by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

You may have dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and owning your own business, which is great. Just remember that it takes time, patience, and persistence. The process may seem bewildering. The first thing you need to do is brainstorm some ideas.

Do some thorough market research in areas that interest you. Explore whether or not there’s a need for the product or service you choose. Will it solve a problem better than the current available options? Is there a potential to fill gaps in the marketplace? Once you’ve made your choice, write out a business plan.

You should start small and expand later. There will be some startup costs, so be sure you have income and or savings set aside to get you through to the-making-profits phase. Do this by overestimating needed startup capital, carefully watching your expenses, and considering your funding options.

If you’re not planning to run a one-person business, you’ll want a solid, top-notch principled team. Look for the best people for your team.

Once you’re all set up, you need to aggressively advertise your product/service. Get an attractive logo that helps people identify your label and place it on all platforms across the internet including social media. Interact with your potential customers through follow-ups with promotions and discounts or just with free quality information related to the goal or purpose of your website. These are some things to be concerned about when starting a home business.


What should you consider before starting a business?

You should focus on your business journey and not compare your success to anyone else. You need to get into the right mindset. It takes consistency, follow-up routines, and laying out steps to achieve your goals.

Consider the following:

Determining your business concept

Scaling your business

Financing

Where do you prefer to work; a workshop or an office

Time to devote to your business

Your passions and interests

Your expertise or skills

The kind of support needed to start a business

Partnering with someone

Whether a franchise model makes more sense to you

Selling information rather than a product



Once you’ve decided what your business will be, you’ll need to get it up and running. You can do this by setting up a blog as your place of operation online.

You’ll need to choose a domain name and a blogging platform for your blog as well as a hosting company.

Now you’re ready to go.

Here are some ideas for a start.



What are some pitfalls of working from home?

Here are some things to be concerned about when starting a home business:

Remaining Focused

Some people are expert multi-taskers. If you’re not one of them, you need to devise a more formally structured day like in a traditional office setting.

You should have a dedicated office area, if possible, one with a door or a corner just for work or use a café for an hour a day so that when you go there your brain signals it’s time to work.

Keeping Boundaries

Although working from home has its flexibility, remember how easily time can be snatched away from your workday. Remember your work is as real as any traditional office job. Set up a schedule for hours and breaks.

Working Too Much

With any job, there is always more to do. If you’re serious about working from home for the long term, you’ll need time away from the computer and the stress of work for this lifestyle to be sustainable.

Feeling Isolated

You’ll need to create social interactions. You can:

Schedule lunch or breakfast get-togethers.

Use online social networks such as Facebook or Twitter as your virtual “water cooler” during the day.

Use Skype, phone calls, or chat instead of email.

Get involved with networking groups or local meetups.

Spend some time working in shared office spaces.


In conclusion, launching a home business can be exciting, although the real challenge is to keep it going. Work with established brands, come up with ideas, experiment, don’t be afraid to fail, be open to feedback, and network with others. All of these are things to be concerned about when starting a home business.


Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Although you may not know the term “affiliate marketing,” it’s probably something you’ve seen in your online browsing. It’s a method of marketing involving a website (or several sites) promoting products and services for other companies and earning a commission through a referral system.

In the digital world, affiliate marketing has gained significant attention as a profitable business model for both companies and individuals. You have the opportunity to earn passive income for every successful sale, in the form of commissions, by promoting products and services.

Check out this site for statistics for affiliate marketing in 2023 and beyond.

Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful digital channels for those looking to reach their target audiences and drive growth. You need to stay ahead of the game and prepare for the future, as technology evolves.

As more businesses embrace it as an essential part of their digital strategies, affiliate marketing will dynamically shift over the next few years.

Expect to see consumer behavior rapidly change in the future, due to increasing demand for personalization which could have major implications for affiliate marketing strategies. Brands will have to design their campaigns and offers according to this new reality.

New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and predictive analytics (PA) will play a more significant role in assisting businesses with the optimization of their affiliate campaigns for the greatest effectiveness.


Is affiliate marketing still profitable?

Affiliate marketing is very profitable. With the rise of e-commerce and online platforms, numerous opportunities have opened up for affiliates to make income by promoting products and receiving commissions.

If affiliates focus on effective marketing strategies, good quality content, and target relevant audiences, they can continue to produce sizeable profits with affiliate marketing.

Following are six factors that make affiliate marketing profitable:

1. Niche Selection

To be successful you must choose the right niche; one that has a high demand for products/services and a large target audience. You can do thorough market research to identify untapped niche potential using tools like Google Trends, Amazon Best Sellers, and niche-specific forums.

