How to Start a Profitable Finance Blog in 10 Steps
If you’re interested in starting your own personal finance blog, congratulations! A finance blog can be an excellent side gig or full-time business venture, especially if you understand how to set yourself up for success right out of the gate. If you’re looking to start your first finance blog or if you want to grow your existing finance blog, there are some key steps you should take to get yourself established and growing from the start. Here are 10 tips on how to start a profitable finance blog
Step 1: Understand what successful FinTech blogs do
The single most important aspect of any successful financial advice website is transparency. Regardless of your credentials or experience, you will need to lay out your purpose and goals up front. Readers are more likely to trust you if they know who you are, where you’re coming from, and how your own past experiences may color what you write. If you don’t have an existing following, it can be hard to convince people that you can offer valuable insight into their finances—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible! A lot of new FinTech bloggers start off by writing about other topics and then segueing into personal finance as their following grows.
Step 2: Choose your niche
Regardless of your business model, niche is an important consideration when deciding where to start your business. Niche plays into two major considerations: marketing and product design. The more specific you can be about who you’re selling to, and what problem you’re trying to solve for them, will make it much easier for you (and others) to find and connect with that target market. It also helps guide decisions about how you’ll price your products or services, what features they should have, and how to deliver value. In short, choosing a niche allows you to focus on those things that are most relevant for your customers—and it also helps keep you from wasting time on things that aren’t relevant.
Step 3: Take action
Whatever you’re hoping for, you’ll need to take some action today. Whether it’s sending off that email, signing up for a course, or just talking to someone about your idea. Make a note of it on your calendar and make sure you follow through. Every step is one closer than yesterday. And tomorrow will be one more than today! Keep moving forward.
On November 14, 2014 Mark Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page: Yesterday we opened up AppCenter to all developers around the world. With AppCenter, developers can submit their apps directly to people who want them – instead of relying on us to decide what’s most interesting.
App Center was an online store where users could download applications which had been developed by third-party companies using Facebook’s tools and platform.
Step 4: Create content you enjoy writing
In order for your business to grow, you’ll need to learn how to use content as a marketing channel. A few ways that companies are using content as an innovative way of connecting with customers and growing their brand include: live blogging industry events (such as conferences or trade shows), creating video clips based on industry trends, recording podcasts on hot topics and publishing written reports related to trending topics. If you’re passionate about what you do, chances are other people will be interested in learning more. So if you want to start a finance blog, make sure it’s something you enjoy writing about. After all, if it isn’t fun then why would anyone else want to read it?
Step 5: Invest in your brand
If you plan on making money from your brand, you need to invest time and money into it. This isn’t only done by starting a business, but also by growing your following on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It can be tricky trying to figure out what type of content will grow your following. I’ve compiled some tips that I hope can be helpful for you and also given you an idea of what types of posts have been successful for me. You should always try different things and experiment with new ways to make more followers, because each platform is different. I suggest creating a Google spreadsheet or something similar where you can track your follower growth over time. The more data you have about what works for you, the better off you’ll be! Some ideas:
While building my own personal finance brand, @saving4sixfigure has grown tremendously on social media since its launch in April 2016 thanks to hard work & lots of hustle!
Step 6: Promote through social media
Build your personal brand on social media. Offer tips, advice and other helpful content for free. The more followers you gain, the greater your influence will be when you eventually begin marketing products and services on your site. Remember that a goal of marketing isn’t just sales—it’s creating fans and an audience to whom you can sell products or services later on down the road. The best way to do that is by giving something valuable away for free—your knowledge!
Step 7: Know when to bring on contributors
It can be difficult (and a little awkward) to become your own guest writer. If you’re just starting out, stick with it! Keep writing, keep networking and have faith that people will want what you have to say. In time, you may feel comfortable asking people who come into your niche if they’d like to contribute by blogging for you.
Step 8: Create an email list from day one
If you don’t have an email list when you launch your finance site, then you’re missing out on one of blogging’s best marketing channels. There are several email service providers (ESPs) that allow you to create an email opt-in form and sign people up for your new finance site. Try MailChimp, GetResponse, Aweber, ActiveCampaign or some other ESP that allows you to quickly set up an opt-in form with minimal effort.
Step 9: Write guest posts and more!
Now that you’ve published your first post on your new domain, you’re ready to make it more visible. Share your story with other blogs by finding relevant sites and writing compelling pitches. If they like what they see, submit an article for them to publish. Guest posting is considered one of the best ways to build authority within your niche, so don’t neglect it!
Step 10 : Launch your business!
Now that you’ve decided on your startup business model, you’ve conducted market research, created a business plan and you have all of your resources lined up. It’s time to officially launch your new business! It’s been quite an adventure. Now that it’s finally time to make your entrepreneurial dream come true, let us wish you every success with your venture!