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EPISODE SUMMARY

Starting strong as a beginner blogger is crucial for long-term success, and this episode offers actionable tips to help you do just that. Clarity of purpose is emphasized as the foundation of your blogging journey, guiding your content creation and audience engagement. Rather than waiting for perfection before launching your blog, listeners are encouraged to embrace imperfection and learn as they go. The importance of focusing on your target audience over mere traffic is highlighted, reminding you that building meaningful connections is key. Additionally, monetization should be considered from the start, ensuring that your blog not only serves your audience but also generates income as it grows.

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SHOW NOTES

Launching a blog can feel like a daunting task, especially for beginners who are often overwhelmed by the plethora of information available online. Genasys addresses this challenge head-on by emphasizing the importance of clarity and purpose when starting your blogging journey. By defining your ‘why’, you create a solid foundation that not only guides your content creation but also motivates you during the inevitable tough times. Genasys shares her own journey, highlighting how her initial desire to make money evolved into a deeper purpose of helping others achieve their blogging dreams. She encourages listeners to reflect on their motivations, whether it’s sharing personal stories, building a business, or educating others, as this clarity will be crucial in navigating the blogging landscape.

As the conversation progresses, Genasys dispels common misconceptions about blogging perfection. She asserts that waiting for everything to be perfect before launching can lead to stagnation. Instead, she advocates for a mindset shift: view blogging as a journey, not a destination. Genasys shares actionable tips for beginners, such as setting deadlines for launching and focusing on producing valuable content over SEO in the early stages. She emphasizes the importance of audience connection, urging listeners to craft content that resonates with their target audience rather than chasing traffic numbers. Through relatable anecdotes and insightful advice, Genasys empowers aspiring bloggers to take meaningful steps toward their goals, reminding them that progress is often about the small, consistent efforts made over time.

TAKEAWAYS

• Clarity about your purpose in blogging is essential; it serves as your guiding star.
• Don’t wait for perfection before launching your blog; just get started and improve along the way.
• Understanding your target audience deeply is more crucial than chasing traffic numbers.
• Focus on creating valuable content first, rather than worrying too much about SEO.
• Building a community around your blog is key to creating lasting connections with readers.
• You should start thinking about monetization from the very beginning of your blogging journey.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 – Intro to Blogging Basics
• 01:21 – Finding Your Blogging Purpose
• 01:26 – The Importance of Clarity
• 06:30 – Don’t Wait for Perfection
• 13:50 – Focus on Your Audience First
• 19:00 – Creating Valuable Content
• 22:25 – Consistency and Self-Compassion
• 26:26 – Simple Blog Design Essentials
• 32:32 – Monetization from Day One
• 36:22 – Building a Community Around Your Blog
• 39:39 – Learning and Adapting as You Go
• 44:07 – Conclusion and Next Steps

TRANSCRIPT

Genasys
00:00:00.360 – 00:45:18.610
Hey there bloggin ladies.

Welcome back to another episode of the Boss Lady Bloggers podcast where I help you create a standout brand, design a high converting blog website and guide you to step by step to starting, growing and monetizing a profitable blog that gets you the results that you are looking for. I’m your host, Genasys and today’s episode is all about starting strong as an absolute beginner blogger.

If you’re just dipping your toes in a blogging, I know that it can feel very overwhelming. The online space is filled with so much advice, some of it good, some of it very outdated, and it’s easy to feel lost before you even start.

But here’s the good news. You don’t need to know everything to start a blog. I mean that would be impossible to know everything before you just get started, right?

You just need to know the right things to get you going on the right foot.

So in today’s episode, I’m going to be sharing some unique perspectives and actionable tips to help you start your blogging journey with clarity, confidence and strategy. We’re going to be going beyond the basics and digging into the blogging tips that will help you set your blog up for success in the long run.

So let’s dive in and start strong. The first thing that I want to speak to you guys about is clarity is everything. You need to know your why before you start.

Clarity is literally everything. Blogging without a clear purpose is like driving without a destination. You’re going to end up all over the place, unsure of what direction to take.

Your why is that foundation of your blog? It’s the reason why you’re starting this journey in the first place.

