It is also an excellent side hustle.

However, putting your ideas out into the world can be scary.

If you are thinking about starting an anonymous blog in 2022 but aren’t quite sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, we will discuss how to start an anonymous blog and provide you with a list of necessary tools to help you get to writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before we jump into how to start an anonymous blog, let’s address a few frequently asked questions to get primed on the subject.

How To Blog Anonymously

Did you know that anyone can look up a blog or domain name’s ownership?

This can be scary, especially if the topics you want to post about are sensitive.

Luckily, there’s a feature called “Domain Privacy Protection“.

It’s an option you can choose at any registrar when buying a domain name and setting up a blog, and it completely protects your personal information.

Without it, you’re name, address, and other info can be easily accessed by anyone, allowing people to research your blog name and find out your identity.

The best part is that domain privacy is really cheap.

In fact, whether you absolutely need to blog anonymously or not, I always recommend buying private registration in all my guides.

The other thing you must do is create an alias or pen name when you create your WordPress blog.

During the set up process, WordPress will allow you to pick the name that will be publicly show.

If that’s not to your liking, you can make it where WordPress displays no name at all on your blog posts.

What You’ll Need To Start an Anonymous Blog

There are a handful of tools you will need before you can successfully begin an anonymous blog.

These include:

• Blogging Platform
• Blog Hosting Site
• Pseudonym (Name To Write Under)
• WordPress Theme and Plugins

Blogging Platform

There are dozens of blogging platforms to choose from, many of which do not require any prior coding or technical knowledge to get working.

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform due to its affordability and user-friendly features.

Other blogging platforms you may wish to consider for your anonymous blog include Wix, Medium, or Squarespace.

Blog Hosting Site

Blog hosting is also an important and necessary step in starting an anonymous blog.

A blog hosting site is where your blog will live in the online space.

It is what allows people to find and read your blog.

The hosting site will also store all your content and data, providing you and your readers with high-quality security and fast load times.

Pseudonym

It is entirely possible to start an anonymous blog.

However, you will still need to publish your content under a name.

Choosing a pseudonym is a popular tradition amongst novelists and authors.

However, bloggers can also choose a pseudonym to write and publish under.

You can select a first and last name, an anonymous username, or operate under the title of your blog.

WordPress Theme and Plugins

The design of your blog is a crucial factor in its overall success.

If your design is busy, loud, or cramped, people aren’t going to stick around to read what you have to say.

They also aren’t going to click on any of your ads, meaning you’ll lose out on serious cash.

Luckily, thousands of beautiful themes and easy-to-use plugins through WordPress can help you launch a professional blog.

Step-by-Step Instructions To Start a Blog Anonymously

Now that you’ve readied your tools, let’s dive into step-by-step instructions on how to start an anonymous blog.

1. Come Up With a Name

The name of your blog and your pseudonym is going to be synonymous with your blog’s brand.

So, coming up with a name for both is a vital step when starting an anonymous blog.

Blog Name

Choosing a blog name can be difficult.

It is the name new audience members will see first and will thus set the tone for your entire blog before people have read a single word.

Your blog name should reflect the blog topic or niche, connect with your target audience, and also give you room to grow.

If you’re stuck, you can always use a free online blog name generator or formula to create something truly unique.

Pseudonym

When choosing a pseudonym, keep the following factors in mind:

• Select something that aligns with your content and industry
• Make sure it is easy to spell and pronounce
• Ensure the alias is not currently in use by other social media handles or websites

Above all else, make sure that you like both the blog’s name and your pseudonym.

Although you can change either later, it may be confusing for your readers if you consistently change names.

2. Register Your Domain and Hosting

After you have chosen a blog name, you will need to find a domain name registrar and purchase it on a hosting site such as GoDaddy or Bluehost.

1. Finalize your domain name and select a domain name suffix from a reliable registrar
2. Check domain name availability.
3. Purchase the domain name from a web hosting plan or site
4. Follow the registrar’s instructions for final registration

There are many options available, but we suggest checking out the best WordPress hosting with companies like WP Engine, Pressable, or SiteGround.

If you need help deciding what type to use, check out our hosting quiz to give you a better idea.

3. Install WordPress or Other CMS

If you choose to write your blog on WordPress, you will need to create an account and install the platform.

1. Download and unzip the WordPress installation file.
2. Create a database on your server if your hosting server does not provide one for you.
3. Upload files to the WordPress-powered site where you want the site to appear.
4. Run the WordPress installation script on your chosen browser.

Learning how to install WordPress is pretty simple, but it can get complicated if you don’t have experience.

Spend some extra money and get one of the managed hosts that we mentioned above.

These hosts do the hard work for you, and have one-click WordPress installations that save you time, effort, and frustration.

4. Select a Design

As we mentioned above, selecting a design for your blog is one of the most important factors in getting people to click, engage, and read your content.

Think about what you want to communicate with your blog’s design and how it will reflect or work with the content you write.

Consider a clean and simple theme with plenty of attractive white space.

You’ll want to find a design theme that balances text with images as well.

Furthermore, it is important to choose a responsive theme that translates well on various screen sizes so you can attract mobile users.

Over 84% of internet users in the United States use their mobile devices, which is a significant chunk of traffic you’re not going to want to alienate with a poorly designed site.

Finally, you’ll want a theme that is easy to customize regardless of your current experience editing websites.

If it is too difficult to edit or add new posts, you’re going to get frustrated, and your updates will struggle.

Plugins are a whole other beast, but that doesn’t mean they are less important.

WordPress has a myriad of free and paid plugins which can help you optimize your blog’s content for SEO, build unique pages, compress images, and track your site’s analytics.

5. Install Plugins

We recommend the following WordPress blogging plugins for your anonymous blog:

• Yoast SEO
• Mailchimp
• MonsterInsights
• Google Analytics
• Popup Maker

You will also need to install some kind of cache plugin, a security plugin, and an anti-spam plugin.

If you plan to send out a newsletter or want to collect your reader’s contact information, it is also important to include a contact plugin that collects and stores their information for you.

Installing a plugin on WordPress is straightforward.

1. Download the WordPress plugin from their plugin directory
2. Navigate to “Plugins” on the lefthand menu
3. Select the new plugin and click “Activate.”

6. Start Writing Content for Your Blog

That’s it! You are ready to start writing exciting and unique content for your blog.

You can write your posts anywhere you’d like and copy and paste the content into your WordPress theme.

If you want to the blog write directly in WordPress, all you have to do is follow these two steps.

1. Click on “Posts”
2. Select “Add New”

The Takeaway

We hope you found this tutorial on how to start an anonymous blog helpful.

You should now know how to come up with both a blog name and a pseudonym and how to register your blog.

You’ll also understand the importance of choosing a good design and the best plugins to help you make the most of your blog platform.

What do you think about the steps we listed above?

If you’ve started your own anonymous blog or have thoughts about our recommended steps, leave us a comment below.

If you found the article helpful, feel free to share it with your network!

Blogging can be a smart way to launch a career, combine your interests, or start a business.

This is especially true for beauty bloggers, who can quickly build a name for themselves based on their talent, passion for the industry, and unique style.

If you’ve read our list of top beauty blogs to follow and want to launch your own, we’re here to help.

In our step-by-step guide on how to start a beauty blog, we’ll walk you through the steps to start a blog, including how to:

• Make a Plan
• Buy a Domain Name and Hosting
• Install and Customize WordPress
• Write Blog Posts
• Launch and Promote Your Blog

Is It Too Late to Start a Beauty Blog?

Even though blogging has grown in popularity and there are thousands of blogs out there, don’t be put off by this.

Your passion, your voice, and your blog is unique — and this can go a long way in helping you to create a successful beauty blog.

One thing that a lot of successful bloggers say is that they wish they’d started their blog sooner.

Be inspired by this and make today the day you start your blog.

Reasons to Start a Beauty Blog in 2021

Blogging is amazing for a number of reasons.

Starting a blog can lead to big opportunities for your career and personal life, it can introduce you to new interests, help you find your community, and transform your life.

Here are six of our top reasons to start a beauty blog in 2021:

• Quit your full-time job to create a career in the beauty industry
• Combine your passion for beauty and writing skills together
• Make money as you share your knowledge and experience
• Build your personal brand and grow a following online
• Network with others in the beauty industry
• Attend exclusive events and receive products before they launch

We think that blogging can open the doors to many opportunities, especially if you’re talented, knowledgeable, and create high quality content.

Here’s how to take your blogging dream and turn it into your new reality.

Step 1: Make A Plan

Planning might not sound like much fun, but it’s an essential step if you want to start your beauty blog the right way.

If you create a plan for your blog you’re more likely to stay focused and remain true to your goals.

You don’t need to create a detailed business plan, but it can help to take some time to consider these prompts and how you want your blog to look, feel, and grow.

Why Do You Want to Blog?

We all have different reasons for starting a blog.

Some bloggers want to build a personal brand online that allows them to host events, create products in collaboration with brands, and launch a beauty-related business.

Other bloggers want to share tutorials and help readers discover their own love for beauty.

Whatever your reason to start a blog, always keep this in mind. If you reflect on your “why” you’ll find it easier to make decisions that affect your blog — from which brands to work with to how to build your email list.

For most new bloggers, their blog starts as a hobby and develops into a profitable income stream or standalone business.

If you plan to grow your blog into a successful business, you might have an extra “why” — to create a sustainable income for you and your family or team.

You can have more than one goal or purpose for your blog, and you might find this changes as you learn more about your style and audience.

What Is Your Niche?

After you’ve thought about why you want to start a blog, it’s time to consider where your beauty blog fits in the blogosphere.

A lot of bloggers refer to this as your “niche” — what makes your blog different or interesting, and who this attracts.

To find your niche, make a list of all the aspects of the beauty industry that excite you.

Maybe you’re passionate about drugstore beauty brands, or you have specialist knowledge about ingredients or skincare.

Think about your readers too — their lifestyle, what they currently read, and how you can connect with their feelings about beauty.

Within beauty blogging there are lots of niches or areas that you could specialize in.

Here are some examples to help you figure out your niche:

• Affordable beauty
• Vegan or cruelty-free beauty
• DIY beauty products
• Minimalist beauty
• The science behind beauty
• Makeup for beginners
• Luxury beauty and skincare

Another aspect to consider when you choose your niche is whether it has the potential to be profitable for you.

For example, if you blog about luxury skincare you could find it easier to generate affiliate income as your readers have more disposable income.

What Will You Name Your Blog?

Now it’s time to jump into the fun stuff — finding a name for your beauty blog.

This is one of those moments where you can be creative and draw on your excitement to create a name and brand for your blog.

To help you with the process, we’ve created a guide on how to find creative blog names.

This walks you through the process and gives you some ideas on how to find the right name for your beauty blog.

While creative names are popular in the beauty niche, you can also start a blog in your own name.

High profile beauty bloggers like Jaclyn Hill have done just that.

Do You Need Any Equipment?

Starting a beauty blog can be a low cost way to create a career in the beauty industry.

Blogging has only a handful of costs associated with it, which means you can get started quickly and invest in better equipment as you go.

All bloggers will need to invest in two key areas to get their blog online — a domain name and web hosting.

We’ll talk about these in detail in Steps 2 and 3.

As beauty blogging is such a visual niche, it can help to invest in equipment to help you create beautiful photographs, including:

• A good quality camera (your smartphone, a point-and-shoot, or a DSLR)
• Backgrounds or styled areas of your home you can use as backdrops
• Props and extra products to feature in photos and flatlays
• Photo editing software (like Picmonkey or Adobe Lightroom)

These aren’t essentials though — you can start a blog with just your smartphone or laptop and a passion for beauty.

Step 2: Buy Your Domain Name

After you’ve made some plans for your new beauty blog, it’s time to move onto buying a domain name.

This is one of those blogging essentials that we mentioned in the first step.

Your domain name (also known as your URL) acts like a virtual address for your blog and your content.

It’s easy to find and buy your domain name through a domain provider like Bluehost.

You can use the built-in search to check that your name is available, add the domain to your basket, and purchase.

You’re now the proud owner of a domain name for your beauty blog.

Step 3: Purchase Hosting for Your Blog

Now that you have your domain name, the next step is to invest in web hosting for your blog.

The most popular type of hosting for bloggers is shared hosting with a web hosting company like Bluehost.

This type of hosting is affordable, easy to set up, and offers you everything you need to start and grow your blogging business.

Bluehost remains our host of choice for bloggers thanks to the quality of service, and if you sign up through this link you can get your web hosting for $2.95 per month which makes it a great value.

Step 4: Install WordPress

Once you have a domain name and hosting for your blog, you can then install a content management system (or CMS).

This powers your blog and allows you to create and publish content easily from an admin dashboard.

The CMS we recommend for bloggers is WordPress — a highly popular and flexible system that allows you to build a blog that’s highly customizable without the need for technical knowledge.

It has all the features you need built in, and you can also add functionality through plugins — for example, a rating system or shoppable widgets.

WordPress is free and easy to install with Bluehost thanks to their easy-to-follow guide.

In a few clicks you can set up your WordPress blog and begin to customize your blog.

Step 5: Customize Your Blog

Wouldn’t it be dull if all blogs looked the same?

Even though many blogs are run on WordPress, it’s rare to find two that look exactly alike.

That’s because it’s easy to customize WordPress to create a blog that looks and feels individual.

WordPress is a system that is ready to go right from the start, so you can choose one of the built-in themes or browse their free theme library to find one that suits your brand.

The most popular option for bloggers, however, is to find and install a custom third party WordPress theme.

There are lots of WordPress theme designers out there, and one of the best places to look for a theme is a marketplace like Themeforest or Creative Market.

Here you’ll find hundreds of themes that you can sort by category, color, or price to find one that you like.

Once you’ve found a custom theme and purchased it, follow this guide on how to install your theme on WordPress.

You can then customize your theme further to feature your brand colors, upload a logo and header image, and make small changes to showcase your style and personality.

Step 6: Write Blog Posts

Before you launch your blog to the world, take some time to plan and create content.

It’s a good idea to write as many blog posts as you can before you launch, so readers have a few posts to browse when they land on your blog.

You’ll also have a library of drafted posts that you can schedule and promote over the next weeks and months.

As you plan and write blog posts, keep your audience and your niche in mind.

This will help you to create content that’s attractive and keeps your readers coming back for more.

To get you started, here are some popular types of blog posts for beauty and fashion blogs:

• Product reviews
• Tutorials
• Beauty tips
• Monthly favorites
• Beauty trends
• New products and collections

Stuck for inspiration?

You’ll find more great tips and writing prompts in our list of beauty blog post ideas.

Step 7: Launch and Promote Your Blog

Now that you have lots of interesting and engaging content ready to go, it’s time to launch your beauty blog.

It’s up to you how you want to launch your blog.

You could do this quietly and share it with friends and family first, or you could create a big buzz around your blog by working with other bloggers, hosting a competition, and paying for social media advertising.

If you want to create some interest around your newly launched blog, here are some ideas on how to get your name out there:

• Talk to friends, family, and your network about your new blog
• Create and post updates on your social media sites
• Join blogging communities and groups on Facebook to network
• Work on your blog search engine optimization (SEO) to help your posts rank in Google search
• Approach other bloggers and ask to write a guest blog
• Look in blogger groups for opportunities to promote your blog
• Try paid social media advertising like Facebook Ads
• Contact your local newspaper or radio station to see if they want to feature your story

Grow and Monetize Your Beauty Blog

Don’t be disheartened if you only have a few readers to start with.

Like all good things, blogging is a skill you learn and it’s a hobby or business that grows and develops with time.

As a blogger there’s always something new to understand or a skill to improve, so if you find yourself with some free time why not spend it learning how to grow your blog?

To help you stay focused and grow your blog, subscribe to our weekly emails.

These free newsletters feature tips and advice on how to start, grow, and monetize your blog from blogging experts.

This is a great way to learn about the specifics of how to monetize your blog, like using Amazon Affiliates, Google AdSense, and sponsored posts to increase your blogging income.

There’s no better time to create a gaming blog than now.

In this step-by-step guide we’ll walk you through how to start a blog, including these key steps:

• Make a Plan
• Buy a Domain Name
• Buy Hosting for Your Blog
• Install WordPress
• Customize WordPress
• Write Content
• Launch Your Blog

Ready to make your blogging dreams a reality?

Here’s our ultimate guide on how to start a gaming blog today.

Why Start a Gaming Blog?

The gaming industry continues to grow in strength and both niche and mainstream interest, especially with the growing popularity of esports.

This makes now the perfect time to start your gaming blog.

For many, a gaming blog can mean a new career — for others it’s the possibility to create a hobby from a blend of their passions.

Here are some of the best reasons to start a gaming blog this year:

• Create a career and personal brand for yourself in the gaming or esports industry
• Grow a community around a topic you’re passionate about
• Understand more about gaming to support a future career
• Get exclusive access to new technology, hardware, and games before they launch
• Attend invite-only press events and gaming conferences
• Monetize your blog and make money from doing something you love

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Here’s how to make it happen.

Step 1: Make a Plan

The first step when you start your own gaming blog can often take the longest.

All through life it’s important to plan and prepare, and blogging is no exception.

If you take the time now to get all your ideas down on paper, you’ll avoid distractions and stay focused as you make your way through the blog setup process.

When planning your blog, here are some useful questions to consider:

Why Do You Want to Blog?

Your “why” should always guide your decisions, so it’s really important to be as clear as you can on this from the beginning.

Do you want to inspire others?

Create a community of passionate fans?

Launch a profitable blogging media empire?

It’s helpful to remember that you can have more than one purpose — it’s possible to create a thriving community and be profitable, for example.

What Do You Want to Blog About?

There’s lots of talk in the blogging world about finding your niche and how this can help you to find your audience.

What this means is that if you can figure out what’s unique about your blog and where it fits into the gaming blog community, you’ll find it easier to promote your blog and attract the kind of readers that you want.

To help you find your niche, work out which aspects of gaming you’re passionate about.

Do you favor a particular game or type of game?

Are you interested in esports?

Do you want to blog about the gaming industry?

Are you a huge technology and hardware fan?

Blogging about your interests is a great place to start, so make a list of the topics or themes you want to cover on your blog.

Who Will Read Your Gaming Blog?

We often start a blog as a hobby, so sometimes we don’t always consider our audience.

If you want to grow a successful blog and monetize it, your audience becomes your number one priority.

Take some time to build up a picture of your ideal reader.

Make notes about who they are, where they live, what they’re interested in, and where they like to spend their time.

This will help you to create high quality content that will interest them and also help you work out where to promote your blog.

