So you’ve been thinking about starting a blog? But you’re probably wondering what to do BEFORE you start a blog.
Unfortunately for me, that is not something I asked myself when I started my first blog, A Chick And Her Garden. My journey started out with me literally writing about my day… Like a journal…
Don’t get me wrong. I think that writing a blog is similar to journal writing. And it’s a great way to express your thoughts.
But, if you want a successful blog, that isn’t going to cut it. Your blog needs to serve a purpose for others.
More than that, you really need to know what others are looking for and what they are expecting of you as the one giving them advice!
The silliest things can turn away a reader forever. Even grammar. Ask my mom. She’s nuts about it and will text me 10 minutes after I publish a post to tell me that I missed something when I proof read. (Thanks Momma!)
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If you like learning, blogging is an ever changing world and I feel like and eternal student (which I love).
To make YOUR life easier you need to be super organized! And you are going to come across plenty of printables to help you (like the one I’m giving you today 🙂 ).
So to start off right, get yourself a good binder! (I’m kind of an office supply nerd and I’m loving this one on Amazon!)
Now, what to do before you start a blog?
First, you’re going to want to grab my free printable by subscribing and put it right into that new binder!
The very first thing anyone should do, that wants to start a blog is decide what their niche is going to be. My niche for A Chick And Her Garden is homesteading. But, in actuality there are so many sub categories of that. I did a bit of everything with that. But maybe you specialize in a certain area of your niche.
So look around a bit. Is your niche Parenting? Maybe you have twins or a child with Autism. You can narrow it in or be more general in your style.
Another example would be Decorating and DIY. You have your own style. You can stick to what you know best or branch out and dabble in a bit of everything!
Now, that you have your niche, what is your site name going to be? You want it to stand out and be easy to remember. I was surprised at my referral stats to find out so many people searched for my site just by typing in my site name.
Double check on Siteground that your name is available to purchase. Siteground is my hosting provider and I absolutely LOVE them! Their customer service is amazing and their speed and security are the absolute best! (We’ll get into that more later!)
OK, now that you’ve got your niche and name figured out you’re still wondering what to do before you start a blog??
Take your niche and research five of the top bloggers in that niche!
Use them as a model. They’re doing something right, and you want to do it too! When I started A Chick And Her Garden, I was willing to take advice pretty much anywhere I found it. But the problem with that is I trusted them to the T.
Yes trust is great but I actually ended up watching a lot of those bloggers fizzle out. Hind sight is 20/20. I should have researched more into who was really blowing up my niche and started emulating their strategies right away!
Now that you’ve found those top bloggers, what is a topic that they’re all writing about?
Guess what? You can write about it too! Your readers want to know what your thoughts on the matter are.
So find 3-5 articles that they all seem to be talking about and get thinking about what you have to say about it!
So now that you know what to do before you start a blog, you need to get your binder and subscribe to my newsletter for free printables and tips to help you in your blog journey!
Think you’re ready to get started?? Here’s How to Start a SUCCESSFUL Blog!
I am a professional nanny Want to do a blog on creating a can do parents…
That’s great! (I actually have in in home daycare as well! Lady of many hats here!)
I am my husband health care provider and I take care of my grandkids so what would I use as a name to do this
Hmmmm… That’s a good question. What topics would you be writing about? Could you be a bit more specific? I personally like a name to show a bit of your personality as well. 🙂
I have a blog about making leather jewelry, sometimes a recipe, my attitude towards problems I encounter…. I share my blog on my fb page/shop but no conversions, untill now
Mine’s a lifestyle blog. I moved from Arkansas to Alaska to teach, and somewhere along the way I overcame eleven years of PCOS-related infertility through my own research into healthier living habits for endocrine disruption. We live in a remote Bush commercial fishing village. I’ve got the whole “displaced Southerner” thing going on….and we love to travel Alaska and find all the best places to eat.
In summation-remember the Disney movie, UP? Think of how happy the story would have been if Carl and Ellie would have been able to have the family they wanted AND travel together. That’s our reality, and I hope to share it and give hope to others!
Wow its nice.
I’m a post graduation student. Since I have started a blog , I don’t know what to write. I like to write about education, moral ethics and value education, Ethical values.
But I don’t know how to start and where to start. Though I wrote my first post, I am not understanding what should I write next.
Can you give me some advice?!