2. Building Trust

Your audience must know, like, and trust you and perceive you as an authority in your niche, and trust your recommendations. Create high-quality content, with value, that establishes your expertise. You can engage with your audience through social media, blog comments, and email newsletters. To build trust with your audience, be transparent and authentic.

3. Strategic Promotion

The key to maximizing your affiliate marketing profits is effective promotion. Tailor your promotional strategies to your audience’s preferences and behaviors. To reach your audience effectively, leverage diverse channels such as content marketing, SEO, social media, and email marketing. To optimize your efforts, test different promotional methods and track the results.

4. Diversifying Income Streams

Although affiliate programs can be a profitable source of income, diversification of income streams can improve your profitability. Think about other monetization methods such as display advertising, sponsored content, digital products, and creating products or services of your own. Diversification can help protect your income and lessen any possible risk.

5. Adapting to Market Trends

Your affiliate marketing strategies should evolve just as the digital landscape is constantly evolving. Stay up to date with industry developments, consumer preferences, and the latest market trends. You can position yourself for long-term profitability, in the affiliate marketing world, by adapting to change and staying ahead of the game.

6. Consistency and Persistence

Success with affiliate marketing doesn’t happen overnight. You must be persistent and put in effort. Keep focused on your goals at all times. Over time, your efforts will pay off if you keep learning, experimenting, and perfecting your strategies.



What are the potential earning opportunities in affiliate marketing?

If you’re committed and put in the effort, affiliate marketing offers an abundance of opportunities. If you want a side hustle to make money or build a full-time online business, then affiliate marketing can be a good career option.


Here are some potential earning opportunities.

Commission-Based Earnings

As an affiliate, you earn money (a commission) for each successful referral or sale you make through your unique affiliate link. Commission rates vary from a small percentage of the product’s price to a fixed amount per sale, depending on the affiliate program and the niche you’re in.

High-commission Products

Some niches offer high-commission products or services. These usually have a higher price tag which results in greater commission payouts. They can include high-end technology, luxury goods, or premium services and lead to higher earnings per sale. Recognizing these types of products in your niche can substantially impact your overall earnings.

Recurring Commissions

There are affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions and are known as passive income streams. They provide affiliates with commissions on the initial sale and on subsequent recurring payments made by the referred customer. These programs provide affiliates with a commission not just on the initial sale but also on subsequent recurring payments made by the referred customer. These include membership sites, software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, and subscription-based services, to name a few. These are big moneymakers. Developing a customer base that keeps up their subscriptions can result in a steady flow of recurring commissions.

Affiliate Networks and Aggregators

Affiliate networks and aggregators act as intermediaries between affiliates and advertisers. These platforms bring together a wide range of affiliate programs from different brands and companies. Joining such networks allows you to access multiple affiliate programs, expand your product offerings, and potentially increase your earnings. Popular affiliate networks include Amazon Associates, ShareASale

, and CJ Affiliate.

Multi-Tier Affiliate Programs

An additional earning opportunity is multi-tier affiliate programs. With these, you can earn commissions on your own sales and on the sales from others (sub-affiliates) that you refer to the program.

Sponsored Content Collaborations

As your business grows, you may be presented with the opportunity to collaborate with companies and brands on sponsored content. Sponsored content is about getting paid to display products or services through various channels like media posts, blog posts, social media, videos, and more.

Display Advertising

When you’ve gained significant traffic on your blog or website, you can use display advertising to monetize it. Google AdSense is a great platform for this. You can place their ads on your site, and earn money every time someone clicks on them. Although display advertising will not be your primary focus for your affiliate marketing business, it can complement your affiliate earnings and generate passive income.

Digital Products and Courses

When you become an authority in your niche, you can design your own digital products and sell them. These can include online courses, e-books, video tutorials, or other educational content. When you sell your own products, the full profit is yours without sharing commissions with affiliate programs, potentially increasing your income.

Influencer Marketing and Brand Partnerships

As your online presence grows, you could draw the attention of brands looking for influencers to promote their products and services. These partnerships can lead to product reviews, sponsored posts, or brand ambassadorship. Collaborating in this way can open up more earning prospects because you can negotiate compensation based on your influence and reach.

Scaling and Expansion

Scaling and expanding your business is one of the exciting phases of your affiliate marketing business.

While you’re gaining experience, optimize your strategies, and develop a loyal audience. Then you can duplicate your success in different niches or target different geographical markets.

Scaling your affiliate marketing business allows you to increase your earnings and reach a broader audience.

