You’re vegan, and you know how important it is to spread the word about veganism. Sure, some people might not care about animal welfare, but most people have no idea what it’s like out there for most animals. The way that capitalism works, and the food industry, so many animals are suffering. Cows, chickens, and pigs are the animals that suffer most, but if you think about it, we’re all suffering. It’s not good for the animals, and it’s not good for the earth, and it’s not good for us.

And your passion about the subject, in your vegan blog, has gotten you quite the following. That’s why you’ve thought you could make your vegan blog into a business. That way, you can educate other people about veganism, while at the same time selling vegan products or selling ad space to nonprofits of your choice. So if you’re ready to turn your blog into a business, here’s how.

1 Understand your audience

If you’re a passionate vegan blogger, then it’s likely that you’ve already attracted a lot of people like yourself already to your posts. Your vegan girlfriend and your friends you work with at the co-op are already sharing them with your friends and family, the same way that you share vegan pamphlets in crowded city areas with strangers. But if you want to change the world, you need to connect with other people. Not just vegans, but the people you want to educate.

That’s where buyer personas come in. Once you’ve targeted your niche, you can start writing your articles with them in mind. According to HubSpot, “A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data about your existing customers. When creating your buyer persona(s), consider including customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. The more detailed you are, the better. A detailed buyer persona will help you determine where to focus your time, guide product development, and allow for alignment across the organization.”

There’s a reason why 65 percent of companies that exceed lead and revenue goals updated their buyer personas within the last half year–and that’s because it’s one of the most effective ways of understanding and reaching out to customers.

2 Get on social media

Once you’ve started writing blog posts that are directed toward the audience you’re looking to attract, it’s time to share your posts on social media. Especially because you’re writing for a cause, it isn’t the kind of thing that you can blog about without making it into a campaign, almost. When it comes to modern-day campaigning, the best places to be are Instagram and Snapchat. After all, Instagram has 800 million monthly active users, which is why so many small businesses are using it to connect with their customers.

Especially if you want to connect with a younger generation, like Gen Z, you need to get on Instagram and Snapchat and make your engagement work. In fact, according to social media guru Deep Patel, “Gen Zers are the first generation that has never known life without easy Internet access…they recognize the value of their attention. They don’t sit through ads. They don’t give heavily sponsored content the time of day. What they’re looking for is value.” So think of creative ways to share your content on social media platforms, and get more readers caring about animal rights.

3 Focus on design and content 

Finally, however well you know your readers, and as often as you share with them on social media, you aren’t going to get far if your blog isn’t beautiful. It’s 2018, after all, and looks (and site loading speed) are everything. For example, many websites are now designed with phones in mind, which means simplistic layouts and minimalistic designs and fonts. Why? Because the average American consumer is now spending five hours a day on their phone, which means that they’re more likely to run across a website on a tiny screen than on a big one.

But even though looks are important, when it comes to blogging, you also need to think about the quality of your content. Not only how it’s laid out on the page, but also how good it is. According to Yoast, writing high-quality content is an important aspect of SEO because it means people will understand your message better, readers will be more likely to stay on your site, readers will trust you more, and you’ll get more social media attention. This is all very important if you want to get the message about the importance of veganism across to your readers and the world.

By using these strategies, you can make your vegan blog popular enough that you can start making money from it. 

What got you interested in the vegan cause in the first place?