I said it a thousand times, let’s repeat it once again for this topic: Investing in Blogging for 2020. Blogging is no more fun or a hobby, it’s pure business. If you are not ready to take it as full-time, then also Blogging is a sure shot way to create a passive income source besides your full-time job.
By observing the success of many Top Indian Bloggers, these days people are asking many questions like:
- How much does it cost to build a blog?
- How much do bloggers earn from blogging?
- Is it advisable to start blogging in 2020?
- Is investing in blogging a good idea?
All these questions are stating one clear thing that, people are looking for a guarantee or confirmation, whether blogging will work for them or not.
Well, here I would like to say it clearly that, Blogging is like any other business. If you do it properly by educating yourself well and applying different tactics, then it will definitely work for you.
But, again Blogging is not a get quick rich scheme which will work for everyone! You need the mentality to become a blogger over the period of time by doing proper investment, learning necessary skills and networking with people. In this article, I will talk about the importance of investment in building a successful blog.
Also Read 9 Ways To Generate Income From A blog in 2020
Why You Should Invest In Your Blogging Career?
Back in 2007-2008, when I started looking for “How to make money online”, my intention was to find out some extra income sources besides my full-time job. But gradually things have changed and in the last 2-3 years, it’s a completely different world.
Over the years, I have realized that there are multiple benefits to blogging. Let me share a few insights fro my understanding.
Extra Income Source (Good To Have Feeling & Security)
I have seen people leaving their full-time day job and started working as a blogger. That means blogging has a bright career option if you know how to pursue it. You can read this amazing interview of Sumit Bansal, who did this and now living a life in his own terms.
So, you may not need to quit your job, but you can easily spend some time (1-2- hours daily or in the weekends) and start investing in blogging for the future. If you give some solid efforts, then creating a passive income source wouldn’t be that difficult.
Utilize Your Free Time (Don’t Waste Time)
So, even if you are doing great in your job or any business, if you have any interest in the blogging field, then you must utilize your free time by starting a blog in 2020. When I mention about free time, we all know that how much free time we are getting every day and how exactly we are spending them.
I can see that many of my friends are spending hours watching TV, Netflix, YouTube, etc. I am not saying it’s bad, they are just doing this to pass-time. I think blogging is a great way to utilize your free time for a genuine purpose of creating alternate career options besides whatever you are doing right now.
Job Market is Changing (Learn As Much As You Can)
With the change in technology, nowadays every 3-4 years, things are getting outdated. As a software professional, I know how difficult it is to adapt to every change happening in your job life in every 3-4 years. I believe the same things are happening in every sector. And it creates a huge problem with the future of our jobs or Job security.
But, I found Blogging & Digital marketing is a great way to do something on my own in my free time. In fact, I am quite lucky as my better half Manidipa is doing that for full-time and that support is always encouraging for a better future of our blogging journey.
Becoming Serious About Future Is Not Boring At All
We are heading towards a life where we will struggle to create a financial flow in our older ages. I know you might be thinking that I am talking like your DAD. But the reality is that I am a DAD of a 9-year-old kid and I can see what kind of future is waiting for me at least.
I know that I am not going to get a pension-like my parents are getting. That means I have to earn money till I die. And for that either I have to be employable till you die or I can create a passive income source. In that scenario, I found Blogging is something that I can do, I love to do which will also make sure to take care of my income and may open many doors in the Digital Marketing industry in the coming days.
I think it’s enough gyaan or lecture 🙂 But the bottom line is, Blogging has a very good future and it is like any other career option if you can see that from that point of view. If you think you will try blogging for a few months to explore, then Blogging is not for you my dear friend.
Let me re-iterate another saying of mine: We can spend 4 years to become an Engineer, 5 years to become a Doctor. But can’t wait 2-3 years to become a good blogger. That’s where actually more than 90% blogger fails in building a career in blogging. Think about it 100 times and prepare yourself properly before entering into blogging in 2020.
What Investments To Do in Blogging (It’s not always about Money!)
When the term investment comes into the picture, people always think about money. It’s very obvious. But here I am not only talking about money but some other important things that you have to do even before investing money for your blogging career in 2020. Let’s talk clearly.
1.Invest Enough Time to Read Other Blogs
Yes, this is the first thing you have to invest in blogging. If you think that you will simply follow someone and copy or imitate those strategies then you will never be able to create a successful blog.
