So, you want to become a blogger. Guess what. You just got your first and best cheerleader!! I KNOW you can do this and that you have it in you! How do I know this? Because you are here trying to better yourself and learn how to do it properly!!
I’m here to tell you that YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN if you set your mind to it!! I’m rooting for you!!! 
My Secret:
I want to let you in on a little secret I have… and hear me out. Wealthy Affiliate.
I PROMISE you that I would not be where I am today without this platform. I have never in my professional career come across a better, more supportive platform than Wealthy Affiliate. Even if you are not looking to monetize your blog (which I do recommend you do to support your blog), it’s THE BEST tool I have for blogging.
Their platform is free to use, and have premium options if that’s your jam. But what I love about it is.. you do not have to upgrade to enjoy the platform and it’s support! (24/7 help chat is unmatched in how much it’s helped me in my blogging career)
Full transparency, if you do decide to purchase a premium membership with them, I do get paid a small portion for bringing you to the site. BUT again, you absolutely do not have to upgrade to any paid membership to use the basic help tools of the site! I truly cannot recommend them enough.
Follow my link here to start your journey with Wealthy Affiliate! (this is the last you’ll hear about this link in this post I promise!) 🙂
Key Concepts:
• To become a successful blogger, you need to define your niche. In other words, you need to know who your target audience is and what they want from their reading experience. This will help you create content that appeals to your reader and help them with their need.
• Develop a Content Plan – Whether this be a weekly, bi-weekly, daily, or other, commit to how often you are going to post and stick to it! (this is great for the search engine as well as lets your readers know when to expect content!)
• Brainstorm content ideas – I have an ongoing notes tab on my phone for this. When an idea strikes, I jot it down on the notes app. When it comes time to write, I find I have writers block WAY less when I have a list of prompts that I created.
• Create a content calendar – You may think that this is the same as a content plan. It is in some ways, but my content calendar is where I sit down with a physical calendar and write out every holiday and season I can think of. After I do that I go in and write a prompt for me to write about on those certain days. This helps you stay relevant in your category, as well as make writing your posts fun!
• Create Engaging Content – When you’ve implemented my steps above, you are more likely to create engaging content! Remember that you’re helping your reader with something… Keep that in mind when writing your posts!
Deep Dive:
Be Consistent
Consistency is the key to success. If you want to be an award-winning blogger, then you need to stick with a consistent posting schedule and respond to comments and feedback. You should also adapt content according to what your readers are wanting/needing to see. Consistency is also one of the best things for your search engine optimization, or SEO. (We will discuss this further in this post)
Focus on Quality
The most important thing is to write for the reader. This means that you should focus on creating content that is engaging, entertaining and informative.
This is where I like to remind people of their WHY. Why are you writing in the first place? What is your passion? Why are you writing a blog instead of just journaling to yourself? Most of the time it’s because you’re trying to help your reader accomplish something that you have experience in. You want to help them get through it, and give them a perspective that you wished you had when you started out!
Another way I like to create quality content is through photos. It breaks up the reading as well as creates visuals to enhance the reader experience – especially if it’s a long post!
Optimize Your Content for SEO:
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Okay, cool… but what does that even mean?!
This means that when you are writing blog posts, you need to make sure they include specific keywords related to what you’re writing about, and what people are searching for! When you know what people are searching for, you get FREE traffic from the search engine just by using the words that people are searching for organically!!
My favorite way to look for words people are looking for is to use a site called Jaaxy, which I use for free through the premium option through my Wealthy Affiliate membership. (this alone makes my membership worth it)
Another key concept with SEO is to consistency in writing and replying to comments, as well as quality content. These things will rank you higher in search engines and allow readers to find your content!
Conclusion:
You freaking got this. I truly believe in you! Especially since you made it to the end of this post! You’re a freaking rock star and don’t let anyone else tell you differently.
I cannot wait to get to know each other better and see you THRIVE in your blog!!
Until next time– Becca ! 🙂