With so many people blogging these days, it is not surprising that there are thousands more people wanting to do it too. It offers a vibrant community, a fun hobby, a way to express yourself and the potential to make an income. Which is why today I want to share with you 4 top tips if you are thinking of starting a blog. 

1. Choose your blog niche wisely

This makes sense to do from the beginning, so take the time initially to choose your blog niche wisely. You can then also make your blog name fit within that niche if applicable.

You might want to keep it very open, around a lifestyle blog or perhaps a family blog. This would allow you to cover many topics all under the same umbrella blog. Alternatively, you might be very keen to write a gaming blog and share the latest releases or perhaps a careers blog helping people in finding open positions in the field that they are interested in. 

Other popular choices are book blogs, travel blogs and food blogs.  Your choice depends on what you are most passionate about and will never get bored discussing.  The key to making your choice is to think about what you are passionate about and then, if you want to grow this into a side hustle, whether there could be a potential income by writing about that topic. 

Of course many people get mistaken thinking that niching down means picking one tight niche, but you can cover a lot of topics just by having one broad niche.  For example I am a money blogger, but that allows me to cover making money, blogging, saving money, family finance and anything money related.

I didn't know I was going to be a money blogger and spent a few years going through various niches, so it's OK to not know instantly, but if you already know your perfect niche then that's a great start and will save a lot of admin down the line!

2. Cram your blog with quality content 

The key to blogging success is in creating quality content. People need to want to read your blog and keep on coming back to read it. As such, you will want to write several posts before you begin to publish them so that first time visitors can see what you are all about and get to know your voice. Hopefully, they will then stick around and might even share your content. 

Good quality, regular content is also helpful for your blog's SEO which will help it rank on search engines.  Posts should be unique and informative using headings and appropriate keywords.

There are plenty of blog post ideas that you can write and create, so take some time to brainstorm dozens of topics and then work on the titles and content. I keep a list of blog titles on my iPhone and add to the list whenever I think of an idea.  If you're struggling to think of any then take a shower or go for a walk.  Seriously!  I find so many blog ideas pop into my head when I do both these things!

3. Know your social media

Bloggers spend a fair bit of time on social media. They promote their content and interact with other bloggers and their wider audience and followers. Some brands also like to work with bloggers who have a strong social media following, so it makes sense to work on this area from day one. 

As soon as you have your blog up and running and have created several pieces of content there, you should start working on your social media channels. Set them up to promote your blog, so include your blog link within your profiles and choose just two to three platforms to be present on initially. These channels can take up a lot of time and hard work to grow, so any more will be overwhelming. 

Work out which ones are best for your blog, traffic and interaction and stick to these.  Even if that's only one or two channels then it makes sense to prioritize these instead of wasting time on other channels that provide little benefit to you.

Ideally you want your social media channels to have the same name as your blog, so it's worth checking the availability of your potential blog name as a URL and on each social media before absolutely deciding on a name.

4. Do not compare

Whilst looking at and reading other blogs can be really helpful and inspirational as you start out, there is a danger that you will end up comparing yourself and your blog to theirs. Do not compare!

You are you, and only you have that unique voice so you absolutely are good enough to do this.

You also need to remember that some people might have been blogging for years, whereas you are just starting out - you are at different places in your blogging journey. 

Remember that everyone started new at some point and also had no clue what they were doing!  You'll get there.  It takes time and there's a lot to learn, especially if you want to make an income from your blog.  Just take your time and learn as much as you can.  Take inspiration from other blogs and bloggers, but never copy and never compare!