This is a guest post by Dwight Anthony of Financially Elite Blog.
If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.
First off, at my last count, there are over 40,000 new blogs that are being started daily around the world. That is a staggering amount of competition as a Blogger and those that stand out have great credibility and authority in running their blog within their given niche.
So, how do you compete with this staggering statistic and stay competitive gaining your market share of readers?
First, the Good News
One thing that is good about those 40,000 new blogs that start daily are that most of them are utter crap, hopefully I didn’t offend anyone but it’s true. The majority of new blogs are either personal journal type entries, lack decent content or are visually unappealing. The majority of the blogs are also run on completely free hosted platforms such as BlogSpot or Free themes from WordPress.com. Not that there’s anything wrong with this but you usually don’t own these blogs, this is where established or developing bloggers can shine.
The Bad News
With so many new blogs starting up and readers that have the equivalent of Attention deficit disorder online, you have to capture your readers time and interest when they hit your blog. You have anywhere between 3-8 seconds to capture a new reader’s attention before they click on and leave your blog, so make it count.
Make Running Your Blog As a Business Priority
Now that we’ve got good background information on what it takes to give a blog staying power and professionalism, you need to start treating your blogging activity like a business.
If you were just starting an offline business and wanted it to succeed, there would be a few things that need to happen. You would need a business plan, investment capital to build the business physically and behind the scenes as well as surround the business with good strategic support for growth.
Your blog should be no different, you possibly already have your blog setup and incorporated as a business. Granted, just because it is incorporated doesn’t mean that it is actually run like a business.
For example, for the last few months, I’ve decided to start running my blog like a business as opposed to just an authority hub for like-minded readers. First, I changed the theme of the blog from a free customized theme to a premium, business wordpress theme from solostream.com. You can read the post I did from my Financially Elite Blog – Blog Theme Change, Like It? if interested. I got Andrew Rondeau of WeBuildYourBlog.com (author of this blog) to help assist me with implementing the new blog theme change and design as well. You should contact Andrew with any design help or features you need help with, his professionalism can attest to that.
Now, without further delay, here are a few good suggestions that you should start implementing on your blog immediately if you haven’t already to build your own blog like a business.
- Come Up With a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your blog should have a USP or mission to captivate readers and build credibility and authority branding yourself and your blog. Readers should have a clear and distinct idea of what your blog is about and the benefits that it will give them. Sell yourself and your blog posts for your readers, bring them into the story. If you sell your own products on your blog, even better make a USP around them as well as your blog.
- Invest in Your Blog. Be willing to put some money into your blog or trade services to get certain design elements or work completed. For example, if readers say your blog is a little bland, take it serious and do a complete 180 of your blog. Be willing to outsource by using the 80/20 rule on things you don’t have the time or technical knowledge to complete.
- Market Your Blog. There are just way too many people out there posting and hoping traffic will show up. This is a losing proposition, you need to at least let new readers know that your blog is out there. Share your posts to authority sites such as Digg, Stumbleupon, FaceBook, Twitter, Delicious and the like and ask your readers to do the same. Comment on other blogs and use some forum posts with a link back to your blog in your signature. Just a few quick and free ways to get your message out.
- Joint Venture With Other Authority Bloggers. If you have other bloggers in your related or a similar field, make sure to network with them and get them to help build your brand. This can be done through guest posting, joint venturing on a product you developed or even doing some ad swaps and similar. There are a number of ways that you can leverage existing traffic, but get creative with this and you’ll see results.
- Monetize Your Blog. There’s a good chance your blog has been running on your resources and action alone. If this is the case, you may want to consider monetizing your blog as that can help pay for your domain and hosting and if you got good traffic, could even bring in good income for you every month. This may not fit the overall message of some blogs (such as minimalism blogs etc) but if it can be done, it should be implemented. Use some adsense or sidebar ads to get started.
