How many of you have a full time job and trying to grow your blog and home business?
How many of you have a full time-job, raising a family and putting effort to grow your blog and business all at the same time?
Quite challenging isn’t it?
I don’t have a family, but I do have a full-time job and many times I’m on a time crunch.
I can definitely relate to all of you who are pressed for time.
But now we all have the privilege to gain the wisdom from Tom southern who was in a similar predicament.
He will be sharing some great strategies on how we can grow a blog while we work our full time jobs.
So without further adieu, Take it away Tom!
Does this sound familiar?
You started your blog to create an income for yourself, maybe a full independent income, so you can leave your job. Or maybe you wanted to keep your job and want a blog to supplement your income.
You have every intention of making it work.
But, you work hard, your hours are long and, when you’re not working, you’ve got other committments demanding your time. No matter how good your intentions your blog is getting left behind, isn’t it?
So, you want to know – How do you grow a successful blog while working full-time?
You need to have a clear result to aim for and equally, clear (and simple to follow) steps for achieving that result.
It’s not about getting tough with yourself, or making sacrifices. It’s about making what you need to do to grow your blog part-time, work. And work simply, effectively and quickly.
You need it to be simple because you want to be able to spend less time trying to figure out what, where, why and who (and how), and more time on actually doing what works.
You need it to be effective because you want results, obviously.
You need it to be as quick as possible because results are a big motivator. When you see your goals actually being achieved, you get spurred on to do more. You feel like the work and the time you put in is paying off. And this motivates you more.
Small wins keep you going. Focus on the small wins because they will make you succeed.
You also need to keep in mind these 9 important facts if you want to be successful at growing your blog part-time…
9 Facts To Bear In Mind For Successful Part-Time Blogging
1. Accept that it takes longer than people say it does.
This is true. You’ll find that you won’t really start making progress for 3 months or more. But, follow these steps and you’ll begin to see results happening for you within 5 to 6 weeks.
2. You don’t need to worry about Facebook (or any social media) in a big way.
Unless your blog is for a local business and your goal is to use Facebook to bring in customers via coupons and so on, focus what limited time you have instead on growing your blog.
If you want the best part-time social media growth strategy for your blog, then use Twitter as your main social media platform. It is vital for finding bloggers to network with.
3. Guest Posting is a neccessity but it takes work.
Guest posting is often promoted as a good way to get yourself known and to grow an audience for your blog. It is. But it’s not as easy or as simple as it’s often portrayed.
To be successful at it (and to get a return on investment from it) you need to create a clear, step-by-step plan.
4. Connect with people who’re already on their way up/doing what you want to do.
This is essential. Because as they rise through the ranks of the blogging influencer hierachy, they’ll carry you along with them – but only if you’ve taken time to create good and genuine relationships with them.
5. Controversial, but true: Don’t sweat SEO.
Seo (search engine optimisation) is all about getting links into your blog which bring traffic. The more links you have, the more likely you are to rise to the top of search engines and therefore get traffic.
In practice, it takes a long time to get these results. Longer than the three months you have.
“If you’re starting out and you have no pre-existing following, don’t wait until “people find your content on their own” or until “SEO kicks in.” The world doesn’t work that way.” – Peep Laja, ConversionXL.com
In reality SEO is only a very small part of what drives traffic to your blog. What brings in the traffic are links from other bloggers – the big names and those rising stars.
If you make the right connections with them, they’ll start linking or sharing your posts when you start writing them.
Your best SEO strategy as a part-time blogger is to get your URLs optimised. For example, our blog uses these URLs…
I post one blog post a month currently. I get my posts shared by popular bloggers and I’m growing my list with targeted members. When I was working full-time and blogging in my spare time, I didn’t post anything on my blog. Instead, I wrote guest posts and started my email list.
Targetted readers are readers what you want to attract. These are people most likely going to enjoy reading and following you. For example, my blog is targetted at bloggers who have started blogs that have failed, (or whose blogs are failing). They’ve relied on keywords and not got the traffic they expected. Or they’ve spent time sharing their content on social media but their links have never been clicked.
They want to know what strategies really work for success online and they want to learn what I’ve got to teach them.
