Starting a blog has never been easier than today thanks to all the tools at our disposal. Although it’s easy to start blogging, becoming a successful blogger and making a living from this activity isn’t easy, and it takes time. Writing articles is one step, but it’s not enough. The professional blogger is at the same time a company manager, an entrepreneur, a writer, an expert, a teacher, a communicator, and sometimes even a photographer and a videographer!
The idea is absolutely not to give you a negative or exaggerated image of this job but only to highlight the truth of an atypical profession, full of challenges and opportunities, provided you create your own luck!
That’s why, today, we’re going to see how to turn your amateur blog into a professional site! A good part of this journey is linked to your skills but also to your mind. Why create a blog? It’s all about passion!
How do you become an influential professional blogger?
Definition of a professional blogger
A blogger is a person who manages a blog, a showcase site dedicated to their interests. As a writer, they write about topics related to their favorite fields in order to provide information, comment on current events, or introduce new information to the greatest number of visitors and readers possible.
Over the years and with many technological advances, platforms have allowed bloggers to diversify in their content creation. Thus, this communication professional will be able to create videos, accompany their writings with their own photographs, animate podcasts, etc.
The goal of their work will be, in the long run, to be able to get paid thanks to their posts on their blog and social media networks. To earn money with a blog, the expert will then have to collaborate with brands, companies, with the aim of monetizing their site, and even transform it into a principal activity.
The profession of blogger can be envisaged in the long term, by following precise communication methods, good practices to attract the largest number of people, in order to generate income from the first year!
Furthermore, if you have an online store, creating blog posts is one of the many types of content marketing that you can employ to gain customers online. It’s therefore a very appealing activity for entrepreneurs of all kinds!
What training is needed to become a professional blogger?
The blogger profession isn’t regulated, nor is it governed by any specific training. This job is mostly a self-taught activity, and it involves more than just learning how to write a blog post.
With the increased competition in all niches, you should no longer do amateur blogging; it’s important to master several skills to succeed:
- copywriting,
- web marketing, and
- business.
To train yourself, you’ll find that you have a lot of choices between books on Amazon, videos on YouTube, texts, and eBooks offered on several blogs to help you. It’s best to start with a book on blogging or biographies of successful bloggers, and as you read it, you implement the advice right away. The key is to familiarize yourself with the connected tools but also to learn from professionals who’ve gone through all the steps before achieving success.
Afterwards, you must continue to train and monitor your efforts. Blogging and the internet world in general evolve very quickly. You must always be aware of the latest trends.
But above all, the interest for your platform will be to be positioned on the first page of Google (and other search engines). For this reason, you need to have a good foundation in SEO (search engine optimization). Imagine: you’re a surf blogger and one of the articles you post comes up on keywords like “best surfboard” on search engines. That’s hundreds of visits guaranteed!
SEO is a very technical method, but it’s a long-term one. However, if you take the step of ensuring that you have the basics, you can have a flow of qualified visitors that’ll be regular and above all, free.
The WiziShop ecommerce solution knows the power of this lever, and that’s why in the training on online sales that it offers to its e-merchants, there’s a part entirely dedicated to SEO.
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The professional blogger is an expert in their field
If you’re passionate, you can start blogging! The key is to be constantly inspired, to have knowledge in your field, or to propose a story, an adventure, a challenge to your readers.
You love fashion, you’re a great gardener, you work in an underrepresented sector, you want to share your tips around personal development, document your journey around your weight loss or tips to achieve it, you want to make your business known to a target audience ... Hundreds of topics are covered by blogging! Your goal will be to attract and retain your readers with your writing.
One of the many benefits of content marketing activities like writing blog posts is that the content that you share can help to demonstrate your expertise in your domain. The passion and skills you have often meet a need.
However, once you’ve begun, the best way to know the expectations of your readers is to ask them in the form of a survey. This way, you’ll be able to offer the right article to the right target.
Becoming a professional blogger: our practical advice
Wanting to please everyone: the fatal error
Before starting with the practical part of launching a blog, it’s best to prepare your arrival on the web by positioning yourself concerning the blogging profession.
What emerges from most of the testimonies and advice given by professionals in the sector is the most frequent obstacle: wanting to please all internet users.
Although, in the beginning, the idea of covering the most subjects possible in your posts may be tempting, allowing you to reach the greatest number of people possible by giving advice on and writing about loads of subjects, the end result can quickly become a mountain to overcome.
From the moment your readers’ questions start to pour in, when brands start to contact you for partnerships, how do you manage? How do you be efficient and satisfy the people asking you all kinds of questions?
