If you are wondering if you should start a blog and if it will be worth it then you are in the right place. In this guide on how to start a successful blog I will try to be as detailed as I can so you can be more successful the first time round than I was.
A few years ago, I started a blog that failed. It didn’t make me any money and it ended up being a flop. It pains me to say that but I had to accept that I had a blog that failed to be able to start thinking about creating a new one.
I put a lot of work into the old blog but I didn’t do my research going into it. I didn’t do my due diligence which is why it failed. If you plan to blog as a hobby this guide is not for you. However if you plan to start a blog that you will eventually monetize then this guide is for you.
After working 9 – 5 gigs for so many years it dawned me that I had no real attachment to my job. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate what I do, I just don’t find any real joy from it. I have always loved writing and hence why I started the failed blog and now this blog. Writing about things that matter to me and to my audience has become my passion so without any further delay here is my guide on how to start a blog.
How to start a blog successfully:
I broke down all the steps that I made when I was creating this blog. It is a long process but it’s not a difficult one.
- Pick a niche or interest to write about.
- Decide on a blog name.
- Find a host service.
- Choose a platform for the blog.
- Add blog pages.
- Pick a launch date.
- Write 10 – 25 posts before launching.
- Find high quality images or photos.
- Pick a theme for the bog.
- Customize the blog.
- Add an opt in email subscription message.
- Set up social media accounts.
- Launch you blog.
- Monetize your blog.
Table of Contents
Pick a niche or topic
Now that it’s official you have decided to take this scary step and start a blog it’s time to decide what you want to blog about.
It is important to write about things that you care about. Blogging is something you should enjoy and the niche or topic you pick should be something that you get excited about. However be careful and make sure that the content you create is something that people are interested in.
This was a mistake that I made with my first blog that cost me time and money. Don’t write for yourself is a rule of thumb. Write about topics that people want to read about. Provide solutions to a problem. You do not have to be a subject matter expert in those topics just make sure you research on them.
The content you create should be something that will make you money because what’s the point of working so hard and not getting rewarded for your it. Write about things that people want to read about.
Do you need to narrow down your niche to just one thing or do you want to write about different things? Think about this carefully. If you start writing about dogs only and you get bored down the line it will be hard to switch up. Alternatively, if you are passionate about dogs then write about dogs.
I chose a lifestyle blog because of the diversity that it gives me. Ii can write about current things without worrying about my niche. Some of the niches that are popular right now are:
- Health and fitness blogs
- Fashion blogs
- Money blogs
- Diet blogs
- Weight loss blogs
- Beauty blogs
Decide on a blog/domain name
This is so important because this is how people will find you. Pick a name that is relevant to your blog. Whatever niche you get into your name should have some correlation to it. Always think about who your audience is. Will they find that name relatable?
The best practices for picking a name include:
- The domain name should be easy to spell. As great as your blog will be it should be easy to search for.
- Try not to use numbers, underscore and hyphens in your name. They are difficult to remember and they are easy to make an error.
- The domain name should be catchy and memorable. It can be a short statement or a name that is easy to remember.
- Try to use “.com” because this easy to remember and because it is the most common type of domain.
- The name should be related to what you want to write about.
- Use your name if it makes sense.
Before getting too excited make sure that you search to see that the domain is available. Check on the Bluehost to see if your domain is available.
Play around with the names in your head. Talk about the name with a friend to get reviews because once you buy the domain you can’t reverse that decision.
Find a host
This is so important. Often you will hear people starting a blog and wanting to cut costs they may decide not to buy hosting. Self-hosting is critical if you plan to monetize the blog. You will always own the content on your blog and no one can shut you down.
I personally use Bluehost and it has been great so far. The setup involved is straightforward and easy to follow along for a new blogger. They have great pricing for new bloggers to start and you can cancel within 30 days and get a full refund! If you decide to start a blog and decide that blogging isn’t for you or you get off track you can cancel the subscription before the 30 days are over.
Bluehost has some great advantages:
- You get a free domain name
- The various pricing structures are great for new bloggers
Here are the simple steps you will follow:
- Pick a plan. I use the basic plan which is great for new bloggers and as the blog grows, I plan to switch to a bigger plan.
- 2. The next step will be setting up your domain and if you already created one use the second option.
- 3. Fill in you account information and pick the package that best works for you. I bought the 3-year plan because it provided me with the best options for savings. I recommend selecting the Domain Privacy Protection which protects your personal information from being public.
Choose a platform
I recommend using WordPress because it as been great for me. Bluehost makes it easy to use WordPress and all you have to do is create a password and start working on your brand-new blog! Bluehost provides WordPress for free so the process is straightforward.
Be careful not to launch your blog before you are ready. I did that and had to take my blog into ‘draft’ status which I didn’t like.
Add blog pages
The next step is to create the pages below before you launch the blog. These pages are standard for most blogs and the disclosure and privacy policy pages is required by law.
