In my 7 months blogging, I've learnt 7 very important lessons. When it comes to blogging success, the sum of many deciding factors will make or break you. It's a combination of these 7 qualities that create a money-making and successful blog.
Looking back, there were many things I wish I had done differently. Instead of mulling over what I've done wrong, I'd like this post to be about 7 valuable takeaways for you. So here goes. The 7 P's of a successful blog.
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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, that means at no additional cost to you I will make a commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I love and trust.
From this post, you'll learn:
- 7 P's Of A Successful Blog
- 7 Mistakes To Avoid As A New Blogger
- How To Implement The 7 P's Into Your Blog
Don't have time to read it all? Just click on the titles above to skip to any section you want.
But first, what's in it for me?
Contents
I remember stumbling upon a really successful blog on Pinterest. Chasing Foxes was one of the blogs that inspired me to run this blogging business(or actually give blog ANOTHER go).
One of the famous lines that resonated with me on Chasing Foxes was: What's In It For Me?
Allow me to explain.
A blog is successful if it provides value to an audience who is starving for it.
In other words, the reason why so many blogs fail is not because there's something wrong with the blogger or the blog itself.
Usually, it's not for a lack of quality content either. But the key to a successful blog is the value of the blog's content. If your blog articles lack value that your readers and audience actually want, then why would anyone care to read it? There's nothing in it for them!
So let me tell you straight up what this blog post will get you.
Not only will it help you to examine your blog within these 7 P's( do you have any of these qualities?) , it will also prompt you to think about what it means to have a “successful” blog.
What does success mean to you as a blogger? Different people will have different goals with their blogs. And so it's important to know your own definition of success.
Many bloggers have this idea of having “made it” when they finally make their first $10k a month. They see blogging as a sprint and a get-rich-quick scheme. Having the correct mindset about your blogging business and setting the right kind of goals is crucial to the kind of success you'll achieve with your blog.
My definition of a successful blog
To me, a successful blog does not necessarily mean a hyper lucrative one. However, it needs to achieve the following things for me:
a) Providing value to others and solutions to the problems my audience is facing
b) Sharing my voice and unique experience
c) Inspiring others to take action
So before we continue on to the 7 P's of a successful blog, what is your definition of a successful blog?
7 Elements Of A Successful Blog(The 7 P's)
#Personality
If you think about it, why do you read blogs? When it comes to blogging, it's very different to factual writing. Let's be honest.
Many newbie and aspiring bloggers never quite make it or persist because nobody reads their content.
Why? Most of the time, it is because of the lack of personality in their writing.
A successful blog is successful because of the interesting writing style that shines with personality.
In a world where even instant gratification is too slow, grabbing people's attention is getting harder and harder everyday. So if you want to grow your audience online or even in real life, personality is key.
So, if you're struggling to grow your blog's traffic, it's time to examine the way you write. Getting people to your blog isn't the first step. The most important thing is still your content.
Believe me. It took me at least 3 months to realise that my writing sucked. I did not write with my own voice. It sounded pretty rigid and dry. No wonder every time after I hit publish, I did not see comments flooding in on my blog posts. All I had were *Cricket sounds*.
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If you want to grow your audience or even in real life, personality is key.
#Provides Value
Starting a blog is the easy part, but running a blog business IS hard work. However, if your only end goal as a blogger is to make money, then your blog will not last long at all.
The reason why successful blogs stick around is because it provides value to a big audience. There is something in the content that resonates with people. Either it gives them really useful tips, some form of guidance or a source of inspiration, a blog provides some kind of value to a reader.
Sometimes, the only way to find a solution to my real-life problems is through blogs. The reason being, bloggers are doers. If they found a way that works for them, why shouldn't it also work for me? Sure I could Google my way through simple questions that need answers. But when validation comes from someone who has experienced something, it feels more authentic.
That's why blogs have value. There is a long-term currency of trust. Providing value is a surefire way to nurture trust and thus a successful blog.
Either it gives them really useful tips, some form of guidance or a source of inspiration, a blog provides some kind of value to a reader.
Now don't get me started about Pinterest. I'm a huge believer in having more than one source of traffic. However, my favourite is still Pinterest. In fact, I love it so much that it's now my bread and butter. You can read my post here about how I make money online as a Pinterest VA.
So why is Pinterest crucial to having a successful blog?
With 2 million blog posts written a day(oh yeah, no shit), you get the idea. It's incredibly hard to optimise for Google, let alone compete with anyone's attention when there are so many blogs out there. Everyone is an expert on some topic, and if you're in a niche which is already saturated then your odds of having a successful blog is even slimmer.
