Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Casey Botticello, Founder of Blogging Guide, located in Washington, DC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Blogging Guide is an online community of writers. Our content is crafted to help new bloggers monetize their online writing. We also provide in-depth coverage of all digital publishing platforms to help writers and marketers stay ahead of the curve. We also offer an award-winning Substack newsletter under the same name (Blogging Guide).

Tell us about yourself

If there is a way to make money online, chances are I've tried it over the past 10+ years! But of all my online entrepreneurial ventures, building and scaling an income-producing blog is probably my favorite! However, when I first started several years ago, there were very few free resources available for digital publishers. And the resources that did exist were scattered among private forums and were very hard for the average person to access.

I created Blogging Guide to help online content creators (specifically, writers) monetize their content using data-backed and reliable methods based on my own experience. Best of all, virtually all of our content is available for free!

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had the realization that they could make money online as a passion economy creator. So, I began growing Blogging Guide and have had the chance to see a number of new bloggers make the leap from part-time writers to full-time bloggers. Seeing someone take control of their life and achieve financial freedom is what motivates me!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner has been building such a large and passionate community of creators! I've been able to leverage this community to form meaningful partnerships with many of the biggest blogging and digital publishing platforms. This allows me to pass along the very best tips and tricks to my readers!

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

There are many challenges that come with being a business owner, but for me (and for many of my fellow bloggers), the toughest part is building systems and hiring key employees to scale the business without me being involved in every tiny detail.

As someone who takes pride in knowing every part of my business, it's challenging to accept that while you may have been integral to the early stages of a business, you may become the greatest limiting factor if you don't figure out a way to delegate tasks to employees or fail to find the best subject matter experts to offer unique insights.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

The top three tips I'd give to someone trying to start a blog or digital publishing business would be:

  1. Master SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Organic traffic is essential to long-term growth!
  2. Focus on creating amazing content. Amazing content includes succinct and well-researched content backed by personal experience, custom graphic designs to help illustrate complex processes, and custom tools or resources, such as templates, to help users solve their problems without having to leave your article.
  3. Build multiple monetization opportunities. There is always a way to monetize your traffic, but you may need to be a bit creative. For a blog, monetization can include display ads, affiliate marketing, course sales, sponsored content, subscription services, and paid community memberships (to name a few).

For more blogging tips, check us out at www.BloggingGuide.com!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://bloggingguide.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseybotticello/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blogging__guide
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseybotticello/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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