- Establish a Clear Call to Action. Now that you have a decent blog, make sure to offer readers a free report or video or similar to build an email list. Personally, I use ProFollow’s Auto Responder (profollow.com) and it is basically driven by Aweber. Choose one that fits your needs. Make sure that you have an optin box maybe in a right sidebar or top left etc asking readers to optin to your newsletter and grabbing your free resource. Long term, this will help you build a good relationship and repeat traffic. Add an RSS subscribe button to your blog and always close your blog post either asking your readers to comment, optin or share your post. Get them to take action and because it costs them nothing, many will oblige.
I hope you enjoyed this post and that you can start implementing on your own blog as soon as possible if needed. You won’t be sorry that you did and you will reap the benefits of an established blog and targeted traffic over time if you keep with it. Wishing you some success
About the Author
Dwight Anthony is a Personal Development and Financial Freedom Blogger that runs the Financially Elite Blog.
Stop by and visit where you can learn topics on Achieving Financial Freedom and other Personal Development tips. Make sure you pickup your FREE ‘Golden Nuggets Guide, 25 Absolute Steps You Need for Financial Freedom’ Guide that has garnered great testimonials as well…
Hello Dwight,
I don’t know what the statistics are but I know that from those 40,000 new blogs many, as you already said, are just free and blogs about personal rant and the other serious blogs close in a proportion if 90% in the first year for various reasons.
In the today market you have to outsource some of your daily blog chores if you want to deliver great content and help you not to be run down by too many tasks.
So the investment part comes as a consequence of the outsourcing part.
Alex,
I’m glad you brought up outsourcing. So many bloggers try and do everything themselves and get burned out.
They sometimes feel they are the only ones who can do the work…and it far from the case.
Andrew
Good post, Blogging is the medium to reach a large group of people quickly by providing something that either solves a problem through that interaction and trust, you provide that audience with a product or service they needs.
In today market, branding makes or breaks a business. With the thousands of blogs that are started with each fleeting thought of creating content, it is becoming more important to set yourself apart from the pack if you are really going to take blogging serious as a business.
Biodun, I wholeheartedly agree. When a decent blogger goes from just a casual blogger to one that wants to brand himself and the blog professionally, good things really start to happen.
It’s all about your audience relating and liking the content you put out there.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Biodun
I really think that those who make it big-time are those that run their blog like a business from the outset.
Andrew
Hi Dwight
Some useful information for this newbie blogger to implement. I have only been blogging a few months and getting comments on my blog and the traffic stats going in the right direction. Will be monetizing my blog in the next few weeks with product reviews of products I will sell. It is a big step going from just blogging to selling.
Patricia Perth Australia
@Alex – Outsourcing is key for the monotonous chores on your blog. By implementing the 80/20 rule, you not only save time and headaches but also become more productive with better results. Thanks.
@Patrica – I remember when i first started blogging and if i could do it over again, there would be a few key areas I would say to concentrate on. Write killer content from the get go and concentrate on marketing your blog as much as possible. Also, don’t be afraid to ask more established bloggers for help in the way of guest posting, joint ventures on giveaways and so on. Hope that helps but I would say driving targeted traffic is key.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Thanks Dwight. I have just been asked to guest blog 🙂 Will be submitting in a couple of weeks. I love writing posts and my visitors seem to be coming back for more.
Patricia Perth Australia
Great post, especially the point about having a USP. So many blogs try to be like other blogs, but you really need to differentiate yourself somehow, either thru humor, content, authority, design, etc in order to attract visitors.
@Henway – Thanks for the feedback.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog
I think this is a common problem. People usually start a blog as a side project and rarely start side businesses.
@Jason – You hit the nail on the head. For casual Bloggers to succeed, they need to have more commitment and invest time and effort into their blog which is what this post was about.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Great tips Andrew.. Blogging today is a whole different animal then 5-8 years ago.
To have a successful blog today, you have to come with a Marketers/Entrepreneurs mindset to do well.
