Blogging With More Freedom and Less Stress- pt 2

Welcome to the second part of a special series about how to blog with more freedom and less stress! Throughout part one you learned how to set the foundations of your blog in place so you are ready to build content. Today, in part two, we will be discussing how to establish your blog effectively, with professionalism, and flair.

Invest the Time and Grow as a Writer

Getting your blog up and running takes time. Knowing and defining your niche, like we did in part one will make a huge difference in the long run.

Now it’s time to start writing articles (blog posts) within your niche. There are many different approaches to blog writing. Some blogs are strictly tutorial in nature, others take a more journal-like approach. Personally, I like to mix up my writing with an instructional and slightly conversational tone. My hope is that readers feel like they are sitting across from me at a coffee shop just talking.

There is no set formula for the amount of blog posts to be written before you ‘open the doors’ of your blog to the public. I’ve seen it recommended to have at least 20 blog posts written before your website goes live. Personally, I had only written one very short post, then I took my website live. I was just so darn excited, I wanted to share! Just do whatever makes sense for you.

I was given great advice when I began blogging and it was to challenge myself to grow as a writer. I use editing tools found in Microsoft Word, the online service Grammarly to check, challenge, and wordsmith my posts and articles. Also, having a writing savvy husband, sister, and a workplace full of teachers helps when I need to think through phrasing and blog post titles. I’ve been asked to guest write on a few other websites and ultimately I plucked up the courage to seek a freelance writing opportunity with a magazine (and was accepted!).

I still struggle with errors and typos but through the simple process of writing on a regular basis I’ve gotten stronger. So my best advice to you, just start.

Connecting Social Media to Your Blog

Moving forward in this post I’m going to assume you’d like to spread your message to the largest possible audience and also possibly monetize your work. The thoughts, advice, and encouragement I share here are intended to help grow your audience and potentially bank account.

We talked at length about the importance of your website name in part 1 of this series. Now it’s time to discuss how to establish a presence of some kind on social media.

There are a few social media sites and apps to choose from. Research is your friend here but ultimately the biggest question you should be asking is, “How much time do I have to dedicate to social media in order to grow my blog?”

I find I can dedicate time to one social media site and that for me is Instagram. Facebook and Pinterest do exist for me, the PDH accounts on those sites are active, but I simply push content to them from either Instagram or here at the blog.

A big part of what I share with you is that more freedom and less stress at home is possible. So in practicing what I preach; I don’t bury myself under hours spent on various external “helpers” i.e. social media and other apps. For me, my time is too precious a resource and I’ve had to set boundaries.

So I encourage you to pick one social media platform to dedicate most of your time to. Then simply push content to the others until you are ready to fully invest in them. Making a business out of blogging or Instagram is about layers of work that takes time to develop.

Regardless of your journey I challenge you to embrace healthy growth.

To Monetize or not To Monetize?

Monetization is a natural part of this discussion. It’s entirely possible to make money as a blogger. Promoting businesses and products through the medium of photos and writing is one way to earn money. You can be paid per blog post directly from a company. Also you can place ads on your website that are clickable and can be paid a rate per click-age from the ad company (such as Google).

I recommend growing your audience to 800+ readers per month before pursuing monetization opportunities with your blog specifically.

In the meantime you can research how to grow your views and readers through the means of Pinterest and social media. Blogging has come a long way since I originally started with my first blog . The internet search bar is the best place to start as you do research.

Images and Graphics

Adding visuals and graphics to your site through striking images, color, and consistency is a wonderful way to establish your blogging presence. You’ll notice nearly all my blog posts have a pin-able graphic at the top with the same format. I’ve created a cohesive theme across nearly every blog post as a result. So now when my graphics pop up on Pinterest viewers recognize my content simply from the format.

Including images in your copy is entirely up to you. It does break up the text blocks significantly and gives the reader visual interest though.

Learning some photography basics is important and valuable when entering the blogging world.

Today is Day One

This blog post is my 100th! One hundred times I’ve sat down at my computer and taken a risk. Some posts have felt more raw than others. In some others I’ve taught my readers something new. Every single time has been a choice. There has been a deep commitment in my soul to write on a regular basis.

This journey will look different for everyone but regardless it starts with a mindset. You can either view blogging as, “one day it will happen” or, “today is day one.” In either case, I hope today’s post helps you feel more equipped with knowledge moving forward. In the third and final installment of this series we will tackle the less stress portion of this topic. I’ll share some of my tips and tricks to making blogging a part of your life in a stress free way.

With hope for you and your intentional home,