When I first started making the transition to being a professional blogger; I had no clue as to what I was doing. My blog was all over the place and I was probably using the wrong methods to grow my traffic. My social media numbers were not growing organically and I was in over my head. Maybe two months or so in, and I was ready to give up. It was difficult for me to see how someone could possibly make money blogging.
But I knew it was possible because I saw it. I was surrounded by it.
It was something that I was watching and a part of. And it was something that I wanted for me.
My goals, when I finally made up my mind, were simple enough: build my traffic, grow my audience, make money.
Easy enough in theory, but definitely too broad. I had no plans, no methods, no ideas as to how I was going to accomplish any of this.
How to Build a Blog That You Love
First things first, I needed to figure out my direction. I needed to focus. You may often hear this referred to as “finding a niche” and that’s mostly what I started doing.
But does it really matter if you skip this step? Well, yes and no. Some may think that my current “niche” (Family lifestyle) is still too broad.
How can you tell if your niche is too broad?
Take a look at your blog or website. Are you writing about several topics? If you are an absolute stranger winding up on your Internet doorstep for the first time, could you quickly understand the topic or market being covered? This is one way to see if you are using a shotgun approach that is shooting for to large of a target.
How Many Words Define Your Niche?
What is the focus of your niche? If you had to put a name on your niche, what is it? Often times, if your market can be described in 1 or 2 words, you are trying to please too many people. This is not true in every case. However, if your market is “shoes” rather than “designer shoes for millennial men” then your market is probably much too large.
I will tell you this much: finding a niche is an on-going process. And for me, personally, it was a matter of finding out what I enjoyed writing about and what my audience enjoyed reading.
Still, once I had at least figured out what I enjoyed writing about and what made sense to me; I could start building a plan.
Or so I thought.
It really wasn’t that simple for me because I kept getting caught up in the comparison trap.
Why You Shouldn’t Stress Over What Other Bloggers Are Doing
Are you constantly comparing your blog to the competition? Do you give yourself a pat on the back because you think you are doing something better than your competitors? Alternately, do you get frustrated, and chastise yourself, for not implementing some successful strategy that another blogger is using?
If you are “freaking out” about what other bloggers are doing … Stop It!
Mental stress causes inflammation which can lead to serious physical problems.
You probably have enough stress in your life already. The world we live in is constantly hectic, and you never have enough time in your day to do everything that is scheduled. On top of this, new problems arise which add to your workload, meaning even more stress.
This means there is no reason for you to create additional stress which is unnecessary, unhealthy, and based upon something you have no control over.
You can only control your own actions. That means if you are stressing out over what another blogger is doing, you are really upset about something that you either have or have not done.
That’s not so say that you shouldn’t jump on some bandwagons. Some have worked out quite well for me.
One of those things is Elite Blog Academy.
Through a powerful combination of practical training videos, insightful handouts, purposeful assignments, and interactive live webinars, Elite Blog Academy will empower, enable, and inspire you to take you blog to the next level, whether you’ve just started or have been blogging for years.
But the best part about it is not even just the information that it provides, but the fact that it will give you a comprehensive framework and a step by step plan of action for how to get the results you want.
Through four powerful modules, you will learn how to:
- Eliminate blog confusion by creating an organized framework that sets the stage for everything you do.
- Create killer content that gets noticed and shared.
- Discover the secret to harnessing Pinterest, the most powerful free marketing tool in the world.
- Understand what is not working in your current monetization model and instead develop concrete goals and a solid plan for achieving them.
- Dramatically increase your site’s passive income by mastering the four key strategies of optimizing ad network revenue.
- Take advantage of the critical—but often ignored—connection between SEO and ad revenue.
- Overcome your fear of private advertising and instead learn to approach brands with confidence.
- Learn what it really takes to earn a six-figure income from your blog, then develop your own product along with a successful marketing plan to sell it.
- Create a solid working business plan to take your blogging business to the next level.
Now, I will also say this: I am a consumer of courses and eBooks. I am prone to not implementing what I consume.
Don’t do that.
If you enroll in a course like Elite Blog Academy commit to finishing it. And more importantly, commit to implementing what you learn.
Have you taken a blog course that’s helped you achieve a major transformation? If so, what was it?
Kori
Latest posts by Kori (see all)
- Cultivating A Happier Home Environment In 5 Steps - March 1, 2024
