Everyone wants to start a blog. But first, you need to know how to start a blog in 2022!
Blogging is one of my favorite hobbies. I recommend everyone to have a blog because it is fun and can eventually pay you. Having a blogging business has honestly given me so many internships and job opportunities. I love it.
Enough about me, let me teach you how to start a blog in 2022. Better yet, I’ll give tips on how to create a successful blog!
How To Start a Blog in 2022
1. Find your reason why to start a blog.
I find that most bloggers tend to want to start blogging and then later realize that blogging takes A LOT OF WORK. So when there are days when you are not feeling like writing or creating a blog post. You need to find your reason why behind blogging because it’s going to be a long journey. This “why” will be around whenever you need it, especially when you feel like giving up.
Being consistent is a big thing that a lot of people don’t realize when starting a blog. You have to be consistent each week and be ready to put in the work for your blog to be successful. Blogging is a slow and lonely game. You will spend hours writing, researching, and promoting on social media. Your why will shape your blog’s branding overall and assist with content creation.
For example, my why for this blog is to share advice and write about lifestyle and self care ideas. I also love writing and helping out people.
2. Pick a niche
Picking a niche early on will help you a lot. What will help you tremendously is choosing a niche that you can write about for five years. With my first blog, its niche was college so I was stuck with writing college-related content after I graduated and I was no longer interested in just writing about college. So, I created this blog and write about lifestyle topics from self-care to my hobbies.
But if you are just figuring out how to start a blog in 2022, then you should niche down. Just for a while. Give yourself a niche that you can’t stop talking about. Better yet, a niche that you can see yourself writing about for 2-3 years.
3. Create a domain name for your blog.
You can get a domain with your hosting plan. Plan out a few different names for your blog. Try to get a few names together, just in case the one you want is not available. But your domain should be related to your blog’s niche or relevant and not too difficult to spell or type out.
My previous blog’s domain had both my name and was so specific. It left little room for branching off or selling the website. Ariel’s University Guide was too niched down for me since I didn’t want to continue writing about college life. When I first started my blog, I never considered selling it, so I put my name in the domain. But luckily, the company I sold it to didn’t mind it and bought my content way more than I expected.
Avoid adding your name to the blog’s domain, if you are not looking to start a personal blog or lifestyle blog. Also, avoid niching too down.
I recommend if you are on a budget to shop around, but I like to just buy mine from the hosting plan (aka Lyrical Host). I bought domains from Namecheap when they were on sale to just secure it. Then, I’d transfer over to my hosting. But I recommend saving up and buying with your hosting plan—it just makes the process easier.
Free tip: If you plan to go into social media marketing for your blog, go to a website that checks if usernames are available across platforms. I did not do that for this blog and kind of regret it, but it’s hard coming with up alternative names.
Related: 11 Common Beginner Blogging Mistakes You Should Avoid To Become a Successful Blogger
4. Buy a reputable hosting company for your self-hosted blog.
In order to start a self-hosted blog, you need web hosting. You MUST have a self-hosted blog in order to start a blog and make money. Self-hosted blogs end up being profitable and successful.
I have been with three different hosting companies for my 2 years of owning blogs. I HANDS DOWN recommend Lyrical Host as the premium hosting company for bloggers. I have a whole Lyrical Host review going into extra detail about the company and why it’s the best for bloggers.
You will read from other bloggers that you can get hosting for $2-4 a month, but they do not tell you about the extra features you need to add on AND the fact that you have to pay for a whole year upfront. You might end up paying really $100-200 at once time for just for a plan. Then, a year down the line your card will be hit with 2-3x the price you paid for renewal time. Add in you’re in a contract that probably you won’t get a refund from if you decide to migrate over to a different, better host.
If I were starting all over, especially during my broke college blogger era and reading “How To Start a Blog on a Budget” articles, I probably would have gone with Lyrical Host due to their monthly subscription option and the fact the price does not change. I often ended up with renewal fees from other web hosting plans going on my card randomly and then struggling to cancel them. Starting out with Lyrical Host and doing their monthly plan would have been the cheapest way to start a blog with the best features and less struggles with tech issues.
Lyrical Host offers everything you need as a new blogger:
- Amazing customer support
- Premium web hosting features
- A free SSL (which most places charge for)
- Tons of free resources for its customers
- Daily website backups
Also, you can use my promo code: ASTOLDBYARIEL10 to get 10% off your first hosting plan!
Related: Lyrical Host Review
5. Install WordPress
Next up is to install WordPress.org. WordPress.org is the destination for your blog to be. 2/3 of the websites on the Internet are on WordPress. WordPress has endless plugins that will help you optimize your blog.
Also, if you are hosting with Lyrical Host, then it will be set up on there for you and customer service can assist you.
6. Purchase a WordPress theme.
The next step on how to start a successful blog in 2022 is buying a WordPress theme. For first-time bloggers, I recommend 17th Avenue Designs, which has tons of feminine and blogger-related themes. I used their themes for about a year and a half. I really love their newer designs. I used the Vivienne and Harper themes for my other blogs.
