ProBlogger: How To Make Time To Grow A Successful Blog When You Have A Full-Time Job

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How To Make Time To Grow A Successful Blog When You Have A Full-Time Job Posted: 25 Jan 2017 05:00 AM PST This is a guest contribution from Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents. In August of 2011, I started Making Sense of Cents while working my full-time job. I didn’t have much time to spend on it, as I was working full-time and working towards my Finance MBA, but I used every little minute of extra time that I had so that I could create a successful blog. Now, I’m a full-time blogger and earn around $100,000 a month through my blog, and it was all because I learned how to start a blog on the side of my full-time job. After quitting my job to focus solely on my blog, I am now able to travel full-time with my husband, I have a flexible schedule, I’m my own boss, I get to help thousands of people improve their finances each month, and more. And, like I said, it all started five years ago on the side my full-time job. As you can tell, I absolutely love blogging. If I wouldn’t have started my blog, I don’t know where I would be right now. Even when I was blogging on the side while in a full-time job, I was still able to earn $10,000 a month in income from my blog, and while it was tough, it was well worth it. Now, you may be thinking about starting a blog but you may also be hesitant. After all, your life is probably already pretty busy. Between your full-time job, possibly raising a family, growing relationships, and more, you may feel like you don’t have any extra time to blog. Well, I’m here to tell you that you probably do have the time to learn how to start a blog – you just have to know what to do in order to find that time. How To Make Time To Grow A Successful Blog When You Have A Full-Time Job Today’s post will teach you exactly how to find the time to blog on the side – it's time that you already have! To manage your time better with your blogging tasks, I recommend reading Darren’s blog post 7 Tips for Busy Bloggers on Finding Time to Blog. How bad do you want it? Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. What you do with your time is up to you, but you may be wasting time throughout the day. Let’s find that wasted time so that you can spend it on your blog instead. First off, you need to want to blog if you’re going to do it on the side of your full-time job. Some people may not want it as badly, and that's fine. However, excuses won't help you. So, if you really want to create a blog, then you will have to reclaim that time in your day. It’s as simple as that. Just think about it: What do you think you could do with an extra 10 hours, or even more, each week? Be realistic about the amount of time you have Like I said above, everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but some may be more limited with their time than others. I understand that various situations can make a person quite busy. In the end, though, you always need to be honest with yourself about how much time you have in order to blog on the side. This is because you don’t want to become stressed by working yourself too hard, forget about what actually matters in life, negatively impact your work, and so on. However, you need to get past thinking that spending time on your blog will negatively impact your life, and I don’t want you to use the above as your excuse if it’s not a real reason. Most people have extra time in their days but don't realize it. The average person feels extremely busy but there’s probably a lot of ways that they waste time each and every day. Due to this, for one week, I recommend keeping track of the time you spend on different things in your life and see how much time you waste. If you're like most people, then I’m sure that you’ll find you are wasting a lot of time! Wake up earlier Instead of hitting the snooze button over and over again, you should just wake up earlier and spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (or more!) on your blog. This can be a great way to answer any emails, schedule blog and social media posts, and so on. You may even be able to crank out an entire article with this time. Back when I worked at my full-time job and blogged on the side, I would usually wake up one to two hours before I had to start getting ready for work. I would use this time to work on my blog, which included replying to emails, brainstorming ideas, managing my blog, and more. Sure, waking up early was tiring on certain days, but I wanted to run a successful blog, and it worked. If you're not a morning person, you can always try to fit in time before you go to bed. I would usually even work on my blog for a few hours before I went to bed. If you worked on your blog one hour each day before you went to work and one hour before you went to bed, you would have an extra 10 hours each week for your blog. Eliminate time wasters from your life Do you know how much time you waste each day? If you complete the task I recommended earlier, where you track all of your time for one whole week, I’m sure you’ll easily find several hours. I want you to take a second and think about how much time you waste watching TV or by spending time on something like Facebook. According to Neilsen statistics, the average person in the U.S. spends over 30 hours each week watching TV and movies. And, it doesn’t end there. According to AdWeek, adults spend over 10 hours a week on their personal social media accounts. That’s 40 hours right there that you could spend on your blog if you only eliminated these time wasters from your life completely. Even if you just reclaimed half of this wasted time, you would have 20 whole hours! Short gaps are your friend Have you ever thought about all the short gaps in your day and what you do with them? To be more efficient with your time, you should use these short gaps of time on your blog. Short gaps include time before you have a meeting or a phone call, a gap before you pick up your children from school, time while you’re waiting for food to cook, and so on. Stay organized Did you know that the average person spends 12 days per year looking for things they can't find? Yes, 55% of consumers stated that they would save anywhere from 16 to 60 minutes a day if they were organized. That’s a few hours each week right there for your blog. Strategically use your lunch time Just like what was discussed in ProBlogger’s blog post How to Make Time for Blogging During Your Lunch Break, a lot of your blogging tasks can