What Is Amateur Blogging? Amateur bloggers are passionate about a subject. And they want to share their knowledge with people who share their interests.
Although Bloggers do not start blog amateurs because they want to make money, they can do so.
And really there is no reason why an amateur blogger should not get compensated. Blogging is hard work.
Because the bloggers have great flexibility they can create a blog about any topic. They need to have something useful to share.
And people who own amateur blogs can decide how often they want to create content and who they want to share it with.
Another great thing about amateur blogs is it does need a lot of money to start one.
Your current laptop, good internet connection and less than a hundred dollars is all it takes.
7- Step Amateur Blogging Guide
It all starts with connecting with the right people who share your interest. When you do, engage with them. These are the steps to building successful amateur blogs.
Identify Your Niche
This is probably the most difficult step but it’s the most important one amateur blogging gives you limitless freedom.
You can blog about anything you like, but you need to narrow it down because if you try to reach everyone you end up engaging with no one.
So be specific.
Next find people who are interested in that topic. There’s no point in starting a blog if no one reads it.
Therefore before you write a single line, identify your audience.
To do this you need your first blogging tool-keyword research software.
Name Your Blog
Contrary to popular advice, cute, catchy blog names don’t always work. Your blog name should attract the reader you are trying to reach.
Think about your prospective readers when you choose a name. There are a number of way to do this. For instance make it that’s easy for them to remember.
And it easy for users to find your blog by including relevant keywords in your blog name.
There are millions of blogs published daily. Your goal is to be as competitive as possible.
Choose A Blog Platform
What is a blogging platform? Sometimes you will hear it called a CMS. CMS stands for content management system. It is digital software that manages content on the web.
Content Management Platforms allow you to create, edit and publish content on the Internet. This is done in a way that humans can understand.
Content producers do not need to know coding to create and publish content on CMS platforms.
One of the most Popular Content Management Systems for bloggers is WordPress.Org.
That’s because this platform was originally developed for managing blog content.
Choose Web Hosting
Hosting refers to where your blog will live. There are many free and paid hosting services.
However, when you invest in paid for your amateur blog, it gives you total freedom and control.
This includes the freedom to monetize your amateur blog. I also gives you the opportunity to grow as much as you need to.
Read more about how to pick the right hosting for your blog.
Design and Build Your Blog
Next step is to choose a theme and begin customizing it. Your blogging platform will likely have a number of easy to customize themes that you can choose from.
The are also many tools you can use to help you.
Now it’s time to collect your site content. Web content includes articles, posts, images and graphics that you want your users to access. Edit your content to make it relevant and easy to consume.
One you have chosen a theme, gathered your content and found useful tools you are ready to start building.
You may find it helpful to draft a layout of the site before you begin customizing.
YouTube is a great platform for learning how to build your own website.
However, if you are not comfortable with building your own blog, you can find a web designer on a marketplace like fiverr.com or upworks.com to do it for you.
Start Blogging
Before launching your blog, ensure you have the necessary pages. You should also have at least five articles.
Keep information simple. One research found that most people on the Internet read at 4th grade level.
So keep amateur blogging light and simple that way it is easier to connect emotionally with your followers.
You should always blog in a way that’s easy for the average person to understand. That’s unless your readers fall within a specific category.
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. It means if you buy anything by clicking a link on the page, I may be paid a small commission.
Monetize Your Blog
Getting your amateur blog to get in front of interested people is called promotion. You can use a number of ways to promote your blog.
These include many free sharing platforms. You can use paid ads to promote it as well.
Even though you’re writing for fun, there are tons of ways to make money from blogging.
Explore opportunities for you to monetize your amateur-blogging efforts.
Affiliate marketing is one of the main ways amateur bloggers earn online.
There is also opportunity to make money using AdSense. Decide what method you want to use even before you start amateur blogging.
How to Start A Blog
It does take much in the way of start up costs to become an amateur blogger. In fact, all that’s needed is a laptop and good wi-fi connection.
