“What things to know before starting a blog in 2024?”
When I think about the fact that I’ve been blogging for five years, it reminds me how much my thought process has changed towards blogging.
I started as a hobby blogger, as most bloggers do, and didn’t see the potential of running a blog for anything other than the joy of writing.
There are a number of things I wish I knew before starting a blog, but that’s the joy of hindsight.
Over the 4 years, I’ve had 2 failed blogs that in hindsight, make sense as to why they failed, I was doing everything completely wrong.
I decided in 2020 to create Passive Blogger and in the recent 2 years of this blog being live, it’s already more successful than my other two failed attempts.
I am extremely glad those two blogs failed as I have learned so much from the process and found my real passion.
In this post, I have listed 10 things I wish I knew before starting a blog, that really help you to make your blog better!
Let’s drive in!
What Things to Know Before Starting a Blog in 2024?
Here are a few things you need to know before starting a blog from scratch.
1. Choose a Niche Wisely
The first ever blog that I released to the world of blogging was called Bestbuycapm.com, and it has no direction whatsoever.
Before you search for it, I have taken the site down to save myself from the embarrassment.
On my first blog, I would have written about a number of things such as lifestyle, health, fashion, fitness, hair care, recipes, and more.
When the reality was that I wasn’t interested in any of it. I just wanted something to write about. I also wrote about personal pieces, for example, if I went to the beach… I would write about it.
Exciting stuff I know.
Honestly, blogging doesn’t work that way, you have to find something that you’re interested in as well as profitable.
The moral of the story, When you start your blogging journey, choose a profitable niche that you can write about that you are honestly interested in.
And keep in mind, Blogging is a commitment and it makes a lot easier if you enjoy what you’re writing out.
2. Keyword Research for All Your Post
When I started my third blog, I finally found a niche that I enjoyed writing about.
This is when I found out about keyword research. Meaning I had created 2 previous blogs and never used keyword research.
I had taken a course for SEO by Rand Fishkin and I had never heard of SEO or keyword research before but thought it was time to up my blogging game.
When I say my jaw dropped is an understatement. How had I not heard of this?
Advice: Start using keyword research the moment you create a blog. There are a number of tools out there such as SEMRush that make it easy to research keywords and the difficulty for ranking on Google.
3. Audit Your Blog from the Beginning
When it comes to your site health, this plays a vital part in SEO. If you’re looking to build your bounce rate better, you need to make your blog easy to use and quick.
I even made this blogging mistake with Bestbuycapm and didn’t have a blog audit done until 16 months into my site going live.
I was shocked by the list of things that was wrong with my blog when I thought my site was running correctly.
I knew when I started Passive Blogger that I wanted to audit my blog at least once a month but decided to teach myself how to do it. My site’s health is in very good condition because of this.
Advice: Even if you’re a new blogger, have your site audited. If you don’t have the time to do the audit yourself and the resources, you can pay someone to do it for you.
4. You Can Make Money From the Beginning
With my previous blogs, I never made any real money because I believed that I had to have at least 20,000 views per month to start making an income from my blog.
In my five years of blogging, I have made more from Passive Blogger than I ever have with my past blogs.
Although my site is relatively new, I have implemented all the correct strategies and I am able to make an income from my blog, from the beginning.
Advice: Don’t wait for a year to pass before you look into monetizing your blog. There are multiple avenues you can explore when you create a blog.
Start applying for affiliate programs and insert links throughout your posts. Also, offer client services and build relationships within your niche.
5. Create an Email Opt-in Form the Beginning
I never understood email marketing or its benefits. Why would I need an email list when I was promoting my blog on social media?
As algorithms changed in 2020, my blog started to drop views like flies, but I wasn’t doing anything different. I then realized I didn’t have an email list to fall back on.
An email list is free to create at the beginning but I still didn’t create one.
I then created a killer email opt-in for Passive Blogger and I now gain email subscribers daily. I now have access to my subscribers no matter the algorithm changes.
Advice: Create an email list from the beginning. There are a number of free platforms out there for the first 1000 subscribers such as:
6. Invest in Your Blog & Yourself
When I started blogging, I was using the free blogging platform of Blogger.com, I think it was free or it was very cheap, and it was good at the time as I had no experience with WordPress but as you can guess my blog didn’t go anywhere.
I didn’t need it to go anywhere, it wasn’t an expense to me.
When I started Passive Blogger, I knew I wanted to monetize the blog, and to fuel the fire, I invested in myself and my blog.
I used a self-hosting platform, I used a paid theme, and purchased different courses to educate myself.
Advice: Invest in yourself and your blog. Although free options are great, you need to believe that you are going to make a return from your blog.
If you are not going to spend any money until you make money, you’re going to be waiting a while.
I’m not saying you have to spend $500 on a course, but start out small. E-Books are a great start and are more affordable than courses.
7. Work On SEO
When I created my first two blogs, I never knew what SEO was. I didn’t realize it was possible to rank on Google. I thought that was just for big sites like Facebook and Pinterest.
By the time I found out what SEO was, my sites were of no interest to me. I didn’t have the passion to fix them.
To give you an example, I ran Bestbuycapm.com full-time for 6 months, I was putting in a lot of work, but just the wrong work, and my DA remained at 1 even after those 6 months.
I was putting in the work but why wasn’t my site moving?
