Updated November 2, 2022
People ask me about blogging a lot. Is it dead? Is it worth it?
And while I think the landscape of blogging has changed–A LOT, I still love blogging! Blogging has given me a thought leadership profile, a stream of readers for my ideas, and–did I mention–an income!? I’ve even reached the elusive “passive income” stage of blogging, where I make money in my sleep.
So, if you’re thinking about blogging, I want to give you 8 blogging tips and answers to FAQs about blogging.
This post may contain links to affiliate products, which–if you choose to purchase–pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps to support our work. We only promote products we’ve used and love.
I’m a proud affiliate partner for Bluehost, which is what I used to start Roostervane. If you want to start a blog, I totally recommend them! Click here to check your domain name and get started for $2.95/mo!
1. Do people still blog?
I guess so!
I started blogging with Roostervane in 2019, and it’s still growing!
Blogging has launched my personal brand forward, and SEO brings tens of thousands of people to my site every month. Yes, People Still Blog. 8 Blogging Tips & FAQs for 2023.
It has now come to the point where I consistently make money off of posts I wrote over a year ago… which is pretty cool!
So yes, people still blog.
But I think a lot of people are put off, or our radars go up, because of the stories about people who tens of thousands of dollars every month off of blogging. It’s true, some people do this! But most bloggers don’t make a full-time income off their blog. Instead, they use it to supplement (as a side hustle), grow their thought leadership, and share their ideas!
To become a full-time career blogger, you need to treat this like it’s your career. If you don’t want that, just have fun! Develop your writing, use it as a portfolio to showcase your work, and enjoy it!
This has always been the best part of blogging for me. It’s just fun.
Read more: How to Start a Blog People Can’t Stop Reading
2. How much does it cost to start a blog?
Honestly, little to nothing. If you really want to spend NOTHING, you can blog on Medium or on LinkedIn for free.
If you want to get the benefit of your own domain name, a website to build your brand, and an asset you own, you will want to pay for hosting.
Which is what I do. It cost me about $100 a year when I started. (I pay for a premium host now because Roostervane is growing fast!–which is a great problem to have!)
Like I said above, I started Roostervane for about $2.95/mo with Bluehost!
3. Should you add a blog to your website?
Very much yes.
One of the missed opportunities I see is from people who have a one or two page website, and nothing to drive traffic to it. This is what a blog does. A blog, done right, is a traffic engine. Whether you are a brick and mortar business or an individual trying to get your ideas into the world, not blogging is a missed opportunity.
Even if you are a small business in a small city, blogging things that provide value to your audience in your space will eventually bring an SEO traffic. You can also share a blog across your social media platforms and get attention to your brand.
If you are trying to get more eyes on your website, a blog is the way to do it.
4. How can I become a paid blogger?
If you want to know how to be a blogger and get paid, you have two options: work for an organization that hires you to write blog posts (either as en employee or a consultant), or else start and monetize your own. The former guarantees an income, but it will be limited. The latter could pay nothing or it could pay a fortune.
As I said above, you can make money blogging. But nobody’s going to walk up and hand it to you. And flopping a few posts down is not going to do it either.
If you want to get paid blogging, you will need a strategy for monetization, what I wrote about in this post. You will also need a consistent audience, usually brought in through either SEO or advertising or social media marketing, or some combination of the three.
If you want to know to be a paid blogger, you’ll need to become great at this. And that takes time. And most people don’t stick it out long enough.
Read More: 21 Reasons You Don’t Have Blog Traffic, and How to Fix It!
5. What should my first blog post be about?
First things first, I would choose one of 2 things. 1. To introduce yourself, or maybe better, 2. to write the first thing you want to say to your ideal reader. If you have a blog for single moms who have side hustles, what’s the very first thing you want to tell them?
Once you know who your audience is, you can start to create content that serves them.
6. How to write a blog post, FAST
One of my secrets is voice recognition.
I’m doing it right now. See, you thought I was typing on a keyboard. But I’m not.
I am speaking into my phone. It’s an Android, and the voice recognition in Evernote is picking up what I’m saying.
Believe it or not, I’m actually sitting on a bench in the forest right now. Look, here I am!
I talked more about some of the tools I use for blogging in this post/video: The 10 Best Blogging Tools I Use Everyday
7. How to be a blogger?
A jogger is someone who jogs, and a blogger is someone who blogs.
It’s not rocket science. If you get a blog up and running, and start posting on a regular basis, you are a blogger.
If you learn how to earn money off of it, you are no longer a hobby blogger, you are a career blogger! Welcome to the club of beautiful weirdos who work from coffee shops!!–and the forest
8. How to be a successful blogger?
Ahh yes, this is an even better question.
The short answer is, keep going. It takes a long time for this to pay off.
I have really enjoyed the process, not only of sharing my ideas with the world, but also of learning how to write and do digital marketing. You might not believe this, but I’m pretty good at SEO, and social media marketing. Each of these are complementary skills I built while I have been blogging, and if I took them to the marketplace, and they can also earn me a pretty decent income.
I recommend finding a niche, at least to start with. Dominate the niche first, and do your keyword research to make sure there is not a huge amount of competition. Guest posts are also a valuable way to get other people’s audiences, I haven’t done as much of this as I should, but I will. But did I mention, keep going? That’s the most important thing!
If you try the email blogging course (see below), I’ll teach you how to find a niche 🙂
Conclusion
That’s it! These are answers to some of the questions I get and some blogging tips for you if you’re starting out! Good luck and please, please, please, share your results with me! I’d love to see it 🙂
Read More:
11 Perfect Side Jobs for Teachers
How to Make Money From Your Phone – 10 Ideas
