Before you start a new blog, READ THESE POINTS 

About me:

I have seen many success stories come from people starting a new blog and becoming a huge influencer. That life has always interested me. For 10 years I worked in a high pace environment with an average of 60 hours per week. These were long days of dealing with customers and working with a lot of numbers. Even though this was a tiring job i enjoyed the pay cheque I got each week and it was a real drive to keep me going.

In 2020 I fell pregnant with my first child and with that came maternity leave and a dramatic drop in hours which in turn also reduced my income by more than half. In 2022 I fell pregnant again with my second child and ended up with a new job which reduced my wages again.

Obviously I love my children more than work and money, but there are many days I miss the lifestyle I lived. The clothes and accessories I could purchase without a worry and enjoying nice meals at fancy restaurants.

Why I chose to start a blog:

I am a creator, and have always had a passion for crafts. Since I was a young girl I always had a craft table and something new and exciting to make. As an adult this has lead me to spend a lot of time on Pinterest seeking inspiration for new crafts to do. As many of us know, most Pinterest pins lead us to a blog of some sort whether it be a tutorial, a ‘how to’ guide or a recipe. I dont know about you but I have been lost in Pinterest tunnels many times and this has lead me to find information about creating a profitable blog.

I have thought about creating a blog for a long time, however I have never seen myself as much of a writer. But after a lot of looking up “starting a new blog” sites, I have realized that you don’t need to be a good writer to start a blog and people generally connect with you as you speak out in a raw manner.

I have a passion to create a life I can enjoy. I want to spend more time with my children and be a present mum. To create a profitable blog is my current goal.

Through out the research I have done I have come up with a few points on what you should do on the first day of starting a new blog.

Set your goals

As many of us know, without goals to work towards we struggle to get far and stay on track. Ask yourself these questions and work some goals around them:

• Why do you want to start a blog?
• What are your intentions?
• What are you going to blog about?
• How many posts are you willing to create a week or month?
• What are your weekly, monthly and annual goals with your blog?
• Do you want to monetize your blog?

Answering these questions will help you define some goals to work towards and keep your blog active.

Quality content

There is no point in creating an amazing looking blog if the content doesn’t interest people. The quality of each blog post is more important than any looks. Make sure you can allocate some time into creating some good quality content. For example: It may be worth posting less blogs with better content that creates more engagement than more blogs with less engagement.

The best way to create quality content is to teach your readers something. Give them a resolution to a problem or help them start something new. This is always a winner with quality and engaging content when you start a new blog.

Create a blogging calendar

There is nothing worse than getting creators blank and beginning to stress over deadlines you have promised your followers. Spend some time planning each month ahead with 4 – 5 blogs you aim to write each month.

Plan how to get traffic to your blog

This is an important point when starting a new blog! if you don’t have traffic coming to your blog then there is no point in having a blog and you certainly wont be making any money from it. One of the best platforms to drive traffic to your blog is through Pinterest. Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social media platform so people are searching for more on Pinterest. Working on a strategy to create engaging pins can help to increase traffic very quickly.

If you have Facebook and Instagram you can definitely use posts to advertise your blog however these platforms are making it harder to spread your content without paying for ads.

Be your authentic self

Everyone sees the same sky in a different shade of blue. Don’t feel pressured that the topics that interest you have already been written about. This is your blog and there are people out there waiting to hear from YOU! The way you connect with someone and tell your story is not something that can be matched with anyone else on the planet. We are all unique individuals. We may not please everyone and that is OK too. Even for the most introvert people, a blog is an amazing place to build your confidence. Tell YOUR story and people will come to you!

Have realistic expectations

The honest truth, blogging can be hard. Thousands of bloggers quit within the first 12 months of starting a blog because they don’t see unrealistic results within the first few months. If one of your main objectives is to generate an income off your blog, you need to create a realistic money goal. You may feel doubtful with the progression of your blog when your page views are so low in the first few weeks.  When you spend so much time writing posts, figuring out plug ins and creating new content it can be frustrating not to see instant results. A good timeline to work towards is between 12 – 18 months of dedicated work to see real and profitable results. Don’t get me wrong, many people are able to see these results within months of starting but like anything, what you put in is what you get in return.