What Should You Name Your Gaming Blog?

After you’ve decided what you want to blog about, the next step is to find a name.

This can be tricky, especially as common words and phrases may already be taken.

You also have to watch out for any trademarked phrases, especially if you blog about one game, publisher, or platform only.

When it comes to naming your blog, the choice is up to you.

You could go for a generic, widely-appealing name like That Video Game Blog, or something more creative like Destructoid.

We’ve created a guide on how to find creative blog names and how to name your blog — these are a great place to start if you want some inspiration.

Step 2: Buy a Domain Name

Now that you’ve found the right name, it’s time to get your blog online.

The next step in the process to start your blog is to register your domain name.

Your domain name is also known as your web address or URL — for example, ours is www.bloggingtips.com.

It’s good practice to have a domain name that’s exactly the same as, or very similar to, the name of your blog.

If you can, register yourblogname.com — this makes it instantly recognizable as your blog, helps build your brand, and is easy to remember.

Our favorite place to buy domain names is Bluehost.

The service is great and the pricing is really affordable — around $11.99 per year for a .com domain.

Once you’ve registered your domain name, have a look at our guide on how to set up a custom email address to use for your blog.

Step 3: Buy Web Hosting

The next step in starting your gaming blog is to buy some web hosting.

This is where your content will be stored, or hosted.

When your domain name and hosting are linked together, your visitors will be able to see your blog and enjoy your content.

Our recommend web hosting company for bloggers is Bluehost.

While we’ve reviewed a number of competitors like HostGator and DreamHost, Bluehost remains our favorite.

They offer affordable plans, reliable service, and an easy-to-use control panel.

For most bloggers, we recommend you invest in the Basic plan from Bluehost.

This gives you all the functionality you need and plenty of space to start a gaming blog, plus the ability to upgrade if you need to in the future.

Step 4: Install WordPress

Every blog needs a content management system, also known as a CMS, to power their blog and content.

There are several popular content management systems available, but our favorite and the one we recommend for bloggers is WordPress.

WordPress is an industry leader that offers all the functionality you need straight out the box.

It’s a free software, supported by a community of developers and experts, so it’s always being updated and improved.

If you choose to use Bluehost as your hosting company, the fastest way to install WordPress in a few clicks is from your dashboard.

Like any software, if you’re new to WordPress we recommend you take a look around and familiarize yourself, but with a WordPress blog it’s easy to learn as you go.

Step 5: Customize Your Blog

You now officially have a blog, but it’s not time to release it to the world just yet.

Before you launch your blog you’ll want to customize your WordPress website to suit your brand, appeal to your audience, and look the way you want it to.

Install a Custom Theme

Although WordPress comes with a few free themes pre-installed, it’s a great idea to invest in a third-party theme if your budget allows.

Third-party themes are often designed with a particular purpose or theme in mind, so you’ll find themes designed for businesses, for lifestyle blogs, for online magazines, and for any niche you can think of.

On Themeforest you can browse through these gaming themes, or head to another popular resource like StudioPress for more inspiration.

It’s easy to install a WordPress theme, but all themes come with a “readme” file with instructions if you need them.

Install Plugins

WordPress is a brilliant CMS, but you can also install plugins to add extra functionality or to help make it easier to grow or promote your blog.

A popular plugin for bloggers is Yoast SEO.

This plugin will help you to understand search engine optimization (SEO) and apply best practices to your blog to help your content be discovered more easily by readers.

Another useful plugin is Jetpack, from the creators of WordPress.

This handy plugin adds security features, stats, marketing tools, and design options to help you customize and protect your blog.

If you write gaming or hardware reviews, you may find WP Review useful.

With this plugin you can add star or points ratings to blog posts, which will also appear in the snippets displayed for your posts in search results on Google.

Brand Your Blog

Once you’re happy with your theme and plugins, now’s a good time to customize the way your blog looks.

Small changes like switching the colors on your theme to match the colors of your logo can help to create a more “branded” or attractive presence.

If you have a logo for your blog, make sure it’s prominent as part of your header so that it’s one of the first things people see when they land on your blog.

If you don’t have a logo, you could create your own using templates from Creative Market, or hire a freelancer from a marketplace like Fiverr.

Step 6: Write Content for Your Blog

By now your blog looks professional and ready to launch.

You’ve probably also filled in some of the pages, like your “About Me” page, and added your contact details or social media links.

The next step, and one of the most essential, is to write content to publish on your new gaming blog.

Within this content, you can promote the top gaming affiliate programs and begin to start earning from your hard work.

Plan and Write Your Content

The most successful blogs are those which publish new content regularly, so it’s a good habit to plan your content in advance.

Not only will you be more consistent, but you’ll find it easier to write a great blog post if you’re not under pressure to publish right away.

We all like to plan differently, so find a system that works for you.

This could mean you write your blog post ideas in a journal, plan directly in WordPress using a tool like CoSchedule, or use Trello or Asana to create projects with deadlines.

How often you blog is up to you, and it’s always a good idea to create a schedule that you can stick to.

This might be one post per week, or even one per month to start with.

If you blog about the latest gaming news you could find yourself writing and publishing new blog posts several times a day.

Here are five different types of content that you could create and share on your blog.

Game Reviews

One of the most popular types of content for gaming blogs is reviews.

Depending on your niche, this could include reviews of newly launched games, hardware, accessories, and even reviews of gaming conferences or esports tournaments.

The great thing about reviews is that they’re often interesting to people for a long time.

Although sales are higher and interest peaks around launch dates, people love to pick up a bargain from the store so your reviews will receive hits throughout the year.

As you become more prominent in the gaming industry, you may be invited to press events or exclusive launches, or even review games ahead of launch day.

This can all create engaging content for your readers.

Gaming News

While there are already big players in the gaming news arena like Gamespot, that’s not to say that your fledgling blog can’t grow into a destination for gaming news — especially if you write about very specific gaming topics.

Unlike reviews, gaming news tends to only be relevant for a short time.

This makes it better for promotion across your social media channels, where it’s likely to be shared, read, and commented on by readers.

If you cover breaking news in an interesting way, or you have an exclusive, this can attract a real surge of views for your blog.

Walkthrough Guides

Gaming is an acquired skill, and even for the most seasoned of gamers there’ll be a point where we put down the controller and search for a walkthrough or guide.

Walkthrough guides can be one of the most popular types of content for gaming blogs, as they serve a direct need.

If you become known for creating excellent, helpful, and thorough walkthroughs, people will bookmark your blog and return every time they get stuck.

Community Insights

If you want to build a strong community and brand around your gaming blog, it helps to write about the gaming community — especially within your niche or area of expertise.

Community means different things to everyone, and is as simple as writing about gaming meetups in your local area.

It can also be more related to the topics you write about, like an in-depth guide on what’s happening in the esports community or what’s popular on Twitch.

A great way to grow and involve your community is through user-generated content — you could ask people what their favorite thing about a new game is and include these in a write-up.

Interviews and Behind the Scenes

We all love to see behind the scenes and find out what really goes on, and that’s true for the gaming niche too.

This can be an especially powerful type of content if you blog about the gaming industry, or you focus on the often-forgotten aspects that make a successful game like sound, design, and marketing.

When you’re just starting out, you could interview some of your favorite gaming bloggers for a feature.

As you build your influence, you could approach games studios, designers, and artists for interviews or exclusives.

Step 7: Launch Your Blog

Your blog looks professional, you have a handful of posts up, and you have a schedule of blog posts ready to publish.

It’s time to launch your gaming blog!

Until now your gaming blog has been a secret project or a blog that’s been hidden from the world, and now it’s live and ready to be shared.

To help your ideal readers find your blog and keep coming back, here are some tips on how to attract people to your blog:

• Tell your friends and family and ask them to visit the blog
• Email your network, especially if they are in the gaming industry or are fans
• Promote your blog posts on your social media channels
• Join blogger groups and become part of the community
• Pin your blog posts to Pinterest
• Optimize your content for search engines using search engine optimization (SEO)
• Look for guest blogging opportunities
• Join gaming communities online and start to contribute to discussions
• Keep an eye out for media or promotional opportunities
• Invest in paid social media advertising

It takes time to grow your blog into a successful venture that makes money, so stay positive and focused on your goals.

Do You Want to Grow and Monetize Your New Blog?

Congratulations on launching your new gaming blog!

This is an exciting time, so while you feel the enthusiasm for blogging, why not continue to learn and grow your blog?

For our latest blogging tips from experts, make sure you sign up to our newsletter.

You’ll receive an email every week with advice and insights on how to grow and monetize your blog, including how to get started with affiliate marketing.

It’s a great way to continually improve your blog without searching through Pinterest or Google for ideas.

Have you considered starting a fashion blog?

Fashion blogging lets you share the best things you know about style with others.

Whether you want to showcase outfit ideas, explain the principles of how to dress well, or just drool over the latest looks you saw at Fashion Week, a fashion blog is the place to do it.

Sharing your passion for fashion, however, can be a challenge if you’ve never created a blog before.

The number of things you have to do can seem overwhelming.

Where are you even supposed to start?

While it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, starting a fashion blog doesn’t have to be stressful.

There are just a few key steps you need to follow to take your blog from idea to live website.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll help you through the process, showing you the seven easy steps you need to create your fashion blog.

Step 1: Decide Your Blog Topic and Focus

One of the greatest challenges of starting a new blog on any topic is finding your focus.

You want to blog about fashion, but “fashion” is a broad topic.

What kind of fashion?

Haute couture, or boho-chic?

Men’s, women’s, or a style that transcends gender?

And that’s just the start.

You also need to consider if you’re going to write tutorials, discuss trends, review products, or do something we haven’t even thought of.

Whatever you choose, you need to make a deliberate choice from the start.

If you don’t, then the time (and money) you spend setting up hosting, buying a domain, and writing content will all be a waste.

Without a clear focus for your blog, it’s easy to abandon the project the first time you encounter difficulty.

If you know what you want to say, however, then it’s much easier to persevere.

But what if you don’t know what you want to talk about on your fashion blog?

What if all you have is fashion sense or a passion for the fashion industry?

To help you get started, we want to share some examples of successful fashion blogs that you can use for inspiration.

These successful fashion bloggers cover a variety of different topics in an even greater variety of ways, but all have found an audience.

We hope that examining them will help you find your own unique voice.

1. Chronicles of Her

Chronicles of Her is the project of Carmen Hamilton.

What began as a personal blog showcasing Carmen’s outfits has evolved into a comprehensive online destination for women’s fashion, with outfit ideas, fashion and beauty tips, and clothing reviews.

This blog is an example of the value of starting with a clear, focused topic in the beginning (in this case, outfit ideas).

It might feel limiting to start with a single topic, but this blog shows that you can build upon the success of your initial idea to create something that’s larger than you.

However, you can’t start there; you need to build a foundation first.

2. Effortless Gent

Effortless Gent is a reminder that men can start fashion blogs too.

We know we shouldn’t have to say this, but it’s easy to associate “fashion blogging” only with women’s fashion.

Remember: men want to dress well, too (even if they’re not always as willing to admit it).

The bigger lesson here is that you can find your blogging voice and personal brand through speaking to an audience that other blogs are neglecting.

Sure, we’re not saying that there’s a shortage of men’s fashion blogs, but Effortless Gent nonetheless derives a large part of its appeal from focusing on men’s fashion (and, more specifically, a lean and minimalist look).

Speaking of which, be sure to take some design cues from this site; its gorgeous minimalism perfectly matches the aesthetic of the outfits and style advice you’ll read about in its articles.

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3. MyFashDiary

MyFashDiary is a celebration of Tala Samman’s favorite things in fashion, beauty, travel, and food.

That’s right: it’s a broad collection of topics, and that’s not something we recommend you emulate as a new blogger.

What we do recommend you emulate, however, is the way the site revolves so much around the author’s tastes.

As she puts it on her About page, “Fashion is what others declare is in. Style is what you declare is in.”

We can’t think of a better philosophy to follow when creating your fashion blog.

Your readers want you to guide them; don’t shy away from sharing your opinions, likes, and dislikes.

No one wants to read an ambivalent fashion blog.

4. Song of Style

Aimee Song is a fashion and interior design blogger.

On Song of Style, she shares looks she creates for major brands and everyday life.

She also provides extensive coverage of the various fashion weeks (and other major fashion shows) across the world.

Her blog is a great example of how you to cover fashion industry news in an interesting way.

Instead of just telling you about the newest pieces from a designer, she shows you how you can recreate the looks on the runway at an affordable price.

You can learn more about this technique in our guide to affiliate marketing.

This is also a valuable lesson in how you can monetize your blog in an unobtrusive way: For each piece she links to, she includes an affiliate link to Amazon or another relevant site so she can receive a commission to help pay for her blog operating costs.

Step 2: Find a Domain

Now that you have some ideas for your blog’s topic and focus, you need to find a domain name.

The domain name is just the name of your website as it appears in the bar above every web page.

For example, the domain of this blog is “bloggingtips.com.”

Finding a domain is easy in principle, but the details can be frustrating at times.

The first thing you should understand is that all the good domain names are already taken.

Okay, so that’s an exaggeration, but you should expect to come up with a variety of domain names before you find one that’s both available and affordable.

Besides that, you need to choose a domain name that encapsulates your blog’s topic while also being able to grow with your site.

In other words, you don’t want to choose a domain name that’s too specific. Otherwise, you risk pigeonholing yourself into one topic.

We advise against including your name in your domain, as it can make it hard to expand if you ever decide to bring on other writers (or even sell your blog if it becomes successful enough).

In general, you want to keep your domain name short, memorable, and easy to spell.

If it can also be clever or funny, then that’s a bonus.

To see if the domain you want is available, you can go to Bluehost’s domain search tool.

Just type in the domain name you want, and you’ll be able to see its availability and price.

For instance, here’s a search for “startafashionblog123.com”:

If the domain is available, you’ll be able to purchase it.

You’ll also have the option to add hosting for your domain, which we’ll cover in the next step.

Step 3: Purchase Hosting and Install WordPress

A domain name is no good if you don’t also have a place for it to point to online.

If your domain name is like an address and your blog is like a house, then your web hosting is the land where your house exists.

Without it, your blog is just a collection of materials.

There are lots of web hosting companies out there, but we recommend Bluehost.

It’s affordable, reliable, and allows easy installation of WordPress, our blogging platform of choice.

You’ll also get a free domain when you sign up for any hosting plan, saving you most of the upfront costs that come with blog creation.

Purchasing hosting is a simple process.

Visit the Bluehost website to get started; they will walk you through the entire process, and they even have sales specialists who can help you if you have any specific questions.

Once you’ve purchased your hosting, you’ll need to install WordPress.

If you’re not familiar with WordPress, it’s a free blogging platform that allows you to write and publish blog posts without having to know any code.

It also has a large database of available themes and plugins (many of them free) to help your blog look and perform its best.

For these reasons, we think it’s the best blogging platform for new bloggers.

Installing WordPress is a simple process.

In fact, Bluehost lets you do it in just a couple clicks (no need to know any code).

Just follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Bluehost cPanel account (learn how to do this here)
2. Find the Website section and select Install WordPress
3. Click the Install button
4. Choose the domain name to install it to
5. Read through the license and service agreements and check the boxes
6. Select the Install Now button

That’s all there is to it.

With WordPress installed, you can now get on to choosing how your site will look.

Step 4: Choose a WordPress Theme

Installing WordPress is enough to get you started, but we’d suggest that you customize your blog look beyond the default WordPress theme.

There’s nothing wrong with it, but the default WordPress blog theme can be a bit boring.

To spruce things up, you can browse through the collection of themes available in the WordPress.org Theme Directory.

Once you’re on the site, you can search for terms related to the theme you want.

For instance, here’s what happens if we search “fashion”:

Be sure to look at the reviews of a theme before choosing it.

Also, pay attention to when it was last updated.

You don’t want to use an out of date theme, as it can cause both functionality and security issues.

Once you’ve found a theme you like, you can install it.

The easiest way to do this is from within your WordPress dashboard.

Log into your site, and then follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Themes” page

To do this, hover over the menu that says “Appearance.”

Then, select and click on “Themes”:

2. Find the theme you want

Click on “Add New” at the top of the page.

Then, search for the name of the theme:

3. Install the Theme

Once you’ve found the theme you want, just hover over it and click “Install.”

If you want to see how it will look on your site before you install it, you can click on “Preview.”

Congrats!

The new theme is now live on your site.

Step 5: Write Your First 5 Blog Posts

Okay. You’re done with the technical steps.

Now, you can focus on your blog content.

You should aim to write your first five posts before you officially launch your blog.

This is for a couple of reasons.

To start, it will keep you from getting behind on content.

You don’t want to have to come up with a new topic each week at the last minute.

That’s a recipe for burnout and a sporadic posting schedule.

If you have a few posts ready to go, it will be easier to stay on track.

Furthermore, having five posts written before you launch will ensure that your blog doesn’t look empty.

If you just have one post on your site when you launch, then people will know that your blog is new and won’t trust it as much as a blog that has several posts.

A blog like that has more credibility.

We know writing five posts can feel daunting, but you don’t have to write them all in one day.

If it takes you five weeks to write them before launching, then that’s okay.

You’ll learn some valuable lessons about how long it takes you to create content and how much bandwidth you have within your schedule.

Step 6: Promote Your Content

Once you have some posts written, you need to promote them.

This is especially crucial when you’re starting out and building your blog audience.

Social media is the classic way to promote your blog content, and it can work…to an extent.

However, you should be mindful of which platforms you use.

At this point, posting to Facebook isn’t going to provide a very high return on investment.

The site’s algorithm ensures that only a small number of your total followers see what you post.

You can get around this by paying to boost your post’s visibility, but this isn’t a good strategy for promoting your fashion blog (especially not as a beginner).

Instead, we recommend posting on Pinterest and Instagram.

These are far more visual platforms than Facebook, and they’re great for showing off outfits, doing quick tutorials, or repurposing your blog posts into a different form.

It’s also worth looking into search engine optimization.

It’s beyond the scope of this post to discuss how to do this, but it’s basically the art and science of getting your blog posts to show up in Google when someone searches for a particular topic.

For instance, you might have a post on “outfit ideas,” and you want to try to have it appear first when people search “outfit ideas” in Google.

This isn’t a very realistic example, as this would be a very competitive topic to rank for even for an established blog, but it gives an idea of the principle.

To learn more about SEO for bloggers, check out The Beginner’s Guide to SEO from Moz.

Step 7: Never Stop Experimenting and Learning

If you’ve made it this far, then you’re already well on your way to becoming a successful blogger.

