Welcome to my ultimate guide on how to start a blog website for beginners – strategically and intentionally while feeling soulfully aligned.

This post may be long but it will be so packed with the best information on how to start a blog website the right way.

We’ll cover all the basics and I’ll guide you through every step you need to take in order to successfully start a money making blog.

It’s relatively cheap to start a blog.

In fact, if you sign up using my link (affiliate link at no extra cost to you) you’ll save up to 73% off your purchase and you can start your blog today for $3.99 a month.

I know what you’re thinking but there’s really no need to feel intimidated by starting your blog for business.

Anyone can do it and it’s much easier than you may think.

But I get it, it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed.

There are sooo many tutorials and courses out there, so I will try to make this as easy and understandable for you as possible so you won’t feel overwhelmed.  

This page may contain affiliate links.  We only recommend products and services that have tried, trust and love.  For more information, you can read our terms and conditions.

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SO, WHY SHOULD YOU START A BLOG?

• Be able to work from home or from wherever you please – be completely location independent
• Scale your income. There is no roof on your salary, it’s endless
• Diversify your income and make it as passive as possible (in other words you can quite literally make money in your sleep)
• The costs of starting and launching your blog are low – I mean you can sign up for a FREE domain at Siteground for $3.99/month. As you grow and monetize you will eventually earn back what you invested in the beginning
• Put your creative outlet to good use and create something (there’s a simple joy to just create something for yourself and others)
• You are in complete control of your time and how you decide to spend it
• Travel wherever, whenever
• Learn new things and become a tech-boss
• Help and provide value for other people
• Challenge and improve on yourself and this way, ooze more confidence
• You are your own boss
• Freedom

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HERE’S A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE’LL COVER:

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STEP 1 – KNOW THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BLOG

According to Webster’s, purpose is:⁠
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“Intentionally or deliberately working towards an aim or a goal.”⁠
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Purposeful blogging based on conviction gives you motivation.⁠
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Blogging without purpose can leave both you and your readers feeling frustrated and lost.⁠
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Today I want you TO IDENTIFY:⁠
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1. How a blog will support your current business mission, vision, values⁠
2. How a blog will support the growth of your new business idea⁠
3. What the competitive landscape looks like and how you’re filling a unique need⁠
4. Why your audience will (and should) care about your blog and ultimately… your business⁠
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   Turn your blog into the catalyst that drives you toward your goals. ⁠
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   Identify your purpose and then write with conviction.⁠
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   Getting clear on your purpose will open up the creative flood gates and allow you to connect with your audience all while building your brand and your profitability.⁠

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STEP 2 – CHOOSE A BLOGGING NICHE

What is a niche, and why is it a critical part of knowing how to start a blog for business?⁠
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A niche refers to a specific segment of the online market that you want to focus your blog on.⁠
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The segment is well-defined so that your topic appeals to particular people – not a general audience.⁠
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Why? Blogging to a general audience isn’t as profitable because you’ll end up attracting the wrong people and wasting time.⁠
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Niche blogging is laser-focused. ⁠
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Every niche brings a unique audience, and once you decide on which niche to build your business on, it will affect your overall branding, products, and design. ⁠
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Because deciding which niche your brand belongs to is super important, take all the time you need.⁠
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Choose a niche that’s based on two things – things that you love and things that you could bring you more success.⁠
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When deciding a niche for your blog, ask yourself these:⁠
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• What kinds of topics do you LOVE talking about all day?⁠
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• What kind of impression would you like people to have whenever they hear about your name?⁠
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• What kind of topics motivates you, and what topics bore you to death?⁠
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• Is this niche profitable ? (Do some research here)⁠

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STEP 3 – KNOW YOUR I.R.A

I- ideal⁠
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R- reader⁠
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A- avatar⁠
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Ideal Reader Avatar = the one perfect, ideal person you’re talking to in your writing⁠
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This can also be known as…an ideal customer avatar and an ideal client avatar.⁠
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The idea is to know your ideal reader SO very well in your head that you can easily empathize with her and step in her shoes at any moment’s notice.⁠
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You want to be able to anticipate what she likes, what she needs, and how she feels without thinking twice.⁠
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It is so important to know WHO you are speaking to in your writing so you can help her with what she truly needs.⁠
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When you know what your I.R.A. needs…you’ll be able to then grow a community of people who look to you for the answers.⁠
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And when you have the answers to their problems…⁠

This is when you find success when you start a blog website.

