If you’ve always wanted to start a blog, or create content online, but didn’t know where to start then keep reading. Download my FREE year-long content planner and weekly layouts to help you cast a vision for 2025 and pick up tips along the way to finally start blogging this year.
In some ways, there are lots of other people better equipped to write this post.
But in others, I’m the perfect person to write this post for you.
I’m a regular person; I’m not Type-A, I have no ‘connections’, I haven’t paid for a course. I’m just figuring things out as I go. If I can do it, you absolutely can.
In this post I’m going to give you the best advice I can and all the tips to point you in the right direction. And I’m giving you my free content planner to help you through your entire first year of posts.
By the way, if you’re wanting to start a blog, I’m guessing you’ll want to make money doing it and I don’t blame you. It’s a lot of work! If you’re confused about how that’s possible let me quickly get that part cleared up: Yes you can make money as a blogger and the easiest way to do that is through ads, just like with YouTube and other platforms.
Throughout this post you’ll not only find out how to get your blog site up and running, but also hear about ways to grow your blog. The reason to focus on this instead of writing whatever you feel like is that the more monthly viewers you have, the more companies will want to advertise on your site. We’ll talk more about specifics in the future (for now you won’t need to worry about that anyway), but for now just keep that in mind as you set things up and start creating content.
Start A Blog: Step 1
Find Your Niche
My blog is all about motherhood and loving home life. It’s tempting to want to create content that reaches as broad an audience as possible, or just write about “whatever I feel like”. But actually the more broad your content, the less appealing it becomes.
Think about it: Why do you follow the people you do? Most likely it’s because you feel a connection to that person and they offer you something no one else does.
I generally write about things like homemaking, homeschooling and cooking from scratch. It wouldn’t make sense for me to suddenly write a post about how much I love travelling, or a post geared toward men.
If you try to make something everyone will like, you’ll end up with something that nobody loves.
Steps For Niching Down:
1. Make a list of everything you like to do or are knowledgeable about.
Don’t worry about having “exclusive” knowledge or being the very best at something. That’s not the goal. You don’t necessarily have to compete with everyone else that knows something about your topic. You’ll say it in your own unique way and make things clear for different sorts of people. The more clear and connected you are, the more memorable you will be. A loyal audience of a thousand is more valuable than a hit-or-miss audience of ten-thousand.
2. Now that you have a master list, start circling things that are connected.
You could have a few different colored pens to group things into categories, or start a second list with columns of related topics. Example:
- baking, music, handcrafts, fashion, DIY, homemaking, homeschooling, real food recipes, theology, books reviews, gardening, indoor rock climbing, leading a praise and worship team, coffee, singing, guitar, tea, movies/film reviews
- baking, music, handcrafts, fashion, DIY, homemaking, homeschooling, real food recipes, theology, books reviews, gardening, indoor rock climbing, leading a praise and worship team, coffee, singing, guitar, tea, movies/film reviews
- As you can see it’s pretty easy to find related ideas and quickly create a niche. There are some of the above topics that could have gone a couple of different ways. For instance, I could’ve grouped together tea, coffee, and baking but steered away from motherhood and homemaking. If I was a person that was always travelling and on the go, this would make sense. I could review cafes and teahouses, give recommendations, as well as share recipes. ‘Theology’ could have fit into the ‘music/praise and worship leader’ niche OR I could have grouped it with book reviews and had two very different blogs.
- Using that example, think like this: How do I use theology in my life? Do I read a lot of books on the topic, or is it more specific to leading a praise team? For me it’s a bit of an outlier, something I’m interested in but doesn’t fit neatly into the niche that was clearly forming for me. I can love learning about theology and getting into all the nitty-gritty about confessions, creeds and doctrines but my audience doesn’t necessarily need to hear about it. At least from me!
3. Don’t worry about being too niche.
Indoor rock climbing, while very specific, could be a great blog topic! From gear reviews and recs, to tips for improving method, to challenge and activity ideas, to exercises and stretches. I could go on. Don’t rule anything out as being too niche. Just don’t try to squash in another niche and call it cohesive when it’s not. Indoor rock climbing and theology are two very different topics. You might be able to combine something like real food recipes from a health and wellness angle. You just have to know yourself and envision your audience.
