I hear this all the time. "I have a website but I don't really use it because I only post on Instagram." Stop right there!

That's a huge mistake, but so common in the blogosphere! I'm obviously "pro website" but let's talk a little more about it. If you want to start a blog and aren't sure where to start, Instagram is a great first step, and then you should be building your website! I'm breaking it down into a few reasons why, then helping you jump back in if you've taken a website content break!

Ownership

You have probably heard this before, but you don't own your Instagram content! aka if Instagram goes away tomorrow, you're in trouble. How will you reach your community? Where will your followers go to find you? If you have a website and email list, that answer is simple (we'll talk more about email lists another day), but if not, you need to start thinking about it.

Working with Brands

If you want to be able to work with brands in the future, or if you're already working with brands, but want to offer them more, think about all of the website packages you could offer them instead of just Instagram posts! Website analytics show you which pages are performing, how many visitors are reading your website each month, etc., and those stats are valuable to brands! Website analytics are a great way to prove your value and add even more value to brands you're working with. Think about it: a brand asks you for your rate for one Instagram post, but then you turn around and sell them a package for a blog post and an instagram post for triple the amount!

Another great thing about owning a website is that you can use it to generate passive income by placing ads on your site. They're not the prettiest addition, but brands will pay to advertise, so if you have the pageviews, it's a great idea to look into and work toward.

Content

If you are sharing content with your community, a website is a great place to share "long form" content or more personal content or updates. It takes a lot to get someone to click out of instagram and over to a website, but I've done it plenty of times for resources or to get the scoop on a house update, pregnancy announcement, or reading about a friend's life update!

If you share any kind of affiliate links as part of your income streams, you need a website because links live forever on your website, as opposed to having to repost them regularly on Instagram. Train your audience to look for your links on your website to cut down on questions that can easily be found on your site.

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If you have a website and don't currently post regularly on it, it's time to change that! Think about what kind of content makes sense for you. I've done all sorts of things over the years and I always recommend a new series for anyone starting out and trying to be consistent. I've done Foodie Friday, What I Wore, Blogging Series; friends have done budgeting series, fitness updates, home decor roundups, Pinterest inspiration....endless possibilities! Think about what kind of content you like to create and what your community would be most interested in. Collages? Daily outfits? Personal topics?

I recommend that when you're starting out, you post consistently on the same day every week. I post one new blog post every Monday and I send out my weekly newsletter every Monday.

I promised myself years ago that if I was going to start a newsletter it had to be every single week and it had to have at least one new blog post in it. My newsletter is what keeps me accountable to write new posts each week! There are so many things I need to improve on, but one thing I'm proud of is that my newsletter goes out ever week rain or shine! 

Specific website questions? DM me @rhondajenkins.