I then learned how to use SEO correctly.
The result Passive Blogger has been live for less than 2 months old and the DA of 4. It’s about working smarter, not harder.
Advice: Start working on SEO from the beginning as it will pay off. Working on your SEO will help you rank on Google more quickly and allow your site passive traffic, which is the dream for bloggers.
Putting in that effort from the beginning is going to make the rest of the journey a whole lot easier.
8. Blogging going to take time
Be Patience! Blogging is not a quick rich game, it takes time, and effort to grow your blog and make money. Blogging takes time, I mean time besides the actual construction of the blog.
There are many blogging works you need to do, for example; writing a blog post, putting up content on social media, researching for the article, or maybe trying to connect with other bloggers.
The main point is, there is always something to do as a blogger whether you blog part-time or full-time.
However, if you want to write up quality content for your audience, then you have to put in the time.
Are you ready for that blogging commitment?
If YES! Good luck and Go Ahead!
Advice: Be patient! Your blog is not going to make money overnight. Good things take time, so, building a strong foundation for your blog is the best thing that you need to focus on early on.
9. Prepare Content Before Launch Your Blog
I spent so much time working on other aspects of the blog, but I often forgot about the actual articles I need to write… Such an amateur blogging mistake.
When My launch date was coming up, and I wanted to stick with a blog frequency so badly that I launched my blog with only 6 posts.
So there was 6 blog post on my blog and driving all the traffic to my new blog and creating all this excitement around it as a result a high bounce rate (which means people who simply left my blog quickly because there was nothing there for them).
The confusion since the posts don’t actually narrate what my blog is about.
Advice: If you’re going to put all that effort into making a memorable first impression, don’t overlook the first articles.
And have 10 to 20 prewritten blog posts since you announce your website live. Having reserved content in your hand gives you an extra boost to follow blog frequency.
10. Remember Why You Start Blogging
I’ve seen many bloggers quit their blogging journey and forget why they started the blog.
Do you know why you want to start your blog?
Honestly, I started blogging to make money for my lifestyle and manage the expense of study, also encourage other people to travel and open the doors to other possibilities.
I wish I remembered it every day I worked on my blog.
It’s very easy to forget the main reason for starting a blog and get sucked somewhere like chasing new clients or money, instead of keeping your blogging goals.
At some point, you can be lost your passion for the blog you started and consider quitting.
The only way you can carry on with your blog is when you remember why you started your blog and what’s your goal.
Advice: It’s important to have a goal. At some point, I lost mine and got unmotivated until I found a new goal.
How to Make Your Blog Successful in 2024?
There are many factors that can contribute to the success of a blog, but here are some tips to help you get started:
- Define your niche: Identify your niche and target audience and focus on creating content for their interests and needs.
- Publish high-quality content consistently: Make sure your content is informative, engaging, and valuable to your readers. Also, focus on publishing blog posts on a regular schedule to keep your readers engaged.
- Optimize for search engines: In order to get traffic from the search engine you have to use relevant keywords, meta tags, and other SEO tactics so that your blog ranks well on the search engines.
- Build a strong social media presence: Share your blog posts on social media platforms from day one. It helps you to engage with your followers to increase your reach and build a community.
- Interact with your audience: Make sure to respond to all the comments and emails, and encourage feedback and discussions on your blog.
- Network with other bloggers: Reach out to other bloggers in your niche and collaborate on content, guest posts, or social media promotions. It helps you to build a strong relationship in the future.
- Analyze and adjust: Monitor your blog’s performance from day one by using analytics tools, and make adjustments to your content, SEO, and promotion strategies as needed.
In conclusion; blogging success doesn’t happen overnight, so be patient and persistent in your efforts to grow your blog.
FAQ: Things To Know Before Starting a Blog
Is Blogging Still Profitable in 2024?
Yes, blogging is profitable in 2024, although the ways bloggers monetize their blogs have evolved over time.
Some bloggers make money through advertising, sponsorships, or affiliate marketing, while others sell products or services directly on their blogs.
To make your blog profitable, it’s important to focus on creating high-quality content to attract a loyal audience.
Is Blogging a Business?
Yes, blogging is a business and many bloggers have already turned their blogs into full-time businesses that make significant revenue.
To turn a blog into a business, you need to treat it like one. This means creating a business plan, identifying a niche and target audience, developing a content strategy, and implementing monetization strategies.
Also, you need to invest time and money into your blog, including things like website design, marketing, and more.
If you want to know more, check one of my details articles on “Is a Blog considered a Business”!
Is Blogging a Good Career in 2024?
Blogging can be a good career for those who are passionate about writing and have a strong desire to share their ideas and expertise with the world.
However, Blogging can take years of hard work and dedication to build a successful blogging career.
Over To You!
Although I’ve been in the blogging game for 4 years, I’m still learning as it is constantly changing.
Although it can be overwhelming when you’re creating a blog with the amount of information you have to learn about, the sooner you learn about the above 10 things, the easier it will be to have your site in a healthy condition.
If you have a failed blog, do not let this dishearten you. It’s all about learning from what went wrong. It’s important that you don’t make the same mistake.
Was it the niche selection?
Was it the platform you used to create your blog?
Be specific and learn from your mistakes as you can only get better.
What are some things you wish you knew before starting a blog? Let me in the comment below!
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