7 Steps to write a blog business plan

Creating a business plan for your blog is not a compulsory requirement for all bloggers. It is optional. But, for anyone planning to build a successful blog, there are chances you will need a blog business plan that will help you navigate your way to success.

Now, here’s why it’s so…

A blogging plan is very crucial for you and your business of blogging because it can help you achieve a lot more than you can without one.

From gaining clarity to learning how to understand and manage your blog’s growth, it can also open you up to opportunities that could help you to scale your blog.

Whether you’re starting a new blog or you just want to achieve more for your blogging career, during an incoming year, getting a blogging business plan can be very instrumental towards the achievement of your goals.

That said, get out your writing pad as I’ll be listing out the unconventional steps you can use to build a successful business plan for your blog in the following paragraphs…

Get your Goals Sorted

The first step to build a blogging plan is to get your goals clearly sorted out. Doing this shapes out what you want to achieve and with this in place, you can launch out on building a realistic plan you can use to achieve that.

By the way, your goal is that outcome, deliverable or that particular thing you want to achieve with your blog over a specific period of time.

It is one of the most important elements of your blogging plan.

To get started with a business plan for your blog, you need to find out, what exactly it is you want to achieve with your blog over a specified duration of time.

It doesn’t have to be just one blogging goal. It can be as much as you want but it has to be things you can realistically achieve over the set timeline.

Although most people prefer a few manageable goals over a lot of them. You can always start with what you can manage and then create more goals in due time.

Be sure you write down all your important goals and then choose the ones you want to focus on at a go. Preferably, start with the most important ones.

Identify your Audience

Who do you want to reach and how can they help you to achieve your goals?

Part of your business blogging plan will have to focus on your key audience and how they can help you achieve your goals

So, start with finding out who’s your target audience, where they are located and how they can be of help to you.

Remember, your target audience has to be that person or group of persons that will be interested in your blog posts or the services you offer on the blog.

There are many ways to do this. And you can start with finding out from competitors who have similar blog like yours or those that create content targeting similar people like the audience you have in mind.

When this is done, as part of your plans, you have to device ways to get a piece of this audience over to your blog.

For this, you can start with finding avenues to collaborate with these competition via guest posting, event hosting, paid exposure or specific service offers where you offer them a service in return for exposure, links or mentions.

Whatever it is, you have to be able to add clear value to your target audience to be able to attract them over to your blog.

Where you already have an identifiable audience, what you need to do is to find out ways you can make your goals to fit in with your audience’s needs.

If your goal is to make more money from your blog for instance, identify the value you can provide for this audience in order to have them pay you in return.

Create a Brand

If you’re already an existing blogger then you can skip this step. Unless you want to re-work your brand.

For new bloggers, the first step towards building your blogging business plan is to choose the brand you want to build.

Starting with your domain name, you need to choose a name that will be used for your blog.

It can be any name but whatever it is, take out time to think about this and make sure the name you choose is easy, memorable, and reflects your blog and what it stands for.

After this, create a mission and vision statement for your blog. These two should form the ethos of your existence, illustrate why you’re blogging and the things that matters the most to you as far as your blog is concerned.

Going forward, you can also build a brand guide at this point and then create ways you will want your blog to be perceived by the outside world.

the perception you want to build for your brand, how you want to build it and other key.

Create a Marketing plan

Your marketing plan is going to be very pivotal to your success, if you want to create a realistic blogging business plan for your blog.

It’s going to be at the core of your marketing and promotion. And these are the important drivers of growth for any digital platform so you have to pay attention to it.

Your marketing plan should include your preferred marketing platforms, the intensity of your marketing effort and the duration etc.

To build a formidable blog, you need a realistic business plan| Credits: Pexel/Anastasia Shuraeva

Let’s break it down…

Choose a preferred Social Media Channel: For your preferred marketing platform, you need to identify the top social media platform that has a good number of your target audience.

Try to focus your promotional activities on this platform and then take note of the interactions and feedback you get in return.

Set your Posting Schedule: Afterwards, find out the intensity you want to use in promoting your content across this platform.

