Turn your blog into a commercial success in 5 Steps

Majority of bloggers blog to share their passion. It was the same for me, my blog was a hobby post my addiction to twitter as I wanted a platform to express my opinions and my style gyaan in more than 140 characters.  Today blogging is like a dream part time job for me. I get to write about topics I deeply love and I decide when I write and when I take off. The money isnt big but when you love doing it this much it doesnt really matter.

Today blogging is a full fledged career and you can easily earn a living from it but ofcourse like every other commercial business you need to invest money and time on your blog for it to become a commercial success . In addition to that you also need a strong network and build trust and authenticity with your readers.

I have been working on blingsparkle blog where we focus mainly on creating content we are passionate about and today in this post what it takes to start earning from a blog.

5 steps to turn your blog into a commercial success

#1 Create High quality Content

Content is the king and it will always remain the king. Original and creative content is the main ingredient of a successful blog so concentrate on creating unique content which will bring in organic readers.

#2 Build a strong network

Writing good content is not enough, you need to find an audience for it. Numbers do matter and it matters even more when you are aiming for commercial success. Start off by interacting with other bloggers in your niche, commenting on their posts and building your facebook fan base.

Ways to build strong and valuable network

~If you are new to the blogging world you can start off by signing up with blogger networks like indiblogger 

~Host a contest to bring in readers . If your blog is new you will need to sponsor the giveaway yourself or you can ask a brand to sponsor it for you.

~Leave meaningful comments on blogs with a similar niche

~Use the social media to build relationships with fellow bloggers. 

#3 SEO matters

I wasted 2 years of my blogging life by not paying proper attention to search engine optimization. I thought with good high quality content traffic will follow but it never happened. Knowing the basics of SEO is very important if you want to start earning from your blog because search engines bring in the majority of traffic and making content easy for them to find and read is the best business strategy you can have

How to optimize your blog for search engines
~Write unique quality content and google will definitely notice. Dont compromise on content ever
~ Do simple keyword research before writing a post. Use free tools like Google Adwords’ Keyword Tool to find out how many people are searching about the topic you are going to write on and what combination of words are they searching for.
~ Write a catchy title
~ Optimize your post URL using the custom url tab in blogger side bar

#4 Invest in a blog template

The template of your blog is important to make a good first impression on both readers and brands. If you dont take the design of your blog seriously then PRs or brands may also not take you seriously! You dont need to hire a professional to design the look of your blog just buy a clean and a simple theme with readable font .

What to look for in a blog template
~Readable font size
~Space to add  personal touch with a customized header
~ Make sure the template is mobile and tablet friendly
~ Ease of navigation

#5 Experiment with different earning methods

If you want commercial success you need to keep exploring different stream of revenue. Do not stick to tried and tested basics like adsense , keep trying out new methids because you never which revenue model may work better for you. So try affiliates, youtube video ads, banner ads and even selling your own service or product .

Turning your blog into a commercial success means you need to treat it like a business and have clear goals and proper strategy. In addition to this dont be afraid to invest a little and with hard work results will follow.

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Introducing Affimity - The interest based Social Media Network

I am a social media maverick with a deep passion for blogging. As a blogger I am always in quest of ways to find readers who would be interested in the content I post and when I got a chance to check out affimity I realized it was tailor made for bloggers like me.

Affimity isnt just a home to bloggers , it is equally useful to readers too as it is actually a social network website dedicated to connect you with people with the same interests as yours. Isn't this concept just SO thrilling?! Signing up on this website was like opening the door to an exciting land where you had always dreamed to be. 

In these busy times of everyday madness, I find myself yearning for a break... for a getaway. ..and NO. My idea of a getaway is not a holiday in a secluded beach or a trip to the Himalayas.. Instead, I like connecting with people online, reading blogs, hunting for great content and devouring it all - That is what makes me happy.

Facebook is great for connecting with friends, but one can hardly find people with the same interests as yours there. There are a lot of groups dedicated with an intention to connect you with similar minded people but again quality content and real interaction is absent. Then we have twitter, the micro-blogging site which again is of no use for a blogger  especially becuas econtent is limited to 140 characters and your posts get drowned in a sea of tweets and clutter.

Exploring Affimity

I have been using affimity for a week now and I found it super awesome. The first thing it asks you is your area of interests and once you have chosen them, they connect you with people and content from all over the world with the same interests. You dont have to go hunting for good content of your interest, it just comes walking to you right on your Affimity home page. 

Connecting on Affimity

It is very easy to create your own profile and then you can get started with befriending bloggers. You can also follow channels of your interest to get  relevant content on your home page. You can friend as many people as you want to and unfriend them at any hour too.

It's like discovering a new world which shares the same passion as you, connecting with it, learning from it and doing just what you love to do!

The interface of both the Affimity website and the app are neat and quite user friendly. Affimity is not just about promoting your blog/website, not at all!! It's more about connecting with people with the same passion as yours and this is what makes this social networking platform so unique!

I know there are already a lot of social media platforms out there and you must be wondering why I need to join a new one. Updating a bunch of the existing social networking sites like Linked In, Google+ and twitter is already time consuming. I thought the same until one fine day I gave affimity a shot. It has been just a few days since I joined this platform but I have already got addicted. I have already connected to a lot of new people who share the same interests as me, some of which have already turned into my lovely readers. 

