Top tips if you want to start a blog

This post includes links I have been paid to include however all tips to start a blog are my own.

I absolutely love my job as a blogger. It started as a hobby which I thought may possibly earn me a little in the future. Now it is a full time job I love more than anything else I have ever done for work. I guess it was always meant to be as I wanted to be a journalist when I was younger.

Deciding what to blog about

If you want to start a blog you first need to think about what you can blog about that is a bit different and unique to you. Being yourself is really important and writing about something that would interest people is key. Whether you write about something really niche for example like budgeting for large families or something more broad like parenting with an eco-conscious edge make sure you know who your ideal reader is.

Use this topic or your name to choose a blog name. Remember to make sure your name can grow with you so parenting a toddler will no longer really fit when you have a 7 year old for example!

Working with brands

Brands want to work with bloggers who have an audience that appeals to them and would be likely to be customers of theirs. If they sell a niche product and you have the perfect audience for them they could work with you even if you have few followers as they know your followers are their focus.

An example of this is that I do not generally cover beauty in any great depth. A brand who have a specific beauty product might chose a beauty blogger with 1000 followers (sometimes called a micro blogger) over my blog with 57000 followers as they are the right followers for them. This is something to remember when you start a blog.

The benefits of blogging to brands

Working with influencers is a great way for brands to show off their products as used by normal people. Let’s face it celebrities seem to be happy to endorse anything don’t they? Whilst some influencers and bloggers are like that as a reader it is usually easy to see that many, like myself, don’t. If I do not like a product I have been sent or have an issue with that I will be honest about it for example when my flowers did not come on time!

Another benefit to brands is that influencers have a more dedicated audience. An advert on TV for example might be really expensive but do the viewers of Coronation street want to buy a frying pan? They possibly may but not while they are watching TV. Seeing an influencer using it on the other hand shows how good it is at a time the reader is online and looking at recipes. A quick click and they could order it. Blogger outreach is big business for brands who want to advertise through bloggers.

Earning from blogging – 6 ways to make money

Once you get up and running you will start wondering how to make money from blogging. Businesses sometimes look for new ideas to help get their products out there and use these as ways to help get them seen too especially newer businesses. If you are a small business these ideas may help you to work with bloggers too.

Affiliate links

This is where you link to a product through an affiliate programme eg the one Amazon has and every purchase that is made after the reader clicks that link gets you a little commission. This is usually pennies rather than pounds but it all adds up. Not usually easy to sign up for when you start a blog but remember it for the future.

Writing sponsored content

Writing a post about a brand or a specific product and linking to them is called sponsored content. Sometimes this is agreed with the PR team of the brand themselves, sometimes it is through an intermediary such as Get Blogged.

Reviews

Sometimes reviews are in exchange for the product alone but other times a payment is included in addition. Writing reviews of brands’ products helps them be seen by your readers.

Advertising space for brands

You can offer advertising space to brands for a monthly or weekly fee. This means you put a banner or advert on your blog in return for a fee.

Advertising platforms

Using an advertising platform such as Mediavine you can insert adverts into your posts at set places or frequency without having to worry about which brands the adverts are for. The advertising platform takes care of all of that for you. The income you receive is dependant on your page views received on your website.

Selling your own products

Some bloggers sell products such as ebooks or courses to build income. Others sell more physical products such as keyrings, tshirts etc. This is a great way to make money if it fits your blog.

There are other ways you can make money but these are 6 ways that are most popular.

Do you have an idea of something you would like to blog about? Do share it in the comments below!