Having Pinterest as your long-term strategy for traffic as well as building brand awareness is great! At only 8 years old, it's not that saturated(yet). There are plenty of topics not yet optimised fully, which means there is more room for your blog to be seen and read!
Pinterest is also a great way to build your email list and understanding your audience well. If your target audience is millennials, it's even better.
According to this report, 72% of Pinterest users use the platform to decide what to buy offline. 1 of 2 Millennials use Pinterest each month AND 93% of Pinterest users use Pinterest to plan purchases.
What does this mean for you as a blogger? If Pinterest is done right, you'll get consistent traffic and page views from Pinterest after only 3-6 months.
Want to know my secret weapon when it comes to getting free traffic to my blog using Pinterest? Join me on a 5-day Pinterest marketing for success email course here. If you're ready to improve your Pinterest skills to explode your blog traffic, then this course is highly recommended.
Having Pinterest as your long-term strategy for traffic as well as building brand awareness is great!
#Perspective
Having a great personality and using Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog isn't enough. What. DID. YOU. SAY??
Yup. That's why blogging is not easy. It's not just a pie where you can just bake in 7 easy steps within 7 days. Just like a job where you have to slowly learn the ropes and build skills, a blog is a humongous venture. I wouldn't say only the BRAVE will attempt it, but the PASSIONATE.
Let me tell you how many times I've attempted to HAVE a blog and to make it successful. This is actually my 7th blog. And why is this time different? Why did I stick around?
The biggest reason why this is a successful blog( in my definition ) is because of my unique perspective this time. Insane Freedom is about giving people options when it comes to their lifestyle and finances. It's about opening up people's eyes to other ways of living and escaping the rat race.
The possibility of this blog impacting someone's life and changing their perspective keeps me going more than anything.
I believe we as a society should start examining the way we live. Just because modern society has gone on for so long in this way(work hard, play hard, have huge debts and feel miserable) doesn't mean we should continue this way. There are other ways of reimagining our adult lives.
The biggest reason why this is a successful blog is because of my unique perspective this time.
#Practical Passion
This brings me to my next point. A blog is successful if it has genuine passion. When it comes to making money from a blog business, authenticity is more important than anything.
If someone genuinely believes in something, it's impossible to fake it. Same goes with passion. I'm passionate about the mission and purpose of this blog. I really want to affect social change with my blog, in which more people are moved to change their careers, build businesses and design lives they really want to live.
With passion comes consistent action. If consistency came with a “P” initial, it would have been at the top of this list.
Why is passion important for a successful blog?
As with any business, with the long hours and never-ending to-do lists, it can get really challenging to continue on without some kind of passion. And why did I have MORE passion than any other time when I attempted to have a blog? That's because this blog actually made me money AND helped others. When you start making money at something, it's proof that that something has some value. It means you have a baby that needs nurturing. It's not difficult to have passion for it now is it?
That's why I've coined it as “practical passion”. Without a certain kind of passion that has realistic expectations, you'll run out of steam pretty quickly when you see that today you've only made that $.03 from Google Ads. Knowing that your blog business is a long-term project and understanding that it's not a glamorous way of making $10k per month within 3 months is important.
Be realistically and practically passionate about your blog and it will be successful.
Knowing that your blog business is a long-term project and understanding that it's not a glamorous way of making $10k per month within 3 months is important.
#Problem Solving
As a blogger, I see myself as a problem solver more than anything. The reason why this blog has been successful and will be more so in the future is because I finally managed to solve some IMPORTANT problems.
Without any credibility, it is very hard to gain any traction as a new blogger. Over time, I finally found something I was good at. After spending my hard-earned money, my precious time and huge amounts of energy on this blogging venture, it's finally starting to see some progress.
The funny thing is as a blogger you kind of have to be a problem solver for your OWN blog as well as for your readers. It takes a lot of patience and persistence to learn how to solve a problem. Particularly if you're doing all this on your own without any professional help, sometimes a small issue on your blog(technical or otherwise) can set you back many hours.
So repeat after me. To have a successful blog, you must have KICKASS problem solving skills for yourself as well as for your audience. If you don't provide any solution to real life problems, you might as well throw in the towel right now and give up your blogging dream.
If you're not willing to do countless of experiments, trial and error and learn from your mistakes, then your blog will NEVER be successful.
To have a successful blog, you must have KICK-ASS problem solving skills for yourself as well as for your audience.
#Purposeful
Purpose. What comes to mind when you read or hear this word?
For me, this blog serves three purposes.
Number one, it's actually a side hustle. It provides me with joy and a source of side income. Number two, I love writing. Writing allows me to share my thoughts and to help other people through my own experiences. Number three, blogging is my last hope when it comes to creating the life of my dreams.
