Sometime ago I wrote a post titled: Are You a Blogger or an Entrepreneur Who Blogs? In that post I did gave reasons why you should not consider yourself simply as a blogger but an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, it does appear that not many people are really listening to these things.
Since writing that post I have seen a whole lot of new bloggers join the blogging bandwagon while many others have abandoned ship! I still believe that many who have shipwrecked their blogging dreams did so not because they do not have the passion for blogging but because they have approached their blogging career from a wrong angle.
Don’t Just Build A Blog; Build A Business!
I have mentioned this severally but I will never stop talking about it until I see more bloggers put it into use. Truth is, when you ask the average blogger if they are really building a business the ready answer is yes!
But think about this:
- Can you really say you are in business when you don't have a product?
- Are you in business when you don't have a target market?
Indeed, these are just the basics of building a business. But how many bloggers can readily point to their blogs and say, this is my product or target audience? Now, if you cannot do that how can you really say you are in business?
Recommended: Hey Blogger, What Really Is Your Product?
You must understand that blogs, as we know them today were initially setup by internet marketers as traffic generating tools for their online business sites. Blogs were not set up initially to make money by themselves but as marketing tools. So, looking at your blog as your business today is really a wrong approach to blogging because a business without a valuable product, a target audience who wants that product and a platform to present that product to the target audience is not really a business.
So, How Do You Really Build A Business And Not Just A Blog?
I love using the analogy of building a house whenever I talk about building a business. This is because building a business is similar in many ways to building a house.
There are different steps involved. From the foundation stage to the roofing stage, a lot of planning and effort is required. Besides, the type and size of the house will determine the depth of the foundation. The higher the structure you desire the deeper the foundation you will need to prepare.
The following are a few tips on how to build a business using your blog.
1. Decide From the On-Set What Direction to Take
It's unfortunate that there are many people online who want to jump into the blogging bandwagon without any preparation. To this people the wise saying, “look before you leap” has no meaning. If your blog is going to be your online business then it is important that you get a clear idea what direction you want to go. Set your goal from the beginning and then run with it!
2. Be Creative But Don’t Seek To Re-Invent the Wheel!
Every one of us has a creative flare in him/her and your blog is definitely a place you will want to show your creativity. It is your platform and you're free to run it any way you want. You've the freedom to post whatever you want. Indeed, this is good. However, instead of being too concerned with your creativity, it will be of great help to you if you’ll rather seek out what is already working and then building on it. Study what successful business strategies the experts are using and never hesitate to be a copycat if need be. Your focus should be on taking what you have learned and modifying it to suit the needs of your business.
3. Get Help through Mentor(s)
Do you really need a mentor to build and run a blog? The answer to that question might be a “yes” or a “no” depending on what you really want. Is your blog going to be a platform for your every day ramblings or you really want to build something worthwhile? What experience do you have about running a business? Do you have any formal training and skills on business management? Your answer to any of these questions will determine if you will want to go for a mentor or not. But the wise route is to seek for help when you deem it necessary.
4. Be Financially Committed
Setting up a WordPress blog could be done without any real financial commitment. But the fact is, if you desire to really build a business with your blog, committing some financial investments into the business is a must. Never be contented with just running your business on freebies. Invest in the right tools. Pay for the knowledge when necessary. One thing you must know is that when you are financially committed your motivation for success will go up and this will help you to put in more effort into building the business of your dream.
5. Remember To Stay Green
The internet business world is an ever changing one. It is a dynamic market. To keep abreast with the latest ideas and trends you need to invest in yourself through trainings. Whenever possible, attend seminars. A single new idea picked up from such trainings could transform your business. Of course, simply acquiring new information and learning new ideas is not enough. To really see these ideas and knowledge come to fruition you will need to put them into action and by taking action you will always be open to more new ideas thereby keeping yourself on the green lane!
So, are you building a business or you are simply building a blog? Share your thoughts on this subject with us in your comments below.