Remember this should be reasonable and to a large extent you need to be considerate with your audience so you don’t come off as spammy.

Also, find out alternative platforms or strategies you can use in promoting your blog. It can be through collaborations, guest posting etc.

Find what can work for you and plan it out accordingly. Also, be sure to measure the outcome at the end of whatever you’re doing so you can know what’s working and what’s not.

Analyze your SWOT

In marketing parlance, SWOT means strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

So, what’s your SWOT? You need to identify your SWOT as you work on building a realistic plan for your business.

Strength; Starting with your areas of strength, list out the key areas that your blog has a clear advantage over your competition. Or let’s say the things that distinguishes you from the other bloggers in your niche.

And then focus on how you can use this area of strength to drive your goals.

Weaknesses; Identify your areas of weaknesses. This can be your disadvantage or short comings. Be very honest about this.

For instance; your weakness can be the fact that you’re a newbie and there are many other existing experts in your blogging niche.

After you identify your areas of weakness, find out ways you plan to navigate around this without losing out too much and note it down.

Opportunities; Identify the opportunities that’s there for you to push through your blog with your current plan. Find out the positive things that can possibly happen to your niche which you can key into before others.

For example, when compared to an established blogger, as a new blogger your opportunity could be your unique selling point. Or it can be the fact that you just started out and you are learning the ropes.

Unlike an established blogger, you can build this into your storytelling, using it as part of a marketing strategy to demonstrate your journey and growth while building your brand and credibility in the mind of your audience.

Doing this can help you to build a more loyal audience who are committed to your cause.

Threats: Finally, the next thing you need to identify as part of your SWOT analysis are your threats.

So, what are those things that can threaten your success and that of your blog?

Could it be the fact that you might not have enough time, you might run out of ideas to blog about or you may not be able to withstand the stiff competition in your niche?

Whatever it is, identifying your threats can help you to understand and plan how to get over these threats and build a resilient system that works for your blog.

Make Plans for Monetization

Although making money via blogging is not very important for every blogger, it is important for a lot of bloggers.

If one of your primary definition of success is your ability to make money with your blog then you need to figure out ways to fit this into your blogging business plan.

To get started, you need to identify your income goals and then the major sources of your income you plan to utilize.

If you’re just starting out, it may be more realistic to skip the part about estimated income you need to make and instead, focus on growth, until your blog gains some traction.

But, if you’re an existing blogger, as part of your money making plans find out, how much do you intend to make with your blog within a clear duration of time. And again, the sources or channels you’ll use to generate this income.

Is it going to be via ads, promoted content, subscriptions, courses and trainings, rendered services?

Whatever route you’re going to use to make money with your blog, factor this into your business plan…

And then map out strategies you want to use to integrate this as part of your blogging activities.

PS: Understand that this particular part of your plan might have to work hand in hand with some other sections for it to be achieved.

Allocate time to your major activities

What are the major activities you need to do if you really want to get to achieve your goals for blogging? You have to figure this.

Let’s say part of these activities include for instance: online research, content creation, promotion, guest posting, creating your services etc.

If the above are part of the activities you have to do in order to achieve your blogging goals then you must allocate time to this, in your blogging plan, based on your overall weekly blogging schedule.

Remember, time is one of the most valuable resources to you as a blogger so, while doing this, you want to pay attention to the activities that will help you to achieve your goals the most. And allocate the most times to this.

For example, identify the duration of time it will take you to research, create and promote a post. Then allocate the time accordingly. This is very crucial.

Final Words

Building a business plan is very important to the success of your blog…But even more important is building a formidable and realistic business plan for your blog.

It will help you gain clarity, attain your outcomes and drive more improved growth for your blog.

And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a new blogger starting out with a new blog or you want to drive a better growth for your blog, taking these steps will get you closer to achieving your goals.

Need More Strategies to build and grow a successful blog? Join our Blogging Course or Reach out to our expert here.

So, there you have it. Now it’s over to you… Which of these will be your first step to build a business plan? Drop your comments below.

11 Responses

  1. I Don’t have a website for now, Actually I will be needing one, a decent one. I want to provide services skill professionals in the oil and gas sector.

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