Hey girl! Today we are going to discuss how to start a blogging business. I am going to walk you through the steps I took to start my Instagram business, who I hired to help me build my brand. Click here to read my post about Why I Left Teaching and How I Achieved It.
Before We Dive In
This is one of my most asked questions in my DM box. “Hey girl how did you start your blogging business?” Blogging is one the most saturated businesses I feel like out there. Everyone thinks they want to be a blogger for all the free things, all the money (plot twist you make little to none the first couple of years), and all the girl hang vibes. Blogging is stressful but it’s a good stress. I love sharing my heart and feelings with women on Instagram and having a community that can relate to me. I love sharing ways to show confidence within and helping women remember they are more than a number, a wife, and a momma!
With all that being said, this is probably one of the toughest, time consuming jobs I have ever had (probably up there with teaching). The difference is I truly love it. When you love what you do it’s not really work right? One must hustle everyday to get your name out there for brands to work with you and gain the traction of an audience. Keep on reading for more details!
How I Started
I’ve always loved creating, decorating, and shopping. I love to shop all day everyday (which tends to get me in trouble with the hubby). When I first started, I didn’t really know “instagram blogging” was a thing until about two and a half years ago. I saw one of my friends from church grow her blog. In the beginning I still did not understand what it was, I started following other home decor accounts to get inspiration for my home decor. One day I posted a photo of my bedroom on Instagram; my friends told me I should start posting more photos so I did (yall we’ve come a long way on the photo game). I reached out to a few other influencer/bloggers who were SO SWEET to tell me some tips to help get me started. I will be forever grateful for Rachel @crateandcottage, Jessica- @jessicamadisonhome, Brittany- @homeonamelialane.
Top Tips:
- Be consistent in your niche. Pick one thing you’re passionate and stick with it. I actually started out as a home decor account, but then switched it over to lifestyle and fashion. Was I scared to make the switch? Heck yes, but I am so glad I did. I am more confident than ever in what I am sharing and right where I need to be.
- Participate in giveaways for exposure. This topic is a 50/50 opinion. I will explain more in a little bit.
- Engage, engage, engage. Your audience is like a best friend (in most cases) so you need to interact with them!
Picking Your Niche
Picking your niche is SO important. People say you can do it all, but you cannot be a master of all things. Pick one thing you’re an expert on and run with it. This will make it easy for you to find an audience.
Consistency is Key
Whenever you post, whatever you post, just be consistent. Your audience will need to know your routine and expect that from you. Pick one time and one niche and stick with it.
Giveaways
Oh the dreaded topic. Giveaways I feel like is taboo is the blogging world. Here’s how I see it. If you started a small business you would pay for advertising or marketing to make sure it was being seen right? Well, think of giveaways like that. It is a marketing tool for your small business. A lot of people don’t see blogging/influencing as a small business, but it is! We are a small marketing business for brands.
Engage, Engage, Engage
Engaging with your audience is probably the most important one of them all. Engagement is something looked at the most by brands. This how a brand can tell if your audience (followers) are seeing what you’re posting. Engaging also shows brand that they like what you post, and trust what you’re posting (why it’s important to like, comment, and share on every post from your favorite blogger). There are many many ways to accomplish this. I would suggest reaching out to my blogging coach Megan Mcqueen from Bloomintobeautiful or listening to the Blogging Unscripted podcast for successful tips!
Resources to Your Blogging Business
Here is where the investment part comes in. If you are wanting to do blogging as a hobby (which God bless you if that’s your route) then I would not invest in these items. I wanted blogging to be my full time job, so I took a couple courses to help make this happen. Now, I am not rolling in the money currently (why I do real estate), but I make a steady income each month via affiliation links, sponsored post, collaborations with small shops, etc.
- Julie Solomon’s Pitch It Perfect Course-Julie has a course just teaching how to pitch to brands and make an income out of blogging.
- Megan Mcqueen // Bloom Into Beautiful– I hired Megan when I had 11K followers. She is the Beyonce of blogging. She’s helped a lot of well known bloggers get to where they are today, which is why I hired her.
- Blogging Unscripted: Such a good podcast and a free resource for a lot of blogging tips and tricks!
- Trek Your Market: This was probably one of my BIGGEST investments. It was worth every penny. I am now proud of my website and want to market myself to brands. TYM is the best in the web designing game.
Wrapping Up:
Well I hope this helps answer any questions you may have had about started your own blog. A lot of things are trial and error. Also what I have learned is what may work for others may not work for me. Your ideal audience is not going to be the same as another bloggers audience! Stay true to who you are and the rest will fall into place!
xoxo,
Amanda