be completed during your lunch break if you use your lunch time wisely. When I had my day job, my lunch time was almost always used for my blog. I would often bring my lunch to work, which allowed me to save money on food and to use that whole hour on Making Sense of Cents. Right there, that's five hours every week for side hustles, just by using your lunch hour. Take vacation days to work on your blog How many vacation days do you get at your job? What if you started using them for your blog? This can be a great way to dedicate a full day to your blog. Doing this every now and then can help make managing both your full-time job and your blog a little more relaxing because you won’t be running around all day trying to manage both. And trust me, this works! I would often use vacation days at my full-time job so that I could work on my blog. Trying this option can be a great idea. Plus, if you have paid vacation days, it's even better because you are getting paid to work on your blog! Outsource certain tasks Your blog doesn’t need you for every little task in order to be successful. So that you can use your time more wisely, you may want to hire out certain tasks that don’t need you to complete them. You may want to think about hiring out tasks related to technical management, editing, social media, and so on. To take this further, you can even outsource tasks in your life as well, especially if you find more value in working on your blog. Tasks to outsource could include mowing the lawn, car or home maintenance, and so on. Find ways to make passive income through your blog Yes, you can make somewhat passive income through your blog. Doing this can make blogging a little more enjoyable and relaxing because you won’t be trying to actively make income all day long through your blog. Passive income ideas include display advertising, affiliate marketing, and so on. I am a huge fan of affiliate marketing, because it allows me to earn income while I’m sleeping, on a hike, working on other projects, etc. Finding ways to make passive income through your blog can make it much more manageable to earn blog income while also working a full-time job. Putting all of this time together As you can see, there are many things you can do in order to find the time in your day to run a successful blog on the side of your full-time job. Whether you can only find 10 hours a week by applying these tips or if you can find 50, I’m sure everyone can find some time in their day. What can you do in order to find more time for your blog? Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder and writer at Making Sense of Cents. On her blog, she helps readers learn how to make extra money, save money, and reach their dream life. She currently earns $100,000 a month through her blog and affiliate marketing course, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. Michelle and her husband sold their house in 2015 and currently travel full-time in an RV with their two dogs. The post How To Make Time To Grow A Successful Blog When You Have A Full-Time Job appeared first on ProBlogger.

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ProBlogger: Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed

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Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed Posted: 24 Jan 2017 05:00 AM PST This is a guest contribution from Sam Warren of Rankpay I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is this: that boring content you're probably peddling? It's not worth it anymore. It has its place, but it's not going to take you to that next level. Don't get me wrong, it's not your fault for going about content marketing like this. We all do. We've been taught to. But therein lies the problem doesn't it? If we've all been taught to do something, and we all "follow the rules", it stands to reason that it'd be hard to stand out. And boy, is it ever. Don't get discouraged though, as promised I have some good news as well. While it may be difficult, it's far from impossible to get noticed. You're just going to have to think outside the box and that's why I'm here. I'm going to show you how to make a difference. From time to time, we all need to brush up on our creative problem solving skills and remind ourselves that it's OK to be disruptive and take risks. But before we get there, let's take a closer look at why we need to think this way in the first place. Content Marketing Has Grown Into a Monster It used to be hard to find good writers on the internet. Those that knew how to write an engaging and actionable article made waves quickly and efficiently. Nowadays, good writers are a dime a dozen. In fact, there are far too many of us. Back in 2012 Domo presented research claiming WordPress users alone create 347 articles every minute. The signal to noise ratio is getting worse by the day, and in many cases writers have altogether forgotten why they started down this road in the first place. Was it More shares? Improved search visibility? Building brand awareness? Getting email subscribers for remarketing? Oh well, you probably don't have time to consider such things. Better write another 500 word article to hit that deadline. There, there, it's all right. You're not alone. Further, this type of "bulk" content you've been taught to produce can still be marginally effective if you're in a small and uncompetitive niche. But for those of us fixing to make headway in existing markets, traditional advice just isn't going to cut it anymore. What Doesn't Necessarily Work in Competitive Markets? Don't worry, I know you're curious about what does work. We'll get there. But let's first take a closer look at a few things you've probably been taught over the years. I'd challenge you to take a good hard look at each of them, and try to determine what measurable impact they've had for you. Skyscraper Technique This was popularized by Brian Dean a number of years ago, and it's still a pretty awesome concept. I don't want to devalue this opportunity for you, but it behooves us to be cautious and realistic. Image courtesy: Backlinko The problem is, after this technique started to make the rounds, many content marketers began investing serious time putting it to good use. As a result of this, unless you're blogging in an up-and-coming niche, the return on investment often won't usually be in your favor. There are any number of cornerstone and evergreen content pieces out there that you're simply not going to best without putting in an unacceptable amount of time and energy. This is an "extreme" example, but