The key to finding long-term success in blogging, however, is to keep experimenting, learning, and persevering.

You can’t let your blog content become stagnant; you’ll be left in the dust just like last year’s fashion trends.

It’s imperative that you do as much as you can to learn more about both blogging and fashion.

Don’t be afraid to try new things with your content.

Especially in the beginning, there’s little risk to experimenting with the length of your posts, the types of images you use, and the types of posts you create.

As your site grows, you’ll have a base of readers to whom you’re accountable, so enjoy the freedom of experimentation you have in the beginning.

Essential Fashion Blog Tips

Designing the perfect fashion blog can be simple with the help of the right platform.

However, there are several tips to know outside of how to create your site.

If you want to improve the performance of your content, so it translates to your target audience, let’s review some tips to consider.

Tip #1: Plan Your Content

The first recommendation for any content creator is to ensure you plan your content using editorial calendars.

They are a phenomenal resource that ensures you’re pushing content out at the perfect times.

Also known as a content calendar, these tools are easy to manage by referring to your site’s metrics through your hosting.

You’ll want to think about the days and times where traffic on your site is the most prevalent.

Using these stats, you can then push out new content at the perfect time when most people will see it.

It’s best if you’re able to plan your content a week or two in advance, which can also be beneficial for time management.

With an idea of what you’ll be uploading on a specific day, you can get your posts and videos complete in advance.

This process will then allow you to manage the backend of your site more effectively.

Tip #2: Choose the Right Theme

It’s easy enough to browse through all of the fashion blog themes available from your platform.

However, picking a suitable theme for optimization can be a little more challenging.

You’ll need to consider premium themes that have a ton of editable modules and content to truly make it your own.

You won’t want to reduce your site’s performance with too many widgets, flashing images, and a poorly designed layout.

All of your blog’s visitors should be able to effortlessly navigate through your site and find the information they need quickly.

With the perfect fashion theme, you’ll be able to improve bounce rate and keep readers interested in all your content.

Tip #3: Consider Plugins

Installing a plugin on your site can transform how it looks and operates.

If you’re using platforms such as WordPress, there’s no doubt that installing a plugin can be highly beneficial.

These unique pieces of software help extend the functionality of your site in many ways.

One of the best things about plugins is that there is a wide variety to choose from.

You can find options designed for marketing purposes, such as enabling push notifications or sending email newsletters.

It’s also possible to implement plugins to reduce server loads, improve your on-page SEO, or host virtual giveaways.

With the perfect plugin, you’ll be able to significantly improve the quality of your site on the front and backend.

Not to mention you’ll also have access to several useful features to help you better manage your content.

However, it’s important to ensure you don’t enable too many plugins, as it could affect your site’s performance.

Tip #4: Become an Affiliate

You’ve likely heard of the amount of money fashion bloggers make through their sites.

Some revenue streams come from ads, others from sponsorships, but becoming an affiliate can also be beneficial.

As an affiliate, you’ll either receive monetary compensation or free products in fashion in exchange for referring readers to a product.

Typically, you’ll have an affiliate link that your readers will follow to direct them to a specific site.

In exchange for your marketing, you’ll be reimbursed by whichever company you’re working with.

The majority of fashion bloggers are Amazon affiliates, especially when it comes to finding accessories and small fashion pieces.

Being an affiliate is not only beneficial to your bottom line, but it can help your readers as well.

As they navigate through the links to your affiliate programs, they can find exceptional products to use in their everyday lives.

As a fashion consultant, you’ll connect the average person to phenomenal fashion products to help elevate their style.

Tip #5: Optimize Your Content

Optimizing your content is a great way to improve your site’s ranking in the eyes of search engines.

Ensuring all of the written content on your site is optimized can be as effective as marketing campaigns, if not more.

By focusing on target keywords and drawing your audience through organic traffic, your site’s performance will improve.

You’ll also need to consider optimizing your site in other ways, such as adjusting and labeling images and using hashtags.

Anything that helps make your site simple for search engines to index is sure to be a significant improvement.

We highly recommend installing an SEO plugin with customization options to help you reach your fashion niche.

With the help of a plugin, you’ll be able to take advantage of the top features that the most popular fashion blog has.

For example, you can use the tracked metrics in the plugin to create marketing campaigns, push email newsletters, and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Start Your Fashion Blog In Style

Creating a new fashion blog can feel daunting, but you should now be well-equipped to take on the task.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, especially with tools like WordPress and Bluehost to make things easier.

Plus, once you’ve done the upfront work to create the blog, you can focus on the writing and publishing while everything else just runs on the background.

For more information on how to start your first blog, we recommend our complete guide on how to blog.

It will take you from never having written a blog post to publishing your posts to a growing audience.

To get weekly blogging tips straight to your inbox, subscribe to our email newsletter.

Lifestyle blogs can be rewarding, exciting, and fulfilling.

Unlike other niches like fashion or travel, lifestyle blogs allow you to write about your multiple passions in one place.

A lifestyle blog is an excellent choice if you have more than one passion, or you’d like to build a blog around the way you live.

With a lifestyle blog you can write about your interests in any mix you want, to create something that’s truly unique.

If you’ve thought about starting a lifestyle blog, we’re here to help.

Here is our step-by-step guide to help you start a successful blog today.

Step One: Decide What to Blog About

The very first step before you start any blog is to decide what you want to write about.

When it comes to blogging, the possibilities are endless.

This is especially true with lifestyle blogs.

The beauty of starting a lifestyle blog is that you can write about different topics that you care about, and create a blog around your own individual passions.

Popular topics for a lifestyle blog include travel, food, interiors, style, and beauty, but you can build your blog with your own interests in mind.

Many lifestyle bloggers enjoy the versatility that comes with it, and the flexibility to write about what inspires you at that very moment — even if it’s a topic you’ve never written about until now.

Should You Have a Niche?

While lifestyle blogging is a niche within itself, consider how you can “niche down” further to create a blog that truly stands out.

Do you write about life as a 20-something as you travel the world solo?

Or maybe you want to blog about your minimalist lifestyle and how that inspires your everyday life?

The key to starting a successful lifestyle blog is to be true to yourself, and let your personality shine through in your content.

There’s only one you, and that’s the best niche you can have.

Not Sure What to Blog About?

If you’re not completely sure what you want to blog about, that’s okay.

One of the best things about lifestyle blogs is that they’re not bound by one particular interest, so you’re free to experiment with blogging about different topics.

• What are you good at?
• What do you enjoy doing?
• What’s important to you in life?
• What are your big goals?
• What do you talk about most with friends and family?
• What inspires you to be creative?
• If you could have a dream job, what would it be?
• Who are you inspired by?

The answers to these questions should give you some valuable insight into yourself, and provide you with plenty of ideas on which blog topics you can write about.

Step Two: Name Your Blog

Once you know what you’d like to write about, the next step is to get creative and find a name for your new lifestyle blog.

This step might take some time, but it’ll be worth it — the right blog name can motivate you and make it easier to reach your goals.

How to Find Your Perfect Blog Name

Often your blog name will spring into your mind and feel “right.”

It might come to you when you’re on a walk, or jump out at you from a list of words you’ve written down.

You might even find your blog name through a friend, or a nickname.

To help you get inspired and find the right name for your blog, try our list of 11 great tips to help you find a creative blog name.

These activities will help you to gather ideas and create a blog name that represents you perfectly.

Points to Consider When Naming Your Blog

When it comes to finding a name for your blog, you can go wild and be creative.

Before you settle on a name, however, here are a few things to consider:

• Is the name or phrase trademarked or under copyright? (In the U.S. you can search for trademarks online)
• Does it sound too similar to another blog, especially within your niche?
• Is it easy to say out loud?
• Does it look right when written down or in a domain name/URL?
• Could it be considered offensive or limit your opportunities to earn an income?

Lastly, you’ll want to check that the domain name for your chosen blog name is available. You can do this quickly and easily at Bluehost.

Step Three: Register Your Domain Name

Now that you’ve found the perfect name for your blog, you’re well on your way to starting a lifestyle blog.

The next step is to register your domain name. This is the web address that your readers will visit to access your content — think of it like a street address for a business.

It’s important that your domain name relates to your blog name. The best option is to have yourblogname.com, as it’s easy to remember and also means nobody else can register it and confuse your readers.

Where to Register Your Domain

There are lots of websites where you can buy a domain online, but we recommend Bluehost.

As well as being a great web hosting company (more on that later), they also offer value for money when it comes to domain names.

You can currently purchase a .com domain for $11.99 per year through Bluehost if you click here.

What If My Domain Name Isn’t Available?

As blogging becomes more popular and more websites are created, you might find that your chosen domain name is unavailable. If this happens, there are a few things you can do:

• See if the domain name is available to buy through auction, or through the existing owner (although this may be expensive, in the region of several thousand dollars)
• Modify your domain name slightly, for example you could add a prefix like “the” or “a”
• Choose a different domain name extension, like .co

If you’re still not sure about which domain name to choose, you could always opt for your name.

This is a popular choice for lifestyle bloggers as it allows you more freedom to change the topic of your blog.

Step Four: Set Up Web Hosting

Once you’ve decided on a name for your blog, and bought your domain name, it’s time to invest in web hosting.

Every blog needs to be hosted somewhere, and web hosting acts as a place for your blog to exist online.

Your content will be “hosted” on a server, and served up to visitors when they land on your website.

Our Recommended Host for Bloggers

With so many web hosting companies out there, it can be hard to know who to sign up with.

We’ve compared lots of web hosts including GoDaddy, HostGator, and Dreamhost, and our favorite remains Bluehost.

Bluehost offers a great quality of service at an affordable price, with a discount if you sign up for a longer period at the start.

It’s easy to start and manage a blog with Bluehost, and we’ve always been impressed with their support, too.

Which Type of Hosting Do You Need?

If you’re starting a blog, we recommend you start small and sign up for the most affordable package.

Bluehost’s Basic plan offers you 50GB of storage space, unmetered traffic, and includes an SSL certificate — a way to reassure readers that any data transfer is secure.

This package is plenty for new bloggers, and the good news is that if you do need more space you can easily upgrade your plan later.

If you plan to use WordPress (find out why we recommend this in the next step), you could also try Bluehost’s Managed WordPress hosting.

The perks of this are that your WordPress install is automatically updated, so you can worry less about security and the technical side of blogging, and instead focus on your content.

Step Five: Install a Content Management System

Every blog needs a content management system (known as a CMS).

This is where your content is stored — including blog posts, web pages, photos, and files.

Your CMS is the heart of your blog, so it’s important to choose wisely.

Our Recommended CMS — WordPress

Although there are other options available, we always recommend WordPress as the CMS of choice for bloggers.

WordPress is popular with bloggers and website developers as it’s easy to install, use, and customize.

The navigation is easy to follow, so you can easily create new pages, posts, and content.

As it’s used worldwide and by a huge number of websites, it’s regularly updated with security updates, improved features, and more.

To install WordPress for your blog on Bluehost, follow their guide on how to use their one-click install feature.

Alternatives to WordPress

While we think WordPress is the best option for bloggers, there are alternatives out there.

The most popular hosted CMS after WordPress is Joomla.

This is similar, but with a smaller number of users — which means there are fewer premium themes.

For an alternative that doesn’t require a separate web hosting plan, Squarespace is a popular blogging platform.

It’s especially popular with designers, makers, and creatives, as it features modern design templates, integrated ecommerce, and portfolio options.

If you want to keep costs low, you could try one of the free platforms.

The most popular options are WordPress.com and Blogger, which is owned by Google.

Step Six: Design Your Blog

Now that your web hosting is sorted, it’s time to get creative again — this time with your blog design.

Ready to find a theme for your blog and design a logo?

WordPress Themes

Your fresh install of WordPress comes with a handful of free themes, but we recommend you invest in a third party WordPress theme.

There are lots of websites dedicated to WordPress themes, but two that are popular with lifestyle bloggers are Creative Market and Pipdig.

Here you’ll find themes designed with bloggers in mind — from minimalist and sleek to flowery and feminine.

When you choose a blog theme, it’s important to think about:

• Functionality — Does the theme include the abilities you need, like ecommerce or mailing list signups?
• Design — Do you like the styling of the pages and blog section?
• Performance — Is the theme responsive to different devices? Does it feature lots of large imagery, which could cause it to load slowly?
• Cost — Is the theme within your budget?

The process to choose a theme for your WordPress blog should be fun, so explore the different options, make a shortlist, and check out demos before you buy.

Customize Your Theme

Once you’ve bought and installed your WordPress theme, you’ll want to customize it so that it aligns with your blog style.

Some of the customizations you can make include:

• Upload your logo and change your header
• Change the colors of backgrounds, boxes, headings, and links
• Change the menu links or appearance
• Add or change widgets in your sidebar or footer
• Install spaces for advertising, if you want to monetize your blog with ads

Most WordPress theme designs will come with instructions that cover how to do this and more, but if you get stuck you can always ask the theme designer for help.

Design a Logo

If you don’t have a logo already, now is a good time to create one.

For your blog to become well known it helps to have a memorable logo that reflects you and your content.

For bloggers who are design savvy, you could create your own logo in Adobe Illustrator or Canva.

If you don’t want to design your own logo, a great place to look for a designer is a freelancing website like Fiverr or Upwork.

Here you can put out a call for designers and choose to work with one based on their portfolio, availability, and price.

If you have a limited budget, you can always start with your blog name in a typeface (or font) that you like.

You can always invest in a logo further down the line when you monetize your blog.

Step Seven: Create Content for Your Lifestyle Blog

By now you’ll have a blog design that you’re happy with, and you can be tempted to write one post and publish it straightaway.

Although lifestyle blogging is often reactive to the world around you, it can still help to have a few blog posts ready before you launch your blog.

Write Blog Posts Before You Launch

For lifestyle bloggers especially, it’s easy to feel inspired by your daily life and write as you go.

You can blog about your outfit from the same day, or talk about the amazing restaurant you visited for lunch.

This flexibility is amazing and means that your blog content is always fresh.

However, there’s also a place for “evergreen” content in lifestyle blogging.

Evergreen content is content which is always relevant to readers, like a how-to guide, a list of your favorite parks in your city, or your review of a book you’ve read.

These blog posts are easier to plan in advance, which makes them great for when you have a busy week or are stuck for ideas.

We recommend that you create 3–7 blog posts before you launch your blog.

That way, you have content ready for the first few weeks, and you’ll have extra time to promote your blog.

Add Pages to Your Blog

Before you launch your blog, you also want to create a few key pages for your blog.

The most important of these is an “About Me” page.

This is where you can talk about who you are, what your blog is about, and share the story behind it.

You’ll also need a “Contact” page, with details on how readers and brands or PR agencies can get in touch with you.

You may also need a page which covers any disclosures or details on advertising or affiliates, if you plan to use these methods to make money straight away.

Step Eight: Set Up Social Media

You’re almost ready to launch!

Before you do, make it easy for your readers to interact with you and set up your social media accounts.

Social media is a big part of blogging these days, and social media channels like Instagram can even become “micro blogs” of their own.

We recommend that you sign up with all the major social media accounts to reserve your name.

After this, pick a couple that you want to focus on to start with.

For lifestyle bloggers, Instagram is the way to go — you can build a following, share your photography, and take readers behind the scenes with Instagram Stories.

Another popular social media channel for lifestyle bloggers is Pinterest.

This visual search engine can skyrocket your blog traffic if you use it wisely, so it can help to learn how to use Pinterest as a blogger.

If you want to build a community around your lifestyle blog, you could create a Facebook group.

This is an exciting way to engage with your readers, especially if you plan to create a product or service to sell later on.

Step Nine: Launch Your Blog

Now that your blog is ready, your social media channels are set up, and you have blog posts written, it’s time to launch your blog.

Hit publish on your first blog post and it’s official — you’re now a lifestyle blogger!

Where to Promote Your Lifestyle Blog

When you first launch your lifestyle blog, you might only have a few readers.

This is totally normal and something that every blogger goes through at the beginning.

Here are a few ways to attract more readers to your blog:

1. Tell your friends and family
2. Promote your blog posts on your social media channels
3. Email your professional network and introduce your new blog
4. Join blogger groups and engage with the blogging community
5. Leave your blog posts links on “sharing threads” in blogger groups
6. Pin your blog posts to Pinterest (there are many Pinterest extensions for Chrome that can help you do this easily)
7. Look for opportunities to guest post on other blogs

If you have some budget available, a great way to attract new readers to your blog is to run Facebook ads.

You can create ads, or “boost” posts on your Facebook page, to reach a new or bigger audience through targeting options.

Even if you only spend $5, you’ll introduce your content to new people — who may click through and become loyal readers.

Step 10: Review Website Performance

Now that you’ve launched your website, it’s time to review its performance over time.

This process can take a few months, depending on the amount of traffic you’re able to attract.

It will be significantly easier to know which areas need improvement for better traction by reviewing your site’s performance.

With this process, there are several key metrics you’ll need to focus on, including:

• Unique Visits

Your unique visits relate to how many people visit the site each month.
This number is substantial because it lets you know how much traffic you’re experiencing.
If there’s a lack of traffic, you can then take other metrics into account to determine the issue.

• Page Views

With page views, you’ll want to consider the pages visited most often.
Do most of your traffic visit the home page or other landing pages?

With this information, you can ensure the most important content for your niche is in vital areas.

• Bounce Rate

When discussing bounce rate, it relates to how long people typically stay on the site and navigate its pages.
You’ll want to know the total length of time visitors stay on your site before leaving.

If you have a high bounce rate, it’s likely your content isn’t engaging enough for your target audience.

• Entry Points

Your entry points are where your traffic is coming from and which landing pages are most popular.
With these metrics, you can see whether customers are coming from email newsletters, external sources, and more.
When starting a blog from scratch, it’s important to know where people are finding your content.

• Keywords

Keywords are one of the most important parts of reaching your target audience.
Keyword metrics give you an idea of what specific words are typically searched on your site.
With this information, you can adjust your writing style and have a good blog post idea to provide important, easy-to-read content.

• Conversion Rates

If you intend to have a profitable blog site, conversion rates are an essential analytic to consider.
You’ll need to look at how often visitors visit a transaction page and complete their purchase or download.

If your conversion rates are low, it could mean you’re not leading audiences down the sales funnel effectively.

• Click Density

Click density is unique, as it tracks user behavior and how they navigate through your site.
These metrics show which areas of your site have the most clicks, such as visual content.

You’ll quickly be able to determine which type of content gets the most engagement and attracts the most eyes.
For example, if your images have more clicks than call-to-action buttons, you should convey your most important content in pictures.