7. Not every piece of advice will suit your goals or your way of doing things.
This is true. You know in your heart if what you’re being told will work is what you want to do. For example, you will read about some tactics for getting traffic that just don’t “feel”, or fit with your preference.
Maybe even some of the ways to grow your blog part-time that you’re reading here don’t appeal to you. That’s okay.
Follow your gut instinct. I always recommend my readers to find influencers, or rising stars, who are succeeding by doing things in ways that resonate with them. This is important because you’ll be learning from people who do things in ways you feel good about following.
Success comes from being genuine in what you’re doing. Not just for your readers. But for your own peace of mind too.
8. FIVE things to have on your blog now – everything else comes later (when the traffic is coming frequently)
There are always people who tell you what you need to have on your blog if you hope to ever get traffic and make it online.
In my experience, as a part-time blogger, your blog needs only FIVE things to start it off on the right foot:
Opt-in page/Forms– to collect email addresses from the start. Very important if you want to build a list.
Blog header – to tell people your blog’s name and your tagline (what they’ll get from you).
“About Me” page – to tell people what they can expect from you and a little bit about your story of why you started your blog, who you are and what they can expect from reading your blog.
Check out these examples of great “About Me” pages here DICC About Page, Adrienne Smith’s About Me Page. (If you notice they’re not really about the bloggers themselves, more about what you’ll get by reading their blogs.).
Social sharing buttons – So people can share your content if, or when, you’ve created some. SumoMe [http://sumome.com/] is a free social sharing tool with other great features too. I use SumoMe for my social sharing buttons.
Reasonable looking theme – You don’t need to go to town and spend a lot of money on your theme.
Your goal should be to have a blog that looks a little different in some way from all the other blogs. For example, my blog looks a bit “pop-ey” because I use bright colours for the header and the images.
9. The days of quick success belong to the early days of blogging and websites.
According to one source [http://www.statista.com/statistics/278527/number-of-blogs-worldwide/], in 2011 there were 173 million blogs. Four years later, there are probably a few million more. About 90% of them probably fail within 3 months of launching because success online is not easy. There is no such thing as overnight success.
Overnight success comes from hard work in the back room. Or in that little space under the stairs. Or even at your kitchen table.
You need to spend time getting to know what you want – and how you’ll know when you’ve got it.
The 7 tips for growing a blog while working full-time
If you want to start a blog and turn it into a thriving income source, then you need to get serious.
You need a plan. Simple and productive. And it doesn’t start with writing content.
In fact, writing content for your blog should be the least thing you do. That’s right. Content is no longer King [http://socialtriggers.com/content-is-king-myth/] .
If your time is limited, you need to concentrate on doing what brings in the most for the little time you have.
You have to be willing to work on your evenings and weekends and learn to turn off the television.
Blogging part-time: It can be done. At the very least, you need to put in 1 hour a day, 5 to 7 days a week. Here’s how…
1. Write in batches
– Set time aside for writing content and write a few posts at a time if you can.
You can then publish them one after the other. If you use a WordPress.org blog then you can even schedule your posts “publish” at dates and times in advance across the next few weeks and so on.
2. Start your email list
– Even if you think you’ve got nothing to say or to send them, start it. If you follow my suggestions coming up, you’ll start seeing subscribers trickle in and that’s a good thing.
What do you send them? Well, you can send them your content (see #5) and links to other people’s content you want to recommend to them … “Hey! I just read this and thought you’d like it too. Here’s a link …. Oh and by the way, mention I told you about it when you’re there. Thanks.” Something like that.
3. Realise when good is good enough.
Get your blog theme to as good as it’s going to be – you can tweek it later when things are taking off.
4. Realise that you have to space out tasks.
You can’t read blogs, tweet and create content at the same time. You need to schedule time for each task. Right now, as a part-time blogger, reading and tweeting should take around 65 to 70% of your blogging time.
The more you read and see what’s popular with your potential readers on other blogs, the more ideas you’ll get for writing popular content on your blog.
5. 80/20 Rules.
Most people have blogging round the wrong way and this costs them dear. They spend their time writing content and sharing it on social media with little or no response.
If you’ve only got a few hours a week to spend on your blog, you can’t afford to get it wrong.