If you have very little time and you are looking for easy copy-paste kind of a job, then I think you have to look for some data entry jobs or other similar part-time jobs. But if you have some time besides everyday regular work, then find some time to create a reading habit at least.
Also Read 30+ Bloggers Shared Their Best Time Management Tips
In my early days in blogging, I used to spend 90% of my free time reading other blogs. What exactly people are doing in blogging, how they are earning money, what kind of life-style or struggle they are going through as a blogger. E.g. Ryan Biddulph is one of the inspirational bloggers whom I have followed from the beginning and gradually learned to get into that blogging mindset.
So, find out time to start reading as much as you can. This way only you will be able to know whether you are getting any interest in blogging or not. The more interest you will get, your brain will start working in a better way and I am sure you will be able to get into blogging with full power.
2.Learn Necessary Blogging Skills
The more you read, you will come to know that a blogger is like a one-man army. He/she is capable of everything they need to create & manage a website. So, find out those skills like SEO, Web Designing, WordPress management, Content Writing, Social Media Promotion, etc. and start learning them slowly.
Must Read 40+ Best SEO Blogs To Follow in 2020 To Lean SEO For FREE
The best way to do that is by reading many case studies. Yes, plenty of bloggers have shared some real-time case studies from their experiments which are the best sources of information. E.g. if you want to learn SEO, then check these SEO case studies from many SEO experts. If you want to create & grow a Facebook group, then check out the Facebook Group Case Study I have shared on this blog.
Of course, you can invest your hard-earned money and buy some blogging courses to learn everything. But personally, I never spent money on such courses and always preferred to learn by reading other people’s success stories & experiments only. You can go as per your preferences.
3.Invest For Setting Up Your Website
Finally, we are into the section where you are going to create your blog or website. Here many people ask whether they can make money without investing in web hosting or a premium theme.
Frankly speaking, if you have created the blogging mindset by agreeing on the previous points, then you can actually create a blog without paying anything with the Google Blogger platform. But at least buy a domain name. I have shared the same thing in one of my videos, check that here.
But, if you ask my suggestion, then I will again say that wait till you are not able to feel or observe your future in blogging. But as soon as you are ready with your plan then you have to invest in the right tools to create a professional website.
We (I & Manidipa) did my first investment in blogging back in 2012. That time we moved our websites from Blogger to WordPress. But, last year when I decided to take BloggingJOY.com seriously, I spend a lot of money behind that blog and I am not at all regretting that investment.
In fact due to that investment only, in the last 1 year, my blog has achieved many milestones. I got many appreciations from top bloggers, featured in many blogs, able to build a Facebook Community with 6K+ members, our affiliate earning has grown, etc. So, let me share where exactly I have invested and you can also follow the same if you have a solid blogging plan for 2020.
Web Hosting: Like everyone, I used to host my website on cheap hosting plans. But I realized that I am actually doing no good as there was less security, less SPEED, and no good support. Then I decided to go for a premium web hosting company to make a fast loading website.
I read many positive reviews of SiteGround hosting and immediately went for that. I bought the SiteGround GrowBig plan for 3 years during the 2018 SiteGround Black Friday Sale. You can check the payment receipt. Right now also they are offering a 75% discount till 2nd December 2019. Check the deal now.
It was a good journey so far. But this year 2019, I have upgraded from GrowBig to GoGeek as my website is growing. So, I spent another $200 behind this amazing hosting. The bottom line here is, if you know that your website is hosted on a quality hosting company like SiteGround, you can focus 100% of your time on creating amazing content, networking with others and growing your blog & revenue. And that’s the best return after investing in a quality web hosting.
Right now some amazing deals are going on different web hosting plans. Just check this article about the best Web Hosting Deals on Black Friday.
Premium WordPress Theme: I spent years experimenting with different themes. But time has changed now, it is the age of user experience. So, even if you have good content, but your website is not looking good or readability is compromised you will lose the trust. So, without a 2nd thought, go for a premium WordPress theme. I bought a couple of Premium Themes and using them on all my websites. As the Black Friday Sale is going on, you can get some good discounts on themes as well. Check out the list of my preferred premium themes.