And when things get really tough, which they will, your why is what is going to keep you pushing and keep you going on the track to building this profitable blogging business that you desire. So ask yourself, why do I actually want to start a blog? Is it to share your personal story? To build a business and make money?

To educate others on a topic that you’re passionate about? Or maybe it’s a mix of things. Understanding your why will give you direction and focus.

It will guide everything that you do, from the content that you create to the audience that you attract. So you want to take some time to write down your why and revisit it often.

This clarity is going to be your north star as you navigate your whole entire blogging journey. So for example, when I first started this blogging business, my why was to just make money. But once I started to make a lot of money.

My why went so much more beyond that.

Because when I started this and I started coaching ladies and I started building their true like, dream websites and brands and they absolutely loved it. And they started to build a business and blog that they truly adored and wanted to show off. And they felt like really good about doing it.

And they felt so confident about where their blogging business was headed that it went so much more deeper. Like that became my why.

To help these ladies create something that, you know, was once like maybe a tiny thought in their head and they wanted it to become a reality. And then I grew it to be so much more than they ever dreamed that it would be. You know what I mean?

And then also my why is to not only help these amazing women build their businesses, but also to help them on their own journey to helping others. So they come to me, right, with a thought. I create this dream blogging business for them, their brand, their website design, everything in between.

And I help coach them for six or more months on how to get this thing started and going and grown and monetized in a way that they will actually see the results. And it started with a thought in their mind and I created this thing for them. And that just gives me such a sense of fulfillment. It’s amazing.

So now that they have this business that they truly love, they feel so confident to take that and to grow it and then to go help others.

If I can have that sort of like ripple effect on someone, and then they go and help so many other people with whatever they’re helping with, like it causes this ripple effect in the world. And I feel like I’m truly making a difference in not only my clients life, but everybody that they helps life. You know what I mean?

So that is my purpose. That’s the thing that gives me a sense of fulfillment. It’s not just about the money. I have the money.

It’s about creating that ruffle effect in the world and making a difference on everybody’s life. And I really love that why that I have.

So I continue to do it and I continue to show up for this business because I am not only meeting the most amazing women, but I know that they’re also going to meet the most amazing people on this journey and they’re going to help them. So I mean, if you’re struggling to find your why, that’s completely okay.

I know you do want to make money, but I also know that there is a much deeper reason behind why you want to do this and why you’re going to really show up for this every day because even when I don’t make money, even when I have slow months, because I do, I have slower months, I have really amazing months. Even in those slower months, I’m still like doing this because of that ripple effect that I create in this world.

So think about the impact that you want to have on your readers and then the impact on like teaching them something, your readers something, and then them taking their insights from whatever you’re teaching them or whatever you’re impacting them on theme. They’re going to take that and they’re going to contribute it to the world in some way. And that’s just truly amazing to me.

But how do you want them to feel after visiting your blog? What transformation do you want them to experience?

This is so important because when you’re not making that money, you’re still making a difference in somebody’s life. And isn’t that worth it? Number two, don’t wait for perfection. Launch your blog, then improve.

One of the biggest mistakes that new bloggers make is waiting for everything to be perfect before they launch. They want the perfect blog design, they want the perfect logo, the perfect first blog post, and in that process, they end up never launching.

Like, you should not let this hold you back because here’s a mindset shift for you. Blogging is a journey and not a destination. More so, it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Okay?

You do not have to go super fast through the field to get there. You can take a very slow journey to get to the same destination as somebody else. You do not have to rush things.

And actually, I recommend that you go slower. I always explain this to my clients. We go on a very slow journey. This is not something that’s going to be a sprint.

We will not go fast through anything because when you go fast, you will have to backtrack your steps because you forgot something along the way.

So either that’s knowledge or either that’s the steps to something, or either you just have to backtrack, because whatever you tried, failed failure is going to come. But if you can see it head on, then wouldn’t you want to, like, take slower steps so you can possibly avoid that failure, right?

I mean, you do not have to figure out everything out from the start. The truth is, your blog is really going to evolve over time, and I recommend you do that slowly. And that is completely okay.

There is a better way to fast track yourself, but also doing it slowly and doing it the right way the first time. If you want to hire me to do your branding for you. I’m going to make sure I do it the right way the first time.

