Before the rise of content creators and vlogging, people turned to blogs to find their daily dose of entertainment. Despite the introduction of short-form content and the popularity of videos, blogging still remains one of the best ways to start an online career and make good money today.
While it’s become increasingly difficult to become a popular blogger in your niche because of the sheer amount of content and competition, anyone can do it with the right tips and skills.
Whether you’re looking for a new income stream or want to turn your passion into a full-time career, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve outlined the top eight ways to run a successful blog.
How to Become a Popular Blogger in Your Niche
1. Choose a Relevant Blog Niche
The first and most crucial step in starting a blog is nailing down your niche. What do you want to blog about? It’s important to write about a topic that interests you. It can be anything from travel, fashion, art, and food. Whatever it is, you must stick to it to ensure you have a clear and defined audience.
Starting a blog without sticking to a single niche can confuse your audience and give you a difficult time targeting the right reader. More than just the topic of your blog, your niche also defines your communication style and general theme.
A quick rule of thumb when deciding on a niche is to choose something you’re genuinely passionate about. This will make it easier for you to be consistent about updating your page — the profits will just be a bonus.
To find out if your chosen niche is worth pursuing, you have to look at two other things:
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Keyword Difficulty: It must have low keyword difficulty for a higher chance of ranking on Google
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Traffic Potential: Determine how much search traffic you can get for your keyword
Image source: Ahrefs
Of course, besides yourself, you must also find out if other people are interested in your niche. Use keyword research tools to get an idea of your potential audience.
👉 Related Read: Best Blog Website Examples
2. Create a Personal Blogger Website
Anyone old enough to use the internet during the early 2000s was in some form a “blogger.” This is thanks to blogging platforms like Tumblr, Xanga, and LiveJournal. While there is nothing wrong with starting on similar platforms, if you want to appear more professional, you need to create your own website.
However, it's important to protect yourself from identity theft and stop cyberstalking, so you need to take care of security tips and therefore make your website more secure with stronger passwords, website's backup,and data protection.
While free blogging platforms are undeniably more accessible and easier to get up and running, they have limitations that may hinder your growth. For example, blogging platforms may not allow you to add certain plugins, while a self-hosted blog enables you to add customizations as needed.
Having a self-hosted blog also means you can design your website, layout, and user experience with minimal limitations.
Thankfully, there are a ton of website builders for blogs available to help you design an eye-catching page with all the elements you need — no coding experience required.
Case in point:
When financial coach Manish Ahuja decided to boost his business and expand his community, he stopped using WordPress as it required technical knowledge and time and he opted for Dorik to create and maintain a website presence with ease.
Dorik also helped Manish create landing pages that result in more sign ups and therefore boost revenue.
If you want to stand out from the crowd and wow your visitors to become a popular blogger in your niche who inspires others, try Dorik. You can also consider using website animation techniques as modern users are in love with animated content and it grabs the attention.
3. Prove Your Niche Expertise
The simplest way to prove your niche expertise? Talk about it a lot and as much as you can. This shows your audience you know what you’re talking about while contributing positively to your ranking. The higher up you are on Google, the more credible you appear.
As an expert and thought leader, your content should be comprehensive, well-researched, and original. Think about it: how can you talk about your niche without saying something that’s already been said before?
Take beauty blogger Dr. Michelle Wong as an example:
Image source: Lab Muffin
There may be hundreds, if not thousands, of beauty bloggers and content creators who review popular beauty products. So, how can someone do it differently? Dr. Michelle Wong talks about the science behind each product to help educate beauty enthusiasts about the possible effects of using them.
Dr. Michelle Wong’s blogging style doesn’t just set her apart from the typical beauty blogger. It also provides value to her readers because they won’t find this type of content elsewhere.
Pro tip: It helps to create linkable assets, such as infographics, which can earn you backlinks, increase your website visits, and establish your reputation in your niche.
4. Contribute to Top-Notch Blogs as a Guest Author
Contributing as a guest author in high-ranking popular blogs is an excellent way to get your name in front of more people. Plus, it lets you link to your blog which helps your SEO ranking.
