5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog

Starting a new blog is always exciting and a little bit scary.

After all, there are some pitfalls you might not be aware of. Which often makes us feel like there’s a ton of secrets we don’t know about that can help us succeed.

Here’s the deal though:

There are no secrets. Just a few tips that can assist you on your way to creating a successful blog. Want to learn more about them?

Well, here are the top 5 tips from Alex Savy, the Founder of Comfynorth.ca that he wishes someone had shared with him before Alex started his own blog.

1. It’s better to use analytics tools from day one

If you want to grow your blog, you have to understand how people find and use it. Consequently, you will be able to offer more content to your readers (and not just any content but something they require or feel interested in). Analytics tools can help you track the engagement across your blog posts and develop a certain marketing tactic accordingly.

For instance, even a free Google Analytics tool can help you in many ways. Not only can you use it to monitor your own traffic but also to check on your competitors (and learn from them or their mistakes). Additionally, this tool works to show the geographical location of your visitors, which means you can understand who your target audience is (mostly) and cater more to their needs, attracting more and more reads. And let’s not forget about the Google Analytics reports that include new and returning visitors, website speed, your goals flow, and more, all of which can help you get a deeper understanding of how effective your blog is and implement changes accordingly.

2. Accept the fact that results don’t come too fast

Here’s the deal:

You can’t build your website in just 10 minutes. And you can’t get countless new visitors in a matter of days. In blogging, results take time, and this can often discourage new bloggers and website owners.

So, it’s best to prepare yourself even before you start. Think about whether you have the energy and dedication to remain patient and wait for your blog to grow without stressing about the speed it’s moving at. Accept the fact that you will need to wait while building a strong foundation for your website. And most importantly, don’t give up when the results don’t come instantly. Patience is the key here.

Additionally, don’t forget that blogging requires a lot of research. Yes, it’s possible to “wing it”, but such an approach doesn’t always end up building success. So you should take your time studying the niche, your field of interest (which you plan to write about), blogging tactics, tools, resources, and competitors.

3. Pay attention to design

Many new bloggers often disregard the way their webpage looks and sacrifice the design to create better content. And yes, content is extremely important. But here’s the deal: if your blog doesn’t look good, chances are visitors won’t have the desire to read the content. It’s simple: most readers these days do not want to continue exploring unattractive or poorly organized websites.

So, once you decide to start blogging, it’s vital to remember that a strong design game can do your blog a lot of good. For instance, a good interface can increase your readers’ trust and might motivate them to browse further than just the homepage. Additionally, implementing a good, stylish design can make your blog memorable and might help the readers distinguish it from the rest of your competitors.

And don’t forget that great, intuitive page design is important for user experience and can help you improve your site’s SEO ratings.

4. Build your email list from the start

Another helpful method many new bloggers neglect is creating email lists. Some consider them too old-school, others simply choose to concentrate on other aspects of blogging and reach out to their readers through other channels.

But here’s the deal:

Creating email lists is a simple yet effective marketing strategy that can help you grow your audience (and obtain loyal readers, for that matter). Email subscribers are more likely to share your content, which means those lists can help you reach out to more people. Additionally, your emails can be quite personal, so you will be able to kind of nurture your relationship with the readers.

One of the easiest ways to inspire your webpage visitors to subscribe to your email list is using the exit-intent pop-ups. When the visitor’s mouse cursor moves to the top of the screen (meaning they are ready to leave), the pop-up message will appear, offering them to subscribe before going. Now, this is when things can get tricky, as you want your invitation to be persuasive but not too pushy. Try to mention the benefits your subscribers can get and promise that you won’t spam (for their peace of mind).

5. Be ready to put in a lot of work…

… and time.

Some people think that blogging simply means sitting by the pool with the laptop for a couple of hours a day.

In reality, blogging takes much more effort and time. Just to give you a rough idea, consider this: to write a quality blog post, you need to spend more than a few hours. This involves research, design, proofreading, keyword analysis, and a ton of other things.

And it’s not only about writing. You will also need to study your competitors, engage with the readers, answer the comments and emails, write guest posts, comment on other blog pages to increase your visibility, work on your page’s SEO, and so on.

Additionally, you will have to remain consistent and post regularly. It doesn’t have to happen every day, of course, but you will need to stick to a certain schedule, even on those days when you don’t have much time or experience writer’s block.

So, blogging can really feel like a full-time job, and you need to be ready for that. Before you even start, ask yourself whether you are willing to make so much effort. And if you are ready for such a commitment, you will need to stick with it.