A blogger needs to have multiple skills to succeed in blogging and I wish I had known this in my early days of blogging which is why I don’t want you to struggle like me for the first 5 years of blogging.
This is why today, I will list the 33 things to know before starting a blog, and this is the unique real experience that I am sharing with you.
This blog post will also have my real tips and will also cover mistakes that I made in my first 5 years of blogging and how you can avoid them.
- Even if you don’t want to become a blogger, do you still want to write and publish your content online?
- Do you love to write?
- Do you want to share content?
- Do you want to share something meaningful with the world?
If Yes, then congratulations, this post will change your life or will at least help you to establish yourself much faster online in this competitive world.
Table of Contents
33 Things To Know Before Starting A Blog
Remember:
It doesn’t matter if you are doing blogging as a hobby or a business, you must take these 33 things into consideration if you want to stay in the right path and direction.
1. Blogging Needs Significant Hard Work
Blogging requires significant hard work regardless of the platform you are using.
Blogging needs significant hard work and if you are lazy enough kindly avoid blogging as a business.
I know it may sound a bit harsh but it’s the reality, my friend!
Be assured you will be tired to your limits hence prepare your mind from today if you are going to start blogging.
If you don’t know what is blogging in reality then you must actually read this detailed article on the topic: What is Blogging? Best Guide for Beginners.
2. Smart Work Is Required For Blogging
Just as you will be doing hard work in a similar way even smart work needs to be implemented.
In blogging, just doing hard work will eventually get you exhausted and you might give up!
Smart work here simply means managing your multi-tasks in a way that doesn’t feel like overburden, even though that’s hard to avoid but you have to find a way by yourself.
3. Know The Best Blogging Platforms
There are multiple blogging platforms available to you for free and some are paid platforms.
You may think that free ones are enough and that’s right! For 1st time users you can start with free platforms and test your patience and skills.
Once done, you can switch to paid platforms.
My experience:
I started with a free platform and later switched to a paid platform and hence all I can say is if you have the budget then don’t think twice and go with the paid plan else later you will realize how much time you actually lost and you could have worked more with better features and customizations.
It’s not that free plans are bad, but they are again limited with features and customizations.
Hence, if you are still confused then read these detailed articles:
Remember, if you don’t read these 2 articles before starting a blog, eventually you are going to blame blogging and online business as you might make a wrong decision hence make sure you know the platform you are going to work with!
4. Learn How To Choose The Right Web Hosting Company For Your Need
In order to succeed in blogging you must choose the right hosting company and to do so you must know the criteria which you can learn in detail here.
My Experience: Over the years, I have used multiple hosting platforms but cannot claim which is the best still because each has its own pros and cons.
Read the above article to know how you can know which web hosting will be right for you.
5. Please Learn How To Choosing The Niche As The Right Niche Is Mandatory
If not, what I learned from 5 years of blogging is that choosing a niche is one of the biggest problems and mysteries for any blogger.
This 1 mistake can destroy your online career and hence if you really want to know the only original authentic way to find a niche for you then read this detailed article on How to choose a blog niche for all.
6. How to Choose A Domain Name
Similar to a niche remember that choosing the right domain is also important as it represents your brand and by your domain people will be able to recognize you and your identity.
The right domain name can create a positive impact on your business.
It’s important to grow your business and to know what to avoid and how to choose a domain name read the detailed article on how to choose a domain name for your blog.
7. Choose The Right Blogging Tools
Even though one can succeed in blogging but it requires a combination of the right tools and techniques.
For techniques, it will take you months and years to understand what works for you the best but for tools, you can know them right away by reading the detailed article on 11+ amazing blogging tools for beginners and yes it’s unbiased.
8. Design Your Blog
Now comes the interesting part, designing your blog where everyone sticks and spends their entire time in reshaping their blog design and rather than focusing on blogging.
It’s seriously funny, right?
Designing your website and blog is important but why waste 80% of your time in only designing initially while setting up your website instead of where there are ready-made templates available for you?
My Experience: I actually invested a lot of time in designing in my initial days instead of blogging and gained nothing but regret as I didn’t do blogging at all!
The focus is to make the website appealing and friendly for users rather than making it appealing for your own satisfaction. Always do what’s best for the audience and you will save many months believe me!
9. Learn SEO
Search Engine Optimization is one of the most important factors of many search engines like Google and they count it as really important in order to rank your website higher.
Important Points from My Experience:
If you don’t rank online then no one will ever reach your website and it all comes down to how good your website’s SEO actually is hence SEO becomes mandatory if you want to stay here for years.
The blogging industry is evolving and hence focusing on SEO is even more important today rather than focusing only on social media and paid ads.
10. Promote Your Blog With Social Media
Even though SEO in the long run will automatically help you to gain traffic i.e. views initially and even for the first 2-3 years you have to actually heavily stay relevant on social media platforms and leverage multiple platforms.
Remember that social media can help you gain traffic for your website but spamming will make your things worse.
Always make sure that you are there to help people rather than only copying ad pasting your blog’s or website’s link in order to gain traction from real people.
