This blog post is all about starting a blog
Starting a blog is an exciting journey. You have all these plans of what you want to write and share. There are countless hours spent researching everything about blogs. Then you spend more time picking out a theme and designing.
But all the excitement eventually fades and you wonder if you are doing the right thing. Blogging can feel like a lonely journey, especially when you are first starting out. There is so much to learn and it feels like everyone else becomes an overnight success. But that is not true.
I have had countless blogs over the last few years. This is the first blog that I have consistently posted on for more than a month. And I refuse to let myself give up on it.
Even though I am still a newbie blogger, I feel like it is important to share with you
Here are the important things to know about starting a blog
Just hit publish on your first blog post
Not to be mean, but your first blog post is not going to be anything special. It is going to suck. Your writing won’t sound like you, you won’t know what direction you’re going, and it isn’t going to help your SEO.
But that is okay! The longer you put off publishing your first post, the more you aren’t going to do.
Several of my blogs never made it far because of that first post. I would spend weeks trying to write that perfect first post. Or even figure out what to say. Then I would just keep deleting it and starting over.
Really, no one is ever going to see that post. So don’t worry about it. Just hit publish and move on.
All that being said, don’t publish something just to publish something. If you don’t know what to write, share why you are starting the blog. Give your readers who do go all the way back a small backstory. It also helps you see how far along you’ve come.
My first blog post was not great, but it got me started. It also is a great reminder of all the work I’ve done to get to this point.
Only focus on 2 or 3 things to start.
There are lots of things to learn when it comes to blogging. It is easy to want to learn it all right away so your blog can become successful. But that leads to becoming overwhelmed and burnt out.
Choose 2 or 3 things that will help your blog grow. Once you feel confident in those, add more.
I recommend focusing on:
- Consistent posting
- SEO
These are the core things that are going to get your blog off the ground and bring reads. They are also the things that take the longest to learn.
By focusing on these 3 key areas, you are building a base level of knowledge for your blog. It will also help all the other things you learn make sense.
I still struggle with wanting to do it all. But whenever I add another task, I forget to focus on what actually matters.
Blogging courses are worth it
Now I like to do things without spending a lot of money. And I wasn’t sure about posting a blogging course. Especially when everyone posts tutorials online. It seemed like a waste to spend a few hundred dollars on a course that everyone already shares for free.
But then I saw someone say that there is a limit to what bloggers are willing to share. So I decided to go for it and purchase a blogging course.
Since I mostly watch YouTube tutorials by Sophia Lee, I ended up going with her blogging course.
That’s when I learned that blogging courses can share a wealth of knowledge. The bloggers who create the courses often go through their process for blogging. It is like reading an instruction manual vs watching someone build.
Sophia Lee’s course was great in explaining how to do keyword research and then place it in your blog. I ended up going back through my posts to update the SEO after her course.
Don’t spend all your time trying to figure something out when you can just have an experienced person tell you.
Don’t stress about a niche
This is another reason why my blog took so long to create.
Everyone says they need to have a niche to be successful. And figuring this out can be just as stressful as writing your first blog post.
It is easy to overthink because of how important it may seem. In all of my Facebook blogging groups, there is at least one person a day asking about finding a niche.
But there is something important to remember, you can change your niche. Just like your college major, you can change what you are focusing on and your goals.
While it is true that you can change your niche, it is okay to not have one at first.
Market your blog as Lifestyle and then start to write. As you write you will see what you are passionate about and gravitate towards that. Within the first two weeks of writing, I learned I love to talk about thrifting, home decor, and reading.
Google will eventually learn what you are writing about, it just may take longer. But you don’t want to run out of post ideas because you are writing on a topic you don’t care about.
It doesn’t happen overnight.
Blogging is a long-term game.
It may seem like everyone becomes successful overnight, but that is not true. You are going to have lots of days where there are no readers visiting your blog. It makes you wonder if it is worth it, but I think it is.
I am still guilty of checking my views and analytics every few hours. I didn’t start getting readers until three weeks in, and even then it is still not consistent. Just this last week I had 0 readers.
I may not be the perfect person to tell you that blogging is worth it, but I am the right person to tell you that I understand the feeling of waiting.
It is going to take time to grow a reader base. Focusing on learning important blogging concepts in the meantime. Try out different strategies. Or enjoy that you can post whatever you want without the worry of judgment.
Remind yourself of these things when starting a blog
Starting a blog is a great creative outlet. Don’t let the fear of not knowing what to post or having no one to read it, stop you. My blog isn’t growing as fast as I want it to. But I love looking back and all the work I put into it and seeing a project I am proud of.
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