Are you a new blogger or new influencer? Here are a few tips
to help you get started in 2020.
Last week, I received this question:
“What advice do you have for those who want to start
blogging?”
Instagram story submitted by: @janessaannetolman
This is one of the most common questions I get on Instagram so today I wanted to share my tips for new bloggers and new influencers starting out this year.
Here 7 tips for new bloggers and influencers in 2020:
1. Define your purpose
If you’re just starting out or have recently started a new blog or new Instagram, I would recommend taking the time to define why you’re starting you’re platform.
Are you passionate about cooking healthy meals at home on a budget?
Are you wanting to share your financial expertise with other women?
Are you excited to share what drug store make up products are the best?
If your purpose is just to make money off blogging or
Instagram, I would recommend rethinking whether or not you should start
building a social media presence. Yes having an established audience on
Instagram and a blog does give you the opportunity to earn money. However,
there are much faster ways to earn side hustle money (like walking dogs,
flipping stuff on Ebay, etc.)
My very first tip for new bloggers is to write down a mission statement.
You can always update your mission statement but writing it down online or on paper will help you think through your purpose.
2. Create a clear point of view
Defining your purpose will help you create a clear point of
view. For example, if you’re passionate about beauty, the content you create
will be about beauty. You could create photos, videos, and words around your
favorite eye palettes or new liquid foundations you tried. You could also write
about your must have beauty products you always travel with. Or even what lipsticks
to save vs. splurge on.
If you’re creating content around beauty, you aren’t creating and sharing content around food or cars (unless you intentionally want that a part of your brand). Creating a clear point of view helps your audience understand what type of content they can expect from you. It also helps your audience understand what type of content they can go to you for.
3. Choose a channel that works with your communication style
I recently learned this from Gary Vaynerchuck’s podcast. He
advocates choosing a channel (blog, YouTube, Twitter, etc.) that works for your
communication style. I absolutely loved how he pointed this out because this is
what I did when I started my blog. I love writing so I created a blog.
- If you’re comfortable taking photos, maybe you
should start an Instagram. - If you love writing, you should start a blog.
- If you’re not comfortable speaking in front of a
camera but want to be conversational with your audience, I would recommend
starting a podcast. - If you’re comfortable speaking on camera, start
a YouTube channel.
I highly recommend thinking about what sounds most fun to
you and what your strengths are. Creating content can be challenging. If you
choose a medium that DOESN’T fit your communication style, it’s going to be difficult
to show up every day.
4. Put your fears aside, have courage
It can be scary to take photos out in public. It can be
scary to speak on camera. It can be scary to share your thoughts and feelings
out online. I get it, it can really be scary especially when you’re first
starting out.
But if you truly feel called to start something new, like a
new blog or Instagram account, you have to put those fears aside and take that
leap of faith. There’s over 7 billion people in the world. There will be people
who don’t like you and people who do like you. But it doesn’t matter if they
like you or they don’t like you, what matters is that what you’re doing is
bringing you joy.
If playing with make-up and sharing your thoughts about products online brings you joy, you have to go for it! If cooking healthy budget-friendly meals brings you joy, then do it! If finding the most Instagrammable places in every city you visit brings you joy, then do it!
5. Define your ideas of success
I highly recommend taking the time to define what your idea
of success is. My idea of success: if I help another woman out there to either
create content or explore a new place, I consider it a success.
Some people’s ideas of success is their number of followers.
Others people’s ideas of success is the number of places they visited and
blogged about. You have to remember that “success” is subjective. Everyone’s
goals are different, which means everyone defines success differently.
6. Create content with value
If you are leaping into the influencer world, you are
leaping into the world of content. You not only have to create content, but you
also have to bring people value.
In 2020, there’s millions of photos of cups of coffee, pretty buildings, shoes, and more. People are used to seeing these types of content. If you want to build an audience, you have to add value. You can add value by either entertaining or educating them.
7. Leave perfectionism behind, embrace learning
If you’re just starting your blog or new Instagram, chances
are you’re doing a lot of things for the first time. You’re probably figuring
out how to take photos and videos. You’re probably figuring out how to write a
caption or a tweet.
When I started my blog in 2014, I wasn’t a model, photographer,
or a journalist. I was a college student with a friend who picked up car
photography. I didn’t know how to pose in front of the camera or even the
format of writing a blog post. All of those things I learned over time. I
learned that I could listen to podcast, read books about building online
influence, and ask other bloggers in my community for help.
You have to be patient with yourself as you learn a new world and leave perfectionism behind. Nothing will ever be perfect – I’m serious. What’s most important is you create your content, publish it, see how your audience responds, and learn from that experience.
What are your tips for new bloggers and influencers?
If you’re looking for more tips for new bloggers and influencers, you can also check out:
10 Everyday Tips To Grow Your Instagram Following
Branding Through Instagram Part 1: Defining Your Brand
Branding Through Instagram Part 2: 7 Tips to Help You
Determine Your Instagram Aesthetic
Thank you for reading! I hope sharing these tips for new bloggers was helpful!
Love,
Emma
Photos: Holly Phan
SO happy that I have discovered your blog!! I love it so much.
Such a great post Emma and I was nodding my head the entire time in agreement with what you said. Number 4 really resonated with me and I am happy for taking the leap of faith. Blogging keeps me fulfilled and I would have never known that if I didn’t just jump in.
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Thank you so much for sharing these great tips for new bloggers! Definitely agree – finding a niche and things you’re passionate about can really help to narrow down the purpose of the side hustle 🙂
XO, Elizabeth T.
BLOG | YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM
Thank you so much for this post! It was such a delight to read and so informative as well. As someone who recently entered the blogging world, I’ve made jot notes of the points you listed above to help me stay more conscious of the content I post and why. Number 7 was the reason why it took me years to start when I knew I always wanted to one day create a blog. I’m so glad I took the leap of faith and created a site. It wasn’t even as daunting and scary as I made it out to be. This entire process of learning about wordpress, template customization, widgets, plugins, etc has been so much fun!
Hi Emma, excellent list. By the way, you do a great job w/photography.
OK, so your question. Well, my biggest tip for new bloggers is to be consistent. If someone commits to starting a blog, it’s so important to show up regularly and set expectations for your readers. So if you can commit to 1 post a week, then do that, and not 5 posts a week for 2 weeks, then burn out and disappear for 3 months. Ya know what I mean? To build an audience, a new blogger needs to put in consistent work. 😉