Affiliate marketing is very profitable and becoming more so all the time. I hope this article gives you a glimpse of what’s in the future for affiliate marketing.


Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

By Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

So, you’re using your great copywriting skills to create sales or marketing material to influence prospects toward making a purchase.


While so doing, be sure that your content is grammatically correct. Sometimes that autocorrect, you’re using while typing, won’t catch grammar mistakes.


For information on avoiding at least ten grammar mistakes, check out this article.



Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Many businesses, large and small, use social media as a vital component of their market mix. Globally, there are 4.9 billion people using social media platforms. So, having a presence on social is a good way to connect with both current and potential customers no matter your industry. Social media is a good way to reach your target audience, establish a loyal customer base, strengthen your brand, and increase your revenue.

This article details what you need to know about social media marketing including what it is, how it works, the best strategies, and how to implement it.


What Is Social Media Marketing?


Social media marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses social media platforms to promote your offerings and brand to your ideal customers. It involves considerably more than random posts on your business accounts. A successful social media marketing campaign requires good strategy and planning.

After you create your business profiles, you have to maintain and optimize them. Then, develop a content calendar that shows what you’ll post and when and where you’ll post. These posts will probably include a combination of text, images, stories, and videos that position your brand in a positive light and capture a relevant audience.

These posts will be unique and regular and additionally, you’ll respond to likes and shares and comments to monitor your standing and hopefully create a community.

Your social media marketing strategy may also include paid ads to allow your brand to appear in front of certain groups of people at specific times.



What are the benefits of social media marketing?


Social media is a powerful tool for marketing your business, due to its versatility and popularity.  Unlike traditional marketing like billboards, radio spots, and print ads, it’s very measurable.

Following are some of the most important benefits of a social media marketing strategy:

1.  Adds a Human Touch to Your Business

2. Drives Traffic

3. Generates Leads

4. Increases Brand Awareness

5. Builds Relationships


Here is a brief description of the top 7 social media marketing platforms for business.


There are several social media marketing platforms you may want to use when developing your social media marketing strategy. As you consider your options, you’ll find that some platforms are better suited for your brand and target audience than others.


1. Facebook

This is the most popular social media platform. When using Facebook, you can boost brand awareness, generate leads and increase sales, and gain followers. You can also display highly customizable, targeted ads. Keep in mind that Facebook comes with a lot of competition.

2. Instagram

Over time Instagram evolved from a basic platform to share images into a place where brands can engage their audience with beautiful photos and videos. It also offers reels, stories, live streams, and shops that can take your marketing efforts to the next level. This is one platform you want to use if your business relies on visuals to sell products/services.

3. Twitter

On Twitter, you use very short posts called “tweets” with text, animated GIFs, videos, and links to connect with your audience using short but valuable messages. A tweet can usually be up to 280 characters. You might be able to, build brand awareness and look for topics and information relevant to your industry and target audience.

4. YouTube

If you want to include videos in your social media marketing strategy, YouTube is the way to go. It’s a streaming social media platform as well as the second-largest search engine next to Google. If you have the desire and ability to produce meaningful video content, YouTube should definitely be one of the choices for your social media marketing strategy.  Using YouTube, you promote the unique features of your offerings, explain complex topics, showcase interesting processes, and much more.

5. Pinterest

This “visual discovery engine” inspires users who regularly search Pinterest for ideas that help them renovate their homes, plan weddings, take dream vacations, and fulfill other desires in their lives. If you provide products or services that can allow users to discover their dreams and achieve them, Pinterest is the way to go.

6. LinkedIn

If you are a B2B business, LinkedIn is a business networking platform that will be particularly useful. LinkedIn is geared toward professionals and allows you the opportunity to share your industry expertise. You can also use it to promote job openings within your company, connect to your employees and even generate leads through paid ads.

7. TikTok

TikTok, which revolves around short-form videos, is a newer social media platform that tends to target younger females. It may make sense if you’re trying to reach that particular demographic. As a business on TikTok, you can use hashtags that relate to your posts, brand, and offerings. When consumers search for these hashtags, they may come across your content.


What are the key components of a social media strategy?


A social media strategy is a plan that lays out your goals, the ways you’ll use to achieve them, and the metrics you’ll track to measure performance.

You might be tempted to post on a few social media platforms sporadically, but this is not recommended.

To really make the most of social media marketing strategy and increase your chances of success, you need a solid strategy.



The key components of an effective social media strategy include:


1. Audience Research

You should have a strong understanding of your target audience before posting anything. You can answer questions regarding what platforms they use, who else they follow, and what kind of content they prefer.

