5 Things to do before you start your blog

I’ve recently decided to teach a class at my church through our Community Connection groups on blogging. I’ve been blogging since 2009 and much has changed since I’ve started. 

I do not consider myself an expert but I do like to think I kind of know what I’m doing. Ok, good enough to teach a beginner how to get started. Like anything else I do, wanting to make sure I’m teaching correctly, I took to the internet (aka Pinterest) to see what other bloggers are saying. 

Can I just say my mind is on overdrive and I’m a little overwhelmed with information? Both old and new. I also have to say that most of these post on Pinterest all start with what I would say should not come first but second. 

Most of the post I found all start with the creative aspect of a blog. Which is extremely important. I mean, you can’t have a blog without creating one right? 

However, this is not what I (from personal experience) think you should so FIRST. I believe (in order to have a successful) blog there are just a few things you should do first. 

1. Figure out WHY you want to blog– There are many reasons why you might want to start a blog. To help figure out your WHY check out my blog post on (what’s your why) and come back for number 2. 
2. Decide what you want to blog about– The very first thing I would suggest is to decide what you want to blog about. You can find more ideas HERE. 
3. Learn about your target audience. Who are they? Do you have something to offer them? To help you figure out your audience I’ve put together a post just for that. As well as why it’s good to know your audience. 
4. Pick the perfect blog name for you. There are many ways to do this, from just using your name to finding that special name specific to your niche. 
5. Create a business plan. There are many ways to do this. Depending on what type of blog you have it is always best to create a plan before you go any further. Check out my post on creating a business plan for your blog. 

Now that you have the first 5 steps down you are almost ready to the creation part of your blog. But first I suggest checking out Creating your brand and theme.

You’re almost there. Keep your head up. You can (like all the Pinterest post say) create a blog in 15 min. However, like I said before. I truly believe that if you put a little more time and effort into your blog before you start you will have a more successful blog.