Fortunately, you can find a plugin that gives you insight into click density to improve your blog’s engagement.

Other Essential Blogging Tips

There are many essential blogging tips to help boost the performance of your eye-catching blog.

Let’s review the most common things bloggers could inadvertently forget.

Master Your Writing Style

When you’re writing a piece of content for your site, you must hook the reader’s attention.

Without engaged audiences, they’re more likely to leave your blog to find answers elsewhere.

It’s important to find a writing style that matches your niche, as many healthy lifestyle blogs do.

Ensure your content is friendly, provides a solution to a problem, and is laid out, so it’s easy to read.

To make the process even simpler, consider using an editor to analyze your writing and suggest tone improvements.

Regularly Update Your Content

Over time, it’s vital that you continually update the content on your site.

Compared to when you built your blog from scratch, it’s likely you have more knowledge about SEO and your audiences’ needs.

Regularly audit your content to ensure it’s equally as effective as it was when you started.

This popular lifestyle blog tip is also essential for managing your email marketing, as you’ll want to keep your newsletters updated as well.

By providing new and refreshing marketing materials, you’ll attract more readers easily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Blogging Tips for Lifestyle Bloggers

We hope you’ve found this guide on how to start a lifestyle blog useful.

Lifestyle blogging can be an amazing way to document your life and the things you enjoy, and it can also become a profitable career.

Starting a blog is exciting, but it’s also full of different things to learn and do.

To help you navigate the world of blogging, we’ve created a list of blogging resources.

Here you’ll find tips on how to grow your blog, how to find ideas for blog posts, and how to make money blogging.

To receive our latest tips by email, don’t forget to sign up to our VIP subscribers list.

You’ll regularly receive advice from blogging experts on how to start, grow, and monetize your blog.

While travel journalism has been around for decades, travel blogging is the newer, more attractive, and easily achievable alternative.

If you want to document your travels, share your experiences, or transform your love for adventure into a career, travel blogging could be perfect for you.

In this step-by-step guide we take you through the steps to create and launch a travel blog, including how to find the right name, sign up for hosting, set up WordPress, plan content, and more.

Step 1: Find Your Niche

Before you start your travel blog, you’ll need to decide what you want to write about.

Travel blogging is a popular niche, but there’s always room for talented bloggers like you to make a mark.

One of the secrets to a profitable, successful blog is to find your niche.

This means to define your blog, content, approach, and style in a way that’s tailored to a specific audience or need.

Popular Travel Blog Niches

Within travel blogging there are lots of different niches, each with their own audiences and styles.

Here are some of the most popular travel blog niches to give you some ideas:

• Luxury travel
• Budget travel
• Road trips
• Personal travel diaries
• Family travel
• Solo traveling
• Adventure travel
• City blogs
• Travel photography or videography
• Cultural travel
• Business travel

To help you find your perfect travel blog niche, read our guide on how to choose your blogging niche.

Step 2: Choose a Blog Name

Once you’ve decided on your niche, the next step is to choose a name for your travel blog.

Your blog name is the first thing people will see when they find you online, so it’s important to create something that attracts your ideal reader.

But how do you choose the right name for your blog? Here are our tips:

Make It Memorable

As travel blogging is so popular it’s easy to create a name that’s similar to other bloggers, or go for something too generic to be memorable.

You want your readers to know your blog by name, so make it easy for them to remember.

Try alliteration, rhyming, or adding some of your personality into your name.

Instead of a generic name like “Alex’s Travels,” a more memorable name for a travel blog that covers destinations that are off the beaten track could be “Tourist 2 Townie.”

Don’t Limit Your Potential

Travel blogging is often inspired by your own travels and experiences, so it can be tempting to start a blog about traveling with a young family or solo travel in your 20s.

But what happens when your children grow up, or you find a partner and settle down?

While you can continue blogs like these past your own experiences and offer valuable ideas and tips, they do limit your potential for future growth.

You could still write about topics that are time sensitive, but talk about this in your sidebar, bio, or within other content — and choose a blog name that’s built to last.

Keep It Short and Simple

While you want your blog name to stand out and be memorable, you also want it to be short and sweet.

A long domain name means lots of extra characters for people to type in and a longer email address that can introduce confusion.

Go for a blog name that’s easy to read when typed or written down.

It’ll make it easier to keep your reader’s attention and direct them to your blog, instead of losing them as they try to remember whether you’re “Adventures with Lucy” or “Adventuring with Lucy.”

Avoid Hyphens

You want to make sure you don’t introduce any unnecessary difficulties for your readers as they try to find your blog.

That’s why it’s so important to avoid hyphens in your blog’s domain name, as they act as a visual stumbling block and reduce flow when typed and spoken out loud.

There are a few travel blogs with hyphens in their name — Hippie In Heels is one — but most successful bloggers choose to go without them.

Make Sure Your Domain Name Is Available

While there are countless different domain extensions (also known as TLDs) available, the most popular is still a .com — and it’s what most readers expect.

To make life easier for your readers, and so that they don’t land on a website that isn’t yours, buy and use the .com version of your desired domain name.

You can search and see if your chosen domain name is available on Bluehost’s website.

If it’s not available for any reason, check if the existing .com is a competitor.

If they are, it may be time to rethink your name.

If not, another popular domain choice is a .co — or a regional domain name like .ca (for Canada) or .co.uk (for UK).

Check Social Media Handles

Social media plays an increasingly big role in travel blogging.

Instagram has become a profitable micro-blogging platform of its own, so it’s a good idea to check that your blog name is available as handles on all the major social media platforms.

You could run these checks manually and visit each social media platform, but the quickest way is to use a tool like Namecheckr to search for you.

Stuck For Ideas?

It can take some time to find the right blog name, which can be frustrating if you want to start a travel blog right now.

If you’ve decided on a blog niche, it might be time to try some of the exercises and tips from our guide on how to find a creative blog name.

Once you’ve found the perfect name for your travel blog, it’s time to move on to the next step and sign up for web hosting.

Step 3: Sign Up for Web Hosting

After you’ve decided on a blog name and purchased a domain name, the next step is to buy web hosting for your blog.

Every blog needs to be hosted somewhere on a server, as this is where all your content and data is stored.

Most bloggers opt for a shared hosting plan with a web hosting company, as this is an affordable way to launch your blog and get your content out there.

Our recommended web host for travel bloggers is Bluehost, as they offer affordable plans with plenty of space — perfect to showcase your stunning photography.

They are also recommended by WordPress, a powerful content management system (CMS) for blogging.

Want to learn more about Bluehost?

We compare it to other popular web hosting companies the following guides:

Step 4: Set Up Your WordPress Blog

Now that you have your hosting configured, you can move ahead with starting your travel blog.

Every blog needs a CMS that allows you to write and publish blog posts, upload photos, and customize your blog to look the way you want it to.

We recommend WordPress as the CMS of choice for bloggers as it’s easy to use, popular, and supported by a huge community of developers and experts.

If you are serious about blogging, you’ll want to make sure you opt for the “self hosted” version, not free WordPress — find out more about the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

For similar reasons we also don’t recommend using Blogspot for your pro travel blog.

It’s easy to install WordPress with Bluehost using their one-click install.

All you need to do is follow their guide and you’ll have a WordPress blog in minutes.

Customize Your Blog

WordPress comes with a selection of free themes pre-installed, but we recommend that you choose a third-party theme for your new travel blog.

A professional-looking blog with a customized theme can help you to stand out, attract your ideal readers, and make it easier to monetize your blog.

There are lots of places to find high quality WordPress themes, but our favorites include Themeforest, Creative Market, and Studiopress.

Once you’ve chosen a theme, follow our guide on how to install a WordPress theme to make the process simple.

Another way to customize the functionality and look of your blog is through plugins.

There are thousands of plugins available for WordPress, but our top picks for travel bloggers include:

• Akismet — to block spam comments, so that you don’t have to delete them manually
• Yoast SEO — to make it easier to optimize your content for search engines using search engine optimization (SEO)
• Interactive World Maps — this plugin allows you to create clickable maps to show readers where you’ve traveled to
• WordFence Security — a plugin designed to protect your blog and keep it secure from malicious activity
• WordPress Editorial Calendar — to help you plan your blog content and create an editorial calendar that sits within your WordPress dashboard

You can browse through all available plugins on the WordPress website.

We recommend you check out reviews and ratings, and always check with your hosting company before you decide to install if you’re unsure.

At this step it’s also a good idea to sign up with Google Analytics and integrate it with your blog, so that you can capture statistics from your launch and beyond.

While you customize your blog, now is also a great time to think about your blog’s brand and style.

Design a color palette that matches your niche and attracts your audience, and use these colors in your blog design.

You’ll also want a logo for your blog — you could DIY this if you’re creative, work with a designer, or approach a freelancer through a site like Upwork.

Step 5: Before You Launch

With a blog that’s all set up and ready to go, it can be tempting to launch your blog right away.

First though, you need a few things in place including some basic pages and, of course, plenty of blog posts for people to read.

Create Basic Pages

Have you ever noticed that some pages are almost universal for all blogs?

Almost every blog has at least two pages when they launch — an about page, and a contact page.

Your “About” page tells readers more about you and your personality, journey, and reasons why you started a blog.

It also goes into more detail about your blog and the type of content people can expect, to encourage them to stay and read.

You can also include a call to action — for example for people to sign up to your newsletter or download a free travel checklist.

It’s also helpful to create a “Contact” page for your blog.

This contains details on how people can get in touch with you through email and social media, and is a great opportunity to encourage collaborations with brands and agencies.

Write Content for Your Travel Blog

A blog is nothing without great content, so it’s wise to prepare blog posts in advance before you launch.

If you have a calendar of content ready to schedule you’ll be less worried about having to write as you go, and you can spend more time on blog promotion instead.

As a new travel blogger you might be full of ideas and inspiration on what to write about for your first few blog posts.

There’s a lot of opportunity to be creative and share your own experiences, travels, and expert insight into destinations.

If you get stuck for ideas or want some help to plan a content series, read our guide on 35+ travel blog ideas to inspire you.

Once you have your first few blog posts ready, it’s time to launch your travel blog.

Step 6: Launch Your Blog

You’ve hit publish on your first blog post — congratulations, you’re now a travel blogger!

This is a big moment, but it’s only the start of your travel blogging career.

With your blog live it’s time to promote it and spread the word.

As a new blogger you might start from zero readers, so here are our tips on how and where to promote your travel blog:

• Tell friends and family that you have a new blog
• Interact with commenters, say thank you, and encourage them to share your content
• Network with other bloggers and ask for their thoughts and support
• Offer to guest post on a popular travel blog
• Be active on your blog’s social media channels and promote your posts
• Learn about search engine optimization (SEO), including permalinks, and optimize your content
• Run paid advertising campaigns on social media
• Look out for opportunities to work with brands or go on press trips

Over time, with hard work and skilled blogging, you’ll attract more readers and returning fans who love your content.

How to Grow Your Travel Blog

Now that you’ve launched your blog, you have your own space to share your experiences, talk about your travels, and share your travel photography with the world.

To achieve the ultimate travel blog success, dedicate some time each week to learn more about how to grow your blog, social media, monetization strategies, and more.

Make sure you bookmark our blogging tutorials and come back regularly to level up your knowledge.

You could also sign up for a blogging course, like these courses offered by popular travel blogger Nomadic Matt.

If you want to grow your travel blog and turn it into a business, we can help.

Join our VIP subscribers list to unlock blogging tips from experts, including how to grow and monetize your blog.

If you love to read about other people’s DIY projects and want to share your own, a DIY blog could be the perfect match for you.

Whether you want to blog as a hobby, a side hustle, or a full-time job, we’re here to help with this post on how to start a DIY blog.

The Best Reasons to Start a DIY Blog

One of the main reasons to start your own blog is to share your experiences with others.

This might be your amazing DIY projects and popular furniture hacks, or practical advice for others on how to renovate a home.

Not only will your blog become a place to share your experiences, but it can also help you to:

• Share your own unique DIY hacks and projects with others
• Inspire other homeowners to renovate their home
• Create a community around your blog and your interest in DIY
• Work with home improvement brands on collaborations
• Build your personal brand and become an influencer
• Launch products or services related to your brand
• Make money from blogging and turn it into your career

The best blogs are written by people who are passionate about the subject, so if you could talk endlessly about DIY, home decor, and home projects, then this could be the career or hobby for you.

Ready to turn your blogging dream into a reality?

Step 1: Create an Identity for Your Blog

Now that you’re all fired up about your new journey as a DIY blogger, it’s time to get to work.

One of the first steps when you start a blog is to create an identity for it.

Every blog has an identity — a name, a look and feel, and a niche.

It’s essential to think about these elements before you rush into anything, as the right identity can shape your path to success.

How to Find Your Blogging Niche

Let’s start with one of the most important aspects of your blog — its niche.

What is a blogging niche?

It’s a way to categorize or describe your blog based on its content, audience, and where it fits in with other blogs in the community (or blogosphere).

The aim is to define your blog in a way that it appeals to your target audience.

There are lots of DIY blogs out there, but there are fewer blogs specifically about DIY on a budget, or even how to renovate a tiny house.

As you get clearer on your content and audience you’ll find your niche, and immediately become more attractive to your ideal readers.

Stuck for ideas?

Here are some DIY blog niches to inspire you:

• DIY on a budget
• IKEA hacks
• Home renovation with a family
• Vintage-inspired DIY projects
• How to renovate your home in the style of a specific era
• Eco-friendly or green DIY projects
• DIY for beginners

Be inspired by your own interests and how you like to live.

If you are passionate about sustainable living and the environment, why not start a blog all about how to decorate your home with recycled materials?

You could also draw inspiration from your experiences — how to indulge your passion for craft and DIY with a young family, or share your journey of how you renovated your first home.

How to Design a Brand for Your Blog

After you’ve decided on a niche for your DIY blog, it’s time to think about how you’ll present your blog online.

A strong brand can help your blog to stand out, so take some time to craft the perfect name, and decide on your style.

Without a name you can’t buy a domain name or launch your blog, so this is the best step to tackle first.

So how do you find the right name for your DIY blog?

For some it’s easy — you may already have a name in mind, or you want to name the blog after yourself and build a personal brand.

If you don’t have a name for your blog yet, don’t worry — we can help.

You’ll find inspiration on how to come up with a blog name in our guide.

You can also be inspired by other DIY blogs, your personality, and any words or phrases you feel drawn to.

Here are some examples of home decor and DIY blogs to inspire you to name your blog:

• Young House Love
• DIY Projects with Pete
• Tiny House Talk
• Vintage Revivals
• Fall for DIY

One thing to be careful of here is to make sure that your chosen name is available.

Do a search for domain names via Bluehost and see if the .com is available.

You’ll also want to check that the name isn’t trademarked or owned by a brand, which you can do through a trademark search.

Once you’re happy that the name is available, it’s time to create a brand identity for it.

This can be really simple as you start out — a logo and a color scheme will help your readers become familiar with you, your blog, and your personality.

If you’re design savvy you could make your own logo.

If not, see if any friends or someone in your network will barter skills with you, or work with a designer on a freelance website like Fiverr or Upwork.

Step 2: Start Your DIY Blog

You’ve found the right name for your blog, decided on a niche, and are ready to follow your dreams and start your own DIY blog.

Now’s the exciting part — it’s time to get your blog online.

Buy a Domain Name

Earlier we mentioned that it’s a good idea to check that your new domain name is available.

That’s because this acts as your digital street address — the place that people visit to read your blog.

We recommend that you buy a .com domain name as it’s easy to recognize worldwide.

If you have the funds available you can also buy up other extensions of your domain name, like .co, so that others can’t register them.

There are lots of domain name providers out there, but we recommend Bluehost.

We’re fans of their service and quality, and they offer reasonable prices.

Invest in Web Hosting

It all starts to feel real from here, doesn’t it?

You now have the domain name for your blog, so it’s time to invest in web hosting so that your great DIY content can be viewed by others.

Web hosting providers offer to host your blog.

It’s similar to how you might rent a house or land — think of this as the blogging equivalent.

Your blog needs to be hosted somewhere so that readers can find and enjoy your content.

We recommend Bluehost for this as well.

They offer affordable plans with plenty of space and functionality that’s perfect for new bloggers.

If you’ve purchased your domain name elsewhere, you might want to transfer your domain name to Bluehost to make everything easier to manage.

If you don’t want to or can’t invest in web hosting at this time, why not read our guide to the best free blogging platforms in 2018?

Set Up Your Content Management System

After you’ve set up your domain name and hosting, the next step is to install a content management system, also known as a CMS.

A content management system is a platform which stores your content.

You can upload content, write blogs, create pages, and more.

Our recommended CMS for bloggers is WordPress.

It’s a free, open source content management system supported by a large community of developers and experts — so it’s easy to find help if you need it.

Bluehost offers “one click” installation which saves time and makes the process easy.

They also offer managed WordPress hosting, which includes automatic updates, which is great if you don’t want to handle the technical aspects of blogging.

For step-by-step details on install WordPress for your DIY blog, read our guide on how to start a blog.

Install a Custom Theme

While every installation of WordPress comes with a few free themes to choose from, these are quite limited and won’t help your blog to stand out from the crowd.

For a more professional, sleek, and branded look for your DIY blog we recommend you invest in a custom WordPress theme.

You can find custom and premium themes in lots of online marketplaces like Themeforest, Studiopress, and Creative Market.

The Genesis framework is designed with bloggers in mind, so it could be a great choice for your DIY blog.

With so much choice available it can take some time to find the right theme for your new blog.

Don’t be put off by this.

Enjoy the process — as DIY enthusiasts we love to express ourselves, so why not let your blog do the same?

If you feel stuck, look to other blogs in your niche for inspiration.

Look for color schemes, functionality, layouts, and design elements that are popular, and decide whether they would work well for your audience.

Step 3: Create Content for Your DIY Blog

Your blog is almost ready to be launched to the world, but first it needs some amazing content to showcase your talents.

The secret to a successful blog is consistency, so take some time to create a list of ideas for posts to wow your audience.

To publish a new blog post every week means 52 posts that you need to write for the year.

If you can get a head start on this and create a content plan, you’ll be in a great place to grow your blog.

How to Plan Content

So how do you plan content for your blog?

You could keep it simple and write down a list of blog post ideas that you’d like to publish.

You could go one step further and create an editorial calendar.

Take your list of blog post ideas and schedule them into a monthly or yearly calendar.

You could do this online or on paper — whichever works best for you.

A strong editorial calendar helps give your blog direction and allows you to create and publish engaging content more easily.