I am a blogger and I have tried every trick and networking site out there to find new readers and Affimity has helped me in this goal in the simplest and effective possible way. 

*I have used reddit and following their guidelines becomes a big pain and the upvote are fine but the downvotes drive me crazy.

* On twitter there is too much going on and everything I post gets dumped deep down. I myself follow a whopping 33000 odd people and I am easily missing 99 of content from people I follow.

*With instagram the problem is their non clickable links in posts. Only photo content allowed which is a bummer. 

* LinkedIn i feel isnt a place for fashion bloggers, it more like a professional network where fashion is an alien concept

*There are thousands of communities with lakhs of members on Google Plus but barely anyone is active. It is like teaching in a crowded clasroom where every student is sleeping.

* Bloglovin is more like a reader  and not a social network.

* I couldnt figure out head or tail of tribber. So, lets not even go there
* Facebook groups are a tricky game. There are some good ones but they are heavily moderated and only admins get to post. On groups where you actually get to post there is loads of spam. I have had to wade through a cluttered mess of irrelevant affliate links, web developers and small sellers in many groups.

Why Affimity?

~  Affimity allows you to post Text, Image, Video or just a question
~ Get connected to bloggers who share the same interests

~ Receive valuable feedback for your work

~ Increase the level of engagement on your blog

~ Use on web or on your phone. Affimity has apps for iphone and Android users 

~ Easy signup using facebook account or just your email

~ Useful for brands to understand target audience

So all you bloggers, it doesnt matter if you are a newbie or established, Affimity is The network for you , Join connect and share. 

Follow me on Affimity here

Stay connected

~KJ

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Top tips to use Instagram to promote your blog

You get a hang of a social networking site and a new one emerges promising to be the next big thing. For me social networking started when I was in school. I used orkut then shifted to facebook and twitter. Twitter is probably the best thing that happened to me and I thought twitter was enough to keep me interested for the rest of my life. I was wrong instagram came crashing in and like most other bloggers out there I decided to give it a try and boy did I like it. I actually loved it!

 Few interesting facts about Instagram

• Instagram is app only, you cant do much with its web version
• Instagram has over 400 million monthly users which is more than that of twitter
• More than 30 billion photos have been shared on instagram
• In 2012 Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion
• #NoFilter is the most popular hashtag on insta
• Instagram is a networking site for youth. Majority of users are under 30 years of age and if your targetted blog readers are above this age group you cant get much out of here
• Fashion, food, travel and lifestyle blogs are best promoted on insta

I have been using instagram (follow me here) for more than 2 years now and I have used in more ways than one. To promote my blog, to play some contests, to shop beauty, to stalk celebrities and to update to the world about my life in pictures. 

Here I bring to you some valuable tips to get most out of the photo based networking site.

Get a separate instagram account for your blog

Unless you are a personal blogger you should definitely consider having a separate instagram account for your blog. Choose your username and profile photo carefully and dont change it. This makes it recognizable among your followers

Post High quality images

Instagram is all about photos so make sure you post photos which are attractive and of good quality making users actually hit the follow button. Post creative images of upcoming reviews, what products just arrived, behind the scenes story or what you shopped. You can also Publish photos from your latest blogposts and tell your followers a new post is u on blog. 

Make hashtags your best friend

Twitter introduced the whole hashtag trend but it has equal importance even in instagram. You posts can get lost in a sea of images but intelligent hashtagging means you post will still be discovered by many. I always include 3-6 relevant and popular hashtags on my instagram posts, you can add more but make sure you dont clutter your post too much. I include some very popular tags like #beauty or #Fashion, some tags specific to my post like #flipkartshopping and then a unique one like #velvetbytes or #blingsparkle.

Post photos with text overlay

If you really want to say something to your followers say it with creative text overlay photos. You can post your blog genre related quotes or announce giveaways beautifully this way. To make this happen you can use simple apps on mobile like piclab

Write a nice quirky bio

A nice short bio makes your potential subscribers follow you in an instant. You can include your email Id also here to help brands or reader contact you easily. Unlike your profile photo and username, changes in bio are okay, so go ahead change it everytime you have a giveaway or have something specific to say

Link to your website

Instagram doesnt allow clickable link except  in the bio, use this option to drive traffic to your website. You can change this link everytime you have a new post up like we do at Blingsparkle. After a post is published, visit your blog from mobile phone, download a photo from the latest blog post on your mobile and upload the same photo on instagram, telling all a new post is up and a clickable link is in bio. 

Use the Geo Tag feature

Instagram has a geo tag feature which lets you add  location to your photos. Use this feature when you post photos live from blogger events or your vacations.

Link instagram to facebook and twitter

Instagram ofers an option to link your other social profiles which makes it easy to post a photo on all three platforms. This helps save a lot of time and I suggest all bloggers link their facebook and twitter to instagram

Connect with Brands you love

Almost all brands have an instagram page these days and it is always good to connect with brands you love. Follow them, like their photos and leave comments. When you post photos which feature products from brands you love tag them in it. Doing this also increases your chances of brands noticing you and this can result in future collaborations.

Do you have more tips on using instagram for bloggers? Share with me.

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