To find success on the internet, you always need to be two steps ahead of the competition. In the world of blogging, this is even more true. When you look at the internet today, it’s easy to do a lot of things… such as starting a website, a blog, an ad campaign on Google and even building a following on social media. However, just because something is easy, it doesn’t mean it’s worth doing.

This is something we commonly see in the world of blogging. Many people start a blog with the hopes of making money and only rely on creating content to get there. For most people, this will simply never work. Instead, you need to niche down, have a focus and promote the content you spent time to create.

With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at five different things every blogger should do in 2017, to get more success out of their sites and own personal efforts.

2017

1 – Build a Personal Brand

As mentioned earlier, it’s easy to get started with anything on the internet. So why not get started with a personal brand of your own in the process? It’s really one of the best things you can do — especially if you already have an expertise or an authority site within a niche market. Not only can this help grow your brand and business, it can also bring new opportunities up that you never thought were imaginable!

2 – Create Better Content than Your Competition

Have you ever thought about why your competition is ranking in the search results higher than your own sites? It’s likely due to a number of factors, but one of the most important reasons is that their content is probably better. Analyze your competition and do more than what they are offering. If they have all text and images on their site, go a step further and add some custom videos. Get a step even further and create an infographic to add shareable content to your site. The time and money investment here is minimal, but it can play a huge part in the overall success of your site.

3 – Attend an Internet Marketing Conference

One of the best things anyone in the online marketing or content creation space can do is attend a big event in their area. Even if it’s a few states away, it’s still a massive opportunity. With everyone always working online and just sending out emails all, human interaction and network means everything. Check out this list of email marketing conferences to attend in 2017, and also this other list of internet marketing conferences that might peak your interest. No matter what your market is, make sure you attend at least one even in 2017!

4 – Mess Around with Different Monetization Methods

Are you still using the same methods of making money from your site that you used years ago? If so, you should start playing around with a few different monetization methods. Sure, Google Adsense and Amazon program work well and are used by millions of people… but they are also only paying out a fraction of actual earnings to the site owner promoting them. Try to fit in a few different other monetization segments into your site, such as affiliate marketing, pop-under ads and direct placement advertising. Securing just one advertising in any of the alternate methods could quickly surpass your earnings with other programs.

5 – Create a Product or Service of Your Own

Last but not least, but all of your content, audience, and expertise to use by coming out with a product or service of your own. This is truly one of the best ways to grow your business in size and convert it from just a content site, to a real online business. This can be as simple as offering your expertise as a service (consulting) or creating an online video course where members can login to an area and access all of your content. No matter what option you choose, start with one product or service to build your brand and following, then continually tweak and improve on it over time.

2017 is right around the corner. Before you know it, 2018 will be next. Plan out the best options for your blog right now, and have an action plan in place to make 2017 your best year ever!