So you want to start a blog! It seems like everyone is blogging these days, whether it’s a full-time job or a side project. Blogging is a great way to share your passion, connect with others and potentially generate some extra income. If you work really hard it could even become a full-time gig! If you have some extra time on your hands and you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, I recommend you go for it. But, there are some important things to know first. This post won’t cover technical advice such as hosting platforms, how to do SEO, etc, but rather practical things to keep in mind as you begin your blogging journey.

I’ve been blogging for about five years, and there are A LOT of things I wish I knew before I started. While it may seem like starting a blog is straightforward, if you want to set out for success, there are some things to keep in mind. It took me about two years of stumbling and figuring stuff out before I felt comfortable. About two to three years in I started seeing solid readership numbers and money coming in. If you’ve been wanting to start a blog, I recommend you keep these tips in mind and give it a try. Here are my tips and advice for starting a blog.

Figure out your niche

Your “niche” is the topic of your blog, and it’s very important to figure this out before you get started. Are you going to blog about travel, cooking, yoga, fashion? You may think you can write about many different topics but typically that isn’t a great idea when you’re starting out. Choosing a specific niche will help you with a myriad of things. Most importantly it will ensure you’re laser-focused on one topic and that people know what to go to you for. If you cover many different topics it could confuse people. If you niche down even further, for example you don’t just cover cooking but specifically vegan cooking, people will know exactly where to go when they need a new vegan recipe. Once you’ve established yourself you can start to branch out a little because you’ll hopefully have a solid readership that knows your core focus. I created my blog to focus on travel and now I add in some lifestyle and fashion posts.

Think about the future

You need to look towards the future and be really thoughtful when starting a blog. The ultimate goal is that you’ll be blogging for years to come and you don’t want to dig yourself into a hole you can’t get out of. Meaning, think about yourself and your blog five years from now. Is it a subject you can still talk about? Is your blog name timeless? Are you pigeonholing yourself into a niche that won’t grow with you? For example, avoid picking a name with your location in it, your age or anything else that can easily change. For example “Crafting from Dallas” is not a great DIY blog name because you may have to move from Dallas one day. “My Twenty-Something Life” is not a good lifestyle blog name because you will eventually turn 30.

This is something I did not do when I started. I rebranded my blog THREE TIMES before I landed on My Darling Passport. I started with the blog name Pearls and Parm where I wanted to cover fashion and food (not niche enough and what if my style changed from preppy pearls or I went Vegan?), then I rebranded to The Gramercy Girl (named after my NYC neighborhood, but what if I moved). Finally I rebranded to My Darling Passport (travel niche, a timeless name and a brand I could do a lot with in the future). If you do end up having to rebrand it isn’t the end of the world, but it does take a lot of time and you could lose followers, so best to avoid if you can.

Get on all channels

One of the most important things you’ll do as a new blogger is promoting your website and setting yourself up to generate multiple streams of income and followers. To do this you’ll need to get on social media channels. In addition to your website I recommend having a Pinterest and Instagram at the bare minimum. TikTok is becoming incredibly popular too, and YouTube is great (although can be a lot of work). Some bloggers have Twitter and Facebook and while I have secured those accounts for my blog name I don’t really use them.

After you select your blog name make sure you get the same name across all of your social channels. If you can’t secure the same name it’s ok, but try to get as close as possible or at least write your blog name in the bio and link to it. You’ll be using these social media channels to connect with others, share your blog posts and create related content. For example, I use Pinterest to promote my posts and it can drive a ton of traffic. Create a few different pin designs for each post and get on TailWind (a Pinterest scheduling tool) to maximize your pin reach. On Instagram I connect with other bloggers, readers, and share my posts. Instagram is also great to show behind the scenes and engage people in real time. Let your personality shine here!

Make connections, community over competition

This is incredibly important and something I still need to remind myself. It’s inevitable that you will see bloggers getting more followers, making more money and creating content you want to make but can’t. It can be hard to not let feelings of jealousy and competition take over. Do NOT let this happen. You need to look at your fellow bloggers as your community and people you can learn from. Start making connections and building friendships.

I did not make any “blog friends” or real connections for my first couple years. Not because I didn’t want to, I just didn’t know how or that it was a thing. I was also a bit shy and felt awkward reaching out to other bloggers. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started connecting IRL with my blogger friends, planning trips together, talking over text, taking photos together, sharing contacts and pitching brands together. Don’t be like me! Start making these connections immediately. Once I did this and built up my blogger friend support system it became so much more fun and I found more success.

If you see a blogger you admire, reach out via Instagram DM! Keep in mind that if someone has a large following they may not have the time to get back to you or meet for coffee, but even chatting over DM can be helpful. I recommend looking for bloggers in your niche with a similar follower count and start reaching out and making connections. Suggest a meet up, ask for advice, share what you’ve learned, offer to take photos together. Don’t be scared to reach out, everyone does it and making these connections and friendships has been the best part of blogging. Aside from making new friends and building a support system, promoting each other on social media could help you get more followers and pitching together could help you land collaborations you wouldn’t get on your own.

YouTube tutorials are your friend

I am definitely not “tech-y.” Starting a blog and all of the technology and computer know-how that it involved was incredibly daunting. YouTube tutorials to the rescue! If there was something I didn’t know how to do I would google and follow video tutorials. Pretty much everything you’ll need to know to get set up has been covered at length by others; use this to your advantage. It may take a few tries and you will definitely have some long nights getting yourself up and running, but once the foundational legwork is done you’ll be in maintenance mode and can focus on writing your posts.

Joining Facebook groups for bloggers can also be very helpful. Look for Facebook groups in your niche with a lot of members. These groups are usually private and require you to answer questions to be admitted. Once you’re in you should find a group of likeminded bloggers who are all looking to help each other with tips, advice and suggestions. You can ask your question and get quick insight and also use the group as a search engine to see what other members have asked previously.

Just get started

If you’ve been wanting to start a blog, just do it. Don’t let analysis paralysis take over. I’m definitely guilty of this. I thought about starting a blog for over a year before I finally did it. I debated my name, my niche, what my friends would say, if I’d be successful, etc. If I just started when I first wanted to, I would be one year ahead of where I am today.

Of course you need to be thoughtful (like I said, think about your name and your niche) but don’t let the decision making slow you down. You can always rebrand, switch your hosting, tweak your photo and writing style as you go. And some of that will come with just doing it and seeing what feels right. There is no better time than right now to start and see where it takes you. Maybe you’ll realize blogging isn’t for you, but at least you tried. Maybe you’ll love it and find success. You never know, so just start!

If you have any specific questions about blogging, I’m here to help! Shoot me an email at Caitlin@mydarlingpassport.com or send me a DM on Instagram!