Because having a blog is an extension of your activity that also deserves its own customer service. You become visible and a benchmark in your field. You’ll be asked questions that deserve exact technical answers, not approximate ones, in order to help people find solutions to the problems they encounter. Why choose to talk about cars if you’re passionate about surfing?
Take the time to refocus on your passions, and become excellent at managing your information. Don’t make it harder on yourself by trying to cover every topic or niche; you’re risking a lot.
And as for the critics, there are some, and there will continue to be some, because, as they say, “You can’t please everyone!”
Offer quality content
Your content is the foundation of your site. You have to pay a lot of attention to it, devoting your time and energy to creating high-quality posts.
Without great content, no one will share. It’s with this that you show your knowledge in the field of choice and share your expertise. To be able to provide the best content, the first step is to analyze the content of other referent sites that share your topics.
Blogs, media, specialized sites: what are the keywords used? What is the angle of the #1 article that you find on the Google SERP for the “maintain your surfboard” query?
Content creation is both entertainment for your visitors and a service for people who want to learn more about a subject. In addition, keep in mind that content marketing can really help SEO. Qualitative content will be highlighted by search engines like Google: beyond the optimization of your visuals, the construction of your article is a major argument for your SEO.
By looking at what the top Google articles offer, you’ll be able to model your future content, get inspired by the parts and subparts of the sites already positioned, and add that special touch that belongs only to you.
Blogger and interior designer Aimee Song advises those who want to take the step of starting a blog to not do it strictly for the money, as people will be able to see right through the content in your posts. In addition, you should find a way to stay true to yourself in your writing, regardless of your niche or domain. This will help people to better resonate with each article that you post as well as with you as the creator of those articles.
Social proof: be engaging and accessible!
In your professional blog business plan and to be able to monetize your content, you probably imagined launching your brand. Furthermore, before starting your blog, you may have thought about launching anonymously by showcasing your catalog and tips. This way, you can build an initial audience with your communication plan before launching your store.
To inspire confidence in the readers who follow you and for them to become customers later on if you want to create your online sales business, you need to add social proof on your blog.
To do this, you can:
- Highlight your social networks.
- Display your media appearances with logos on your home page.
- Add customer testimonials—there’s nothing better than a customer talking about you!
- Add a rating system on your articles that you post as well as on your website.
- Engage people to get them to comment on your articles.
The group effect brings trust, and trust brings sales. There are several examples of successful brands launched by influencers. This is the case of Alexandra Guerain of the Alex Closet blog, now at the helm of a children’s clothing brand OHA KIDSWEAR.
The popularity of these bloggers allowed their businesses and activities to be very successful from the start. But, before getting there, they gave it their all on their blogs! Be patient, and success will also come for your blog and for your future ecommerce business.
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Share with your community
Internet users are over-solicited from all sides. You have competition in all sectors. You must therefore bring more than the others. It’s not because you’ve made a page with your catalog that your visitors will become customers in an instant.
You must give before you receive. Prospects must see what you have under the hood. Make their mouths water. They must be able to see your expertise on the subjects you cover. The purchase should become obvious to them by following you.
However, if they don’t know you, do you think that they’ll easily make the purchase? I don’t think so. In internet sales, it’s a bit of the same thing. Customers often choose to buy on Amazon rather than on the small local site they don’t know.
Why, you may ask? Quite simply, Amazon has already proven itself! Fast delivery, customer service, ease of use of the site... The customer knows that they won’t find any bad surprises with Amazon.
So you must be the Amazon of bloggers! The prospect must think that buying from you is a matter of course since you have a proven track record. After reading your content, they consider you to be a benchmark in your sector.
How do you give before receiving? Offer free eBooks, mini-trainings, tutorials, videos... You’ll see that people will be more inclined to buy from you.
Internet users must tell themselves that you’ve worked on your content and that they’ll go through you to buy the product so that you can earn a commission.
Be in constant search of new content
What’s worse than coming across a site where the most recent article is from last year? Abandonment is the worst of all bad impressions. Of course, there’s no such problem on a classic site. But on a blog, the date is displayed. You can, of course, remove it, but it’s not recommended.
In addition, the temporality will be unmasked. Except for practical, timeless advice articles, the other subjects will betray your lack of investment. Imagine a fashion site that hasn’t been updated for several months: we’ll be talking about winter clothes on the site when it’s the middle of summer. Weird, right?
This image is yours, a brand image that’ll also be noticed by your future potential partners. And then, your site would be less and less well referenced.
You must therefore write content regularly, regardless of the format! Set yourself numerical objectives. At least one article per week, or every 2 weeks, is a good rhythm.
This kind of small detail will make you go from amateur blogger to professional blogger.
