I’ve been an official blogger for a year now and one thing that I’ve learned for sure is that this journey of being a blogger takes drive, savviness, and strategic thought! In this post I’m going to share random blogging secrets that I wish I knew before I started my journey. They are totally doable and will help make your life simple if you’re an aspiring blogger, or even an experienced blogger who simply feels like you’re struggling and not sure where to turn for tips.

Either way, I want to make sure all of you reading this leave with an “aha” moment after discovering these blogging secrets and are armed with some information to make your path to online entrepreneurship as smooth as possible.

What are some blogging secrets you should know if you’re a blogger?

1.     You don’t need a blogging course to learn and take this thing seriously.

It totally depends on what your goals are - hobby or to make a profit, but you really don’t need to take a blogging course to be successful. More than anything, you need a course or books to understand business. After all, running a blog is running a business. Don’t waste your time or money on blogging courses.

2.     You need to learn negotiation skills.

Many of you who follow me on Instagram who are also content creators, influencers, and bloggers alike have asked me questions about how I was able to monetize so quickly and get paid more than just chicken change. There are many answers to this, but one of the primary reasons is that I know how to negotiate. You don’t need a million followers; you don’t have to have 20% engagement. You just need negotiation skills!

3.     Learn and OVERstand SEO. Like now.

When I started building my blog I was in a rush. Why, I don’t know, but I do know that several of the items I researched said I’d need to understand SEO. I was too ignorant to get that through my head at the time and figured, “Oh well, I’ll just come back to that.” Big mistake. You need to understand and implement SEO strategies and tactics as soon as you begin building your site. Understanding metadata descriptions and other related things is a part of SEO. You can’t have great site traffic from the jump if your on-page SEO is trash.

4.     Be careful about who you hire to design your website.

I designed my website all by myself with the help of Squarespace, but when I’m ready I’ll definitely consider leveraging a professional. At the same time, since I now know and understand SEO, I also understand that though website designers are great at what they do, they are generally not great at understanding or implementing SEO. If you’re looking for a designer for your site, make sure you thoroughly vet their SEO knowledge or you’ll likely end up with a a beautiful website that gets little to no traffic.

5.     Make a blogger friend…. or two or three.

Yes, you can walk through your journey of online entrepreneurship alone and do it just fine, but I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase that two heads are better than one. Find you a blogger friend that you can trust to run things by, bounce ideas off, share wins, and cry over frustrations. It’s the one thing that certainly keeps me going. People who are not a part of this life of creating content, finding photo opps, and painstakingly scheduling their days to make this work (especially if the have a 9-5 too) won’t get it. Your blogger friend(s) will.

6.     Use Pinterest to help drive traffic to your blog.

So, I didn’t get this until several months after I started blogging, but there is a method to pinning on Pinterest and it does work. People really do use Pinterest like a search engine, as if it were Google. Make creative pins to attract people, link your blog posts, and voila! You’ll gain some traffic from people clicking onto your site!

7.     Work smart, not hard.

Now, this one I’m about to share is one of my favorite blogging secrets. I hope I don’t have to tell you, but then again, I remember when I was this girl, so maybe. There is no award for doing all the things. NOT ONE! If you’re a mom, wife, work outside of the home, and do anything else, your cup hath runneth over. If you need help you just do, and there’s no shame in that. Ask for it. When it comes to your blogging business, hire a virtual assistant if needed. Your favorite bloggers may not tell you, but lots of people hire people to help run their social media, respond to emails, plan content, etc. I mean, they’re running a business so it’s to be expected. Find where you need the help and hire for it if you can.

8.     Don’t rely solely on social media for site views.

So, we all post to Instagram to let our community know that we have a new blog post up, and during those times you obviously see your website traffic increase…. then it will go back down. Don’t just rely on social media for your site views. Refer to number 3. You really want to play the long game and focus on SEO.

9.     Canva is your best friend.

If you’re a blogger, you need all kinds of digital media: digital media that will promote you, your business, your sponsored work, etc. Therefore, you need Canva. I don’t think there is any digital product you may need that Canva doesn’t already have a template for. Go sign up for a Canva account now. There is a free version.

10. Make your blog business official.

If you’re wanting to blog only for the fun of it that’s one thing, but if you want to blog for the fun of it and turn your passion into a profit, you gotta be about your business. Make your business legit by filing for an LLC, obtaining a business ID, and setting up a business bank account.

11. Learn the tricks of taxes.

I’m not an accountant by any means so I can’t righteously provide you any official accounting advice; but what I do know is if you have a business, it’s likely that you have employees and you pay those employees. Something like this reduces your taxable income. For example, if you’re a mommy blogger like me with a child or children that are your models for countless photos you can pay them which reduces your taxable income. If your spouse is your personal photographer, depending upon how you file your taxes, you may also be eligible for a tax break by paying them too!

12. Understand your finances.

One of the most important blogging secrets you should know, especially if you want to have a money-making blog, is that you need to keep track of your money in and your money out. Set up a simple spreadsheet that will monitor this for you.

13. Your email list should be your focus.

Everyone is so focused on social media and gets bent out of shape over the Instagram algorithm, but the major key everyone misses is that you don’t own Instagram, or any other social media platform. What you do own is your website, and you can stay in contact with your loyal supporters via an email list. Though it’s not likely, what would happen if all these platforms disappeared? How would you reach your supporters? Take the time to focus on building up your email list.

14. Ask for what you want.

When I began my journey of generating income through my blog and social media, I had every question there was about rates. How much should I charge? What was too much? What was too little? The beautiful part about being an influencer, at least now, is that there are no rules. You can’t find salary information online for influencers because there’s so much variation. I knew I produced good work, so I asked for what I wanted. Of course, I negotiated, but I still generally got what I asked for. With less than 10k followers across platforms I was able to secure 4-figure deals for brand campaigns because I simply asked for what I wanted.

15. Be your authentic self.

I struggled with finding my social media identify in the beginning, if that’s even a thing, but realized it’s just social media. My platform is there for me to be just who I am, and that’s what I do. You can’t worry about what you see other people doing because you’re not them. The most important thing is that you attract those who are genuinely attracted to you. That will build a true community of supporters that you love and who really love you back!

16. Don’t be afraid to fail.

If anything, that has to do with being a content creator is new to you, it’s expected, inevitable, and likely that you’ll fail. When I first started, my photography was horrific. I learned basic skills and I feel comfortable with taking photos now. The most important thing is to stay consistent and challenge yourself.

17. Find your why so you can find your way.

I’ve saved the best for last because knowing your “why” is the biggest blogging secret of all. At the end of the day, your blog business should be your passion. No matter your niche, it should resonate with you and the audience that you’ve garnered. I frequently have disappointments, frustrations, times when I doubt myself, and I even think about quitting. When I keep the reason around why I do what I do in perspective, which is to reach women who look and live like me and to share experiences to make our lives better, my heart is moved. I know that even if there is only one person, I reach I’m walking in my purpose. You just never know who you may touch because someone is always watching.

I hope this post has taught you a ton of blogging secrets that you should keep under your belt. While I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come in only 12 months of blogging, if I knew back then what I knew now I’m sure things would have been just that much better. If you have any questions at all, feel free to DM me because I love talking about my journey and helping folks the best way I can!

Smooches, yall!

Onteria