Everything you mention is right on…
A blog is a business, and if you don’t see your blog as one, then you are one step closer to a failed blog.
@John Paul – You’re right on the money, 8-10 years ago, there was just a lot less competition on the web as well. These days you have to step over the millions of blogs in order to stand out.
Have a unique pitch in your approach on what you blog about and connecting with your readers is gold in getting the right market share for your blog.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Hi John,
I like what you say.
Entrepreneurship and blogging go together like jelly and blamange!
Andrew
P.S. just for the record… Dwight wrote the post
@Dwight – Yea man.. that relationship is what drives your blogs success. Be unique. Be Different, best ways to be remembered.
@Andrew – Yea, more bloggers need to understand that.
I think if you stick to a mission statement to provide value to others in some unique way, then you vastly improve your chances of success as a blog.
Hi Andrew great post. I agree that you need to run your blog like a business. One thing I see a lot of new bloggers do is use the free wordpress themes. It is so worth it to buy yourself a premium theme. They make you look so much more professional.
Thanks for sharing,
Larry
Larry
I think it took me about 30 minutes to decide a free WordPress theme was NOT for me!
Andrew
Hi Andrew, Dwight seems to know his stuff and i hope to get my blog to your business level one day. I have only been blogging for 6 months, but getting really into it and advise like this helps. Thanks Grant
Grant
It does take a while to start seeing some returns but it sounds like you are NOT going to give up.
Andrew
Hey Dwight,
When i first started my blog, i did not plan to monetize it, because i did it for pleasures.
However i start to join blogging community and learn how you can actually make money from your blog.
Starting with adsense then following by affiliate marketing.
For adsense, i did not have to invest, but for affiliate marketing i did invest to test the products myself.
Kimi,
I like the fact you test the products yourself…it’s the only way to be authentic.
Andrew
Exactly Andrew,
I somehow feel terrible to recommend stuff if i have never used it.
Thanks for the reply.
If you’re blogging for income then running your blog with the mind of an entrepreneur is definitely a must. There is nothing like build it and they will come. Being business savvy will help you make the best of your blogging career.
Thanks for this insightful post.
i liked the fact you said like any business ,it’s really serious , this is a huge field and this business requires many accurate ability and skills comparing to other stuff , it’s a way to be sharing topics we like and communicate with people and be unique .. it’s a whole whorld !!
It’s not only that you need an entrepreneur’s (or solopreneurs) mindset – you also need to give yourself permission to embrace sales and selling as well!
Now THAT can be a wee bit scary indeed. But hey, if I can make that evolution, anyone can.
Barbara
I love that phrase, “give yourself permission’.
A good friend of mine who is a confidence coach taught me that phrase a while ago. Excellent!
Andrew
@Richard – A mission statement or mini-bluprint of what you want your blog to become is great as it provides you a detailed plan of where you want to go.
@Larry – If you have the budget, a premium theme is defitely the way to go.
@Kimi – Good plan to monetize, love to see when authors actually know the product they are promoting.
@Chadrack – An entrepreneur mindset in running your blog successfully is almost a ‘must’.
@Grant – Thanks Grant.
@Rahul – A professional and interesting blog draws your reader in and improves the ‘stickiness’ of your blog allowing users to stay longer and start to see you as an authority.
@Barbara – Couldn’t have said it better, you need to be able to sell either yourself and ideas or monetization of other products / services
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Those are truly strategic ways in running a blog. Blogging is really one of my business for being my source of earnings. Thanks for sharing this great tips. I really enjoyed reading your post. Keep on blogging!
Imagine how nice it would be if we searched a web that always landed us on a blog that was ran like a business machine, clean, direct and to the point. Finding things would certainly be more enjoyable.
@St Pete lawyer – Blog differentiation is key to running a successful blog.
@Daphne – You’re Welcome, anytime.