Hey my man,
I indeed like the idea of being financially committed. This is simply because none of us will like to loose our money which is why it is good to always put some money down in any business we wanna explore both online and offline.
When you’re financially committed, even if you wanna give up, if you remember that money you invested, it will motivate you to keep on striving.
A nice post as always Chadrack,
Thanks for sharing and do have a nice week.
BTW: I didn’t hear from you again, hope you’re alright.
@Theodore Nwangene,
Exactly so. The fact is, when you part with money something in you is touched creating an attachment that will become a motivation. I discover that many bloggers who are quick to quit have not really invested anything into their blogs. Most of them were using nothing but free blogging platforms and free resources. Some do this with the mind of testing the waters before plunging in but if not done well that can really become a problem.
Chadrack what a great post mate and you hit the nail on the head. At the start of this year my new approach has been to focus on building a business and not just continue to build a blog. I launched my first product a few weeks ago and so far so good, and I hope to add many more products to the list before the end of 2013. I completely agree about setting out your intentions and objectives from the word go, knowing how you’re going to building a profitable online business from blogging is important. Without direction there is no lead.
All the best mate.
It seems to me that the vast majority of businesses out there just set up a blog because they hear it’s a good thing to do – but without really knowing how or why.
They then sink a lot of time and money into creating a blog that (i) few people ever read or (ii) doesn’t have any clear purpose.
It’s perhaps no surprise that many abandon it after a while.
In fairness, the penny often doesn’t drop about blogging until you’ve been doing it for some time. But that usually happens when you stop and ask yourself how blogging works and what you want to get out of your own blog.
Hi Chadrack ,
great post,
really helpful for new bloggers like me, but it will be better to to mention the regular updates for a blog or website.. and social media network interaction will definetly brings us the traffic to our blog or website
HI Chadrack,
Great post!
You have surely touched the core issue for sure. When I launched the blog, I had a goal of creating a online tutorial website and one can always see the tutorials on my blog. In between I got a chance to create Infographics and then I started doing that, which I personally like very much, and with your suggestions in one of the comment, I booked the domain cartoonblogger.com. It happened just for the sake of fun, I never went through the deep thinking.But I know that I have to be back on tutorials because ultimately it will be the tutorials which will bring in the money for me.
Thanks for sharing.
Sapna
Hey Chadrack: Great post providing more insight and direction as to what are blogs are supposed to accomplish and keeping your eye on your goals. thanks for the refocus!
Hi Chadrack
Hi Patricia, I mean Chadrack! What a good question – I agree that people think that by just blogging every day they will become successful in business but that is often just not the case. Okay you’ve got to be “good” at blogging especially with good content and syndication but to achieve “business status” there is so much more to it as you say. So what do you do? – work with a mentor who relates to you – “they don’t grow on trees!” Start there and choose the best training courses that suit you – it is when “you fail yourself to success!” that you realise this is the only thing to do! Great blog, Chadrack and thanks. Cheers John Barton
Some businesses focus on selling to other businesses rather than to individuals. Selling products or services to other businesses (sometimes called B2B, for “business to business”) can be lucrative because businesses usually buy in larger quantities than individuals. For example, a soap manufacturer might sell 50 bars of soap to individual customers via its website in a given month, but could sell 500 bars in just one sale to a hotel.
Hi Chadrack,
A great post and I think you make some really important points. I love your image of a building needing solid foundations – I fear a lot of blogs are built on sand.
I agree with all your points and I think financial commitment is crucial – you need to be prepared to invest, at least to some extent. For example, I think it can be worthwhile investing in some really good training – I’d never have managed to get my site of the ground if it hadn’t been for a paid training course I attended. You also need to choose your mentors wisely and make sure you copy ‘success’.
Your last point about keeping up with new developments is absolutely essential for anyone working online – things are changing all the time and you can’t afford to stand still.
Thanks for sharing these excellent tips,
Sue