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| The right ways to get into blogging |
If I title this blog, “the best way to start, build and run a blog”, it’ll be perfect. If I title it, “the methods used by the winning blogs that the failed ones never know”, it's equally suitable.
Even if I call it how to get new blogging ideas and niches, it's fine.
Blogging has been messed up lately. People don’t get the true picture of what blogging is all about. They miss the true intention of blogging in the first place. They forget the origin of this culture.
As a result, what you have out there are web pages full of junk. People just copy and paste. After all, it's all about money, not the message, not the true service.
The primary motive has been changed to money-making only. That’s where we all get it wrong.
This post is a comprehensive look at what blogging should be about. It’s a new check at how newcomers can approach blogging if they want to survive and win the game. It’s aimed at helping those who are already frustrated to look back and see where they had gone astray.
Even if I call it how to get new blogging ideas and niches, it's fine.
Blogging has been messed up lately. People don’t get the true picture of what blogging is all about. They miss the true intention of blogging in the first place. They forget the origin of this culture.
As a result, what you have out there are web pages full of junk. People just copy and paste. After all, it's all about money, not the message, not the true service.
The primary motive has been changed to money-making only. That’s where we all get it wrong.
This post is a comprehensive look at what blogging should be about. It’s a new check at how newcomers can approach blogging if they want to survive and win the game. It’s aimed at helping those who are already frustrated to look back and see where they had gone astray.
What is a Blog?
A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries. Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent post appears first, at the top of the web page. Wikipedia
If you must know what a blog is, there you have it.
Blogging is about writing and publishing articles, videos, shows, episodes, etc. in your area of interest or passion. It’s meant to update, educate, interact and engage with the world beyond our immediate reach.
So, why do you have to go into blogging in the first place?
If your immediate answer is to make money, you've failed before taking the first step.
Though it is a mixture of the truth and lie. Yet, the real thing to achieve before the money is "service". The better you can serve, the more money you can make too.
Have you read that 45% of small businesses failed within the first 5 years of their operation? Do you know why?
Some owners didn’t have the right reason to start the business in the first place. Some did because they had some surplus they could spend on businesses and production. Some just wanted to be their own bosses. Some wanted to be proud owners of businesses.
Some owners didn’t have the right reason to start the business in the first place. Some did because they had some surplus they could spend on businesses and production. Some just wanted to be their own bosses. Some wanted to be proud owners of businesses.
These are no good reasons to venture into businesses, in summary.
Hence, they go in "copy and paste"!
Those who are making it in businesses started because they had values to give, they have seen loopholes to block, and they want to give better, more, faster, and cheaper.
Obviously, this is the reason they are still in business today and why they will be for a long time more.
The same happens in bogging. Unless you see blogging as a business that must fill a vacant space, give value, and serve faster, better, and cheaper, you’re more likely to go out of blogging in a few years too.
Recommended Time-Tested Approaches to Starting and Running a Blog
Having said that you should take blogging as a business, you must learn how things had worked for others.
First, blogging shouldn't be about money ONLY, even though that is what business is about. Do you agree? It shouldn't be the only reason you're starting out. No business makes money without customers perceiving and believing that it is solving their problems.
It’s easy to say, "I blog for interest, passion, hubby, and so on". Those things boil all down to making money. Even if you don’t aim for money onset, you’ll be interested in passive income sooner or later.
However, while business is about providing service or selling commodities, what you sell in blogging is “content”.
You write, write and write. Just as one business leads to other businesses, one post leads to others.
First, blogging shouldn't be about money ONLY, even though that is what business is about. Do you agree? It shouldn't be the only reason you're starting out. No business makes money without customers perceiving and believing that it is solving their problems.
It’s easy to say, "I blog for interest, passion, hubby, and so on". Those things boil all down to making money. Even if you don’t aim for money onset, you’ll be interested in passive income sooner or later.
However, while business is about providing service or selling commodities, what you sell in blogging is “content”.
You write, write and write. Just as one business leads to other businesses, one post leads to others.
Let’s see what blogging should be like.
1. Blogging Should Be Around Your Interest or Passion
I’ve mentioned the words interest and passion a couple of times in this post and similar ones on this blog. It’s true that writing around interest and passion works in blogging.
Most people blog about technologies, phones, laptops, software, etc. They do well at it because they won’t stop buying and using those new products and services.
Knowing that some bloggers are making it reviewing techs and gadgets, so you also do the same. I assure you will fail unless you can answer YES to all the questions below:
Most people blog about technologies, phones, laptops, software, etc. They do well at it because they won’t stop buying and using those new products and services.
Knowing that some bloggers are making it reviewing techs and gadgets, so you also do the same. I assure you will fail unless you can answer YES to all the questions below:
- Do you have enough money to buy a dozen phones, laptops, etc yearly?
- Do you use these gadgets, apps, etc. yourself such that you can answer any questions about them or share your comprehensive experiences?
- Are you always hungry for the latest gadgets out there or those to come?
See, if any of the questions above is NO, kindly run from review blogs. It’s not just your world.
If you take a closer look at those reviewers, it’s not only about their interest, they have the resources. Why join them if you can’t beat them?
Trying is not the problem, you will be frustrated in no time and thus you’re out of business if your interest can't force you to invest time and money.