Remember this: A blog that speaks to everyone, speaks to no one.
⁠

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STEP 4 – BRAND YOUR BLOG

No mater what type of creative you are, branding yourself is a key aspect of your growth and success.

This fall, I did a blog rebrand. I got a whole new blog design, revamped my color scheme, and I knew that when I started fresh, I wanted to do things right. It’s not that I didn’t like how my brand looked before, but I was ready to change things up.

I also dug deep to figure out my true target reader. I had a new base of lovely followers and I wanted to make sure my target audience was captured through my new blog design and branding. As you can tell, it’s elegant, feminine, and empowering. I’ve got tons of compliments on my new blog branding from my readers, so I know I did something right!

Branding is really important as a creative. You likely have a website or blog, and social media platforms you’ll want to portray a certain vibe and feeling. You’ll also want them to attract your target audience. One of the best ways to do this is through branding. Branding is more than choosing a color palette and a logo. It’s feeding into what your ideal audience craves, choosing fonts and colors they’re attracted to, creating a consistent writing style, using images they love, etc.

So, it’s important to know who you target audience is. Without that, branding is HARD. Actually, it’s pretty much impossible. Who are your trying to attract? How old are they? What’s their gender? What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies?

Take a look at this step-by-step guide to branding as a creative (and why it’s so important).

The Foundation

What is your focus as a creative?

It’s really important that your brand has a clear focus. Are you a travel journalist who lives out of a suitcase 24/7, or a wedding photographer who’s solely focused on growing your business through Instagram? Perhaps you’re an interior designer who specializes in boho chic tiny homes.

Find your focus and own it! This is how you become an expert in your area, and when people will start coming back again and again for your content.

Who are you targeting?

You need to establish who exactly you’re targeting. Make it obvious, specific, and clear as day.

This is so important because you need to know who you’re branding for. Keep in mind, you’re not branding for yourself. Your target market might have similar traits to you, but when it comes to branding, you have to think from their point of view. You have to attract them and make them want to follow along, and keep in touch with you through your email list and social media accounts.

Make sure your target market can see themselves in your branding – in the colors and design, through the writing and photos, and especially in the topics and content you put out.

What is their sweet spot?

Once you’ve figured out your target audience, you have to find their sweet spot. What are they looking for? What do they need help with? Do they want advice on styling outfits? Do they need day to day beauty inspiration? Figure out how you can help them and make it clear that you aim to do just that.

Now, let’s get to the fun part!

The Visuals

Once you’ve established your target audience, what they’re looking for, and how you can help them (Ladies, PLEASE do this first! It will make your branding process SO much easier!), it’s time to create a mood board for your brand!

The mood board

If you’re a regular around here I don’t have to tell you about my LOVE for Pinterest. In case you haven’t hopped on the Pinterest train, it is a great platform for creativity, finding inspiration and information.

Create a secret board on Pinterest and pin about 20 to 25 images that would inspire your target reader. These can be photos of anything – home décor, nail art, landscapes, art pieces, outfits, succulents, quotes with pretty fonts, stationery, anything!

Then using a photo editor (I used Canva, it’s free and amazing!), make a collage of around 8 to 10 of your photos. You have now created your brand mood board! This will give you a sense of the colors and fonts you should use for your brand, as well as the vibe you want to give off. Is it minimalist? Pretty and whimsical? Bold and striking? Your mood board should help you figure out these things!

The color palette

Once you have your mood board, you can decide on your color palette. Choose three MAIN colors, plus two colors that will be used as secondary colors. Find the actual color hex code of each of the colors so you can use them consistently for all of your branding.

When you put two or more colors together, they resonate with each other. Some combinations are more pleasing to look at than others, but each group of hues creates its own feel. Yes, context can tweak how it feels a tiny bit, but there are some fundamental things that happen because of how rich or pure the colors are, how dark or light they are, and the exact hues that are used.

When you understand what feeling they convey, then you’re better able to choose a palette that suits you and supports what you have to say. And because you’re choosing them as a group, if you think of a palette in terms of a relevant image it can help you get closer to understanding how the colors fit together and how those feelings work.

