How to Start a Blog

One of the most asked questions when people find out I’m a blogger is, “How do I start a blog?”  So I decided to put together a quick list of how to start a blog to get you going in the right direction.

The links contained in this post may be affiliate links.  If you sign up through these links, we receive a small amount of money.  Thanks!

#1 Determine Your Focus

What do you want to blog about?  Is there something you’re passionate about that you’d like to share with others?  Figure out what the focus of your blog is, and then come up with at least a dozen ideas for content, to make sure that it is something you can easily blog about in the long run.  Having a small niche means you will be able to be an authority in your niche more easily, but it can’t be so small that you have a hard time coming up with ideas for content.

#2 Pick a Name and Logo

This can be a lot more difficult than it sounds.  You need to figure out a name that you will love for a long time.  While it is possible to change your name down the road, it’s a lot of work, and you lose all that branding that you’ve worked so hard for. 

Once you’ve figured out a name you like, make sure you check to see if the domain is available. 

Make sure that the name is available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and any other social media sites you will be using, and then go ahead and claim the name on all of those social channels (even if you aren’t going to do anything with them yet).

#3 Start on WordPress

Many people start blogging using blogger, which is a great beginner platform.  The problem is, if you are really going to commit to blogging, most people end up making the switch to WordPress at some point– and it’s not an easy switch to make if you already have a lot of content. 

When we switched (approximately 6 months after starting blogging), it took all three of us working many hours every day for a week to get everything updated.  The other option is to pay someone to make the switch for you.  But personally, I would just recommend starting out at WordPress in the first place. 

This leads into #4

#4 Choose a Wonderful Host

Since you’re starting out on WordPress, you will need to have hosting for you blog.  While this isn’t free like Blogger, it doesn’t have to be expensive.  However, you do want to make sure you’re getting a quality host, so you don’t experience a lot of downtime.

Hosting companies change frequently, so you’ll want to spend some time doing some homework on this.  Trust me, your time will be well spent.  We were once stuck with hosting where we had downtime daily– not good for traffic, and it definitely doesn’t give readers a good impression.

#5 Set a Realistic Schedule

One of my blogging friends told me that when she started her blog, she created content for several weeks before actually launching the blog.  That way, when she started she had more than just one post to push people to.  This is a great way to start.

By creating content before launching your blog, you can also get an idea of how many blogs posts per week is realistic for you to write.  One of the most important things in a new blog is consistency. 

If you can only realistically post once a week, then only post once a week.  If you get inspired and sit down and write 5 posts at once, don’t publish all 5 in one day.  Stick to a decent schedule, so you can gather followers.  If you can realistically create 5 new posts a week, go for it, but also be aware that you may be setting yourself up for blogger burnout. 

The number of blog posts per week that are realistic for your site will be determined by what your site is.  Some niches require more work per post than others.  Your life will also determine how much you can do. 

Set a realistic schedule that will keep new content coming to your blog without burning you out.

#6 Get Your Content Out There

Just writing great content won’t cut it.  You’ve got to make it so people can find your content.  You can do this by posting about your new content on social media channels. 

You can join link parties, like The Pretty Pintastic Party.  Link parties allow you to share your content with other bloggers, and give you a chance to make connections with those bloggers.  When we were starting out, link parties brought us a large percentage of our traffic.

Our largest traffic provider now is Pinterest.  In order to do well with Pinterest, you’ll want to pin consistently every day (and pin other people’s content as well as your own).  In order to do that, we recommend that you use a pin scheduler such as Tailwind.   You can learn more about how we gained a ton of Pinterest followers quickly here.

Whatever you do, make sure you are consistent and authentic!

Once you get going, you’ll definitely want to check out this post on our favorite ways to make money blogging, so you can start earning some money!  We’ve also got ideas to help you blog without it taking over your life!

Do you have any other questions about starting a blog?  We read all our comments and will do our best to respond to you, so ask away!

Why not join us on Pinterest: Coffee With Us 3  or hangout with us on Facebook:  

Check out our link parties.

Don’t forget to pin!

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