It’s happening again y’all. I’m starting to get a ton of questions, about how to start a blog, so you know I had to take to the Breakroom Buddha pages to let it all out. Today’s topic will be all about how to successfully start a blog! That’s right, I’ll break everything down, while also including a few nuggets of advice –aka, the things that I wish I knew before I started blogging.
If you’d rather someone coach you through producing content, blog setup, or actually set up your blog for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
HOW TO START A BLOG: QUICK GUIDE
- STEP #1: How to Actually Start A Blog
- STEP #2: How to Create Blog Content & Promote It
- STEP #3: How to Have Fun While Blogging
- Blog Resource: BB Blog Name Brainstorming Sheet
- Blog Resource: BB Blogging Essentials Checklist
- Blog Resource: All My Blogging Tools!
- Blog Reflection: What I Learned From Blogging
STEP #1 | Set Up Your Blog
How Do I Set up my Blog?
In order to start a blog, you need these essentials:
- A name: The name creation is up to you!
- An address (aka your domain): This is 100% necessary and it will cost! (a yearly fee)
- A home (aka your hosting): This is also essential, and is the most expensive part of creating a website! You pay for this yearly.
- A content management system: To manage all of the content you create
- A blog theme: aka a nice design/layout
Let’s break all of this down!
1A. Select a name for your blog
Get creative and start thinking of some fun names! If you need help, I’ve created a few blog name-generating tools below.
🌟 Blogging Resource: Blog Name Generator
Use the area below to list out a few words that describe your blog or website. You’ll get a list of possible names you can use for your blog!
🌟 Blogging Resource: Blog Name Brainstorming Sheet
After you’re done with the blog name generator above, download the BB Blog Name Brainstorming sheet to keep the momentum going!
Blogging Name Dump | Breakroom Buddha
Send download link to:
1B. Set up your blog’s domain
Domain: Domains are a necessity because as you might have guessed, this is the web address that users type in to find your blog.
Choosing a name was about a 3-week process for me, and I relied heavily on random name generators, as well as my friends and family to give me honest feedback.
When searching for a name, it helps to know what kind of blog you’re looking to develop and what “niche” you’d like to produce content for. Then, choosing a set of words or phrases becomes a million times easier.
1C. Set up hosting for your blog
As I’ll mention below, Bluehost (my hosting company) has a FREE one-year deal on domains, and It’ll come with your package. I, however, bought my domain first before I knew this, and ended up choosing Namecheap instead. Namecheap is an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar, and as the name suggests, it was a pretty cheap deal. I spent around $9 for the entire year. BUT, the price depends on a range of factors, so the best thing to do is pin down a few names, and see how much an individual domain name registrar will charge you for your chosen name.
Hosting: Hosting is what makes your blog accessible to the whole world, which is why it’s a necessity!
When I first had the idea to start a blog, I knew for sure that I wanted to completely own the content that I was creating, so I needed to go down the self-hosted route. This basically means that I didn’t want to depend on a website like Squarespace or Wix to stand my content up on. What happens if all of a sudden their service crashes, or there’s some type of discrepancy? I didn’t even want to think about it. So I chose the self-hosted route.
I knew how technical this could get, so that’s why I decided to take an easier route and use Bluehost.com! Bluehost is a company that offers web hosting services.
I honestly didn’t know much about Bluehost before I choose them, but I quickly gave myself a pat on the back for choosing them.
Here’s why Bluehost is the best blog host:
- I ended up paying less than $100 for 3 years of hosting.
- You get a free domain for the first year (I bought my domain first, and didn’t realize they did this. Don’t be like me, take advantage of this!)
- There is a one-click install option for WordPress.org and 24/7 customer service
- You get 5 free business email addresses
- Bluehost offers UNLIMITED subdomains, which makes hosting multiple product landing pages, online stores, and more possible. I like free, and I know you do too.
- You get a free SSL Certificate with their WordPress.org offer (This is the little lock that shows up on your website, letting your readers know that any information you collect on your website is protected)
How Do I Design My Blog?
