Amateur Blogging: A Guide to Grow your Blog

Blogging can be for anyone!

But not everyone has a chance to become a full-time blogger.

Statistically speaking there were over 31.7 million bloggers back in 2020 in the US alone and 500 million blogs from across the world.

Anyone can become a blogger. But not everyone can make a living blogging, as it requires not only dedication but a deep understanding of search engine optimization, content marketing, and online business development.

Before getting started let’s look at some numbers to see what you’re getting into:

• 42% of all blogs are started on WordPress as it is the easiest and best blogging option.
• 7 million new blogposts get created every day from more than 200 million active websites in 2021.
• If you are completely new to blogging, you should know that 63% of bloggers claim that their blog is a success and an even bigger percent of them said that they’ve made a profit.
• Only 5-8% can actually make a significant profit to eke out a living from their website.

With these numbers in mind, we can see that competition is fierce but the potential is huge. So let’s see how you can increase the odds in your favor.

(Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links that will provide a small commission at no cost to you to help keep the site alive.)

How to get started as a new blogger?

Getting started is the easy part when blogging. Nowadays you can create a website a website with your own domain name in under 15 minutes and have it launched on the world wide web.

How to create your first blog?

They say the first step is usually the hardest to make. Not in the case of blogging. When you have a good idea and niche you’d like to serve with information, you can start thinking of building your site.

If you are using WordPress and you are a beginner, a common piece of advice is to start with Bluehost, a sharing hosting provider that can help you set up your first website for a low fee.

If you haven’t already, you can start an affiliate site with Bluehost. Here’s how to can do that:

1. Visit Bluehost.com and click Get Started.
2. Choose the hosting plan you want.
3. Either enter a new domain name or choose a domain you already own.
4. Enter your account information and billing information.
5. Click Submit and you’re all set!

Get started with Bluehost for $2.95/month.

What matters the most from the beginning is to start! Don’t hesitate because someone else will start dominating the market in your niche before you!

Blogging will require months, perhaps even years to take off. But trust me, it will be worth it! 🙂

Why is that?

Because even if your dream salary will not appear in your bank account, you can still very likely achieve a side income next to your full-time job or occupation. And we’re usually talking about passive income!

Furthermore, if you have an audience or a fanbase that looks up to you, you feel your work is valued and it wasn’t in vain. And there is no greater feeling than to have something you’ve built out of nothing to serve others!

If you have a website with a domain name, you’ve already made the first step.

Blogging Tips – From Blogger to Business Owner

There is a golden rule when it comes to blogging: Blog like a Business and think like a CEO!

Gone are the days when you can sit in front of your laptop and dedicate your entire time to writing content. You need to focus on two main things when it comes to blogging: content and outreach!

Outreach

The backbone of every website comes down to authoritative links from high domains. No matter what anyone says, backlinks are essential for a website’s growth. Without do-follow backlinks, even the best content pieces will fall behind the lines in search engine ranks and will only be found by a handful of bored browsers.

This is why its important to connect with other bloggers, companies, communities or agencies to build backlink authority to your site. Backlinks will signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and that it adds value. Acquiring backlinks is no easy task, but it can always be outsourced for a small fee

Hire an outreach specialist on Fiverr! You can find outreach specialists that are familiar with your niche and can help you get those backlinks by launching a digital PR campaign or utilizing his/her network.

Content Writing

When it comes to writing articles, consistency and quality will make or break your blog!

How often should you publish on your blog?

Most professional content creators recommend dedicating themselves full-time to blogging and writing an article on a daily basis. Now this might be difficult for those who have a family, studies or a full-time job. If writing is taking too much of your time, you can once again hire a content writing specialist on Fiverr!

Remember blogging is not all about content creation, but content management. This is why it’s always useful to outsource work to take the burden of writing 3 to 5 hours a day.

SEO Growth

Every blogger who wants to eke out a living, build passive income or see a few pennies coming in their bank account must have a basic understanding of SEO.

The basics of SEO start with keyword research. Find and use words and phrases that help your text be discovered online, in search engines, by people that are interested in your topics. Having the right keywords with backlinks can help you rank on the first page of Google and get more page visitors than your competitor. The best way to research keywords is through SEO tools like Semrush that offers limited freemium keyword researches.

Social Media in a Different Way

Feel free to advertise your blog on every social media that you are currently on. Make sure you share each blog post, start discussions with your followers on other social media, and invite them to read your blog. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest are your best friends for extra page visitors.

Build a Facebook community if you want to share relevant tips often and connect more with your followers.

Use hashtags to get more visibility and schedule your social media posts when you believe your audience will be in front of their laptop or phone.

Visual Design

Feature images, graphs, infographics, and charts? Do you have to have them?

The design and layout of your blog are what require more time. And when it comes to writing and content creation, you might see that there is a ton of work to be made!

But my advice is this! For starters, use simple tools like Canva. If you want free images quickly, go to sites like Unsplash or places like Shutterstock, where both advanced and professional photographers share their work.

What are Some Mistakes Made by Amateur Bloggers?

There are five key points that every blogger needs to consider before opening up their digital wallets and throwing money for different CMS, hosting solutions, themes, and accessories.

Budgeting

For beginners, a WordPress website is the most recommended way to start your first blog or small business. It is the largest CMS that Google’s algorithm looks at with

• Hosting: As a starter, you don’t need a fancy hosting company. Bluehost will help you get a domain name, WordPress site, and email address quickly and easily.
• Themes: when it comes to themes to build the looks of your site, I’d recommend using Elementor and Astra theme build combined to create some simple yet beautiful pages.
• Accessories: when you want accessories focus on freemium version plugins like Yoast SEO, Security, Caching, contact form and data insights

Niche Mistakes

As mentioned earlier, consistency is key. Choosing the wrong niche will lead to the build-up of consistent, evergreen content fuelled by your motivation. If the niche is not in your interest, it will be harder and harder to commit yourself to a blog. Remember! Blogging is something that might take months to see results.

Choosing a broad and wide niche can also be a problem, especially if you are a solo blogger.

Why?

Because people can remember and associate you for who you are and what you stand for. If a blog doesn’t describe a narrow and coherent niche, it will be difficult to make browsers come back.

Now, this is not always the case, but most marketers do recommend narrow topics.

Not Bringing Something New to the Table

This topic of blogging has been covered a million times across the web, I’m sure. But just like this article you’re reading, it has something new to offer, some unique experience that no other blogger has covered. You don’t have to be a full-time expert in a specific topic or blogging itself.

You just need to bring value to your readers that lets you stand out. Do research from various sources and deliver value to your readers!

Lack of Content Optimization

User experience is crucial for both your browsers and in the eyes of search engines. This is why it is important to offer the best a user can get when they come to your website.

A fast website that is not hurdled down by excessive DOM size or large-scale images, gifs, and videos. In fact, avoid gifs and only upload content on Youtube which you can share on your blog without encumbering it with a ton of data.

Mobile page optimization is also significant for both ranking and user experience since 50% of browsers will use a phone or a tablet to visit your page.