Once you have those you can start your blog.
With a couple hundred dollars for tools and software you can be on your way in no time.
However, it does take hard work, time and persistence to grow your blog and see serious results. Be patient.
According to Envisage Digital there are 4.4 million blog posts published across all platforms every day.
Therefore be prepared to do some work researching and refining your niche. And once you start blogging, be consistent in publishing your blog posts.
If you love what you’re blogging about, it won’t seem like work at all. So here’s an overview of what you need to know going forward.
Advantages of Amateur Blogging
- Blog about what you love
- Post from anywhere
- Blog anytime-night or day.
- Easily Monetize your blog.
- Connect with people who share your interest.
Once you have those you can start your blog.
As was said before, people starting amateur blogs do not begin with the intention of making money.
However, it is easy to earn significant income with amateur blogs. They just need to learn how to do it.
Blogging vs Vlogging
A blog -short for weblog- is basically an online journal. It’s a documentation of your experience that you want to share with people on the internet who are interested in a specific topic.
Blog posts vary in length and are displayed with the latest entry being shown first. Other media such as images, graphics and videos are often included in blog posts.
On the other hand, a Vlog is short for video blog or video log. It is the video format of blogging. Vloggers make and embed videos and share online.
These videos are often embedded and shared on video sharing platforms such as YouTube.
Professional vs Amateur Blogging
Professional bloggers work as freelancers or they are hired by companies. The are happy working within guidelines set by the company they blog for.
While amateur bloggers do it in their free time.
Professional Bloggers
They get paid to manage a company’s online reputation, build brand awareness or communicate with customers about new developments in the company.
The goal of professional bloggers is to convince their audience to take a specific action. Usually the action leads to some sort of conversion including sales.
So, what do professional bloggers earn? According to Indeed.com, bloggers in Seattle Washington are the highest paid in the United States. They earn approximately $30.00 an hour.
Amateur Bloggers
On the other hand there are bloggers who just want to share what they love doing with others. Amateur blogs are often referred to as personal blogs.
Amateur bloggers are passionate about a subject and they want to share their knowledge and expertise with those who are interested in that subject.
So when an amateur blogger starts a blog with the focus on sharing.
These types of bloggers have greater flexibility. They can choose any topic they want to blog about.
They also have the freedom to decide who they want to read their blog. In addition, they are free to decide how often they connect with readers.
4 Great Tools for Bloggers
Professionals invest in high quality tools. Amateur bloggers are not exempt from this rule. You need to present a professional profile.
There are tons of great free tools on the internet that you can start with. Of course as your blog grows you may need to upgrade. So what are the tools you need to start with?
Niche Finder tool This is your best friend. Use it to find and define your audience.
Post scheduler. Scheduling software saves a lot of time. They allow you to post to different platforms at predefined times..
Image editor. Start with simple, easy to use image editing software. One that removes background and basic photo enhancements will be sufficient in the beginning.
As your blog grows you will need to invest in something with more capabilities.
Autoresponder. This Software that allows you to collect data from your site visitors.
That way you can stay in touch with them and keep bringing them back to your amateur blog.
However, when using an autoresponder, keep in mind that there are laws that govern collecting and using people’s data. Follow these laws carefully.
I know this sounds like a lot, but it’s not. And if your amateur blogging is done right these small investments pay for themselves many times over.
FYI-Interesting Blogging Stats
Here are some current statistics at the time of writing this post:
- The average blog post is 1150 words. But users only spend 18 seconds on a blog post page.
- WordPress hosts 77 million new blog posts each month.
- Globally here are 455 million WordPress websites.
- 409 Million people read WordPress blogs each month.
- There are about 450 million blogs on Tumblr.
Source: Envisage Digital
Starting a blog sounds like a monumental task, but amateur bloggers can be successful. Just focus on the number of readers.
