Create and execute a winning blog strategy for beginners with 16 steps to set up a successful plan of action for blogging.
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Table of Contents
What is a Blog Strategy?
A blog strategy is a plan of action, a guide.
It’s the process of following a map of essential steps needed to start and create a new blog.
It’s knowing what you’re doing before and during the starting phase to get to your end goal and achieve it.
Why is a Blog Strategy Important?
Too many blogging beginners start out flying by the seat of their pants and when they get stuck, they end up confused and discouraged about the what, when, why and how of creating a blog.
There’s a lot you’re not going to know as a new blogger and it’s super easy to get lost, overwhelmed, frustrated and discouraged and a blogging strategy is going to give you a clear focus because there is an order to starting and creating a blog.
A blogging strategy is your check off list, and it’s probably still not going to keep you from veering off the road and taking another direction, BUT you will always have something to come back to, to get you back on the right track.
What is a Strategic Blog Strategy?
First let me say that every step in blogging is either going to be a strategy or strategic planning. That’s just how it is in blogging.
First, let’s remember that a strategy is a plan of action, to achieve an overall aim or goal. You get that word OVERALL. We’re starting at A and we’re trying to get to Z (the overall goal).
Strategic is planning out your plan of action in detail on how you’re going to make your overall aim happen.
For example, let’s say the strategy is to start a blog to achieve the overall aim of makimg money.
And we can start a blog to make money, but how?
Do we just start a blog and wait for the money to come in?
Nooo.
We need to carefully plan out each step that is going to get us to our goal of making money?
We need to build our site, but how do we build our site, what are the steps?
We need to create great content, but how do we create great content, what are the steps?
We need to build up readers, how are we going to bring those readers in, what action are we going to take to get them to come in?
We strategically plan out each step to build a site, create great content and gain readers, so that we can achieve our OVERALL aim, which is to make money.
Because we can’t make money without any of those.
The strategic plan is knowing what you’re going to do, when you’re going to do it and how it’s going to get done.
What is Strategic Blogging?
We’ve covered a blog strategy and a strategic blog strategy, but there is also strategic blogging.
Strategic blogging takes us back to when I said, “every step in blogging is either going to be a strategy or strategic planning.”
Strategic blogging is a whole as in starting your blog, creating it, marketing it, content creation, product creation and so on.
It’s carefully following all your startegies to get your blog from one point to the next by not veering off course and being all over the place.
Strategic is figuring out where you’re starting from, what is working, what is not working and what is going to get you to Z.
When you plan, you plan carefully, but that doesn’t mean that strategic plans can’t change because they will and when you figure out what is not working you change the strategy to something that is.
The Difference Between a Blog Strategy and Blog Content Strategy
Something new to add is the blog content startegy.
Some bloggers will define these two strategies as the same thing, and they are not.
They are two completely different strategies.
A blog strategy is for your blog, the main blueprint.
A blog content strategy is for content on your blog, what you create for your readers to read, view or interact with.
How Do You Create a Successful Blog Strategy?
By building your plan of action from the ground up.
You have to start somewhere, and it starts with researching.
You are not going to get far at all if you do not put the research in.
How to Prepare for a Successful Blogging Strategy
By planning and creating specific strategies that you actually follow.
Creating something successful means that you’re accomplishing an aim or purpose.
One hundred people can tell you how to create a successful blogging strategy, but it means nothing if you don’t follow through with it.
Once you read an article and put that pen to paper, it’s all on you and that will determine if your blog strategy will be successful or not.
16 Steps to Creating a Blog Strategy
- Setting YOUR Goals
Why are you blogging?
What is your purpose for you?
- You want to pay for vacations.
- You want to take a month off a year.
- You want to go to Vegas.
- You want to make $25,000 a month.
- You want to afford a bigger house.
Write down your reasons, however many you have, write all of them down.
And then number them from 1 to whatever, with 1 being the smallest goal and end with that one big finale, the end goal you want to achieve from blogging.
If you’re going to blog, you need to know what your main purpose for blogging is.
And when you get started blogging, you will have smaller realistic goals through creating your blog that will help you get to the ultimate goal.
What is it that you want from blogging?
If you’re taking this seriously and going as far as creating strategies, and goals and calendars and everything else.
Then know YOUR why, your reason, your aim.
- Niche – Figure Out Exactly What You’re Blogging About
After deciding you want to become a blogger, the next step is figuring out what you’re going to blog about.
There has to be a topic of conversation, this is known as a niche.
Because without a niche you won’t know who you’re writing your blogging content for, what your purpose is for creating it, what content to write around or what products to create.
