5 Key Investments to Start a Blog With or Without a Niche
I have been a blogger since the summer of 2015.But I'm going to be honest with you. I actually feel like I didn't utilize my blog to its full potential - kind of like, I was blogging but not blogging at its best. I do it just because. No reason, no purpose; just all for sharing and that's it.This is something I wish I shouldn't have done. This is something I regret as I realize how time really is valuable and how fast the world is moving. If I did utilize my blog when I first started, maybe I have a hundred thousand page views monthly already or maybe I'm already traveling the world with my blog as the main source of my income.Now that I've come to think of it, I wasn't blogging at its best because I didn't know my purpose, in the first place. I was just writing and writing and writing - which isn't wrong, of course - but I was doing it just for the sake of it. I didn't have anything pushing me through.Did I feel lazy to blog? Sure, I'll just blog next week. I didn't know what to write about? Maybe I need a break for, like, 2 months.Oh, how much time I wasted.That's why I'm here, loves. I don't want you to make the same mistakes that I did. What I want for you is to find meaning in blogging and to understand how to start a blog with or without a niche... in a more meaningful and fulfilling way.
Why you shouldn't worry if your blog doesn't have a niche
First of all, I want you to scratch the idea that for you to blog, you have to have a trimmed-down, very specific niche. A niche is a category where you will base everything that you will blog about. It's like your center - except you don't want to stray away from that center because it's what keeps your blog running.There's nothing wrong with it though. I most definitely do not have any problem with niche bloggers. I actually admire them for being one. Why? Well, duh, it's absolutely a skill to be able to talk about something so much without getting burned out. It's like their specialization and their field where they are willing to talk about anything about or related to it without being tempted to maybe write about something so random that maybe their readers don't come to their blogs for.But for us, people, who are multi-passionate, shall I say, a niche is something we surely may have struggles about because it's something that may limit us. But we, of course, know that no one or nothing is capable to limit us in talking about our passions without our permission.The question now is, how do we keep everything cohesive? How do we ensure that our readers won't feel lost in our blogs - with one post that's relevant to them and with one thing that's they absolutely don't need?Sheila, from In Search of Sheila blog, says it's all about one word: FOCUS.If we have set our minds into one main goal and specifically identify who our readers will be for our blog, we know for sure that whatever we write about should entail that objective and address the needs of your target audience. We write for this something and for this someone.Your focus IS your center. But it allows you to get out of that center as long as you make sure that you will go back to it, that you will point to it wherever you are.It's your North in your compass. It's your guide where you will keep coming back.
What you should be investing on to start a blog with or without a niche
Domain
First things first, get your own domain. Treat it like it's your own name in the blogosphere. Everyone in this world is born with a name, right? This is your name, your identity. I can't emphasize its value more.When I first started to blog, my domain was under Wordpress - meaning, it had that "(dot)wordpress(dot)com" in the end. It was fine as a starter but to get the hang of blogging, I chose to invest in my domain. It wouldn't cost so much, after all.Right now, I still have my domain under Wordpress. I'm pretty sure you're like, WAIT WHAAAAAAT?! But yes, I don't even know why but I'm pretty okay with my domain being under Wordpress. It's my blogging platform after all. I also don't want any more hassle right now because I'm honestly still not sure how complicated and long the process of domain transfer would be.I'm paying $18(Php930) per year and it's not bad although I must tell you that other hosting sites are offering way better deals that already include a free domain. Which brings me to the next thing you should invest at as a blogger.
Hosting site
I couldn't tell you how life-changing it was for me when I registered for a hosting site. When you have one, you can basically call your blog site as something you own already. Your hosting site means you are paying for the data that comes whenever a person visits your site. When you have a hosting site, you can control what ads will run in your blog. Also, if you are under Wordpress then you will automatically move to Wordpress(dot)org which means you can add whatever plugin you want to and install whatever theme you liked.Before, even though I already had my own domain, I was still under Wordpress(dot)com. It was so limiting! I couldn't change themes and the ads that are seen on my blog weren't controlled by me. It seemed like I was an employee of Wordpress where the views that I work hard to get benefits them more than they benefit me.So what I did then, after a lot of research, is pick one hosting site that I could trust with my website. In the end, I picked BlueHost. There are lots of other competitors of course, but after tallying lots and lots of reviews (no joke, I probably read about 50+ blog posts), it turned out to be the hosting site that was best recommended, especially as it is the largest Wordpress hosting company.I ended up trusting my instincts and going with my gut when I registered for a Basic Web Hosting that cost me about $4.95(~Php257)/month. The option was to pay annually so I paid $59.4(~Php3000) for the whole year.It took me quite a long time to transfer but that's because my previous hosting site took quite a long time to reply to my emails. I was also already in my exchange program by then so besides the differences in time zones, I was also quite busy. But anyhow, it was thanks to the Bluehost Chat Support that I successfully transferred my site.Lucky for you, if you're planning to register for a hosting site now, you will pay so much less than I did because BlueHost now offers their hosting services for as low as $2.95(~Php153)/month! Imagine, you can start a blog with or without a niche for that low of a price! What a steal!Sign up for your hosting site here!
Blog Theme
Honestly, whenever I lose motivation to blog, I always feel like I need to change something and the first thing I change is the theme. It's basically how your blog will look.Deciding on what theme to install on your site is a make or break decision. Why? Remember that those first impressions last. So you can only hook your readers to keep coming back to your site if it looks pleasing to them.It was just a few weeks ago when I changed mine again and this time, I got mine on 17th Avenue through Etsy. What's better is that by using Ebates, I got a 10% cash back on what I spent! So cool, right? By investing on something, I actually got to earn!
I definitely recommend to get your blog themes from 17th Avenue because their themes are very professional- and chic-looking. They have themes set up specifically for fashion and/or lifestyle bloggers and there are even some themes that are e-Commerce-ready, which means you can actually have your own shop on your blog! Choose your theme here!
Equipment
My camera is honestly the best thing that I have invested in. I actually just saved money for it by selling my preloved clothes here and thankfully, I got enough to buy it just before I left for my exchange program in Italy.By investing on my Fujifilm camera
Yourself
Last but not least, if you want to start a blog with or without a niche that's going to fulfill your purpose as a blogger, you must invest in yourself.How you may say?Learn. Be open to every knowledge you could get online or offline about blogging and the things you're passionate about. If you know what you're saying and if you are passionate about talking about it, I can assure you that your content will be loved by people, most especially your target readers.You can invest in ebooks or e-courses that can teach you more on how to grow your blog or how to drive more traffic to your site. Everything's basically out there (it's the internet, after all) so all you've got to do is find them.
That's basically it, loves! I hope that you have somehow learned a lot on how to start a blog with or without a niche, a blog that you will definitely be proud of.So again, to sum it up, these are some things you need to invest to be a successful blogger:
- Domain (I got mine for $18/year in Wordpress)
- Hosting site (I suggest registering for a hosting company in Bluehost here)
- Blog theme (Get your blog theme on 17th Avenue's Etsy and get 10% cash back by signing up here)
- Equipment (Get affordable blog equipment here
)
- Yourself (Learn, learn, and learn!)
You must be willing to invest in some things in order to pave your way to successful and meaningful blogging. But if you feel like you're not ready yet, it's okay. Do take things at your own pace. After all, it's you who knows what's best for you.I also wrote about the most important things to remember as a blogger here but to tell you frankly, the most important thing about blogging is not earning money or being popular. It's about having a voice and inspiring and making your mark in the world with it.More power to you and your blog, love!
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