It can be incredibly daunting to start blogging in this day and age, especially as so many people have years of experience behind them. I myself have been blogging for four years but only recently just starting a fresh new blog! A lot of blogging guides really get into the technical elements of a blog, such as SEO or how to increase your DA score. But how do you actually start blogging?
This post will hopefully give you a bit more information as to how to start blogging. I will talk about the apps you need, what websites work best for me, and everything in between! I am in no way a professional blogger but thought I’d share the very basic tips that will help everyone kick start their blogging journey.
Why blogging?
If you want a way of making money quick, no matter what you’ve read online, blogging is not the way. It takes a lot of time to get to the stage where you are earning money. Despite this, blogging does have so many benefits. For me, it gives me a place to be creative and to write, filling up the time I have in the day that would otherwise be spent watching TV. It is a really good hobby to have as it is super easy and really fun!
Find a platform
Like a lot of other bloggers, I blog on WordPress. I did try Blogger back in the day but I love the amount of customisation WordPress gives you, plus it’s completely free to set up! You get to pick from a variety of themes and decide on your domain name, which will end in ‘.wordpress.com’, although you can upgrade this.
I think WordPress is the best platform to use like so many other bloggers use it, so you can really grow your audience and get your engagement up. Other sites often ask you to sign up to leave a comment, which can be quite off-putting, and, as one of the most popular platforms, WordPress will mean there is nothing preventing people from commenting!
Pick your niche
Okay, so this one isn’t really necessary in my opinion. When you are first getting started, it’s always good to experiment with different posts and subjects. Rather than stress and focus on putting out specific content, have fun with it! My blog has changed so much over the years and is constantly adapting to reflect my personality. Don’t feel guilty about changing it up every now and then!
Pick a catchy but simple name
It’s good to try and settle on a blog name at the start of your blogging journey. A little hypocritical of me as I have changed my name so many times myself! Something catchy and simply will be easy to remember, but try to make it quite unique! This way you can secure the same name across your social media accounts and it’ll be easier to find you! If you can’t have the same, try to keep them similar sounding! For instance, my blog is itshannahcatherine but my social media is itshancatherine!
TIP: Try not to change your domain name too many times!
Settle on a nice, clean theme
You can have whatever kind of theme you like with WordPress, though there are only a few free themes with a limited amount of customisation. For me, I prefer reading blogs that are clean and bright, as it’s much more satisfying to scroll through and really appealing on the eye! You can also buy some themes but, if you are just starting out, I don’t recommend spending any money for the first couple of months just in case blogging isn’t for you!
Get on social media
I personally use Twitter way more than Instagram, as I find the latter really hard to grow on and share my new posts. The blogging community on Twitter is full of super sweet people who will always be happy to engage with your posts, so long as you engage back!
Once you set your account up, have a little scroll through and be sure to follow some bloggers! I personally follow all other bloggers back as I love to keep my feed fresh and be constantly exposed to new content! If I do forget to follow, just drop me a DM and I’d be happy to do so!
Follow blogger accounts
Blogger accounts are typically big Twitter accounts that have been set up to share, retweet and engage with bloggers! Everyday there are new threads that will allow you to post your latest blog post, allowing other people to comment on it! It’s always polite to comment back on their new ones, as us bloggers should really be supporting each other!
Some of my favourite blogger accounts are listed below:
There are also lots of hashtags that will improve your engagement:
- #BloggersHutRT
- #teacupclub
- #theclqrt
- #cosybloggersclub
Get writing
The beauty of social media is that bloggers are always sharing their new posts. This also means there is a ton of blogging inspiration out there. If you are stuck on what to write, have a little browse or do some research! I find some basic but popular posts include self-care tips or your favourite books/beauty products/films!
Use high-quality images
Did you know that a lot of bloggers (myself included) rely on stock images for our blogs? You didn’t? Well, there you go! Stock images are a great way to stick to a particular theme. If you aren’t good at photography, don’t worry! There are so many free sites that provide you with an endless amount of images you can use on your blog. I personally have a mix on mine as I LOVE taking photos but, as I have just moved home and am in the process of decorating, I really don’t have the time to take photos, plus most of my stuff is packed away!
Here are some of my favourite sites to use for stock images:
Apps you need
For beginner bloggers, if you are going for a WordPress blog, I recommend downloading the WordPress app. This way you can keep an eye on your blog on the go and even write posts during the day! I also recommend Twitter and Instagram, though as I said I don’t really use Instagram, but it’s a fun one to have! I am nowhere near being a Pinterest Goddess yet, but having this little red app on your phone can give you some inspiration, plus you can eventually learn to share your own posts and boost engagement!
Have fun!
Don’t forget to have fun! I really don’t recommend taking blogging seriously when you begin. You will make lots of mistakes and it’s essentially trial and error! You will experiment and make changes along the way, so I really wouldn’t worry about numbers to begin with! Just focus on creating content and start your journey in the blogging world!
