There are a few things I wish I knew before starting blogging. I can’t believe my blog has been live for a month! It seems like just yesterday I was working behind the scenes. Sometimes, I feel like I have been doing this forever. Other days, I’m trying to figure out how to make time to learn everything. I thought setting a blog up required work but that was really the easy part! Maintaining the content on the blog, social media marketing, and learning new skills after launching is the hard part!
Thankfully, setting up my blog was a breeze. I set up my hosting with Siteground and have loved it! You can also set up with them here for as little as 3.95 a month! I share my quick tips for starting a blog in this post here.
1.Everything doesn’t have to be perfect to Launch–in fact, even if you think it is, it’s not!
I spent weeks going over all these little details and trying to learn things so that my blog would be top notch before launching. And even after that, I still changed and a ton of things after launching.That is the good thing, you can always go back and update!
2.Google is your best friend
I always use google for everyday things but you can literally learn how to do anything if you research how to do it. Chances are someone has faced your same challenges while also trying to figure out blogging! Pinterest and Youtube are also great resources to use. There is a tutorial or an ebook out there for everything!
3.Find support
Yes, your friends, family and significant other are amazing and will support whatever you do–but unless they are all also bloggers, they won’t understand your blogger struggles! I joined a few Facebook groups where I can ask questions and interact with other bloggers. These groups can also be great to get your content out there. You want to find your community to help you along the way.
4.You have got to step up your organization skills
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
I thought I was an organized person–and sure for a person with just a 9-5, I was. But blogging as a side hustle requires adapting to a whole new schedule. Essentially, all of my time is accounted for. As the saying goes “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” I quickly realized I needed to plan when I would post content on my blog and social media. Thankfully, there are a lot of good tools and apps out there. A few that I use to keep my life together are Wunderlist, WordPress, Hootsuite, and Preview. I have a full list with more detail on the apps I use in this post here.
*The links used are affiliate links, meaning should you choose to use them I earn a percentage of the sales, so thank you in advance if you decide to make your purchase through them.
5.Don’t Obsess over the numbers, Perfect your content
Reading all of the blog posts from Pinterest on “How I made Six figures blogging in one year” can be tempting. In fact, I’ve read a few of those. And even the posts about how bloggers doubled or tripled their page views. But what’s the point of having all these visitors to your site if they don’t have good quality content to read? Now I’m focused on being consistent with my blog posts and producing quality content my audience can relate to. As long as I am operating in my purpose, the blessings will follow.
6.Blogging is hard work, but your hard work won’t go unnoticed
Creating each blog post takes more work than I imagined. But it is honestly so rewarding to know that people are enjoying my content. As long as just a few people benefit from my content I am more than happy.
Now that you have the inside scoop on starting a blog, what are you waiting for?! If you’re thinking about starting a blog, I highly recommend Siteground as a reliable host. It only takes a few minutes to set up and is really affordable!
This is so educative and am happy amazing bloggers like you can teach others they will want to walk in their path. It feels good to want to help others . Lovely tips !
Thank you, I’m glad it was helpful!
This is a really great list of things all potential blogger should know!
I totally agree! Content is the most important. I sometimes find myself in a race to get followers as it is easier work than creating content!
Consistency was my biggest problem from the get go on my blog… I was posting so sporadically my views were down and I think I lost anyone who didn’t know me to other blogs who could keep up with posting!… I’ve now committed to a better schedule and am posting content regularly! I love your other tips too! Thanks for all your insight!
I can definitely relate to that! It is super easy for life to get in the way and not stick to your posting schedule! that’s great you figured it all out 🙂
I do not think anyone starting out apppreciates how much time blogging actually takes. I know I didn’t go into it.
I agree with you that it helps if you’re incredibly organised. Something that I’m still learning to be.
Thanks for sharing. It’s nice to know we’re all in the same boat.
Yes! it’s a steep learning curve, but we will all figure it out!
I read a ton of Pinterest posts about how bloggers were making 6 figure incomes and I kept thinking, “alright, I can do it too!” I definitely underestimated the time that goes into writing content, coding website, and promoting the blog. Also, I understand 100% about having family and friends that support you, but they don’t quite understand it like fellow bloggers do.
Yes! the coding is what got me! but then it is rewarding to see it all come together!
I have been blogging off and on for a long time, but nothing ever really stuck. FInally, I feel like I’ve got some vision and know where I’m heading! This is great!!
That’s awesome!
This blog was such a god send for me today. I am new to blogging and it really helped me get my thoughts in order. Planning is essential! Thanks.
Yay! I’m so glad it was helpful to you 🙂 Good luck on your blogging journey!
Great tips! I can definitely relate on a few of these. Thanks for sharing
This post was spot on! I just started in November and I feel like I am always adding something or fixing something lol. It does take a lot of work to come up with content and make sure it is all good quality. I wish you the best of luck on your blogging journey!
Taylor <3
Thank you! I wish the same for you 🙂
Yes to all of these! There is so much more that goes into blogging than I realized, but I wouldn’t trade any of it. I thought I was organized – the. I started blogging and realized I still had a lot of work to do in that department. I absolutely agree about the blogging groups. Community is so important!
Figuring out how to stay organized has definitely been trial and error!
I can appreciate this post. Blogging is time consuming – many people do not realize that. I am still finding ways to stay on top of things.
Love all of your pointers! I especially loved when you said “as long as I am operating in my purpose, the blessings will follow.” So so so true!