10 Tips for Starting a Successful Blog in 2022
When I wrote my first article three years ago, I had no idea what the future held. I didn’t even know if anybody would read it. Fast forward to today, and this blog has become my full-time job. I’ve built up an audience of over 13,000 loyal readers and have received requests from well-known publications to contribute articles as well as speaking opportunities at some of the largest conferences in the industry. Here are 10 tips that will help you start a successful blog in 2022 so you can follow in my footsteps!
1) Choose your niche
If you’re trying to start your own successful website, first decide what you want to write about. If you’re serious about becoming an entrepreneur, take some time to do research on your topic—you can even reach out to people and talk to them! From there, pick something that interests you and has potential. Remember: If it doesn’t interest you, it won’t interest your readers either.
2) Make sure you have your own style
When it comes to blogging, your writing is like a business card. There’s nothing wrong with having someone else write your content, but when you want people to trust you, they need to hear your voice. In order to create an authentic brand identity and distinguish yourself from others in your industry, you have to develop and maintain your own style of writing—your unique voice.
3) Give your best value
Every successful blogger knows one of their biggest job responsibilities is giving value to their audience. In order to be successful, you need to know what your readers want and give it to them. It’s that simple! If people are finding value in your content, they will become loyal followers and have a higher propensity to click on affiliate links when you include them as well. This can increase your earning potential significantly if you do it right.
4) Talk about what you love
You’ll have better chances of blogging consistently if you focus on topics that interest you. And besides, it’s less likely that your readers will abandon your site if they like what you have to say! Also, remember to be personal—nearly all blogs are written as though they were written by individuals (even when they’re written by businesses). Show your personality and don’t be afraid to leave comments on other people’s blogs!
5) Test, test, test!
There’s no way to know if something will be successful until you try it. If you have an idea, write up some posts and test them with your network to see what kind of response they get. With that information, you can re-evaluate your idea and decide if it’s viable or not. Sometimes ideas die—that’s OK. Learn from what didn’t work, figure out why and move on!
6) Give your customers/ readers space to be creative
While there’s no surefire way to ensure success, there are steps you can take today to make your odds better tomorrow. The following are 10 ways to help ensure that your business (blog) will stand out from competitors and give your customers/ readers space to be creative. Don’t be afraid of failure: Failure is an integral part of any journey towards success and doing something new always comes with risks.
7) Reach out to other bloggers with similar interests
To maximize your chances of success, you want to build connections with other bloggers who are writing about similar topics. As an aspiring blogger myself, I can say from experience that there’s nothing more important than finding mentors and colleagues with whom you can commiserate. Social media has made it incredibly easy to connect with like-minded people, so make good use of it!
8) Create an engaging site
It’s tempting to get bogged down with technical tasks (coding, designing, etc.), but if you want to start off on an engaging site, it’s important that you spend some time focusing on what kind of content your site should feature. If you don’t have one already, create a brainstorming list of topics related to your niche and begin looking at other successful sites—do they cover certain topics? How do they make their content engaging? Can you replicate their success?
9) Invest in blog design and plugins
As you think about how to start a successful blog, keep one thing in mind: design is crucial. In fact, many bloggers claim that good-looking blogs can boost your SEO and are much more likely to be shared on social media. Once you’ve got your layout down pat, look into investing in plugins like Yoast, which can help optimize your posts so they rank higher on search engines (and will also make them easier to read).
10) Showcase your personality
If you don’t have your own website, consider creating one that’s just as much about showcasing your personality as it is about getting business. A great way to build a community and get followers is by sharing things that make you unique—whether it’s DIY projects or recipes, photography, or something else entirely. Make sure to include social media links prominently on your site so people can follow you there easily. You want them to be able to find all of your content from one place!