If you’re trying to start a blog to make money, you can’t blog about anything and everything under the moon right now.
Decide on one topic.
This niche needs to be very specific; you need a specific topic to apply your E-E-A-T and build an audience.
- Know your Why for your Audience
You know your why and you’ve set your goals and we’re done talking about you.
This is your why for your audience.
The people you will be creating content for, the audience that will visit your site, read your posts, click your affiliate links, and buy your digital products.
The ones that are going to get you to your end goal and the truth is, no one cares what your end goal is.
The only thing your audience cares about is what they can get out of it, how does it benefit them to visit your site and keep coming back?
Because if you don’t give your audience what they need, they’ll go somewhere else and get it.
If you don’t know the reason for blogging for your audience, the main pain point; then your site will not get very far at all.
You need to know why you’re blogging for other people and what is it that you want them to know?
Knowing the reason why you’re creating your blog for other people will help you to know how to use your content with a purpose and help you to meet their needs.
Why are they going to visit your site?
Write it down and if it’s a paragraph then write that paragraph, if it’s a page then write the page.
Just know your audiences why.
- Know Who Your Audience Is and Research Them
When you know why you’re blogging, what you’re blogging about, why you’re blogging about it, why you’re blogging about it for other people, you’ll figure out exactly who you want to talk to.
And this is your target audience.
Is it for beginners who have never used a sewing machine before who need the very beginning basics of what is what to start sewing?
Is it for advanced who can benefit more from something that they thought they already knew that you can give them tips on because we can always learn more?
Is it for pet owners who are starting out with a puppy or have a senior dog?
Who is that exact target audience and what it is that they need?
Research your audience and find out what it is they’re searching for, so you can provide it.
You need to pinpoint it down and be very specific about who it is you’re talking to.
- Figure Out Your Thing
In a world full of millions of bloggers and billions of blogs, what is going to make you different?
Why should someone choose your site to visit over all the others?
What is going to be unique about what you’re doing?
What is going to sell you above everyone else?
- Keep a Record of Your Resources
As a beginning blogger, you’re going to come across a lot of things you’re going to want to go back to later, you’re also going to come across a lot of different sites because you’re researching and you should be researching a lot.
Researching is very important in blogging; some think you just start and that be that.
No, you need to keep a list of your most valuable resources, the best of the best authoritative sites.
You see, everybody blogs about it all, but when you need a specific thing, you should have a list of that specific authoritative site.
There’s going to be a lot of noise out there in your blogging journey and you don’t need all that.
Learn who your best resources are and use them.
These authoritative resources will help you to get to the next point in your blogging game plan.
- Research your Competition
The point of this is that these are the sites that blog in the same niche you do, that you need to be better than.
These are the sites that are on page 1 of the SERP’s that you want to either be above or take their place.
You are not the first blogger in your niche, and you don’t have to figure out everything on your own.
Many before you have been there and done that.
Research them.
After you’ve decided on your niche and your audience, check out who’s at the top of your niche.
It’s perfectly okay to research someone else’s site, just never steal their content.
Look at the posts they’ve written, the products they’ve created, and so on, use the top bloggers as your inspiration.
Learn from the best.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is search engine optimization and it’s making your site better for search engines.
Everything on your site needs to be understandable to search engines, so that search engines know who to serve your content to, the users, your target audience.
SEO includes a lot of different categories like On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO along with a few more types.
Knowing your SEO doesn’t mean you’re going to be on page one automatically, because there’s a lot more involved than just SEO to get you there, but it’s all about helping you have a better site and content for search engines, so that it’s a better site for your users.
And this is where your SEO strategy starts.
- Know about Keyword Research
Keyword research falls under the category of On-page SEO.
Keywords are the words and phrases that will help you to rank on search engines and get you served to readers.
When you’re creating content, keywords should be used naturally where they fall into place and not stuffed here and there where it doesn’t make sense.
This is known as keyword stuffing and will get your site penalized.
Keyword research starts from the very beginning of blogging.
Learn about Keyword Research and use your keywords strategically.
Knowing about keyword research before even starting to write your posts will help you to be ahead of the game.
And this is where you’ll start creating your keyword research strategies.
To learn about keyword research, you need to know what it is, so start here with Yoast, then head over to MOZ, and from there you can follow the links to learn how to do keyword research.
So, let me just be clear about this, we write and create for our audience.
We use words, phrases and SEO for our audience.
So, yes, you should learn about this stuff but learn it for your audience and apply it for your audience.
- Structure your Blog Content
Content should be easy to find.
