Unemployment or job loss is one of the leading causes of depression in the world. It also contributes to the rise in crime, especially among the idle youths. According to the 2020 International Labor Organization (ILO) report, 39% of the working-age population does not have access to meaningful or regular employment. Additionally, 22% of the youth working-age population (15-24 years) are not in employment, training, or education. Unfortunately, 630 million people who are in employment still live in moderate or extreme poverty. Do you know why start a blog while you don’t have any job opportunity?
The problem of unemployment is the world over. This problem has been compounded by a lack of employment opportunities and a hit to the global economy. The Covid-19 pandemic has made things even worse for those seeking employment. If you are among the unemployed people, you know how frustrating it can be. However, there are many things that you can do as you look for formal employment.
The internet has opened up online opportunities that can keep you busy and earn you some extra cash. Besides online job search, you can also start blogging and share your thoughts and stories with the broader web audience. Blogging is incredibly valuable to people for different reasons. Some do it for fun, while others blog for money.
What is blogging?
Blogging can be defined as writing, video, photography, or other media that are published online. A blog is an online journal or informational website displaying information in the reverse chronological order, meaning that the newest posts appear at the top.
If you start blogging, you will be referred to as a blogger. The blogging content varies, depending on your area of interest. You can blog about anything, including travel, health, food, people, and personal experience, among others. So, if you have thoughts or opinions that you would want to share, you can simply obtain a website and publish the content online for millions of internet users.
How to start blogging?
As an unemployed person, you know how searching for a job is draining. You have to walk from one office to another and send tons of CVs to the target organizations. However, starting a blog isn’t tedious. You can do everything in the comfort of your bed or sofa.
You don’t have to worry about the traffic or which dress to wear to work. Your only concern is how to develop blogging skills, come up with fresh, unique, and informative content. Here is a step-by-step on how to start blogging.
Select a niche and blog name
When you want to start a business, the first thing you do is select a product or service to sell. The same concept also applies to the blog. Before you begin blogging, you need to choose a niche. Niche is a particular topic or area of focus for your blogging.
This is usually a topic that you are passionate about or one that you think people are interested in. You can focus on politics, travel, how-to posts, marriage, or religion. The topics are endless.
When it comes to choosing a name for your blog, you have endless options. You can choose any name that interests you. However, you should choose a name that relates to your topic. Alternatively, you can use your name or descriptive word combination.
Select a blogging platform
Once you have settled on a niche, the next step is to find a blogging platform that you can use to create your blog. There are several platforms that you can choose from. You can either choose a hosted blog platform or a self-hosted blog solution. Some of these platforms, like WordPress.com, are free. However, you need to understand their terms before you settle for any of them.
Get your blog online
One of the things that discourage some people from blogging is how to get their blog online. This is a technical part of blogging that may sound difficult, but it is actually easy. All you need to get started are blogging software and blog hosting, which come as a package. A blog hosting company stores your blog files and makes them available to you whenever you type your blog name.
For you to register with a blog host company, you need to have a domain name and choose a hosting package or subscription plan. You will also need to create your account and customize your blog layout to an appealing design.
Write and publish blog posts
Now that you have your blog online, it is now time to write the blog content and publish it. Blog content is any material or information that you can write and share with your readers. Your content should be relevant to the topic you choose to write on. You can accompany your written content with photos, videos, and audio to make it more appealing. The blog you created above should guide you on publishing, editing, and adding new posts.
Why you need to start a blog?
Blogging is not only for the unemployed but also for those who have a passion for writing or sharing ideas. Some people are employed but are blogging out of passion or as a side hustle. Other people are also leaving their full-time jobs and opting for blogging as their full-time jobs. So, if you are unemployed or looking to start a new carrier path, all you need is passion. However, as an unemployed person, you have more reasons to start a blog. Here are some of these reasons.
1. Source of income
Whether you are employed or not, bills have to be paid. As an unemployed person, you can rely on blogging as your main source of income. Blogging can provide enough money to see you through your job search. There are several opportunities to monetize your blog, including a passive means.
However, do not assume that you will start making money from your first blog post. You have to create great content and promote your blog before you can start making money.
Once you develop a broad audience, there are several means you can take advantage of to make money, including;
- Enrolling for affiliate programs: Affiliate program is merely promoting other people’s products and benefit from every successful sale. Some of the platforms you can use for affiliate programs are ShareASale and Amazon.