Do start designing your blog, you need to:
- Select a Website Building Software / Content Management System
- Select a Blog Template
1D. Select a Website Building Software / Content Management System
After you get the naming, domains, and host out of the way, next you’re going to want to think about which Web Software / Content Management System you’re going to feel most comfortable using.
Breakroom Buddha is set up on the WordPress.org platform. I believe it’s one of the best platforms to use is you want to start a professional blog or website because it offers so many possibilities. There are endless plugins and embeds, design templates, and features, that can really level up the experience on your blog or website! WordPress.org is only one option though! There are websites like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Blogger, Tumblr, and more!
I will say, that in my opinion, you get the most bang for your buck when you’re using WordPress.org. This option might be more technical and pricey than someone might want, so the other options I’ve listed below are good alternatives.
Here are a few examples of blogs & websites that were built using the blogging alternatives I mentioned above:
- Wix.com Website Example
- Wix.com Blog Example 2
- Blogger.com Blog Example
- Squarespace.com Blog Example
- Tumblr Blog Example
1E. Select a Blog Theme
This is where things start to get fun! Picking out themes for your pages as well as your brand design is the best part in my opinion. But what does this include? That’s easy!
At the very least you should focus on choosing a template for your blog. Google is your best friend here. You can easily find a bunch of free templates to choose from just by Googling “Your website platform + free website template” (Example: “Squarespace free website template”)
Secondly, you’ll want to create some sort of logo so that people will know that it’s you’re brand! Just go with your instinct here, and don’t think too much about it. I knocked this part out in less than a week, and you can too. As your blog grows, you can switch up your branding as needed.
🌟 Blogging Resources: Free blog branding and logo design tools
- Dafont: A website full of free and premium fonts! (Having some kind of creative font could be a good logo design as well!)
- Flaticon: A website full of FREE vector icons!
- Canva: A super easy-to-use graphic design platform. It can be used to create logos, but a ton of other things as well. (more on this later!)
When you start a blog it’s like a crash course in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, content creation, branding, graphic design, and so much more.
DEJA W | BREAKROOM BUDDHA
STEP #2 | Create Content for Your Blog & Promote It
How To Create Content for My Blog?
When developing content for your blog you have to think about:
- how to get content on my blog (how to generate blog ideas, get free images, etc.)
- how to get people to come to your blog (aka website traffic)
2A. What Should I Write About on My Blog?
Once you get the technical and designing stuff out of the way, it’s time to start writing and producing content! I kind of knew what I wanted to write about, just based on what inspired me. I had a million ideas but tailored them based on the feedback that I received from friends, family, and mentors. But, just like a ton of other bloggers, I also get stuck. When I get stuck I rely on the tools below.
🌟 Blogging Resources: Free blog content creating tools
- Hubspot Ideas Generator: This website will generate a handy little list of 100+ blog topics to write about! This is perfect for someone who is new to the blogging world!
- Headline Analyzer: When you start a blog, a LOT of people will mention SEO. SEO and all that jazz are actually really important, for getting your content ranked in search engines, so having a catchy headline will help! This tool determines just how catchy your headline is.
- Unsplash.com: This is my go-to for free, high-quality blog images. While I do love them, there is a huge problem. The problem comes in when I see Suzy, Jill, and Joe using the same exact images! Lol, I’ve obviously made those names up, but you catch my drift. The better option is to take my own blog images, and I advise you to eventually do the same.
- Nappy.co: This is a website full of diverse stock photos! This is a great alternative if you’d like to avoid using the same photos that every other blogger is using!
2B. How Do I Get Blog Traffic to a New Blog?
When you start a blog, traffic will be your best friend. I honestly didn’t take this as seriously as I should have when I first started. This was mostly because I was blogging for fun.
I quickly realized that I travel, eat, and give advice out way too often to not be turning some kind of profit / getting brand partnerships. What do I mean about that? There are brands and people who are willing to work with you (aka pay you) to simply interact with their products, events, etc. So while I still like to have fun while blogging, I’d also like to be a tad bit smarter about positioning my blog.