Your logo

Once you’ve settled on your colors and overall vibe, it’s time to design a logo! If you’re artsy and technologically-inclined, you can totally do this yourself. I invested in a customized logo designed by my logo designer. I love how it turned out!

Having a customized logo is essential for your brand. It ensures no one has the same logo as you and makes you stand out as professional. You can use it on your social media accounts, your business cards, and anything else you want to put your stamp on. My friend got her phone case customized with her logo on it, how cool is that!

Your photos

Any photos you post on your blog/website and associated social media accounts should fit with your branding. You can take your blog photos yourself or subscribe to a stock photo site that fits your blog’s brand and vibe. I recently subscribed to Styled Stock Society stock library and I’m completely obsessed! The photos suit my branding so well and really speak to my target audience. It’s one of the best investments I’ve made for my blog and I wish I didn’t hold off for so long! 

Have you fully branded yourself yet as a creative? If so, leave me a link, I’d love to take a look! If not, what’s the biggest thing holding you back?

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STEP 5 – STRATEGICALLY DESIGNED BLOG

A strategically designed blog considers all aspects of your website.

It combines:

• strategic branding with an ideal reader in mind

• user experience with stunning visuals

• goal conversion – not just trendy colors or fonts  

Let’s dive deeper into each…

Strategic Branding

First you need to know your ideal reader avatar (what we talked about 2 posts ago)

You need to know what colors, fonts, and images attract her/him.

Is it calm and relaxed? Pink and girly? Minimalist?

If you have a blog already, I want you to ask yourself these questions:

1. Does your current branding (meaning your logo, your colors, your website, even any extra marketing materials you might have, like an eBook) attract the right audience?

2. Does your messaging attract the right audience?

3. Does the content that you’re writing attract the right audience?

How do you want them to feel when they land on your site?

Then create a color palette, moodboard, and logo that will resonate with them and attract them to keep coming for more.

User experience

A strategically designed blog thinks about the audience’s journey when they land on your website.

When they land on your blog post, where do you want them to go next?

If they land on your about page, where would you like them to go or what do you want them to do?

“With any type of audience, understanding their motives can help you design your website in a more strategic way.”

Conversion goal

What is their number one goal that you want to achieve when someone lands on your website?

Conversion goal examples:

1. Sign up for a free discovery/coaching call

2. Sign up to your email list

3. Build trust by taking them to your about page

I want you to really think through a strategic goal for your blog.

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STEP 6 – START A BLOG WEBSITE

I highly recommend Showit for bloggers and any business that wants an easy-to-update, stunning website!

GET A FREE MONTH OF SHOWIT BY SIGNING UP HERE!

How does it work?

If your website is hosted through Showit (i.e. you bought a template or have a custom Showit website design), this means that you’ll update the content of your main pages through Showit itself.

However, if you want to blog, that’s where WordPress comes into play!

Showit integrates with WordPress specifically for blog writing.

This lets you get the best of both worlds — an easy to use, drag and drop platform for the main website design, and an SEO-focused blogging platform — WordPress!

• Log into Showit if you want to update your main website pages

• Log into WordPress to post blogs and update the SEO settings for your blog page, single posts and blog categories

With Showit, you can easily design your own website by watching Youtube Showit video tutorials.

But I highly recommend purchasing a professional Showit template if you can. 

Why I Recommend Blogging With Showit

What is Showit?

Showit is the most innovative platform for drag & drop website building without code. Throw everything you know about templates and drag & drop, this is truly unique. Showit offers the possibility to customize templates 100% so you can easily create a unique website without a single line of code. The platform has been specially developed for creative entrepreneurs.

Showit will allow you to design a stunning website on Showit but you will write all of your blog posts with WordPress. It’s absolutely amazing.

Why Showit?

Showit is not only very user-friendly and wonderful to work with. But Showit offers so much more: custom mobile design, responsive on all screens, simple SEO optimization, innovative drag & drop builder, fast chat support, lots of clear tutorials.

Technically Showit runs on the best and fastest servers and you do not have to worry about ant technical hassle and updates. So you are in control and are backed up with a ton of support in all kinds of ways.  

How Much Does Showit Cost?

