30 of my Best Tips for Starting a Blog (as a blogger of 15+ years)

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I could talk about blogging until the cows come home and longer. 🐮 Even after 15+ years of blogging. I started my first blog back in 2009, and while I eventually scrapped that a year later and started what would become what you see today, This Splendid Shambles, it’s been over 15 years now. And I’ve seen a lot. Done a lot. Been part of a lot of blogging things.

There’s a constant buzz and chitter-chatter about how ‘blogs are dead’ and ‘is blogging still a thing still’? And a billion per cent yes. On the flip side of that, people have been asking more and more, ‘should I start a blog’, and ‘what’s the difference between a blog and SubStack?’ (lots, but that’s not for today’s post).

So I thought I’d share some of my best tips for starting a blog, as someone who has been in this space for a hot minute.

Let’s get into it.

Before you even think about starting a blog

Just pause and figure out if you’re actually ready to start a blog

If you constantly think about starting a blog, love sharing ideas, and feel that little nudge that won’t go away… that’s probably your sign, to be honest. You don’t need permission, a qualification, or a perfect plan. Sometimes readiness looks like curiosity and a bit of courage. If you want to unpack those signs properly, I break them down in more detail here.

👉🏻 7 Signs You’re Ready to Start a Blog

Confirm whether you SHOULD start a blog

Before you start obsessing over themes and fonts, ask yourself one simple question: why do you want to blog?

Your reason matters more than your niche at the beginning. When you’re clear on your motivation, you’re far more likely to stick with it when things feel slow or awkward. Of course, this might change over time, but when you’re first even giving the thought the time of day … think about this first.

👉🏻 Should you start a blog at all?

Before you start blogging

Find your best niche/topic

If you’re stuck on what to blog about, don’t just pick something trendy or something that you THINK you should be writing about. Look for the overlap between what you love, what you’re good at, what people are searching for, and what you could eventually grow into income. That sweet spot is where sustainable blogs are built. When your niche feels like an absolute JOY, showing up gets a whole lot easier … and you’re going to need to talk about your niche, like a lot.

👉🏻 How to find your blogging niche

Confirm with yourself whether you’ll blog anonymously or known

You absolutely do not have to plaster your face all over the internet to build a successful blog.

If privacy feels important to you, that does not necessarily mean you’re not going to grow your blog or your impact. What actually builds trust is clarity, consistency, and genuinely helpful content. You can choose to share your blog posts without sharing your face if you want to. Will it be different to something like my blog where my face is everywhere? (Exhibit A above.) Sure. But that’s okay.

 👉🏻 Anonymous Blogging: What’s the deal?

Figure out who your audience is

One of the fastest ways to stall your growth is trying to write for “everyone.”

When you get specific about who your blog is for, what they are Googling at night, and what they are struggling with, your content immediately becomes stronger. You write clearer headlines. You create more useful posts. You stop second-guessing yourself as much. And it definitely helps when you’re starting out. Your audience might totally change over time, but for now, see if you can pinpoint who they are. Or who that one person is. And write for them.

👉🏻 How to Know Who Your Blog Audience is (and what to write for them!)

Name your blog something GOOD

Your blog name does not need to be genius-level clever, but it does need to feel like you.

Choose something you can imagine saying out loud in a year or two without cringing. Be sure to make it simple, memorable, and flexible, because that’ll be better in the long run. Think about whether it gives you room to grow if your niche evolves and changes, too.

👉🏻 How to Pick a Name for Your Blog

Get yourself a host that is actually going to work for you

Hosting is not the flashy part of blogging, but it is foundational – you can’t have a blog unless you have somewhere online to PUT it. You might have a hosted blog on somewhere like SquareSpace or WordPress.com, but if you’re going down the self-hosted route (the better, in my opinion!), then you’ll need a good host.

A solid host keeps your site fast, secure, and functioning when things go wrong. As a beginner, you want support that actually replies and helps you troubleshoot, not just a bargain price tag. Investing in reliable hosting from the beginning saves you stress later. Trust me!

 👉🏻 What Blogging Platform Should I Use?  | The Best Host For New Bloggers

Create a blogging schedule that works for you

You do not need an intense posting schedule to succeed. I have tried posting every single day, posting once every 3 months (do NOT recommend this one!), and then a few times a week.

What you need is a blogging schedule you can realistically maintain. Consistency builds trust with your readers, shows google that you’re an active blog, and it helps build your own confidence in yourself. Even one post a week, done well and done regularly, compounds over time. Pick a schedule that fits your real blogging life, not your ideal life.

👉🏻 How to Create a Blogging Schedule that Works for you | How Often Should You Blog? My honest thoughts

Ensure you have a good content planner

Okay this is a goodie. A content planner was one of the things that saved my blogging back in the day. It seems silly to write, but I was just winging my schedule and my plan for so so long, but as soon as I started using a good content planner … I felt invincible haha!

A content planner lets you zoom out and see where your blog is heading instead of scrambling week to week. It helps you balance topics, plan seasonal content, and avoid repeating yourself. When you have a plan and can actually stick to that, writing feels lighter and more strategic.

