How can one make a business out of blogging? If we are to separate the words business and blogging, it is kind of hard to imagine how publishing posts online through your blog can make you earn real money, right? Well, that would be the case for people who are not yet aware of how big the business potential is of blogging and building websites. I was in that state of ignorance also before but when the moment I started learning how business blogging works was definitely a lightbulb moment for me.
There is no secret behind successful business blogging. In fact, there are already a lot of guides you can find online. The "secret", perhaps, is a personal matter that each one of us get to discover along our individual journeys. If you are still there at that point where business blogging is still a myth for you, this might be your turning point. In this article, I will share with you what business blogging is, how it works, why you should start, and how can you build, grow, and monetize your very own business blog.
When I first started learning about blogging, my preconception about blogging for business is of the literal sense. I thought that a business blog is literally a blog that is under the business niche and covers topics like management, marketing, sales, stocks, etc. Well, a business blog of that nature really exists but when we talk about the business side of blogging or blogging for business, it is entire process of building, launching, growing, and monetizing a blog such that the owner gets to earn from its monetization. Therefore, a business blog may not necessarily talk about business but is managed as a business.
Another preconception one may have about blogging is that it is merely about writing and publishing posts online. That would somehow be true for traditional blog but business blogs are different in a way that posts are not just being published online, they are also published within a mechanism of targeting specific people for the sake of business. For example, a blogger who launched his website and published posts there for outlet purposes is different from a blogger who launched her website and published posts there in order to get noticed by possible customers and clients. There is no business agenda behind traditional blogs and their owners (may or) may not earn from them but a business blogger gets to have an income from his/her business blog.
The entire process of creating your own business blog entails your commitment to exert effort and resources into building, launching, growing, and monetizing it.
What are your expertise? What kind of topics will you be comfortable writing about? What information do your target audience need to know about? Answering these questions can help you narrow down your choices and finally decide on the niche of your choice.
Your blog's domain and title will be the name of your brand so it should capture your brand's identity, personality, and purpose. You can select the web hosting service of your choice from various providers online.
Although there are a lot of choices online, be critical in selecting the CMS that is suitable for you. I would suggest WordPress since it is all-in-one, flexible, and very user-friendly.
This is the part where you give a personality to your blog depending on your niche and brand identity. You can customize your site's structure, theme, and design.
Once your blog is ready, you can now start coming up with content ideas. Write about relevant and interesting topics, making sure that your content adds value to the lives of your readers.
Now that you know already what business blogging is, how it will benefit you, and how to start one, for sure you are now curious on how will you maintain, grow, and monetize it in order for it to fulfill its purpose as an online business. Well, growing your blog will take time and effort. You have to be consistent but also open for trying new things and experimenting on trends.
Invest on making your blog user-friendly, authentic, interactive, and of course, relevant. Take time studying the various ways you can monetize your blog. If you have a personal product or service in mind, offer it. If you are open to affiliate marketing and paid advertising, go for it. No matter what way you opt for you blog to be monetized, make sure that you do not compromise the quality of your content.