Showit has various subscription levels available starting as low as $19/mo (billed yearly). I recommend the middle tier with a blog at $24/mo (billed yearly) This allows you to make use of the WordPress blog design that’s integrated in your template.

I recommend clicking here to grab your free month of Showit to test it out first!

Your Showit subscription includes: hosting, backups, WordPress blog, live chat support, free subdomains and access to a community full of creative Showit users. All custom blog designs are created with Showit and require an active Showit account.

What Kind of Support Is Offered?

Showit offers tons of ways to contact if you ever need. Even live video chats with the team members!

My favorite way to contact Showit is through their live chat. It shows at the bottom of your screen when you are designing and they respond very quickly.

What About SEO?

Showit runs with the latest internet language HTML5. This ensures that everything on your website is perfectly indexed at Google. You can optimize keywords, alt tags, page titles, the whole shebang! You optimize your WordPress blog with the Yoast SEO plugin. You have all the possibilities to make sure Google is your best friend.

When you purchase a custom website, I will optimize your SEO basics like: page title, meta description and keywords.

Can I Blog With WordPress?

Absolutely! Your WordPress blog will be integrated into your Showit design. This gives you the best of both worlds: the power and flexibility of WordPress and the WOW design of Showit. Showit support experts migrate your existing blog for free!

Can I Add a Shop to My Website?

Showit does not have any build-in shop options (yet). But it is possible to integrate Shopify Lite. Or you can link Showit to Etsy for example, you can link your Showit site to a separate WordPress shop with the WooCommerce plugin, or you can build a shop on your site and use Thrivecart for checkouts.

The best way (and cheapest) in my opinion and how I personally do it is to build my shop on Showit and use Shopify Lite which costs me only $9/month.

How Easy Is It To Learn Showit?

Learning how to design your website on Showit is not as much of a learning curve as learning how to design on WordPress. You will need zero code knowledge to design your blog website.

GET A FREE MONTH OF SHOWIT BY SIGNING UP HERE!

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STEP 6 – CHOOSING A DOMAIN AND BLOG NAME

Choosing and buying a domain name is one of the most important steps in setting up your new website! Before you can start building your website you will need to register your domain name, which is where your website will live on the internet (www.yourwebsite.com). This is a very important decision, so be sure to give it a lot of thought. Here are some important points to keep in mind when brainstorming and buying your domain name:

TRY TO GET A .COM DOMAIN

Getting your first choice of a domain name can be tricky, because it will seem like most of the good domains ending with “.com” are already taken. Virtually all one-word domain names were snapped up a long, long time ago. However, it’s worth the effort to try and find a .com domain name you like.

When browsing the Internet and looking for reliable information, are you most likely to trust a website ending in .com or some new domain like .blog or .shopping? Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable entering my credit card or buying an expensive product from some sketchy domain! There are some exceptions, with some tech startups opting for new domains like .io or .co, but don’t get too fancy here. Pick a .com and go with it!

How to Find an Available Domain Name

As mentioned, almost every common one word .com domain will have been taken, and if a one-word domain is available there is probably a reason why (hint: it’s not very good). However, there are still plenty of great domain names out there as long as you are willing to be a little creative. There are several websites that help you search for available domains and can generate domain names based on ones that are available.

One of my favorite site name generators is NameMesh.com, where you can enter multiple words to find available related domain names. For example, if you were writing a blog about Vegetarian Recipes, you could simply type in “Vegetarian Recipes” to NameMesh and look at their recommendations. Try to focus on domain names ending with .com that are easy to spell, so look at the “Similar” and “SEO” categories in Name Mesh first.

Other recommended Domain Name Generator tools include:

• DomainWheel.com

• Panabee.com

• Dotomator.com

These tools can help you come up with creative multiple word domains and check availability at the same time.

What to Consider When Picking a Domain Name

Besides looking for a domain ending in .com, here are a few more tips to keep in mind:

• Keep your domain name as simple as possible. Shorter names are easier to remember, especially when you tell people the name in person or over the phone.

• Don’t use weird spelling variations. A good rule of thumb is someone should be able to correctly type in you name in a maximum of 3 tries, obviously aiming to get it correct on the first try. It might look cute to change the “i” to a “y” in “TheBycycleBlog.com”, but no one will be able to find it!