👉🏻 Why A Blog Content Planner Will Be Your Saving Grace

Write your first blog post (or 10!)

Your first blog post is not supposed to be perfect, trust me. And it’s probably not going to be. What it does need to be is published. Start with something helpful, foundational, or personal to your niche and allow it to be a starting point. You will grow and improve with every post you write. There’s not real number of blog posts you should have before you launch your blog, but I’d say at least 5 – 10 so that people have something to look at, and Google as something to index.

👉🏻 How to Write Your First Blog Post in 3 Easy Steps

Those first few months

Learn SEO from the beginning

I had no idea what I was doing when I first started blogging, so it was a real mission to come back to everything and redo a lot of things when I learned about SEO and the power it has. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and it’s really just all things we do for and to our blogs that help Google and other search engines send people our way. Learn the basics of SEO as you kick off your blog so that you’ve built a really strong foundation to keep going.

👉🏻 6 Tips for Getting your Blog Ranking on Google

Work on finding your blogging voice

You don’t wanna sound like me. Or Jane Doe over there. You wanna sound liek you. But finding your blogging voice is not something you magically discover before you begin, alas. It develops through writing, experimenting, and paying attention to what feels natural. You do not need to sound more professional or more polished than you are, because you’re not writing a textbook (unless you are …). Readers connect with honesty and clarity far more than forced perfection or over-complicated language.

👉🏻 How to find your Blogging Voice (and why it’s important)

Create a list of where to get images for your blog

Images can really shape how your blog feels before someone even reads a single word. High-quality, cohesive visuals make your blog posts look intentional and alsoi more sleek. Whether you use free or paid images, choose ones that genuinely support your blog. Self-taken ones are the best, buf we don’t always have time or resources to do that, so finding some great stock images that you can use can make a big difference.

👉🏻  Where to Get Images for Your Blog, Free & Paid

Understand some of the ways you could use the images

And then learn some of the ways that you could use those images that you find. Think about how they guide the reader and reflect your brand colours and tone, if applicable. There are lots of things you can do to images to make them feel a little more like you and your blog. Cropping, layering text, or adding subtle design elements can make them feel more personal.

👉🏻 5 Ways You To Use Stock Photos for your Blog or Business

Upskill where and when you can

I’ve been blogging for so long now, but I’m still learning things to this day. There is always something to refine, whether that is SEO, writing structure, email marketing, or analytics. The bloggers who see long-term growth are the ones who stay open to learning, I’m almost sure of it. And there are so many awesome resources and blogs and creators out there who can help you upskill.

👉🏻 Where to Learn Blogging Skills When You’re Starting Out

Start your email list as soon as you can

I didn’t start my email list until about 5 or 6 years I think it was, into my blog. 5 or 6 YEARS. All that wasted time! We need to remember that social platforms are borrowed space, it’s like we rent them. Your email list is something you own, much like your blog.

Starting your email list early gives you time to build trust and relationships directly with your readers without relying entirely on algorithms. Even if it grows slowly at first, those subscribers can be so so beneficial to you and your blog.

👉🏻 Why You Need an Email List as a Blogger | 10 Ways To Grow Your Email List as a Blogger

Set yourself blog goals that you can actually achieve

I know people talk a lot about goals … but they’re important for a reason, right? They help us clear a path and hit certain points along that path in order to achieve something bigger.

Without blogging goals, it is easy to drift. Decide what you actually want from your blog, whether that is traffic, income, creative expression, or impact, and create some clear goals to help shape your content decisions. When you know what you are working toward, your strategy becomes a lot clearer.

👉🏻 How to Set Blog Goals That You Can Actually Achieve

You’re a blogger now!

Learn how to create evergreen content

Now I’m a big fan of seasonal content – think Christmas posts, Valentine’s day roundups, things to do for Galentine’s … you name it! And while seasonal content can be great for getting those peeks in traffic, we want our blogs to be mostly evergreen content – content that does well all year round.

Focus on topics your audience will continue searching for months and years from now. These foundational posts become the backbone of your blog, and they stick around. Evergreen content is how we make sure we’re getting traffic to our blogs all year round. Which is what we want!

👉🏻  How to Create Evergreen Content when you feel like you’ve said Everything Already

Keep a running list of blog post ideas that you can use when your brain feels empty

Blogging is one of those things that, when you’re in it all the time, and you’re constantly working on it … it’s easy to feel like you run out of ideas. If you feel stuck for ideas, one key thing to do is shift your focus back to your audience. Look at search queries, FAQs, comments, and conversations in your niche, and keep a running list of ideas so you are never starting from zero.

👉🏻 How to Get Ideas for Blog Posts When Your Brain Feels Empty

Get yourself a community (honestly, a game changer!)

When I first started in 2009/2010, I knew only a few other bloggers. But once I moved to England, that’s when I really started connecting with other bloggers who were in similar niches to me. And even ended up making really good friends. Blogging can feel isolating if you try to build your blog and create on your own. A supportive community offers accountability, encouragement, and practical feedback and advice when you need it, and in a safe place. It was honestly so so helpful for me!

👉🏻 How to Make Blogging Friends | Join the Blogging Room Membership

Diversify where you get your blog traffic from

When your blog suddenly feels like it’s being attacked by the latest Google Algorithm change, it’s really important to take a step back and figure out if you’re diversifying your traffic sources enough. There are lots of ways that you can diversify your traffic, but here are a few quick-fire ideas: Pinterest, email list, social media (knowing that that’s out of your control, too), and then things like Guest Posting will also work well.

👉🏻 How To Get Blog Traffic To Your Website

Expand your reach by writing guest blog posts

Speaking of guest posting, guest posting allows you to reach a new audience and connect with people who might not otherwise find you. When you’re first starting your blog, it can be a bit scary asking people if they take guest posts, but can I encourage you to give it a go? And hey, if you have a blog post idea that you think would fit my blog, shoot your shot!

👉🏻 5 Rules for Writing Your First Guest Blog Post

Repurpose your blog content for other purposes so you’re not burning out

You don’t need to create something brand new every time you show up online, even outside of your blog. One strong blog post can become emails, social posts, Pinterest pins … and having that long-form content as your main content and then building around that … ideal. You’re already one up on other people, there.

I definitely recommend repurposing your blog posts for other platforms – just remember that every platform is different and you’ll need to pull out different things from your blog posts in order to best adapt to that other platform.

👉🏻 How to Repurpose Blog Posts for Instagram

Future-thinking for your blog

Figure out how to stay consistent with your blog

Consistency is less about motivation and more about systems that are working for you. But creating those simple habits around things like planning, scheduling, extra content creation … You’ll be able to show up more for your blog and find that rhythm and consistency. Showing up regularly builds trust with your readers, it lets Google know that you’re active with your blog, and it gives you that repetition that’s super important for honing your own skills.

👉🏻 How to Stay Consistent in Blogging and Why it Matters

Recognise that you’ll lose motivation sometimes, and that’s okay

Every blogger hits seasons where things feel slow or heavy, and they don’t feel motivated to blog. We all get it. We’ve all been there. That does not mean you are failing. It can be hard to push through, but one helpful thing I’ve found is to go back to my why and my original reasons for starting a blog. What is it about that that kept me going at the start? And how do I reconnect with that going forward?

👉🏻 How to stay motivated as a blogger

Add ‘updating blog posts’ to your regular schedule when you have a decent number published

After you’ve been blogging for a little while – even after a year of a blog post a week, let’s say – you’ll have lots of blog posts to go back to and update. Keeping your blog posts updated is a good way to keep the traffic coming to them. We love updated information. No one wants to find a great blog post and then discover that it’s actually 5 years out of date. Could I update my own blog posts more than I do at the moment? Absolutely. It’s something I’m often thinking about and just paying attention to.

👉🏻 How to Go About Updating Blog Posts

Keep a list of fast blog posts that you could create when you’re lacking time

Not every post needs to be a masterpiece, nor do they all need to be thousands of words long. Some content can be short, focused, and incredibly helpful without taking days to write. Giving yourself permission to publish quicker posts prevents burnout, and as long as you are answering the questions or addressing the topic that your blog post has promised people, it doesn’t matter the length of it.

👉🏻 The Fastest Blog Posts to Write (Perfect when you’re in a time crunch!)

Work on your own confidence as a blogger

Confidence will build and grow over time. You’ll probably be a bit wobbly (like a baby giraffe) when you first start your blog, but as you write more, schedule and publish more, you’ll find your groove. Don’t overthink it, but also don’t be afraid to be bold.

👉🏻 How to Write with More Confidence as a Blogger

Do a blog audit on your site every so often

Sometimes the best move forward is a step back, especially once you’ve been blogging for a little while. A blog audit helps you assess what is performing well, what feels outdated, and where gaps exist. And this might be about how you’re writing your blog posts, or it might be a big overhaul, and you look at your pages, your footer, your brand and image. Taking a step back every so often and reviewing things is the best way to make sure your blog is the best it can be.

👉🏻  How to do a Blog Audit on your Site and Why You’d Want to

Have strategies in place to get through writer’s block

Just like any writing endeavour, it can be pretty easy to slip into writer’s block. The cuase of writer’s block will, of course, be different for everyone, but sometimes it’s a mix of overwhelm and lack of ideas. Try to break your task into smaller pieces and allow yourself to write a messy first draft, even if you never end up polishing it and scheduling it. Just writing might help. Check out the blog post below for some more writer’s block strategies.

👉🏻 How to Work Through Writer’s Block as a Blogger

When you need to, ask for help

And at the end of the day, ask for help if you need it. You do not have to navigate blogging alone. Investing in coaching or structured support can be so beneficial, even if you’ve been in the blogging game for a while. Sometimes an outside perspective highlights blind spots you can’t seeyourself, and some good guidance can save you months of frustration.

👉🏻 1:1 Blog support and help | The Blogging Room

 

Phoar, that’s a lot. And you know what? I might even add more of my best tips for starting a blog as the years go by. There are so many great tips out there and not just from me, either!

I would absolutely love to hear from you if you’ve started a blog this year and to see how you’re getting on! Feel free to DM me on Instagram or flick me an email.