
Direct Sales
How to get started blogging for your direct sales business
We love reading blogs and learning new tips and tricks. Blogs are a great resource for everything from DIY tutorials to researching the latest news in your industry and they’re also one of the top ways to build your direct sales business online! We shared about…
Published: Sep 10, 2022
We love reading blogs and learning new tips and tricks. Blogs are a great resource for everything from DIY tutorials to researching the latest news in your industry and they’re also one of the top ways to build your direct sales business online! We shared about how blogging is the key to one direct sellers success in this post. Have you been thinking about starting a blog but don’t quite know how to get started? In this week’s post, we are covering the basic steps to starting a blog for your direct sales business, so get ready to write!
Why Blogging?
- You Own It! If you are using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, we applaud you! But you don’t own those platforms and you don’t control them. They could go away at any moment (although highly unlikely). Good news! Your blog is your little home on the internet and no one can take that away from you. It is your place to use your voice, share your business products and opportunities and capture new and excited leads.
- You Get Discovered. Blog content stays online forever and your posts can be found and shared for years to come. Someone out there might be searching for the solution to a problem that your product or service can solve. Blogging helps you become discoverable and opens you up to endless opportunities.
- You are the Expert. Blogging establishes you as an expert and an authority, which sets you apart from others in your company. When you establish yourself as a blogger, you enhance your expertise because you are publishing your advice and solutions to a larger audience.
How to think about blogging
Let’s think about blogging and starting to blog in 2 ways. These two ways of thinking will help us organize tasks for the blog so they are not so overwhelming. We want you to go out and take action on starting this new adventure!- Mindset
- Mechanics
The Mindset of starting a blog
Start to ask yourself these questions and jot down the answers in a blog planner or a notebook:- Why am I blogging?
- Why do I want my voice to be heard?
- What is my goal?
- Who am I talking to? Who is my ideal blog reader?
- What are 3 qualities of my ideal blog reader?
- What will I be teaching?
- How will my content be organized?
- What are some categories of my posts? (life hacks, diy, style, recipes, paper crafts, kids crafts, etc.)
The Mechanics of starting a blog
Let’s dive into the techy aspects of starting a blog. Don’t worry if you don’t consider yourself “good with computers” or “not techy”, these steps will get you set up in an hour or less.- Decide on your platform, we recommend self-hosted WordPress.
- Why WordPress? Wordpress is a flexible content management system that is used by over 75 million websites worldwide. Think of WordPress as a ipad or tablet that you can add different apps to make it have different functions that you select.
- Your address: Think of setting up your blog like building a new home. Just like with a home, you need to establish your address. In this case, your address is your website domain name. Your domain name is your www.yoursitename.com. You can go here to search for a name that you’d like and see if it is available. How cool is it that you will have your very own home on the interwebs!
- Set up your home: your host is your home where your files are stored and where your content lives. A few popular sources for hosting include : sassy suite web services ipage bluehost siteground flywheel
- There are tons of options out there, so do your research before you choose. With these companies, you can register your domain name for free for the first year while you purchase your hosting plan. We recommend paying for at least 36 months in advance to get the cheapest rate for your hosting. With our recommendations, you will be able to install WordPress on your site with one-click of a button and from there you are on your way.
- Design your home: Now for the fun part. WordPress has many free layout themes as well as paid ones for you to choose from. Install your theme, blog header and visual branding to complete the look. Head over to our Canva playlist for tips on working with Canva to create graphics for your blog.
- Link it all up: Set up and link your social media channels to your shiny new blog. If possible, all your social media handles and your blog name should be close to or about the same so they consistent across social media channels.
10 tips for new bloggers
Now that you are on your way to blogging, we want to give you some tips to get you started and help you grow a successful blog:- What’s in a name? Avoid trendy or cutesy names. If you can’t secure the name you wanted, use your own name!
- Tag, you are it: create a tagline for your blog.
- First impressions: Choose images with the colors, mood or style that you want your blog to be known for and your readers will start to recognize your “look” and branding.
- Find your voice: Think of your voice and content as the foundation of your blog.
- Inspiration is all around you: Inspiration for a blog post, e-book, or series can strike anywhere at any time!
- Get social: Make blogger friends and share the love, social media isn’t just about promotion. It’s about relationships. It’s establishing rapport and creating reciprocity. We found blogger groups networking groups on Facebook, some include: Blogging 101, Suite Bloggers, and The Blogging Squad.
- Post quality content: Write clear headlines, provide value and make your content actionable. Show your readers HOW to do something and inspire them to go out and take action.
- Be consistent. Choose your posting schedule and stick with it. It does not have to be weekly. It can be whatever you’d like, just do it consistently.
- Creating the post is only 10% of the job, driving traffic to your blog is the other 90%. Share your posts to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and pin to Pinterest using CinchShare!
- Create an email list from day one. Use email lists to continue to build relationships with your audience.