Your website, I’m going to design it in a way that is going to not only captivate your readers and compel them to take action so you can make money with it. Because there is a strategic way that I will do your brand and your blog.

So I mean, not only it’s going to save you time, but it’s also going to see, you’re going to also see results. Because I build it in a way that is all based on meaning your whole entire brand meaning and sales psychology and design psychology.

But if you’re going to do this on your own, I recommend that the most important thing that you can do as a beginner is just start. Don’t wait until you can get it absolutely perfect. Just start it. You’re going to learn more on the way.

You might have to backtrack steps, especially when it comes to your blog and your website, but you will learn more. And that’s what I did. I didn’t have anybody have me, you know, help me do this for two whole years.

When I did hire my blog coach, I didn’t hire a website designer. I just figured that out by myself because I was really interested in that.

But when I hired my blog coach, I instantly started to make money because she helped me see that this is a business. This is not just a hobby. And if you want to take this seriously, that’s when you’re gonna make money.

If you want to treat it as a hobby, you’re probably just going to make hobby money. But if you want to treat it as a business, you’re going to make business money.

So that whole mindset shift allowed me to take my blog super seriously and also create my own offers. So, I mean, hiring somebody is going to be the best bet for you. But I’m just telling you that you can do this on your own.

It’s just going to be a slow process. But don’t rush through anything that you’re learning. Don’t rush it. Okay. And just make it live. Just publish it.

You just have to make that decision to be like, okay, I’m just publishing this thing. This is okay for now because I know I’m going to learn more on the way. So once it’s live, you can make those improvements along the way. Right?

Waiting for perfection is only going to delay the process. And guess what? Your audience doesn’t expect it to be perfect straight away either.

They’re looking for that person who is very authentic, they’re not looking for perfection. And I’ve seen this in my blogging business. People like it when I’m my true, authentic self. They like it when I share my struggles because I’m human.

They like it when I say I’m a mom. This is frickin hard. Running a business and being a mom is frickin hard. I’m very vulnerable about this.

And I also am very vulnerable about leaving a toxic relationship. And do you know how many women have already come to me and said thank you, that they finally see that they can get out?

It is very possible for them to do that too. They resonated with me on that. And then they wanted to hire me. I was like, what, girl? You need to save money to get out, you know?

But anyway, people want connection with a human. They don’t want perfection. So give yourself permission to just be imperfect and launch your blog as it is today.

Because knowing that you can always refine and tweak things as you go is going to give you a peace of mind. And pro tip. Set a deadline for yourself. Choose a date to launch your blog and stick to it.

Write down a list of every single thing that you need to complete before you launch it. Tackle that one by one. Literally one task, little task, every single day and you’re going to get there. But don’t make anything perfect.

And even if something isn’t exactly how you want it, launch anyway. You can make lists every day of everything that you want to improve, everything that you want to work on, and just do that every day.

One little improvement task and you’re going to get there slowly but surely. But slowly wins the race. You’re going to learn so much more by just taking action than just sitting on the sidelines. You have to take the action.

I always tell my clients, if you’re not taking this action, you’re not going to get anywhere. We have no progress. That’s why I built my new coaching program in a way that allows me to track your progress. So we get somewhere every single week.

We are always getting to new places every week, getting new results every week. And results doesn’t have to be thousands of email subscribers, right? Or thousands of blog traffic coming to your blog.

It can be a result of just five people, of just one person coming to your blog. Okay? That is a result. You are getting results.

So if you just get somewhere, right every day, if you’re just making a tiny bit of improvement with anything, you are going to get there. I promise you I did it. I know. Number three, focus on your audience first, not traffic.

So when you’re first starting out, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. The page views, traffic, social media, the followers, all the metrics. But here’s a little secret.

Traffic doesn’t matter if you’re just creating content that doesn’t actually resonate with your audience. Your blog success isn’t about getting people to visit your site. It’s about building a connection with the right person.

That one specific person that you want to be targeting within your writing, within your offers, etcetera. The one person who you really, truly want to make a difference in their life. But you have to know them.