• Similarly, don’t use overly complicated or hard to spell words. Domain names are not the time to show off your college English degree. It’s completely ok to be “TheHappyCook.com” and not “TheExuberantCulinarian.com”

• Try to avoid dashes in the URL. It can be tempting to go for a URL with a dash separating two words you really want, but it is more difficult to say and people will accidentally go to the version of the site without the dash.

• Don’t use a name that will date such as The Student Traveller, or The Thirty Year Old Traveller, or Travelling Before Kids – what if you have kids and want to change to family travel articles? Choose a name that can grow with you!

• Don’t use geographically limiting names, unless you plan to only write about one specific destination.

• Pick a name that is descriptive. If it is possible try and select a name that is representative of what you will be blogging about to help readers understand what to expect from you, and perhaps also for SEO purposes.

• Never buy a used domain name. It will likely be expensive, overpriced and you don’t know the history of the domain. It could have been used by someone who spammed the domain for backlinks and ruined the SEO.

• If you can’t come up with something unique or descriptive of your blog, you could simply use your own name. For many blogs you are the brand and its perfectly ok to use your own name – more details on this later.

The Name Needs to Be Available on all Social Media Channels

Even when you find the perfect domain name, you want to be sure you can get it across other social channels as well!

You want to register the same name on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest. A great tool to check if your desired name is available across all the major social media platforms is NameCheckr.com. Type your name in and NameCheckr will automatically search all the major social networks and show if the name is available for registration or not.

Don’t be too discouraged if your ideal name is taken in 1-2 places because you can always do a slight variation of it for that particular platform, like adding an underscore in the middle or at the end.

Using Your Given Name as a Domain Name

Remember back in the day when you were supposed to remain anonymous online and use a secret screen name or email to protect your identity? Yeah, throw that out because social media has completely changed the online landscape. Today, your name is a valuable branding tool, so use it! Many people, myself included, simply use their names as their domain and then build a website around that.

Obviously if you are building a website for a business or a community you probably don’t want to use your personal name and are better off with coming up with a creative name as discussed above. However, if you are building a personal brand and blog, using your name as the domain name could be a great answer.

There are several benefits to using your own name as your domain and your brand. First, your audience will begin to identify with you personally, which builds trust and recognition. In turn, this makes your audience much more likely to keep coming back to your website, sign up for your email list or buy products that you recommend.

Second, it gives you the freedom to take your website any direction you want since the main focus is you and not a niche. Targeting a niche name like “TheHappyCook” is great if you know you want to focus on that niche forever, but what if one day you want to focus on travel or fashion? Then your catchy domain doesn’t really fit anymore, but if you branded under your name you can take your focus in any direction you want.

Where to Buy a Domain Name?

You’ve done your research, come up with a great domain name and made sure it’s available both for your website and your social channels. Next, it’s time to buy it!

I prefer to buy my domain name on Siteground and hosting through Showit. If you have no idea what hosting is or are tempted to get hosting with that TV commercial you saw (spoiler: do NOT use GoDaddy!), keep reading to the Hosting section below. Now that you’ve bought your domain name, it is yours forever. I recommend setting up auto-renew so it renews itself each year, that way you don’t forget.

Quick Summary

How to choose a blog and domain name:⁠
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1. Write a list of niche related words (look to see if you can rank with your blog name using SEO keyword research)⁠
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2. Play around with the words⁠
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3. Check the availability. See if you can actually purchase the domain name. Also check the availability of the name on all social media platforms.⁠
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   Other things to note:⁠
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   —Keep it unique⁠
   —Keep it short⁠
   —Make it memorable⁠
   —Easy to spell⁠
   —Use only the .com extension⁠
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   Coming up with a name for your blog takes time. Don’t try to rush it.⁠
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   Just grab a pen and paper and brainstorm. At some point, you’ll find the perfect blog name.⁠
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   Make sure your blog name is short, memorable, and easy to spell, and you’ll be good to go.⁠
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   I highly recommend that you buy your domain name from Siteground.⁠
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   What has been your main struggle when coming up with your blog name? Let me know!⁠

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STEP 7 – DESIGN YOUR BLOGS WEBSITE