Promote your articles on social media networks
You need to promote your articles to get them read. On your social networks, consider all the formats that’ll make your followers want to read and discover more.
The idea will be to multiply the channels to bring users to your blog. Sharing links on LinkedIn, Facebook, sharing photos, videos on Instagram and TikTok... Everything will be helpful to be able to highlight your articles.
If you want to take the next step, to take your blog to the next level, there are other levers to consider. To promote your content, you can contact influencers/bloggers so that they share it with their followers.
You must be active on social networks. Also share your articles to your subscribers by email through an emailing campaign.
On Twitter, you can also tag influential accounts that would be interested in sharing your blog post. There are many ways to promote your articles. It’s up to you to be creative!
Salary: how do influencers and bloggers make a living?
A professional blogger is a blogger who’s going to be able to earn money with their blog. And for that, you have to start by monetizing it.
There are four ways you can create value.
- Advertising: you can try to highlight your site on advertising inserts, especially with the Adsense tool.
- Affiliation: you can create partnerships with other bloggers or other influencers who can promote your site or your catalog, in exchange for a fee.
- Sponsored articles: you can invite companies or experts to write on your blog in exchange for visibility or, conversely, offer an external writing service for other accounts in exchange for payment (brand content).
- Sales: quite simply, your content and accumulated notoriety can be used to support your sales and propel your business rapidly.
Develop your network by creating partnerships
Your network of partners and providers can make the difference on your potential turnover. Just like on social media networks, partnerships can allow you to highlight products and services while being paid.
This win/win exchange requires, on your side, the ability to be able to invoice your services, like a freelance provider.
Once this technical aspect is taken care of, you can quickly be solicited by brands to work together. But be careful: your networks will allow you to unlock partnerships more easily and your blog will then accompany the creation of content. Don’t neglect your pages!
If you want to launch your brand, developing your network by partnering with other bloggers/influencers is beneficial for your blog:
- You’ll grow your audience because your partner’s audience will be invited to discover you.
- You’ll increase your blog traffic, your subscribers, and you’ll probably get new customers.
- You’ll be able to offer affiliation to your partners. They can then bring you new customers.
- You’ll work on your SEO. If the partner creates a link to your site, it’s beneficial for you. Your readers who will certainly know this blogger or influencer will find you more legitimate because their brand image and yours have been associated.
To connect with these bloggers, you need to add value to the other. They shouldn’t feel that you are offering them a partnership where only you are the winner. You can contact them on social networks or by email.
Start creating a relationship that must be real so that the partnership is easier to start.
Don’t have “impostor syndrome” and fully embrace your blog!
Very often, when we start blogging, we can be victims of “impostor syndrome,” that is to say, thinking that we’re not qualified enough on the subject that we choose to.
Know that when you have experience or a passion in an area or a domain, you know more than 95% of people. So there’s no problem with blogging about a topic. You’ll add value to the people who follow you.
You just have to be honest in your communication by explaining why you’re legitimate. Don’t go on about your life, and be specific about what you can bring.
You must believe in yourself! You’ll find that the community that you’ll create around your blog and your networks will be loyal and will be able to prove the value of your posts.
Even if you want to deal with a subject that you haven’t mastered 100%, you’ll always know more than the beginners.
Sports blogger, travel, fashion, lifestyle, etc. never give up
To be successful with your blog, you need to be persistent and regular, just like an entrepreneur. Blogging is not a sprint, but a marathon.
You’ll have to implement many small actions every day to develop your audience and therefore your revenue.
And if you don’t succeed with your first site, try again. Test and learn from your mistakes. Get out of your comfort zone and come back to it! At worst, what else can you do but be successful? There are no set instructions; it’s up to you to create your own path to success.
If you’ve chosen the right theme for your blog, especially one that addresses a problem or a need, you’ll eventually become successful.
When your motivation isn’t at its peak, consider the founder of BlaBlaCar, a French online marketplace for carpooling. He created his site dedicated to carpooling, and for 10 years, he made little or no revenue. It took 10 years, 10 years of perseverance. 10 years for the site to become successful.
Today, the company is worth 2 billion dollars!
So, at your level, you need to be sure of your strengths, stay on top of things and above all, be consistent—create posts regularly, promote your pages, be active on social networks, answer emails and comments, import new categories, add new affiliate programs, take the time to improve your acquisition processes... You have plenty to do!
The best thing is to set quantitative goals. For example: one article to post per week, two new backlinks on your site per month, etc.
Above all, write down everything you have to do on a “to-do list” so that you don’t forget anything, and delete your tasks as you go along, once they’ve been completed. It’s up to you to blog!