say you run an SEO service, and you want to rank for the term "How to do keyword research." Well, Moz is currently ranking #1 for that term. Spoiler alert: their post already has over 5000 links built to it. The amount of time you'd need to invest in creating a resource that's actually more useful than a well-established magnum opus with 1k+ referring quality domains, is staggering. It may occasionally border on impossible depending upon your link-building abilities and social capital. Tons of boring "recycled" content Just take a look on Upwork and you'll see a huge number of gigs looking for "writers" able to produce tons of 500 words articles focused on a small number of keyword variations. If you're working in a space that has no recognizable competition, this could get your site on the map. No doubt. But even under those circumstances, you'd still be missing out on so much of what content marketing has to offer. Guess what? Readers aren't going to click your article if it's the same damn thing they've read a thousand times already. Recycling and spinning content will simply turn readers off. Alienating your existing or potential audience is a surefire way to drive your traffic into the ground. That horrid template you use for outreach emails Getting published at notable outlets is a big deal for any marketer. It's also a critical component to making sure you're get the most out of your content marketing efforts. But getting a publisher's ear can be easier said than done. Case in point: the blog I edit at RankPay is a relatively low-key affair, but nevertheless I bet you'd be surprised by the sheer volume of pitches I get from writers looking to get published. First and foremost, don't be an idiot when you write these emails. Do us all a favor and avoid the common pitfalls. Don't misspell names Don't address the wrong publication Don't pitch junk just to earn a link Don't plagiarize But there's more to it than just that. Chances are you've read that personalizing is the way to go. It is. But everyone recommends you say something like "I've been a long-time reader and I loved your article XYZ". While it's nice that this shows you took the time to copy paste a title as opposed to just bulk-emailing, it still doesn't win you any points these days. Every publisher knows what you're doing, and it just makes you seem washed up and disingenuous. What Does Work Nowadays? Put simply, thinking outside of the box works. Tell a story and be creative. Write about something that nobody else has bothered to yet. Do you know why so many readers are happy subscribers to Seth Godin's blog? It's because they'll never see anything he writes, anywhere else. It's truly original and, even more importantly, it's from the heart. That last part is the key. The internet has made us all a bit more skeptical and increased our awareness of when we're being "sold" or manipulated. Being genuine and honest is the best way to avoid having this problem yourself. Develop a unique and authentic voice Writing in a stiff or unnatural voice is a surefire way to alienate your readers. Let your freak flag fly! Well, to a degree. Let's not get carried away. But the point I'm going to stress here, is that getting noticed demands personality, creativity, and authenticity. With so many talented writers producing quality content, you're going to need to be different. There's often a level of candor that I still "feel" is missing from many popular writers. Perhaps once they reach a certain popularity point they feel they need to button up and follow the rules to be careful not to misstep. I'm not popular enough to be burdened with high-brow concerns. But that being said, time and time again, being original and authentic gets folks to pay attention. We all just want to relate to one another and to be heard, whether we're creating or consuming content. Actually be creative While everyone shouts this from the mountaintops, very few seem to practice it. I don't just mean "don't plagiarize". Honestly that should go without saying. I mean tell a story that your audience hasn't heard before. Screw the rules! Be creative! Be different! Image courtesy: Derek Halpern If you're in IT, write a cute screenplay about how to better provide tech support. Write a limerick about common troubleshooting solutions. Being original (and often weird) is usually how content goes viral. "If you've ever seen my YouTube channel, one of the first things you might notice is that I look ridiculous in half of my thumbnail pictures. Why would I publish these truly unfortunate freeze frames when I have much better pictures I could be using? The answer is simple: What stands out gets remembered. What blends in gets forgotten." – Derek Halpern People want to be entertained and educated. If you can accomplish both at once in an innovative way, you're truly on to something. Honest outreach emails Instead of sounding like just another writer looking to grab a link, try being genuine for a change. I've legitimately landed multiple publication opportunities by opening my cold emails with some variation of the following. If you don't know the publication, try being honest that you don't. Make yourself vulnerable. "Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change." ― Brené Brown It seems risky, but the people on the receiving end of your emails are human beings. In my experience, people respect and appreciate honesty above all else. Trust me, candor is a refreshing treat when you work in marketing and/or publishing. Putting Disruptive Ideas to Paper Imagine yourself as a blogging entrepreneur! You're going to have to take some risks. It's scary to put yourself out there like this. But the reality is, you won't get far unless you "dare greatly". That's more wisdom from Brené Brown right there. Seriously, go watch her Ted Talks if you've somehow missed them. It's all too easy to just phone it in and write the same dribble you've been writing for the past few months or years. But let's make 2017 different. Let's make a difference this year. Remember: Be creative with the content you create Be authentic with your voice and tone Be different than your competitors Be honest with your outreach efforts You'll be amazed by the opportunities you earn when you begin to bring these goals in focus. Sam Warren is the marketing manager and editor at RankPay, a top rated performance-based SEO service, and the proud father of a 10lb chihuahua mutt.   The post Blogging in 2017: How to Disrupt and Get Noticed appeared first on ProBlogger.

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