We’ve spoken with Jacob from Relative Luxury about his journey into the world of blogging to find out more about his thoughts on the best ways to get started with writing content for a website – and making it a successful venture in your free time.
Following a year working in digital content creation for a major outdoor clothing retailer – and hot off the back of recently graduating from a multimedia communications degree at university – the launch of the relative luxury website was a fairly slow process. From coming up with the concept, and considering the various options that are out there when it comes to setting up a new site – relative luxury was born out of a dream holiday to the Dalmatian coast, and for the first time, being able to experience somewhere new without the limitations of a student budget.
Relative Luxury is all about chasing life’s little luxuries and sharing inspiration on the little things that can mean the world. At the heart, it’s a lifestyle blog, created to inspire everyone to live life to the fullest – despite knowing that for the most – trips away and wonderful experiences are the result of hard work. You can find out more about the blog by visiting the site.
I started the blog when I realised that creating content that could engage and unite an audience was something that I was really enjoying in my day job. I was at the start of my professional career, and I wanted to learn as much as I could about marketing and communications in my first role – and setting up a blog was a great way to take what I’d learnt in the 9-5 and put my effort into the topics that inspired me to keep working hard.
Planning content and coming up with a strategy, looking at keywords and product performance was a great way to see real results from the content I was creating. If I was tasked with looking at the top five selling men’s waterproof jackets for example – I could look at the audience profile we were trying to target, and produce a blog post outlining some of the key tips for hiking in the rain – promoting the products alongside more rich content.
It was this data driven approach that led me to start writing more on Relative Luxury. While working on the site isn’t my full time job at the moment, it’s still a great way to take what I’ve been able to learn from various roles in marketing over the last five years and bring together the things that really inspire me. From menswear, to interior design, food and drink to hotel reviews and trend reports. I’ve made sure to set time aside and work on content that I can share with others – and it’s been great to see the blog grow over the last 18 months.
Finding the time, and committing it to writing for a blog can be tough – especially in the early days. Results take time, and if anyone thinks that they’ll suddenly land on the first page of search results for their chosen area of expertise – unfortunately it’s not the case. Don’t expect to be the next Instagram influencer working with the likes of Adidas or Gymshark – content writing is something that takes time and commitment.
One of my biggest tips is to know your brand. Understand what it is that you want to share. Think carefully about what kind of topics you want to write about, and become your own audience. Take the time to read other blogs and see where there’s gaps for you to add value. There are literally thousands of hobby-bloggers out there – if you’re interested in turning your blog into something that could become a future business – then you need to know your market, and understand what makes your blog unique.
A second tip I’d share with new bloggers is to learn as much as you can about the basics of SEO, digital marketing and content optimisation across different channels. The digital world is always evolving and changing – with algorithms and audiences’ accessing content in different ways to contend with. The more you are aware of these changes, the better prepared you can be for when that all important google ranking criteria or accessibility requirement comes into play.
I won’t lie, there’s a LOT of information out there – so have a think about some of the things you’d like to know more about. Find the webinars and ask the questions – there’s plenty of expertise you can glean from online content gurus – there’s also some fantastic community groups for bloggers that can really help take your passion to the next level. Considering tools like Canva or Unsplash is also a great way to create more engaging content without the need to pay for expensive tools.
When it comes to monetising your content – this is just as slow as initially setting up your site. Our key piece of information here is to enjoy the growth – and then focus on one area to monetise first.
We’ve fallen into the trap of setting up multiple affiliate programmes, trying to reach out to all of our favourite brands at once, and taking on pretty much any opportunity that came our way. In short – that’s the quickest way for you to lose your focus and desire to keep writing.
When you start to get a sense of your audience – and what’s working well with your content, think about the ways you could link products that are relevant to them – or provide additional content that adds value to what you’re posting on your site. Think about your blog as your product, and work with brands that complement what you’re trying to achieve. Find the space to talk about potential brand partnerships in a way that feels natural – otherwise you’ll quickly become a site that just re-shares discount codes (and there’s already major websites out there doing a great job of that).
I wouldn’t call myself a blogging expert – but I’m definitely further on in my journey with Relative Luxury. I’m very proud of the content I’ve been able to create, and to have worked with some great brands already on things like giveaways and sponsored content.
It’s been a great way for me to continue to build my skills, while also sharing my passions with other people across the globe, and that’s one of the most exciting and rewarding parts about running a blog. You build an audience that want to see more from you – and they become part of your journey too. If you’re thinking that blogging might be something you want to get into… our advice… just start!
If you enjoyed this post head over to Relative Luxury to read more!
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