One of the most saturated niches out there is the “wordpress tips and training” niche, yet there is always something new to learn and new people are blogging for the first time every day.
Even with that said, it’s always interesting to see how many different “wordpress and blogging” tips sites we can come across, and many of them are quite successful as well.
Today we are going to be interviewing the creator of Blondish.net, Nile Flores and how she first got started with blogging and turned her site into what it is today.
Contents
- 1.) Please tell us about yourself and how you got into blogging?
- 2.) What is the focus of your blog and why did you choose that niche?
- 3.) How are you currently monetizing your blog traffic?
- 4.) What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started blogging?
- 5.) What are three blogs that you visit almost daily?
- 6.) Can you give us three recommended tools/services that you use with your blogging?
- 7.) What advice would you have for someone who is just starting with their first blog?
- 8.) What’s the best advice or tip you’ve discovered about blogging since getting started?
- 9.) If you only had $100 to start a new blog, how would you use it?
- 10.) How can readers of the blog get in touch with you?
1.) Please tell us about yourself and how you got into blogging?
I started blogging in early 2001. I had been on GeoCities and started manual blogging using a 3rd party comment system called Haloscan. Just so you know, manual blogging is where you just write your post and HTML into a static page, and then paste your javascript link to your post.
As that time, I was doing free graphics, sharing my poetry, and just using my site as a hobby blog. I had several other websites I maintained that were related to some of the hugest Yahoo! Clubs (which were then going through the transition to Yahoo! Groups) in existence at that time.
Once I had my own site, I got into web competitions at The Site Fights and got 2nd two years straight out of hundreds of website owners who competed each year. I built a large following strictly for my website at that time.
I eventually found b2/ cafelog, which was the script that WordPress was forked from, and the rest is history. I’ve been using WordPress since it began.
2.) What is the focus of your blog and why did you choose that niche?
The focus of my blog is basically helping the creation, design, development, and marketing of a website, particularly those using WordPress.
I chose that niche because at the time, there were so many blogs that didn’t have a real focus, or the website owner was clueless. I’d already had a lot of success building sites and communities that I felt a need to help teach.
And when I mean help teach, it was through my blogging. There were people out there teaching and consulting, mostly opportunists giving out breadcrumbs of crappy advice to keep charging their clients by the hour.
Until 2009, I had some personal posts on my site, but those were taken down as I wanted to solely focus on the meat and potatoes that bring people to my site and make me the most money without spamming the heck out of them.
3.) How are you currently monetizing your blog traffic?
I do in house advertisements, text links as in my sidebar, very little Google adsense, and occasionally sponsored posts.
4.) What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started blogging?
Wow, you are making me think all the way back then… lol. I was an English major in college, already successful in creating communities and websites, so really, it wasn’t the blogging aspect that I needed help on.
It was having better resources to learn from in creating websites. Even though I don’t have that problem today, I’d certainly be farther along.
5.) What are three blogs that you visit almost daily?
- Mashable.com
- TechCrunch.com
- Just-Ask-Kim.com (Kimberly Castleberry is a good friend of mine as well… actually my best friend.)
6.) Can you give us three recommended tools/services that you use with your blogging?
- WordPress – It seems I can’t live without it.
- WordPress SEO by Yoast – Great SEO tool! It’s definitely my favorite WordPress SEO plugin
- Google Analytics – This really helps me see what people are looking for in my niche and within my website.
7.) What advice would you have for someone who is just starting with their first blog?
If you’re just beginning, don’t hesitate to start blogging. If you don’t have a focus yet, keep blogging and also keep in mind to think about what you want to do.
Blogs are much like businesses and you definitely have to plan, but if you at least get in the habit of blogging you will be ahead of those just waiting for the perfect time to blog. It is important to remember that you should be blogging about what you are passionate about, as well as have the knowledge for it. The passion will encourage you to keep learning more in your niche.
Oh, and your first blog shouldn’t be in the Blogs about Blogging niche. You can’t start a site teaching other bloggers if you haven’t raised a website in another niche first. There are a few who have turned to community blogging to drive more traffic, because they still lack the experience to maintain a blog or website on an individual level.
8.) What’s the best advice or tip you’ve discovered about blogging since getting started?
Keep blogging and use scheduled posts during vacation or hiatus. It really keeps your blog fueled and you don’t lose readers or traffic.
9.) If you only had $100 to start a new blog, how would you use it?
$100 is more than enough money to start a new blog. I already do everything, have my own server and have the tools for starting any type of website. I’d probably use it towards marketing.
10.) How can readers of the blog get in touch with you?
- My Site – https://blondish.ne
- Twitter – @blondishne
- Facebook- https://facebook.com/NileFlore
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/blondishnet
Thanks again Niles for taking the time to share your advice and story with the Blogging Tips community. If you would like to learn about other bloggers and how they are finding success online, be sure to read through our blogger interview series.
