As most of you may know, there are several reasons to start a blog! This can be anything from wanting a creative outlet, chronicling your journey and travels, and even business. Adopting a blog when building your business is key to growing your business. It is great for lead generation, customer retention, and providing your audience with valuable content that not only gives them a glimpse of what you can offer, but also allows them to implement actionable goals within their own lives.
Now these things may sound like a great idea, and you are convinced and ready to jump in, right?..
Well maybe not quite yet! Launching a blog can be a scary thing, especially as a small business owner and someone who is just starting out. There are so many questions that come along with this goal. Where do you start? How many articles should you prepare? How often should I post? Ahh!
So let’s back up… So how can you successfully launch your blog and use it to grow your business? Let’s discuss these 5 crucial steps to take before you launch!
1. Get Your Reading Glasses On
The best thing to do before you start is to read! Since we can’t all speed read or possibly make time to read everything that’s out there in the world, you have to be specific. What will you be focusing on? What is your targeted niche? The best way to gain familiarity with the information out there and to provide your audience with the most up-to-date and relevant information is to stay current on the pressing issues.
Another important aspect of putting your reading glasses on is to focus on personal and business growth. To be successful you need to educate yourself on marketing, selling, and finding out how others do it. Of course each case is unique, however there are some amazing people out there who have been in the blogosphere for some time now and can provide you with some amazing resources to help give you a jump start!
2. Network with Other Bloggers in Your Niche
Growing your support community is absolutely key. Being a blogger can become a very lonely pursuit if you don’t surround yourself with others who are in the same “blogging boat”. This was a mistake a made in the beginning of my journey. I thought that I could go on my merry way and just do my own thing, in my own little world. However, that quickly became so lonely and although I would read a lot of blogs from other wonderful ladies, there was no real interaction.
Since reaching out it has opened up a whole new world. Not only does it allow you to build your network, but it also creates a wealth of resources uniquely collaborated for you. This is an absolute must-do before or while launching your blog. Nobody wants to be going it alone, and it only closes opportunities for.
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3. Find Your Role Models
This absolutely goes hand-in-hand with those reading glasses! Soak up everything you can from these role models you’ve identified! They’ve been through it all, and they have learned a lot along the way. Use their experiences to give yourself a self-made blogger guideline, to to learn about those crucial mistakes and help navigate your way through them.
Remember, even in blogging, the saying “Too many cooks in the kitchen” still has a lot of meaning and truth to it. Don’t fill up all of your time with other people. It can be so tempting to signup for every newsletter and every podcast that comes your way. However, the more you fill your mind with the work of others, the less time you’ll have truly allow your own message to be heard. So be selective, choose wisely, and make sure that your voice is still identifiable among the crowd.
4. Join Some Fabulous Online Communities
“Wow!” is all I can say about communities! Who knew that this could be so helpful? Everyone is so supportive, and each community I’ve joined I’ve met some incredible people with amazing ideas. This is a great space to find some diversity and build a well-rounded network. For example, I have joined all types of communities with a focus on topics including blog design, entrepreneurship, lady-preneurs, blogging support, and more. I have also recently established my own online group called “The Boss Lady Chats”.
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Remember that a community is created by the participation of everyone together. To get the most out of each one, be super helpful, and add value wherever you can. There will always be questions that you can answer, and even if you don’t feel “qualified”, do some research and answer with what you’ve discovered along the way. Each and everyone of us has something valuable to contribute!
5. Create A Line up Of Content
Content is key! To avoid the stress of falling behind, it is so important to have a few articles “in the bank”. My favourite tool to use for this is Evernote. It is a great way to store articles that you’ve already written that you can put to use in the future. Although I love to write new content every week, you never know what like life is going to throw your way.
For example, this a few weeks ago we were swamped with new clients signing up for We Edit Podcast. This mean that it required a lot more hands-on from me, and I had to give up a lot of my personal brand time to work on the business instead. This is where it was great to pull on an article I had written while ago, and just get it out there, without the added stress of trying to generate new content when something else requires my full-time attention.
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Look forward to hearing from you all!
As always, desire to inspire!
Xx
Carli
Featured image: Pexels
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