Hello, beautiful people from across the lands! This past week I have shared many tips on how to start a blog and different steps you need to take along this blogging journey. In this post, I’m going to bring it home and discuss how to successfully launch a blog in a 5 phase series. It is my hope that you bring your blog to reality because there are many who are waiting and need to be inspired by your words. Let’s get into it!
Research & Claim (Phase 1)
Identify A Niche
What do you want to blog about? It is important to Identify your main topic and begin to do some research to expand your knowledge. This will help with coming up with blog post ideas to write about.
Secure Domain & Social Media Sites
Once you identify a niche it’s time to secure your domain and social media sites. Doing this step next will help secure the idea. Do not worry about posting or even sharing your URL just yet. This step is to only secure your domain name just in case someone else happens to come up with a similar idea. I talk about how to do that in-depth in this post here.
Follow Bloggers/Influencers
It is safe to say you will not be the first person talking about the topic you chose. No worries, that is actually a good thing! Begin to look out for fellow bloggers, YouTubers, Podcasters, etc to gain inspiration and helpful tips. This is NOT to copy exactly what they do. Find inspiration and use your creativity to make it your own.
Prep Blog Post/Batch (Phase 2)
List 12-24 post ideas
I recommend having at least 1-2 months of content ready before you launch. This may be contrary to some advice out there but trust me it’s worth it. There are many components to launching a blog that is more than just writing a blog post, which usually takes the most time. Just list titles of things you would like to talk about on your blog. Do not worry about writing just yet. Only titles.
Create Keywords & Hashtag Groups
Keyword/SEO (search engine optimization) is going to be your new best friend. Identifying the keywords in your niche will help with your audience finding you and growing organically. Check out this YouTube from Vanessa Lau about how to do this. The focus is on Instagram but this can be applied to other platforms as well.
Understand Blog Post Types & Formats
Before you begin to write you want to become aware of the structure of drafting a blog post. There are different types and formats that go into completing a blog post. Again this is just the planning phase for your writing and you’re not writing the post just yet. It’s best to get familiar with the process first to lesson writer’s block or feeling overwhelmed.
Types
There are various types of blog posts you can write about. Here are three common ones to can start with
- How-To Post: Teaching someone how to do something (i.e How to Get Rid of Debt on a Low-Income)
- List Post: Numerically listing a variety of things that could benefit or be interesting to your audience (i.e 5 Ways to Increase Your Income)
- Case Studies: Sharing the stories/ testimonies of yourself or others related to your niche or service you provide
Format
How exactly do you write a blog post? This is a simple formula I follow with drafting my blog post.
- Intro: Greeting sharing what they can expect to read in the blog post
- Body: Create at least 3-5 subheadings to break up your main topic and provide details under each subheading
- Action Steps: Possible action steps they can take after reading
- Conclusion: Summary with key points of what you shared in the blog post.
Write Write Write! (phase 3)
Now it’s to put the pen to the paper or the fingers to the keyboard. Whichever you prefer. It’s important to identify a system of how you will get this done. Identify a time and space for when writing will happen. I’ll share a little system I’ve come up that has helped me batch content
Writing System
- Download Focus app: This helps keep your focus by restricting you from checking your phone constantly.
- Start with the Outline: Using the blogging format, instead of going through all the sections in one blog post I start with what takes me the least amount of time and fill them in under each title (for me I write the intro, action, conclusion, then body)
Grade Headline
Use these websites to grade the strength of your blog title. Bluehost now has headline grader within the drafting page of a blog post.
Position for Monetization (phase 4)
It is important to get ready to monetize from the very beginning. This was a big mistake I am learning from currently. I recommend doing the following to help your blog be position to gain income from the start.
Take Courses
In the blogging business, learning is earning. Here are two courses I recommend taking to help get you started with learning how to market and earn with affiliate programs.
- Affiliate Income
- Blogging Like You Mean It Pinterest Course
Research & enroll in affiliate programs
Being to research company and products that you would like to promote on your blog. In this post, I share 11 affiliate programs you can look into to help get started.
Create Graphics
Each blog post needs graphics to help with marketing. I found Creative Market Place to be a time saver. If graphics are not your skillset check out ready-made customizable templates on Creative Market Place and save yourself some time. Most importantly sign up for a free Canva account to edit. Canva is golden!
Launch! (phase 5)
Yaaay! You made it to the finish line! Now it’s time to showcase all your hard work and start earning! I recommend downloading the WordPress Editorial Calendar and begin to schedule out your content. Scheduling out your content in advance saves you time and allows you to focus on the most important piece.
Promote!
Share your work with the world. Post on the social sites you’ve chosen to focus on first. I recommend joining Facebook groups that allow you to post about your business. Do not be ashamed to post on your personal Facebook profile. Text family and friends links to your blog post and ask for feedback. There is no shame!
Action Steps to Take NOW
This post is filled with lots of information and I do not want you to feel overwhelmed. Take these simple steps to get started and gradually complete the phases.
1st Step: Identify a date you would like to launch or relaunch your blog (I suggest 60-90 days)
2nd Step: Once the date is identified, create a timeline and set reminders on your calendar to when you plan to have each phase completed
3rd Step: Find an accountability partner or supporter and share your timeline with them to help keep you on track
Conclusion
If you put these steps in place and take action you can successfully launch a blog. Keep in mind to map out your plan in the beginning with deadlines to give yourself structure. Remember to execute in the following order even if you already have a blog. Go back and see if there are any tasks you may have missed or could refine.
Have you thought about starting a blog? What’s holding you back? Or maybe you have and your losing hope. Was this post helpful?
Until next time dream, believe, and achieve.