- Running ads: Regardless of your niche, you can still run ads on your blog and make money. However, you can choose ads that are related to your topics. Companies will pay for every ad that you allow to run on your blog. One of the popular choices for ads that you can consider is Google Adsense.
- Sell products and services: Blogging is not all about sharing ideas and thoughts. You can also use your blog as an avenue to sell products and services, especially if it gains in authority, readership, and popularity. You can integrate WordPress plugins or other relevant plugins to help you in selling your products. These plugins come with a secure payment option, checkout, cart, and product page.
- Hosting sponsored or guest posts: Advertisers and companies often look for blogs where they can place a sponsored post. Such posts often promote a product or service. If you successfully become an authority in your niche, the advertisers can pay you to publish their posts on your blog.
- Membership posts: Another way to make money from your blog is by creating a membership option where readers must pay to access some of your content. You can create a membership subscription options that your readers can choose.
As you can see, there are several ways that you can use to make money while blogging. The good thing is that you can opt for one or more options. Choosing how you monetize your blog depends on your purpose for blogging.
2. Blogging markets you
Most job seekers believe that they have to go out and look for employment or for employers to notice them. Some people have to send at least a CV a day with the hope that the HR will call them for an interview. However, blogs are the new resumes because of two reasons. First, when you blog, you impress your potential employer with your skills and knowledge in the area of interest. Blogging about a topic illustrates to your employer or networks that you have what they are looking for. This is why you need to publish unique and content-rich content consistently.
Secondly, when you publish a blog, you often include the “About me” page. You will use this page to provide an insight into who you are, including your professional and educational background. Your “About Me” page should outline your expertise, qualifications, experiences, skills, goals, and ambitions. When you impress your networks or potential employer with your content, they will want to know who you are. Therefore, don’t disappoint then when they click the “About Me” page. You can also link this page to other professional sites such as LinkedIn.
Also Read: Ultimate Blogging Guide For Beginners [Grow Your Blog]
3. You will expand your networks and connections
Some job seekers than professional and social platforms are the only places that they can utilize to expand their networks and connections. While Facebook and LinkedIn have 1.7 billion and 303 million users respectively, some of which are inactive users, millions of people use the search engines daily. You can take advantage of your blog to build new connections and expand your network in both professional and social circles. The people you attract to your blog are not necessarily the people you know but can become your friends or employers.
Authority bloggers have reported people reaching out to them after reading their blogs. Some of these people have turned out to be great business partners. You can also build and expand your professional networks and connections, which will make it easy for you to reach your potential employers. Ensure that you create a comment section where your readers can give their views about your content, and engage them when they do so. Also, include your contact address such as email and phone number for easy contact.
4. Blogging keeps you busy and helps you stay productive.
Idleness is one of the reasons the unemployed people fall into depression or turn to crime. It is often said that “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop.” When you are idle, you not only develop negative thoughts but also lose your skills. Blogging is an excellent way to keep yourself busy and remain productive. Being unemployed can be boring since you only search for a job for a few hours a day and wait for a response for the rest of the day.
So, why don’t you spend the rest of the day blogging instead of building castles in the air? Although blogging will consume a lot of your time, your mind will be engaged most of the time. You will not have time to lament over your joblessness or develop negative thoughts. Remember that the content you send outside there will benefit someone else.
5. Blogging increases your knowledge.
Blogging not only keeps you busy but also increases your knowledge. Before you create any content, you need to think of a topic and do some research. It encourages you to read articles, journals and published work to write accurate content. As you read these contents, you increase your knowledge on the topic. Imagine you write three blog posts every week. That is about 12 blog posts every month. The amount of knowledge and information you will gather from writing the 12 blog posts will be incredible. You will also keep up-to-date with the industry happenings.
6. Blogging improves your research, grammar, and writing skills.
Grammar, research, and writing skills are essential requirements for most professions. Additionally, potential employers will judge your job application by how you write your application letter. If you are serious about blogging, you will always want to create informative and easy-to-read content. For you to create educational content, you need to do proper research on your topic, meaning that you sharpen your research skills as you write your blog.
Your online audience will be attracted to flawless content, with correct sentence structure and grammar. As you blog, you continue to improve your writing skills, which you can apply elsewhere, including writing a job application letter. Remember that you require strong written and communication skills to pass job interviews. Blogging also helps you to organize your thoughts to know what to say and when to say it.