2. Brand Identity

Decide how you’d like to position your brand when you post on social media and interact with your followers. Think about the messages you hope to communicate.

3. Content Strategy

Content strategy relates to how you’ll use content to attract your audience and grow your brand on social media platforms. To be successful your plan needs to be specific.

4. Analytics

In order to measure performance and determine how to improve your strategy, you’ll use a process known as social media analytics where you collect and analyze data from your social media platforms.  This allows you to determine whether or not what you’re doing is working.

5. Ongoing Activity

As with most types of marketing, social media marketing is not something you do one time and forget it. You’ll need to post on it regularly, be engaged with your followers, and optimize your profiles on a consistent basis.


Remember that in addition to your social media marketing strategy, you will also need a professional business website so that those who discover your business through social media can check out your website to learn more about what you offer.


If you don’t already have a website, consider this.


If you’re just starting a business you can use this information for setting up your social media marketing strategy. If you’re already well on your way, it can serve as a reminder to use social media marketing in addition to your other resources.

Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you’re a serious marketer using email marketing, you know you need to use an autoresponder. But, if you’re just starting your business, you may not be familiar with certain email marketing tools and how to use them to effectively and efficiently email people. This article is intended to show you how to make your marketing easier with an autoresponder.



What is an autoresponder?


An autoresponder is an automated system that sends a reply to a customer using certain rules. It can contain one email or a series of emails that go to subscribers’ inboxes after a trigger event occurs, such as signing up for something of yours they’ve seen online. The goal of the email is to engage your audience, as soon as they take an action, through a series of follow-up messages.


They are the simplest form of email automation. They can include a welcome email, a thank-you email, or an abandoned cart reminder as well as more complex uses for lead-nurturing and other campaigns.


An autoresponder series of emails will:

1. Help you bond with your email list so they get to know, like, and trust you. Thus, boosting your traffic and sales

2. Lend a sense of continuity to your email marketing

3. Allow constant communication between you and your audience




What are some examples of when to use autoresponder emails?


1. Follow-ups

This email is used for visitors to your site who have just given you their email addresses. This is mainly those who’ve signed up for your newsletter or whatever you promised when they filled in the form on your site. It’s a one-time email that goes out immediately after they’ve entered their contact information.


This is usually a welcome email saying hello and thank you for your interest. Then you can set up a series of emails to go out at particular intervals to keep engaged with this list.



2. Sales leads

These emails are for people who have expressed an interest in your product or service. They may have watched a video, so this email encourages them to start a free trial of some sort.



3. Customer service

The goal of customer-service emails is to establish clear expectations for response time, specify self-service resources, and communicate known issues.



4. Onboarding

Onboarding is the process of introducing a new user to a product or service and guiding them through the early steps of using it. The reason for this is to help them understand the product or service’s value and encourage them to engage with it more deeply which leads to increased user retention, satisfaction, and user lifetime value (LTV).


You can use tutorials, welcome messages, guided tours, and other resources designed to make the user’s first experience with the product as smooth and intuitive as possible.



5. Upselling

This email is used after your customers have been using your product or service for a set amount of time. It offers your customer an upgrade to a long-term plan.



Autoresponder emails are an essential part of your email marketing strategy because they allow you to send your subscribers the right message at the best time. Whether you are a blogger or an eCommerce store owner, they can help you maintain a healthy email list (through double opt-in), welcome and onboard your subscribers, and save valuable time.


An autoresponder is a must-have tool if you have an online business and want to successfully and efficiently email people. It saves precious time.


Although you gain quick results with an autoresponder, remember the human element. Things change quickly these days, so “set it and forget it” no longer exists. You have to continue to test copy, see how your customers react to different types of autoresponders, and add new touch points.


Autoresponders will exponentially expand your reach without adding more time or effort to your workflow, once you figure out what works. So, make your marketing easier with an autoresponder.


Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

If you publish a blog post or article and no one reads it, it’s still a post. Anyone can write one, although not everyone knows how to write great blog posts/articles people want to read.


Obviously, you first have to choose a topic.




How do you choose a topic?



If you’re familiar with a particular niche, you probably already have plenty of ideas you want to use. If not, then write about things people are searching for. If there are lots of searches, month after month on certain topics, that’s probably what people want to read about.



Here are some free tools for keyword research and SEO content optimization:

Moz.com

Google Keyword Planner

AHREFS

Semrush



Once you’ve chosen a topic, you need an angle or a viewpoint for your post or a direction. Choose an objective for your post/article.