@John – Couldn’t have said it better. The majority of new blogs I land on these days seem to have no strategy or mission and don’t seem to relate well. I’ve picked about 20 or so solid blogs i follow including this one because the content is solid and the authors know their stuff.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Great post, Dwight. If you want your blog to be a business, you have to treat it as such and not just as a hobby. This alone is hard for many beginners to realize due to the amount of time and dedication that it takes. I agree with your point about investing in your business. This is a must if you want it to grow and succeed.
For over a year I was using a free, customized WordPress Theme but have since invested in a Premium Theme and am so glad I did. It definitely looks more professional and has gotten better results than my old theme ever did.
@Alan – Congrats for taking solid steps to building your blog.
Yeah right! Blogging is really great in investing your time and even your creative ideas. Thanks for sharing these fundamental suggestions on blogging industry. Moreover, in blogging we must accept failures. Without these and if everything is perfect our blogging experience would be so boring. Much thanks again!
@male body language – Fail and fail again, eventually it will make you a success story.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
I think its a need that we must run our blog like any real business because its a fact that blogs can generate money online. So, it must be treated in a way like any with real business. You must exert time and effort, bear in mind that it is also prone to failure. But you don’t need to be discouraged as it is part of the game you play.
I’m kinda puzzled this statement “make running your blog as a business priority” for some reason like if you have two jobs, you must really know what to prioritized. I think it is much better to weigh things up before jumping to any conclusion. If your blogging does compensate or give you earnings much better than your job, its a call that you must “make running your blog as a business priority”. Right?
Maintaining a blog is just like running a business. Your blog must contain fresh and updated information once in awhile so that the readers will continue to read them. Just like in business, you also need to reach out to the customers so that they will patronize your products and services. Thanks for an informative post..
Blogging has so many uses and importance. some use it just for sharing their experiences but other use it to promote their business. It is truly great that you only have 3-8 seconds to capture the attention of your readers that is why, you need to come up to an idea wherein you can really catch their attentions. You have a nice post and have a great day my friend!
Thanks guys for the cool replies.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
I get a lot of insight from your blog.
Blogging really a big role to market your business. But we should always put our mind that blogging will be effective if you always post the best content in your blog and at the same time the site you are going to register must have a high PR..Another, good article is the best way of bringing life to your blog site through traffic and visitors.
Blogging community is huge battlefield especially if you’re competing against other bloggers regarding on how your topic/ issue is relevant, and hot from the kettle (and that do means “current and informative”). We can never say that once you have posted something good, you can assure that it will be a great hit for readers. It really takes a VERY HUGE idea to create something epic, right? It also a matter how you are well dedicated to your work, and that do means that you are willing to risk some of your precious time to create exceptional blogs. It just the manner of “loving what you’re doing and the result will tend to love you back”. Why don’t you start by just simply putting something human, or something that has a heart on the contents of you’re blog? Who knows, it might be a great one. You didn’t just simply earned from it, but inspired others too. Thanks for the post! Had a great time! More Power!
Just like running any real business, maintaining a blog is not an easy task. You need to have passion for it because if you love what you are doing you could give your best in it. Blogging is good way of sharing ideas and at the same time to market your business. Thanks for the share. More power!
You’ve highlighted good points in this article and I’d like to add that getting guest bloggers as good as Dwight Anthony can also be one of the things that could contribute to a blog’s success. Marketing the blog is also essential and could be easily achievable these days due to social media and commentluv/keywordluv plugins available online.
Linda
Agree – getting great blog posts is one way to make your blog successful. just think, problogger and the amount of guest posts he has.
Andrew
Thanks Linda for the kind complement.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog
What a fantastic post! I follow pretty much all of the tips that you mentioned.
Distractions are something that is my biggest problem as I will easily let things like a game on Facebook, reading a blog or even doing some cleaning, pull me away from writing.
I don’t find the need to hire an editor as when I’m not distracted I can handle all the work myself easily.
Myrna
Sounds like you need to reduce the amount of distractions!
Andrew