Monday Moments: What to do Before You Start a Blog

Let’s talk business this Monday, shall we? I started Monday Moments a while back to share personal stories and overall tips and tricks in order to inspire you and help out as much as I can. Over the last few months, I’ve seen a few DM’s and messages trickle in wanting insight on how to start a blog but before we dive into that (I’ll save it for another blog post), I want to share a few things with you to do BEFORE you even start your blog. Let’s get right to it and as always, I try to be an open book so ask me as many questions as you want and I’ll answer them to the best of my ability!

5 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU START A BLOG

RESEARCH

Take the time and actually look at a lot of other blogs (I really do mean, A LOT) and nitpick each thing about it and see what you like and don’t like. Check out their photography, site design, overall aesthetic, writing style, formatting, etc. I heavily recommend diversifying your research and look into a lot of different bloggers to help with your overall perspective in the industry as well as widen your mind a bit when it comes to fashion, beauty, home decor, travel, etc.

Tip:

• Check out who you already follow on Instagram or Pinterest and work from there!

WRITE THINGS DOWN

Just start writing! Write about what you love, where your passion lies, what drives you, what color you like, where’s your favorite place to travel, what you like to do, your hobbies and all that good stuff. This will help you identify who you are and get a better understanding of what you want your blog to be about. This may also help you choose a blog name too!

Tip:

• Start out writing vague and broad things and trickle your way down into more detail.

LEARN BASIC HTML and SEO

You don’t necessarily need to know a ton about HTML and SEO since there are powerful blogging platforms out there today. However, it’s definitely helpful to have a basic understanding and a few skills to help you navigate through your blog on an every day basis.

P.S. – In short, SEO (search engine optimization) makes sure Google and other search engines can find your stuff. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your blog and help you overall achieve your goals with your blog so I would definitely look into SEO and learning more about it before even starting your blog! SEO is all about optimizing your website so that all different kinds of search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) will authenticate you as a reliable source and place your website on their search list!

Tip:

• Google and YouTube will be your best friend! I’m sure there are classes you can take but that’s excessive unless you want to be a tech expert. Watch a few videos and blog articles about HTML and SEO and bam, you’re already a step ahead of the game!

FIND YOUR NICHE

What makes you different? Let’s face it. The industry is as saturated as can be now and in order to make waves through it, you HAVE to be unique. There’s definitely room for all of us but if you really want to be successful in the industry, find out what makes you standout from the crowd and put that into writing, your photos, your editing style, etc. Finding your niche can be tough but so rewarding once you square things out.

Tips:

• Ask your closest friends or family members what they think makes you unique.
• Write your general hobbies and passion down on a piece of paper and a get a better understanding of who you are.
• Look at other blogs and see if you can add something to it and fill in a gap in the industry.
• Ask yourself what your strengths are. There are quite a few bloggers out there that share the best finds and deals but it may be that you’re REALLY good at it and you can stand out by the work you do.

SET A SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE & BE CONSISTENT

One of the best ways to grow your business is by being consistent. It sounds pretty easy, simple and cliché but my goodness I can’t express how important it is to be organized, have a set schedule and actually be consistent in posting. Don’t get me wrong, breaks are necessary in any career and you’re allowed vacation time but overall try and get a better idea of how you’re going to make time to blog, when you’re going to be able to shoot photos, edit and write, and how often you’re able to post. Your readers will want to know a typical schedule that you have for posting and will look forward to reading/seeing your work!

I hope these 5 tips on what to do before starting your blog helps you get going! As I was writing this, I realized I should share a few tips on what you should KNOW before you start blogging so I’ll work on that post for you that will go live next Monday! 💙 If you liked reading this, let me know and I’ll incorporate more blogging tips in my blog posts from now on! I hope you all have a great Monday and don’t forget to enter the giveaway down below! Chat soon, loves!

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