Build Up a Blogging Business with @AndyNathan #VCBuzz

Post on by VC Bee

vcbuzz-Build-Up-a-Blogging-Business-AndyNathanTurning your blog into successful business is every blogger’s dream. But how to achieve that?

Today we are talking about just that: Building up your blogging business

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About Andy

.@AndyNathan is a writer and blogging strategist who has worked with hundreds of clients in over 75 different industries improving their blogging and social media.

Connect to Andy on Linkedin

Questions we discussed

Q1 When and why did you become a blogger and how did you decide to turn blogging into business?

I started blogging to promote my social management business in 2010. Over the course of the next few years…  I received numerous requests for me to write content for companies. At first I outsourced it, then discovered I had a knack for it.

Q2 What was your first blogging business success? What did you learn from it?

My first client came at the end of 2010. She was a marketing consultant who needed a social media manager.

I worked with a half dozen of her clients. It was my first real lead and sale directly from my blog.  What did I learn? What I was doing worked. Small steps. I just needed to keep moving forward and keep writing content.

It was more that people just found me online and reached out. I was not initially looking to start a freelance business. Also guest posts were amazing. I did one on jeffbullas.com that brought in $1500 in revenue.

I always owned my own business. Never worked for another company.

Q3 You mention that you did a few mistakes when building your blogging business. Can you list some for us to learn from them? What would you have done differently if you could go back in time?

I don’t think we have enough time to list my mistakes. The first year I barely did any SEO, because I thought it was a waste. Furthermore, I did not have a good conversion process. I definitely was not capturing enough leads from my blog.

Still working on the conversion process. I consistently test that to improve leads and make more mistakes.

I can write on most topics. I have had clients in over 80 different industries.

Hmm! quality content always matters. The tiny rules from tech cos. mean nothing when you write something amazing.

I am constantly seeing how to combine blogging and email marketing. Generating leads from content. For example, wrote an article for Problogger where I created a custom checklist download. Generated 75 email leads. Now on my blog.

I will repurpose it into other forms, but usually do not just republish it. The one exception is LinkedIn. It is a great way to get more traffic to my blog from repurposed posts.

I have a unique personality. my weird sense of humor comes poring out in the articles I write. Most people like it.

I used to raise prices every 6 months. Now I am hitting a barrier for the amount customers pay. My advice keep raising prices until you reach resistance. That way you know you are worth the value of your work.

One final note: I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER raise prices on current customers. It is the benefit they receive of working with me long-term

Q4 What would be your one piece of advice to anyone willing to turn blogging into a business?

Patience is key! It takes time to turn your blog into something valuable.

I generally find that nothing comes as quickly as I want it to, until all the orders come pouring in at once.

It depends on the publication and a host of other factors. Who is the target audience? What are their needs? etc.

What I usually do is take blog posts that no longer have traction and post them with a link to my blog at the end.

Yes! A few years ago I created a format for my writers to use when they write for me. their formatting was atrocious.

Q5 What are your favorite blog marketing tools?

WordPress, VCB, JustRetweet, MyBlogU, & HARO. I like tools that expand my reach, and connect with other influencers.

I still use it, but I do not get as much out of it.

I think they went through some growing pains and it slowed down the traffic. However at the beginning it was awesome!

No kidding! the list grows exponentially every day.

Right now I get more business than traffic. I have been so busy writing for clients that traffic on my own site is down. However, the traffic I do get is mostly from social media, speaking, and emails.

I agree with that sentiment! I had to relearn traffic strategies in 2013. That is why when I write on Problogger or other high end sites it is important.

Our previous blogging chats:

 

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