A few years ago, I started a blog on healthy eating. At the time, I thought if I produced good content consistently, people would magically find it. And that is the starting point for just about every business person who tries to blog, and every blogger who wants to convert readers to clients.
What I didn’t know then was that the vast majority of the millions of blogs out there have fewer than 1,000 followers. If I had known that frightening statistic, I likely wouldn’t have started my blog in the first place.
That simply isn’t enough followers to monetize a blog and turn it into a business. It might be beautiful and captivating, but it’s a hobby.
I’m glad I was blissfully unaware because within a year, my blog had twice that many subscribers and my list was growing like a weed. Other women started asking what my secrets were and if I would help them with their blogs.
I was still working at my corporate job at the time, and as I started helping these women, I realized that my blog wasn’t the destination for my success – it was the jumping off point. I loved helping others make their dream career a reality. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that this kind of coaching was what I was put on this earth to do.
I also knew I would have to leap from the corporate ladder and make my side business of blogging and increasingly, coaching, a full time job that replaced my salary. The prospect was scary but thrilling at the same time. Doing both was becoming less and less feasible. Everything else in my life was on hold because I was working 80-hour weeks.
One night I held my breath, hired a coach, invested in my business, and shortly after made the leap. Quitting my day job terrified me right up until the moment I did it. I never looked back. As I developed products, perfected my website, and tweaked my branding, I started bringing on more and more clients who were eager to grow their businesses.
Although my blog felt like an unbelievable success a couple of years ago, it pales in comparison to the success I’ve had as an online business expert. In the first six months of 2015, I earned $355K from my business, not to mention traveling around the world, allowing my husband to quit his job to pursue his dream, and changing women’s lives through my work.
If that sounds like a dream to you, I encourage you to get really clear on what it is you love doing. If you love making an impact on others, is your blog really allowing you to do that at the level you desire? Or do you need to grow beyond a blog to a full-fledged business with real earning power? If so, coaching might be a perfect next step for you.
You might be saying, “But I love to write. That’s why I have a blog!” Yes, of course, but what you may not realize is that being a coach involves a ton of writing as well. In addition to blogging, I’ve written an e-book, three programs, and tons of bonuses for my clients in the past year alone. I’m actually doing more writing now than when I was only maintaining my blog!
It is possible to turn your blog into a real business that pays the bills, but it requires more than hitting publish and hoping people find you.
Once you’re clear on what you want, then commit to it. Make it happen. Come up with a business plan to replace the money you’re making now from your day job, and make your business a success.