Before you launch your blog we recommend that you have at least five pieces of content ready, so that new readers can stay longer, and read more, if they enjoy your first post.

If you’re stuck for ideas on what to write about, here’s some inspiration for your new DIY blog:

• An update on your house renovation
• Before and after photo diary of a DIY hack
• Practical advice on how to learn DIY techniques
• Seasonal trends to inspire your readers
• Where to find materials for your projects

Look for inspiration in your experiences, your journey, and your personal interests, and bring them to life through your content.

It’s the blog posts that are written with heart and knowledge that are the most enjoyable to read.

Step 4: Launch Your DIY Blog

The big moment’s here — it’s time to launch your new DIY blog!

You’ve put a lot of energy, effort, and love into your blog and now is the moment that you share it with others.

As a new blogger it might feel like you don’t have much of an audience to launch to yet.

That’s completely normal and every blogger starts at zero.

Encourage your family and friends to visit your blog and share in your celebrations.

Talk about your blog launch on your social media channels, your networks and groups, and update your resume or LinkedIn profile too.

Here are some more ways to promote and grow your new DIY blog:

• Join and become active in online communities — there are some in every DIY niche on Facebook
• Share your DIY projects on Reddit
• Sign up for a Pinterest account and create boards full of interesting, relevant content
• Add your blog link to your email signature
• Design business cards and attend networking events
• Share engaging content on your social media
• Partner with a local store or college to run a DIY class or workshop
• Look for opportunities with brands in the home decor and DIY space, like Home Depot
• Comment on other DIY blogs and build relationships with fellow bloggers
• Optimize your content for blog traffic with search engine optimization (SEO)

The launch of your blog is only the start of your exciting blogging journey or career.

Remember our top tips — stay consistent, create content, and give your readers plenty of reasons to return over and over again.

For more advice on how to grow your blog and tips delivered right to your inbox, why not join our mailing list?

Do your friends always ask you for music recommendation?

Like writing?

Those are all great signs that you should start a music blog.

For music writers or passionate fans, a blog can be great for your career and professional life, or it can be a fulfilling hobby.

And if you’re really good, you might even be able to make some money off of it!

In this article we’ll look at the best reasons to start a music blog, how to create your blog, and some tips on how you can launch and promote your new music blogging project.

Why Start a Music Blog?

If you’re passionate about writing and music, a music blog could be the perfect hobby, side hustle, or even full-time job.

Your music blog not only offers you a space to be creative, but it could also allow you to:

• Build relationships with record labels, artists, tour managers, and others in the music industry
• Become an industry “insider” and hear news first
• Attend live events, festivals, and performances for free to review for your blog
• Get access to free music, free concert tickets, new songs, and pre-releases
• Create a community of music fans who share your interests
• Become an influencer and grow your personal brand
• Make money from a career in something that you enjoy

Doesn’t it sound rewarding? Here’s how to turn your music blogging dream into reality.

How to Plan Your Blog

The best blogs are run by bloggers who research, plan, and create goals for what they want to achieve.

In this section, we’ll look at how to plan your music blog for success — including why you need a niche and how to create a brand.

Why You Need a Blogging Niche

With so many blogs in existence, and new ones created every day, it is hard to stand out.

You need to decide on your blogging niche.

A well-defined niche will help your audience to discover you and your content, and make it easier for you to be successful.

A niche is what your blog is about, and the audience it serves.

You could start a blog about country music, electronic music, how to learn to play guitar — these are all niches.

If you can, niche down even further as this makes it easier for you to become a go-to person or thought leader in your area of interest.

For example, your blog could teach college students how to play guitar, or be a resource for emerging female electronic music artists.

Not sure what your niche is?

Create a list of everything that you’re passionate about or knowledgeable about.

Test different combinations of the two, and do some research online to see which music blogs are already in that space and where you could create something that stands out.

Take some time to define your niche, decide what your blog will cover, and how you’ll make an impact online.

How to Create a Brand for Your Blog

Now that you’ve decided what you want to write about, your blog needs an identity.

One of the first steps is to decide on your blog name.

Without a name, you can’t buy a domain name or launch your blog, so it’s important to take some time to find the right name.

You may already have a name in mind, but if not here is how you can choose a blog name:

• Read our guide to how to come up with a blog name
• Research other music blogs and look for trends or similarities
• Look at blogs outside your niche for inspiration

If you write about a specific type of music, consider whether you could include that genre in your blog name, like Popjustice.

If your blog is education based, including the subject in your name can help your audience find you — see Recording Revolution for inspiration.

Before you decide on a name, make sure that it’s available.

Check to see if any associated domain names are registered (you can do this on Bluehost’s website) and see if the social media handles are available.

You’ll also want to check that the name isn’t trademarked or owned by another brand. Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website to run a trademark search.

After you’ve decided on a name for your blog, you’ll want to create a visual identity for it.

In most cases a simple logo works well — you could try to design one yourself, hire someone on a site like Fiverr, or barter skills with a friend.

With a name and logo for your blog, it’s time to bring it to life.

How to Start Your Music Blog

Now that your blog has a name and identity, you can build it.

In this section, we’ll look at how to buy a domain name, sign up for hosting, install and customize WordPress, and create a content plan.

Buy a Domain Name

As part of your research, you’ll have checked that your blog name is available to register as a domain name.

We recommend you choose a .com domain, as this is recognized worldwide and easy to remember.

While there are a handful of .com alternatives, the most well-known is the .com extension.

You can register your domain with any number of service providers, but we recommend Bluehost as they provide a great service and are competitive on price.

Some providers will offer a free domain with your hosting package, so check this before you buy.

Choose a Web Hosting Provider

After you’ve registered your domain name you’ll need to buy hosting for your blog.

You’ll pay a small monthly fee to your hosting provider to store your blog and its content, so that it’s visible online for readers to enjoy.

Our recommended hosting company is Bluehost, as it offers affordable plans with lots of space — great for music blogs with lots of high quality photos and videos.

If you’re on a tight budget and don’t want to invest in hosting at this time, read our guide on the best free blogging sites in 2018 and try a free platform like WordPress.com, Blogger, or Tumblr.

Install a Content Management System

The next step in the process is to install a content management system, also known as a CMS.

This is a platform which allows you to create, upload, and store your blog posts and content.

Our recommended content management system for bloggers is WordPress.

WordPress is a free, open source CMS which is supported by a large community of developers and experts.

Most hosting providers will offer a “one click” way to install WordPress.

Bluehost also offers managed WordPress hosting, which includes automatic installation and updates — a great option if you want to focus on your content and leave the technical side to an expert.

For step-by-step instructions on how to set up WordPress, read our guide on how to start a blog.

Install a Custom Theme

Every WordPress install comes with free themes to choose from, but we recommend you invest in a third party custom theme as this will help your blog to stand out, look professional, and give you extra functionality.

A great place to find a theme for your blog is Themeforest — there are lots of WordPress themes designed for music bloggers.

Another place to find professional, clean blog themes is Studiopress.

If you’re not sure which theme to choose, it’s time to do some research.

Look at other music blogs and identify trends, colors, layout, and other design elements that appeal to you and your potential audience.

Create a Content Plan for Your Music Blog

By now you have your blog almost ready to go, but before you launch you need to create some content.

Successful blogs are updated regularly, feature interesting and on-topic content, and take advantage of trends and current events to attract their readers back.

This is why we recommend you create a content plan for your music blog.

This can be as simple as a list of blog posts you want to write over the next few months, or something more complex that includes a calendar and task management system.

Social Media Examiner has a useful guide on how to use Trello to manage your blog content.

However you choose to plan and manage your content, if you are organized it is easier to stay focused, respond to current events, and remain relevant with your audience.

Launch Your Music Blog

Now that your blog is online it’s time to share it with the world.

Tell your friends and family and ask them to support you by reading your blog and sharing it with their networks.

If you’ve created an email list ahead of your big launch, now’s the time to email them to let them know it’s live.

You could also schedule some content for your social media channels to promote your launch and your content over the coming weeks.

For more ideas on how to start and grow a successful blog, see our guide to blogging for beginners.

Do you dream of becoming a sports writer?

Dream no more, because you can do that from your own home by starting your own sports blog.

Whether you want to document the progress of your favorite football team, create a resource for basketball fans, or start a new multi-sports community, a blog can help you achieve that and more.

In this article we’ll take you through the steps to create your sports blog from scratch, including:

• Blog planning
• Setting up your blog and hosting
• Creating a content plan
• Launching your blog

Stage 1: Blog Planning

The first stage in starting your sports blog involves planning, making decisions, and researching to create a brand and identity for your blog.

This planning stage will help you decide on a niche, find the right name for your blog, and build a brand to represent you online.

Find Your Niche

With so many sports bloggers out there, it’s important to make yours stand out.

To do this, find your niche — the thing that makes your blog different and makes it appeal to a focused group of people.

For example, a wide sports blog niche might be a blog dedicated to covering U.S. basketball.

You could narrow your focus down further to a certain team, a certain aspect of the sport (e.g. workouts for basketball players), or a specific style of blogging — like interviews with sports players or blogs that feature fan commentary.

We encourage you to start a blog in a small, defined niche.

The smaller the niche, the easier it is to attract your ideal audience.

If you’re struggling to find your niche, start broad and then narrow in from there.

According to Entrepreneur, you can start by identifying a broad area of interest like rock climbing.

Then narrow your niche down further to find a smaller, more profitable audience to target your blog towards — like rock climbing for beginners.

Once you’ve found your niche and identified what makes your blog unique, you’re ready to move on to the next step — naming your blog.

Choose the Right Name For Your Sports Blog

Naming your blog is often one of the hardest parts of starting a sports blog.

We’ve created a guide to naming your blog that should make this step easier for you.

When researching blog name ideas, it’s important to look at other blogs that already exist.

You don’t want a name that’s too similar to another or might be confusing for readers.

You’ll also want to check that the name you want to use isn’t trademarked or owned by another brand or entity.

Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website to run a trademark search.

It might take time to decide on the right name for your blog, but it’s worth it.

You’ll stand out in the blogosphere with a strongly developed identity for your sports blog.

Create a Brand For Your Blog

How do you create a brand identity?

In the early days this might be as simple as choosing a typeface or font to write your blog name in, acting as a temporary logo.

If you aren’t design savvy, you might want to invest some time or budget in designing a logo and brand identity for your blog.

Either way, start creating a strong visual identity for your sports blog.

It needs to match your personality, appeal to your readers, and help you move forward, whether that’s through DIY efforts or paying a graphic designer.

Successful sports blogs are those which know their audience well and design their brand and content around them.

Think about ESPN and how recognizable their brand is.

College football teams are another example of strong branding, like the USC Trojans.

Stage 2: Setting Up Your Blog

Now that you have decided on what to call your blog and how it will develop over time, it’s time to get technical.

In this section we’ll cover the technical steps you need to make to take your sports blog from idea to launch.

Buy a Domain Name

As part of the process of deciding on your blog name, you’ll have done some research to check it’s not being used by other bloggers or brands.

Hopefully you’ll have decided on a domain name (the web address for your blog) already, but if not our advice is to choose a .com and keep it short and related to your blog name or brand.

For example, if your blog is called “XYZ Sports News” an ideal domain name would be xyzsports.com.

There are lots of websites where you can register a domain name, known as domain registrars, but the price should generally be the same — around $13 for a dot com domain name per year.

Your web host may also offer a free domain name with a hosting plan.

We recommend Bluehost as they provide a great service and are competitive on price.

Choose a Hosting Provider

Once you’ve chosen a domain name, the next step in getting your blog online is to buy hosting from a web hosting service provider.

This is where you pay a small monthly fee for space on a server to “host” or store your blog and its content, so that readers can find and enjoy it.

There are lots of different hosting companies, with plans and packages ranging from very affordable plans for beginners right through to dedicated solutions aimed at growing blogs with lots of traffic.

Take a look at our comparison guide for Hostgator vs. GoDaddy to compare two popular hosting sites.

Our recommended hosting company is Bluehost.

For only $3.95 per month you can have your new sports blog up and running quickly.

If you decide that you don’t want to invest in hosting and a self-hosted WordPress install at this time, you might want to skip to Stage 3 and check out our guide to the best free blogging sites in 2018.

Install WordPress

After you buy your domain name, invest in web hosting, and link the two together, the next step is to install a content management platform.

This allows you to create, upload, store, and publish your blog posts and other content.

Our recommended solution for bloggers is WordPress, an industry favorite that’s open source — meaning it’s free to install, and is supported by a large community of developers and experts.

It’s a great choice if you want to develop your blog into a community resource, with guest sports writers, forums, or live sports event listings.

The majority of hosting providers make it easy to install WordPress, with a “one click” installation system.

Bluehost also offers a managed WordPress hosting plan, with automatic installation included.

Although WordPress is very easy for new users to learn, you can also find a wealth of free help and support on the official WordPress website.

For step-by-step directions on setting up WordPress, visit our guide on how to start a blog.

Find and Install a Theme

Every fresh WordPress install comes with several free themes to choose from, but we recommend finding a third party theme to install as this helps your blog stand out and look more professional.

Choose a WordPress theme that’s likely to appeal to your target audience and ideal reader, as you want your sports blog to be somewhere that they want to visit over and over again.

One of our favorite places to find blog themes is Themeforest.

You can browse by type and section, and the “blogs and magazine” section is a great source of inspiration for sports blog themes.

Create Essential Pages

Now that you’ve installed a custom theme, your sports blog is looking great, but it’s empty.

Time to build some essential pages and fill them with content.

Every blog is unique, so the pages you create might differ, but it’s always a good idea to create a strong and inviting “About Me” or “Biography” page.

This will help readers connect with you and find out more about your sports blog’s history, purpose, and goals.

You should also create a “Contact” page with an embedded email form or email address, so that readers can get in touch with you if they need to.

It’s also a great way to encourage feedback and suggestions from readers.

If you want to start using your blog to make money now or in the future you might also want to create a page for advertisers or brands and how they should contact you with opportunities.

To inspire your pages and menu structure, take a look at some popular sports blogs.

Sports Illustrated covers a range of sports, and each category has pages for scores, standings, schedules, stats, and where to buy tickets.

The Athletic allows readers to browse content by city or team.

The Big Lead has a simpler menu, with category pages for each sport.

For inspiration on blogs dedicated to one sport, Basketball Nation covers news, NBA headlines, their podcast, and also topics that attract traffic like details on player salaries and rumors.

Stage 3: Content Planning

When you first start a sports blog, you might be full of ideas on what you’re going to write about.

It’s an exciting moment when you start writing content for your new blog, and even better when you publish and receive positive feedback from your readers.

A great way to appeal to your readers and attract more of them is to be consistent.

A content plan helps during the launch of your blog and in the months and years that follow.

Why Create a Content Plan?

When you’re launching your sports blogging empire, it can be a busy time.

You want to make sure that you have an idea of what you’re going to write about so that you can plan in advance.

Here are five reasons to create a content plan for your sports blog:

1. To stay focused on your niche and create great content with your ideal reader in mind
2. To be consistent and publish new content regularly
3. To help you plan your time around what needs writing, editing, publishing, and promoting
4. To identify themes, helping you create useful series, and categorize your content
5. To make sure you cover upcoming events and don’t miss key sporting fixtures

How to Create a Content Plan

We all plan and work differently, so when creating a content plan for your sports blog it’s best to work to your strengths.

This might mean using a whiteboard in your home office with Post-it notes, a digital planning tool like Trello, or a plugin for your blog like the WordPress Editorial Calendar.

Set aside a day at the start of each month or quarter to write a list of ideas or topics you want to talk about in the next period.

You could also do this before a big event or tournament starts, so you can plan weekly or even daily updates for fans.

From there, highlight the ones you are most excited about working on and plan these into your calendar.

You’ll also want to account for writing time, taking or sourcing photographs, editing, and promoting your content after it’s published.

To help manage your blog, try a system like Airtable where you can create spreadsheets and records with date fields, text, attachments, and more.

What Could You Blog About?

Your content is unique to you and your passions.

If you blog about your love for track and field you could cover the latest news from your favorite athletes, training schedules, and workouts.

If you coach a youth football team, share your story and your team’s successes, as well as inspirational content for would-be coaches.

If your passion is NFL, you could cover the latest news from each team, upcoming events, and a weekly opinion post.

Stage 4: Launch Your Sports Blog

After lots of research, hard work, and fun you’re now at the stage of launching your new sports blog to the world.

This is one of the most exciting parts of starting a blog and a moment that could very well change your future.

Prepare to Launch

Before launching your blog, have a good look through it and make sure it’s all working and ready for people to explore. Be sure to:

• Proofread your content and edit it if necessary
• Check that your website is easy to view on both desktop and mobile devices
• Prepare and schedule your blog content, so there’s something for people to read
• Set up your social media channels, if you haven’t already
• Create a mailing list using a service like MailChimp, Constant Contact, or ConvertKit (read our comparison guide for Constant Contact vs. MailChimp)

WPBeginner has a useful checklist to ensure your WordPress blog is ready to launch.

Congratulations, you’re now ready to launch your sports blog!

Launch Your Blog

Launching your blog is a big moment, so be sure to create some buzz around it.

This might include telling all your friends about your new sports blog, promoting it on your social media channels, or working on a pitch or press piece for interested media.

Another great way to introduce people to your blog is to share it in online communities that you’re part of.

A good place to start is by browsing Facebook Groups to find groups that are full of your target audience, or which support bloggers.

Here are a few examples of sports fan communities on Facebook:

• American Basketball Nation NBA (23K members)
• I Love Track and Field (30K members)
• Mountain Climbing (1.9K members)
• NFL Fans Club (9.4K members)
• WWE Sports (4.2K members)

Some communities have guidelines on self-promotion, so be sure to check before posting.

If you can’t promote your blog directly, you could become active within the community — answer questions, share opinions, and talk about your passion for your chosen sport.

People are curious, so when they click through to your profile they’ll find your blog if you list it in your bio.

Now that your blog is out there, promote your blog and content.

You might want to optimize your content for search engines (SEO), build a following on social media, or guest post on other sports blogs.

You could also build your own personal brand and authority, and build references back to your blog, by writing for websites like HuffPost Sports.

Don’t be disheartened if you don’t have a large audience at first — it takes time to grow your readership and pageviews.

Focus on a few things: Create amazing content, build your audience organically, and learn the best blogging tips from us here at bloggingtips.com.

Cameras are everywhere, with most of us having one in our pocket that’s easier to use and takes higher quality photos than the best point and shoot cameras of 10 or 20 years ago.

With this deluge of images, there’s more of a need than ever for quality photography.

