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Pre-Work
Save
Print- Choose a Niche
- Decide on Subniches + Blog Structure
- Define Your Target Audience
- Write Your Elevator Pitch
- Find a Name
- Check, if the Name is available as a domain and on all relevant Social Media Platforms
- Decide on Brand Colors
- Choose Your Fonts
- Design a Logo (or hire so.)
- Design a Submark (or hire so.)
- Do Keyword Research for your Niche – If You Want To Take Stuff Seriously, Use SEMRush. It’s Hands Down The Best Keyword Research Tool, You’ll Find. It’s Quite Pricey, But You Can Use This Link To Get A 7 Day Free Trial And Conduct Your Whole Keyword + Competitor Research Within These 7 Days
- Identify Your Top 10 Competitors
- Identify Their Most Viral Posts with Buzzfeed.com → Make a List
- Analyze How They Make Money
Blog Setup
- Purchase Hosting Plan – I use Bluehost, Where You Can Start For $2.95 / Month
- Purchase Domain
- Install WordPress
- Choose + Install A Theme
- Set Up Google Analytics
- Install Essential Plugins, e.g. Yoast SEO, Grammarly and Ad Inserter
- Change Site Name
- Change Submark / Logo
- Set Up Homepage – Try Elementor for Easy, Professional Design (It’s Free!)
- Set Up The „About Me“ Page
- Set Up The „Start Here“ Page
- Set Up Header + Menu
- Set Up Footer
- Optional: Set Up Sidebar
Content Creation
- Using Your Keyword Research, Write Down 20 Ideas for Blog Posts
- For Each Idea, Formulate At Least 10 Headlines
- Write Your First 10 Blog Posts
- Download 50+ Stock Photos to Use For This and Later Blog Posts
- Create an Editorial Calendar
Try Out my huge library of 1105 Free eBooks, eCourses, extended trials, stock photos etc. I’ve found those resources all over the web and collected them in one handy website for you. It contains everything you need to know to start a business + take it to the next level.
Email Marketing
- Sign Up With an Email Service. As a Free Option, I recommend Mailerlite, if you want to start out more professional + with more features, you can use ConvertKit or GetResponse.
- Read 5 Keys To A High-Converting Lead Magnet
- Brainstorm 10 Ideas for Lead Magnets (aka Opt-In Incentives)
- Pick 1 Opt-In Incentive + Create It – Tip: You Can Create a Checklist or Step-By-Step Tutorial for Free With Podia’s Digital Download Generator
- Write Your Welcome Email, In Which You Send Your Lead Magnet
- Decide on at least 3 places, where you want to collect your leads. Good options include pop-ups, alert bars, sidebar graphics and from within blog posts. For pop-ups, alert bars etc. I highly recommend Leadpages. Click Here For a Free Trial!
- Create graphics in the right size to promote your lead magnet. – You Can Use Stencil To Create Graphics Directly Within WordPress. Click Here To Try It For Free!
- Set up Ad Inserter (WP Plugin) to implement the graphic in every post (or every page, or every post of a certain category…)
- Create 3 graphics for each Social Media Platform you Use To Promote Your Lead Magnet
- Post them or schedule them to the perfect time
Social Media
- Decide Which Social Marketing Platforms To Use. Start With 1-2 and Build From There.
- Set Up Your Social Media Accounts (Business Accounts for Pinterest + Instagram)
- Choose a Professional Profile Picture (a headshot usually performs better than a logo)
- Write a Bio with a Compelling Call to Action
- Create a Social Media Plan
- Sign Up for an Autoschedule-Service (Just in case, you want to keep your sanity.) – I recommed Tailwind for Pinterest (Click for a $15 Credit) and SEM Rush for Everything Else (Use This Link For A 7 Day Free Trial)
- Ad Floating Social Media Share Buttons to Your Website
- Set Up a Social Media Stats Tracker
- Design 1-3 Graphics / Social Media Platform For Each Blog Post – You Can Use Stencil To Create Graphics Directly Within WordPress. Click Here To Try It For Free!
- Schedule The Posts
- Verify Your Website
- Set Up 10-15 Boards
- Write Keyword-Rich Board Descriptions
- Apply for Rich Pins
- Apply for a Bunch of Group Boards (best: Niche-Specific)
- Install „Pin It Button“ WP Plugin
- Add Pin-It Buttons To Your Website
Monetization
Affiliate Marketing
- Write down 10-20 tools, your audience might need to reach their goals, ideally tools, you’ve tried yourself and liked.
- Check if those tools have affiliate programs.
- If they do, try them yourself first.
- If you like them, apply to their affiliate program.
- Write down 10 skills, your audience needs to learn to reach their goals.
- Research books and online courses on these skills.
- Apply to the Amazon Partnership Program. They pay small commissions, but whenever you recommend a book, you can throw their link in and it may add up.
- Find out, if the online courses you’ve found offer affiliate programs.
- If they do, try them yourself first.
- If you like them, apply to their affiliate program.
- Decide on 3 affiliate products that have a high commission and fit your audience well to focus on first.
- For each of these products, brainstorm 10 ideas, how you can promote it – examples include case studies, reviews, tutorials etc.
- For each of these products, brainstorm 10 ideas of bonuses, you can offer your readers, if they sign-up through your link – these can be quick-start guides, checklists, cheatsheets etc.
- Choose your best ideas and put them into action – one after another.
- Set up a spreadsheet to save your affiliate links, track where you’ve put them and track your income to see, which promotion methods + affiliate products perform best with your audience.
- BONUS: Apply to the Ultimate Bundles Affiliate Program, since they offer great deals on Online Course + eBook Bundles for a variety of niches.
Digital Products
- List 20 Problems, Your Audience May Have
- Survey Your Audience About Their Biggest Problems + Compile The Results
- Use Google Analytics to See Your Most Popular Blog Posts
- Choose 3 Problems, That You Can Imagine Creating A Digital Product Around – Ideally Choose Topics, That You’ve Already Written A Lot About
- Survey Your Audience, Which One Of Those 3 Problems They Find The Most Frustrating
- Find A Name For The Product
- Collect Everything, You’ve Ever Written About That Topic
- Write Down An Outline Of Your Product (Course / eBook …)
- Sort Your Content Into The Outline
- Check, If There’s Anything Missing In Order To Solve The Problem
- Add Images, Videos, Infographics etc. If Necessary
- Create A Table Of Content
- Write An Introduction
- Write a Conclusion
- Brainstorm 10 „Bonuses“ You Can Add, Such As Checklists, Templates, Cheatsheets, Printables etc.
- Create 3 Of Those Bonuses That You Didn’t Already Offer For Free On Your Blog
- If You’re Selling an eBook, Consider Styling It Or Hire An eBook Designer To Do It For You
- Write a Sales Page
- Create a Sales Funnel + Implement It – An Easy Way To Do This is With GetResponse
Similar Posts:
- How To Make Money In Your First Month Blogging + Checklists + Free Tools
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- Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest – Step By Step Guide
- 19 30-Day-Challenges to Blogging success + free printable tracker
- Nobody Reads Your Fucking Blog – 35 Reasons Why