You want to strategically use a branding and website design process to design your blogs website.⁠
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Here are the steps:⁠
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1. Branding Pack ⁠
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   Prior to diving into the homepage design, sketch out logo ideas and brainstorm colors and fonts. Then put it together in a branding pack once completed.⁠
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2. Homepage Design and Logo Design⁠
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   Then once your clear on the direction of the brand design, then you can begin working on the homepage design.⁠
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3. Interior Pages⁠
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   Using the established homepage design as a starting point, begin designing the rest of the pages on your website, always keeping your website and business goals in mind. ⁠
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4. Write the Websites Copy ⁠
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   Once your actual design is completed and looking professional, then you can write the websites copy. ⁠

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STEP 8 – WRITE YOUR WEBSITE COPY

Step 1: Braindump relevant information + research

If you’re trying to write copy off the top of your head, you’re doing it wrong. I say that with so much love, because I want you to know there’s a BETTER way!

Trust me, pro copywriters spend the bulk of the writing process gathering instead of simply creating. When you’re ready to write something, spend time on a braindump.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• List 10-20 benefits of what you’re offering.
• Who are you speaking to? Where are they now? Where do they want to be? What’s standing in their way?
• What is the problem you’re solving?
• What have your past clients/customers said about this service/product?
• What are the details/features of your offer?
• How do they get it?
• What questions would your reader have about this service/product?

Start there, and get it all in one document that you can pull from, trace themes, etc.

This is also the stage when you conduct any customer/client research, like interviews, surveys, forum searches, etc.

Whatever you gather, dump it all in a place that’s easy to find for this project, or for your business as a whole.

Step 2: Set a goal or desired outcome for your page

Do you know if your copy is actually working?

Remember: It’s hard for us to expect the action we want our readers to take to be CLEAR if we’re not even clear on what we want them to do.

When setting a goal, be sure an action word is included.

Bad example: My reader will know who I am/know what I offer.

“Knowing” is not really a metric we can track.

Good example: My reader will sign up for my email list.

We can track sign ups. It’s an action. That’s the start to a good goal.

Round out your goal setting by thinking through what your reader needs to think or feel in order to take that action. What mindset shifts need to happen? Do you need to address any objections?

Step 3: Create a “what-to-say” outline

Repeat after me: I will not write my copy in one sitting.

I know, you’re having flashbacks again to high school. I was an English teacher, and I ONLY ever wrote first drafts. BUT, my writing assignments until I was a copywriter were A LOT less tied to revenue.

Copy is not a task to complete so you can check the box for words on the page.

Copy can CHANGE THE GAME for your business. Think: More sales, better clients, forever-loyal fans.

I suggest you start any draft with a “what-to-say” outline. All you have to do is bullet-point out the information you need to include in your message.

For example: Let’s say you’re writing an email to sell mini sessions.

• Story about my best mini-session
• Why mini-sessions (problem they solve, connected to the story)
• What’s special about these mini-sessions
• What they get (and what they don’t have to worry about)
• How much (if you’d like)
• How to sign up
• How many spots are available (create urgency)

After you write your outline, step away. If it’s a small writing project, 30 minutes or an hour is fine. If it’s something like a sales page, or a whole page of copy, give it a day or so.

Step 4: Fill in the outline with research-based, value-focused, CLEAR copy

When you return to your outline, it’s time to use your braindump information to bring those bullet points to life.

Tip: Start with the MOST important pieces first. Headlines, value + benefit statements, telling them what they’re actually signing up for is the most important. Then, go back and fill in story and body copy to add dimension and reinforce those super-important headlines.

Step 5: Edit + format for maximum value + skimmability.

Rule of thumb: Make sure every piece of headline copy (larger font) is a statement that has value on its own.

In other words, ask yourself, “If my reader ONLY read the headlines, would they understand the value I provide?”

Similarly, for headlines, if you have trouble reading it in a breath or two, it’s too long. Read it out loud, and make sure you’re not stumbling over words.

For body copy, keep paragraphs to 2-3 sentences, MAX. Like I said before, this isn’t your high school 5-paragraph essay. Your “grade” is determined on whether your readers understand, feel something, and then take action because of it. That can’t happen if all your stellar copy is hiding in a newspaper-style chunk of tiny text.

