Blogging Tips from Steven Wilson at High Powered SEO

Steven Wilson is an awesome blogger who can be found sharing his tips and tricks over at High Powered SEO.  Steven has been helping other’s develop their online success since 2011 and has built several websites for business professionals.

Steven’s blogging style is open and down to earth where he focuses on building relationships with his readers.  I am delighted to welcome Steven today and I hope you enjoy what he has to share. 

1. Tell us about yourself and your blog

I am married with 2 sons, ages 8 and 2 years old. I currently live in a suburb right outside New Orleans Louisiana in the United States.

I’m the Founder of High Powered SEO which was established August 2013. There I discuss Websites, Blogging, Social Media and SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

2. What made you get started in blogging?

I got started in blogging in 2009 because of the potential to make extra money. My wife came across a work from home mom’s blog, telling others about how she makes money from blogging.

So, I started my first blog on Blogger. The first couple weeks were exciting but I dove in to fast without knowing all the details.

Not being a natural writer, it was difficult to come up with topics to write about every day. So after a couple months, like many bloggers, my blogging days were over at that time but I never lost interest in it.

3. How much time do you dedicate each day/week to your blogging? 

How do you keep track of what you’re doing?

I dedicate at least 3 hrs a day, 5 or 6 days a week. I keep track of what I am doing by being consistent. It is so easy to lose track of time and energy. I focus on the same task every day of the week.

• Monday is content and relationship building day.
• Tuesday is mainly content day.
• Wednesday is the day I publish my post and begin marketing it.
• Thursday is marketing and relationship building.
• Friday is relationship building and product development/ misc. day
• Saturday is catch up on whatever I didn’t finish during the week day.

I decide exactly how I will market and build relationships the day before.

How I do it, whether it be social media or commenting on blogs, all depends on how I feel a certain platform is performing for me.

For example, if I feel my Twitter notifications are slowing down due to low mentions etc, I will spend some time there.

4. If you could have told yourself ONE thing when you started blogging, what would it be?

“Don’t focus on the money.” When I started blogging I did it to earn a decent part time income. I was all about diversifying my income and I decided blogging was an interesting way to do it.

By focusing on the money it took my focus off what was really important. I should have been focusing on great content, building solid relationships, optimizing my site to be found by search engines.

I didn’t realize that it takes a decent amount of time to generate an income worth talking about.

5. Do you make money from your blog?  If so, what has been your most successful way of making money?

I currently don’t make money directly from my blog. I do make money indirectly from it though.

I work with small businesses on the side and help them with the online side of their business. So, if they need help with a certain thing that I may wrote a post on, I direct them to that post so they can get a feel of what I know and what I can do for them.

 6. As well as blogging, do you have another full/part time job or parenting responsibilities? 

How do you juggle these demands?

Oh yes! I have a full time job, part time consultant for small businesses and a family to take care of.

This can be difficult for sure. It takes sacrificing if it is something you really want to do. Blogging is a lifestyle and you have to learn how to incorporate it into your life without making it feel like a burden. If not, you run the risk of getting burned out really quickly.

I mentioned earlier how I use consistency to help me maintain. This is important in order to build a routine and make things more second nature. At the same time, if you have a lot of other responsibilities you have to know that some days you will not be able to get everything accomplished and that’s OK.

With that, you have to be realistic as well. I am happy where I am with my blog but I know posting more than once a week for now, is not realistic due to my schedule.

I can’t expect to write 200+ articles a year like that other successful blogs, when it’s just me and they have a team of writers etc. It’s all about finding whatever balance works for you and your personal situation.

7. What would you say is your favourite social media platform and why?

My favourite social media platform is Google+! To me it is the total package when it comes to social media.

You can get all the business information you want and still see funny little GIF’s at the same time.

I also really enjoy the communities. I have had some of the best discussions on different topics there. It seems Google + is more conversational than any other platform. It also is my top traffic referrer as well.

8. What has been the biggest hurdle that you have come across in your blogging career to date? 

How did you overcome this?

My biggest hurdle was finding the time to blog. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do everything I would want to do in a day. I had to find the time to accomplish enough where I would be happy when I log off.

I had to give up some sleep. This was the only real place I could get some extra time to blog. I am fine with it since I enjoy blogging so much.

I definitely get exhausted but you can only run off 4 hours of sleep for so long until your body shuts down. This is exactly what happened to me last night.

 9. How do you drive traffic to your blog and grow your readership?

I use relationship building and social media. I don’t just comment on blogs but try to build a relationship which goes from their blog, to their social media accounts and so on.

Since using this method I have continued to see an increase in my social shares, mentions and comments on my blog.

10. What is the most important piece of advice you could give to a new blogger?

The most important advice I would like to give to a new blogger is ‘Persistence’. Blogging is not an overnight thing.

Even if you have been blogging before, unless it is dealing with the same niche, you will most likely have to develop a whole new strategy.

Finding the right strategy will only be done through trial and error. There are over night successes but they are few and far in between.

You have to be willing to go the distance. If you are doing everything in your power to grow a successful blog, keep on keeping on!

The unfortunate thing is that we never know when our success will come but I can guarantee you, it will never come if you give up!

Do you have any other questions you would like to ask Steven?  Please share at the end of this post. 

If you would like to connect further with Steven, you can do so at his social media profiles.

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