Blogging success begins with a step towards the right direction. 
If you know what you’re doing, blogging can put food on your table.
I’ve seen a lot of people who started out with nothing, and became great testimonials to their world. It’s your turn.
Are you a blogger? Do you want to really succeed; build an audience, increase comments, sell your services and make money?
Let’s consider the 7 steps to blogging success. Read gently and leave a comment afterward.
1. Write your goals down
Do you’ve a goal for your business? It’s so unfortunate how people started out blogging with no radar to guide them. It’s not enough to have the thoughts of success in your head; you’ve to jot it down on paper.
No matter what activities you’ve been called to do, make sure it’s not outside of your goals. If spending 4 hours on Twitter isn’t your goal, don’t waste that quality time tweeting. Write down core things which are helpful to growing your blog and stick with it.
2. Pursue one goal at a time
Yes, maybe you’ve written down 10 goals for the month and want to achieve all before 27th of same month. The best way is to pursue one goal at a time. You could dedicate this week for writing 5 quality guest posts, and next week for networking with other bloggers in your niche.
Of course, you could run with 2 visions at once, but for beginners it can be a BIG problem. Whatever you’re doing, put your energy and passion into it. That’s how a successful blogger is made.
3. Outsource what you can’t do
Do you outsource?
If you’re yet to start outsourcing, you’re missing out real time. You see, blogging is a difficult task and 24 hours is barely enough to handle the business and earn a living from it. When I started blogging, I thought I could research keywords, create a product, write quality articles, network, honor speaking engagements and do all manners of tasks myself.
I tried and failed woefully. When you start outsourcing, you’ll move faster than your competitors. Outsourcing definitely would involve monetary investment, but it’s worth it.
4. Write what you know
Passion is the fuel that powers the blogging engine. A passionate blogger writes and updates his or her blog regularly. Passion creates an aura of joy in your spirit. From the outset, choose a niche and topic you can write well.
Blogging is a long-term project, so don’t choose a niche because your friend or mentor advised you to. Stick with your passion and you’ll succeed. Sure, you will!
5. Offer value to your audience
Blog readers, prospects and customers are looking for one thing. They’re so desperate to get it. They’re searching for real value. Did you know that over 160,000 new wordpress blogs are created on a daily basis? But guess what?
Only few of these blogs truly offer value to the market. It makes no difference whether you’re a newbie or a professional, value can differentiate your blog from the crowd and give you real success. Will you offer value or hide beneath the walls of mediocrity? The choice is yours.
6. Monetize your blog
This part is what we like so much. Monetizing a blog is so important, but it can be frustrating if you neglect the core steps above. Value must come first, and then passion before anyone would consider buying from you.
What is the best monetization strategy for your blog? Only you can tell. Will e-books, software or WordPress themes and plugins be a good fit? Or would you rather sell your skills like writing, designing etc.?
In all, you must monetize your blog to make a living from it. Sure, some people will stand against the banners and affiliate links on your blog if that’s what you decide on, but it doesn’t matter. It’s your blog, and you’re not doing it for fun.
7. Rinse and repeat
The last piece of puzzle is simple. If a particular tactic works for your blog, don’t run helter-skelter looking for another loophole.
Stick with proven marketing strategies and become a master at it. For instance, if email marketing is working for you, don’t try to deviate and dabble into facebook marketing.
Stay focused. Do what you’ve to do and leave the rest to fate. See you at the top!
Photo Credit: pa2va
Hey Michael,
I agree: first things first is to think about your goals and objectives and then write them down. It’s nice to have something to refer back to month after month. Also agree to pursue one goal at a time. I am guilty of sometimes taking on too many things at once. Now, I’m not going to lie: I get all my obligations and client work done properly and on time, but it takes long hours and firm dedication. For my own website, and blogging in general, I think multi-tasking is more detrimental than it is beneficial. Thanks for the good tips here.
Tarun Gehani recently posted..The Real Benefits of Having Good Website Design
Wow Michael what can I say you have broken it down into some very simple steps.
One of my biggest problems is trying to accomplish to much at one time & this can be very frustrating at times. What you have made me realize here is to take my time & take one step at a time, I really needed to hear this piece of advice today! Thanks for sharing with us all:)
Toshiba Burton recently posted..The Lowdown On Offline Marketing Presentation Tips On How To Keep Your Audience Alive & Pumping
Hey Micheal, great post again.
I have never done outsourcing till now and I never felt the need for it.
I don’t run a business blog but getting some money from it would be too great.
Thanks for the tips
Arbaz Khan recently posted..4 Blogging Myths prevailing in the Blogosphere !!!!!
Hey Khan, I think outsourcing was the secret to some of the successes I’ve recorded as a blogger. It works but you must know the pros and cons. I’d be sharing more insights on this. Stay tuned to my posts. Thank you for watching my back…Lol!
Michael Chibuzor recently posted..10 Smartest Lessons From Writing 531 Quality Guest Posts In 12 Months
Thanks Michael for a great article. To what you outlined and what others have said, goal setting is an important first step for blogging or for any other social media platform. It’s a simple step, yet I feel that I sometimes catch myself not doing it. As for the outsourcing, that is definitely needed although it’s hard to convince someone that it would take additional money to invest into a blogging platform if they don’t see results right away.
Semisi Topui recently posted..3 Ways Social Media Marketing Can Help Your Business
Your post is so interesting. and it is more useful and helpful for me. Thanks for share this valuable post.
Wow, very well said! I think we all need to get a little bit more organized and disciplined and you guys really nailed it with this post! I think that organization, discipline and persistence is key for doing anything successfully
Hey! I got confused when I saw your comment LOL
I said to myself…..”What a minute, I don’t remember writing this” LOL
Nice to meet you Wendy, my name is Wendy