If you are looking at starting a blog, you are probably wondering where to even begin. Once you start to do a little research you will realise there is a whole host of things to consider such as should you go with WordPress or Blogger, making sure you have social media channels and things such as social media scheduling tools.
There is so much information to take in when it comes to blogging, it can all become a little overwhelming.
Before you get bogged down in what is a never-ending list of questions and decisions, there are a few things you need to think of first of all before you even get yourself up and running.
4 Things to consider before starting a blog
How important is the name of your blog?
A blog name that you love means absolutely everything.
It will become your brand and your baby, so you need to go with a name that you love and has a meaning to you. If your blog takes off, it may become a household name, so ensuring it is a name you are proud of is important. Obviously, you can rebrand and change, this will have an impact on your site authority etc but it is not impossible.
Starting with a name you love at the beginning just makes things that little bit easier!
Which blog hosting provider should I go with?
There are plenty of hosting providers out there to pick from and many offer deals for first-time customers. When I first started out blogging I used Go Daddy, they were ok, nothing special but did what it said on the tin. I did find them a little expensive after a while and they also had multiple downtimes.
A couple of years ago I was offered the chance to switch over to Stablepoint, to see what I thought of their service and I have never looked back.
The cost me £74.99 a year for their medium hosting which means I can host up to 5 blogs on there at the same time. That is not the best part though, their customer service is second to none.
If you are ever stuck with something such as linking your domain to your site or anything like that, simply raise a ticket or pop on live chat. Every time I’ve had something that needs their help, it has always been resolved in a couple of hours. Sal the owner of Stablepoint has even helped out when I have had queries, they put customers first. If you would be interested in joining then we have a special Stablepoint discount code that will get you 20% off your first purchase, enter 2CP2GD2Z7K at the checkout to save yourself 20%!
How important is a blogging niche?
Some people start a blog with an idea in their head as to what it will be about and others just want to write.
Before you get started, you will need to start thinking about the blogging niche you will be looking to join. This is not to say you can not change the blogging theme or niche in time, however, knowing where you want to start with your blog will make it easier for you to write.
When you are just starting out, don’t put pressure on yourself to cover everything. I have always found that when I put pressure on myself to write, I end up with writer’s block however when I have nothing set to write but can share what I want, the words just flow.
Over time you may find that although it is not in your plan to change the theme, as life changes, so do your writing. As long as you are passionate about what you are putting out, that is all that matters.
How often should you blog to be successful?
This is like one of those “how long is a piece of string questions”, there isn’t really a magic answer to this question.
As everyone is different, so is the answer to this question. It comes down to a selection of different things really. If your blog gets all of its traffic from the social shares of new posts, then of course, the more you blog the better your traffic will be. However, if your blog gets a big chunk of its traffic through search engine keyword searches, then publishing a post every day might not really help this.
Being successful isn’t about just posting every day, it is about finding that happy medium that works for you and your blog. For me personally, I have found blogging a couple of times a week whilst working on my keyword etc has had a better impact than me publishing a new post every day.
Having a blog is amazing and it can open so many doors such as paid work, reviews, trips, book opportunities and so much more. I have always found that you always get back what you put into the blog. I don’t think it is ever possible to know everything there is to know about blogging, there is a huge amount to understand from coding to writing to social media and SEO.
What I do believe is that you should focus on the key areas you do understand and keep learning little by little. Just tweaking the smaller things, you are opening your blog up to a whole new audience.
We will be sharing more how-to guides in the coming weeks and months and sharing our thoughts on the dos and don’ts for blogging which hopefully will help you if you are starting a blog.
