How To Get Started With Blogging With Eryn Gilson
Curious about starting and succeeding at blogging?
In this episode, I had the opportunity to speak with the amazing Eryn Gilson of 614Mom. Eryn is a full-time blogger who is here to give us some tips on the importance of having a blog and how to make money of off it.
How Eryn Started Her Blog
“I started 614Mom several years ago, and through that found a lot of freedom and flexibility with my time. When I found that, I found the passion for helping others do the same,” she says. So how did she get started on this track? When she became a mother, she had a job that she hated, as I am sure a lot of readers can relate to, and told her husband she couldn’t go back and that they would figure it out. Through her own research and curiosity behind businesses she stumbled into blogging and things quickly escalated from there. Not knowing what SEO, a media kit, or other blogging terms were at the time, she learned as she went and figured it out because she enjoyed it!
BLOGGING FOR BUSINESSES
“I could go on about all the reasons blogging is important for businesses, but let’s start with providing you are a thought leader in your field,” preaches Gilson. Simply by writing content and sharing it with people that already follow you instantly makes you a resource to them. You are immediately making it easy for your followers to gain education, increase your SEO and Google ranking, and more. Blogging and creating content makes it easy to also build your social media. If you are already publishing blog content you should repurpose this for social media or email campaigns to reach different audiences with your messages she suggests.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Blogging can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it is something new to you, but the three tips Gilson suggests when just starting out include:
1. Focus on your goal – is it to build awareness? Is it to increase revenue? Decide this and take it a few steps further.
2. Come up with your strategic messaging once you have your goals narrowed down.
3. Start executing and see what works versus what doesn’t and be open to pivot when they don’t.
STRATEGIC MESSAGING – WHAT?!
I made sure to ask Eryn where to start when it comes to strategic messaging for bloggers and here is what she recommended. She would go back to her goals and figure out what those are first then dive in deeper. If your goal is to just get people to know about you then part of your strategy won’t include advertising or making money, but it will include engagement. Therefore, the strategy needs to include what you are going to post, how often, who your target market is, and where these articles will live. Don’t limit it to your website; you should join Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media outlets (LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter) that make sense and align with your goals and who it is you are trying to market.
SUCCESS
“If you want to know whether or not your blog is successful, I suggest measuring and looking at the growth based on the goals you originally set using tools like Google Analytics,” she says. For instance, your goal might have been to gain 10,000 page views a month. However, after 30 days you saw growth only got to 50%. Do not get discouraged, especially if just starting out because that number is great. Give yourself some time and put in the time to keep building that number up to reach your goal before giving up. If your goal is to gain revenue from ads then you would tackle things differently. Spend more time writing more Instagram stories and cultivate that community and let your brand speak to who you are as a person and the story you create around yourself or your business will start to sell itself to the right people. The outcome here though is the same as building a following, you will get what you put into it. So regardless of your goals, Gilson suggests that you spend time to see the success of your goals and stay focused.
BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN ENOUGH TIME IS ENOUGH TIME?
“I would start out by asking yourself what is reasonable and attainable for you and your business,” says Gilson. She also suggests starting off small. Commit to at least one day a week to get all of your writing out of the way and formatting. Once all of that is completed you can start focusing on scheduling the posts, working with sponsors, or give attention to other parts of your business.
WHAT ELSE ARE WE MISSING?
When it comes to blogging, just like everything else – your homepage, about us page, contact us page, Instagram posts – be sure you have a call to action. “A call to action needs to be on every single thing that you do. And that call to action can change. It can be just a question or having them click somewhere, or sign up for your newsletter. Whatever it is, make it clear and easy to find for your audience,” says Gilson. Basically, imagine they are a drunk lazy person and need to find what you are putting out there quickly.
To end, be sure to know there is no one size fits all when it comes to blogging. Find your voice. Share your content where it makes sense for you and you will eventually start seeing results, especially if you are dedicating time to it.
I hope you enjoyed this episode with Eryn Gilson and learned more about blogging. I know I did because it has helped me with my own blog!
Want to learn more or connect with Eryn on her blogging course for beginners? You can find her on her website 614Mom.
Comment below with your biggest takeaway from today’s episode or visit our website to sign up for a free chat!