So before you worry about driving a ton of traffic to your blog, you first need to focus on understanding your target audience deeply. Who are you writing for? What are their pain points? Their struggles? Their desires?

The more you know about this one specific person that you want to talk to and help, the better that you can create content that actually speaks directly to them and the better that you’re going to create offers for them that they’re actually going to want to buy.

When you understand your audience on a super deep level, you’re going to be creating really amazing blog posts, freebies and products that are going to meet their needs and truly help them. And guess what? When you provide value, the traffic is going to follow naturally.

Just imagine somebody coming to your website because you’re trying to generate traffic from everyone, right? So somebody lands on your website and they’re not a good fit for anything that you have on your website, they’re just going to click off.

So what’s the point of having them come to your website in the first place? There is no reason if your content is not helping them, they’re going to click off, right? So why try to strive for a ton of traffic?

No, you want to strive for that one specific person to come to your website.

I am striving for the aspiring ladyblogger who knows that she doesn’t want to do this on her own and she’s actively looking for a blogging coach and a website designer. So I’m not focused on my traffic. I don’t really care about blog traffic. I care about speaking to that one specific person.

I care about my podcast episodes because that’s where my one specific person likes to listen to my content. That’s how they like to seek out content, right? And this is how I build a connection with my audience as well. And that is so important for me.

So I focus more on speaking to that one person and finding that one person than I do, to just get a ton of blog traffic to my website, because that’s not helpful. I’m not speaking to everyone. I’m speaking to that one person who wants an amazing brand, an amazing website design that actually works.

They want to do this the first time, the right way.

They don’t want to go on this journey by themselves because they know that it’s a lot more helpful and better to just hire somebody to go on the journey with, you know? So it’s not about chasing those numbers, those traffic numbers. It’s about building relationships.

It’s about building that connection with that one specific person. And it’s so easy to do that when you know them. And a pro tip, you want to create audience Personas.

So these are like fictional representations of who that specific person is. You want to give them a name, an age, a job.

But those are, like, all the demographics, and they are important to know, but the psychographics are ten times more important. What’s important is knowing who that one specific person is. But, like, what are their challenges are, what are their desires? What do they truly want?

What keeps them up at night when you know this and all the thoughts that they’re actually thinking in their head, like, what thoughts are, like, running through their mind about whatever they’re struggling with, then this is a game changer, because when you know them, they’re going to think, oh, my God, she’s in my head.

When you write, imagine that you’re speaking directly to that person, because this is going to help you create content that feels very personal and relevant to them. And then they’re going to build that, like, know and trust factor.

They’re going to like you, they’re going to love you, they’re going to love all your content, they’re going to digest it, they’re going to sign it to your email list, and they’re going to buy from you, and they’re going to become loyal blog readers and fans. And that’s who you want, right? Somebody who actually loves your content. Instead of that.

All those people that you’re trying to target and get to your blog, like, they don’t matter because they’re not gonna love you, they’re not gonna love your stuff, they’re not gonna care. So speak to that person who cares. And this does.

Obviously, you do need traffic, but you need more of the right person to see your blog, and that’s gonna make all the difference. Number four, content is Queendeen write for value, not for SEO. So you probably heard the phrase that content is king, obviously.

But I like to say that content is the queen. And when you’re just starting out, your content is the most important thing that you should focus on.

So here’s where I’m going to challenge some traditional advice. Okay, don’t get too caught up in the SEO right away. And I mean the search engine optimization.

Yes, SEO is so important for driving organic traffic in the long run from Google and from search engines. But when you’re just starting, your main focus should be creating valuable content for your audience and not gaming Google’s algorithms.

When you write your blog post, think about what’s actually going to help your readers the most. What problems are they facing? How can your content provide solutions, insights or inspiration?

When you focus on writing high quality, helpful content, your readers are going to be coming back for more. And also, there’s a new Google update, right? I mean, I guess you couldn’t say that it’s new anymore, but I mean, it’s recently new.

In the last few years, Google made a new helpful content update where your content actually has to be very helpful, very unique. And if it’s not super valuable for that reader, then Google’s not going to rank your blog post anyway.

So you need to first focus on creating super valuable content. Then you can go back and you can add in some keywords or whatever, but Google’s not even looking for that much anymore.