Start A Blog: Step 2
Choose Your Name
A good blog name isn’t necessarily the most creative or the one with the coolest back story. It’s definitely good to add something personal that will set you apart from the crowd, but keep a few things in mind when choosing your blog name.
Steer clear of using anything that might give away very personal information like your full name (first, middle, last), the town you live in, your address, and so on. If you have children, you might want to consider if they’ll be a part of your online life or not. Will you use their given names or pseudonyms? Think through these things before including any of it in your blog name. Some other things to keep in mind:
1. Clearly encapsulate your niche.
Your name should quickly convey what your blog is about. You might have a really creative idea for a name, but if no one can tell how it’s connected to your niche, it isn’t fulfilling its role. Some good examples of blogs I know are The Pantry Mama (from-scratch recipes), Frugal Fit Mom (frugality while allowing budget for healthy groceries, not just the cheapest you can find), and Minimalist Baker (healthy recipes with minimal ingredients).
2. Make it memorable and pronounceable!
I recently heard about a very popular blogger changing her blog’s name although she already had thousands of followers. She did this because while the name was creative and personal to her, it didn’t clearly show what the blog was about and no one knew how to pronounce it! Say your name aloud, bounce it off a few trusted friends, type it out in different fonts. If it’s still checking the boxes, you’ve probably found your name!
3. Make sure it’s available.
In fact, you might want to do this before you get too attached to a name idea. You can use godaddy.com to check for availability. As well, you can quickly check the price. Plenty of domain names are only $3. Others have been bought and are for sale with a mark up, and can be in the thousands! Run a few of your ideas through their search as you narrow down your ideas. While you’re at it, search Instagram, Facebook and YouTube if you plan to use those platforms to drive traffic to your blog at all. You’ll want to get your handle if it’s available, and if it’s not, that’s something to consider when choosing your blog name.
4. Finally, buy your domain.
When you find an affordable name that fits the bill, snap it up. Yes, you can change your name later. While it’s certainly better to stick with your name from the beginning, don’t let fear of finding something better keep you from getting started. Spend that $3 and move to the next step.
Start A Blog: Step 3
Get Hosting.
Once you have your domain name, you can choose a host. This is basically the “home” for your blog. Or better yet, it’s the property your home sits on. You’re going to want to use WordPress for your CMS (content management system, basically what you use to build and manage your blog). You can read about WordPress here, but I don’t know of any successful bloggers that would not recommend WordPress. But back to hosting. You need a host to power your website and there are plenty of options.
Here is a top 10 list of WordPress recommended hosting services that will help you get your feet wet. I don’t know of any that are totally free but the one I use is only $7.95 a month and well worth it. As my blog grows I’ll have to upgrade to the next cc package (basically, size and speed) but for now it’s all I need. I use and recommend BigScoots shared web hosting for their pricing options and customer service. They will be there for any questions you have along the way. Follow the link and take a look around.
You might be swayed to use an all-in-one host and website builder like Squarespace, but from what I’ve heard you simply cannot do everything you’ll eventually want to do as a successful blogger because the customization simply isn’t there. Save yourself headaches later and go with a hosting service and WordPress.
Start A Blog: Step 4
Choose A Theme
If your blog is “home” and hosting is your “property”, then your theme is your home’s front yard and curb appeal. Your theme is what shows up when someone looks at your webpage. It’s what allows for customization and personalization. Two things to keep in mind here:
1. You need a “parent” theme and a “child” theme.
Most bloggers use The Genesis Framework (more about that here) for the “parent” theme. Then there are plenty of “child” themes to choose from. The parent theme sort of works behind the scenes whereas the child themes is what you see and how you’ll lay out your content. You can search “themes with the genesis framework” and find plenty of options. I went with Feast Design Co. which is popular with bloggers. When you’re ready, download The Genesis Framework here.
2. There are free themes built in to WordPress.
But… I can’t speak to how good they are. I’ve only used my current theme, but it seems to be the general consensus that paying for a theme is well worth it. You might try starting with a free theme and changing later, but I don’t know how easy that process is, or if it would be a big headache trying to reconfigure things after you change over. I do know that my theme was only $19 so I went with what was recommended to me.
Check out this quick video for specifics on how to install The Genesis Framework and your child theme once you choose one.