Just because everyone has access to a camera doesn’t mean they have the skills to use it to create beautiful pictures.

Professional photographers are still very much in demand, both in the business and personal spheres.

At the same time, there are people interested in learning how to use the cameras they already have to take better photos.

All of the above factors combine to make it a great time to start a photography blog.

If you know something about photography and want to share it with the world, modern blogging technologies make it easier than ever.

But starting a photography blog can feel daunting.

To start with, how do you get the blog online (and make sure people read it)?

And beyond that, what should your blog be about?

With “photography” encompassing every technique from the latest 4K imagery to old-school darkroom techniques and every subject matter from weddings to whales, the range of blog topics is dizzying.

In this post, we’re going to help you cut through the confusion and bring your photography blog vision into focus

Why Start a Photography Blog?

The surest way to create a successful photography blog is to begin with a clear goal.

If you don’t know why you’re creating this online platform, you’ll be much more likely to give up when things get difficult.

That being said, it can be tricky to articulate exactly why you want to put your photography blog online.

To help you get clear on your vision, we want to share the three main reasons for starting a photography blog.

1. To Promote Your Photography Business

If you’re a professional photographer, you may be struggling to attract new clients.

It’s one thing to say you’re a wedding photographer that specializes in outdoor weddings for millennials, but it’s quite another to show your potential client that you know your stuff.

You might think that having a portfolio is enough, that maybe you just need an Instagram, Flickr, or Facebook page.

But if you’re struggling to turn prospective clients into paying customers, it could be that prospects see you as too much of a risk.

They want to know more about what it’s like to work with you, about the steps you’ll take to ensure that you meet their needs.

This is where a photography blog can be a powerful tool.

Through a mix of finished and behind-the-scenes images, you can show site visitors how you work.

When people can see your process in action, they’re more likely to trust you and want to work with you.

2. To Help Others Learn Photography

Whether or not you work with clients, you may have a knowledge of photography and want to share it.

You might have a general knowledge of the techniques from your work as a professional photographer, or you could just be a dedicated amateur who’s always giving your friends and family advice on how to take better photos.

Whatever your background, there’s a strong interest in learning how to take great pictures.

A Google search of “learn photography” returns 750,000,000 results, and the increasing number of smartphones means that the number of people with access to powerful cameras is only growing.

Don’t limit yourself to the nuts and bolts of how to take pictures, though.

In addition to the technique of operating the camera, there’s also a vast world of lenses, camera bodies, tripods, and other gear to explore.

You can build a blog around helping people navigate this confusing territory, providing reviews of different types of gear for amateurs or professionals.

Ultimately, if you can provide people with the knowledge they need to take better pictures, you have the potential to create a fulfilling, profitable business.

Whether you keep this is a source of supplementary income or grow it into your full-time job is something you can decide with time.

3. To Track Your Progress

Maybe you’re not an expert photographer.

Maybe you’ve just now taken an interest in improving your photos or you’re trying to learn a new photography technique.

In such cases, starting a blog can be an effective way to track your progress as you learn, as well as hold yourself publicly accountable to achieving your educational goals.

When you start a new hobby on your own, it’s easy to get demotivated and lose interest once you encounter difficulty.

With a blog, however, you can see how you’ve progressed over time and give yourself the motivation to continue.

When you set a goal to publish a new post every week and have an audience of people expecting it (even if it’s a small audience), you’ll be far more likely to stick to your commitment to trying a new type of angle, lens, or whatever goal you set for the week.

Any Reason Is Better Than None

Your reasons for starting your photography blog may be a mix of the above or even be entirely different.

That’s okay.

What matters is that you know your reasons and articulate them clearly.

Write them down.

Post them on your wall or in a note on your desktop.

Whenever you’re struggling with your blog (because yes, there will be struggles), come back to your “why.”

What Qualifications Do You Need to Start a Photography Blog?

Do you need to be a professional photographer with years of experience to start and grow a successful photography blog?

While such qualifications can help, they’re not essential.

As we discussed in the previous section, sharing expert knowledge is just one way to start a blog.

While the prospect of learning from an expert is compelling for many people, others may find it intimidating.

This is where passionate amateurs have an opportunity to make their mark.

You don’t have to be the best in the world to teach something; you just have to know more than the person you’re teaching.

Of course, this isn’t an excuse for giving inaccurate information.

While giving bad photography advice doesn’t have the liability issues of a topic such as fitness, it can still lead to frustrating experiences such as botched photos or damaged equipment.

For this reason, you should be sure you know what you’re talking about when giving advice on specific techniques.

If you’re just experimenting, or if you’re sharing “what works for you,” just say so.

That way, you’ll avoid angry emails or comments about how what you wrote caused someone to ruin their family self-portrait or break their drone.

7 Steps to Start Your Photography Blog Today

Now that you have your reasons for starting your blog, as well as an understanding of the qualifications you need, you’re ready to take your blog from idea to reality.

This is the part where most people end the process, getting so overwhelmed by the technical details and logistics that they never create their blog.

You won’t have this problem, however, as we’re going to give you everything you need to know below.

It’s still up to you to take action on these steps, but you don’t have the excuse of ignorance any longer.

So, let’s begin.

Here are the seven steps you need to get your photography blog online:

1. Choose Your Photography Blog Topic

“Photography” is a huge topic that can encompass everything from a quick Snapchat to a painstaking long exposure image of a waterfall.

And the potential audience is equally as vast, including everyone from teenagers who want to learn how to take drone pictures to recent retirees that would like to get the most out of their iPhone cameras now that their grandkids are on the way.

This vastness of specific subject areas and audiences means that you can’t just say you have a “photography blog.”

That might have worked back in the early days of the internet when blogs (and information) were scarce, but it won’t work in the modern media landscape.

You need to get much more specific with the topic your blog covers if you want any hope of success.

Here’s how to choose a topic that will make your blog stand out among all the other photograph blogs out there:

Begin With Your Goal

What are you hoping to achieve with your photography blog?

A blog that exists to promote your professional photography service is going to have a different tone and overall approach than one that gives advice on which lens is best for photographing competitive disc golf.

If you don’t know what you want to achieve with your blog, you risk creating vague content that aims to appeal to everyone but ends up helping no one.

You also face the danger of just giving up during the difficult initial stages in which you struggle to gain traction.

With clear goals, you can avoid both of these threats to your blog’s prosperity.

Know Your Target Audience

As Kurt Vonnegut put it, you should “Write to please just one person.”

Without a clear audience, you’re going to find it difficult to produce consistent content.

Knowing the basic demographic information about the people you’re targeting allows you to write in the way that best serves their needs.

Here are some example target audiences for photography blogs:

• Women over 65 who want to take better pictures of their grandchildren
• Photography students who want to learn how to make the transition to a professional career
• Teenagers who want to learn traditional darkroom photography techniques

These audiences may seem too specific and potentially limiting.

While it is possible to be too specific with your audience, it’s far more common to be too vague.

Remember, you can always make your audience broader (or even expand to serve different audiences) as your blog grows.

In the beginning, however, your main goal is to build an audience.

You can’t do this if you’re trying to target every possible person you might be able to help.

Research Successful Photography Blogs

When you’re starting your blog, there’s no need to reinvent the tripod.

There are already myriad other successful photography blogs out there, and they all have something to teach you.

Presumably, at least part of your inspiration to start your blog came from reading others and thinking “I could do that” (or even, “I could do that better”).

Therefore, we recommend looking to those blogs for inspiration.

They can give you insight into topics you might want to explore.

In particular, look for gaps in the information on existing blogs.

Check the comments on competitor posts.

If lots of people are asking for information on something (and you have the knowledge and platform to provide it), then you likely have a winning blog idea on your hands.

Of course, we’re not suggesting that you copy other people’s blogs.

It’s impossible to be completely original when creating your blog, and at first your content may be derivative (especially if you’re a beginner).

As long as your distinct approach to sharing information comes through, however, you’ll still be able to distinguish yourself from the other blogs in your space.

2. Make a Smart Domain Name Choice

You may not think you know what a domain name is, but you see them all the time when you use the internet.

A domain name is just the technical term for what appears in the bar at the top of your browser when you visit a website.

It’s the online address that tells your browser where to go.

Domains are made up of the actual name of the site (this is technically called the “sub-domain”) and an extension (the “top-level domain”).

For our site, the sub-domain is “startablog123,” and the extension is “.com.”

You can keep these terms in mind when you’re out there shopping for a domain of your own.

During this process, you’ll want to look for a name that’s:

• Short
• Fairly specific
• Memorable
• Easy to pronounce

If you can find a domain that’s also humorous, that’s great.

But you shouldn’t sacrifice the above criteria for the sake of trying to be funny.

Save the humor for your writing; make it easy for people to find your website first.

Besides the above essential criteria, here are some “nice-to-haves” to look for:

• “.com” extension — It’s what people naturally type when going to websites (despite the dozens of other available extensions).
• No hyphens or foreign characters — Hyphens are hard to remember, and foreign characters are hard to type.
  We know this is Anglo-centric, but it’s the reality of the internet as it exists today.
• No double letters — This goes back to the idea of making your domain memorable.
  For instance, “Photo Operative” might sound like a great name for a blog, but typing it into a browser reveals the double letters that can make it easy to misspell: “photooperative.com.”

We should also break the bad news now: Your desired domain name is probably taken.

You’ll probably come up with several domain name ideas that meet the above criteria but that are already registered to someone else.

So how do you see if someone else has already taken the domain name you want?

The easiest way is to head over to a domain registration site such as Hover or GoDaddy.

With these sites, you can type in the domain name you want, see if it’s available, and purchase it if you like the price.

For instance, here’s a search for potential photography blog name over at GoDaddy:

In the above image, GoDaddy recommends that you “Buy it before someone else does.”

While this is partially a marketing tactic, it also brings up a valid point about domain names: Once you find a domain name you like, buy it ASAP.

There’s nothing worse than picking the blog name you want, only to find that someone just snagged the domain.

3. Choose a Blogging Platform

While having a domain name is an important part of starting your blog, you still need a way to get your words out into the world.

This is where your blogging platform comes in.

There are dozens of blog platforms out there, too many to discuss in this article.

Here are three popular ones to get you started:

1. WordPress — Powering around 30 percent of websites, WordPress is a free, open-source, and flexible blogging solution.
   It doesn’t require any coding knowledge to use, and it provides a writing experience that’s similar to a word processor.
   That being said, having a WordPress blog isn’t the most intuitive option; you’ll still need to follow some tutorials to learn how to install and operate it.
   And it requires you to pay for separate web hosting to use, which could be a problem if you’re on a tight budget.
2. Blogger — If you want a way to get your ideas out there quickly with no upfront cost, then Blogger could be the platform for you.
   It’s a product of Google, and it’s free to use.
   You can even monetize it via Google Adsense if you want.
   It’s less flexible than WordPress, however, offering you little control over the design and display of your site.
   This could be problematic if you want to display your photos in a particular way.
3. Squarespace — This option offers you more control over the design than Blogger but in a more intuitive interface than WordPress.
   You can easily edit your site’s design without having to touch any code, and you’ll be able to choose from a variety of templates that are perfect for displaying your images.
   This does come at a price, however, with Squarespace costing $12/month on the annual plan.

If you’re not sure which to choose, just pick the one that seems best for your current situation.

That way, you can get started writing your first posts and learning about what it takes to run your own blog.

You can always switch later if you need to.

4. Plan Your Content

You can’t build a successful blog if you just publish new posts when you feel like it.

While there may be the rare popular blog that works this way, it’s definitely not the rule.

Your audience wants consistency.

This doesn’t mean you need to post every day, of course.

For instance, if you’re writing detailed tutorials that take several weeks to write and can only publish one new post per month, that’s fine.

You just need to be upfront with your audience about the fact that you don’t send out a new post each week.

As long as you’re providing value, the frequency with which you publish doesn’t matter.

Once you know how often you want to publish, you need to create a publishing schedule.

To start with, we recommend just setting a recurring calendar event called something like “Publish a new blog post.”

Do not deviate from this schedule, as inconsistency early on will kill your blog before it gets started.

You also need to figure out how long your posts will be.

Photography blogs are an interesting subject in this regard, since the topic is so visual.

This could result in posts that have fewer words but still take longer to produce than an article such as this one (which has lots of words but didn’t require intensive design or graphics work).

In general, however, we recommend aiming for at least 1,000 words with each post you publish.

As you grow, you’ll get feedback from your audience about the length and format they prefer, but the 1,000-word baseline will help you get started.

5. Create Your Pre-Launch Content

Now that you have your content plan, you need to create some content to publish.

This is the step you’ve probably been waiting for, that thing that most people think of when they hear “blogging.”

Take that enthusiasm and use it; you’re going to need it.

This is because you should create at least a month of content before you launch your blog.

Depending on the sorts of posts you decide to create, this could mean writing one blog post or four blog posts.

But whatever you would release within the course of one month, that’s what you should create before you begin.

We recommend this strategy for a couple of reasons.

To start, it helps you build momentum.

If you launch a blog with just one post, it’s easy to fall behind and make a bad first impression on the audience you draw as part of the buzz that surrounds your blog launch.

It’s better to have a few posts ready to go so that you can show your audience from the beginning that you have a serious, legitimate blog.

Also, creating all this content before your launch will allow you to work out some of the difficulties in the process before your site is live.

It’s better to figure that stuff out offline than to have the site live and realize your post is going to be delayed because you can’t figure out how to get your images to display the way you want.

What sort of content should you create?

This is up to you, ultimately.

But there are some types of content that lend themselves well to photography blogging in particular.

Let’s go over a few of them, along with examples of each:

Tutorials

Tutorials are the bread and butter of many photography blogs.

Since photography is a technical subject, there’s lots of room to create content based around answering the “how” questions.

To create a successful tutorial, you need to be as detailed and illustrative as possible.

Use lots of diagrams and photos (you are a photographer, after all).

At the same time, don’t forget about the power of text to explain things that images cannot precisely capture.

Example: Complete Guide to Black and White Photography

This guide from Photography Life is a masterful example of a photography tutorial done well.

It addresses a popular subject in an approachable, detailed way.

While it does focus mostly on the technical aspects of capturing black and white images, it also touches on some of the philosophy behind this approach, asking the reader to understand why they’re shooting in black and white to begin with.

After this discussion of why, however, the tutorial gets right into the nitty-gritty details, using lots of illustrative images throughout.

Just look at this comparison of different filters:

Throughout, the author continually establishes their credibility through the images they use to illustrate their points.

This is key to your photography blog, no matter what your reason for creating it.

You can’t just talk about the techniques; you have to show that you can execute them yourself.

Case Studies

If you’re looking to establish your credibility with potential clients or help aspiring professionals understand how the business of photography works, then case studies are the content to create.

They take a particular shoot or project you did for a client and explain it in detail from start to finish.

Along the way, you show the gear you used, the challenges you overcame, and overall illustrate how you do your work.

You have to carefully understand the audience for your case study, as you don’t want to overwhelm non-technical audiences with too much detail or bore technical readers with a lack of detail.

Usually, it comes down to a question of whether or not your case study is meant to promote your work to potential clients or help other photographers understand how to do what you do.

Both are valid types of content, but you need to decide which you want for your site.

Example: Wedding Photography Tips – A Case Study

In this case study from All Things Photography, the author tackles a classic challenge for professional photographers: a wedding.

The audience for this post is clearly other photographers, as it begins with a detailed list of the gear the author used for this particular wedding shoot:

He also includes some commentary about why he chose this equipment (and why he thinks new wedding photographers shouldn’t get all of it).

From there, the author begins a minute-by-minute breakdown of his process for the wedding day:

This sort of time-based case study wouldn’t make sense for all types of projects, but it fits the wedding well, as it shows prospective wedding photographers just how much time (and precise planning) are required to make a job like this a success.

Through it all, however, the author never fails to show the results of the shoot.

These maintain his credibility with other photographers reading.

He even closes with the finished slideshow he made for the clients:

Buying Guides and Reviews

One thing that sets photography apart from other topics is the sheer amount of equipment it requires.

And this isn’t cheap equipment, either.

Quality cameras and lenses can cost thousands of dollars.

This means that most audience members (especially hobbyists) are looking for guidance on how they can make their money go as far as possible.

You don’t just buy a $1,000 lens without doing lots of research, and this is where buying guides and reviews come in.

To create a successful buying guide, you need to provide plenty of information on the general principles of buying a piece of equipment.

When you do recommend specific products, you should remain objective.

Don’t just pick the product that pays the highest affiliate commission.

Recommend what performs best in your experience.

Example: Digital camera lens buying guide

This guide from Digital Photography Review aims to answer the question “What lens should I buy for my digital camera?”

But rather than just telling the reader specific lenses and being done with it, the author aims to help new photographers understand the principles of buying a lens.

They begin with an explanation of how lenses get their names:

From there, they proceed to explore how these different parameters combine to create some common lens types:

Do you see how objective and informative this article is? It has no ulterior motive, seeking only to help the reader learn how to buy a camera.

This doesn’t mean you should avoid reviews of more specific types of gear.

It’s even fine to do sponsored posts, so long as you’re transparent about it.

The key is to be honest with your readers about the information they’re getting, as well as any factors that could affect its objectivity.

Content Is a Constant Experiment

You should view each piece of content that you create as an experiment, particularly when you’re first starting out.

The three types of content we just discussed should get you started, but don’t let them limit you.

Try whatever you think your audience will find valuable and adjust based on their feedback.

Do more of what works, but don’t use that as an excuse for stagnation.

6. Plan Your Promotion

It would be a shame for you to put hours of work into creating your blog, only to have no one read it.

But this is exactly what happens to lots of new sites out there, and a big reason for this is that the bloggers don’t do anything to promote their work.

Blog promotion is a vast topic, but here are three of our favorite promotion techniques that work well for photography blogs:

• Instagram — Visual content like photography is made for Instagram.
  You can use it to showcase your photos, of course, but you can also use it as a way to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your process.
  You could take pictures of your equipment for a photo shoot, for example, or show your editing setup.
• Email marketing — One of the original internet technologies is still one of the best ways to connect with your audience without the mediation of another company.
  Traffic from search engines can fluctuate with algorithm changes, but your email list is yours to contact on your terms.
  You should start building your email list as soon as your blog is live, as it can pay large dividends down the road when you want to sell products, do consulting, or get client referrals.
• Write for industry publications — If you paid close attention to the images in the wedding photographer case study, you may have noticed that the author of the post was not the owner of the site in question (which is a media site with a variety of contributors).
  He was a guest contributor, and in exchange for his post he received a link back to his personal site (as well as the chance to show off his work).
  You can do the same to promote your blog.
  Most publications will allow you to link to your site when relevant, or at least give you a link in your author bio.

