Are you new to blogging and looking for some tips on how to maintain your blogging mojo? Or are you in the thinking stage of wanting to start your own blog? Regardless of your reason, in this article, we aim to share 8 things you need to know before starting a blog. I aim to share all the things I wish I knew before I started blogging in hopes it helps even one person.
When people find out I am a blogger they often ask 1001 questions about blogging. Some are still under the illusion blogging is a thing that will soon fade and others don’t consider it a job. It is every person’s prerogative to believe what they want, blogging is a great side hustle. If you want to get serious about blogging here are some things you should know about blogging.
8 Things I wish I knew before I started Blogging
We all have our own reasons why we started our blogs, it is up to us to decide if the reasons still stand true. Obviously, over the years we all evolve but the evolution should be towards what makes you happy. Regardless of what that might be, there are certain things one must be aware of to maintain your blog.
Picking a name
When I started blogging I really had on clue what I wanted my blog to be called. I copied other people’s titles and changed it slightly to match my needs but this didn’t last. Why? Well because that really wasn’t me and I was just trying to fit it, understandable but doesn’t last long. This blog in its few months has had 4 name changes {Myrabev’s World, Myrabev against the world, Welcome to my world and Purely by accident}. These were all the names I played around with though Purely by Accident lasted me for a couple of years. It wasn’t until I really started to think about my branding that I decided to pick a name with meaning. A July Dreamer – I was born in July and I am a dreamer through and through, this suited me.
[bctt tweet=”Tip: think about why you want to start blogging and what topics you want to cover. Don’t limit yourself to one niche, we all evolve and so do our blogs.” username=”myrabev”]
Set up Social Media with the same name!
I wish I had known this before I started blogging, it makes it so much easier for people to remember. You will notice that my twitter handle {Myrabev} and Instagram {ajulydreamer} do not match. Choosing the same name across the board helps readers to remember you more easily than others.
Tip: Search various social media networks to ensure no one has the same social handle as you. Don’t lose readers because they confuse you for another person with a similar username handle.
Self-hosted
In the blogging world, there is this thing called Domain Authority (DA), A July Dreamer has a DA of 40. If you look at search engines like google they have a DA of a 100 because everyone uses Google all the time. When it comes to blogging you want to start off self-hosted because it’s better to be self-hosted than piggybacking off WordPress or even Blogger. Most brands are more likely to work with you if you’re self-hosted than if you’re not.
[bctt tweet=”Tip: self-hosted is ajulydreamer.com, non-self-hosted would be ajulydreamer.wordpress.com. I use @GoDaddy as my hosting company but you can use other companies too.” username=”myrabev”]
Write an About Me Page
Blogs have always been personal online spaces where people can share a part of their lives. It is a place where you can teach others about your skills or inspire people to be better. One thing about blogs that won’t change is having an about me page, it tells a story about the person behind the blog. Share bits about yourself, what you offer even why you started blogging in the first place.
Tip: As you evolve in your blogging career so should your about page, don’t be afraid to change a few things. Let it be reflective of your current position with your blog and what you offer.
Find support in Fellow Bloggers
One thing you will come to learn about blogging is it can be a lonely world out there. But it can also be an incredible place when you can share with fellow bloggers and learn from each other. When I started blogging my family wasn’t overly keen on the idea of sharing my personal self online. I stuck with it because I believed in what I was doing and fellow bloggers helped me too.
Tip: Join Facebook blogger groups; Bloggers 2 Brands, we have 9k members and are a supportive bunch.
Invest in your blog
Depending on what you want to achieve with your blog, it is important to invest time and money. When it comes to time, you need to be wise about how you allocate time to your blog. As I work 9-5 I often work outside of my regular job and on weekends. When it comes to money you will realise that there are certain things that you’re better off paying for. Things like good themes are important for your blog’s brand and future collaborations.
Tips: Pipdig are professional WordPress theme creators, all my themes are from them.
Don’t Worry about the Numbers
One thing that catches most bloggers is numbers, remember don’t compare your beginning to someone’s middle. You’re just starting out, you might not get the same numbers as other bloggers, focus on your brand. Remember everyone started from nothing and they built their blogs for what they are now.
[bctt tweet=”Tip: focus on developing your brand and interacting with fellow bloggers” username=”myrabev”]
Be Authentic and don’t copy
It is so easy to find a piece of content that you like and feels the need to copy it. This I can guarantee you is a wrong move, there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration, just don’t copy. One thing about the blogging world is it is getting saturated, you need to find ways to stand out.