7. Learn Google SEO aka Search Engine Optimization.
I love talking about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It is the reason my previous blog’s pageviews increase by 857% within 6 months. I recommend taking some time to understand what SEO is and how to optimize your blog for Google’s algorithm. Having organic traffic from Google is the BEST thing for your blog and it will be more stable than social media in the long run. Many bloggers recommend to grow on social media rather than sit down for a few hours and learn about SEO, which I kind of disagree with.
One of my biggest beginner blogging mistakes was completely ignoring SEO. In the first 3-4 months you’ll have to grow on social media platforms, you can at least learn to write for SEO. I recommend taking an SEO course for new bloggers, such as, Sarah Chetrit’s Not Your Average SEO Course. It is the reason behind getting my new site to rank on 1st or 2nd on the first page of Google.
8. Learn Pinterest & other social media strategies
Even though, I just kind of roasted using social media in the last section, you should still learn how to promote your content on social media. I recommend having spending time learning which social media platforms work best for your niche.
Pinterest is the top social media platform I recommend to new bloggers due to how the platform is designed for people to click off and read blog posts. I learned how to utilize Pinterest’s current strategies through Amy LeBlanc’s Pinterest courses, particularly her Pinterest Rank Boost and Pinterest Scheduling Shortcuts.
Other social media platforms that bloggers use to promote their blogs are Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. I recommend that you try joining Facebook Groups related to blogging because that is where I learned a lot about blogging and was about to ask specific questions or more experience bloggers’ advice on what to do.
9. Starting writing blog posts!
So my favorite part of blogging is finally writing a post. I recommend learning how to write a successful blog post first, which isn’t difficult. (Says the social media copywriter.) BUT I first recommend having a few ideas for first few blog posts your blog. Basically, have a list of blog posts and keywords from SEO or Pinterest that you want to center the blog posts around.
I learned how to properly write a blog post as a lifestyle blogger through By Sophia Lee’s Perfecting Blogging course last year. I used to write a lot (1k-2k words) but did not structure it correctly for blogging and SEO purposes. In Perfecting Blogging, Sophia breaks down in a whole section how to write a blog post and gives you everything you need to write a blog post and manage your whole blog. Her course is beginner-friendly and runs on the cheaper end of blogging courses.
10. Launch, don’t hesitate.
Finally, the last step on how to start a blog in 2022 is to actually publish it. One of the most common beginner blogging mistakes I hear from people is waiting to launch. I’m going to be honest here: no one will read your blog for probably the first week or month. Unless you have a huge following on social media already, then traffic will be slow in the beginning. Hit publish so your blog can start ranking on Google.
The earlier you have blog posts up, the better. Do not hesitate on starting your blog. You can always hit edit or customize!
Hit publish and do not overthink!
Final F.A.Q.:
You may be thinking…
“Ariel, why should I start a blog in 2022 when TikTok & YouTube exist?” and “Isn’t blogging dead in 2022?”
So, I work in social media marketing and explain this to too many bloggers in Facebook Groups….
It’s nice to have social media following on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or whatever. But any day, they can decide to shut down your account and where will your followers go? How long do you have to wait for YouTube to optimize your channel? TikTok and Instagram are amazing to grow a following on, but your account can get shadowbanned at any time. You will always be waiting for algorithms to notice you and they might not ever. With blogging, you can make money whenever you want and do not need permission to do affiliate marketing or to place ads. You are in control of your content.
But is it too late to start a blog in 2022?
No, people are always googling things. Blogging is as relevant as ever. You look up recipes and go on a blog. If probably visit tons of blogs a day for random advice, but don’t realize that they are blogs because they do not look the same as they did in 2010. If you want to talk about your personal life, then use social media. You can write about your personal life on your blog, but if you want to make money fast, then learn how to write it as a useful article for your readers. There are tons of new bloggers making money from this blogging business and getting pageviews and brand deals and sponsorships.
So, is it worth it to start a blog in 2022?
Yes…it is worth starting a blog in 2022 because you’ll be able to have your own space to be creative without worrying about algorithms. But it’s just nice to have your own spot on the Internet just for your interests. Social media is great to have but you never know when an algorithm can change or when your account could be deleted.
I personally love writing in general. I feel like blogging allows me to make money and grow my personal brand. I get to review music and books that I read. I get to give advice and recommend my favorite products.
Ok, you’ve convinced me…but how to be successful at blogging?
Being consistent. It sounds easy, but being consistent to the key to everything. Just like anything, you have to be consistent. It’s not going to happen overnight and even if it does, you have to know how to maintain your traffic and gain consistent readers who come back and read your content. You also have to not give up. So many people give up on blogging before it even begins to pick up. Bloggers who stick with it and be consistent are the ones who become successful.
This blog post was all about how to start a blog in 2022.
Other blog posts you can learn about blogging:
Beginner Blogging Mistakes To Avoid To Be Successful
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