Just so you know, I may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. I have a full affiliate disclosure that you can find here.

“Too often, feeling intimidated becomes our excuse not to be awesome.”

Scott Stratten

Are you thinking of starting a blog for your business? Or starting a blog to share your thoughts and connect with others in your community?

I’m still relatively new to having a full blog for my own business, but I’ve already connected with some amazing people in the blogging community. Plus, I’ve been blogging on behalf of clients for many years so I have seen the benefits of blogging for your small business or your direct sales side hustle first hand!

Build Your Business By Blogging

Content is king and blogging provides an excellent way to create content that will resonate with your business’ target audience. Each blog post can be targeted for a specific group of keywords or keyword intention, which can provide useful information to your target audience about who you are and who your product serves.

Blogging is also an excellent way to become known as an authority on a subject, which builds your credibility as a business owner or direct seller. As you create quality content on topics you’re passionate about, you will become thought of as an authority on the subject by your community. As you cement your reputation as an authority, you may eventually become known as an influencer in your niche or industry. An influencer is defined as someone who is regarded as an authority and to whom many people look for advice and opinions. In reality, an influencer or affiliate marketer can be anyone who people trust to recommend products, services, strategies etc.

Blogging for Community

Not the least of the benefits of blogging, you’re going to meet new people, share new ideas, and have a lot of fun in the process. Creating new content can be a lot of work, but if you are blogging about a topic that you’re passionate about, you will enjoy it! I have met some amazing women through blogging already. If you’re interested in lifestyle blogging or becoming an ‘influencer’, I have learned a ton from being apart of the Style Collective. Plus, I’ve made some great business connections and new friends too!

Blogging As a Business

Even if you’d prefer not to blog about a product you sell, or you don’t have a business built, you can still blog about topics you are passionate about and make money through a variety of avenues. As you increase your readership and establish yourself as an expert in a niche, there will be opportunities to monetize your blog. Many bloggers use AdSense to show ads on their blog, and make a few extra dollars from clicks on those ads. Personally, I don’t use Adsense or any ad networks yet, but you will see graphics on my site recommending products that I personally love.

Affiliate marketing on your blog is an excellent way to make extra money by sharing products that you love and would recommend anyway! For example, I’m an affiliate for my favorite business courses and tools, because I use them often and genuinely recommend them. As an affiliate, I make a small percentage if you buy through one of my links, but your cost remains the same. Is this a get rich quick scheme? NOPE. But affiliate marketing can add a few extra hundred dollars to your bank account each month. Who wouldn’t like that?! Follow me on Full of Grit & Grace or check out my new Affiliate Marketing Basics course here!

Getting Started on Your Blog

If you don’t already have a business or blog name in mind, I recommend Michele M. Bradley’s free download or course to help you get started with branding! Personally, I use WordPress for my blog and Namecheap for my domain name and hosting. I’ve found that both are quite easy to use (and you guys know I’m not super tech savvy!). Of course, there’s a cost associated with blogging, but the payoffs can more than offset the startup fees.

Now that I know what I’m doing on WordPress, I find it super easy to use (you don’t have to know how to code or anything crazy!). However, I wouldn’t have been able to get it all set up without help. I recommend investing in a course from Hope at the Purple Teacup to learn how to set up your blog quickly, efficiently, and without a huge price tag. You can get a blog up and running in just a few hours!

Want your blog to match your branding? There are ton of themes you can use for your blog too. Personally, I use a BluChic theme, because I love their feminine styles, but Creative Market has tons of WordPress themes in every style too.

Are you ready to start blogging? I’d love to hear from you and follow you, so please comment below!