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STEP 9 – WRITE YOUR FIRST BLOG POSTS

Writing Your First Blog Posts ⁠

⁠The topic of your first blog post can be tied to your launch plan. ⁠

⁠For example, if you’re planning to publish two or three posts at the same time to get your blog started, or if you’re planning to drip feed posts every day over the first week, you may want your first post to be more of an introductory style post.⁠

⁠If you just want to get stuck in with some meaty content to please Google and Pinterest, that works too. ⁠

⁠Whatever you do, just don’t forget to delete the default “Hello World” post!⁠

⁠The introductory post⁠

⁠If you go down the “Welcome to my blog” route by doing an introductory post, you may want to cover any or all of the following in your first ever blog post:⁠

⁠–A brief outline of who you are⁠

–Why you’ve decided to start a blog⁠

–What you’re going to be writing about⁠

–Why people should read it⁠

⁠Don’t let your first post be an excuse to put off launching.⁠

⁠Everyone gets nervous when they write their first post, so it’s better to just get it out of the way so you don’t have to think about it any more. ⁠

⁠Whatever you write, make it good…but remember you’re not aiming for it to be the best blog post ever published on the internet. ⁠

⁠Enjoying blogging should always come before anything else. ⁠

⁠How many blog posts should I have before launching?

2-4 published blog posts

When you announce your blog to the world of officially go live with it, you should have 2-4 posts published and ready for people to read.

This is enough content to look “official” and let people explore your site.

But not too much content that it gets hidden and never seen.

2-4 articles is also a realist amount of content for you to write as a new blogger.

A lot of people wonder what type of blog posts they should write as their first articles. Your first blog posts don’t have to be anything special or an introduction. Write content that fits inside your blog’s core categories and serves your future audience.

When writing your initial 2-4 articles, try to write one for each of the categories you plan on writing about. That way people get a taste of all the different topics you will be publishing posts about.

Don’t stress too much about these posts being perfect. You can always go back and edit or fix things later. The goal is to actually go live with your new blog!

An additional 2-4 in your drafts, ready to go

Just as important as the number of posts you go live with is the content you will publish after launching. Once you hit publish and go live with your blog – you’re a blogger.

There’s a lot of moving pieces with being a blogger. You’ll need to spend time marketing your blog posts and engaging with your audience.

That is why it is important to have a few blog posts drafted and ready to publish after you launch your blog. Having 2-4 additional articles in your drafts folder will help you consistently publish new content.

Doing this will help you stay ahead of a posting schedule. This way you are not frantically trying to create new content.

Consistency as a new blogger is important.

Your blog will grow as you continue to create and publish new content.

Make sure to have 2-4 post in drafts when you launch your blog. You’ll thank me later.

Publish at least one post a week after that

Once you go live with your blog, you should aim to publish at least one blog post a week. Two if you have more time and you are comfortable with that pace.

As a new blogger, the most important thing for you to work on is building your content foundation and engaging with your audience. When you launch with the Ideal Launch you will set yourself up to successfully stay on top of publishing new content.

Get writing!

There you have it. You now know how many posts you should write before launching your blog. The answer is four. Or, at least four.

• You’ll have 2-4 articles live on your blog on launch day
• You’ll have 2-4 more in drafts (which could help you be a month a head of content!)
• You’ll be ready to publish at least one blog post every week!

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STEP 10 – LAUNCH YOUR BLOG

Let’s talk about the 6 steps to launching your blog successfully:

Site Title + Tagline

Before you launch your blog, make sure to set a “Title and Tagline.”

Cornerstone Content

Now it’s time to create some content for your blog launch.

You want to make sure you’ve got a few pieces of cornerstone content prepared and ready to go for your launch. So that once you click that live button on your blog, your first visitor has something to admire and read through.

“Cornerstone content is the core of your website. It consists of the best, most important articles on your site; the pages or posts you want to rank highest in the search engines”

Menu + Categories

I suggest you create a straightforward and easy navigation on your blog right from the start.

An easy menu and clear categories will make it so much easier to search your blog once it grows.

Your menu should include your main categories and most important blog pages like an about me page, work with me page, and legal pages.

About me Page

I don’t recommend blogging anonymously.

Yeah, I know it can be uncomfortable to put your face out there, but blogging is personal.

If we wanted to learn stuff from a faceless company, we would. Instead, we rather check out a blog where we know there’s a real person behind it.