Obviously you do need keywords, but the number one thing that they’re actually looking for is uniqueness. Is your writing unique and are your opinions and ideas and experiences within the blog post, are they unique and is it extremely valuable?

Does it actually help the reader they’re going to look at, like how your readers are moving through your blog post? Are they just reading your introduction and then clicking out? Because that’s not valuable to them?

Then it wasn’t helping them if they didn’t read it all the way through.

So if it’s super valuable, they’re going to read the whole thing and then Google is going to see that and then they’re going to rank your blog posts higher. So over time, as you become more comfortable with blogging, then you can start optimizing your posts for SEO.

But don’t let SEO overwhelm you in the beginning because the value that you provide in your content is what’s going to truly set your blog apart.

And then there’s so many blog posts that I’ve written that I didn’t even pay attention to the keywords that I was putting in there and they actually started to rank.

There’s been so many times where I just wrote a blog post off the whim and that was like the post that actually ranked because I was focused on creating value for my audience instead of the SEO first. So aim for quality over quantity.

It’s better to publish one post that is super in depth and valuable and speaks directly to that person per week than to pump out three shallow posts just for the sake of consistency. Just for the sake of SEO. Depth and usefulness will always win over the surface level content.

Number five, consistency is key, but also give yourself grace. One of the most common pieces of blogging advice that you’re going to hear, or any kind of business blogging, any advice really is to be consistent.

And while that’s absolutely true, I want to offer a more balanced perspective because yes, consistency is important, but you also need to give yourself grace along the way.

Because as a beginner blogger, you might feel the pressure to publish new posts every single week, show up on social media every day and be everywhere all at once. But the reality is life happens. You might miss a post here or there and that’s okay.

You’re going to get those bursts of motivation to work on your blog and publish a lot of really good content. And then there’s going to be a time where you burn out and you no longer feel motivated to do anything on your blog. And it is what it is.

It happens to all of us. What matters more is your long term commitment to your blog.

Rather than trying to publish as often as possible, focus on creating a realistic content schedule that you can actually stick to without burning out. If that means posting once every two weeks instead of once every week, that’s perfectly fine.

But the goal is to create a sustainable rhythm that allows you to stay consistent over time. And what I like to do is because I know that I’m going to get this like big motivation to write my blog post.

This is like literally once a year because I know that I’m going to get those big bursts of motivations to write my blog posts and work on my blog. That’s when I binge create content. I just create so much content that I can because I know I’m going to burn out eventually.

But I try to just write as much as I can and do as much as I can during that motivational time, that bursts of energy that I have burst of motivation. I do as much as I can because I see the burnout. It’s going to happen. It’s just inevitable. So I rest during that burnout.

But I have so much content that I created during that motivational time that I have posts to sustain me for the next few months until I have my next burst of motivation and I can be really consistent with my podcasts. Sometimes I miss a month here and there. Depending on my life and how it’s going. Things happen so I don’t stress it.

If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. If not, then no worries. It’s okay. Like, I have enough content on my podcast that people can still go and listen to. Like, I’m okay.

It’s not the end of the world if I decide to stop and take a rest for a month. If I need to, life happens.

But the main important thing is that when you have that most burst of motivation that you create as much as you can so you can sustain yourself but give yourself grace. It’s okay. Life happens, right?

It’s better to post regularly than even if it’s very less frequent than it is to post sporadically with long gaps in between. Your readers want to know that they can rely on you, but also appreciate quality over quantity. So batch your content if you can.

Try to write several blog posts in one sitting so you have a backlog of content that is ready to go when you do need to go and burn out and take a rest.

This will take the pressure of having to create new blog posts every single week as well, and it will give you more flexibility in your schedule to do other things. Maybe you’re more motivated on creating your course than you are to write your blog posts.

So, like, when you have that motivation to write the blog post, write as much as you can and then schedule it out for like the next few months. You know what I mean? Number six, your blog design does not have to be fancy twerk. So I know you’re probably like, what? Wow. What are you saying?

You’re a blog designer, huh? So I know it can be tempting to spend hours yourself, or even days tweaking your blog’s design. Oh my God.

