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I’m a geek. And as a geek, I’m interested in optimizing all aspects of my life as much as I can. My health is no different.
I’ve learned a lot about nutrition and fitness over the years. My current aim is to promote a healthy lifestyle. That’s my direct job responsibility. I manage public relations for one quitting smoking community.
It’s awesome to know that your work helps somebody to start a new life without one of the most horrible habits. This success inspires me to help more people.
Writing gives such opportunity. I keep a blog to share my knowledge and experience.
And since I use my blog to tell readers everything I know, and some of my readers asked for it, I want to reveal five steps that help me in my venture.
#1 Know Your Niche
When it comes to health, there are plenty of topics to cover: diet, nutrition, running, fitness, weight loss, and others. I was passionate about helping people lead a healthy way of life and thought that I was knowledgeable enough to have a blog. Soon I realized that some information fells out of my field of knowledge.
I mostly write about smoking cessation methods. Vaping is one of them. This theme is rather new and everyone wants to be informed. I tell my audience about different vape pens, how their usage can replace them cigarettes, how they can improve their health after quitting, etc.
It is very important to find a specific area and provide in-depth content. Of course, you may highlight various topics from time to time. But it will be a wise decision to start with something narrow.
#2 Research, Research, Research
A health blog isn’t a personal topic unless you’re writing about your individual experience. Before giving any advice or tips, you need to make a deep research. You won’t get following if the content contains some crap.
As I have already mentioned, I blog about vaping. This phenomenon is not well-studied yet. On the one hand, it’s easier to analyze data and not to overload the readers with all those statistics. On the other hand, the lack of material doesn’t allow covering some burning issues. I can recommend the best vape pen for oil from VapingDaily.com, but can’t tell exactly how much smokers have quit after the switch to vaping.
So, keep up-to-date on all the latest studies and trends. It will help you find new topics to write about and educate your readers on every new thing they need to know or try. However, there is a lot of unverified information on the Net.
Make trusted reference so that your reader could follow the link and get more data. If possible, check with a specialist who knows what they’re talking about. You don’t want to get anyone hurt.
#3 Take a Position
Inspirational stories, surprising facts, and motivational quotes are good enough to improve your content. But to truly connect with those who reads your blog and build a loyal following, you should express your own point of view on the topics you cover.
People visit your blog for your opinions, insights, and advice. So, it’s crucial to define your own position and stick to it.
After all, blogging is a way to express your thoughts. Don’t pretend to be someone else. When you blog, you’re letting readers take a step into your mind.
Let’s say that I express my positive attitude to vaping and recommend smokers to try a vaporizer pen as a substitute for a traditional cigarette in one post (I really do that). If I start criticizing vapers for their habit in the next post, the readers will find my blog an unreliable resource. Consistency is a vital selling point.
#4 Interact With Your Audience
It goes without saying that the purpose of doing any blogging is getting a high readership. Increasing your audience should always be one of your key focuses.
Come up with practical ideas and solutions to health problems. My readers often ask questions regarding quitting smoking and vaping. They want to know how to choose the best vape pen for their needs, where to buy vape products, etc. These questions make me know what topics my followers enjoy reading. So I write about what they are interested in.
You should create appealing and helpful content. Read comments and respond to the questions. Always be polite. Don’t treat interacting with your readers as a chore.
When the audience feels that there is a real person behind the words on the screen, then building crucial relationships is a question of time.
It is advisable to back up your words with real-world knowledge and facts from trusted sources, especially if you don’t have years of experience. Though I’ve been leading a healthy lifestyle for years, I still consult other professionals. We can’t know everything.
#5 Be Crazy About Your Topic
Wellness blogs are popular now. And that means that the competition is tight.
Thus, if you want to succeed in blogging, you should love what you’re doing. And you should have a genuine interest in the chosen niche. Otherwise, you will fail to get your audience passionate about your blog.
People love sincerity. Let them feel that everything you write comes from your heart. They will appreciate your kind words and your efforts as they will see that it’s a product of a thorough research.
Do it for the love that you have for something. Sure, money may have played a significant role in why you started blogging. There’s nothing wrong with that.
But constant thinking about money is stressful. You’d better focus on how marvelous you can make your blog. Dedicate yourself to this activity as you would do with any other important project.
There’s no easy path to success. If you follow your passion and use an effective strategy, the invested time and effort will soon pay off. So start your health blog, arm yourself with advice, learn from your own experience and never give up.
About the Author: Phyllis Baker is the PR manager of the quitting smoking community and the impassioned health blogger. She eagerly writes about self-improvement and lifestyle.
