grow blog business blogging blogger earn SEO DA monetise publicise

How To Grow Your Blog As A Business

[AD] This post is for a paid partnership.

Most people would love to earn a living from their hobby and develop it into a full-time career or business, whilst enjoying what they do. I mean, the labour market in the UK is looking very bleak at the moment and with Brexit looming, the economy seems to be declining, leading to very little job prospects. For fellow content creators, blogging may be something that they are aspiring to go full time with. However, it will take time to get to this stage (I’ve been blogging for over four years now!) and be prepared to work hard. Here are a few points to consider before making this jump:

  1. Work on your DA score – After Google rankings were abolished, Domain Authority (DA) took over and it’s the next best thing that everyone in the industry looks at to see what type of authority a website holds. Improving it takes time and requires a mixture of things, such as website backlinks, SEO optimisation, social signals and more!
  2. Publicise your posts – Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, make sure you get your blog out there! Start by linking your social accounts to your WordPress blog (not too sure how it works on other platforms?) so new posts are shared automatically to all your social media platforms once they are live. This will not only build your audience and grow your following, but it will also open your blog up to so many more opportunities. Other ways to do this can be to take part in Twitter chats and comment threads as well as connecting or collaborating with other bloggers in the community.
  3. Target your audience – There’s no point in talking about loosing weight with Weight Watchers when your blog is about looking after your hamster. Think about your blog niche (or even stick with being a lifestyle blogger where you cover everything on life) so that you have engaged readers who are interested in what you have to say. This will also help to get your post shared on social media which is important for that DA score to rise!
  4. Monetise, monetise, monetise – Now, I’m not saying accept sponsored content for something totally unrelated to your blog, but try to be more proactive in looking for opportunities. Whether it’s gifting campaigns, advertising slots or sponsored posts, there are so many ways to earn money from your blog. For starters, Sarah posts daily blogger opps on her Twitter account, so definitely check her out! There are also various agencies such as Behrman and PR companies where you can sign up for campaigns so they land straight into your inbox.
  5. Complete the boring bits – Make sure you’re registered as self-employed when you start earning from your blog and don’t forget to keep records of all your income and expenditure – it’ll save you a lot of time and hassle when it comes to filling out your self assessment form!

On a final note, growing your blog can be nerve-wrecking in the beginning. It will test your patience and you will receive many rejections from brands/PRs. But, always try to stay positive, keep a good work-life balance and don’t take it to heart!

Until next time.