About page– Create an amazing about page that will attract people to your content. This is where your brand yourself and your blog. It can be as detailed or as simple as you want. The goal is to be engaging and relatable to your audience.
Contact page – This is where your audience will contact you from. It should be professionally done because that’s where people who want to work with you will leave their information. Set up an email address where your readers will contact you. It should be a unique email address.
Disclosure and Privacy page – If you plan to monetize your blog then you need to set up disclosure and privacy policy page. There are standard pages that you can find on the internet to ensure that you comply with the law.
Pick a launch date
This is not as easy as it sounds because it will drive the work that you do. If you set a goal, stick to it to ensure that you treat this like any other job you have. If you treat it like a hobby you will not succeed. Set up a schedule for your posts and also start thinking of future posts.
Blogging is hard work!
Write 10 – 25 posts
Before launching the blog you should have 10 to 25 posts. This is because you want your audience to find content once you go live. After picking a launch date set a calendar to ensure that you create posts on a timely basis before launching.
Always think about what the audience wants. Write for them and ensure that it is engaging. Write content that will provide solutions to their problems.
Always try to have a heading that draws people in and that’s easy to click on. Use words that are easy to search for in the headings and main blog. For example, “How to” and “Top 10 Ideas” are great for attracting readers.
Ensure that the content is realistic and relatable. Do not mislead people as this will cause your readers to stop visiting your site. Always provide more information than the audience expects. Go above and beyond!
Use High Quality Images
Use great images or photos for your posts. I love using unsplash and istock. Canva is great tool for editing photos that will be used to promote the blog posts. Try to make sure that the images you select are professionally done and that they are attractive.
A photo is worth a thousand words!
Pick a theme
Now that you have content it is time to select a theme. The great thing about WordPress is that you can play around with themes to decide which you like best and they are also customizable.
I struggled with this at first until I found the Kale theme which I love so far. I have the free option but will probably upgrade to pro as time passes.
Your theme should match your content and it should be professional looking. Where do you want the sidebars and how do you want the home page to look? Go for simple themes that are easy to read and navigate. The color scheme of the theme should be neutral because you want your content to stand out.
Play around with the different themes that are available on WordPress until you find one that you love using the “Add New” feature. You can always delete the ones you don’t like.
Customize the blog
This is where you have to get pretty hands-on and it will take various tries to get what you want. I played around with fonts, color, sidebar, menus, the logo and plugins. This process will take time but if you do it properly the first time you will be set up correctly.
Ensure that you install the plugins below that you need for WordPress to work properly. The plugins I recommend before you launch include:
- Akismet
- Yoast seo
- W3 Total Cache
- Social Plug
- Pretty Link Lite
- Google Analytics
Add an opt in email
This is something that bloggers overlook and it’s one of the biggest mistakes you should avoid. Start collecting email addresses as soon as you launch. Emails mean that you can get traffic into your blog consistently. Emails are a great for communicating information about your blog to your readers.
It is important to set up the email list as soon as possible and I started with MailChimp. It was very straightforward to set up and it is free up to the first 2,000 subscribers. Consider providing an incentive for readers to sign up to your mailing list. Offer free printables, courses and templates to drive up subscription.
Set up social media accounts
Set up social media accounts that will be relevant to your blog. You don’t have to be on all the platforms to drive traffic to your blog. Register your blog as soon as possible on the various platforms you intend to use. I have found that Pinterest has been great for my blog. Ensure that you set up a business Pinterest page.
I started promoting my page on Pinterest prior to launching to create momentum and to see what other bloggers were doing. It was a great strategy prior to going live.
If you use Pinterest then getting Tailwind is an absolute must. I have seen so much growth in terms of traffic by using Tailwind. I will be showing you a blog traffic report at 6 months and you can see the growth rate. Pinterest is my biggest source of traffic and using Tailwind has been monumental.
Launch you blog
Now it’s officially time to launch the blog. It takes about 3 – 4 weeks to complete all theses steps so pace yourself and work on getting great content before you launch. At this point you want to promote your blog as much as possible. As you get more content your posts will sell themselves. Work on launching a great platform.
Scope out other bloggers and see what they are doing. Talk to bloggers who have been in the business for a long time. You can join Facebook pages that provide support for new bloggers.
Promote the blog on Pinterest as much as possible. Pinterest is a bloggers best friend and a source of great traffic.
Monetize your blog
There are various options of monetizing a blog even a NEW one. Once you launch the blog you can use the following methods to monetize your blog:
- Advertising – Apply for a Google AdSense account as soon as you launch. Once you have 25,000 sessions per month you can apply to Mediavine.
- Affiliate Marketing – Apply to Amazon, Flex Offers, ShareASale, AWIN
- Sponsored posts
- Offer services
- Sell something
I hope that this guide sets you off to a great start. If I can stress anything is to ensure that you self host because you will always have control over your content and you can monetize in the future. Sign up with Bluehost here.
Related Posts:
BLOG INCOME REPORTS – YOU CAN MAKE MONEY BLOGGING!
2 Comments