That may be:

Sharing a solution to a tough problem

Refining an overwhelming topic into something understandable

Telling a suspenseful and emotional story that teaches a lesson

Identifying key trends on a topic, and using them to predict the future

Contributing original information about a field through your research and investigation



Now that you have a topic, select your format. Will it be a listicle or a how-to article?


1. A listicle format, also known as a list-post, are articles structured around lists. For example:

15 Blogging Tips For Beginners
10 Best Online Marketing Tools
10 Quick SEO Tips To Increase Organic Traffic
25 Tips For Content Marketing
50 Best Travel Tips: Advice From A Professional Traveler



2. A how-to article is self-explanatory, in that it shows how to perform a certain task. For example:

How To Start A Blog
How To Promote Your Business
How To Grow Your Business
How To Use Social Media To Grow Your Business
How To Write Great Blog Articles



Now that you have a topic and format, how do you write an article or a post that will rank on Google?



To write an article or a blog post that will rank on Google, you need to know about SEO (search engine optimization), the process of optimizing your site and content for search engines such as Google.


If your article or post is well optimized for a search engine, the higher you’ll rank on Google and it will have more visibility within the search results.


If SEO is well done, the ROI on your time and the money you’ve spent can be exceptionally high. When you’ve achieved a high rank for keywords that are directing traffic and sales to your site, you’re essentially getting “free” leads.


Of course, these organic leads are not totally free, since you’ve invested time and probably some money into your SEO efforts. But, unlike paid ads, organic traffic is a free source that keeps on giving.


Of the couple hundred plus Google ranking factors, there are three key areas you’ll need to familiarize yourself with:


On-page ranking factors—which relate to the content on your pages like keywords, title tags, and images that give Google a good understanding of your page.


Off-page ranking factors—that relate to indicators outside of your site like backlinks and social signals.


Technical ranking factors—which relate to your site’s performance such as accessibility, mobile compatibility, load speed, and more.




Now it’s time to write, but it’s really difficult to sit down and write from scratch – staring at a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen on your computer is daunting.


Since you’ve done research for keywords and decided on a topic, create an outline. With an outline, you just fill in the gaps. You don’t have to write an outline from scratch either. Use a template or make your own.


You’ll need to include:

1. The key takeaways for your readers
2. A smart headline
3. Arrange the major themes and section of the blog article outline
4. Insert relevant sources and any additional data and studies
5. Trim and clean up the outline
6. Write your article



Write a first draft using Google Docs or whatever program you prefer. Put down everything you think you’ll use pertaining to the article subject.


Now pick out a few key points as topics to discuss and use those for headings. Know that people like to skim before committing to reading an entire article. This gets you into formatting. Use each major key point as a heading for the different sections in the article. Be sure these headings are clear for easy skimming.


Break up the paragraphs into short paragraphs of no more than four sentences. You should vary the sentence length to make for easier reading.


Use bolding for emphasis, bullets, and numbered lists.


For complex points (or just for fun) you can add images, tables, charts, and infographics.


Be sure your article shows up well on mobile. Otherwise, your content – no matter how incredible – will not rank.



When you start writing you’ll need to come up with a great headline and introduction. So, state the problem you’ll write about, go into the details of solving it, then offer a solution.


Use the following points as a guideline.

1. Make your introduction catchy but authoritative.


2. The length of the article should be about 1,000 words minimum, depending on the subject matter. Content length varies by industry.


3. Sprinkle target keywords and similar ones throughout the article without going overboard and include important keywords early and frequently, of course, without overdoing them.


4. Use appropriate verbiage so as not to alienate your audience. Write in the first person and conversationally.




Links are very important because they keep viewers on your site and they build trust in Google’s eyes.


Some important ones are:

External links to amazing resources such as marketing tools

Internal links on your site – each blog article should include at least 2-3 links to other pages on your blog or main site




Make sure your anchor text actually links to something relevant. Don’t link the phrase “how to build a list” to an article about affiliate marketing.



In summary choosing your topic, angle, and format and putting effort into your content is a recipe for organic success.




Using this information on how to write great blog articles people want to read will enable you to get started writing great blog posts that people want to read.



Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Affiliate marketing is a marketing strategy with partners promoting and selling other companies’ products for commissions. When customers click on an affiliate link they are taken directly to a brand’s product or service website. Ideally, this leads to a sale, signup, or just clicks. The partner earns a commission according to how many users are redirected to the brand via that affiliate link.


But, affiliate marketing is more than just posting links and it involves much more than just joining an affiliate marketing program, promoting a link, and hoping people buy what you’re advertising….



Read



Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Blogging is NOT dead, although it has changed from what it used to be and is still changing. Some previously used blogging tactics no longer work. In order to remain relevant, bloggers must also continue to evolve.