Of course, you should never lose sight of the importance of writing the best photography content out there.

This will be the key to your success in the long run, as Google will reward the best content with free organic traffic.

Smart promotion just helps give your great content the extra boost to help more people read it.

7. Be Patient

Just as a photographer for “National Geographic” might spend days sitting in a tree just to capture a single still image, so you must be willing to have patience before you can see results for your blog.

Quick success through virality is possible as in all things online, but it’s unlikely (especially since photography isn’t a very viral topic).

You need to be ready to put in work on your blog for a year without seeing any financial return or even much attention.

We know this can be frustrating, but you should learn to celebrate the small successes while you pay your dues.

Plus, when there are fewer people reading, there’s less pressure to create perfect work and more freedom to experiment.

Click the Shutter on Your Photography Blog

We hope this guide has shown you that your photography blog doesn’t have to remain a dream.

With the steps outlined in this article, you can make your photography blog a reality within a month.

Your success won’t come overnight, but in the process you’ll get to learn a new skill even as you share your knowledge with others.

If you’re looking for more information on how to start a blog, grow your audience, or make money online, then we suggest you sign up for our newsletter.

We’ll send you a weekly email with the latest tips on blogging success, as well as exclusive promotions and discounts.

Over 70% of U.S. adults age 20 and over are overweight, and almost 38% are obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

To meet this challenge, a massive fitness market has arisen: the U.S. fitness industry has an estimated annual revenue of 3.46 billion dollars in 2018 alone.

And the best part?

They’re willing to shell out commissions for their projects through fitness affiliate programs.

With all this interest (and need) for fitness, there’s an equal demand for quality fitness information.

This is where starting a fitness blog can be a great opportunity.

Whether you’re a personal trainer looking to attract clients, a fitness influencer looking to build a brand, or a fitness product company trying to get more customers, starting a fitness blog can be a great way to do it.

Starting a fitness blog can be overwhelming, though.

“Fitness” is a vast topic with lots of competition.

A Google search for “fitness blog” returns 181 million results.

It’s easy to see the sheer volume of people in this space and get overwhelmed.

How are you supposed to begin?

Is it even worth trying to compete in the fitness space?

In this article, we’ll help you answer these questions.

We’ll also show you what kind of fitness blog to start, how to determine your fitness blog goals, and how to take your fitness blog from idea to website.

Why Start a Fitness Blog?

If you’re reading this article, then presumably you have some interest in starting a fitness blog.

But have you gone beyond that initial interest to figure out your specific reasons?

Figuring out why you want to create a fitness blog at all can help you get clear on the goals and topics for your blog.

Having a larger “why” will also help you stay motivated when things get difficult or boring.

While there are dozens of possible reasons for starting a fitness blog, we’ve identified four reasons that tend to make sense regardless of your specific fitness niche or brand:

1. Driving Sales for a Product

If you’re selling some sort of fitness product, you need a way to get customers.

Having a useful fitness blog can be a good way to accomplish this goal.

Compared to paid advertising or other paid promotions, creating a blog can be an affordable way to get started marketing your product.

And once you’ve built up a base of quality content, you can get traffic to your website for essentially no ongoing cost.

This doesn’t mean creating a high-quality fitness blog is free — it still takes time (your most valuable resource) as well as the cost of hosting, creating, and maintaining your website.

2. Driving Sales for a Service

Okay, so maybe you don’t have a fitness product.

Perhaps you’re a service provider such as a personal trainer, wellness coach, or sports psychologist.

These are also cases where having a fitness blog can be a smart marketing decision.

You could use your blog to write up case studies of past clients, explain your services in more detail, or provide general information that gets clients interested in customized, paid services.

Creating a quality blog can also help clients come to you, instead of having to do direct outreach or other forms of advertising.

3. Creating a Platform for a Future Business

But maybe you don’t have a business yet.

Maybe you’re just knowledgeable or passionate about fitness and want to turn that into a source of full-time or supplementary income.

You could grow the blog’s readership and influence to start and then ultimately monetize that attention through ads, affiliate marketing, partnerships with fitness brands, or even your own courses and products.

4. Holding Yourself Publicly Accountable

Lots of blogs started as just the author’s attempt to document a personal journey or struggle of theirs.

While not everyone will be comfortable sharing their fitness progress in public (especially if it relates to something such as weight loss), being publicly accountable can be a powerful motivator for some people.

If you want a way to ensure that you’re meeting your fitness goals, starting a blog to keep track of your fitness progress could be the breakthrough technique you’ve been looking for.

What Qualifications Do You Need to Start a Fitness Blog?

When you’re getting started with any new project, it’s common to struggle with impostor syndrome and wonder if you’re qualified enough to talk about the topic at all.

In the case of fitness, however, having the necessary qualifications can be a more serious issue than in other industries.

For instance, writing incorrect information about web design probably isn’t going to hurt anyone, but putting out inaccurate fitness information could injure or even kill someone in certain circumstances.

Therefore, it’s crucial to consider what qualifications you need to write about a particular fitness topic (or at least make it clear that you’re not a professional, if that’s the case).

The most important qualification for creating a fitness blog is being able to communicate useful information to your audience.

This could be training tips, product reviews, workout routines, or information on nutrition.

As long as you know more than your audience (and are giving out valuable information) you’re good to go.

That being said, having formal qualifications can help boost your credibility when writing about certain topics.

For instance, you should probably have a degree in sports medicine if you’re going to create a blog about it.

And any kind of workout advice involving dangerous equipment or movements (such as powerlifting or rock climbing) should always come from someone who’s certified to give advice in those fields.

If you aren’t qualified to write about a particular topic but having a blog related to it would still serve your business goals, you’ll need to find (and pay) qualified professionals to write the articles for you.

In some cases, formal qualifications are less important.

If you’re just starting a blog to document a personal fitness journey, then you don’t need to be a fitness professional.

The very fact that you’re an amateur or beginner can help make your blog more relatable to potential readers.

Regardless of your qualifications, include a disclaimer when writing about any fitness topic.

Tell your readers that they should consult with a doctor, certified personal trainer, or other relevant fitness professional for advice on their personal situations.

It could also be helpful to speak to a lawyer about the specific language you should use to limit your liability.

7 Steps to Start Your Fitness Blog Today

Okay, so you’ve figured out your reason for starting a fitness blog, and you’ve determined that you have the necessary qualifications (if relevant).

Now, you’re ready to start creating the blog itself.

This can seem like an impossible task; there are so many options and things to consider.

To get your fitness blog up and running, however, there are only seven key things that you need to do.

Follow this step-by-step guide and your fitness blog will be live faster than it takes to train for a marathon.

1. Choose Your Fitness Blog Topic

Since fitness is such a large and competitive industry, you’re never going to stand out if you have a “general” fitness blog where you write about whatever topic you feel like.

This strategy can work for large, established fitness media sites with recognizable brand names, but it’s not going to work for you (unless you’re a fitness celebrity that already has a large following).

Therefore, it’s crucial that you choose a specific topic to focus on for your blog.

This may seem limiting, but it’s actually empowering.

Having a specific topic makes it easier to come up with topic ideas and figure out the best way to promote your blog (which we discuss below).

Here’s how to choose your fitness blog topic:

Start With Your Goal

Your overall goal for your blog will help you determine the topic to write about.

If you’re looking to drive sales of a product, you’ll want to choose a related topic for your blog.

For instance, if you sell yoga mats, then creating a yoga blog makes sense.

The same goes for a blog to promote your services.

Are you a personal trainer?

Then create a blog giving training advice related to your specialty.

If your goal is to build influence and gain an audience to monetize later, it can be a bit trickier to pick your blog topic.

We suggest going back to your qualifications, as well as what interests you.

Creating an audience doesn’t happen overnight, so pick something you can commit to writing about for at least a year without any financial payoff.

If you pick a topic just because it’s trendy or potentially lucrative, you may give up before you can see the financial payoff because you weren’t interested in the topic to begin with.

Identify Your Target Audience

In addition to a topic related to your goals, you need to define your blog’s target audience.

Once again, be specific.

“Men’s Fitness” might work for a gigantic magazine on newsstands at every grocery store, but it’s not going to work for your fledgling fitness blog. Instead, get even more specific.

Here are some example target audiences for fitness blogs:

• Single men under 30 looking to lose weight
• Women over 60 looking to slow age-related physical decline
• Middle-aged first-time marathon runners

Notice how these audiences include both demographic information (age, sex, marital status, etc.) and the audience’s goals (losing weight, slowing aging, running that first marathon).

Don’t worry if your audience sounds too specific.

You can always expand it later as your blog grows.

Likewise, don’t worry about picking the “perfect” audience to start with.

As you create content and engage with readers, you may find that your target audience is different than you originally imagined.

Don’t worry about that; embrace it.

You’ll never learn these lessons if you don’t get started.

Research Competitors for Inspiration

“Competition” can seem like a negative thing, but it’s actually the opposite when you’re starting a business or blog.

Having no competition can mean that no one is interested in the topic you want to blog about.

And even beyond that, competitor blogs can be a great place to find ways to differentiate or improve your own blog.

This is why we suggest that you research competing blogs when choosing a topic.

We are not suggesting that you copy the competition; at best, this will lead to mediocre content, and at worst, a plagiarism lawsuit.

Likewise, you shouldn’t let the competition intimidate you.

It’s easy to look at a well-established blog with hundreds of thousands of readers and think, “I could never do that. Why should I bother at all?”

This is the wrong way to view competitor blogs. Instead, you should look to them as inspiration.

They can show you what is possible with hard work, persistence, and proper strategy.

As your blog grows, they can even become sources for potential partnerships or guest posting opportunities.

2. Find a Domain Name That Fits Your Goals

Once you have a topic, you need to pick a domain.

“Domain” is just a fancy term for the online address of your website.

For example, this website’s domain is “bloggingtips.com.”

Domains are made up of the actual name of the site (this is technically called the “sub-domain”) and an extension (the “top-level domain”).

Sticking with the same example, the sub-domain for our site is “startablog123,” and the extension is “.com.”

All of the above is helpful terminology to know when you go to find a domain, as you may encounter some of those terms.

A good domain name (for any blog) should be the following:

• Short
• Memorable
• Easy to pronounce
• Fairly specific

Notice that we did not include “clever” or “funny” in our list of criteria.

While these can be nice to have, they can often come at the expense of a domain that is easy to remember or pronounce.

Your blog may exist online, but you’re going to end up talking about it out loud at some point or another.

In cases like these, you don’t want to have a domain name that no one can spell, pronounce, or remember.

In addition to the above criteria, the following are also nice to have:

• “.com” extension — It’s what people naturally type when going to websites (despite the dozens of other available extensions).
• No hyphens or foreign characters — Hyphens are hard to remember, and foreign characters are hard to type.
  We know this is Anglo-centric, but it’s the reality of the internet as it exists today.
• No double letters — This goes back to the idea of making your domain easy to remember.
  For instance, “Fitness Solutions” can sound like a great name for a blog, but when you type it into a browser you can see that its double letters make it easy to misspell: “fitnesssolutions.com.”

Even once you’ve found the perfect domain name, you need to accept that it’s probably going to be taken.

Over 1.5 billion websites currently exist, with the number increasing by the second.

Luckily, it’s fairly easy to determine if a domain name is available.

You could just type the domain name into your browser, but that won’t always tell you if someone owns the domain.

A better solution is to go to a domain registrar such as GoDaddy or Hover and type your domain name into their search bar.

This will immediately show you if the domain is available, as well as how much it will cost to purchase it.

And if the domain isn’t available, these sites will also show you variations of the domain that are.

For instance, here’s a search for a possible fitness blog URL on Hover’s website:

In this case, the domain was available.

If the domain you want is available, buy it ASAP.

Buy it yesterday.

Seriously, if you’re following along with this article and the domain you want is available for purchase, stop reading and buy it.

Domain names go fast.

If your domain name isn’t available, try creating some variations on the name.

In the example above, we added the phrase “for beginners” to find a domain.

You can also experiment with plural variations.

Maybe “kettlebellsforbeginners.com” isn’t available, but perhaps “kettlebellforbegginers.com” is.

You can also vary the word order, such as “beginnerkettlebell.com.”

One other quick note: You may search for a domain name and see an option to “Make an offer” or something similar.

We suggest you don’t waste your time with this.

If you see this option, it means that someone owns the domain and is hoping to sell it for a profit.

And trust us, they’re not going to part with it for just a few dollars (or even a few hundred dollars in many cases).

Likewise, we don’t recommend paying lots of money for a domain that is available.

This could make sense for some established brands with large amounts of capital.

But for the average person starting a blog, there are better ways to invest that money, such as improving your existing skills related to fitness or even hiring a designer to improve the functionality and look or your website.

If you build a quality blog, the domain won’t matter.

Don’t pay inflated prices like these.

Finding a quality domain name isn’t hard.

It just requires some creativity, patience, and acceptance that domains such as “fitness.com” are already taken.

3. Choose Your Blogging Platform

After you’ve chosen and registered your domain name, you need to pick a blogging platform to use.

There are a variety of options available, all with their pros and cons.

Here are some popular blogging platforms we recommend for beginners:

1. WordPress — This is the classic blogging platform option.
   It’s flexible, free, widespread (powering around 30% of websites), and requires no coding know-how to use.
   That being said, it can still take some time to learn how to use and install, and it also requires you to purchase a separate hosting package.
   Therefore, a WordPress site might not be the best option if you want to start a blog quickly.
2. Squarespace — A newer entrant to the market, Squarespace has become a viable alternative to WordPress for users who just want to put together a blog and not worry about separate hosting or purchasing themes.
   It isn’t free, but it is affordable, with plans starting at $12/month when you choose annual billing.
   You’ll also get a free domain name as part of the annual billing plan.
3. Medium — Odds are, you’ve at least read a blog post on Medium.
   Medium functions like a blog, in that it allows you to write and publish articles online.
   It’s easy to use and also free, making it an enticing option to get started blogging.
   It’s not something we recommend for serious blogs, however, as it doesn’t allow you full control of your content or many opportunities for monetization.
   But it can be a way to get started with a blogging habit if you’re not ready to commit to a full blog.

In the end, the best blogging platform is the one that gets you to start blogging on a regular basis.

This will differ from person to person, and that’s okay.

Don’t get so hung up on comparing different blogging tools that you lose sight of your original goal: creating a quality fitness blog.

4. Decide on Your Content Plan

Now that you have the tools to put your blog online, you need to create a plan to make sure that you write and post regularly. In the beginning stages of a blog, it’s especially important to put out content on a consistent basis.

For one thing, it gives you the opportunity to experiment with different types of content and topics.

If you’re not producing content regularly, you’re missing out on the chance to get feedback from your audience.

Your audience has something to look forward to when you create content on a regular basis.

Sure, there are popular blogs that publish on an irregular schedule, but these are the exception, not the rule.

The majority of successful blogs put out content regularly.

So how often should you post?

The exact frequency is less important than being consistent.

Don’t commit to publishing something every day if you can’t do it.

You’re only setting yourself up for failure.

It’s far better to write a quality post once a week than to write mediocre posts each day just because you feel obligated to the arbitrary schedule you originally set.

As well as posting frequency, you should figure out your general post length.

The most accurate answer to “How long should my blog posts be?” is “As long as necessary,” but that’s not helpful as a beginner.

In practice, we think you should aim for posts that are 1500-3000 words when you’re starting out.

If that seems like an impossibly large amount, feel free to either start with less or publish less often.

We’re no longer in a time when short, fluffy content is acceptable.

Of course, there are exceptions: Some posts just need 500 words to explain them.

But most of the time, a short post just means that you’re not being comprehensive enough.

So how do you make all of this happen in practice?

You need to create a publishing schedule.

When you’re starting out, this could be as simple as a recurring event on your calendar.

As your blog grows, you may find that creating a more detailed editorial calendar is useful (especially if you hire or collaborate with other writers).

Once again, the specific tool is unimportant, so long as it keeps you publishing consistently.

If you’re struggling to stay motivated to publish on a regular basis, you could also up the stakes a bit by adding extra accountability.

Tell a friend you’ll pay them $100 (or whatever amount is uncomfortable) if you miss a post.

Or use a tool such as Beeminder to automatically charge you money when you don’t post on schedule.

These measures may seem extreme, but they can be very effective.

5. Create At Least One Month of Content Before You Launch

With a publishing schedule in place, you need to create something to publish.

But hold on: don’t go and launch your blog with just one post.

If you do this, your blog will look brand new.

This can harm your credibility.

Furthermore, starting with just one post can make it difficult to build momentum in the first couple months of your blog’s existence.

To combat this, we suggest creating at least one month of content before you even launch your blog.

This amount of up-front work may sound intimidating, but you can take as much time as you need to create the posts.

If it takes you longer than expected, that’s okay: You just learned a valuable lesson about how long it actually takes you to write (without the stress of having to actually publish that content on time).

But what sort of content should you create?

After all, even if you have a clear topic for your blog, there are thousands of possible posts you could write.

While this is true, there are five types of tried and true blog content that work well for fitness.

Some of these may work better than others for your specific niche and audience, but all are worth trying.

Here are the five types of fitness content we recommend trying, along with examples of each:

Tutorials

Fitness is not an abstract, intellectual topic. It’s a physical practice that exists in the real world.

Therefore, tutorials are a valuable type of content to create when writing about fitness.

If you’ve ever read a “how-to” article, then it’s probably a tutorial.

Tutorials generally have step-by-step instructions, as well as pictures and videos to help illustrate the points discussed.

Example: Beginner Bodyweight Workout

In this beginner’s guide from Nerd Fitness, author Steve Kamb breaks down how to do a workout that any beginner can accomplish without equipment or specialized knowledge

He starts by outlining the routine:

Then, he gives some advice on the finer points:

In addition, Steve includes a video demonstration of the workout:

This is a pretty basic tutorial, but it makes sense given the beginner audience.

Beginners don’t want lots of technical terms or workout variations.

They just want something accessible that can help them achieve their goal: getting fit.

Product Reviews and Buyer’s Guides

While lots of fitness routines are possible without any equipment, many require products.

And if the goal of your blog is to help sell one of your products (or the products of an affiliated company), then writing reviews or buyers guides can be a valuable form of content for both you and your audience.

When writing a buyer’s guide, you need to be concise, thorough, and as objective as possible.

Let’s start with the concise part.

If someone is reading a buyer’s guide, they don’t want fluff.

They want you to get to the point: which product should they buy, and why?