Your personal story is one of the most important aspects that make up your blog. Your story connects you with your readers and inspires them. You are what makes your blog unique. It’s the one thing that’ll make you stand out in this online ocean of people screaming at the top of their lungs without being heard.

Legalities

You’ll need things like a privacy policy, cookie policy, a blog disclaimer, and an affiliate disclaimer (if you use affiliate links).

When you’re not having these policies in place once you launch your blog, you’re violating the law.

Email

If you’re planning on growing a little side hustle from your blog, then starting an email list for your blog will be the thing that moves the needle.

There you have it!

Now you can launch your blog successfully!

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THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND:

• Blogging is a longterm game and it takes time to build up domain authority.
• It requires consistency, discipline, and hard work.
• Don’t overthink your design, photos, and overall look – it won’t be perfect and you will get better at it, stick to the design you’ve chosen for at least 5 months before you change it, and focus on creating and writing content.
• In other words, avoid perfectionism.
• It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the beginning – there is SO much to do and you’re most likely a one-woman show.
• Start out by tackling one task at a time and learn as you go.
• Self-doubt and fear is normal – don’t fall for it, it does not mean anything has gone wrong. Stick to your why and keep going!
• You can do this.

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NEXT STEPS…

Once you have successfully set up and launched your blog your next focus should be on growing traffic and eventually monetizing it.

Don’t try and tackle everything at once.

Make sure you spend some time getting familiar with your blog and the blogging world. Write your 10 first blog posts, drive a little traffic through Pinterest and then dive deep into gaining even more traffic to your blog.

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GETTING TRAFFIC

The very best way to gain a solid amount of traffic to your blog is through Pinterest.

Pinterest is a social platform but also a search engine. 

It can be a little overwhelming in the beginning and it takes a while to get the strategies right. Because of this, you’ll spend your money wisely if you decide to invest in a solid Pinterest course. 

Scheduling Shortcuts [Hacks for the New Pinterest Algorithm] is the online course I enrolled in to help boost my traffic to over 200,000 monthly pageviews and 10K daily pageviews after only blogging for less than a year.

It has been, in other words, insanely helpful. 

Pinterest is amazing for beginners, and you can begin to drive a solid amount of traffic to your new blog quickly – if you do it right (hence the course).

There are a lot of unwritten rules to follow when it comes to Pinterest and you don’t want to risk getting banned from the platform – it’s such a hassle to get your account reactivated.

When you just starting out with blogging, Pinterest is the way to go for traffic.

Getting authority on Google takes a while, so your best bet is to drive traffic from Pinterest in the beginning. Google comes later if you stay committed and consistent with your content.

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MONETIZE YOUR BLOG

This step should not be rushed.

It’s important that you drive some consistent traffic to your blog first and get the hang of everything before you go into monetization.

When you are ready, the first thing you need to do is sign up for an email service so you can start collecting emails and subscribers.

The money is in the list.

Flodesk is the service I use and I’m obsessed with how easy it is to use and manage.

You can try it for free for 14 days using my special link.

There are other email services out there, like MailChimp and Drip f.ex but I only know Flodesk and it’s the only service I am familiar with and therefore can recommend.

Plus, their customer service is so great, quick and helpful.

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INVEST IN YOURSELF & YOUR BLOG

The blogging world can be somewhat of a jungle for a newbie.

The best investment I ever did for my blog was to invest in a blogging coach and in a proper online course that provided me with the most amazing value for my money.

If you want to do it right and learn from a six-figure blogger, hiring a blogging coach or taking a course is great to get a head start and learn the right strategies upfront. 

Totally worth the bucks spent.

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RESOURCES FOR GROWING & MONETIZING YOUR BLOG:

• 1:1 Blog Coaching Program
• Tailwind For Bloggers
• Siteground for Domain Purchasing
• Showit for Website Design
• Pinterest Course

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WHAT TO READ NEXT:

• Best Tips for Selling Anything on Your Blog
• PODCAST – Why Most Bloggers Haven’t Even Made a $1
• Why Showit is the Best for New Bloggers
• PODCAST – Why You’re Not Making Money Blogging (5 Reasons)
• PODCAST – I Would Have Made Money Blogging a Lot Faster if I Just Did THIS