Blogging

1.Blogging

My business idea is blogging.Blogging is one of the first business models to arise from the invention of the internet. Blogs are online magazines in a niche that people read for advice, information and resources. Examples of popular blogs include Techcrunch which started as a hobby and turned into a business that was acquired for around $25m; Buzzfeed for trending millennial news/topics and Entrepreneur Handbook for advice on starting, managing and running a business in the UK (we couldn’t resist).
Over 4.4 million blog posts are published every day, and this is growing, due to an increase in amateur bloggers and the entire publishing industry shifting towards a purely online model. Given this, the blogging space is extremely competitive, but there is still room for new entries.
To get started blogging, you’ll need to decide on what niche you’re going to cover (popular areas include business, beauty, lifestyle and finance, although there are many more). You’ll also need to have a good understanding of search engine marketing, design, content marketing, writing, editing and use of most major digital marketing mechanisms (social, email and notifications).
Next, you’ll need to purchase your domain name, set up hosting and create a blog style website using a website builder or WordPress (you can also use platforms like YouTube or Vimeo if your video blogging). Make sure your website is mobile-friendly (responsive design); over 50% of your readership will view your blog using mobile devices. Then set up Google Analytics to view readership statistic and make sure your GDPR compliant (blogs by default have massive exposure when it comes to processing and storing personal data).
Now, you’ll need to +put together a content plan (use keyword planner for basic keyword research). Developing a strong content plan will be key to your success and take at least 2 to 3 weeks. Now its time to create your social profiles, newsletter templates /captures and put together an ongoing marketing plan to grow and retain your audience through these channels.
Blogs are still primarily monetised through display advertising, the simplest way to get started with this is to apply to join Adsense (pays per click and per thousand visitor impressions) and place relevant ads in best performing positions on your blog (in content, header, footer and sidebar). Blogs that focus on a field or niche where the content aligns with specific products/services are also able to effectively monetise through affiliate marketing (marketing a sperate companies’ product and taking a commission of any sales). For blogs relevant to B2B, you can also explore lead generation (collecting details/interest from readers to buy a particular product/service, then selling that lead to a direct supplier or third-party provider).
Blogging as we’ve mentioned is an extremely competitive game, but new blogs are started every day that end up becoming successful and profitable, it’s not a quick way to make money online, but it’s relatively low cost to start and grow business.