Useful Read: Top 12 Content Marketing Tools [You Can’t Miss]
7. Blogging is free
When you are unemployed, the last thing you want is to spend the little money you have. Initially, you would require to pay some money to get your article published in magazines and newspapers. However, you may not need any money to start blogging. You can use free hosting sites such as blogger and WordPress to start blogging. You also don’t have to pay editors to edit your work as you are your editor. Just write whatever you want and how you want it. However, you may have to pay for the internet or use the free public WI-FI.
8. Blogging can improve your credibility
Have you ever wondered why people rely on some sites for their updates than the other sites in the same niche? It is because they produce useful information. Blogging is one of the ways to improve your credibility and authority online. Your level of credibility will determine your growth as a blogger. To enhance your credibility and stay ahead of your peers, you need to provide relevant, accurate, and up-to-date information. It also proves to your networks and potential employers that you understand and are up-to-date in your industry. With credibility comes respect and expanded following since many people now want to know and associate with you. So, don’t hold back from sharing your experience and knowledge you have.
Mistakes to avoid as an unemployed blogger
As an unemployed blogger, you have a chance to succeed or fail at blogging. The truth is that blogging isn’t easy, and you may take weeks or even months to learn the ropes. There are many reasons why you can fail at it. Here are some of the mistakes to avoid as a blogger.
1. Poor and irrelevant content
When people visit your blog, they expect a well-written and accurate content. If they find poor content, they may never revisit your blog. Additionally, they may leave a negative review that may impact your credibility. Therefore, you need to ensure that the content you put out there is accurate, flawless, and well-written. Remember that your potential employers are also online and reading your materials.
2. Inconsistent blogging
When you are starting off as a blogger, maintaining consistency can be challenging. You will find yourself blogging irregularly or failing to post a blog as per the schedule. When you do not blog regularly, you may not build the desired following. Even the people who follow your blog may give up. Your audience needs a steady flow of fresh content to keep them interested. Otherwise, they will get bored and turn elsewhere for content.
3. Giving up too early
Most bloggers do not succeed in blogging because they give up to fast, even before people recognize their blogs. A little technical issue there and negative comments here are enough to kill their morale. Since you will be blogging for an unforeseen future, and have plenty of time, take time to gain traction. If you don’t make money in the first few months or gain visitors, don’t give up. Continue creating quality content and awareness of your blog through social platforms, and you will soon have a breakthrough.
4. Too many ads on your blog
As an unemployed person, one of your aims is to make money from your blog. One of the ways that you can use to make money is running ads. While ads will earn you some cash, they can also work to your disadvantage, especially if your blog has too many of them. Too many ads will obscure most of your content, deterring visitors from returning to your blog. Visitors cannot stand being harassed by ads, some of which do not make sense to them. So, don’t overdo ads if you want to make money and retain your audience.
How to promote your blog?
Creating a blog and developing content is not enough. You will not benefit from blogging beyond just keeping yourself busy. Remember, you need to make money and expand your networks to get potential employers. To maximize your blog and get to more readers, you need to promote it. Here are some of the strategies you can use to promote your blog.
1. Use your social media handles.
When you think of promoting anything, including your blogs, the first place that comes to mind is social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, among others. You can post a link to a blog post on your social media platforms. Alternatively, you can alert your followers on social media every time you post a new blog post.
2. Alert your friends and ask them to share the news
When you start blogging, the first people you should let know are your inner circles like friends and family members. Encourage them to follow your blog, read the posts, and comment. Also, request them to share the news with their friends. This way, you will get more people streaming to blog.
3. Engage other blogs
Find other blogs within your industry or niche and engage with them. Comment on their posts and ask questions. Ask them whether you can leave a link to your blog. Many bloggers will allow you to share your link because they know that you will also let them do the same on your blog. Soon, you will have created a relationship with prominent bloggers who can be your referees or recommend you to potential employers.
Also Read: 25 Ways To Promote Your Blog For Free (Increase Traffic Fast!)
Conclusion
As an unemployed person, blogging is one way to expand your horizon and reach out to the broader online community. Being unemployed means that you have a lot of time in your hands, but no money. Instead of sitting idle, you can start blogging and see how much you can benefit from it.