I hope to one day earn passive income from my blog so that I can spend more time with my husband.
In terms of the blog's purpose for my audience, this blog serves as a reference point and guidance for people who want a change of career, manage their finances and learn Pinterest marketing.
It's therefore very important for you to get clear on your purpose. I don't like to use the term you “why” as it's been so overused. Keep your purpose close to you, on your desktop screen saver or on your phone's lock screen. Have your purpose visible at all times to remind you of the reason why you started your blog in the first place.
So there you have it. The 7 P's for a successful blog.
How To Implement The 7 P's Into Your Blog
Before we continue on with the 7 mistakes to avoid as a new blogger, let's also talk about how you're going to implement the 7 P's of a successful blog.
To quickly review them, the 7 P's are:
- Personality
- Provides Value
- Perspective
- Practical Passion
- Problem Solving
- Purposeful
So how do you make sure that you include these very important elements into your blog? Here are a few suggestions:
Personality:
The next time you write your blog post, try to talk out loud as if you're having a conversation with a friend. Write your blog post in that light conversational tone. Your personality should shine a little more than how you usually write.
Pinterest:
Having an effective Pinterest strategy in place for consistent traffic and engagement with your audience is crucial to your blog's success. To learn more about how you can use Pinterest to maximise your blog's potential, there are plenty of articles here for you to peruse. If you want to learn more about Pinterest, here are some awesome resources for you. They are 100% free.
Provides Value:
If you want to provide more value to your audience and readers of your blog, then it's time you improved the quality of your content. Read other successful blogger's tips and strategies and their income reports. They give great insights when it comes to blogging tips, how to serve your audience as well as how you can be really helpful in your articles. Here are some GREAT blogs to read:
Perspective:
How can you gain unique perspective and use your voice to express them? Read more books and write more often. Gain life experience by trying new things in life. These are the best ways to do them. If you want to understand the questions and problems that your target audience are facing, Quora is a great place to start. You can also do some research into your target audience by finding them on different social media platforms. Try to think like them and understand where they usually hang out online and offline.
Practical Passion:
The practical side to your passion includes: having a business plan, knowing how you're going to execute your plan and tracking your progress. That is why I'm working hard to create a FREE resource library for you in 2019. So stay tuned.
Problem Solving:
How do you become a badass at problem solving? To me, problem solving has always been how I manage to break through obstacles and succeed. I guess it's mostly because of my stubbornness.
Some people might look at their stubborn attitude as a negative thing, but to me it has given me an edge that not many people have nowadays.
Tenacity.
To become great at problem solving, you need to be tenacious and never stop until you find a solution. And if you fail at the end of the day, don't worry. You can always GET HELP! Outsources the things you're not good at to someone else. It will not only free up your time for the important things you need to do for your blog, but also allow you to seek professional help whenever you need to.
People go to dentists to get their teeth problem sorted out. They go to accountants when they need their tax done. Why shouldn't you hire someone for help when it comes to your blog??
To be a successful blogger or run a successful blog, you need to be tenacious. You have to love to hustle. You have to LOVE learning, solving problems like they're a puzzle and master the art of trial and error.
Trial and error is a time consuming way of figuring out effective solutions to a problem. However, it is extremely valuable because then you will not only understand 99 solutions to a problem, you will also discover 99 mistakes to avoid. Better still, you can TEACH others how to avoid them in the future!
Purposeful:
If you have no idea what your purpose in life is, or for your blog, then this GREAT article on finding your purpose will definitely get you started. Another great way of discovering the purpose of your blog is to interact with your readers. Reply to their comments, email them and tell them to ask you questions and so on.
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7 Mistakes To Avoid As A New Blogger
As a newbie blogger, there are many mistakes to avoid making if you want to have a long and successful blogging career. I'm pretty sure there are more than 7 things you should avoid doing, but here are definitely the 7 most important ones:
1. Not Building your email list
If you haven't started building your email list now, that should be your top priority right now!
The importance of an email list lies in the importance of nurturing your audience.
The reason why people subscribe to blogs is because of the element of trust. Over time, trust is like a currency that accumulates within multiple interactions. There are certainly more than one way to make money from your blog, but affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to do so.
In order to make money from affiliate marketing, an email list is CRUCIAL. Without a warm audience, you simply cannot build a successful blogging business. You will need a good amount of emails to build a thriving blog business that will help make you passive income in the future.
So how do you build your email list? Basically, to get subscribers to your email list you need to provide freebies and bonuses that are TOO GOOD TO RESIST. The key to a successful lead magnet is to beta test a few of them on your blog. Observe the number of subscribers to each lead magnet and you should be able to see what your audience is interested in.
