One of the most important things I’ve learned in my three years of creating content (or building niche websites) is this: success comes from genuinely helping others.
I may not be successful yet as I write this, but many successful people or writers on Twitter (now called X) prove this to be true.
If I made a Venn diagram with dozens of circles, each representing a successful person I know, I’m sure the word “helpful” would be in the overlap of all the circles.
Dan Koe, Alex Mathers, Dakota Robertson, Kieran Drew, and David Perell are just a few of these people worth mentioning. They’ve given a lot of value to others, and as a result, the world has rewarded them with success and wealth.
One day, I hope to include myself in that Venn diagram, which now motivates me to become invaluable in my blogging niche—travel, online business, and spirituality.
To close the gap between where I am now and where I want to be, I’ve created my tier-1 framework for building this blog.
It’s all about the five ways to make Explore to Thrive helpful—things I’ll do to provide value to my readers and audience.
1. Provide Trustworthy Information
I’ll be honest—one reason I started this blog is to turn it into an online businesses.
Since blogging can be both a hobby and a business, why not do both? Who doesn’t want to make the most of their time?
One way it is possible is by sharing (or even selling) valuable facts, insights, and tips that make life easier—anything that solves a problem or improves things.
Whether it’s travel tips, advice on using WordPress, or how to use an iPad for blogging, there are many things I can offer.
It is the simplest way that a blog can be helpful, and I aim for Explore to Thrive to be one of the best sources of information in its niche, offering answers and suggestions based on my own experience and expertise.
If you have a blog, though, and want to turn it into an online business, I have two tips for you. I figured these out by looking at how technology is changing today. They’re also what I follow now in building a blog.
First tip: it’s really important to write about things you know and have experienced yourself.
This matters now more than ever in blogging, especially with AI becoming more common. Your own stories and knowledge will make your blog special. It will stand out from the boring, computer-generated content all over the internet.
We focus on providing information that AI can’t offer.
For “Explore to Thrive,” I believe I’m qualified to talk about my area because I’ve traveled before, I grew up with strong spiritual values from my mom, who is very involved in the church, and I’m also working on building my own business.
Second tip: Giving reliable information consistently over time while building the business is necessary too.
Sooner or later, AI will also learn about the information that we share with the world. When our ideas become commoditized, it’s the credibility we’ve built throughout our blogging journey that will give us an advantage over anything.
Yeah, let’s talk about building a brand!
2. Offer Inspiration & Moral Support
After my travels, introspection, and all the clarity I gained from years of writing, I realized that I am longing for purpose. And as a guy leaving his 20s without a kid yet, that feeling just gets stronger and stronger every day.
Even though I have my parents and sister to share love with, I feel a strong urge to help others. You know, like making a positive impact on the world.
I don’t mean to sound like I’ve fully figured life out, but the idea of living a life without meaning really freaks me out. I think we all get this gut feeling at some point, but it can hit us in different ways depending on where we are in life.
One way I can attend to this calling, though, aside from giving helpful information, is by offering inspiration and moral support to people.
I am not very good at this, but a simple motivational quote on a Pinterest pin image wouldn’t hurt, right?
It’s the least I plan to share with my audience on Explore to Thrive.
Since I’ve been sharing my personal experiences, I’d love to also share some of the inspiring materials that helped me through tough times.
From TED talks about vulnerability to Mark Manson’s blogs, which really kick-started my mindset change, Explore to Thrive will be where I gather all of these resources.
3. Share Life Lessons
Writing for search engines was a big mistake I made with my two previous sites. When Google released updates, it caused my sites to fail badly.
If I had focused on building a community from the beginning, I’d probably be in a much better place now. My blogs would still have readers even without search engine traffic. Plus, I’d be making more money and be happier, with real people to connect with and share my passion.
This experience taught me a lot, and now I’m committed to doing things the right way with Explore to Thrive.
Yes, experiences and regrets—they’re our best teachers. And often the lessons they teach us make the greatest impact. The one I just shared with you is a good example.
Future readers of Explore to Thrive can look forward to more of my life lessons because they’re some of the most valuable things I can share.
Whether it’s from my college days, my travels, or my blogging journey, I’m excited to share everything I’ve learned over the years and will continue to learn in the future.
Mistakes can waste money, time, and energy. I hope my life lessons help my audience avoid the same mistakes I’ve made.
I’d be thrilled to know they’re using their resources on opportunities that lead to their success instead.
If you’re into blogging, you definitely don’t want to spend years learning how important building a community is in online business, right?
4. Teach Earned Skills
As the title of this blog suggests, I want Explore to Thrive to be a resource for thriving in life.
Along with providing reliable information and motivation to help you reach your goals, I also aim to teach skills that can help people achieve success more quickly.
After thirty years of existence, I’ve found that these skills have made my life easier and helped me earn money.
Whether it’s coding, graphic design from my engineering work, planning trips, or crafting AI prompts, you can expect a wide range of tutorials on Explore to Thrive. I also have tips on phone photography, writing blog posts, automating PC workflows with Python, researching information, and more.
All of these types of content should come together to help anyone build an online blogging business.
I know I still have a lot to learn about blogging, so I’ll keep picking up new skills.
As I learn, I’ll document my progress so that readers of Explore to Thrive can learn along with me.
Right now, I want to get better at marketing, especially in copywriting and online ads. I also want to boost my creativity and technical skills. When I’m not creating content, I might be working on other projects, like experimenting with AI to design a more interactive and attractive website.
There’s a lot I want to do and share to the world!
5. Build Human Connection
One of the things I’m excited about with Explore to Thrive is creating a community. From my experience, being part of a community is really valuable, especially when you’re learning and working on new projects.
Having been in the blogging industry for a while, I can’t stress enough how important it is to connect with others who do the same work.
Being part of a community provides support and opens up more opportunities.
The people in this community share their experiences, mistakes, and tips, which helps me understand the industry better and be aware of potential challenges.
The future audience will definitely find a lot of value in being part of the Explore to Thrive community.
Honestly, of the many ways I look forward to providing value to Explore and Thrive readers, this (a community) is the one I find the hardest to create, but I will surely do my best.
I haven’t done this before and have been out of touch with a lot of the online world for a while. Finding a way to connect with more people and build a community will definitely be challenging for me.
So you may know, since 2021, I’ve been staying away from social media to protect my mental and emotional well-being from all the distractions online.
I even deleted my Facebook and Instagram because they made it harder to focus (shorter attention span) and increased social pressure.
However, I kept my Twitter/X account to stay updated on blogging news, get advice from Catholic and manhood accounts, and discover cool architecture in Europe.
On Twitter/X, I also found the blogging and SEO community, which has really helped me improve my blogging skills.
Final Thoughts
Even though I’ve only listed 5 ways I’ll add value through blogging on Explore to Thrive, I can’t help but feel challenged.
It requires a lot of work and dedication, but I’m also excited because I know I’m building this blog on a solid foundation, just like successful businesses do: by helping people and adding value to their lives.
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