So in order to make my blog profitable, I quickly realized that I needed to focus on increasing my blog traffic. To be completely honest, I’m learning as I go!
🌟 Blogging Resource: Tips to help increase your blog traffic
- Figure out what your “niche” is. I’ve started labeling my blog as a Lifestyle Blog. Most blogs consider themselves to be “lifestyle” blogs because literally almost anything you do in everyday life could be classified as “Lifestyle.” You like to eat — girl, that’s called “lifestyle”. You like to shop, and show-off product — that fits in the lifestyle category too.
- USE SOCIAL MEDIA. Omg, I was just lowkey using social media when I first started, but quickly stepped my game up. I set up a Facebook Page, Instagram Business, Pinterest Business, LinkedIn Group, and started pumping myself up on my personal Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, and Youtube accounts. You don’t have to use all of those platforms though. Figure out which channels you’d like to use to shamelessly plug yourself and your content! See an example of how I do this below!
- Shamelessly plug your blog. Like I mentioned above. When you start a blog, it’s important for people to know about it! If no one knows you’re making content, then you won’t get very far. This goes hand in hand with using social media to promote yourself. I joined Facebook Groups for Bloggers, and I tag the crap out of my blog. I’ve also joined Link Parties! Which is a way to drop your links on a link thread and generate traffic to your blog.
- Figure out your email marketing strategy. An email is a tool that can also get traffic to your blog or posts! Getting quality readers that interact with your emails is the tough part though! I personally use Mailerlite. It makes collecting emails a breeze!
- Use Analytics Tools. This is also important because when talking to brands, they’re going to want to know how much traffic you get. When you combine your Google Analytics with your Social Media analytics, you’ll start to see just how much of a reach you have!
The list above is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a TON that goes into running a successful blog. Reach out to me, if you need any advice!
STEP#3 | Find Your Blog Community and Have Fun!
By this point, you should know how to start a blog, how to add content, and how to attract readers. The hard part is done! You can finally take a super deep breath and have fun.
Sometimes I have to remind myself to not be so hard on myself. These are the things that keep me sane while blogging:
- Remembering why I started my blog — to try something new and share my experiences with others!
- Finding a blog community to keep me motivated
3A. If All Else Fails, Remember Why You Wanted to Start a Blog!
You don’t know stress until you’ve started pumping out blog content and have dedicated hours to promoting it. BUT, if you get a nice rhythm going and start to write about the things that YOU like then you will be okay.
I constantly remind myself of the reasons why I started blogging:
- I wanted to help others. The number one reason why I started Breakroom Buddha was to help young professionals and recent graduates figure their professional and personal journeys out.
- I wanted to meet other ambitious young adults and form my own little community online!
- I wanted to save my memories. I do a ton, and when I’m old and gray I want lots of proof that I truly lived my best life. I want to reflect!
- I wanted to learn something new. I’m a creative that embraces the idea of learning something new / learning how to do something better. And boy, let me tell you. When you start a blog it’s like a crash course in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, content creation, branding, graphic design, and so much more.
3B. Find a Community of Like-Minded Bloggers!
Facebook Groups: As I mentioned above in STEP #2, you should join a few blogging groups on Facebook. Not only are these a great way to promote your content, but they’re also filled with other creatives who are actually blogging!
Here are a few of the Facebook Groups that I’ve found to be useful:
Attend In-Person Blogging Events: Another alternative would be to attend events IRL (in real life)! You have two options here. You could either attend events that are specifically targeted towards bloggers, OR you can get out of your comfort zone and attend events that are geared towards all creatives!
Here are a few of my favorite companies that have IRL Events every year:
- 21 Ninety – Summit 21
- Blogher – Multiple Events
- The Creative Collective – Culture Con
Reflection: What I Learned After 1 Year of Blogging
*February 2021 Update*
A lot of the things I mentioned above still ring true. It’s actually been over a year, and I’m headed to year 2 of running Breakroom Buddha! After re-reading the steps and tools I listed above, I really did provide a pretty solid breakdown on how to start a successful blog.
