Starting out a Blog isn't something one should do haphazardly if one intends to earn or get people interested in it. There are a few basic principles that one should follow and as one goes through these principles one can start to see that blogging is actually a real business venture.
Here are the things to consider:
1.
Take your time to understand what you are getting into - No one should get into something without doing some homework first. Do your research and understand what a blog really is and you can do this by looking for the most prominent bloggers around. One of the coolest thing about the blogging industry and finding it's key players isnt hard. Just simply type making money online and viola you get to see the key players off the net. How do you know that they are the key players - they are on the top page when you type in the keywords and that is more than enough to get you convinced that these are the people to get to know(
CarloCab is an example). Also check out blogging communities and get to see if there are any successful people in your own area that you can talk to and get some pointers from, every country has them(in the philippines my personal favorites are
Bloggista and
Yugatech).
2.
Set and prepare your Foundations - Where are you going to start, what are your interests. These the questions that need to be answered when you get into this industry. Another would be to ask if you are unique or if you have similar competitors that you have to play with and probably partner up with - going against them may not be a very good idea especially since they have already established a good long term reputation of content. Are you willing to spend for a domain or are you happy with what is freely given such as those provided for by
Blogger or
Wordpress. Do you feel comfortable with the articles you are going to write and is this something you can start on your own or is this something you need a staff for. Though normally for that last question it is always answered by one person and that person is the only staff which isnt bad just as long as one learns to manage their time appropriately. Once you have decided on all of these questions you are almost ready to begin.
3.
Define yourself and your business - Decide on what niche you are going to take and learn your limitations. People can get so many ideas and they tend to act on them all at once failing to realize that this gets really cluttered along the way and eventually tend to confuse your clients or clients to be. Sit down and start planning what you want to write about and how often you are going to do write these topics. Make sure that your readers understand this fully so they know what to expect. Act on one idea at a a time and this will make your articles more conducive for your audience. How your site looks also defines how one views your content. All in all this would add up to how you and your words are received by those that drop by - as this would in more ways than one make them stay and come back for more.
4.
Constantly Evaluate Progress - keep a log book or track record of who or what catches your market. Monitor the type of clients come and visit, where they are from, what they are interested in, who referred them, what did they do to get there, what is it that they liked about the site, what is it that they dont like, and much more... All these questions the good and bad of it have to be constantly analyzed and interpreted to ensure that your efforts are being rewarded and that the things are going as planned. Every time you make a change on your site, an article is written, a picture is changed, a layout, anything at all that you do check and see if there is an effect and check if it is a good one or a bad one. Isolate the changes and monitor them individually, doing this helps you understand how each one plays a role in your overall blogging business. In other words MONITOR EVERYTHING AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN.
5.
Keep on Trying - this is the one thing that distinguishes a successful blogger to one that doesnt get a single dime. Blogging is a business and just like any it is a gamble, luck plays a role in anything one ventures into and a lot of hard work too. No one can earn a million dollars a year over night and just the same there really isnt a cut out formula for success. What one has is instincts and passion to do what one loves to do. For the most part you will find that the one quality that all successful bloggers have in common is determination to get what we want to say to the people that need to hear it. So what if you dont earn a single dime on the first couple of times, So what if you have a lot of competition and your a new blog just starting out to get a niche in the market. Eventually, through time and dedication you will find your spot and people will find you. Perserverance and Passion, the Power of Commitment, so many names have been given to what one has to do but overall you just have to keep on going at it no matter what anyone else says. I started my
Empty Streets: It's a way of life and i didnt even know that I would be earning from that, neither did i expect that people would be very interested with what I had to say but from a personal blog to an all around blog magazine, even i surprized myself. 156++ articles from now and I'm still dishing out topics one after another, not to mention I myself have experimented on trying out other blogging topics and many of them have failed yet it only takes one success to make all the effort worthwhile. I may not be earning 5 digits in dollars yet every month but I have to say I am getting there - I am confident you too will be just as passionate. As a true believer in the power of "THE SECRET" by Rhonda Byrne you are not just here for nothing and you reading this article proves without a doubt that there is a reason. So as you make your decision on this let me be one of the very few if not the first to welcome you to the world of WEB 2.0 - Web logs also known as blogging :)
I have gotten a lot of emails from readers that are interested in starting their own blog so they can earn extra income on the side. I normally say that all it takes are the following:
