How to Start a Blog

Step 1: Write Down Why You’re Starting a Blog

First, grab a sheet a paper and write down why you want to start blogging. Knowing why you want to blog will help you persevere through seasons where your blog is not performing like you wished.  

If you need help, check out this other post I wrote titled, 7 Reasons You Should Start Blogging.

Step 2: Pick Your Niche 

Next, pick your niche. A niche is simply the topic of your blog. Take a moment to decide what you’re passionate about…write it down. When you try to write to everybody, you’ll be writing to nobody. This is why you need to narrow your audience. 

Step 3: Write Down Your Blog’s Purpose

Just like how you wrote down the reasons you’re starting to blog, write down the purpose of your blog. For example, mine to to help Christian bloggers create, grow, and leverage their platform for the Kingdom.

Start with your niche and ask yourself, “What problems am I going to solve for my readers?” Make a list of problems your ideal reader faces. This will come in handy when you start creating content because not only does your over all blog need a purpose…so does each piece of content. 

Step 4: Pick a Domain Name for Your Christian Blog

Next, you finally get to pick your domain name. Your domain name is how people will will find you. You want to find a good .com name…one that looks professional.

You can either choose a name based on the purpose of your blog or you can start developing a personal brand where you use your own name as your domain name. 

Mine is a personal brand and my website is ChrisBaldwin.com. 

You can use tools like the one from Bluehost below to check if a domain is available.

A good strategy is to make a list of 5 to 7 domain names you’d like to use. Prioritize them from the one you like the most to the one you like the least…but still like. Then, use this tool from Bluehost to check the availability of each one.  

Step 5: Set Up Hosting & Install WordPress

This step and the last one really happens at the same time. For step 5, sign-up for hosting and install WordPress. Once WordPress is installed, you can pick out a theme. 

Bluehost is a great option and the one I recommend. They offer 1-Click WordPress Install and a free SSL Certificate with every account. Plus, their 24/7 customer service is amazing.

Additionally, their hosting plans start at only $3.95 per month.

If you want to learn more about why I recommend self-hosting with Bluehost instead of using WordPress.com, check my article Which WordPress Should You Use. This article also goes more in-depth on themes, plugins, and domain names. 

At the end of the article, I show you how to migrate your existing WordPress.com site to a self-hosted site.

Step 6: Set Up Your Social Media Accounts

Creating your blog is only part of the equation, you still need to market your blog. You need to get your blog in front of your ideal readers. One of the best ways to do this is through social media. 

Try and keep all your social media accounts under the same handle. What I mean is try and use the same user name for all the accounts. It could be your personal name if you’re building a personal brand, or it could be the name of your website. 

For example, all of my social media accounts are under TheChrisBaldwin.

Step 7: Start Your Email List

Your email list is the most important aspect of your blog. I know that sounds a little crazy to say, but growing your email list is what separates beginners and professionals. 

Growing an email list will benefit you in three ways. First, you can notify your list of new content each week. This will keep people coming back to your blog and increase traffic. 

Secondly, you will be cultivating relationships with the people on your list. You can ask questions, get to know them, etc. This will not only help you when you decide to monetize your blog, but it will also help ensure you are creating the content your readers need. 

Finally, If you ever want to monetize your blog, you’re going to need an email list. When you decide to write that ebook, create that course, or use affiliates…your email list is your warm audience. They are the ones like to buy your ebook, enroll in your course, or purchase one of the products you recommend. 

I use and love ConvertKit. Click below and get started for free. 

Step 8: Write Your First Post 

Now its time to write your first post. For your first post, I’d recommend writing an introductory post. This is simply a post explaining who you are, why you’re blogging, and the purpose of your blog. 

This will be a post where your readers can come to and know if your blog is for them or not. Remember, you’re not writing for everyone. You’re writing to your niche. 

Step 9: Consistently Publish New Posts

You grow a loyal audience by publishing good consistent content to a niche audience. Publishing consistently is important because your readers will learn your schedule. They will come looking for your posts…if it is there you earn trust…if it’s not there you lose trust. 

Over time that trust builds and they become loyal ideal readers. Attracting an audience of loyal ideal readers is why you publish consistently. Developing a blogging habit is how you publish consistently.

I’d recommend publishing at least once a week. Pick a day and stick to you. You can add more days later if you decide to publish more than once a week. What’s important is you’re earning your reader’s trust and you’re developing a blogging habit. 

Step 10: Market Your Christian Blog

Finally, you’ve made it to Step 10: Market Your Christian Blog. Your journey doesn’t end with publishing consistently, you also need to market consistently.

You need to develop a marketing strategy. A strategy that will place your blog in front of your ideal readers. Therefore, when you publish your post, send it to all your social media accounts with a description of who the post is for and why they should read it. By doing this consistently, you’ll be attracting your target ideal readers.  

If you want to use my marketing workflow, get my 21-Point Blogging Checklist. This is my ultimate checklist designed to help you consistently write, optimize, and market every post you write. You can get it for free here. 

Conclusion

Starting and growing your blog is not simple…but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Go through these 10 steps one by one and you’ll not only start your blog, but will be growing your blog as well. 

Feel free to steal my workflow…download my 21-Point Blogging Checklist. It’ll help you consistently write, optimize, and market every post you write. This is my ultimate checklist designed to help you consistently write, optimize, and market every post you write. You can get it for free here.