Every now and then you will come across several posts telling you to start a blog and do this or that, many of these posts won’t tell you the things to know before starting a blog.
Blogging is not a bed of roses and you shouldn’t just expect things to be flowing, blogging has its own pitfalls and there are so many things you have to know before starting a blog so that you won’t end up closing up your blog a few days after starting it, this post will be talking about 5 things to know before starting a blog.
5 Things I wish I knew before starting a blog:
If this is your first time here, do know that ShoutMeLoud has helped individuals like you for the last 10+ years to become your own boss. We have published more than 2000+ guides and videos on our YouTube channel to help you master the art of blogging.
So, read on to learn things that you should know before you walk into the journey as a blogger:
1. Your Blog platform matters
You should make sure to pick the right platform for your blog. A lot of users who ended up picking the wrong platform ultimately ends up quitting blogging.
So, based on your goals, you should pick a platform that works the best.
Here is a complete guide on best blogging platforms and how to select the right platform.
Tip: A Self-hosted WordPress blog is the most widely used platform for blogging. Especially for someone who wants to make money as well. However, if your plan is just to write, you can blog on Medium.com which is another good choice.
- Learn: How to start a blog
2. Having a Blog is No Guarantee of You Making Money Online
If you ask me, I would tell you blogging is the most difficult way to make money online, sincerely!
Many people believe blogging is a really simple way to make money online and all they need to do is set up a blog and begin to make money online, blogging is a very difficult way to make money online and before you can even think of making money online you have to build a great audience and you must have serious traffic to your blog.
Even if you have traffic, there is still no assurance of you making money online, you also must be very wise in monetizing your blog.
3. Other Niches Can Be Better than the Blogging Niche
One thing I have discovered is that most blogging newbies don’t know anything about blogging yet they start a blog in this niche, why?
They think the blogging niche is the most profitable niche.
The blogging niche is not the most profitable niche and it is always better to follow your passion by starting a blog about what you know than just jumping into the blogging niche.
In fact, by picking the right niche (topic) of your blog, you are most likely to become a successful blogger.
Even though you can make cool money in the blogging niche, not everybody succeed in it and you will eventually discover you would have found it easier to make money in other niches.
4. There is Nothing Called “Build it and They Will Come“
Oh! Do you think this is a brick and mortar business on the roadside?
As a blogger, you are kept in a dungeon, in a very far cave and you have to work hard to get your blog to the roadside. You don’t just write great posts and expect people to come but you have to focus your efforts on getting the word out for your blog.
Don’t just stay idle, your content is not enough, your promotion matters too!
5. Google won’t understand your content unless you would do this…
A lot of newbie bloggers think all they need is just to write great content, and Google will start sending traffic to them. Well, at first, you are right that people who are more likely to read your blog, will find it via a search engine like Google.
However, you need to help the search engine understand more about your blog and content so that they could rank you well.
Read the following to master this:
Conclusion:
There are several things you must know before starting a blog and the above are very important things everyone planning to start a blog must know.
For further reading:
What do you think ever newbie’s should know before starting a blog?
Onibalusi thank you for sharing such a nice post. Starting a new blog is one of the best things to share your thoughts, your passion, and talent with hundreds of readers. A successful blogger must know this 3 things for become a better blogger.
Sir, I want to know how to build initial audience for a new blog.
How to promote the blog and what are minimum number of audience require?
Hey Kashif,
Read this:https://www.shoutmeloud.com/top-5-ways-to-drive-traffic-to-your-blog.html
The post is very short and simple. But as mentioned rather than content publishing, the blog promotion is very important. We must work hard for that in the earlier days.
At my blog, I started blogging about tech tutorials & reviews. That’s what I’m interested in. I used to rank on 1st page with ease. But then I thought of posting blogging how to’s. Then I realized how hard is it to rank on google’s 1st page with this niche, which has 4,73,00,00,000 results on single keyword!!
Why when you refer on blogging you say the bloging niche? l f you are in another niche and you don’t have a blog or content how wil you make money?
John there are many ways and it all depends on what niche you are in..
For example, in most of niche you can use Affiliate marketing..A tech blog can use Antivirus affiliates…A Fashion blog can use CJ to find affiliate link of popular products..!!
If you are complete unaware about affiliate program for the niche, you can always use ad network like Vigilink, which will convert your normal link into Affiliate link..
Then you can also offer premium content or use CPA based or CPM based ad network…!!
You might like to read: 5 Different ways to monetize a Blog
I ve have adopted the passion of blogging and writing what i know.However i finds it still challenging and requires lots of time.This post shows everything in plain,very good in deed,the tips i didn’t know makes me glad.Blogging from a simple mobile phone isn’t easy either.More so i would like to know how hyperlinks works and to be created.
I’m not quite sure, which hyperlinks are you talking about. Anyway you might find this link helpful: https://www.shoutmeloud.com/wordpress-guide
Yep, You are totally right buddy
Now I will follow as you write here
Thanks for post
Writing great content + SEO optimized posts + Blog Promotion = Your chance of Success becomes higher.
Great points…
according to me true blogger makes more regular readers,
greedy blogger makes more loyal visitors & moolah too !
its tough to reamin a good blogger & earn !
For new bloggers, it is important to market your content by connecting with other bloggers. Something else to consider is how you use the other tools available to give additional content and not merely repeat yourself. What I mean is using Twitter mainly to publish the links to your blog, or having an email subscription service. Yes, mention your links on Twitter, but use it to give additional tips or quotes not found on your blog. It gives people a reason to follow your blog. I wrote an extensive post about what I mean by creating layers of content.
You are a good blogger. You said it true blogging is the most difficult way of making money.
great awesome….
spot on article man…
you know lots of young bloggers need to concentrate on the first point..
BLOG WONT GUARANTEE OF MAKING YOU MONEY ONLINE
Hi Oni
These are very wise words. A lot of bloggers start a blog in the hope of quitting their day jobs and making a gazillion bucks online. Though making a living online it is definitely achievable one should come to the reality that it takes time…lots of time. I champion your thought that we should blog for passion and not for profit.
Thanks for sharing
Michael
Yes, I very much agree with this, OniBalusi. Building a successful blog takes a lot of time and effort. There are posts to write, maintenance to perform and promotion activities. I think the mistake most new bloggers make (including me, when I started) is not having a plan on how they will eventually make money from their efforts.