Hone into the topic that your audience is dying to know more about. Create great content based on that consistently and you'll have a growing number of loyal fans( and paying customers)!
2. Not replying to reader's questions, comments and feedbacks
Just like providing bad customer service at a restaurant, not replying to your reader's comments is going to hurt your blog!
Building trust and rapport with your readers and audience is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do for your blog.
If you want others to read your content, listen to your advice and buy your products/services, it's very important to take the time to reply to comments, questions and feedbacks. Showing and providing genuine support also gives people the impression that you care, and you're there to help your readers when they need help.
3. Not listening to your audience
Listening to your audience's wants and needs is super IMPORTANT!!! Without your audience, your blog would cease to thrive.
Knowing what they want and providing content of actual value will ensure the longevity of your blog.
If you just assume that your audience likes XYZ, well they're not going to respond to any of your efforts at all. So stop wasting time and refusing to listen to your audience. They will leave you many clues(like digital breadcrumbs if you lie) that will give you a clear idea on your blog's direction.
The best way to listen to your audience is to ASK them what they want! Here are some suggestions on how to do that:
- Create a survey or quick questionnaire to ask what kind of content your audience would like to read about next
- Interact with your audience on social media
- Create a Facebook community group for your subscribers
- Look at how your blog posts perform on social media platforms
- Observe the reception of a few lead magnets and freebies: when there's a demand, it's a surefire content idea for your next blog post
4. Not Practicing Good SEO
SEO was such a foreign term to me before I started learning how to do it properly this year. If you've never heard of this term, SEO is an acronym for search engine optimisation.
When you write a blog post or publish a pin on Pinterest, it's important to use KEYWORDS that your readers are using to search for things online.
For example, if I want to look for blog post ideas, I would type: “blog post ideas” on Google or Pinterest. So, “blog post ideas” is the keyword you should optimise in your blog post. Meaning, you have to include “blog post ideas” in your blog over and over again.
How do you include keywords in your blog post? Here are 5 easy ways to do that:
- Add keywords to the “Alt Text” in the images you include in your blog post
- Use the keywords in your blog post title, subtitles and content
- Research long tail keywords to further increase your visibility on search engines
- Use synonyms of your keywords throughout your blog post
- Always summarise your paragraphs: this allows you to reiterate your point and include your keywords!
5. Not having a consistent publishing schedule
Having a consistent publishing schedule for your blog has 5 main benefits.
Firstly, publishing new content regularly on your blog puts you on Google( and Pinterest's) good books. That's because blogs with new URLs get pushed higher on their algorithm, making your content more visible to potential readers.
Second, having consistent (and good quality) blog posts published improves your writing and blogging skills. Consistent AND deliberate effort is what makes ANYBODY good at anything. Not talent, or resources or the lack of so and so.
Thirdly, publishing consistently keeps your readers engaged. If you're consistently providing value to a dedicated audience who is starving for it, then you're building a loyal readership.
Publishing consistently also improves your blog's credibility as well as increasing audience retention rates. That means more returning readers. This not only increases your traffic but also improves your income, provided that you have a great business model.
Lastly, a consistent publishing schedule keeps you relevant with your audience.
Going quiet for more than 2 week is a surefire way of making your audience forget about you. As the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind”, it definitely rings true when it comes to blogging.
6. Not promoting your blog enough
Now, if you're all like, I'm not a natural self-promoter and all that, then you can just forget about blogging as a career.
Not promoting your blog enough is one of the biggest crimes new bloggers commit( sometimes, experienced bloggers also do it).
You've spent hours and hours on curating content, publishing new blog posts, coming up with lead magnet ideas and creating email sequences.
Why the hell are you NOT promoting your blog??? Do you think that people will just find your blog posts without any effort on your part? Remember the fact that you are competing with 2 million blog posts in a day….so make sure you do the homework of promoting your blog posts. Otherwise, all the hours spent on your blog will be wasted.
7. Not repurposing your content
Remember the saying of “work smarter, not harder”?
This is completely true when it comes to running a successful blog. With the myriad of tasks you need to complete on a daily basis for your blog, you SHOULD be repurposing your content regularly.
Before I ever heard of this term “repurposing content”, I was stupidly doing everything from scratch. The whole time I was cursing and hating myself for starting a blog.
I thought to myself, why is running a blog so tiresome?
That's one of the biggest mistakes I've committed as a new blogger. Repurposing content for your emails, social media content as well as time-sensitive promotions(for example repurposing your evergreen content for Christmas) is a great way to recycle your previous work.
It's not only a time saving hack, it's the best practice for a successful blogger!
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