Tip: Get inspiration from others but never copy, make it your own.
What are some of the tips you wish you knew before you started blogging?
LaaLaa says
You’ve got some amazing tips here and it’ll be helpful to others, even 10 years later I think about changing my name for my blog lol
Miranda says
Oh wow, 10 years is a long time to be blogging and glad these tips are helpful.
Rhian westbury says
I agree with all of these but self-hosting isn’t just having your own domain and not a .blogspot or .wordpress URL. Having your own domain is worth doing straight away but paying to be self hosted on wordpress.org is a bigger commitment x
Miranda says
Not thought about wordpress.org being a bigger commitment but thanks for that.
Kacie says
Don’t worry about the numbers is my top tip! I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I looked at my stats – I’ve been too busy with work to even update my traffic report – which has to mean I’m doing something right 🙂
Miranda says
I am glad to hear that, it is so important to focus on the work and not the stats
Treasure Every Moment says
These are such helpful tips for any new bloggers out there! The blog name tip is so important because you never know where life may take you – my blog used to be beauty and now it’s parenting 🙂
Miranda says
Thank you, the blogging name definitely can change as we evolve in our lives
second income says
Blogging is one of the reasons why people stop complaining when it comes to financial terms. 🙂 It has a great effect as it is a source of income streams. Even when you are a homebody person, you can still generate an income as long as you have a creative mind.
Lauretta at Home and Horizon says
Setting up the same Social Media is just so true. My Twitter handle is also different from he rest of my other social media profiles.
Yeah Lifestyle says
Love your tips and as a fellow blogger I have to agree with all your 8 things which you have mentioned here.
Rebecca | AAUBlog says
this is a great post. There are so many things that I had no idea about when I started blogging, especially the Facebook group side of the things – they’ve been really helpful
Sarah Bailey says
Self hosted it more than just having a domain name – you are thinking of a vanity URL – you can get DA with just a vanity URL and these can hide a .wordpress / .blogger URL.
Self-hosting involves not only having your own vanity URL but also having using a hosting company to run your blog on. Most people choose to use wordpress . org compared to wordpress . com when self hosting (although other website set ups are available) This means you are looking after everything in the backend and is very different from running on wordpress . com or blogger.
Sarah Bailey says
Self hosted it more than just having a domain name – you are thinking of a vanity URL – you can get DA with just a vanity URL and these can hide a .wordpress / .blogger URL.
Self-hosting involves not only having your own vanity URL but also having using a hosting company to run your blog on. Most people choose to use wordpress . org compared to wordpress . com when self hosting (although other website set ups are available) This means you are looking after everything in the backend and is very different from running on wordpress . com or blogger.
Yeah Lifestyle says
Love your tips and as a fellow blogger I have to agree with all your 8 things which you have mentioned here.
Lauretta at Home and Horizon says
Setting up the same Social Media is just so true. My Twitter handle is also different from he rest of my other social media profiles.
LaaLaa says
You’ve got some amazing tips here and it’ll be helpful to others, even 10 years later I think about changing my name for my blog lol
Miranda says
Oh wow, 10 years is a long time to be blogging and glad these tips are helpful.
Rebecca | AAUBlog says
this is a great post. There are so many things that I had no idea about when I started blogging, especially the Facebook group side of the things – they’ve been really helpful
Miranda says
I am glad to hear that, thank you for stopping by.
Kacie says
Don’t worry about the numbers is my top tip! I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I looked at my stats – I’ve been too busy with work to even update my traffic report – which has to mean I’m doing something right 🙂
Miranda says
I am glad to hear that, it is so important to focus on the work and not the stats
Rhian westbury says
I agree with all of these but self-hosting isn’t just having your own domain and not a .blogspot or .wordpress URL. Having your own domain is worth doing straight away but paying to be self hosted on wordpress.org is a bigger commitment x
Miranda says
Not thought about wordpress.org being a bigger commitment but thanks for that.
second income says
Blogging is one of the reasons why people stop complaining when it comes to financial terms. 🙂 It has a great effect as it is a source of income streams. Even when you are a homebody person, you can still generate an income as long as you have a creative mind.
Miranda says
It is a great way to earn some passive income and you’re right many people can make money from it.
Treasure Every Moment says
These are such helpful tips for any new bloggers out there! The blog name tip is so important because you never know where life may take you – my blog used to be beauty and now it’s parenting 🙂
Miranda says
Thank you, the blogging name definitely can change as we evolve in our lives