5 Things you need to Know Before you Start a Blog

You’ve probably heard so much about blogging, I know. But, regardless of whatever you’ve read or heard, before you start a blog, there’s still a lot to learn and put in place.

This is what I get to figure out from most clients, when I get to interview them, each time they apply to learn about blogging.

Even with those who claim to be substantially knowledgeable in the area.

But, you know what? Most times I’m not always surprised. Because when I started as a blogger after a few years of writing, I used to feel I’m already experienced, so, there’s no much to learn.

Until i came face to face with the reality, that blogging is quite different from writing as a hobby or other platforms.

And that indeed, there are certain things you need to put in place if you really want to enjoy a successful career as a blogger.

So you see? Whether you’re an experienced writer. Or a complete newbie, there’s some learning curve when it comes to blogging. Yeah!

Agreed, sometimes, it is very hard to figure out what exactly are these things you need to know or the other things you need to do to become more successful as a blogger, especially as a beginner,

But, regardless of whether you know what you should put in place before you start blogging or not, you want to build a successful blog.

And frankly, whether you like it or not, to achieve this goal, you need to figure out these things.

Now, in this post, I will be taking the burden off you by discussing these 5 important items you need to tick on your check list before you start blogging.

Alright let’s dig in below…

Identify what you Want to Achieve

Before you start blogging, one of the first things you need to put in place is to identify why you want to start a new blog.

It’s like asking yourself, What do I really want to do? Or achieve with blogging?

The answer you get here helps you understand your motive and then with this knowledge, you can streamline your actions towards achieving this motive.

So, for instance; if my motive is to blog so I can make money blogging. I will just write it down at this stage. before moving onto the next step.

Why do you want to achieve this?

After identifying the goal you want to achieve as a blogger, the next thing you want to find out is WHY you want to achieve this goal.

Your WHY is your purpose for starting the blog. It’s one of those things that will keep you when you feel like quitting or if you ever feel overwhelmed.

Trust me, many people give up on blogging and other digital businesses too soon because they don’t really understand the reason they started out in the first place.

You’re not going to let this happen that’s why you’re going to really ask yourself, what’s the purpose behind my blogging?

If it’s all about making money online so you can further your studies or get better accommodation for your family, you have to take note of this when you find it.

Create your Timeline

Considering that you understand what you want to achieve with your new blog and Why you want to achieve that, the next thing right now is to find out when you can achieve these goals.

But, before you get to fix any timeline; you need to ask yourself, with my level of knowledge for instance, at what time can I comfortably achieve this?

You don’t have to tie yourself to any specific time. All you need do is create a powerful timeline that will stimulate your interest and keep you committed towards reaching the goal.

Find out areas that will create easiest Result

After setting your timeline, your net best step is to find out the areas you can pay your most attention in order to achieve the best result.

Now, before we proceed, always remember the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule. It works in the blogging world just as much as it works anywhere.

As a blogger, you’ll be very busy putting in the work to get visibility, search traffic and an audience for your blog. And the best thing you want to do for yourself is to focus this energy in areas where you’ll get the best results.

To start with this, you’ll go back to step one. Based on your goal, figure out a blogging niche that will help you achieve that goal in the shortest possible time.

This will demand paying attention to factors like competition in the niche, and other things.

Going forward, the remaining things you’ll have to pay attention to are the analytics.

This should point you to the kind of content that brings in the most traffic, engagement etc. and the content management strategy that brought in the best ROI.

Choose Strategies that will Deliver Outcomes

At this point, you need to ask yourself, how am I going to really achieve these blogging objectives and goals set out in step one?

This is where you’ll set up a blogging strategy. Your strategy should include things like content creation strategy, target keyword, SEO strategy etc.

It doesn’t have to be something elaborate. Just a mapped out plan you want to use to achieve your expected outcomes with your blog.

You can also make it as flexible as possible, considering that your goals and realities may be changing from time to time.

Also as part of your strategies, work on creating a blogging schedule. For instance, schedules days and hours you’ll create content for your blog, other days you will promote across social media, other blogs and platforms, etc.

Having a structured plan like this will help both you and your audience.

Affix a target expectation to each of those activities. Here’s how you can do this…

So, for instance if I promote my blog across X number of social media for Y number of times per week, I should be able to reach Z number of people.

Or if I do this consistently at so and so time, I will have XYZ results. Technically, this briefly explains how you will achieve the laid down goals.

And be sure to take note of this.

Improve on it where necessary. And make sure you follow it every single time you’re engaging in any of your blogging activities.

PS. Remember that oftentimes, this strategy will require adjustments based on new realities. And for that reason, a lot of things might get to change from time to time.

Final Words

I’m glad you’ve learned about the important things you need to put in place before you start blogging. But. Can I tell you a little secret?

Unlike you, 70 percent of new bloggers are not aware of these things. In fact, I was not aware there were strategies like this that could help my blog when I started blogging.

I had to learn through trial and error. And this led me to wasting a lot of years without tangible results.

So you see? You’re already at an advantaged position to become a successful blogger. And you could single handedly shape your own blogging journey, if you decide to take actions based on these secret tips you learned today.

But the question is, are you going to take any step based on this? The choice is yours!

If you need further help as regards controlling the narrative around your own blogging journey, you can jump up on our Blog Mastery Course, where you get to learn the nuts and bolts of advanced blogging and gain mentorship at an expanded level.

So, it’s over to you now…

What’s your biggest challenge as a blogger? Let’s hear you!