There’s no need to give a long history of the product you’re discussing or talk about all the colors it comes in (unless that’s somehow relevant).

At the same time, you should be thorough.

People often read online buyer’s guides or reviews because they don’t have the opportunity to try the product first-hand.

So your article should simulate that experience as much as possible.

Talk about how the product feels in your hands, what it smells like, and how it will help your reader achieve the results they want.

Use lots of photos, as well as videos where it makes sense.

Finally, be objective.

If you write a comparison of different products that’s obviously biased towards one you sell, then you’re going to lose credibility with potential buyers.

Save those kinds of comparisons for your sales page.

It’s fine to mention your own products, but do so in a way that’s fair to competitors.

Example: Fitness Test Lab Kettlebell Buyer’s Guide

This guide from Fitness Test Lab helps readers through the kettlebell buying process, covering the types, sizes, finishes, and specific brands of kettlebells on the market.

We love how detailed this guide is.

It systematically addresses common questions about this piece of fitness equipment.

Just take a look at the table of contents:

It also includes lots of pictures to illustrate each section.

This is especially helpful when trying to decide between different kettlebell sizes:

Finally, the guide mentions a variety of products in an objective way:

Mindset and Philosophy

Fitness is a physical activity, but anyone who’s trained seriously knows that the hardest part of it is in your head.

This is where articles on the mindset and philosophy of fitness can be handy.

What are the mindsets that set great athletes apart?

How do top coaches approach their training?

These are the sorts of questions you can answer in these posts, which focus more on the “why” than “how” of fitness.

Example: Top 10 Ways to Build Mental Toughness

This article from strength training site T Nation is a textbook example of how to write about mindset.

It sets up an intriguing premise (top 10 ways to do X) and then proceeds to elaborate.

One other thing to note about this article is that it’s based on advice from experts in strength and athletic importance, which helps boost its credibility.

If you can do this with your own posts, we highly recommend it.

Case Studies

If you’re selling any sort of fitness service, then case studies are an invaluable marketing tool.

They prove that you’re not just talk, that you can get real results.

And they also help potential clients see what it’s like to work with you.

The key to an effective case study is to focus on the transformation that your services bring about.

Describe what the person you’re talking about was like before, what problem they had, and how you helped them overcome it.

Seeing the success of others is key to helping your readers visualize their own success.

Example: Lucy Munns Personal Trainer Case Study

This case study from personal trainer Lucy Munn breaks down how she helped a previous client accomplish her goals.

Note the format: it’s concise yet descriptive.

It’s shorter than most of the other types of content we’ve discussed so far, but it makes sense in the context of Lucy’s site.

She has three other client case studies on the same page, which combine to show the breadth of her experience.

The specific demographic details about the client also help make the study more relatable, since a potential client reading it can visualize themselves in the former client’s position.

Interviews

The final piece of content to consider for your fitness blog is the interview.

Interviews can be a great way to drive traffic and boost your blog’s credibility, especially if you can get an interview with a recognized industry leader.

Of course, that can be a challenge when you’re first starting out, so we recommend that you interview people that are less well-known (but still experts in their fields).

The key to an effective interview post is editing.

You should not include every single word the interviewee says, as it will be boring and difficult to read.

Instead, you should distill their best points into the article, adding your own words for context.

If that sounds too difficult, then you can also just use a Q&A format.

Even in these cases, however, you’ll still need to do a small bit of editing to keep things concise and clear.

Example: Yoga Beyond Body Image: An Interview with Anacostia Yogi

In this interview from Yoga International, Kathryn Ashworth has a conversation with yoga expert Sariane Leigh about how she got started with yoga, her mission as a yoga instructor, and other topics that would be of interest to the blog’s audience.

This interview broadly follows a Q&A format, as you can see below:

Finally, the author does a good job breaking up the interview with images and blockquotes:

This is key, since interviews can easily turn into impenetrable walls of text if you aren’t careful with the way you format them.

Never Stop Experimenting with Content

The above types of posts are just a few to inspire you to get started.

Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to them.

You should experiment with any format that you think will help your audience.

Recognize that this process of experimentation will continue for as long as your blog exists; it’s the best way to keep your content from becoming stagnant.

6. Determine Your Promotion Strategy

The hardest part of creating a successful fitness blog is writing amazing content, but it isn’t the only key to success.

You also have to get that content out to the world.

Here are a few promotion strategies that work especially well for fitness blogs:

• Instagram — Fitness is a very visual subject, making it perfect for a visual social media platform like Instagram.
  Post excerpts from blog posts or visual content inspired by blog posts to increase awareness of your blog and brand.
  Follow other fitness blogs and influencers on Instagram to get some inspiration for your own Instagram marketing efforts.
• Write for fitness publications — If you can get accepted as a contributor to other more established fitness sites, then they will usually allow you to include a link to your blog in your author bio (or even within the articles you write, in some cases).
  This works best if you already have some great articles on your blog.
• Email marketing — Email may seem “old-fashioned,” but it still works as a marketing channel.
  Whether it’s just to alert your followers of new posts or as part of a larger marketing strategy, don’t neglect the value of email marketing as a fitness blogger.

Ultimately, the best way to get traffic is to write the best content on your subject.

If you do this, Google will naturally send visitors to your site for free.

7. Don’t Expect Immediate Results

Anyone with experience in fitness knows that there’s no such thing as instant success.

You have to work hard to build muscle, train flexibility, lose weight, or accomplish whatever other fitness goal you have.

The right guidance can accelerate your progress, but there’s no substitute for hard work and patience.

The same is true for building a fitness blog.

Even with all the best practices in the world, building a blog takes time.

You need to be consistent to see results.

Be prepared to work on your blog for at least a year before you gain any real attention.

It is possible to go viral and grow faster than that.

But just like the latest “miracle” supplement or workout routine, the results you get from virality are rarely sustainable.

Finally, you should understand this: a blog is not a business.

A blog can also be a great way to promote an existing business, but it makes no money on its own.

In the same vein, a blog can be a way to establish expertise and gain attention that you can monetize through services, advertisements, sponsorships, affiliate commissions, or products.

But the blog itself is not the product.

In fact, having a blog costs you money.

It won’t cost a lot of money if you’re following the advice we’ve given you, but it isn’t free.

Don’t start a blog if you need to make money now, or even within the next few months.

There are plenty of other ways to do that, and blogging isn’t one of them.

We don’t say this to discourage you.

We want you to succeed.

We want you to make money, grow an audience, or accomplish whatever goals you have for starting a fitness blog.

You should understand, however, that it will take time. It will be frustrating.

It won’t always be fun.

But just as in fitness, if you can persevere through the difficulties, the payoff will be that much more satisfying.

Get Your Fitness Blog Into Shape

As you can now see, starting a fitness blog is not a decision to take lightly.

It isn’t complicated, especially if you follow the steps in our article.

With this guide, you can have your blog up and running within the next month.

We hope we’ve shown you everything you need to know to stop talking about starting a fitness blog and start building one.

If you’re looking for more information on how to start a blog, grow your audience, or make money online, then we suggest you sign up for our newsletter.

We’ll send you a weekly email with the latest tips on blogging success, as well as exclusive promotions and discounts.

We wish you the best in your fitness blogging career.

If you have a message worth sharing and the qualifications to back it up, the world should hear it.

We can’t wait to see what you create.

Perhaps you want to share your memories and hilarious moments with the world, just to remind them that being a mommy isn’t always as good or easy as it seems to be.

If your family life is hilarious and you just can’t stop thinking about how much everyone will laugh at your stories if you shared them, then you should think about starting a mommy blog.

Focus it on your family life and the funny and challenging experiences you’ve had as a mom.

You could write about all those times you couldn’t get a minute when you were on the toilet, or maybe that time your little one decided to jump in a lake full of swans.

It’s surprising how many funny stories you have when you actually think about it, which is why mommy bloggers are often so successful in the blogging industry.

Mommy bloggers not only share their unique and wonderful stories of childbirth, the terrible toddler stage, or the teenage years, but they also share advice and give anyone who needs it some tips to surviving family life with children.

Having children can be a very daunting process, and a lot of people take to the internet for advice, or to find out the best way to do things whether that’s about breastfeeding, how to wean your baby, or even the best things to do in the summer.

There is an endless number of topics to cover when you look at blogs for moms.

If you want some inspiration before starting your own blog then you can research some mommy bloggers in your area.

Whilst some are more stay-at-home mom blogs, other focus on advice and tips for dealing with your children.

Many also help out new mommies find their place in the family with getting themselves a job or even finding a hobby they love.

We understand that the process of how to start a mom blog is difficult, and that’s why we’ve created this list of steps.

It will definitely help you get you started and may even help to inspire your blog in a way you never even thought!

Although we have put the steps in order, if you already have a mommy blog then you may want to skip a few steps, which is totally fine too!

Brainstorm Ideas and Remember Funny Stories

If you’re thinking of starting a mommy blog then you most likely already have some inspiration, whether it is funny memories or advice you’d like to give others.

Brainstorm these ideas and think up of some good ideas for blog posts or even what your blog can focus around.

If you have young children then you may focus more on that topic area, whereas moms who have teenagers would probably be better suited to blogging about teenage problems.

There are so many different topics you can choose to blog about when you start your mommy blog, and you must know what topics you’re going to focus on before you set it up.

Likewise, if you want to start a beauty or travel blog, the articles on your blog need consistency, even if you solely focus on stories or advice.

Write down the best things you have to offer as a mommy blogger, then decide what will be your strong point.

You can always change up your content every few months if you want to focus on something else, but it’s always good to have a focus when you start.

Remember, even if you don’t think it’s the best story, it will still be interesting to readers out there.

We’ve put together a few topic and ideas for good blog articles for those who want to know how to start a mom blog with the best posts:

• Tips for Successful Breastfeeding
• How to Deal with a Terrible Toddler
• Talking to Your Teenager about Drugs/Alcohol
• Best Days Out In (choose an area)
• Things to Do with Your Children During the Winter Break
• Ideas for School Lunches
• How to Deal with Chicken Pox/Measles
• Best Home Remedies for Getting Rid of Warts
• The Funniest Moment of Being a Mommy
• Advice for Young Moms

Think of a Name and Tagline

This should be linked to your topic or could be as simple as your family name.

There are plenty of websites out there that can generate a good blog name for your mommy blog and get you properly started.

The tagline of your blog can be absolutely anything you wish.

It could be something you regularly say to your children or something that means a lot to your family.

It is important to have both a unique name and tagline because this will set your blog apart from all the other mommy bloggers out there.

You could even try having a family blog when your children are old enough to write their own articles or stories.

This gives another dimension to your blog and shows another side of your family life completely.

Decide on Your Blogging Platform

The blogging platform you choose is crucial to the success of your blog in the long term.

You may just want to start up a blog to share your experiences with a family, or you may want to make money.

The most popular blogging platforms are WordPress, Blogger and Wix.

To help you decide which blogging platform is suited to you, we have collated some information about the sites and compared them below.

We hope this helps you get an idea of which blogging platform to choose.

WordPress:

WordPress is possibly the biggest blogging platform and its success is down to the various features it offers users, from beautifully created themes that you can add to your blog to make it look professional and unique to the different plugins you can use in order to add a little bit more to your blog.

There are two forms of WordPress you can choose from, self-hosted WordPress and WordPress.org.

Both are great for running a blog, but which you will prefer depends on your level of coding skills.

There are tons of helpful users on forums that will help you set up your WordPress account and get a beautiful-looking website, so it is only a matter of time before you can get started!

Blogger:

Blogger is a free blogging platform that many mommy bloggers start on.

It’s easy to use (if you’re not that skilled at technology), and it’s pretty simple if you want to share your article links.

Add photos and customize your blog how you want it but bear in mind that there is 1GB maximum photo storage and you can only do a certain amount of customization to your website.

If you want a simple and easy-to-use blogging platform that simply allows you to post blog posts then Blogger will definitely work for you.

However, if you want your blog to stand out from the crowd and serve a purpose in the blogging community then you may want to try another platform.

Wix:

Wix is slightly more advanced compared to Blogger but it doesn’t allow as much change customization as WordPress.

The platform allows users to drag and drop various objects and change up their website in order to make it unique.

Wix is a site that many businesses use to create their website, but bloggers can also choose to base their blog on the platform too.

You can add photos, content and customize your site as much as you wish basically for free.

It does have paid features too though, which allows the user to access more of the website and get a better blog started.

Depending on your individual budget, you can choose to start a Wix blog and then pay money to add more features later on in your blogging career. 

Set Up Your Account

Setting up your account is pretty simple, no matter what platform you choose.

Blogging platforms allow their users to easily set up accounts because the easier it is for the user, the more likely they are to use the platform.

Most sites only require a name, email and password to get started, which is pretty great.

When setting up your account, you may want to make a separate email account to link to the platform as they are known for sending many spam emails.

Plus, if your blog turns into your career, you will have a separate email address to use as your contact information.

This can also help to protect your privacy whilst you’re online too.

Once you’ve chosen your package and set up your account, the hard work seems to be over.

For the most part, thinking of blog ideas and the name of the blog itself are the parts many people struggle with.

Now you’re ready to start creating and uploading content online, and that’s when the fun really begins.

Make sure when you’re setting up your account that you set a password that is secure but one that you will remember.

Start Up Your Social Media Accounts

Some people choose to share their blog posts on their personal social media accounts, but others set up public profiles so that their shares can reach more people.

If you would rather set up new public accounts, then this is the best time to do it.

Get all your friends and family to like and share your account.

Before you know it, your page will have hundreds of followers, all sharing and reading your content.

It is essential to set up your social media accounts before you start planning or writing content because you want to be prepared and get people excited about the official launch of your blog.

Those who like or follow your page on the various social media account are the people who want to read your blog, so they’re always the best people to share the link to.

Plan and Write Future Content

This step is possibly the most rigorous and time-consuming as it requires a lot of hard work and effort.

We recommend you plan and write your content at least a month or two in advance if you want to keep to a schedule.

You may only want to post on your blog once a week and that’s great, but make sure you stay consistent with your upload days as this will mean you will have regular readers.

Followers and readers of your blog will get to know your schedule and look forward to reading your latest blog post.

You don’t want to let them down by not having a blog post for that day!

You may want to create an Excel spreadsheet with upload dates as well as your title and some notes.

After you have planned all your content for that month, you can then write your blog posts a week in advance and put them on your platform.

You could alternatively just plan content and write the blog posts on the day you want to upload them.

This may seem like a good idea and for those who have plenty of time to write, it should work.

Those who like to organize last-minute days or nights out may find that writing blog posts last-minute isn’t the best option.

Upload Your Content

We recommend each blog post to be over 800 words rather than any less.

This is for SEO purposes and getting your blog to rank highly in Google searches.

After you’ve written the content for your blog, you can choose to upload your content on certain days (such as Mondays and Fridays, or Wednesdays and Sundays), then you can always stick to this upload schedule.

Some platforms allow the user to schedule their content for certain days and times so if you don’t want to publish the blog post straight away you can always opt for this instead.

Always make sure that you put interesting pictures and use exciting language whenever you’re writing your content, as it is important for your readers to feel engaged when they’re reading your content.

You want regular readers and followers, right?

You’re only ever going to get them if you take your time writing your content and choosing relevant blog topics that suit your target audience.

By taking your time and understanding what your audience actually want to read, you will definitely have a more successful blog in the long term.

Share Your Content on Social Media

Being proud and sharing your content is the best way to get people to know about your blog.

Keeping it quiet and only telling a few close friends won’t allow you to get hundreds of readers like you would if you share it on social media.

Share the links with a short but sweet message explaining a little bit about the blog post and encouraging people to share and read the post.

You can get your immediate family (such as your partner, mum and dad) to share the posts on their social media too.

It is surprising how many people will read your content due to shares by other family members.

The more shares you get on social media (whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest) the more your blog is going to get out there and be loved by hundreds or even thousands of people.

There are plugins and features you can use on your blog dashboard to see where your traffic is actually coming from, which may help you understand where you should be focusing your advertisements and shares.

For some people, it may be Twitter whereas other may find that Facebook is bringing them a lot of traffic.

On these dashboards, you can also see what the most popular times people visit your blog are.

This may give you more of an indication of when you should be sharing the links on your social media accounts.

If your blog has a lot of readers at 7pm on a Monday, then you may find it even more useful to post links to your blog posts at 6.30pm or 6.45pm on a Monday and get even more readers.

If your blog dashboard doesn’t have a feature like this, then you may want to ask your readers when they read your blog posts and then publish and share them at this time.

Add Money-Making Links

How amazing would it be if you could start a mommy blog and make enough money from it to make it your full-time job?

There are so many stay-at-home mom blogs that people love, and it gives you more time with your children too.

Blogging gives mommy bloggers the opportunity to spend more quality and valuable time with their little ones whilst also making a good amount of money.

There are lots of ways you can make money from a blog, but some options are easier to set up when you’re new to blogging.

You may find that after a few months or years, you feel comfortable enough to branch out your money-making blog into something even bigger.

The initial steps of making your blog and trying out different money-making strategies can be scary but it’s a lot easier to set them up than you might think.

Most of the time, the more readers you have, the more money you make, so if you’re a lucky blogger who has a lot of dedicated readers, you may make quite a bit of money.

Google AdSense:

After setting up an account, all you need to do is put in your average views, the amount you post and how many ads you would like on your site.

You can also choose the type of adverts that are on your blog.

Then you will earn money from your readers.

It is the simplest way of making money from your new mommy blog, but you won’t initially get a lot from it.

Affiliate Marketing and Links:

Set up an affiliate account with whatever affiliate site you wish (we suggest someone reputable like Amazon).

Then, whenever you talk about a product on your blog, you can link to the product using your affiliate link (these are generated by the affiliate site and all you have to do is copy and paste a link).

Depending on the site you use, you will then make money every time someone buys the product using your affiliate link on your blog.

You must state in the article (even if it’s at the end) that you have added affiliate links.

However, it’s a great way to make some extra cash whilst writing and creating content. It can be very surprising how many sales your blog helps make for these websites.

Sell Products or Services:

If you’re creative or you have a professional skill you think is worth selling to others then another simple way of making money is to sell things on your blog.

There are various ways you can do this but if you’re using WordPress then you can buy or download a plugin that will set up a shop on your website.

It requires virtually no effort and could make you money, so why not?

Now you know how to start a mommy blog. We hope that all you aspiring mommy bloggers out there have found some inspiration to start a blog for moms or even families!

They’re always super fun and can be great to look back on in a few years to remember important moments.

Starting a mommy blog really isn’t as scary as it may have initially seemed and that’s exactly why you should start one!