4 Factors to Consider Before Starting a Blog
If you feel like you have something to say about something – the industry you work in, the hobbies and interests you love, the world around you and what is happening to it – then you should seriously consider getting it out of your system and onto the web in the form of a blog.
Many bloggers make a great deal of money from their words due to sponsorship, speaking gigs, and book deals that have come from getting a huge readership, and there’s no reason why you can’t get in on the action. Here are 4 questions you should ask yourself before you get started on your blog.
What Are You Going To Write About?
Many bloggers start writing and then find themselves giving up down the line. This is either because they didn’t know why they started their blog (and hence ran out of material or a direction) or they chose a subject that didn’t have long-term legs.
If you’re going to write a blog that gains readers and subscribers and has the potential to keep growing, you should have a content plan for months ahead, and know where you’re heading with it. You can take detours here and there, but there should be structure if you’re going to keep people coming back to read your stuff.
How Are You Different from the Rest?
There are millions of bloggers out there, and many will be writing about the same subjects as you, and many have been for a lot longer. If this is the case, it can be disheartening, to say the least. What you need to do is ask yourself, how am I different from the rest?
For example, if you’re a stockbroker writing investment tips, deliver them in a way that makes you stand out. Be a little controversial. Give information out that others might not. Be candid. You’ll start to see your audience grow significantly if people start to react to your posts – either in the comments sections or when they’re sharing them and discussing them on social media.
Have Your Done Your Research?
The only people who dislike uninteresting blog posts more than Google’s ranking algorithm are the readers themselves, and if you don’t add depth, knowledge, and expertise to your blog, nobody is going to read your posts and navigate through to find more. They’ll be straight back to Google to find the good content. Doing your research for each post will give it a huge boost in numbers, from readership to social media shares.
For example, if you’re going to be blogging about the stock market, making investments or anything else in the financial sector, you need to know all the new developments in the industry and let your audience know your opinions, from a Wealthsimple review to a breakdown of all the latest stock market investment apps. This way, visitors to your blog will see that you know your stuff and you are an industry authority, which will increase your readership through social media shares and an increase in blog subscribers.
Can you Afford the Time?
Bloggers should aim to be consistent with their posts, as readers can be fickle and drift away quite easily. Aim to write 1-2 posts a week minimum or spend time before you launch your blog writing 10-15 posts that you can schedule over the opening month, allowing you to get ahead of yourself and write the future posts.
If you’re writing about the news, sport or entertainment, these are often reactionary posts and can be written on the fly. Just make sure you keep it up, as your readers will come to expect to read your views when something pops up that makes the headline. Being prepared to sit down and get your views on your blog every day is the best way to make your blog a success, both in the short term and over the long haul.
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