Start A Blog: Step 5
Email Handle And Service
If you’ve ever been subscribed to a blogger’s email list you’ve probably noticed their email isn’t something like “johnswife1966@hotmail.com” That’d be sketchy! No, it’s more likely something like tara@mothercultured.com Much more professional, if I say so myself. And then there’s the question of sending emails themselves. Your email list is one of your most valuable assets as a blogger, because while platform and algorithm changes are inevitable, you always have that email list to connect with your loyal audience. Here are a couple of things you need to know about emailing as a blogger:
1. Setting up your custom email handle
In order to have a custom handle, you need a business email. You can use whichever provider you like, Google, Outlook, and so on. Or you can actually do it through your hosting service (Blue Host, BigScoots, etc.) I signed up for a business email and paid for the custom name that matched my domain through Outlook. I then had to verify my domain name, which was fairly easy and whichever provider you go with should walk you through it.
2. Choosing an email marketing company
As a blogger you’re going to want to be able to create beautiful emails as well as set up automations. In order to grow your email list, it’s a good idea to offer email opt-ins. You know when you go on a blog and something pops up and wants your email address? That’s an opt-in. More on that later but for now, just trust me that you don’t want to be manually sending your newsletter out from your college email address.
Here is a Top 10 list of email marketing companies where you can start learning. Funnily enough, they don’t have my email marketer (Mail Chimp) or another very popular choice that lots of bloggers go with (Convert Kit). So check those out as well. Once you’re signed up with one (and yes, there’s a small monthly subscription with this as well) you can follow their instructions for verifying your domain and email and you’ll be ready to start collecting email addresses!
And now for the fun part…
Start A Blog: Step 6
How To Plan Content
You’ve got your niche, your name, hosting is set, Genesis and your theme are up and running on WordPress, you’ve verified your new email handle with your marketing company aaannnd… what do you even write about? How often? What about keywords???
I know for me, the tech side of things was this huge uphill climb. I kept hitting roadblocks and wondering if I’d ever get to write my first post. It was tough and yet, very rewarding. I knew the steps I had to take and one by one crossed them off. Whenever I overcame something, I felt on top of the world. By the time I finally got things pretty well settled, I felt a little overwhelmed. In a different way. I could write about so many different things, go so many different directions even within my niche. And this was really going to go out into the world!
Mind you, I had zero audience at the time and I knew that but I still felt the weight that I had to know what I was talking about!
Let me help you avoid that deer-in-headlights moment after you’ve made it through the roller coaster that is setting up your blog.
1. Make a list of blog post ideas
Shoot for 20 solid ideas you feel you could start writing about today. Keep in mind you’ll want to have some photo ideas to go along with, if possible. Stock photos are ok to use from time to time but I know I feel much more connected to a blog that uses original photos (and yes you can tell). But more on photos another day.
Some of the ideas I jotted down several months ago were ‘homemade yogurt tutorial’, ‘creamy potato soup recipe’ and ‘nature study through the seasons’. Think about your niche, then think about who you’re writing to. Do you have a friend that you discuss your topics with often? Do you ever have people coming to you with questions? These are the people you should picture while writing and choosing topics. What would they want to know? What are the things you do, say and think about around this topic? Get the ideas flowing and write them down. Add to that list any time inspiration hits.
2. Store up a “bank” of drafts
So you’ve written your first post and you can’t wait to hit “publish”. I get it. It’s an exciting moment! But don’t hit that button just yet. While not strictly necessary, learn from my mistake and get a bunch of posts completed and saved in your drafts before you start publishing. It’s important for SEO (search engine optimization) to be consistent with your content output. A good rule of thumb is to post twice a week, preferably on the same days each week. Once you’ve established yourself as a trustworthy source for content, search engines are much more likely to promote your website in search results.
Now that’s all great but if your posting days are Monday and Thursday, but it’s Thursday afternoon, you don’t have a post ready and something unavoidable comes up, you’ve missed your post day.
That’s not the end of the world of course, but it isn’t going to help you grow your blog and it is avoidable if you have a storehouse of posts ready to go up when this happens.
Try your best to get 20 posts ready in your saved drafts, then start publishing two a week on different days. In addition to that though, keep working ahead and replace those drafts as much as possible. Then you won’t have that freak out moment and you can post super consistently.