Today there are over 600 million blogs on the internet. (source: blogging.org). To be successful now and in the future, the best thing you can do is position yourself as an authority figure in your niche.

Note: For more interesting blog data see.


Here are five blogging tactics – in no particular order – that no longer work:

1. Clickbait headlines

Clickbait headlines are the outrageous ones to get your attention and have no user-satisfactory content. They are misleading, sensational, or spammy. This also applies to YouTube videos. It makes your channel less and less effective for driving traffic.

You should focus on writing headlines that are based on the real value that you are delivering in your content.


2. Blogging about everything

If you blog about everything, you’ll confuse people. They won’t know what your area of expertise is. Stick to one or two topics.

People don’t want generic information but specific information from people they can trust and believe in and with whom they can actually have a personal connection.


3. Blogging about your personal life

People used to blog about their children, what they ate that day, or just share bizarre personal details that people connected with. That is simply entertainment content that belongs on social media (in particular Instagram) where that kind of content is more accessible and easier to consume.

Although you can still blog about your personal life, you’ll need a fantastic Instagram and/or YouTube channel to go with it.

When people want entertainment they look to social media. However, when they want answers to their problems, they choose Google, namely websites.

But, there are always exceptions. Just remember to entertain on social and use your website for education.


4. Posting all the time

Now that content is more prolific on the internet, the tactic of posting more content to try to get more traffic is also outdated. Your focus should be on the quality of content, not quantity. Create content that stands out.

Generally, it’s better to create one (1) high-quality blog post per month than publish 5-6 average or mediocre posts that are short-lived.

To help establish yourself as an authority figure, use longer, more detailed posts.

If you really know your material, you’ll be able to talk about it for a long time (or hundreds of pages…).

The exception to this rule is if you’re a brand-new blogger, starting a blog from scratch, you’re probably better off publishing more posts because publishing more content can help you get some initial traction on social platforms like Pinterest and YouTube. Writing different kinds of content more frequently can help you learn more about what your audience is most interested in.


5. Blogging with no supplemental video or audio content

If you wish it to survive in the future, your blog needs to evolve into a multi-media site.

The more options people have to consume your content, the better. Using the following mediums will help:

Your blog
YouTube
Pinterest
Google
Email List

Your blog is now a multi-media website. It’s no longer just a blog.

For long-term blogging success, you need to dedicate your time and energy to becoming an expert in your niche.


What are some other things you should know before you start blogging?

1. Building habits is essential especially when your time is limited. You need consistent blocks of time you can spend on your blog. That may be:

a) Early morning – get everything ready the night before

b) During lunch break at your day job – get away from your desk and grab a bite to eat while working on your blog

c) In the evenings – you can just outline your post if you find it hard to focus after a long day

d)  On the weekends – block out half a day on Saturday or Sunday


Finding a time that you can consistently use for blogging, week after week, will make it easier to form the habit.

2. WordPress

WordPress is usually the best option. Within WordPress are two more options so be careful. Also, there are plugins for anything you want to do in WordPress. Read

3.  It’s easier to write quality blog posts by using a great template.

4.  End all blog posts with a call to action.

5.  The most important part of your blog is the headline. Read.

6.  Keyword research is vital for SEO which brings in traffic.

7.  You should build an email list as soon as possible (from day one).

8.  When used correctly, social media is an effective traffic source.

9.  Making money from a new blog will take UP to 12 months minimum.

10.  Digital courses and eBooks are a great way to monetize your blog.

11. Use affiliate marketing to grow your blog income.

12. Link building from other websites is crucial.


This is by no means a complete list. More things can be added but this will get you off to a great start.


What are the best blogging platforms?

When choosing a blogging platform you must take into consideration what is best for your needs.

If you’re just starting, use a platform that’s easy to set up and use. If you have no coding experience choose a platform that needs no code. Developing a blog isn’t simple and you don’t want to add new skills to your to-do list.

You’ll need to think about the layout and features you want and the blog tools you may need as your blog grows.

Some things to think about are:

Monetizing your blog with a newsletter now or in the future

A multi-media experience with lots of images and videos

Using it to build SEO for your small business site

Using it to build your reputation as a thought leader

Skills you need to learn to build your blog

Can a blogging platform help with these skills


When you have a clear plan for your blog, you’re ready to choose a platform.

Many who choose a platform start with cost. Some of the best blog software is free. Check each provider’s plan and how many tiers there are. Then check their primary and unique features. Pay special attention to the out-of-the-box features compared to add-ons.