This is not limited to the content writers around technologies, blogging about businesses, laws, government, news, and social events also requires our cure interest and passion, money, time, and other resources to excel.
2. Blogging Should Be Around Your Business, Profession, or Field
This is my own approach, even though I blog around techies. Why? I love changing my phone every year. I enjoy the latest laptops and other techs out there, yet my business is education consulting.
Blogging about education is the easiest thing. That's why my education blog is doing better than that on techs.
With my experience in consulting, I can probably answer any question on education. This has helped me provide guides to more than a thousand challenges for admission seekers, job seekers, and graduates around here.
Blogging about education is the easiest thing. That's why my education blog is doing better than that on techs.
With my experience in consulting, I can probably answer any question on education. This has helped me provide guides to more than a thousand challenges for admission seekers, job seekers, and graduates around here.
The stock of experiences acquired on my way up in blogging has been the starting point for this very blog. With new experiences, trends, mistakes, and successes, I can't stop feeding my readers with true guides and practical tips to achieve blogging, SEO, AdSense, and online/content marketing.
Getting fresh content ideas is close to my heart. A client asking a question on the phone can give me inspiration for a new post. Questions from groups/forums help me to come up with more than a score of topics.
This is the power of writing articles about what you’re doing for a living. If you don’t do your business right, you will lose your next meal. Hence, you must do it right.
As long as you’re still in your offline business serving, you can keep posting relevant articles for the ever-demanding online audience out there.
Getting fresh content ideas is close to my heart. A client asking a question on the phone can give me inspiration for a new post. Questions from groups/forums help me to come up with more than a score of topics.
This is the power of writing articles about what you’re doing for a living. If you don’t do your business right, you will lose your next meal. Hence, you must do it right.
As long as you’re still in your offline business serving, you can keep posting relevant articles for the ever-demanding online audience out there.
3. Blogging Should Be Around Practical Projects
My mentor got a dozen niche blogs before I even joined online content writing and marketing.
Niche blogging is the act of creating a blog with the intent of using it to market to a particular niche market. Niche blogs may appeal to "geographic areas, a specialty industry, ethnic or age groups, or any other particular group of people.
The man could blog about anything but there was a secret.
In order to start and run a blog (especially in a niche he knows little or nothing about), he starts a project about that.
For example, in order to blog about gardening, he started his own garden. For the wood crafting blog, he started a wood-crafting side business. For the YouTube video-making blog, he creates his own channel.
With this approach, he never dries out topics and content ideas. He could easily present what he did in the garden in his next post. He could easily share what he did well and wrongly in his weekend photography adventure. He could easily share the list of video cameras that worked fine for him and those that might not hold up in his next content.
Even if you don’t aim for mini or niche blogs, I challenge you to start a project or business you can blog around. With this, you can't run out of something to write on.
This kind of blog is usually the most respected out there. People want to read from authority writers. They want to hear from those who have truly experienced something rather than those who share fiction.
4. Blogging Should Be Around Trends and Local Updates
There will always be something new in politics. There will always be the latest promotions, campaigns, etc. from your local banks. There will always be gossip out there.
The cheapest blogging approach is this. But it's already saturated. You can start if you have what it takes as detailed in my post, "11 Types of Blogs You Shouldn’t Start Now or Never". When you get the page, go straight to the second section for this and more.
A student of mine had got it right here. She talked about laws, courts, and judgments.
The smart lady would always be on the lookout for news on judgments, constitutions, etc. Then, she wrote around these - her readers like it more when she argues things. She would criticize or commend verdicts, courts' pronouncements, etc.
More interestingly, she was seeking admission into Law.
This may be your take if you love to write news-like articles. You can still go for it since there will always be updates around these.
If you love arguing about celebs, players, and clubs, you may not only argue with your friends right at the clubs. Go online, share your views and interact with others.
This may be your take if you love to write news-like articles. You can still go for it since there will always be updates around these.
If you love arguing about celebs, players, and clubs, you may not only argue with your friends right at the clubs. Go online, share your views and interact with others.
But if you will keep posting the same titles others are writing, this niche won't welcome or treat you well.
Conclusion
Coming up with blogging is the easiest thing. Teachers and students want to come online. Unemployed graduates are taking to blogging as a fallback. Employees are taking to it as a side hustle. But something is still missing when you look around.
People just blog because others do.
Don’t join this world with your eyes closed. Learn to approach this venture like a serious-focused offline business. If you do it for doing sake, you end up with nothing.
If you follow any of the listed approaches above, the sky is not your limit. Just be conscious of the right one for you. You should know yourself better than I do.
Which of the approaches above are you using for your blogging adventure? Which one do you care to adopt? Do you have a better way to approach blogging? Do you still think you can steal others' works and make them? Share your experience. Leave a comment below.
People just blog because others do.
Don’t join this world with your eyes closed. Learn to approach this venture like a serious-focused offline business. If you do it for doing sake, you end up with nothing.
If you follow any of the listed approaches above, the sky is not your limit. Just be conscious of the right one for you. You should know yourself better than I do.
Which of the approaches above are you using for your blogging adventure? Which one do you care to adopt? Do you have a better way to approach blogging? Do you still think you can steal others' works and make them? Share your experience. Leave a comment below.
Wow 😍, this just answered all my questions
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