Do I Need to Be a Writer to Launch a City Specific Blog?

Today I’m answering a question I get all the time when I’m talking to potential clients about starting their own City Living Network Publication. 

“Do I need to be a writer to launch a city-specific blog?” 

And well… the short answer is no. You absolutely do not need to be a writer to launch a city-specific blog. As you know with me, there’s always a long answer too! So let’s get into that. 

First things first, what is the City Living Network and what is it like to run a city-specific publication in your town?

Here at the City Living Network, we’re an all-in-one web design agency that builds you a city-specific publication in 30 days! 

And we’re talking beautifully built. We start from ideation to branding, to logo design, and finish with an 8-page Squarespace website, 10 launch articles, social media accounts on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok and launch party buzz that’s going to get your whole town excited.  

Once your publication is designed, built, and launched, we also teach you how to manage it through content collaboration (working with writers and photographers), self-promotion, networking, and event planning. Yup, you read that right. We teach you every step of the way. 

No writing experience, no problem!

Who can run a city-specific publication?

The City Living Network has 8 (soon to be 10!) editors-in-chief spread across the US, showing off their hometowns and making a full-time income from home. And you know what none of them are? 

Writers. 

Out of our editors-in-chief, 3 are moms, 5 are photographers and we have one joining us soon who is a flight attendant. Not a single writer in the bunch, but they manage to publish weekly regular content, grow their blogs, and sell ad spaces to local businesses! 

How to manage your blog if you’re not a writer

So, I’ve told you that you don’t need to be a writer to run a city-specific blog. But we need to talk about how you can manage and grow your new blog if you’re not a writer. Posting on your blog consistently is one of the best ways to reach new people, build trust and relationships and be able to better monetize your blog. So how can you do that if you’re not a writer, or if you have no interest in writing? 

Read Next: How to monetize your new city-specific blog. 

Content collaboration

Content collaboration is the best, free way to produce content for your new blog. With your city-specific publication, you’re going to quickly become the expert in your city. You’ll be seen as the editor-in-chief of your hometown and with that comes great power (and responsibility 🤭). 

When you start gaining traffic to your website, you can collaborate with local writers to promote their work and help them grow their own businesses. With Laguna Beach Living, we hardly ever pay for articles because we have so many writers reaching out to us offering to write for us, simply for the exposure of having their work on a website that gets millions of hits. 

Working with writers

Another way that you can publish consistent articles on your website is simply by working with writers. Once your city-specific blog is launched, it costs very little to maintain. Most businesses have crazy overhead costs, but we teach you how to run your blog for about $300 a year. So, once you start selling ad space, you’ll be making thousands a month for a business that costs about $25/month to run. You’ll have plenty of budgets to work with a writer for weekly or biweekly posts. 

There are plenty of places that you can find writers to work with from Upwork to Fiverr, to your local community. You can even bring on an intern that can help you publish weekly content.

In a recent article, we broke down how much you can take home from selling a single ad space on your new blog while working with a paid photographer and writer in your city. Learn more about the costs of setting up and maintaining your city-specific publication here. 

Flexing your own writing skills

Lastly, if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at writing, your own city-specific publication is the perfect place to start. Blogs don’t need to be overwhelming at all. Let’s run through an example of what a blog post could look like.

For example, if you sell ad space to your favorite local Thai restaurant and they want to promote their spring menu that’s launching soon. You and your partner get to go to the Thai restaurant to sample the seasonal menu and take some pictures. You bring along a photographer to help with professional photos for the ad for a free meal and $50. 

After the meal you can write 500 words, introducing the Thai restaurant and explaining each of the items that will be on the spring menu. Then you simply share which ones were your favorites and the details of when the menu will be live. 

Blogging doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelm you. And we teach you everything you need to know about blogging within the City Living Network course. 

At the end of the day, you don’t need to be a writer to run a city-specific blog because you have our founder, Lindsay, teaching you how to manage and work with writers and photographers. If you’re ready to take the leap and make 2023 the year you finally start working for yourself, schedule a free consultation with Lindsay today.