Here’s a list:

WordPress: Best for customization

Wix: Best for drag and drop

Weebly: Best for e-commerce blogging

Drupal: Best for developers

Squarespace: Best all-in-one platform

CMS Hub: Best for marketers

Medium: Best for its built-in audience


Blogging is not dead. But you have to keep your strategies alive to be successful on the internet. These are just some things you need to know before you start blogging that will be helpful.


Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

by Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Blogging has been around for a long time and while its basic foundation remains the same (write and publish), some changes do occur that may be passing trends or they may become permanent. You need to be on top of the latest blogging trends and keep up to date with content marketing strategies in order to remain competitive.

To keep you up to date on what’s going on now, this post will look into five of the trends you can expect moving forward. This will help you stay current with the latest practices and may inspire you to do something different on your blog.


1) Visuals

Visuals have always been a large part of blog content and are on the rise. And that’s a plus for your brand’s visibility and retention.

Although using visuals is good, you’ll need to use custom graphics as opposed to generic images. People tend to ignore stock photos these days.

With tailored graphics, you have the advantage of branding. When you use custom-made visuals, you can choose color palettes and fonts that resonate with your blog’s design and viewpoint. This makes your blog posts and pages look consistent and not patched together. You can also design visuals like charts, infographics, and graphs that directly reference the content they are part of.

If you’re not a designer, you can still take advantage of this blogging trend with tools like Canva, Visme, and Prezi. They’re perfect for beginners who are not knowledgeable about design. These tools come with pre-built templates, fonts, and color palettes that make designing custom graphics easier. They also have an option for creating/importing your own color palettes and fonts.

Since blogs are becoming longer and more detailed, design and interactivity become more important. Visual content offers readers a way to scan your content without reading the entire post.


2) Interactivity

Since people’s attention span has increasingly dropped over the years, interactivity has become a more important way to keep them engaged. You can embed interactive videos and also interactivity to those videos like hotspots and time triggers such as popups and CTAs to move viewers to certain areas of the video in order to reach a particular time stamp. You can use the Vimeo platform that can do this right out of the box.

By using a website such as Giphy, you can use animated images called GIFs to add some color and humor to your content in order to make it less boring. Once you’ve decided on a GIF, it can be inserted into your content by using either autoembeds or add it via an image block.


3) Originality

In an environment where websites tend to repackage the same information over and over, being original adds freshness to your blog, establishes your commitment to your readers, shows your thought leadership, and can immediately make you stand out.

There are several ways to make your content original. You can talk about a distinctive topic, provide a unique perspective, or conduct your own research. Conducting your own authentic research is the easiest way to level up your blog. However, not everyone has the bandwidth to do original research. So, you can reach out to others in your industry and conduct your own surveys using Google Forms and Typeform.

You can also tweet about your queries using the hashtag #JournoRequest on Twitter.


4) Content Experience

A shift from consuming content to experiencing it is a bigger blogger trend to focus on going forward. You can no longer simply deliver accurate information to your readers. You’ll have to consider other factors to make your content more appealing. You can do this by focusing on core web vitals and improving your overall content environment. Core web vitals are measurements of key aspects of page speed and user experience that also influence search ranking.

Some examples of a bad content ecosystem (environment) are:

Lots of popups or other interruptions and distractions like multi-step cookie notices
Autoplaying audio and videos
Web design problems such as low contrast among others
Bad website or information structure that leaves visitors not knowing what to do


Your goal is to make sure that each section of content is part of a bigger puzzle that makes sense.


5) Cross-Channel Promotion

One of the trends that will be dominant is cross-channel promotion, a marketing strategy that integrates all your marketing channels and unifies their plans, data, and goals across the board.

Just churning out blog posts is no longer enough to be successful on the internet. You now need to invest your efforts in other marketing channels like social media, SEO, and email marketing.

Unlike multi-channel marketing, which also uses several channels to attract customers with each channel working independently, this cross-channel promotion uses all channels to push out the same message at the same time.

The first thing you need to accomplish this is a Customer Data Platform (CDP). CDPs can help consolidate and organize consumer data from all your channels in one place. Three good sources are Bloomreach, Insider, and Segment.

Then you can use micro-segmentation to group your audience by different demographic details, characteristics, and buying behaviors so you can hyper-personalize your content and marketing channels to suit prospects where they are in their journey.

Some examples are starting an email with the reader’s name, writing content to target readers’ needs, adjusting mailing frequency to suit their needs, and otherwise catering to whatever else your audience is looking for. This is a great way to stand out while blogging.

