5 Things you should know before starting a blog.

^{[This is a guest post written by Bournemouth Girl]}

Blogging is such a fun, but different journey and many people blog for very different reasons. For some, it’s a hobby and others it’s to create a successful business Whatever the reason, there are certain things that you should know before starting a blog.

The first thing I would say if you want to set up a blog but haven’t… just do it! Do not worry about the perfect design or logo etc. because you can change those aspects later especially as you grow’ you may wish to rebrand.

I first started blogging in 2017 and I had no idea what I was doing; I just learned as I went along. I am still learning and that is the beauty of the blogging industry. As much as ‘on the job’ learning is beneficial, there are some top tips that I definitely wish I had known before I started blogging.

Many people – before they start blogging – think that blogging is easy, but it’s really hard and success doesn’t come overnight. Blogging is not an easy hobby or career option. It takes time, patience and persistence. This is why you need to allocate time to work hard and commit to creating blog content and promotion.

^{[Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash]}

Things you should know before starting a blog.

1. Social media will be your friend.

Blogging is a lot about self-promotion and getting your content to a larger audience. When you share your content to a larger audience, you will improve your chances of boosting your blog engagement and increase traffic to your blog. Twitter has a very supportive blogging community where bloggers will support your content, offer tips and will even host comment threads to help get you feedback on your content. If you want to grow your blog as a business, Twitter does offer opportunities to work with PR companies and brands with collaborations.

When you set up your social media, make sure that you utilise the website information and have your blog URL available for your followers or brands who wish to contact you. Pinterest can also be a useful way to reach a huge audience around the world. I have a big love and relationship with this platform because the updates change so much. However, when you do crack it, it really does drive a huge amount of traffic to your site. Make sure that you are sharing your content on as many social media platforms as you can in order to build a loyal audience.

2. Create a blogging schedule.

A key element to running a successful blog is consistency. In order to build a loyal audience and to rank n Google, you need to share content consistently. The best way to be consistent is to create an effective blogging schedule that is achievable for you. It might be posting one a week on a Monday, or you may want to share new posts twice a week a week, once you know how much you want to post, you need to stick to it.

When you have a blogging schedule in place, it then allows you to forward plan content ideas. I like to plan my content a month or so in advance, which helps me to best manage my time for other areas such as promoting or pitching to brands. Giving yourself a schedule also shows your commitment to your blog’s success; if you stick with your schedule, your blog will grow.

Tips on creating an effective blogging schedule are:

• Decide how many posts you would like to share
• Decide which day/s and time/s you would like your posts to go live
• Decide when you will promote posts on social media
• Write down your finalised blogging schedule for your reference.
• Evaluate and measure every so often to make sure that the schedule is right for you

3. Focus on SEO from the moment you start blogging.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the process of improving the quality of traffic to a website from search engines. It is also about improving your site to increase its visibility on social media. Unfortunately, I had no idea about SEO when I first started blogging, so I am now in a position years later, where I have to go back and update older posts.

However, if you want to blog as a hobby and for fun, you don’t necessarily need to worry about SEO. However, if you are staring a blog with the intention of it becoming a business, you will definitely want to ensure SEO is one of your priorities. Here are some tips to improve your SEO on your website:

• Optimise your images – add alt text ad add keywords in your image descriptions
• Break your content up with headers
• Use outbound links – where you link to another site
• Use interlinking – where you link to your other content
• Fix any broken links
• Ensure that your site is readable for all devices

4. Learn about disclosure rules.

When you start working with brands or receive gifted products, it is very important that you disclose your content at the beginning of any content to ensure that your audience is aware. Not only are then being authentic, but you can avoid legal troubles if you continue not to disclose on your content or Instagram pictures.

5. Take or use good quality stock images.

When you create blog posts, it is vital you have images for SEO and for the readers. It can be so off putting with reams of text to read through and not really have a break. Utilising good images can also help with SEO and improve traffic to your site. You do not have to take SEO seriously of you are a hobby blogger.

These are 5 things that you need to be aware of when starting a blog especially if you would like it to develop into a successful business. It is important that when you start blogging not to get too caught up in the statistics and trying to make things perfect from day one. Success will not come overnight; you have to work hard, but when you start to see success, it can be very rewarding.

What is one piece of advice you would give to a new blogger? I’d love to hear in the comments.