Finding your Voice Through Blogging {Blogging Niches Matter}

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Everyone has something to say. Whether you are looking for an outlet as a new blogger or you want to grow an online empire, finding your voice through blogging is vital to growth and fulfillment. I first started blogging as an outlet…a way to get things off my chest. What surprised me is I quickly found that I actually enjoyed writing (way more than I expected). It wasn’t fulfilling to have an open diary. Instead, I discovered a massive passion to help other women who struggle with finances! I’d heard about people making money blogging, but after several failed attempts at creating a successful blog, I needed a break. It was obvious that I lacked focus and direction, and I had no idea what I wanted to blog about. I was kind-of (totally) all over the place. Let me explain.

This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here. 

Finding your Voice Through Blogging

The first time I created a blog, it was called My Purposeful Life, and it featured a little bit of everything. It was supposed to be about intentional living, but my thoughts were all over the place. And truthfully, it was a mess. I think every single blog post was about a different topic, which doesn’t bode well for SEO and getting your voice heard.

Then I started Perfection Hangover after I quit Beachbody coaching as an outlet…a way for me to vent about my experience working as a Beachbody coach in a multi-level marketing pyramid. We had recently moved to a new state, and I didn’t have many friends here to talk to, so blogging was a way for me to get it all out, so to speak. I received massive backlash, by the way, from my upline as a result of speaking my truth, so make sure if you’re using blogging as a way to vent, you are prepared for the repercussions and potential backlash.

Part of finding your voice through blogging is speaking your truth and standing firm in your convictions! But Perfection Hangover lacked direction (like My Purposeful Life) because I thought I wanted to talk about “how to let go of perfection and get more done” but felt a negative vibe with the word “hangover” (even though it’s catchy). It just wasn’t me.

That brings us to today. On January 3, 2018, I launched and branded MelissaBlevins.com and as a place for women to get “Practical Money tips for the Free-Spirited Nerd“, and I think I’ll be expanding that to business and marketing tips as well. I just have a passion for seeing others succeed in both finance and business. Here are some stats after I nailed down my niche.

Audience Growth

My first month, I spent a lot of time writing and setting up/growing my social media profiles. In January, my brand new blog received nearly 1000 pageviews.

My second month of blogging, I was able to triple my pageviews to over 3200! I owe a lot of this growth to starting a free account with Tailwind and scheduling my pins so I could free up time to create awesome blog posts and YouTube videos!

Here we are five days into the month of March and we already have almost as many pageviews as we did the entire month of January! My goal is to reach 6000 pageviews the third month of blogging. Update: I reached 4500 pageviews in March. Still not bad, but there’s always room for improvement! 🙂

I know we aren’t supposed to chase vanity metrics, so I’m trying not to obsess over the numbers, but I am very self-aware, and numbers motivate me and give me something to reach for. So while these numbers are encouraging, I won’t allow myself to feel discouraged. Algorithms will change, causing a possible decline in traffic or followers on social media. And I’m okay with that as long as I’m providing massive value to my readers.

I wrote about how I grew my Pinterest audience from 4,000 to 50,000 in just one month here. Since then, my audience has grown from 50k to 100k! Say WHAT?! Would you be interested in finding out my Winning Pinterest strategy (including action steps) that I took to grow my pageviews so quickly?  I’m in the process of creating a quick crash course, so fill out the form below to be notified when it’s ready!

How Do I Start a Blog?

You might be wondering “How can I even start a blog? Where do I begin?” By finding your voice through blogging, you’re able to reach people at an exponential level and serve others in a way that this world so very much needs! I finally have found my voice and my passion! Take the time to do some soul searching, but don’t overthink things! To get started blogging, the first thing you’ll need is to do is secure a domain name and purchase hosting. I prefer Bluehost for their incredible customer service and response times, and the fact that they’re super affordable doesn’t hurt either! Click the link below to learn more about Bluehost.

So You’ve Nailed Down your Blog Niche-Now What?

I’m currently a student of Ruth Soukup’s Elite Blog Academy, where I’m learning how to blog for profit. It was an investment, for sure, but it’s definitely paying off! She only opens the doors once a year for enrollment to her course. So if you’re reading this and missed out, you can sign up for the waitlist. In the meantime head on over to Amazon and purchase one of her books. She wrote a Best Seller titled How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul, and you can get some great advice on how to monetize your new or underperforming blog. By this time next year, I hope to be an affiliate for EBA! Get on the waitlist here.

Here’s a video I shared on my YouTube channel talking about the importance of self-awareness from Gary Vaynerchuk, host of the AskGaryVee Show. Be sure to subscribe to my channel for new videos! I post new content every week!  You can subscribe by clicking here.