Even though blogging is a well-established medium, there are trends that come and go. Staying on top of these developments allows you to decide which ones you want to use and when. Most of these 5 blogging trends you should not ignore heavily focus on user experience. The best trend to follow is figuring out how to better serve your readers with the content you write and how you present it. In doing so, you’ll end up with a better blog than when you started.

Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here

By Rahimah Sultan

Advertising Disclosure: Marketing Success Review may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. There is no expense to you.

Individuals once kept online journals or diaries known as weblogs which later became blogs. This term is also known as a verb that means to add information or posts. Blogging has become progressively easier since the mid-1990s with easy-to-use publishing tools and is now the main way for self-publishing.

Whether you’re just starting with writing or are looking for clients, blogging is a fun versatile skill you can learn.

Although blogging isn’t a short-term endeavor, with time and consistent effort you can earn a lot of money, but you won’t get rich overnight.

If you have an idea that you’re really interested in, a proven strategy, patience and discipline to tend to your blog every day, over time you’ll build a valuable asset that can continue to earn you money for years to come.


What do you need to know about blogging?

If you want to launch your own blog, you’ll need to decide how you want to monetize it.

You can start a blog on any topic that interests you. This will give an opportunity to draw an audience. Once you’ve attracted an audience, there are plenty of ways to monetize your blog.

When launching your own blog from scratch, the time and effort you put in and the monetization methods you use determine how much and how fast you grow your blogging income. In this article, you’ll learn how to get started blogging now.


Following are 6 steps for getting started:


Step #1: Idea

You need to decide what you’re going to write about. What are your passions and interests?

In order to maintain the motivation and discipline to keep going, you must find something you enjoy and would want to absorb yourself in learning and writing about every day.

If you’re a beginner blogger, make sure there are others who share this interest and don’t make your topic too broad.

A blog about movies is too broad. On the other hand, one about movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood is more specific.

Rather than blogging from the position of an expert – which you don’t have to be – you can chronicle your journey and have your readers along for this ride.


Step #2: Name and publishing platform

You’ll need to choose a unique and interesting name and a platform for your blog. You want a name that clearly identifies what your blog is about and one that people “get” at first glance.

Definitely choose a “.com” extension as that’s what people search for and expect.

There are lots of paid and free options for publishing platforms available to new bloggers. WordPress is highly recommended as you can quickly and easily set up your blog for free and it’s safe and secure and easy to manage and customize.


Step #3: Editorial calendar

Take the time to plan your first few weeks or months of content so you’ll be set for success and then you’ll never be stuck figuring out what to write about when you should already be writing.

You can check out similar content on other blogs for ideas and you can write on those topics. Just know that what makes your blog unique is your voice and perspective – YOU.


Step #4: Write

Now it’s time to start writing your content. You need to have a great headline, be relevant and useful, or be entertaining depending on your topic. Keep people engaged and give them a reason to keep reading.

People love personal stories, how-tos, and reviews. Be creative when it comes to your ideas, formats, and formulas.

It’s your blog and you have the freedom to do as you wish.


Step #5: Audience

There are many ways to build your audience, although SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the main ones.

You can also build your blog audience with social media.

Be sure your content is high quality. You have to produce several drafts of content and several edits before posting. Don’t just publish the first thing you write.

Keep in mind that, in most niches, longer blog posts of 1,000 to 2,000 words have a tendency to rank better on Google than shorter ones.


Step #6: Monetization and promotional strategies

Even if you’re a beginner blogger, create your monetization and promotion strategies.

A few ways to do this include:

Ad networks
Sponsored content arrangements
Affiliate deals
Coaching or consulting services
Selling your own products
And more

You probably won’t be trying to monetize your blog right off, because it’s difficult to make money until you’ve started to grow your audience.

So, it’s essential you start building an email list right away — even if you think you’re not ready.

When you have an email list, you have permission to keep in contact with people who have shown interest in what you’re writing about and they have taken an action by subscribing.

This is key to monetizing because, in time, you can market affiliate deals or your own products or services to your list. The longer they remain on your list reading your blog, the more loyal to you they’re likely to be.


What should you do before you start blogging?

If you’re considering setting up a blog, you need to start building your list on the first day.

Despite the popularity of social media channels, email marketing remains one of the most used digital marketing techniques.


What are the best blogging platforms?

See this article for a guide to the best blogging platforms.


Blogging isn’t a strategy to get rich quickly. Time, patience, effort, and discipline are required.

These things coupled with a good idea can have you earning extra money, even if you’re a beginner.

Use these tips on how to get started blogging now to set up your blog and start creating some extra income today.

Get Your Business System With Autoresponder Here