- Divi Theme From Elegant Themes: https://bit.ly/2P0J3GP
- Genesis Framework: https://bit.ly/2pyHFAT
- GeneratePress Theme: https://bit.ly/2XwGX3V
- Astra Pro Theme: https://bit.ly/35bpD74
- Schema Pro Theme from MyThemeShop: https://bit.ly/330GAzG
Tools & Plugins: To run a professionally looking blog that loads fast, has an amazing user interface you have to invest after a lot of quality tools & plugins. Last year I bought a couple of plugins and this year during Black Friday Sale, I have renewed them. A few of the awesome tools that you can buy right now is WP Rocket, Thrive Leads, Thrive Architect, Linkwhisper, WPCouponsAndDeals, AAWP Plugin for Amazon, etc. This list is huge, you can check out this website for more such products with amazing deals.
There are a few products where I have invested last year and got tremendous results so far. Many such amazing tools are there that will make your blogging life easier and if you find that will help, you must invest. Here are a few proofs of my investment for my blogging business during this year’s Black Friday Sale.
If you are working on Amazon affiliate websites, then you must use this amazing plugin named AAWP or Amazon Affiliate WordPress Plugin. With this plugin you can easily create tables, item boxes and many things without any efforts. I will write a separate review about this plugin by sharing everything I have experienced so far. Right now they are offering a 40% discount coupon, click here to grab this.
GeneratePress is the best WordPress theme for bloggers and there is no doubt about the popularity of this theme. I have renewed this theme license by paying a very nominal price. You can get a 25% discount now, as they are running Black Friday Sale. Click here to grab this deal.
This is another amazing investment I did last year. I tried many coupon plugins for WordPress in last few years. But I found this one simply amazing. This year, I have used this plugin for my Black Friday website. They are also running a promotion and you can get a 40% discount right now. Click Here to grab this deal.
4.Invest time in making friends (Networking)
So, you might be thinking that after spending $1000 we will be able to create a successful blog. But the reality is completely different. I was blogging silently for more than 9 years and I never get connected with anyone. In fact, I never helped someone as well.
And that was my biggest mistake in blogging. You can’t grow alone. It is exactly the same way you can’t fight any battle alone or live a happy life alone. You have to build a relationship & make good friends.
Many people think that networking in blogging means asking for some favor like link building, social share etc. No, these things are there but there has to be real relationship and selfless friendship. Then only you will be able to create a solid atmosphere to continue blogging with 100% motivation.
Last year, on 9th December 2018 when I started my facebook Group I hardly have any good friends in blogging. But now after 1 year, I can proudly say that I am able to make some amazing friends. In fact, that is my online family who is constantly helping me, motivating me and encouraging me in every possible way they can. Let me share a few of my amazing blogging buddies, without whom I would not be in a position to write this article sitting on the current scenario.
- Saurabh Tiwari of Techibhai.com
- Sumit Sao of Blogginglift.com
- Rahul Bhicheer of BloggingPal.com
- Navin Rao of QuestionCage.com
- Santhosh Gairola of Viyali.com
- Gururaja Murthy Devarangadi of Learnsmm.com
- Varun Gera of Varungera.com
- Anil Agarwal of Bloggerspassion.com
- Ankit Main of Websitetipstricks.com
- Jasmeet Singh of Geekyplug.com
This list is huge & I am sorry not to include everyone’s name here. I just mentioned a few of my close ones who are always supporting me to do better day after day. I am thankful to GOD to have such an amazing group of friends.
So, starting that Facebook Group has been my investment so far in the blogging journey. So, make sure to connect with people, help others, make friends without any self. You will discover many good things about yourself gradually, find the motivation to do more. I think this is the best return one can expect from any investment.
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Conclusion: Is Investing In Blogging A Good Idea?
If you are worried about the future of blogging, then let me tell you that even if there is huge competition the demand for content is growing like crazy and so of good bloggers. Don’t just create a blog for experimenting, try to be a better blogger with time and share your actual knowledge & experience, which will help people to overcome their problems. That’s how blogging actually works all the time.
If you can plan your blogging career like this, then you must invest in the blogging business. But remember, you have to invest enough time first, followed by money. Don’t just spend huge money on creating a super-fast website with amazing interface or design. If you don’t know what to write or share, it’s a waste of your money.
In the end, people want to read something, looking for some solutions to their problems online. So, help people by answering their questions and problems through your blog. Gradually you will be able to find your blog growing, audience growing and you will find the true purpose/motive for investing in your blog.
Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback about this article by writing a comment below. And also share this article on social media, if you find this worth sharing. Thanks for reading 🙂