The key is to remember and understand why the internet exists and how it works. Focusing on those things will help you reap massive results. Amateur Bloggers Mistakes
There are a number of costly mistakes that new bloggers make. You should avoid them at all costs.
Many amateur bloggers begin by writing a number of posts without a deliberate strategy. They hope that at least one of them will get picked up.
The fact is this strategy seldom works unless it’s an exceptional post.
Underestimating the work involved. It takes a lot of work to get your amatuer blog to start making significant money.
Save yourself some frustration and get the facts before you begin.
Failing to define their niche. Before you write the first sentence in you first post, you need ask yourself three questions:
What is my blog about?
Who am I writing for?
How can I get compensated for my time and effort?
Amateur Bloggers Mistakes
There are a few costly mistakes all new bloggers make. Five of these mistakes are listed below so you will know how to avoid them.
Ignoring keyword research. There are many keyword tools online that will help you narrow down your topic so you can determine which audience you want to reach.
A keyword tool will allow you to see how many people are interested in your topic. Not only that you can see what they are actually searching for.
Having this information will help you reach the right audience. This also makes it easier to monetize your amateur blog.
Not investing in a domain. Your domain is your main identity on the web. It is you own piece of the Internet. You need one.
It is where people will search for you. Pick a great domain that makes it easy for your audience to find you.
Choosing the wrong hosting There are many great free blogging platforms out there. But they can limit your potential for growth.
However you should really have total control of your blog. Choose the best blog hosting platform that gives you the freedom to be you.
If you are a new amateur blogger you more than likely have what you need to get started. All the equipment you need is a laptop and a decent camera.
Just in case you want to invest in new equipment here are some tips for choosing the right laptop and camera.
A Best Laptop For Blogging
The most important piece of equipment you will need for amateur blogging is a good laptop.
But more than likely you already have a laptop Just in case you don’t, here’s what to look for when shopping for a laptop for blogging.
Lightweight. This is especially important if you do a lot of travelling. You want a laptop that won’t add unnecessary weight.
Perfect size. It doesn’t matter if you are an amateur blogger or a professional one, your blogging laptop shouldn’t be huge. Pick something that’s easy to take anywhere.
User friendly. This is especially important if you are new online. Buy a laptop that you don’t have to spend much time learning how to use.
Performance and Reliability. When it comes to these features there are a few brands that immediately come to mind:
Apple
Acer
Dell
Features to look for. Your niche will determine which laptop is best for your blogging needs. But two basic features that are important are battery life and storage.
Fair Price. Of courses this is what will ultimately determine your choice of blogging laptop.
However, if you are making this a long-term endeavor, invest in a laptop that will stand up over time. Do your research and pick one that will eventually pay for itself.
Cameras For Bloggers
Even though the choice of camera is not the most important thing in the world for amateur bloggers. That’s because most smart phones have a good camera that is adequate for amateur blogging.
However, if you choose to invest in a dedicated camera for blogging, here’s how to choose the perfect one.
Four important must have features for your blogging camera.
Competitive price – Most smartphones come with a decent camera you can start with. Upgrade as your blog grows
Light weight– If you choose to buy a new camera to start blogging, keep in mind that you may be moving it around quite a bit.
Therefor you need a camera that you can easily take along with you.
Ease of use – Although amateur blogging is done for fun, your time is still precious. The more time you spend learning how to use your equipment, the less blogging you’ll do.
Easily adjust to lighting conditions- Your blogging tools and equipment should automatically do the majority of the work. Especially if you have a travel blog.
A good camera will save you time trying to manually make adjustments to suit surrounding conditions.
Summary
In a nutshell before you start your amateur blogging journey you decide what you want to share and create a plan.
Then identify people who are interested in what you have to give.
Connect with them and learn the best way you can help them. Once you have determined how to help people, start blogging.
Promote your blog using different platforms so you can reach more people.
These are the steps you need to take to grow an amateur blogger. At this point you can earn money with amateur blogging.
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