The work of a blogger is never done. As soon as you spend time crafting quality content, you then have to work out the best ways to promote it. Being a working blogger in any form is not just about the creative aspects, but also about making sure that you maintain momentum. When it comes to working as a blogger, you have a number of avenues to go down, so let’s show you the methods to maximise your blogging opportunities so you can craft a creative career.
Start a Blog of Your Own
It sounds obvious, but when it comes to working as a blogger, it is not just about working as a freelance writer, but it is about making sure that you can maximise your opportunities for yourself, which is why a blog is the pivotal starting point.
Even if you are not interested in blogging for your personal means, setting up a website with a custom website builder is an important step to take because further down the line you may find that not having a blog is an obstacle that will stop you from getting work.
Your own blog is also the perfect platform to test your writing capabilities, because for so many people if you want to start blogging you just have to dive in and do it! Therefore, setting up your own blog helps you flex your writing muscles and provides you with the platform to promote yourself further down the line. It is also critical in how you network and promote yourself, more of which later…
Picking Up Odd Jobs
When you are trying to get paid, you’ve got to start looking at the job boards, but before you do this you have to think hard about where your skill level really is. Finding blogging jobs can be tough as a beginner, but this is why you’ve got to expand your reach and find the right blogging opportunities based on your current skill level.
When you are starting out, you might not like the idea of blogging for free, but if you can go on one of the numerous freelance websites, you can gain a better understanding of the practice of blogging. You could also approach other bloggers directly and ask them if they require supplementary content.
When you are looking for blogging opportunities, it is important that you understand your skill level and recognise what this translates to in terms of earnings. You might find that at the very outset, you just need to build up your portfolio, and when you approach other bloggers offering your services, this becomes a great way to start the skill of networking because you can link content back to your blog, which starts to build that credibility that becomes critical for SEO.
This is why starting a blog is so important, especially when looking for better-paid jobs. Websites like Blogger Tuesday offer blogging opportunities every Tuesday for bloggers, but only those who have a specific DA (domain authority).
Networking
A blog of your own means you’ve got the opportunity to test your writing capabilities, but it also means you have a portfolio of work to show off. When it comes to applying for specific blogging opportunities, in many cases, you will need a blog of your own with a specific domain authority.
Your own blog is the perfect way for you to use it as a calling card when it comes to networking because it is essential to build relationships with others in the blogging community.
Starting your own blog that aligns with your passions is the starting point that builds you towards working full-time as a blogger, but networking is the key to planting those seeds that create more opportunities.
Networking is one of those things that we can feel intimidated by, but networking online can be less overwhelming than in real life. Networking online can consist of you approaching other bloggers that offer a similar service to yours and offering a mutually beneficial partnership, such as guest posting, but you can also start to build up your presence by finding other blogs and commenting on them.
Despite the sheer amount of blogs out there, it can feel like a very small pond when you start to focus on quality working relationships. You may find there’s only a handful of other bloggers that you truly click with, and this gives you more opportunities to start building a more business-oriented approach to blogging.
Finding opportunities is about making peace with the fact that not everyone pays at the very outset, which is why networking is such a critical skill. Finding other blogs that may be able to monetize their content can be tough to scope out, and while you may look at the blog’s traffic, don’t chase the numbers, but look at bloggers you want to work with and establish yourself as a frequent collaborator, such as being a guest poster.
Providing a Service to Businesses
This all goes back to your blog. Depending on what your blog conveys, you can use this as your calling card and diversify into providing services for similar websites, either for bloggers or businesses. If, for example, you are a blogger that focuses on health, once you have amassed a portfolio of good quality work, you can approach other health bloggers and showcase the services you can provide for other businesses in the same sphere, positioning yourself as a more competitive client in comparison to digital agencies.
Starting your own blog means that you slowly accrue skills beyond mere blogging, but also keyword research, SEO, website design, metrics, and all of the things that make a successful blog what it is. Having accumulated skills over time means you can develop what it takes to approach businesses that may need a makeover of their content or requires more content to position themselves at the top of Google’s SERP.
You can spend time working as a blogger on a freelance basis, but you could also start to approach other companies with your unique skill sets, and even diversify into other services, like editing current blogs to make them more SEO-friendly. The key to maximising your blogging opportunities is about diversifying your services as much as it is the content you create.
Maintaining an Active Presence
If you want to maximise your blogging opportunities you have to think of yourself as a product. Many bloggers make the mistake of not doing enough to showcase their abilities, and some people don’t think they have what it takes to diversify their services, but when you start your own blog, it makes you understand what you can achieve. Once you start to engage with your audience by creating quality content, using SEO more efficiently, and being on social media more effectively, you start to create a persona that people will come to.
As a blogger, you need to be a product or personality, and this goes back to networking, but in addition to working with other bloggers, you also need to have a comprehensive presence on the big social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as LinkedIn and Slack groups. The best approach is to start with one platform and understand how much you can realistically engage with your audience. You can start to use marketing tools to post content at the right times and make the most of the numerous analytics tools Google and Facebook provide to see if people are engaging with your content.
When you have an active presence on social media, you will start to see the benefits. It can feel like a 24/7 job, but while you need to maintain a presence on social media, don’t make the mistake of thinking you need to post all day, every day. There are many people who believe that maintaining an active presence on LinkedIn or websites like Quora, commenting on everything and driving it back to their services with a link at the bottom is the best way to stay active, but these can feel like the hanger-on at a party who does not get the hint it’s time to go!
Focus on Getting One Client, Not 100
It’s important to remember that building a successful career as a blogger takes time. When you are looking for different methods to maximise your opportunities, you have to be aware that not everybody is going to come to you instantly. When starting out, the trick is simple: to get one client. Finding one person you can do good work for makes the workload manageable, maximises quality control, and can give you a solid referral that will hopefully snowball into other clients- word of mouth is always the best marketing tool!
As tough as it is to be a blogger, there are many different opportunities out there. In order to do it effectively, you’ve got to boost your visibility, but also be patient. Nobody instantly makes a solid living as a blogger these days; people have to learn the tricks of the trade, understand it is more than just knocking on certain doors, market themselves in the right way, and diversify their tactics. It can take a perfect storm to turn your life around. But, most importantly, blogging opportunities are as much about investing in yourself as the world of writing.
