Hello! If you have reached this page you probably want to start a blog, and have hopefully already read the introduction to this series – How To Become A Blogger…
If you haven’t, then go have a read of that first just so you know what to expect.
If you have read, then you will know that this is the second part to the series, and another easy-ish read, but one you should read if you’re thinking about starting a new blog.
Today we are talking about the minor things you should start thinking about before launching your blog.
Before You Start a New Blog…
You may already have a blog and understand the ins and outs and are creating a new one, or you’re a newbie all together. So, either way, there are a few things you should consider first…
Here is a list of some of the things you may want to think about before starting your blog.
They arent a huge deal in the blogging world and you will more likely figure these out once you have started.
However, if you have an idea for each of the following points, then you’re off to a good start.
What You Want To Blog About
I suppose this is quite an important one.
It wouldn’t be wise to think about starting a food blog, then swap and talk about interior design. So, have a little brainstorm about the type of content you will be writing and find a common ground.
You can talk about whatever you want on your blog (I write about all sorts on here!). However, depending on the type of future you want for your blog, choosing similar or only a couple of topics is a wise choice.
On Written By Charlotte, I touch on all kinds of life subject, but the main things I want to share tend to be blog posts about blogging and money. That’s why having a lifestyle blog is pretty cool since you’re allowed to write whatever! There’s no rule really.
So, take some time and brainstorm the topics you want to cover on your blog and come up with a few example posts for each topic. Make sure you choose things you are actually interested in, otherwise creating content will become boring very fast…
Your Target Audience
I never really thought about this in the beginning. I kind of just started to write thigs that I thought I would like to read. Which isn’t a bad thing, if you don’t want to even read your own work, then who will?
Write content you enjoy, but also keep in mind who your readers are. Create content that will benefit them and who they are. That is the biggest thing I have learnt! Your posts should have or include something your readers want to know or learn.
People like to read about things that are going to help them and not just about what you did on your holiday. So, for example; depending on your target audience, let’s say they are young adults aged between 18-25…
If you did write a post about your holiday, try to include the bars and restaurants you recommend, or what shops were great etc. Always include content that is going to benefit your target audience to keep them reading more.
Another reason why you should choose a target audience is so that your content has some similarity to it. You wouldn’t post about the best retirement homes for your Grandma, and then talk about nightlife in Ibiza… (Or maybe you would?)
Anyway, it’s not too difficult, choose an age range, and gender if it matters to your content (female clothing or feminine health etc…) and start planning your posts!
Keeping Your Life Private?
If you are writing a blog about yourself or the things you do (a personal or lifestyle blog for example) then your audience is going to end up feeling like they know you, and have a lot of insight into your life. This is not a bad thing, especially if you want to promote or share brands in the future.
If your audience like you for who you are, then they will trust your views.
However, you might want to keep your life and yourself totally private.
This won’t be a problem if you are creating informational content about specific things or writing under a brand name. For example – creating posts about interior design.
So, think about if you want your blog to be private and about you, or purely informational and nothing to do with your personal self at all.
Platforms
There are a number of platforms you can host your blog from. If you don’t want to go self-hosted just yet (although I recommend you do, but we will talk about that in another post…) then take a look at the following websites and see which ones you like the look of.
I think WordPress is a great way to start blogging, however, there are a few others that have good reviews too.
Do some research into this and choose the best one for you.
Some platforms are more responsive than others, this means you can edit them more. They also cost different amounts too. If you choose to be self-hosted you will also need a domain name. You can get one here.
Aesthetic
Let’s face it, it’s all about the aesthetic.
The thing that is going to draw your readers attention. I suppose it’s not THAT important to have an extremely aesthetically pleasing blog, to begin with, but at least having one that has the same running theme will make it look so much better.
For example, you might want a light coloured blog with lots of white backgrounds and minimal aspects, OR you could have an eclectic blog full of colours and widgets etc.
Have a look at some of your favourite blogs and make a note on the things you like the best.
Having a simple yet attractive face for your blog (the colours and text mainly) is what will entice your readers.
Create a professional-looking blog in order to already look like you know what you’re doing. You can always change and make tweaks as you go along.
Do You Want To Monetise?
You will need to start thinking about whether you want to monetise your blog or not, quite early on.
If you set yourself up now to start getting paid, it will be easier when the time eventually comes.
To do this just be conscious of the content you are creating and what ways you think you could get paid in the future when your traffic and audience is bigger.
A few things to think about are;
- Could you go back and monetise your posts? Think about affiliate companies.
- Do you want to be sponsored? Who are you interested in?
- Create quality content from the beginning to use for your ‘portfolio’.
- Do you want to place ads, if so, where and what. You can use Google Adsense or Media vine to place ads. Realistically, you will gain more once you have a recurring audience and high traffic.
Will you be consistent enough
Blogging is a commitment!
You will need to set yourself a schedule you can keep up with. Don’t sell yourself short.
Figure out how many GOOD QUALITY posts you could write every week and create a plan.
Once you have a plan, stick with it.
If you stop posting for a while then your readers will lose interest and engagement (sounds harsh but very true, consistency is key to pretty much everything in life I’m afraid.)
I create posts three times a week but that may be subject to change once work starts again *(after COVID)*.
So, overall you need to consider how often you can post and how long you can spend on writing posts. If its only one per week that is fine! It is better to spend more time writing one really good blog post than rushing one out.
Linking other social media
Linking social media to your new blog is one of the best and easiest ways to gain traffic and create a loyal audience.
You will want to think about if you want your personal accounts linked, or if you want to create a whole different community.
I advise creating new accounts solely for your blog, this way it is easier for people to find you and remember who you are, they will also rather see you post photos and things about the actual blog, rather than what you ate for dinner on your personal account.
So, think about how comfortable you feel about sharing your blog with the world. Everyone will see it eventually though.
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Thank you for reading the second part of the series. More posts are coming every single week! Make sure you subscribe to stay in the loop.
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