Have you got a serious hobby or interest that you really want to share with the world? Do you maybe want to earn some money too? Well, there’s a solution. Have you ever thought of starting your own blog? After you’ve chosen a blog name (something that aligns with your hobby or interest), a template for your blog on a host site (like WordPress or Blogger), and done the basic admin required, you’re good to go! But just making posts isn’t enough.
Things To Know Before Starting Your Own Blog
what are the things you need to really keep in mind when starting your own blog?
Find Your Unique Voice
In whatever niche you’re writing, someone else will be doing it too. So what is unique about your blogging voice and what makes you interesting as a blogger? If you’re new to blogging, here are some tips:
- Try to have something on your blog that makes you stand out from the rest. Have a regular weekly feature that is something unique to you. For example, if you’re running a baking blog, maybe run a series of posts where you try to discover the best cookie recipe by going through some of the most popular ones. This will make people keep coming back.
- Develop a voice, decide how much of your blog has to be personal and how much is a bit more business-oriented.
- Try to make your blog a reflection if the hobby or interest you’re writing about. Use your blog to explore the hobby further. If you’re running a craft blog, document the journey to learning a new form of craft.
- Make sure to spice up your content with colorful pictures and images.
Be Organized
- You really need this skill! Set up mailing lists and blog email ids before anything else, so your readers will remember who you are.
- Have a weekly posting schedule and stick to it! If you upload posts at 5 pm on Mondays and Fridays, make sure you write it somewhere on your main page and post on those days. The readers will know when to come back.
- Know which ways you can make money – through ad revenue, offering courses and tutorials, through affiliate links, sponsorships, and so on. However, it takes time to make money from blogging, especially if you’re new to blogging. You have to build up a dedicated following.
- Make sure there is enough information on the main page of your blog to convey to new readers what your blog is all about.
- Have a good social media presence and link your socials prominently on your blog, and know the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) basics.
Try to Build A Sense of Community
This is high up on the to-do list when it comes to starting a blog. Bonus: it’s a great way to meet like-minded people! One of the best things about becoming a blogger is a sense of community.
- Interact with your readers regularly. Respond to their comments and questions.
- Read other blogs and comment there! If you’re a diehard gamer, or a fashionista, go on related blogs and say hi. Tell them what you liked about their content. They might also check out your blog in return. Write guest posts for each other to build traffic.
- Try to integrate yourself within your own blogging community. Do collaborative posts with other bloggers, if possible. Hop on challenges and blogger tags. Take opportunities. The more people you know, the better! For example, fashion bloggers could get together to do a series of posts on how they styled a piece of unusual clothing in their own way.
Should I actually take the plunge?
What’s stopping you? You shouldn’t start a blog just to make money from blogging, because you need some passion to motivate you in the initial phase when there won’t be much money coming in. Make sure you have some genuine interest and knowledge in what you’re focusing your blog on, and a desire to meet people who are interested in the same thing.
Monitor your traffic and your stats. Try to capitalize on posts you know are doing well and rethink or revamp content that isn’t doing so well. Stay abreast of the trends in your field, because blogging is certainly competitive! If you’re a personal blogger writing more in the style of journal entries or stories, however, this isn’t that necessary, obviously.
Most of all, try to enjoy the process as you create great content, and don’t be too hard on yourself! Becoming a blogger is no small feat, but you can do it!
