money and food took off. But, I wanted to see if I could lean towards brand new moms or pregnant moms.
So, I added pregnancy:
- Money
- Food
- Pregnancy
And now?
My pregnancy content took off more than any other topic. So, Smart Mom Ideas is primarily niched to pregnancy and parenting content.
This took almost two years to arrive to that conclusion.
And that’s okay! I was still able to generate income during that time!
So know this – don’t focus too much on a blog niche, if you don’t have a clear idea of a blog niche. Pick a few topics and blog! 🙂
2. Take Your Time Creating Pillar Content
Here’s another thing a lot of successful bloggers stress to newbies – get those ultimate guides, tutorials and pillar post on your blog ASAP!
Whoa, nelly!
I just started a blog. I’m not that great of a writer. I can’t write 2,000 words!!!
*me when I first started
As a freelance writer, I know how hard and challenging it is to write pillar content. This is what I do for my clients.
But, I didn’t write those blog posts when I first started blogging. I waited around 2 years before I offered that to my clients and 1 year or so after starting my blog.
Please don’t spend days and days on a pillar post if you’re 6 months into blogging.
It’s much better to create 10 good blog posts and publish them every other day or once a week than to not publish anything for 1 month because you are writing this epic blog post.
Also, this goes back to know your audience. Your audience may change during the first year of blogging (because you are finding what content your audience seeks from you) so why spend time (wasted time too) on content that may not be helpful if you will change your niche in 10 months?
Finally, another reason NOT to create pillar content until year 1 or 2 of your blog is by that time, you will know exactly how to blog and be a better blogger too.
You will learn formatting, engagement tactics and have had built a community too.
So, spend that first year of blogging learning everything there is about blogging like:
3. Only a Handful of Blog Posts Will Earn You the Most Income and/or Traffic
It’s true, but no one shares this with you.
But, for those big successful sites you read, they are only riding on a handful (or maybe even one or two) blog posts to bring them the MOST income or traffic.
And, this doesn’t mean these are the blog posts that have a ton of searches. For example, for one of my clients, they rank for LinkedIn pulse with around 4,200 monthly searches.
This post isn’t monetized, and it’s about a social media publishing platform. But, my client does rank for monetized searches that aren’t searched a lot, but really targeted.
For example, think review posts for tools and services.
While not many people search for it, the people that do, will convert.
So, don’t feel you have to SEO all your blog posts. Sometimes it’s okay to write a helpful post just for your audience and not for Google too!
4. Networking is the #1 Thing You Need to Succeed
Here’s something not many successful bloggers share with you.
They like to covet this and not tell anyone how they are succeeding.
Well, I’m happy to share it with you!
It’s networking!
Networking is the idea of collaborating with other bloggers that you can benefit from. This is so important not only for bloggers but for people who offer a service.
This is also a topic I dive into in my course, Ready Set Blog for Traffic.
I relied on networking and my past network to help me grow Twins Mommy.
Early on, I did a giveaway. It was my FIRST giveaway.
I called on bloggers I’ve networked with and asked if they would offer up a course or ebook for my giveaway. They gladly said yes!
So, don’t be shy as a new blogger to comment on other blogger’s content you admire, join their Facebook page, subscribe to their YouTube channel and sign up to their email list.
I would also feature them in your blog content (link to a blog post of theirs) and tag them on social media.
This is the beginning of blogger outreach, and it is what can turn a blog successful.
There Ya Go!
A look at some blogging truths from me!
I hope you enjoyed it and found it helpful!
I’m here to help you grow your blog so that you can stay home for good!
Share with me some blog truths you’ve learned or tell me which blog truth affected you the most!
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