Looking for information on how to start a blog? I’m going to share with you some of my top tips and pieces of advice when it comes to blogging. Every single day I get emails or messages from people asking me about blogging. Is it too late to start a blog? Is blogging still profitable? Is the blogging world too saturated? I’m a full believer in the fact that’s NOT to late to start a blog, you just need to know a few key things before you start. I can’t wait to share with you my top tips on how to start a blog. In my opinion – blogging is still the best thing going!
How to Start a Blog
I started blogging in 2006. Believe it or not – when I started – I didn’t call it a blog. I called it my personal online diary. I was consumed with reading people’s stories and lives back then. I would find them all on BabyCenter.com in the group chats or the forums. Women would be sharing all about their lives and their pregnancy stories and I would just be enthralled by it all. I loved feeling part of their lives through their words and their pictures.
Even back then – I saw blogging as a business opportunity. I saw women connecting and sharing and (most important) BUYING off of people’s recommendations online. I’ll never forget seeing that women were buying strollers and car seats strictly based on what other moms were saying.
It blew my mind and the world of blogging opened right up to me then and there. Not much as changed over the last 12+ years. Women STILL buy what other women are recommending and this time at lightening speeds. It’s crazy to see a woman styling a shirt on Instagram and then having 100 women flock to that same shirt to buy. THIS is the world we live in today. THIS is what people are talking about and doing every single day. It is and always will be absolutely mind-blowing to me.
How to Start a Blog today from scratch?
I’m always asked “What would you do differently if you started today?” The answer for me? Probably a ton, but when I started it was the wild, wild west. Nobody had the answers. Nobody knew how to make money. Nobody was before us telling us how it could be and how it can be. We all just dive in with a wing and prayer, hoping it make it work. The beauty of starting a blog today? You don’t need to do that. You can start from scratch and you can grow quickly, as long as you know what you’re doing.
Tip #1 – How to Start a Blog
Define who you are before you even put a word to a page.
What does this mean? Exactly what it says. Do NOT start a blog until you have a clear cut direction. My direction was family. I started a family lifestyle blog 12 years ago and I haven’t deviated from that topic in all of this time. Now many would argue that family lifestyle is too broad, but for me – it’s always worked well because I’ve talked about my family. I could never just hone in on one topic in the family lifestyle space – meaning: food, fitness, fashion, crafts, DIY, organization, etc. I bring all of it in because that’s what my life is like. You need to find what it is you want to blog about.
Ask yourself these questions before you embark on your How to Start a Blog journey:
- What do I love talking about?
- What could I write about consistently each week?
- What would give me longevity?
- How can I monetize this topic?
- How can I translate this blog into social media channels too (Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, etc)?
Tip #2 – How to Start a Blog
Commit to a time table and stick with it.
Here’s the biggest piece of advice I can give you when you first start. Are you ready? Start and don’t stop. Give yourself a time table. Start off saying that you’re going to try blogging for 3 months, posting 3 times a week. Keep yourself accountable. Keep yourself moving. Keep yourself on task. Layout different ideas of blog posts that you want to write and don’t deviate from that list and that time table. The biggest mistake new bloggers make it that they start and go balls to the wall crazy and then just randomly STOP because it’s too much.
Keep these tips in mind:
- Know what you’re capable of doing for the first time when you start.
- Layout an east strategy for yourself.
- Mark a random date on the calendar that you’re going to stick with. Circle it and don’t stop till you get there.
- Don’t get hard on yourself if you need to scale back a little at first. The toughest part is first starting off out of the gate.
Tip #3 – How to Start a Blog
Take an SEO course or find someone to help you out.
The number #1 rule now when you start a blog is to learn SEO. If you’re not familiar with SEO it’s Search Engine Optimization. This will help you get discovered and noticed quicker on Google. Let me put it this way. I never started with an SEO strategy in place. I can look back now and say “stupid me.” BELIEVE ME, I say that to myself. I just never knew I had to back in 2006 and I certainly didn’t know how to optimize blog posts. I was writing every single day about things I loved and my life. I wasn’t thinking about naming the post something with a great keyword so people could find it online.
Now you cannot (I REPEAT), CANNOT start a blog (IF you want to monetize) without an SEO strategy in place. There are a few websites you can go to that will help you identify keywords that will work for you and your blog posts. I personally just paid for SEMRush.com and really like it a ton. It’s a great way to know what keywords you need to use in your posts to help you rank better on Google.
But before I toss out names and websites for you to look into, my biggest piece of advice is to take a simple SEO course online. There are hundreds. I’ve taken a few and I feel they’re all pretty good because they DO give you a basic knowledge of SEO. I’m a BIG proponent of trying to start this from the start. Do not be like me and start working on 10,000 posts years from now. It’s a killer, but I know it’s important – therefore I will do it.
Another tip would be to find someone online who can help you. By investing some money into an SEO expert or freelancer – you could potentially help yourself so much in the long run.
Tip #4 – How to Start a Blog
Find a group of bloggers like you.
I know – I know – way easier said then done, right? Yes. You’re correct, but you can find your “people” if you look. There are so many new bloggers starting out and working for the very first time right now. Maybe you ask some of your friends to start a blog with you OR start a blog at the same time as you. Everyone has something to say and something to share. Everyone has a story. Find people who want to share theirs and see about creating a new tribe.
If you can’t find anyone – go to Facebook and share that you’re looking for some new people. You’d be amazed to see the power of asking on Facebook and the ripple effect it can have for you.
If you can’t find anyone on Facebook – go to Instagram and Twitter. There ARE new bloggers out there. Maybe you’ll get lucky and have a few already established bloggers weave you into their world. You never know until you ask and until you seek.
Tip #5 – How to Start a Blog
Make sure you’re weaving in the other social media platforms.
You’re so lucky to be starting NOW. You truly are lucky and in the best possible position ever. When I started there was ONLY a blog. You couldn’t promote your blog content anywhere else. Nowadays? You can promote it everywhere!
Pop it up in Instagram or an Instagram Story.
Tweet it out.
Make a video about the content, too.
Post on Facebook.
Pin it with a fabulous photo.
UTILIZE what you have, you’re at a moment in social media where you can and it’s an amazing time to do so with it! I’m all about trying to find the best ways to share content. You want to get people to come over to your channels. You want to get people to have a takeaway, a reason to come and (most important) a reason to come back.
Be uniquely YOU and really be open to finding the best ways to get out there and be amazingly YOU!
So these are my top tips and pieces of advice if you want to start a blog right now!
I hope this post on How to Start a Blog helped. I wish I had people when I started giving me the heads up and some tips and advice as to how to navigate. We all learn from trial and error and I know this, but anyway you can help focus the road a little straighter and even a little more seamless – I’m all ears!
Check out these other posts I’ve written about becoming a new blogger:
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