I have literally built like 15 websites for boss lady bloggers and I’ve had to stop but trying to make every single thing look absolutely perfect. But here’s the truth. Your blog’s design does not need to be super fancy or expensive to be effective.

Yes, having a visually appealing blog is super important, but what’s more important is that your design is clean, user friendly, and aligned with your brand. As long as your blog is easy to navigate and your content is front and center and you’re already off to a really good start. Okay.

I always recommend you do need a homepage, a designated page with really good copywriting to explain what you do, who you are, why you do it, what your blog is all about, how you’re going to help them and the offers that you have to sell to them. You need a freebie on your homepage, you need a bio to introduce you.

There’s just things that you have to have on your website and you have to build your website in a way that takes them through a journey to actually working with you or purchasing a product that you have that you’re trying to sell that’s really important and to get them to sign up to your email list. So no, it does not have to be fancy, but it does have to be created with some sales psychology and design psychology in mind for it to work.

If your copywriting is not super clear, if you do not communicate very clearly in simple sentences what you do, who you are, how you’re helping, why you’re helping, etcetera, and what you offer and why they need it in the first place, then people are going to be confused, like what are you doing? I don’t know.

I see all these blog posts about mindset, okay, but like how does this set you apart from somebody else who’s also talking about the same things? You know what I mean? So like you need your onlyness factor as well.

So know, it doesn’t have to be like a very fancy website design, but does need to have those key pieces, the copywriting that I said, taking them on a journey to actually going to work with you. And it does take some knowledge and some research, lots of research to do this.

But I, it’s really important that side of the website versus making it super like fancy fancy. And I do combine the two. So I do make your website super fancy because I have experience with that. And branding is also very important.

And I also combine the really good copywriting and taking your visitors on a journey to actually working with you and signing up to your freebie so that you can get results. I combine the two because I have knowledge to do that and because I want you to get the very best results out of your website.

But if you are diying because you cannot afford to hire a website designer, then you don’t need to be super fancy. You just have to have a few key things in place.

The copywriting you need to have at a homepage, an about page, a contact page, and you need to focus on that one specific goal of your whole entire website. And that is going to be to work with you or to purchase from you whatever you’re selling.

That is the whole point of having a website in the first place.

The whole point of writing blog posts in the first place is to get somebody to like you, know you and trust you, that you are their person, to teach them and to help them overcome whatever they’re struggling with when they see and when they like, know like you and trust you, then they’re going to sign up to your freebie. Then they’re going to start to purchase from you. Right? And the goal of your blog is to also market that offer. But you need to have things in place.

And I know I’m probably just confusing you and whatever, but just think, what is the number one goal of my website?

I need to build all of these key pages and I need to have very clear copywriting that communicates what I do, who I am, why I’m doing this, and what I’m offering in a very clear way and compelling way that is going to want to make them sign up to whatever I have to offer and include a freebie. Okay? So no, you do not have to invest in a custom design, but you do need to start researching what makes somebody buy from you and some copywriting.

Look up lots of different articles or whatever you can on copywriting, or even ask chat GBT how do I write copywriting in a really good way for my website? How do I structure my website in a way that’s going to get me results?

So there’s lots of free resources out there, but if you want it done the right way the first time, and if you want to combine that fancy into really good copywriting and results, then you can go below and you can sign up to my signature offer book a call with me below if you want to.

I do your whole entire branding for you, I design your whole entire website for you, and then I do six months of coaching with you to teach you exactly how to do all of the foundational work, then how to grow it, how to monetize it and get you results by step in a slow but results driven way. Okay? So number seven, focus on monetization from the start.

Unlike what some blog coaches or blog gurus or anybody that talks about blogging out there. I believe that you should absolutely focus on monetization from the very beginning.

But let me clarify, this is not about slapping ads all of your blog, or rushing to make quick cash, or trying to post affiliate links in your blog post and post and pray that you’re going to make some kind of income from this. That’s not what it’s about here. It’s about building a solid foundation while having a clear plan to generate income as you grow.

Here’s what most bloggers go wrong. Most beginner bloggers go wrong.

They think that they need to wait until they have a large audience already built up or tons of traffic before that they can even think about monetizing.

