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It took me quite some time to get into a business mindset.
If you counted the number of times I’ve mentioned that I’m going to focus on the blog more, you may be able to buy yourself several lattes. Even treat yourself by adding a flavour shot or soy milk or whatever tickles your fantasy.
Not sure if anyone has noticed but I have been focusing on my blog more. I used to only post here and there, once every other week. And look at me now, I’m posting somewhat consistently 2-3x/week. While this may be normal for the majority of bloggers, it’s a huge feat for me. Before I felt I was actually running out of ideas and now that I’ve changed careers and am in a better place overall, I feel like I have too many ideas. My goal is try to post something at least once a week, which can still be tough. Being creative on a consistent basis isn’t easy.
I’ve somehow managed to turn myself into a lean, mean idea machine.
A huge part of it had to do with getting a professional design for my site and a logo. Now that I have a logo, I feel as if the blog is more official. It’s become a business.
Rather than just saying I’ll become more serious about the blog, I felt I had to get into that specific mindset in that if you want to monetize your blog more and be given more opportunities, you need to treat your blog like a business. I felt my previous job with the government was preventing me in doing so- it really drained me. Oh, did I mention I would go teach my class afterwards? I have been called crazy and insane several times.
The fact that I had worked for the government prior to getting my current job was the main reason why I chose to remain anonymous. Although I had never mentioned the organization by name or exactly what I did, I still felt I would be putting myself at risk if they did know. I had read the social media policy several times and knew that I wasn’t breaking any rules because I never said anything about the organization on my blog or social media accounts, but still. By being anonymous, I was being extra cautious.
Now that I’m in a different line of work and in a much, much better work environment, I feel revitalized. Not only am I much happier, but I feel I have more energy and I have been putting that energy into the blog. Exciting opportunities are slowly starting to trickle in. I have been reaching out to brands and organizations and pitching my blog to them and the response has been nothing but positive thus far.
I’ve organized my to-do list for the blog and broke it down into several lists in Trello. The lists are pretty long, but it’s worked out well for me. It’s really satisfying when you’re able to move the card from “To started” to “In Progress” to “Done”.
I have business cards. And you can check them out on my Instagram account. While you’re at it, follow me and it’ll encourage me to work on my photography skills and post more interesting pictures. I used my site logo on my business cards. Just like the logo, having business cards makes it seem more official.
I revamped my media kit to include the logo and a picture of myself. I’m tracking my stats on a monthly basis. I have a whole bunch of ideas for the brand. I’m way more active on social media. I think I’m more social on social media than in real life.
I feel more confident telling people about my blog. I’m excited, (but still a bit shy) to tell people about it. Someone got excited by the business card alone, which I thought was awesome. All those things I should have been doing right from the start and that everyone is already doing (and have been doing for quite some time) I’ve only recently started.
Sometimes I feel like I need to make up for lost time. The funny thing is, all the time and effort I had been putting into furthering my career with the government seemed like it was going to pay off, but it actually got me nowhere. It got my name out there, but that’s about it. It made no difference if I did the bare minimum or if I went above and beyond to seek opportunities. On the other hand, all the time and effort I have been putting into the blog is getting me somewhere. I’m seeing actual results. When it comes to blogging, there is a difference between putting in the bare minimum and going above and beyond.
I used to think I sucked at sales and I was okay with that. Now I’m beginning to think I have a knack for business development and strategic partnerships. Oooh. I like the sound of those words. See, I just made it sound official again. Rather than saying my blog is a side-hustle, I almost feel I can say it’s a side-business.
Almost.
UPDATE: Now that I provide coaching services, I do feel like I have a side-business. If you feel you could use some help getting into that mindset, get in touch with me.
Are you treating your blog like a business? Why or why not? At what moment did you decide to treat your blog like a business?
I am kind of like you I guess. I started doing it just to help out my family and friends with financial common sense stuff, but then decided it would be awesome to be able to help out even more people. I probably need to post more. I just started a few months ago so I’m trying to figure things out.
That’s good! I’ve been blogging for over 3.5 years and I’m still figuring a lot of thing out. The great thing about blogs is that they have such a huge potential to reach so many people all over the world. I love all the comments people have written and the stories they have shared over the years.
Good for you! Mindset is huge, but action speaks even louder!
I’m somewhere in between business and hobby, and have been stuck here for a while. I too have been longing for a site redesign (a new logo/header the most!) and keep thinking that not being able to afford that is what’s holding me back, but who knows? I’m sure I’d make excuses even with a new look.
An online friend of mine is creating her first blogging course, and has asked me to be a tester once it’s “done”. I’m really hoping that this will give me the kick in the butt I so desperately need.
That’s awesome. Maybe you can ever be his/her affiliate to generate more online income. I could be wrong, but I felt there weren’t that many blogging courses when I first started. There were a lot of helpful posts about how to start a blog, but I don’t ever recall there being e-courses.
Great minds think alike! Great to see your mindset– it’ll take you far!
Thanks! I sure hope so!
Oh my god, there’s a theme going around today lol. I swear I keep happening onto these posts about taking blogging seriously for business, and I’ve literally just been posting about that myself, and taking mine more seriously. It’s really cool though, I’m glad to be finding so many bloggers that are talking about this. Your blog looks awesome btw. And after taking a look around I really like your blogging style and everything, so you got a new subscriber 😀 and maybe we could connect in the blogsphere in the future, I think we have similar interests/goals. Good luck with everything!
I am so glad you found me! Just out of curiosity, how did you find me? 🙂 Thanks for the compliments. I had a really talented web designer/developer working with me to create the look. I am also glad you like my writing style and yes, would love to connect. I love meeting other females in tech, especially techies in training, like myself! 🙂
Sorry for the delay in reply. I don’t remember exactly where it was but I believe I saw one of your comments on another blog and hopped over from there. Basically I stumbled in from somewhere in the internet-verse lol.