You want to format your categories so that they make sense to be in the same category.
Your website architecture structure is important to users and search engines.
- Create an Editorial Calendar
Your blogging strategy definitely needs a content calendar, and this is part of your content marketing strategy after you’ve created a content strategy.
This is a normal looking calendar that shows: what you’re going to write, when you’re going to write it and when it’s going to be published, plain and simple.
Consistency is key when you gain regular readers.
Remember when I mentioned creating a successful blogging strategy? That it was something that you have to follow through with, this is following through.
Your content calendar or editorial calendar (same thing) is part of your blogging strategy.
- Set Aside Your Time to Create
A hundred times a day, okay exaggerating here, but it’s a lot, I see the same thing asked, “how do you find time to blog or does someone have a schedule I can follow?”.
Someone’s answer is not your answer; we all have different things going on in our lives.
Some work full-time or part-time, some work 2nd shift, 3rd shift or stay at home.
This is your life and you need to figure out when you can work on your blog.
Find your most productive time and if you can’t do it during your most productive time, make a time your most productive and stick to it.
Set the time that is available for you to work, and use it to work!
No tv, no music, no cell.
Focus!
Figure out your time, because it’s your time, not the blogger that can blog 6 hours a day or the blogger that can blog 3 hours a day, or the blogger that can blog 7 days a week.
This is you and your business, and it’s only going to go as far as you take it.
Make it happen.
But never ever take family time from anyone, your kids and spouse still need lovin’ and your blog is not going anyway.
- Use Outlines, Data and Research
Content should flow together and make sense.
You should have a beginning, middle and end. An introduction, body and conclusion.
You should research your topic, gives facts, know what it is your talking about and have knowledge of what you’re saying to prove and establish your E-E-A-T.
- Develop Other Strategies
Everything will have the word strategy behind it, it’s a plan of action.
Strategies will help you to focus and stay on track.
- Promote Your Business
This will fall under your blog marketing strategy.
You’re going to have to put it out there. You can’t have a business if no one can see it or knows about it.
Now, after you release your content, that’s left in the hands of the search engines but you can promote your blog in other ways.
You are going to need to figure out what is the best way to promote it and roll with it.
How can you start letting everyone know you have a blog?
Now, I’m going to tell you that just because you do all these things doesn’t mean you’re going to get traffic.
Chances are, in the beginning, you’ll get nothing, you need to remember you’re starting at the bottom, but you still need to promote to get your name out there and keep promoting.
You are going to have to put in the work and figure out what works for you and where you get the best engagement: naturally.
Because you want actual engagement from viewers on your posts that need your stuff and promoting your content in a group for a comment because you gave a comment, is not true engagement or organic traffic and search engines are smart enough to know this.
Yes, telling your blogging group you wrote a new post is great and getting one comment is great, but you want people who actually need your content and will continue to come back.
So, your best bet is to write optimized posts and bring them in off of search engines.
Focus on your content.
Now, I’ve heard bloggers say, “I don’t want my family and friends to know about it yet”, and that’s fine they don’t have to, but there is a world full of strangers that don’t know you and you can promote to them in your blogging group, in forums, or on social media.
And I just want to add this in here, your family and friends might not even care, may never even look at it or there’s also a possibility they’ll just take a five second glance and you’re worried for nothing.
- Track your Metrics
You can do everything there is to possibly do with getting your blog started.
But if you’re not tracking your accomplishments to meet your goals, then you won’t know where to move forward from there or what your next strategy should be.
Keeping track of your overall metrics will let you see what’s working and what’s not.
Keep track of your numbers.
This will help you measure your blog’s performance.
More Reading for Your Enjoyment
Blogging in a Niche You Know Nothing About
Summary for Creating a Blog Strategy for Beginners
- Document and research
- Know what you’re blogging about
- Know your exact purpose
- Figure out your audience
- Find your thing
- Keep a record of your resources
- Research your Competition
- Create your Keyword Research Strategy
- Know your SEO and create an SEO strategy
- Create a Content Strategy and/or Calendar
- Set aside time to create
- Promote your Blog
- Track and analyze your blog’s success
So, you have 16 steps to help you start planning out a successful blog strategy.
After you have created your blog strategy head on over to “how to start a blog” in 23 steps, even if you’ve already started, just to double check you have everything you need to do.
If this blog strategy was helpful to you in any way, please leave a comment!
Need more blog talk with in-depth guides, how-to’s and a complete walk-through, check out The Phases of Starting a Blog eBooks for Beginners on Etsy. Want Phase 1 for FREE?