Instead, you should spend only 20% of your time on content and 80% building relationships and getting known by…
Leaving thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs that add something to the conversation that’s going on there.
6. Don’t waste time trying to sell a product or service yet.
This may sound strange advice. But to make money successfully online you need to get readers first.
When you’ve got readers make them feel at home. If and when they feel welcome, they’ll tell you what they want to buy.
How?
They’ll start asking you questions. These questions will give you clues for what products or what service they will be willing to buy.
7. Keep going, no matter how little time you have.
Some days you’ll have only 30 minutes to focus on your blog. Maybe not even in one go. It’s tempting to say to yourself that you’ll leave planning your next blog post till tomorrow, or you’ll tweet a message to a blogger you want to connect with tomorrow.
It’s tempting, yes – but don’t do it. Because “tomorrow” will become your motto and your blog will never grow.
What I did when working full-time, sometimes shift work that tired me out. I would use commute time to make notes for a blog post. Or I would read other people’s content. Because I knew that if I stopped for one day, that one day would spread into two days, three… four…10… and before long, my blog would become a “Wish I’d kept on with my blog. It would have been good.” regret.
Don’t let this happen to you.
Keep going. Keep doing something that grows your blog.
Are you ready to start growing your blog part-time?
Yes, it’s going to take time. If you’re not prepared to make changes then growing a blog to a place where it actually works is going to be frustrating.
But it doesn’t have to be. You just need to prioritise. Do what works. Concentrate your time and efforts on those tasks. And you’ll make it.
Your blog’s future is waiting for you?
Are you ready?
Leave a comment below to say how you’ll use these 7 tips to grow your blog part-time…
Awesome article!
Even as an SEO consultant, I have to agree that SEO shouldn’t be your top priority right off the bat. Only black-hat SEO works like that, and it never goes well long term. If you’re building a legitimate business around a blog, black hat won’t get you anywhere.
I also really liked the point about being consistent, since ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ can easily turn to ‘I’ll do it this weekend’ and on, and on, and on. That’s something I definitely need to get better at. As much as I love writing, I love procrastinating more .
Keep up the great work on your blog!
Hey Jonathan,
I have done some black-hat SEO a few years ago when it was much more accepted, but even back then when Google was going through major changes, it didn’t even help. So I kept my distance since then.
Being consistent is very important, but I’m starting to see this as being consistent in staying in front of your audience whether it be a blog post from you, emailing your email list about a webinar, being included in an expert roundup post, or doing a guest post on another blog.
Doing it this way can be much more beneficial since you’re giving your audience value from other resources as well as getting “3rd Party Validation” from other bloggers.
Hey Ovais,
I sure bet a lot of people will be able to relate to this post. Low and behold I see that Tom is over here guest posting as well, great choice.
Well Tom, I can’t relate to this one since I don’t work full-time offline but I will have to tell you that if I did I’m not sure I would be online. I don’t have a family either but I remember coming home every single day just worn out and who the heck wants to dive back into working all the way up until maybe the wee hours of every single morning.
I never really saw myself as an entrepreneur but here I am doing the online thing and running my own business now. I would never trade this for anything that’s for sure. I do know that it’s the best way in my opinion to build something secure for yourself and have the type of lifestyle that people only dream of.
Everything that you shared here though is so very true. It took me years to get to where I am so people have to be realistic. It’s going to take time and if you’re not able to do this full-time then that means the time you do have to devote to your business is probably going to be shorter and take you longer.
I think it depends on the business model actually but from all the people I’ve helped over the years what I teach works. I think everyone has to find what they enjoy doing the most though and getting in front of their target audience. Like for me it was never guest posting although people were telling me back then it was the only way. I proved them all wrong and showed them a different way and one that I feel will sustain us till the end of time.
Your suggestions are all great and I would hope that anyone who is online whether they are part-time or full-time need to give it their all and know that this does work if you work it. It’s going to take time but it’s time well spent.
Great post guys and I hope you both have a wonderful rest of your week. I’m off to share this one with my friends now.
Hey Adrienne,
When Tom came to me to let me know his idea for a guest post I got excited because it was right up my alley! This is my main message I want to get across.