The opportunity to write a guest post for a reputable website can expose you to an audience you otherwise may not yet have access to. Choose a website with a similar target audience to ensure your efforts aren’t wasted.
For instance, if you’re a food blogger, you may consider writing for top websites such as Food52 or Saveur. If you’re in travel, you may want to consider submitting an article to Hostwelworld or Travel Pulse.
5. Stay Active on Social Media Profiles
Instagram currently has 2.4 billion monthly active users, while Facebook has over 3 billion — you can’t beat that audience. If you’re wondering how to monetize your blog, social media is your best bet. Plus, no other platform allows you the flexibility to interact with your audience as effectively as social media.
There are so many ways to use social media as a tool for your blog:
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Run ads that link to your site
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Complement long-form content with Reels and other content formats
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Connect with brands and other possible collaborators
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Learn more about your target audience
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Run lead ads to grow your email list
There’s no escaping it — you need social media to grow your blog. Check out how blogger Tiffy Cooks does it:
Image Source: Tiffy Cooks
The blogger/content creator posts short cooking videos of her recipes on her Instagram page. However, she never posts the full recipe, so she includes a call-to-action (CTA) in the caption to click the link to her website in her bio. This technique helps her increase site traffic and adds more value to her page.
Despite having 1.8 million followers on her Instagram page and earning money as a content creator, her blog still gives her 40% of her monthly income.
6. Make Good Use of HARO Pitches
Help a Report Out (HARO) enables bloggers to get featured in major publications. It’s an online tool that connects journalists to reputable sources who can provide relevant answers related to a piece they’re covering.
To participate in HARO, you can visit their website and sign up as a source. Only select topics you’re an expert in. You will receive HARO emails three times a day, where you will be given a chance to contribute to queries. But only respond if it’s relevant to your niche and if you indeed have an insightful answer.
Contributing to HARO can get you priceless backlinks from news outlets like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
Here are the topics you can contribute to:
Image Source: Surf SEO
7. Invest Time and Effort into Networking
Every successful business owner knows the value of networking. And if you want to become a famous blogger, you must treat your blog like a business. But since your “business” is entirely online, networking might look a little different. Here’s how you can network as a blogger:
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Link to other bloggers. Everyone appreciates a backlink! This can help you build relationships with fellow bloggers, which can be mutually beneficial.
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Leave comments. Show your support by leaving comments on other blogs, this will also help other people discover your page.
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Attend live events. Keep your eyes peeled for blogger events. Face-to-face is still the best way to get to know people in the industry.
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Be open to collaborations. Find ways to work with other bloggers in your niche. For example, you can give
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Become a contributor on big websites. Write or create content for other websites for a chance to link back to your page and get exposed to a bigger audience.
Contributing to Travel and Leisure, for example, allows you to get featured on its Instagram page with 6.4 million followers.
Image Source: Travel and Leisure
8. Feature Positive Reviews on Your Blog
People love reading reviews. In fact, nearly 70% of online shoppers look at product reviews before making a purchase. So, if you’re considered an expert in your niche, it’s an excellent idea to start reviewing products you like. This can increase your readership, attract the attention of the brands you’re featuring, and inspire other brands to approach you for future collaborations.
FAQ on How to Become a Popular Blogger, Answered
Should Bloggers Run a Website?
If you want your blog to become a business, it’s best to create your own website. This gives you more freedom to add your own design and include valuable plugins that can help you grow your blog.
What Do Bloggers Do Daily?
As a full-time blogger, when you’re not writing, you’re probably researching topics to write about or scheduling your next post. Today’s bloggers are also likely creating content for their other channels (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.).
How Much Money Do Bloggers Make?
Like any business, giving an industry standard for earnings is impossible. However, if you’re a successful blog with high traffic, you can make five figures a month.
Conclusion
It’s one thing to start a blog as a hobby, but It’s a whole new ball game to start a blog that makes money.
Remember: the secret to any form of success is to enjoy what you’re doing. It’s extremely difficult to start a blog with the sole purpose of making money. You need to be dedicated, and to be dedicated, you need to be passionate about it. Use these tips to help you get started.