But what if I told you that you can start monetizing right now simply by understanding your target audience and offering something that solves their problems? The key is to know exactly who you’re writing for and what they need, what they want to buy.

Because you always want to sell what they want versus what they need. And of course you can put what they need into what they want. But you have to have clarity around that.

You can create an offer, whether it’s a service, a product, a course that helps solve a specific problem that your audience is facing. By starting with the offer in mind, you can then design your blog.

You can write your copywriting, which is the writing on your website, in a way that guides your audience towards making a purchase.

Your website, your blog post, your email, opt ins, everything that you should create should serve this bigger purpose of leading your readers to your offer. This is where your copywriting comes into play. Every piece of content should move your audience one step closer to that solution that you provide.

Once you have that offer in place, then you can start focusing on marketing and driving traffic to your site. Because when you have traffic coming to your site and you already have that offer in place, that’s what’s going to make them buy.

You don’t have to wait for that. This is where platforms like Pinterest, social media and SEO come into play.

But your goal is to get people to your website when you already have an offer set up there to build trust through valuable content and then to direct them toward your offer. So don’t wait to monetize.

Start thinking about what your audience needs and wants and how you can create something very valuable from them from day one. Then build your blog’s content design with the goal of helping your audience and leading them to your paid offers and pro tip.

Start by creating a simple offer, maybe a little digital product like an ebook or a workshop, or maybe a signature service like a signature coaching package, and focus on only that for a while, until you get enough clients. As you grow, you can refine your offers and add more advanced products or services over time.

But getting started with a monetization early on is going to truly set you up for long term success. In my one on one block coaching program, the very first thing that I do with you is I help you create your offer. I help you decide what the offer is.

Well, in our pre coaching, I will teach you like the target audience, the market research, building a business plan, blah blah blah. After that, we dive straight into creating your offer for that person.

Build your community early number eight one of the most powerful aspects of blogging is the ability to build the community around your content and start building connections with actual people, with your actual person that you’re targeting.

It’s time to start building your community right now, even if you’re just getting started, your blog should be more than just a one way street where you publish content and people passively consume it.

But instead, think of your blog as a place where readers can engage, they can connect, they can feel like they’re a part of something bigger, that this blog has a meaning. This blog has a mission. And I am on this mission with this blogger. I am a part of something bigger. This has meaning. This means something to me.

This is going to mean something to so many people.

You have to build that community that you can bring somebody in your specific person and they can be a part of your mission, your whole entire goal of whatever that may be for your blog. You know what I mean? So here are a few ways to build a community from the start around your blog, you want to encourage comments.

Obviously you want to create a Facebook group or an online forum or some sort, but you want to encourage the comments. So at the end of the blog post, ask your readers to share their thoughts or experiences in the comments.

Engage with them by responding to their comments and starting conversations with them. You can obviously start an email list.

Building an email list allows you to communicate directly with your readers and keep them updated on new content products. Opportunities to connect you want to incorporate your story in there because stories connect your audience with you.

Then you want to create a Facebook group, blah, blah, blah. If it aligns with your blog’s niche, consider creating a space that readers can interact with each other, ask questions, share their experiences.

Most importantly, you want to be talking one to one with them. You want to be creating friendships with your target person. You want to be talking with them one to one.

Because how else are you going to be able to understand your audience on a deeper level if you don’t go out and actually start talking with them and becoming friends with them. So go on Facebook, go into profiles that meet your ideal person and message them.

Reply back to their stories, comment on their Facebook or comment on their Instagram post and start to build connections with them. The earlier that you start building these friendships and community, the stronger your blog is going to be.

As it grows, your community is what’s going to set your blog apart. Keep coming. People want to come back to for more of something that they can be a part of, that they feel like this has meaning in their life.

So how can you create that sense? You have to build friendships with them and you have to have really good branding that actually means something.

So pro tip, you want to focus on building relationships, not just numbers. A small, really engaged community is so much more valuable than a large, disengaged audience.

You don’t want those people who are going to come in and who are not going to find meaning in this or not engage with you and not become friends with you. Right? You don’t want those people.