11. Build an E-Mail List From Day 1
Social media is a great way to attract traffic but all of that can be taken down once the platforms are irrelevant or they ban your account due to suspicious activity.
Hence, E-mail marketing becomes even more relevant here because people who provide you with your Email address will be loyal customers who will stay relevant for years and will not vanish that easily.
From Day 1 focus on email marketing and make sure you invest your time here.
12. It’s Takes A lot of Effort
Now I think you already have an idea how much time, and effort you need to make to do blogging, and this is all very basics of blogging.
The advanced concepts are even harder to accomplish and hence grabbing the basic concepts of blogging initially for 1st year at least is really important.
Whatever I have mentioned to you till now is all mandatory to do in the early days of blogging!
13. Learn To Be Consistent
Consistency is the key to success in any field of your life and blogging is included here.
Especially in blogging, consistency is the best way to practice and master online business like a leader.
Consistency can depend from individual to individual and business to business.
It can be posting daily, alternatively, or even once a week but whatever you choose, make sure you do the same for many months to come.
14. You Have To Spend A Long Time
Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme alright!
This is a natural process and hence take your time accordingly.
Blogging is a journey and not a race hence always take time in things that take time to accomplish but don’t expect too much in a short period of time.
15. Monetization Is Not That Easy
To make money with your blog and monetize your website you have to spend months and sometimes even years to develop your impression and trust online.
Monetization can be done by:
- Ads
- Affiliate Marketing
- Sponsorships and much more
But now you already know all these things to know before starting a blog.
16. Start With A Focus
Lack of focus is what people have when starting a blog.
You must clarify yourself whom are you going to work for and who is your audience.
- Is blogging your hobby?
- Is blogging your online business strategy?
Please clarify first to make a better impact right from the beginning and know your niche better.
My Experience:
All I heard back in the days was that blogging gives you plenty of money, in my college days it was a treat to take as an opportunity and I succeeded up to some extent.
But the lack of focus was always something I struggled with the most which is why before you start a blog make you you know why you are doing it today as you must not regret your decision later right?
17. Know Your Audience From Day 1
This is the mistake I made in my initial days.
Please know your audience from Day 1 and make a note or assumption of whom your audience can be like:
- Their estimated age range
- Exact Location
- Specific Geography and much more
Create a user persona and then start a blog!
18. Decide The Purpose Of Your Blog
Once you know your focus and audience it’s time to know the purpose of your blog.
Ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Why should I blog?
- To whom should I help?
- What’s my blog for: a hobby or a business?
19. Learn Time-Management
Before you start blogging, make sure you have a timetable for blogging since blogging needs time management because you need to do multitasking.
Blogging can take hours every single day hence manage your time accordingly.
Spend at least 2-4 hours minimum every day.
20. You Have To Learn EveryDay
Blogging requires you to learn new things every single day and hence to become a successful blogging giant make sure you are always learning new stuff and staying updated with the blogging industry.
21. Don’t Rely Only On AI
My only tip here:
AI is useful when you use it for research purposes rather than copying everything!
22. Get Ready For Humiliation
Some of your friendly, family members or people online will always try to take you down.
Better prepare yourself and enjoy the process without losing consistency. Most of the time people will not support you from the heart initially hence be prepared.
23. It’s A Game Of Severe Patience
Blogging requires patience and hence if you are short-tempered then make sure you will not get views in the beginning and hence patience can make you successful.
24. Publish Original Content Only
As I mentioned earlier, use AI for research only and write content yourself and hence always publish original content.
Originality always excels and human content is loved by the audience.
25. Be Ready To Get Exhausted
Blogging every single day, every single week will eventually get you exhausted, and hence be ready to feel exhausted and take rest from time to time.
26. No Rest For the First 2 Years
For the first 2 years, if you are serious about making your blog a business then there’s no rest for you and if it’s a hobby feel free to take a rest and enjoy the process.
27. Know Your Limitations
Don’t overload your brain and know your limitations, some are technical while some are not, you get the point, right?
Learn new things as discussed earlier.
28. Learn Keyword Research
Keyword research is one of the most important aspects to win at blogging!
Do this from Day 1 and learn it from here.
29. Learn To Maintain the E-E-A-T Strategy and Other Google Signals.
These are Google recommendations hence always focus on:
E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authority And Trust
30. Always Brainstorm Blog Topics In Advance
Brainstorm and get new ideas about new blog ideas.
31. Maintain Backups
Always make sure you have backups daily or weekly.
32. Make Sure You Maintain Analytics From Day 1
Analytics are important to track how your visitors interact with your website.
Always track your website from Day 1 and enjoy the process. I hope you will do this and now you know what to do before starting a blog.
33. Avoid copyrighted Multimedia Content
Never use copyrighted content and use free platforms like Pexels, and Pixabay to use multimedia for free.
Conclusion On 33 Best Things To Know Before Starting A Blog
Now I realize things I wish I had known before starting a blog and I hope now realize the 33 best things to know before starting a blog will change your life if done beautifully and consistently.
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