Preparing for starting and building a new blog

Having your own blog is like a superpower; you own your content and ultimately control how everything works, looks, and feels. Unlike social media, publishing content on your blog keeps you in charge of content, publishing, and sharing your content.

However, starting your own blog is not as easy as creating an account on a social media platform and publishing content; a lot more goes into starting your blog.

For simplicity, starting a blog could be narrowed down to two categories; starting a niche blog and starting a lifestyle blog. Both options have their advantages and don’t necessarily exclude one another. Lifestyle blogs tend to have more freedom on what type of content you can publish and how often, even though no strict rules say so.

How to find a niche for your new blog?

Finding a niche can be hard when you want to start a new blog. For blogging, it’s fundamental to provide valuable content that readers want to read. This means that your niche should somehow try to answer what your readers are looking for.

What is a niche blog?

A niche blog is a blog that focuses on a specific topic, industry, or interest. Your niche should be narrow enough that it’s not too broad but also not so small that there aren’t enough people interested in it. For example, a blog about dogs would be too comprehensive, but a blog about Shih Tzus would be just the right size.

Is niche necessary for blogging?

No, you don’t need to have a niche for your blog to succeed. However, finding a niche can help you in a few ways:

• It can make finding an audience for your blog easier because you’re targeting a specific group of people.
• It can make it easier to develop content ideas because you have a specific focus.
• It can make your blog more unique and help you stand out.

If you’re starting, I recommend you take some time to think about what you want to write about on your blog. Once you have an idea of your interests, you can start to narrow down your focus and find a niche.

Find your niche

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, here are a few places where you can look for inspiration:

• Your hobbies and interests
• Your work or industry
• Problems that you want to solve
• A cause that you’re passionate about

Exploring trends is also great for finding growing topics and niches to write and blog about. You can use tools such as Google Trends and Pinterest Predicts to discover and explore trending topics.

Once you’ve found a few ideas you’re interested in, it’s time to start researching. Google is your friend here! Try searching for your topic + “blog” or “niche blog” to see what comes up. This will give you a good idea of what’s already out there and what you need to do to make your blog unique.

Now that you know more about niche blogging, it’s time to decide if it’s right for you. If you have a specific focus that you want to write about, go for it!

The most important thing is that you enjoy writing and provide valuable content for your readers.

Choosing a name for your blog

Once you’ve decided on a focus for your blog, it’s time to start thinking about a name. This is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your blog because it will be how people remember and find you online.

How to name a blog?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a name for your blog:

• Keep it simple and easy to remember.
• Make sure the domain name is available.
• Your name should be reflective of your niche.
• Avoid using numbers or hyphens.

Take some time to brainstorm a few ideas and then run them by a friend or family member to get their opinion.

There is also an excellent free tool I like to use when brainstorming new niche blog names to see if the name is available across all the social media platforms. The tool is called namechekr.com.

Doing keyword research

After you have a list of potential names for your blog, it’s time to start doing keyword research. Keyword research is crucial because it will help you understand what people are searching for online and how you can make your content more visible in search engines.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is finding and analyzing keywords people use to search for information online. By understanding what keywords are used, you can ensure that your content is more visible in the search engines and that you’re reaching your target audience.

How to do keyword research?

There are a few different ways to do keyword research, but my favorite is using Google Keyword Planner. Keyword Planner is a free tool that allows you to see how many people are searching for a particular keyword and how much competition there is for that keyword.

Other mentionable premium keyword research and search engine optimization tools are Semrush and Ahrefs. Semrush and Ahrefs are the most extensive and advanced SEO tools today that help you optimize your blog and website for search engines.

Creating a content plan

Now that you’ve done your keyword research, it’s time to create a content plan. A content plan is a list of topics you want to write about on your blog. This can be as general or specific as you like, but I recommend starting with a broad overview of what you want to cover.

What is content planning?

Content planning is creating a list of topics you want to write about on your blog. Creating a content plan is a helpful way to organize your thoughts and ensure that you cover all the bases in your blog.

Why do you need a content plan?

A content plan can be helpful for a few different reasons:

• It can help you to stay organized and on track.
• It can give you ideas for new content.
• It can help you to measure your progress.

How to create a content plan?

There are a few different ways to create a content plan, but my favorite is using a spreadsheet. I like to use a spreadsheet because it allows me to see everything at a glance and add new ideas as I think of them.

Once you have your content plan, it’s time to start writing! But before diving in, you need to keep a few final things in mind…

Building a website

Building a website (blog) is the most crucial technical enabler for starting a niche blog. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to make your website (blog), but choosing the right way to do so can be quite hard.

Some websites require more technical knowledge and experience than others. Starting a WordPress website (blog) can be considered pretty straightforward and beginner-friendly, although it might not be the best solution out there.

My preference for starting a new blog is always static websites, which require no server, no maintenance, are very secure, and are very fast. The only downside to using a static website for your blog is that it requires a lot of technical knowledge and even some coding skills.

Whichever solutions you choose to go with for building your blog, there are a few principles that you have to think about when you launch your website (blog).

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most important things to consider when building a website (blog).

SEO allows you to make your website (blog) visible on search engines like Google and Bing. The better your SEO, the more likely people will find your blog.

To improve your SEO, you need to choose the right keywords for your posts and improve the speed and performance of your website.

You also need to ensure that your website is responsive (mobile-friendly) as more and more people are using their phones to browse the internet.

Web design

Your web design is also essential for your SEO. A well-designed website will help you rank higher on search engines.

A good web design is also crucial for the user experience.

Your website should be easy to navigate and look good on all devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile).

You need a good design if you want people to stay on your website and read your content.

User experience

The user experience is the most important thing for a website. User experience means how your users experience your website, as the name suggests.

You want your users to have a good experience visiting your website. You want them to stay on your website and read your content.

A good user experience is essential for SEO because it will help you rank higher on search engines. It is also vital for the conversion rate.

A good user experience means your website is easy to use and navigate.

Schedule and marketing

Your schedule is one of the most important things to consider when starting a blog. How often are you going to be able to post new content? Once a week? Twice a week? It’s essential to be realistic about how much time you can commit to blogging.

Another thing to think about is marketing. There are many different ways to market a blog, but some of the most popular include social media marketing, guest posting, and search engine optimization. How are you going to get people to read your blog? One option is to use a tool called Tailwind, which allows you to create marketing material quickly and schedule posts with automation on some social media platforms.

All of these things are important to consider before you start a blog. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is to start writing. The best way to learn how to blog is by doing it. So don’t overthink it; start writing and see where it takes you!