How To Become A Successful Blogger

Do you feel like you have a message you want to share with the world? It can be profound, but it doesn't have to be. It could be as simple as talking about your favourite hobby or even just a niche you think deserves more coverage online.

These days, professional bloggers earn a good living. The internet has become our biggest source of information largely due to the amount of content people put online. Blogs inform, entertain, and shape new trends.

Whether you're in it for the money or for the self-expression, becoming a blogger has become an actual career years ago — and it could be your career too.

Are you thinking of writing your first blog post? Before you begin, make sure to read our step-by-step guide below!

1. Find Your Niche

The internet is a vast ocean full of creation, and your new blog is going to start off small — and by small, we mean "raindrop in the ocean" kind of small. That's okay! Every successful website starts from scratch, but that doesn't stop them from blowing up under good management.

Ask yourself: "why do I want to make a blog?" If the answer is: "for me", you can write about anything you like. However…

If you're looking to become successful, you need to do more than just to write about the things you like. Due to that, the first step to becoming a blogger is finding your niche.

Bloggers, just like all other content creators, work with niches. They don't just write the first thing that comes to mind — they try to follow certain trends and focus on a given subject as opposed to writing a diary.

Why is that? The answer is simple — if you write in many niches, the odds of your readers being interested in all of them are slim to none. If you want to not just gain readers, but also maintain them, consider picking a certain niche for your blog.

Some popular blogging niches include:

• Beauty
• Fashion
• Food
• Travel
• Lifestyle
• Fitness
• Finance
• Parenting
• Makeup
• Technology
• Art/photography
• DIY

The above niches are known as evergreen niches. This means that for years, they have proven to be profitable and have remained at the top of Google's list of searches when it comes to blogs.

Evergreen VS Underserved Niches

The opposite of evergreen niches are underserved niches. These are topics that do not get much coverage online. They are also less sought after, so they're a bit of a double-edged sword — you get less competition, but also a smaller reader pool. On the other hand, in a bigger niche, you will compete with huge blogs that already have hundreds of thousands of readers.

How To Pick?

Ultimately, choosing your niche should be down to preference. You will not be motivated to write about something that doesn't interest you at all. Research different options and pick one that sounds reasonable but also enjoyable.

Who knows? In the future, you may be running several blogs at once. That's what many other successful bloggers do!

2. Research the Market

You've picked your niche, but what now? Are you still wondering how to become a professional blogger? Don't pick up your pen just yet. It's time to research!

For your blog to be successful, you want to stand out from other websites in your niche… but not too much. Every niche has a certain style or theme that the readers are going to expect. Just as you wouldn't offer a terrifying ghost story to a fan of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, you wouldn't give your readers something completely unrelated to their interests.

How to know what the readers want? The answer is simple: read blogs in your niche. Read as many of them as you possibly can. Take note of post length, style, website layout, and other things that catch your eye.

While you search for these blogs, write down your keywords - they are going to become the founding blocks to your SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. The terms that are frequently searched for should be used in your posts to increase website visibility and relevance.

While you size up your competitors, make sure to also increase your knowledge on the subject itself. You can be a successful mountain climbing blogger without ever having been outside the city — but you won't build a stable reader base without offering relevant content.

3. Start Off Right

If you are dedicated, you may start earning money from your blog soon enough. Some blog types, such as affiliate blogs that focus on product reviews and recommendations, are very popular for that exact reason.

However, a professional blog may be difficult to start without at least a small financial investment. If you're willing to do most of the work yourself, your money will only be put towards the very essentials. That will reduce the costs considerably.

We're going to assume that you already have access to a computer (PC or laptop) and an internet connection.

To run a professional blog, you may need:

• Website hosting & domain
• A camera (if you take your own photos) or a stock photo package (these can also be found for free)
• A budget for ads
• A newsletter service

A lot of blogs run on WordPress - a platform that allows you to create your own website without too much of a hassle. WordPress offers many free layouts, so you don't necessarily need to invest in the help of a web developer to make your blog, although it will help you stand out if you do.

Your newsletter, if you invest in one, is going to be very helpful. These days you almost cannot run a blog without also running a few social media sites for it, but old-fashioned newsletters still bring you the most loyal readers. These are the people that want to be sure they don't miss anything you post!

4. Aim For Quality & Be Consistent

Once you've started your blog, it is time to begin producing content. The layout, the photos, and the subjects are just a part of your road to success. The most important part is going to be your writing.

Make sure that you write high-quality posts - informative, interesting, and engaging to read. Pay a great deal of attention to things like grammar, paragraph & sentence size or overall article readability. For your first blog posts, it's a good idea to show them to a friend and ask them for some honest feedback.

Don't expect too much traffic when you publish your first blog posts — as said, we all start out small! Ask your friends to share your blog, try to grow your social media presence, and keep at it. Most of all: be consistent.

Professional bloggers have achieved the type of success that they did largely due to publishing frequently and tirelessly. Establish a posting schedule and stick to it. Make sure to always have a few backup pieces waiting to be published in case you have no time to write.

Achieve Success In Your Pyjamas

Turning blogging into a career isn't exactly easy, but if you've done it once, you will be able to do it again in a new niche. Having one, two, or even several successful blogs is what has given many people an opportunity to work from home. Wouldn't it be nice to make money while sitting in your PJs the whole day?

If you're wondering how to be a professional blogger, the short answer is: be consistent, be creative, and be persistent. That's all it takes! You don't need to be a professional writer to run a successful blog, but you do need to treat it with due diligence and try your best.

Don't let your fears hold you back. Join the ranks of professional bloggers and work towards your success on your own terms!