Starting a blog can be an intimidating process. There’s so much that goes into it, from understanding the blogging niche you want to write about to learning how to market your site effectively. Even once you figure out how to start, run, and promote your blog, there are still a number of other hurdles you’ll face. But, if you’re ready to take the plunge, it’s important that you understand the biggest barriers so that you can overcome them as quickly as possible. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones
You’re Afraid To Post Original Content
You’re afraid to post original content because, well, you don’t know what to write about. But, don’t worry! There are a number of ways to overcome this barrier. First of all, you can start by looking at what topics are being discussed on blogs in your niche. If you don’t know where to find these, we recommend you take a look at Reddit, Quora, and other online forums. From there, you can simply search for keywords related to your topic and see what pops up.
Next, you can also look to the news and see what stories are making headlines. Try to find topics that are either being praised or criticized, and see if there’s anything you can add to the discussion. Key in on themes that are being discussed by authority figures in your niche, and you may be surprised at the fresh ideas you develop.
You Don’t Have A Blog Niche
This one is pretty obvious, but you don’t have a blog niche yet! It’s easy to get caught up in the all-encompassing wonder that is blogging, but you really need to have a specific focus. Your niche should be something that interests you deeply, and is something that you’re able to spend a significant amount of time researching and writing about. It should also be something that you love to discuss with others in your niche. Once you find your niche, you can use it as a blueprint to create your blog content.
You Don’t Know Where To Start
This one is sort of a knock-on effect of the last two barriers. Even if you have a niche and a topic to write about, you don’t know where to start! Start small, and take baby steps. When you’re just starting out, you don’t have any followers, so your blog is basically a silent killer. Avoid spending too much time on social media or any other promotion methods until you have something to show for it. Instead, start with one post per day, and work your way up from there.
You’re Scared Of Being Wrong
This one is a big one! You don’t want to put in the effort to start a blog, but you’re scared of being wrong. We get it, it’s scary to put your ideas out there for the whole world to see. But, remember: You’re publishing your blog on the internet! If no one reads it, it doesn’t matter. If someone does read it, they can disagree with you. You can learn from their feedback, and grow from there. The only way to get over your fears is to put your ideas out there, and see what happens.
You’re Burdened By Overwhelming Information
This is another barrier that’s sort of a knock-on effect of the ones listed above. You don’t know where to start, and you’re afraid of being wrong. This leads to one more barrier: You’re overwhelmed by all the information, and you don’t know where to begin! Blogging isn’t about proving to the world that you’re an expert in a particular field. Instead, it’s about creating interesting, informative content that’s tailored to your readers. It’s about saying what you have to say, and then backing it up with facts and data from reputable sources.
You Don’t Have A Blog Theme
This is a major one! When you’re just starting out, it might be hard to justify investing time into developing a visually compelling blog. After all, you don’t know if anyone will ever click on it! But, when you launch your first post, you’ll be amazed at how differently readers respond when you have a theme. Readers will actively seek out your content, and they’ll expect it to be visually appealing. It doesn’t matter if you hate design, or you simply don’t know where to start, there are plenty of free and paid themes that you can use.
Step 1: Decide What You Want Your Blog To Be About
You’ve identified your blogging obstacles, and you’re ready to start overcoming them. This is the fun part! The first step in starting a blog is to decide what you want your blog to be about. This will help you narrow down your blogging interests, which will make it easier for you to come up with topics for your site.
Step 2: Understand The Different Blogging Niches
Now that you have a better idea of what you want your blog to be about, it’s time to understand the different blogging niches. This will help you narrow down your topic choices, and give you a better idea of what type of content you should be creating.
Create A Blog Topic List
Brainstorm a list of topics that interest you, and that you believe would be interesting to readers of your blog. Once you have a list, it’s time to break them down into sub-topics.
Narrow Down Your Topics
After narrowing down your topics, you’ll want to choose the ones that you think would be the most interesting to readers. You can do this by brainstorming some headlines for each topic, and then seeing which ones pique readers’ interest.
Step 3: Write Some Blog Post Ideas
Now that you have a list of topics, and a rough outline of what each post will be, it’s time to start writing some blog posts! Start by coming up with an overarching concept, and then breaking down the post into sub-topics.
Step 4: Edit, Revise, And Publish Your Posts
Once you have your post written, and edited to your satisfaction, it’s time to publish it. You can promote your posts on social media, and send them to your email list, but the best way to get more traffic is to publish them on your blog.
Step 5: Automate Your Blogging Process
Now that you’ve gotten the hang of it, it’s time to automate your blogging process. While it’s important to publish content on a consistent basis, it’s even more important to schedule your posts and publish them at regular intervals. You can use tools like Zapier to automate repetitive tasks, like posting on multiple platforms or sending your content to your journal.
Step 6: Analyze What Works, And What Doesn’t
This is the fun part! Once you’ve been blogging for a while, you can start to analyze your results and see what works and what doesn’t. What are your favorite posts, and why? Which posts were not as successful, and why? What could you improve next time around? The more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of it.
Step 7: Do It Again, And Again, And Again
Keep going until you’ve mastered the basics, and made your blog a consistent, reliable source of income. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can start brainstorming more advanced ideas, like diversifying your income streams or monetizing your blog through paid content. The sky is the limit!