You want the people who are going to love you, who are going to feel so excited to be a part of this community, who are going to contribute. Number nine, you want to learn as you go.

I promise this is the last tip that I’m going to give you because we, I know this episode is pretty long, but if you got here, you’re amazing and you are truly learning things that are going to make a difference in your blog. But learn as you go. Be open to experimentation.

So when you’re starting a blog, you might feel the pressure of trying to know everything from the start. But here’s the thing. Blogging is a learning process. It’s a step by step thing.

The best bloggers did not have it all figured out on day one, and you will not have that either. I don’t give all of the knowledge that I have to my audience at once. That’s literally so impossible on my podcast.

I like, I touch the surface of all of these things, but we go super deep in my one on one blog coaching program, super deep into everything so you can learn. But I don’t give it to them all at once. It’s step by step. It’s bite size by bite size. It’s lesson by lesson and coach and call by coach and call.

And it’s a journey, it’s a marathon, okay? And also give yourself permission to experiment, try different types of content, test new strategies, see what resonates with your audience more.

Blogging isn’t about getting everything right the first time. It’s about being willing to learn and adjust along the way.

Maybe you start by writing long form content, but then you realize your audience prefers shorter. So then you try to create more actionable posts.

Or perhaps you try promoting your blog on Instagram, but discover that Pinterest is so much of a better fit for your niche. So then you pivot to Pinterest. The point is, don’t be afraid to pivot and try new things. But also know that you don’t have to be everywhere at once.

If you hate creating pins but you love Instagram, then be on Instagram.

If you hate Instagram but you love and you don’t mind creating pins every day on Pinterest, be on Pinterest, but you don’t have to be anywhere you don’t love to be. Obviously you need a marketing platform, but you don’t have to do what you don’t want to do. And don’t be afraid to, like, change some things up.

If you realize you don’t like it, you can build a blogging business that you truly love because I don’t want you to get down the road and quit on your blogging business because you’re doing things that you really hate. And oftentimes you will start to realize that you don’t like blogging at all. And that’s completely okay.

You don’t have to blog when you don’t want to, but you have to do something that you love.

You have to navigate your way through this and pick platforms that you love and pick strategies that you love and pick offers that you love and just run your business in a way that you’re going to adore it instead of like, thinking of it. I have to record a podcast episode today. Ugh. I don’t want to.

Every time I sit down and record a podcast episode, I am so excited for it because this goes into making a ripple effect because I’m telling you all of these things making a difference in your life. You’re going to take this knowledge and you’re going to go, and now you’re going to transform somebody else’s life.

Even if you got some little piece of information in this or motivation, because this is going to motivate you to go and create your blog and get it started and get it running in a big way. And you’re so excited to do this because you know you’re going to help somebody and that creates a ripple effect.

So every time I sit down on my podcast, I’m like, okay, let’s make ripple effects today. So do the things that you love. I hate Instagram. I’m like, ugh, is my audience even there? Probably. But do I really want to go searching for them?

Not really. I’d rather just sit down and record podcast episodes because I absolutely love to do this. I really love creating course videos.

I really love just doing the things that I love. Okay, but track your progress and analytics as well. Do not let them dictate every decision.

Obviously, you need to know like, what works and what doesn’t, and that’s going to be tracking the analytics and the data. But also, you need to still do the things that you love. Always stay true to your vision and do what feels right for you and for your audience.

So there you have it. These are the most essential tips that I can give you for absolute blogging beginners who want to start their blogging journey on the right foot.

Remember, blogging is a long term game. It’s a marathon.

And success comes from consistently slowing down clarity and providing insane value to that one specific person that you’re talking to within your writing. So before I go, I want to challenge you to take one actionable step today.

Whether it’s defining your blog’s purpose, setting a launch date, writing that very first of content. Take the next step and start building momentum. And remember, you don’t have to have it all figured out. Just start.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into building your blog with personalized, one on one blog coaching, I’d love to work with you. Book a free consultation call with me today below and let’s talk about how I can turn your blog into a meaningful and profitable business.

The link is in the show notes. Thank you so much for listening. And until next time, keep creating your blog with confidence and I am so excited to see what you can create.

Have a good one. Bye.