Are you new to the world of blogging?
Whether you’re yet to get started or you’ve been on your blogging journey for a few months, it’s good to know a few important pieces of blogging advice for beginners that will make your blogging journey easier.
Now, it’s important to know that blogging really doesn’t have to be difficult.
It definitely involves a lot of different skills and it’s not always easy to work out when you begin, but it’s still a lot of fun.
If you’re overwhelmed with everything that you need to do, then you’ve come to the right place.
In this post, I’m going to share 10 pieces of blogging advice every newbie need to know.
Please note this post may contain affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you click them and make a purchase. This is, of course, at no cost to you, and I only share products that I use and love myself. Please read my disclaimer for more information.
Right now, the techie side of starting your blog may be confusing you.
Even the amount of work and writing that you think you need to be doing can be overwhelming.
However, when you strip it all back, it’s very easy to manage. You just need to know the right tricks and tactics.
Because that’s the thing about blogging.
When you’re able to uncover a few secrets that industry insiders use, then you should find that you’ll finally believe blogging is a breeze.
Rather than learn the hard way or totally give up because you have no idea what you’re doing, it’s best to find out the most efficient, fun, and exciting ways of doing things.
That way, you can get set up properly from the start and just enjoy the journey for what it is.
So if you’re ready to come to grips with the world of blogging, here are the ten important pieces of blogging advice you need to know as a beginning blogger.
1. Decide on Your Niche
Sometimes, when you just want to get started, you will find yourself writing about anything and everything.
But it’s best to have a clearly defined niche from the start.
Whether this is about one topic in particular, or a few things that group together (like lifestyle), it doesn’t really matter.
You just need to know what kind of things you’re writing about, and who you think will be reading your content.
This helps you to be a bit more organized and put together with your content going forward.
I go into more detail about this in my free eBook: How to Start Your Blog.
Enter your information in the box below to grab your free copy of the eBook.
2. Choose a Hosting Plan
Next up, you’re going to want to make sure that you opt for a hosted website.
It is okay to start a free blog, but most people will tell you that it’s best to go hosted from the start.
If you plan to do this in the long-term, it’s definitely better to make sure that you have full control over your site and content.
And that’s what hosting lets you do.
We use and recommend SiteGround for web hosting.
To learn why we love SiteGround, read: The Best Web Host for Bloggers.
3. Buy a Personalized Domain Name
Now, to look progressional, you’ll want a personalized domain name.
For example, my domain name is Angiegensler.com instead of something like Angiegensler.wordpress.com or Blogspot.angiegensler.com.
A personalized domain name helps you with branding, but with SEO as well.
You can buy your domain from a variety of places, but to help you out, here’s a list of affordable registrars.
4. Pre-Load Your Content
Before you launch your blog, you’ll want to pre-load it with a handful of blog posts.
This can be super helpful if you’re someone that wants to blog professionally – ether for your business or as a business venture itself.
If you can launch your blog with content you’ll be ahead of the game, have content to share on social media and Pinterest, and you can start driving traffic right away.
Speaking of traffic, click here to sign up for Angie’s free Traffic Masterclass and learn how to grow your blog traffic quickly without spending a ton of time or money.
5. Stick to a Content Calendar
It’s true that blogging can sometimes seem like a lot of work.
To make things easier on yourself, you need to be organized and plan out your content 1 – 3 months in advance.
This is where a content calendar comes in handy.
By thinking ahead about what you’re going to write and share, you’ll feel less stressed out.
You’ll want a content calendar not only for your blog post content but also for your social media posts.
For help creating a social media content calendar read: How to Create and Use a Social Media Content Calendar.
6. Use Analytics
Next, you’re going to want to make sure that you use analytics tools on your blog.
Whether they’re on your site, with Google, or other platforms, they can really help you to make strategic decisions.
I personally use and recommend Google Analytics.
It’s free to use and extremely robust.
With Google Analytics, you’ll see what type of content is popular and performing well.
This gives you outstanding insight into what your audience wants to read and what type of content they enjoy.
7. Use Social Tools
In addition to analytics tools, you’ll also want to use social media tools.
You know that you should be sharing your content on social media, but it can seem like a lot of work.
That’s why you’re going to want to use social media marketing tools for smart automation that not only bloggers use, but well-known businesses use as well.
Leveraging powerful social media automation tools will help make your blog promotion easier.
8. Hire a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Hiring help may not be something you want to do right at the start, but it’s definitely an idea to help you stay organized and get things done.
Hiring a freelance contractor or a virtual assistant can speed up some of the work for you.
It’s also a great option to handle the tasks you don’t enjoy or find difficult.
If you want someone to do all of your social promotion, your research, your graphic design, or even write for you, hiring a VA is a great option to help you out.
9. Automate as Much as You Can
Next up, where you can’t always delegate, you’ll want to automate as much as you can.
In fact, automate and delegate is a huge strategy to focus on for blogging growth.
It’s not only going to free up your time, but it will make everything seem simpler to manage.
I’ve already mentioned social scheduling, but you should also think about scheduling your blog posts or creating automated responses to frequently asked questions so that you have less to do in real time.
10. Start Monetizing Early
And finally, one of the best pieces of blogging advice that every newbie blogger needs to know is to start monetizing your content as early as possible.
This not only allows you to make money early and learn what works for you, but it’s also authentic.
Your audience will only ever know your blog as being monetized so you won’t offend your readers when you do start to add in advertising or sponsorships.
The easiest way to monetize from the very beginning is through affiliate marketing.
I learned about affiliate marketing from the best in the business, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I highly recommend her course for newbie bloggers: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
Conclusion
When you’re just starting out, blogging can seem very overwhelming.
I promise it gets much easier with time. Particularly if you get advice from experienced bloggers and leverage the right tools, resources, courses, etc.
To help you out, I’ve created a 49-page eBook that makes starting your blog easy like Sunday morning!
Enter your information in the box above to download your copy of the eBook and start building your blog today!
*This was a contributed post
Originally published on AngieGensler.com.