Building your own business and making your own money is definitely a better way of living for sure. You have more control of your life from the money you make to taking those breaks whenever you want. You don’t have to get the approval of someone else like you would at a job.
In most cases it does takes a long time to even get where you are Adrienne. And if you’re working full-time, then yes, it’s going to take you a longer time than those that aren’t working full-time at all. But once you establish yourself, it would be worth the time you put in.
I do agree that you want to find something that you enjoy doing to make it work best for you. Guest posting is just one option that you can utilize to grow your business, but there are a variety of different ways you can incorporate into your marketing that will keep you progressing in your business and you definitely have proven that Adrienne.
I’m glad that you like the post! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Hi Adrienne,
It’s so good to have you stop by and take time to contribute such a thoughtful and useful comment, thank-you.
Yes, you’re right, it can be difficult working full-time and feeling worn out and unable to face doing more work, when all you want to do is have a break.
I suppose it’s how much you can fit in and I’m a big believer in once you start, however small, you can find things often juggle around a little to help you fit it in. I remember though getting home and just wanting to switch-off. But, often after a quick shower, bite to eat, I’d be able to do some work towards my blog, even if it was just an outline.
What your example proves is that one size doesn’t fit all. Often, you need to find your own way of doing things.
Luckily, technology is making blogging more versitile and people can do a quick thought-to-camera via their phone and upload it for people to listen and watch. Writing content isn’t the only way to blog – which is good news!
Thanks Adrienne, you always go the extra mile with your comments and this one’s no exception.
-Tom
Hi Tom,
This is some of the most practical, insightful advice I’ve read in a long time!
I love the that you talked about “small wins!” Blogging is a process, it’s not an event. As such the home runs rarely come until we perfect our swings. That means we have to learn how to do this.
I’m writing a new eBook right titled “The 7 Invincible Laws of Business Blogging Success” and one of the very things I remind them of is that there is no such thing as an overnight success.
And if there is; it isn’t real because that person has learned from other experiences and it likely is not their first go.
The other thing I couldn’t agree with you more on is the issue of SEO. Truth be told, SEO is in major transition and as an artificial intelligent computer it’s learning more an more how to match intent, value and insights with what searchers are wanting.
We are much better off proactively building our communities that engage, refer traffic and help one another. Blogging is not a one way tool so we have to stop thinking of it as one where I tell you something and you take it. It’s more and more of a two way tool that allows for expression of thought for both the reader and the writer… and where ultimately we hope readers become content engagers through commenting.
I suppose I could go on and on, lol….
Fantastic post Tom. I appreciate your insights and I certainly got great value from your article even though I have been a full-time entrepreneur for over ten years.
Have a great week!
Hey Don,
Those small wins, if consistent, turn into big wins. Yes, blogging is a process and not an event, which makes it a step by step process, so while you’re on this journey you might as well enjoy it.
A lot of people get this idea that there are overnight successes, which I’ve believed far a long time that it’s a fib. There was definitely a lot of hard work behind the facade that is ever so commonly protruded.
The way we implement SEO has changed a lot from just a couple of years ago. Now it’s more about the interest of your audience and what they gain from it. There were much content 3 or 4 years ago that really sucked and this is why a lot of those sites got the “slap” and lost all of that tracking because it just wasn’t helpful information.
You’re right about blogging. It’s more of a way to create reciprocity where all parties can benefit. It’s not just a one way street.
I know you’re passionate about the blogging world and networking Don lol… you can get on a roll with this lol but we all love it.
I’m greatful that Tom chose my blog to guest post on a subject like this!
Thanks for stopping by Don! Have a great day!
Hi Don,
Thanks for saying so, it’s really good to hear you say that.
Everything I’ve included here is from personal experience of my struggle to make blogging work for me and how I finally discovered what really worked and what didn’t. So, I wanted to pass this discovery onto others.
Learning from “small wins” is key. Your ebook sounds like it’s going to promote an excellent message to people.
SEO only really works when you’re successful and the traffic’s rolling in so you can use Google Analytics to check what keywords people are really clicking on. But even this is only a small part of the puzzle.
Nothing drives traffic to your blog more than making connnections. You’re right about that.
Thanks for stopping by, Don, always appreciate hearing from you.
-Tom