I am only just starting out in the blogging world, and I still have so much to learn. If you are just starting out, you may be feeling the same way. Or maybe you are curious how so many blogs become successful. I found myself asking this question: What are things successful bloggers know? It is easy to look at all the successful bloggers out there and think, “What can I possibly say that someone else hasn’t said?” or “My blog will never be as good as _____.”

Well the good new is, it doesn’t have to be perfect! I have been researching a lot in preparation for the courage to start writing and publishing my own content and I have found 5 common themes that most of the successful bloggers seem to know. I hope this list inspires you to get started and have the courage to hit publish on your own blog!

1. Successful bloggers know they need to have a business plan and treat their blog like a business

Let’s get straight to it. Most successful bloggers these days do not stumble upon success. With the resources out there, you can have the training to get started and be successful right away. When starting out, it is important to have a plan for your blog as a business. What are you going to write about? Who are you going to help? How are you going to monetize your blog so you can start creating revenue?

It’s ok if you don’t know all of that right away. But if one of your goals is eventually to make money from your blog, don’t be afraid to seek out resources so you can have a successful blog from the start!

I’ve found some of my favorite resources from a relatively new blogger, Ana of The She Approach. She has been very successful and is now focused on teaching others how to be successful. She has wonderful resources and freebies, and if you sign up for her mailing list, you will get access to her Free Resource Library! That has been a huge confidence builder and launching point for me in believing I too can be successful.

2. Successful bloggers know they are writing to help others

You can write about anything and everything that interests you, but the truth is, your audience will come to you for something specific. If you can fill a need in their life, you are more likely to have readers searching out your blog. Be solution based and offer quality information that will do something to help your audience. If you do this, you just might see your audience grow!

Bloggers who are making a decent living from their writing know this, and now you know this too! I enjoy following bloggers who are generous with their information, and have specific topics that teach something. Suzi from Start A Mom Blog is a blogger who definitely focuses on helping other bloggers succeed. She has clear topics that are applicable to building a successful blog, and she has many helpful posts that are great for bloggers to learn from. Go visit her blog to find posts on How to Create Freebies and Printables, how to have good time management, free calendar templates, and much more! Suzi’s posts are geared mostly toward Mom bloggers, but the information in her posts are still very relevant and helpful!

3. Successful bloggers know they need to focus on one of the popular blog categories

One of my all time favorite bloggers, Paul Scrivens (Scrivs), who has built many successful blogs (over 13!) and teaches others through his Billionaire Blog Club, (soon to be converted to an even more awesome new platform!) to build their own money-making blogs. Scrivs knows what niches will make the most money. In his article “The Beginner’s Guide to Choosing a Money Making Blog Niche,” he talks about what niches are proven to be most successful. Yes, you absolutely can write about the random topic that you love, but if it is not in a popular category that people are actively searching out, you may have a hard time monetizing.

The 7 niches or categories that Scrivs says are the “money making” ones in his blog post are how to make money, personal finance, health and fitness, food, beauty and fashion, personal development, and lifestyle. Keep these fairly broad until you grow your audience and figure out exactly what they are interested in. Successful bloggers know that these niches will make them the most money!

By the way, Scrivs has a wonderful free 12 day Blogging-Bootcamp that walks you through the ins and outs of starting a blog. I personally went through this and loved it!

4. Successful bloggers know they have to have a plan for monetization

Monetizing your blog goes hand in hand with having a business plan. Successful bloggers know that they will eventually need a plan on how they are going to monetize their blog. There are many ways you can make money with your blog. One of the most popular ways to make money blogging is with Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate marketing works by providing you a link to a specific product. You will get a percentage per purchase made on the product you are promoting.  The She Approach has a great article on some high paying affiliate programs!

Another way many bloggers choose to make money is by writing posts for others. Guest posting can be a great way to grow your writing skills and also get paid to help others.

Other bloggers will work with a company gaining sponsorships. They will be paid to write content for a specific brand or company. This can be difficult to do early on when your blog is just getting started, but it is still an option that many bloggers can use.

Ads are another method some bloggers will employ to gain revenue. Companies pay bloggers per click for having their ad on their website. This method works best when you have a high amount of traffic to your blog. For many new bloggers this does not make a lot of money, but is an option that is easy to add.

In all honesty, most successful bloggers will use multiple methods to monetize their blog.

5. Successful bloggers know they will need to network with other bloggers

They say it’s who you know and that is probably true in the blogging world! Many successful bloggers make sure to network with other bloggers in order to grow and promote their blog. With a network of other bloggers in your niche that you are friends with, it becomes much easier to promote each other’s products or posts, guest post, or help each other out in other ways.

A great way to start networking is to feature links and give credit to other bloggers in your posts. So reach out to those bloggers and let them know you enjoyed their content and linked back to them! The best way to make a friend is to be a friend and support other bloggers.

You can see that all of these ideas tie together in some way. The most important thing successful bloggers know is to get started in some way! So go ahead, write that post, and hit publish! There is always the chance to improve and keep learning, but you have to start somewhere to get somewhere.

I hope these list will help and inspire you to get started on your own blogging journey! Feel free to reach out for any questions or if I can help in any way.

Hayley