Recap:
- Engage with other blogs on Twitter
- Find your niche but don’t be afraid to experiment
- Don’t spend any money for the first few months
- Use stock images if you can’t take your own
- Have fun!
As a fairly new blogger (1 month in) I really appreciate posts like this as they help me learn and grow in new ways as I begin to hone blogging skills. Thanks for sharing this – I hope this helps other future bloggers as well 🙂
Ah welcome to the blogging community! There are so many great resources out there but I thought I’d get the simple things out the way, as other posts I read tend to be quite complicated! I hope you enjoy your blogging journey xx
Great tips! It’s great to have this kind of advice when your just starting out. I’ve had my blog for around 2 years, but didn’t take it too seriously the first year. As you suggested, i wanted to make sure it was what i wanted to do before i invested tonnes of time and energy.
Ah thank you! I really enjoy reading your blog, it’s very informative so all that time and energy has for sure paid off!
Ah that’s lovely of you to say. It’s nice to have some feedback. Thank you!
You are very welcome!
I swear not many people realize how hard blogging can be. It’s fun but definitely not easy! Thank you for this post. It helps out a lot!
If you aren’t hobby blogging, it is very difficult but it doesn’t need to be! I think once it starts feeling like work, that’s when you go from blogging for fun to blogging to earn!
Amazing post! I wish I’d seen a post like this when I started blogging! These are definitely all of the important steps to do when starting a blog! Thanks for sharing this as it will be very useful to lots of new bloggers!
Thank you very much! I’m glad the post contains important steps and hope it can encourage people to start blogging!
Yes to all of these points, especially the have fun one! It’s so important to enjoy what you’re doing when it comes to blogging xx
Absolutely agree! As blogging does take up so much time, it’s so important to ensure you love what you are doing!
I came to the wonderful blogging community on Twitter after I started my writing space, meandered, and then became consistent and passionate about sharing what I write. I love Unsplash for images, but Pexels is a close second. 🙂
Twitter really is the best! I’m so glad you found the blogging community and can see that you have a lot of supporters! Your writing is amazing!
I love how you talk about the actual blogging part and what all to be ready with! We often forget to mention these steps in guides because we go to higher concepts like SEO and DA while beginners would require info on ~everything~, even what we consider as basic.
Absolutely! That’s exactly why I made it a super basic guide, just to get all of the simple things out the way! They might not be obvious to someone just starting so, once they get this out of the way, they can build on it!
Back when I started blogging, I couldn’t find a guide as good as this one and I did a lot of it without any support. This is going to help so many bloggers, I know it!
Rosoe
That’s so sweet, thank you! I’ve had such a lovely response from this, I’m really glad it can be of some use!
Some amazing advice for anyone who wants to start blogging! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you Lucy! I appreciate the comment and hope I can help some new bloggers start their blogging journey!
Great tips for anyone new to the blogging world, I was blown away by how big the blogging community is/ was on Twitter when I first started. Definitely a great way to get traffic in the early days too x
Thank you for your lovely comment! I was exactly the same, I really didn’t realise how many people actually blog! I think it’s such a positive community to be a part of, I would encourage anyone to blog if they want to start! I’m hoping this post will help them get started!
Such a handy post for anyone new to the blogging world. Twitter is one of my favourite things about blogging as I love the community on there!
Tash – A Girl with a View
I feel exactly the same way! Twitter is an incredibly place to chat with other bloggers and grow your audience!
Great tips! I totally agree that it’s important to find a niche, but to remain open to new ideas. And yes…. experiment! My blog has also evolved through the years. Twitter has really helped my blog grow and has given me opportunities to share my post and engage with other bloggers.
I’m so glad you like the post! Twitter really is great for sharing ideas! My favourite thing to do is research new ideas and look at some of the amazing blogs out there!
Totally agree with your first point. Blogging isn’t going to make you any fast cash but it is fulfilling in other ways. I’ve enjoyed watching my blog grow over time, but I still write for me and as a creative outlet.
It’ll be great to eventually make some money blogging, but it’s fun to watch how your writing develops! It’s the only way I get to be creative but it’s such a good outlet for it! I love how I can literally change everything and anything about individual posts and pages!
Great tips! I’ve recently started blogging so posts like this really help me out. Thank you so much!
Welcome to the blogging community! I’m glad this post provided some tips for you!
Super interesting post Hannah!! And i can’t agree more, specially the thing of being in touch with other bloggers 😉
have a lovely weekend!
xxx
Eli | Curly Style
Other bloggers are super lovely, I think this is probably the most important tip! Hope you had a lovely weekend!
I wish this was around when we started! We had the first 3-4 months were we knew absolutely nothing and this could have come in handy, but it’s definitely great for the new bloggers around 🙂
Well you have a lovely blog now! I could of used exactly the same thing when I started, just a simple beginners guide, so I’m so glad I’m getting such a good response!