Marketing, Social Media, Blogs, Instagram
Starting an Instagram Blog for Your Passion Project
So, you want to create an Instagram blog for your passion, but how?
We all have our passion projects that were put on hold due to our originally busy schedule pre-pandemic. Now that we’re all stuck at home, trying to make the most out of our 24 hours everyday, I couldn’t think of any better time to finally start or resume our hobbies (and possibly earn from them)!
I personally know a lot of people who have been in the world of blogging for several years but are now starting to transition from an independent website to other platforms with shared audiences for easier growth. In this piece, I’ll specifically help you set up and kickstart your Instagram blog. I posted about this on my Instagram page here, but I’d like to give a more detailed post on how you can join and start your own community.
Niche down. And pick your niche wisely.
If you’re the type of person who loves to master your talent in everything, then it’s not advisable to start an online space where you want to showcase each of your skills talent. You have to niche down. And when you do, make sure you picked your niche wisely. Make sure it’s something you really love doing because that’s how you can deliver the best content and stay consistent. Ask yourself:
- “Is this the industry I want to incorporate my personal brand with?”
- “Am I willing to spend months or even years creating content in this niche?”
- “Is this what I’m really good at?”
Picking a niche doesn’t usually happen overnight. If takes you days then you’re very lucky. But most of the time, it takes weeks or even months to finalize which stream you’d like to go for because you really have to identify your strengths and if crafting the results from ideas would fit in your everyday schedule — really, so many things to consider!
But why do you really need to pick a specific niche? Remember, if you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one. To gain audience who will be most likely engaged with you and your craft, you have to niche down and find the right people who will make your community grow.
Just put yourself in your audience’s shoes — you don’t just follow the most random people if their content doesn’t interest you, right? You’re following specific people because of their style, lifestyle, makeup, skincare routines, self-help tips, and the likes — that’s applicable to everyone on the social platform, too.
Optimize your profile. Be clear on who the fuck you are.
Do you believe in love at first sight? I don’t, but I should know at first glance what the heck a page does and is about. Consider your username as a URL you need to think of it well because that will be part of your overall branding. Meaning, people will remember you for it.
I’ve had a fair share of failed usernames because I wanted to focus on it being short to make it look sleek, but gained sod in return. By sod I meant a smattering new followers and a weak engagement rate because potential audience, who were not visiting my full profile, didn’t know what my page is about.
To sum it all up, include whatever you do in your username so in case you appear on the suggested people to follow, then they would immediately know what your page is about!
Follow thought-leaders, their followers thereafter.
This is the best way to discover people from the niche you have chosen. I haven’t seen this advice in most blogs because I think this is so spoon-fed, but rest assured it’s effective.
When you start your Instagram page, the platform would ask you what are your interests and suggest big accounts moving forward. Your news feed in the first few minutes would be filled with basic ass content from companies that are not humanized, so you have to choose a genuine thought-leader from there. You’ll be suggested pages with a big number of followers but not companies like Entrepreneur, Bloomberg, Forbes, and the likes. Follow them, look at their posts, then follow the people who are commenting on their content.
And the rest will follow.
Prepare at least 3–6 posts and upload them simultaneously. Then another 3.
Would you follow an account with 0 content, despite having a clear bio and no bullshit username? I wouldn’t. Prepare at least 3–6 content so potential audience would see what type of content is your page posting and they know if you can provide value. Type of content you can post are: introduction post, photos related to your niche, what is your page about, and some sample works. The other 3? Valuable content.
Of course I wouldn’t tell you what type of content exactly because that’s where I get money from, but make sure that your first 9 posts are already enticing and educating, and that your overall feed looks cohesive!
Engage, engage, and engage. But make it natural!
Engagement is always the key, but make sure you’re not overdoing it! Only engage with pages you enjoy content the most and leave positive and lengthy comments. If you do, chances are they would visit your page and follow you if they liked your content.
Don’t engage for the sake of it. Engage to build genuine connections. Support them so they will support you. You have no idea what wonderful friendships are in store for you!
Show up. Be consistent, especially on your first few weeks!
Don’t forget to constantly show up. No, I’m not telling you to create content every single day. Consistency means always providing value to your audience and delivering the same quality of content, or even better. I’m also not telling you to be on Instagram 24/7, but show up and update your audience/followers.
Let them know you are active and that you are not just popping up here and there whenever you like. If you want to build your own community, let them know you are always there. Be it on stories, DMs, liking their posts, etc. because you will gain more traction in doing so!
Ready to kickstart your Instagram blog?
Disclaimer: These are my thoughts and I take no liability if these strategies do not work for you because after all, you manage your page.
All words and thoughts are mine. No copyright infringement intended. Do not copy and redistribute without permission.