3. Improve SEO with keyword research
I still have a lot to learn on this subject, but then, it is a huge subject. I’m going to give you the short version for now because when you’re getting started, you also have to just write what makes sense to you to write about.
As time goes on however, you’ll want to get more strategic. Remember, SEO means “search engine optimization”. You want engines like Google to recommend your post within the first few search results when someone is looking for something in your niche.
It doesn’t matter how wonderful a post you create if no one can find it.
One easy way to do this is with a resource like Answer The Public. Basically it’s a huge database of search results and data. You type in a keyword like “sourdough bread” and you’ll be given all this information surrounding that search. You’ll see related questions people are asking like “how to make” or “why make” and so on.
You’ll also see which questions or keywords have a higher search volume than others. Take your time sifting through this info and write down anything relevant. You might want to change the title of your blog post based on what people are actually searching for. Watch this video when you’re ready to go in-depth on this topic.
But don’t ignore this altogether. This is important for finding your audience and growing your blog.
4. Implement your seasonal planner
It’s a great idea to map out your year as a blogger. You don’t want to be coming up with posts that pertain to a certain season or time of year right before that day arrives. That’s too late! Bloggers have to think ahead.
If your niche has anything to do with food, you’ll want to think about seasonal ingredients and holidays that people associate certain flavors and recipes with (e.g., 4th of July, football season, Christmas).
But this applies to all niches. Even if your niche is indoor rock climbing and thus unaffected by the weather, you’ll need to keep an eye on sales and product releases, expos and conventions, and besides all the seasonal talk, you’ll just want to have things planned out for your own sanity!
Download my free seasonal planner and start filling it in. Once you map out important dates, jot down post ideas and get a feel for how the year will go, print off some of the Weekly Planner templates (4-8 at a time is fine) and start filling in your next few weeks.
On it you’ll see space for planning two posts a week plus an email for your contact list. It’s recommended to send out one email a week to keep people engaged without spamming them.
I suggest putting it all in a binder and scanning through it often, adding ideas throughout the year and keeping yourself accountable.
A Few Last Tips
There’s so much more I could say and maybe will in future. But by now your head might be swimming anyway. I know mine was!
On the subject of when I was starting out, I found this free Masterclass helpful, and the sequential free trial offer that followed. I’ve never taken a paid course, although I can see their appeal.
If you want something that will really hold your hand and walk you through step by step, check out the paid course. I’m sure just from what I’ve seen of the free trial that it is an invaluable resource for a beginner blogger. But I can also attest to the fact that you can find out any info you need for free on the internet. You just have to be willing to dig for it.
Let me help you a little more by pointing out a few more resources that have helped me.
1. Video on email opt-ins
This will walk you through how to install a Plug In on WordPress that allows you have different sorts of opt-ins on your site (and yes it’s free).
2. Actually sending your freebie offer
Once someone puts their email in for your freebie, you actually need to send it! This video by the same person walks you through that, again with free tools (assuming you’ve paid for your email marketing company).
3. Canva everything
If you need to create Pinterest images (another huge subject we’ll save for later, but trust me you do need to create them), thumbnails for videos, any sort of printable or freebie document (like my content planner above!), you can use Canva. It’s similar to Photoshop but from what I can tell much easier to get the hang of and there’s a free version. There are plenty of tutorials out there for anything you’d need to create on Canva, but for now go check it out and browse the free templates. You can use templates for anything EXCEPT content that you want to sell like digital products. Anything you’re offering for free is fair game 🙂
4. Use social media to drive traffic to your blog
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube are great, each in their own way. One drawback to them is someone else owns them. And if you remember that minute and a half that Vine was a thing, we all saw why it’s important not to put all your eggs in on basket.
Similarly, many people are drawn to social media because it’s free and simple to use. I totally get that and opportunities abound with each. But you can take advantage of those opportunities as well as use them to point back to your blog, which YOU own. If Instagram or YouTube goes down tomorrow, you’ll still have your blog with all the content you worked so hard to create. And hopefully your income stream as well!
Whew. That was a lot. I truly hope this helps you to finally start putting pen to paper and get that blog up and running. It’s such a wonderful creative outlet as well as potential business.
My last bit of advice is don’t give up. Keep going back to the reason you wanted to start in the first place and looking ahead to your goal.
I really mean it when I say if I can do it YOU definitely can.
Happy writing,
-Tara
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