There’s more content being created than ever before in the history of mankind. More than 4 million blog posts are published every day on the web, and millions of new blogs pop-up every.
However, most blog posts fail to attract more than a dozen page views and an overwhelming majority of blogs are abandoned by their owners within months.
This, of course, doesn’t mean blogging doesn’t work.
It does, but not for everyone.
To build and grow a profitable blog from scratch, you need certain elements in place.
With so much content being created, you need to make sure your blog stands out and appeals to your target audience. Here’s how you can do it.
5 Things You Need To Quickly Build an Insanely Profitable Blog from Scratch
1. Choose the Right Niche for Your Blog
This is the first, and perhaps the most important step in starting a new blog.
If you choose a niche that is already saturated, you’ll need to work a lot harder to generate traffic and build your audience.
On the other hand, you also don’t want to choose a niche that has no readers.
So you need to strike the right balance by choosing a niche that is not too saturated and has enough interested readers.
However, don’t spend too much time on this as no niche idea in the world is 100% unique anymore.
According to Neil Patel, you need to ask yourself only 2 questions when choosing a niche to write a new blog post:
- Do I find this topic interesting and will I enjoy researching it when creating content for my blog?
- Are there others interested in it as (does it have a large target audience)?
In my experience, blogs targeted towards a very specific niche manage to attract an audience much faster.
Source: NicheHacks
For example, instead of ‘weight loss’, choose ‘post pregnancy weight loss’ as your niche. Instead of ‘travel’ choose a more specific topic like ‘backpacking’
2. Create High-Quality Content that Solves the Problems of Your Audience
Content is the backbone of any blogging strategy.
If you can create high quality and actionable content on a regular basis, not only will you attract a lot of traffic from search engines, but also establish yourself as a go-to expert in your niche.
But what exactly is high-quality content?
It can simply be described as detailed, in-depth and well-researched content that answers a very specific question and solves a very specific problem of your audience.
Instead of just telling the readers what to do, high-quality content actually shows them how it’s done. It removes their doubts and helps them take action.
To create such content, you must know the questions your audience is asking and the problems that are holding them back.
Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
Just make a few searches on Google using the commonly used terminologies in your niche. Find discussions on Quora and another niche specific online forums. Or simply enter your topic in AnswerThePublic to find the most frequently asked questions.
These questions not only give you an idea of the biggest concerns of your audience, but each one of them can also be converted into separate blog posts as well.
Pick one question and write a blog post that completely answers it and helps the reader move forward.
Other than blog posts, also use different content types on your blog to make it look more appealing to your readers.
For example, you could create infographics to make even difficult topics easy to understand.
Here’s a good example:
Source: Fried.com
Infographics are not only easy to understand, but also generate tons of backlinks to your blog.
In short, a good content mix only adds to the quality and the usefulness of your blog.
Doing so on a consistent basis requires hard work.
But the returns are certainly worth the effort.
3. Create a Mouthwatering Freebie To Build Your Email List
A blog without an email list is a treasure chest without a lock.
No matter how much traffic your blog gets, if you’re not turning it into email subscribers you’re making a big mistake.
Successful bloggers like Pat Flynn, Glenn Allsopp did the same mistake when they first started and they still call it their biggest regret.
But you can’t build an email list just by placing a nice little subscriber form in your blog’s sidebar.
An average internet user has become much more guarded when it comes to sharing contact information online. So you need to persuade them by offering something valuable in return for their email address.
Marketers call it an email lead magnet or an email bribe.
The fancy title aside, a lead magnet can be a high-quality eBook, a free email training program, a video series or a free tool.
Create a lead magnet that not only interests your target audience but is also closely aligned with a paid product/offer that you can create in the future.
For example, if you’re running a blog on ‘post-pregnancy weight loss tips’, your freebie could be “5 Biggest Weight Loss Myths That You Need To Ignore” or a 7-day email series on choosing the right diet and exercises to quickly lose weight.
However, remember two things:
- Your subscribers are potential buyers of your paid product in the future. So make sure your email lead magnet is genuinely useful to your subscribers and makes a strong impression on them.
- Keep your lead magnet focused on a very narrow topic of your broader niche. Don’t share everything, otherwise, you won’t have enough material for your paid product.
If you’re looking for more examples of enticing lead magnets, read this post.
See also: Power Your Social Media Management with Effective Email Marketing
4. Sell Your Own Digital Product
There are many ways to make money from your blog.
However, creating and selling your own digital product is by far the most rewarding and profitable monetization method.
Creating your own product is important for two reasons:
- It helps your blog generate a steady income month after month.
- It helps you build your brand image as a niche expert.
The best part about selling your own product is that you don’t need thousands of visitors to be successful.
You just need a handful of buyers who’re convinced about the usefulness of your content and the value of your offer.
In most cases, such buyers come from your email list which is why building one is so crucial.
You can start with a simple product like a detailed eBook or a premium email course. However, to really charge big bucks you need to create more refined courses that include a combination of videos, worksheets, and PDFs.
However, it’s wise to validate your product idea before creating the full version. If you want more ideas for creating your first digital product, check out this post.
5. Use Facebook Ads To Generate Buyer Leads
There are two ways to build an audience for your blog.
Create great content that is optimized for search engines and then waits for Google to index and ranks your content so that it receives organic traffic.
But that takes time.
The faster and better, strategy is to use targeted Facebook ads and take your content to your target audience instead of waiting for them to find you.
Create Facebook ads promoting your email list freebie and route visitors from Facebook to a landing page that converts those visitors into subscribers.
I have explained the complete process in detail in my previous post here on HotInSocialMedia.
Wrapping Up
Starting a blog from scratch and making it profitable is a hard task that can take months or even years. However, if you know the right strategy and start your blog with a strong foundation, you can build a money making a blog with a thriving audience in just a few days.
See also: 10 Most Possible Mistakes Done By Content Marketers
