If you want to start a successful blog, where do you start?
Starting a blog from scratch is like starting any other business, so you have a lot on your plate.
How can you make sure you start your blog the right way and avoid wasting your time and money on things that don’t help you achieve your goals?
Luckily, you can start a successful blog with no experience using a few helpful guidelines for absolute beginners.
With the steps in this article, you can be sure you invest in the best blogging tools and don’t waste a dime on resources you don’t really need.
In this guide I’ll walk you through a few essential steps to start a successful blog for beginners.
The good news is:
Starting a blog is easier than you may think.
But when it comes to avoiding common mistakes and finding the best resources, I’m here to help you out.
I will also share with you the best tools for blogging that will pay off faster than you expect.
Let’s get started!
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission if you decide to purchase using my links, but at no additional cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more information.
Step 1: Understand that you got what it takes
Starting a blog can be the beginning of something that may change your life completely in the future.
It’s an opportunity to embark on a journey that’s long, challenging, and demanding – but also incredibly rewarding and empowering.
When you’re thinking about starting a blog about a topic you feel passionate about, you need to actively learn a new way of thinking about how you can change the course of things in your life.
More importantly, you need to believe in it.
It’s going to be an awesome experience!
If you keep thinking that you’re not good enough or blogging is too hard, you’ll never achieve your goals.
Hence, remember this:
If you want to achieve something, it’s up to you to change the status quo in your life.
Starting a blog will give you the opportunity to actively engage in a topic you love.
As you publish helpful content, you can connect with like-minded people from around the world.
And what’s could be better than sharing your passion with others who like similar things, right?
Step 2: Start a blog NOW even if you don’t feel ready
The truth is: you will never feel 100% ready.
I remember starting my first blog back in 2016. It still feels like yesterday!
Let me tell you: I was entirely and utterly clueless about blogging.
Sure, I wanted my blog to be perfect. (There’s no such thing as the perfect blog!)
But at the same time I had no clue about what I was doing.
I felt like I was way out of my league.
I simply wanted to write about a topic I was genuinely interested in. But I was not even close to feeling like I knew enough about it.
Clearly, I wasn’t an expert or someone my readers could look up to.
And then there was the time issue:
I wasn’t able to dedicate much time for blogging back then. I was working full-time!
But I refused to fail. I felt too passionate about my blog topic to give it up.
So I started my first blog in late 2016. I made tons of rookie mistakes, but I knew I would never be 100% ready to start a blog about anything. Ever.
What I can tell you right now is that you should start your blog right away. Don’t think about it, just do it.
If you’re hesitant, the longer you think about whether you should do it or not, the more reasons you will come up with for just postponing the whole thing.
Think of starting your first blog as a learning process.
We all have to start with the basics when we learn new things, right?
Step by step, you will learn what it takes and become more productive.
Before long, you start to notice how structured your blogging routines are. You can totally do this!
Step 3: Find the right blog topic and turn it into success
Whatever you love doing the most, turn it into a blog.
If you’re not sure what your topic should be, here are a few questions to help you get started:
- Which topics do you love talking about with your friends and family?
- What hobbies do you have?
- What do you love doing in your free time?
- Which topics do you love reading and learning more about?
You’ll know when you find the right topic, trust me.
But why is finding the right blog topic so important?
Because your love and dedication for your blog topic will shine through to your readers.
The more you enjoy working with your topic, the more fun your blog is to read.
Plus, you will spend a lot of time researching and learning more about your topic. Hence, choosing a topic you love will make things more enjoyable.
Not sure what to blog about?
Read my beginner’s guide on how to find the perfect blog topic fast.
Remember that your blog should help your readers and provide value to them.
They need to feel like you help them solve their problems, provide them with useful information, and answer their questions.
That is what keeps people coming back to your blog, allowing you to make money with your blog.
Step 4: Treat your blog like a business
Yep, that’s right. You’re an entrepreneur now!
If you want to start a blog to make money online, you need to see your blog as a business.
I know not all bloggers love thinking about strategy as much as I do.
But here’s the deal:
You MUST have a plan if you want to start a successful blog.
If you don’t have a goal, you will end up changing it as you go. And that’s a recipe for disaster. Your blog will be all over the place, your readers can’t figure out who you are, and your motivation will suffer in the long run.
Just like any other business, your blog can only succeed if you have a plan.
If you want to achieve a specific goal, you need to define one first, right?
Therefore, start your blogging journey by figuring out what you wish to achieve in the long run.
Think about the moment you first thought of starting a blog. Why were you interested in embarking on this journey?
When you know your goals, it’s easier to see how far you’ve come already.
I mean, if you don’t know where the finish line is, how could you ever reach it, right?
That being said, before you launch your blog make sure you know exactly where you want to be in
- 6 months,
- 1 year, or
- 3 years.
Define clear, measurable milestones so that you can track your progress.
For example, aim at a certain number of blog visitors each month.
Or define a target follower count on the most relevant social network you will use to drive traffic to your blog.
Step 5: Hit “Publish” before you’re ready
Publishing your posts can be scary! It’s like you’re exposing a part of you for the whole world to see.
I feel like there’s something very private about the content I write for my blogs sometimes. And I’m not even sharing anything too personal.
So, sometimes I can’t get myself to hit that publish button for some reason. I often feel like my article is not good enough yet. And I know perfectly well that it is.
Heaps of bloggers over-analyze their posts to the smallest detail.
And in most cases their readers wouldn’t even notice the difference if they just published the post right away.
So, from day 1 onwards, remember this:
Your blog posts will never be 100% finished.
They are products of your mind, and your mind never stands still. (Meaning that you’re alive, so it’s a good thing!)
Therefore, publish as soon as you feel like your post is ready to be seen by your readers.
Don’t overthink it. You can always come back and make adjustments and edit your text later if you really have to.
To get started, follow my guide on how to write the perfect blog post easily.
Step 6: Learn patience and show commitment
Starting a blog is something you should be proud of!
It’s not going to be easy and you will need to put a lot of time and effort to succeed and make money blogging in the future.
Because the truth is:
There are no shortcuts into success with blogging.
I mean, if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it, right?
To make sure you don’t end up “retiring” from blogging too soon, remember to commit to your blog from the very beginning.
Start now!
You won’t see results overnight. So you need to have heaps of patience, persistence, and determination.
Pair them with your passion and love for your topic, and you can be 100% sure that you will achieve your blogging goals in the future.
Final thoughts: How to start a successful blog from scratch?
If you want to start a successful blog from scratch, this post will help you get started the right way.
Got any other tips in mind? Share them in the comments below!
Even if you’ve never started a blog before, launching your first blog is a fantastic opportunity to start a successful business, work from home, and earn passive income.
So what’s the secret recipe on how to start a successful blog, then?
If you ask me, you should focus on three blogging essentials:
- Start with a solid technical setup for your blog: If something’s wrong with the technical part of your blog, for example with your hosting or your WordPress setup, you will run into problems sooner or later.
- Create amazing content with every post: Your content is what keeps your readers coming back to your blog. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your blog looks, if your posts aren’t top notch.
- Promote your blog with the right tools: Choose the right tools for promoting your blog. Invest a few bucks in marketing, and it will pay itself back sooner than you think.
Ready to start your blog? Great!
Head on over to my step-by-step guide on how to start a WordPress blog to get started!