I admit that I did fall off for a few months, and I wasn’t consistent with my posting, but I’ve recently got back into it! Here’s what that looks like:
- I post once a week (Friday’s @10A!), and update my blog’s social media accounts weekly! This has helped with my website traffic a ton! I’m starting to get traction.
- I earned my first number one rank on Google as well! I 100% owe my Rank Math plugin all the cred for helping me keep my blog’s SEO up-to-date.
- People have started asking me to guest post on my blog!
- I’ve co-hosted webinars with other influencers in my niche
- I’ve partnered with a startup to create content! It was one of their first partnerships as well.
- I monetized my blog, by creating premium templates and doing freelance work. I even made my first sale within a week of me launching my premium templates!
So, I’ll say this again: If you’re nervous about starting a blog, just do it! If you’re still lost, use me as a resource! Also, don’t forget to check out my FREE blogging tools below!
If you’ve started, but have fallen out of love with blogging, use my FREE gratitude journal set to reflect and think about the reasons why you started blogging in the first place!
All My Blogging Tools
That was a lot! So here’s a roundup of all the blogging tools mentioned throughout this article, plus a few extras!
- Namecheap: Namecheap is an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar, and as the name suggests, it was a pretty cheap deal. I spent around $9 for the entire year. BUT, the price depends on a range of factors, so the best thing to do is pin down a few names, and see how much an individual domain name registrar will charge you for your chosen name.
- Bluehost (my hosting company) has a FREE one-year deal on domains, and It’ll come with your package. I, however, bought my domain first before I knew this, and ended up choosing Namecheap instead.
- WordPress.org Hosting: Hosting is what makes your blog accessible to the whole world, which is why it’s a necessity!
- Mailerlite: An email is a tool that can also get traffic to your blog or posts! Getting quality readers that interact with your emails is the tough part though! I personally use It makes collecting emails a breeze!
- Google Analytics: This is also important because when talking to brands, they’re going to want to know how much traffic you get.
- Dafont: A website full of free and premium fonts! (Having some kind of creative font could be a good logo design as well!)
- Flaticon: A website full of FREE vector icons!
- Canva: A super easy-to-use graphic design platform. It can be used to create logos, but a ton of other things as well. (more on this later!)
- Hubspot Ideas Generator: This website will generate a handy little list of 100+ blog topics to write about! This is perfect for someone who is new to the blogging world!
- Headline Analyzer: When you start a blog, a LOT of people will mention SEO. SEO and all that jazz are actually really important, for getting your content ranked in search engines, so having a catchy headline will help! This tool determines just how catchy your headline is.
- Unsplash.com: This is my go-to for free, high-quality blog images. While I do love them, there is a huge problem. The problem comes in when I see Suzy, Jill, and Joe using the same exact images! Lol, I’ve obviously made those names up, but you catch my drift. The better option is to take my own blog images, and I advise you to eventually do the same.
- Nappy.co: This is a website full of diverse stock photos! This is a great alternative if you’d like to avoid using the same photos that every other blogger is using!
- Wordtune: To help you rewrite/rephrase sentences! It’s also great if you need to check your spelling and grammar.
How To Start A Blog: Blogging Checklist
I have more goodies to give! I condensed my list above into a quick blogging checklist AND listed out the must-do blogging tasks for your 1st month!
Check out my blogging checklist & essentials guide below, and give me a shout here if you have any questions!
Blogging Essentials Checklist | Breakroom Buddha
Send download link to:
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Wow, lots of great info! I pinned this post to come back to later and read it over again. I’ve been blogging off and on for over a decade and still don’t know half of it lol! I need a class.
Thanks for reading and sharing! I’m with ya. The world of blogging is so vast, and I’m constantly learning too. Stay tuned for more blogging 101 posts and content! 🙂
Great share, I also provide blogging tips on my weekly podcast and in my book. #TrafficJamWeekend
Thanks for stopping by! I’ll make sure to check out your resources as well.
Awesome post! I’m just starting out as a blogger and these tips are super helpful! Thanks!
I’m glad I could help!! 🙂
Thanks for the tips 👍🏻
No problem! I’m glad these helped! Stay tuned for more. 🙂