How To Kick-start Your Blog In 2019

Many people think it’s too late to start a blog in 2019 and make money from it. However, I’m here to tell you it’s not.

It’s not too late! It’s never too late to create the life you want and become your own boss. Having a blog will let you do that plus a lot more!

Learning how to start a blog is not easy. But that’s just like learning anything in life. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

Having said that, starting a blog is one of the best things I’ve done in my life!

Blogging completely changed my life in so many ways. It’s amazing to look back and see how far I’ve come with my blog. From not knowing exactly what a blog was, to making an income from it, building a brand, helping and inspiring others, and much more!

I absolutely had NO CLUE what I was doing in the beginning, but I stuck with it and learned along the way.

So if you have no idea how to start a successful blog, You can do it! and I will teach you how!

Whether you’re thinking about starting a blog or if you’ve been blogging for years, you may be wondering what exactly are the steps to creating a blog that earns income.

I receive so many questions from readers that want to know the nitty gritty and the steps to what exactly a blogger does. So this blog post is a huge guide that covers everything you need to know about how to start a successful blog.

Not only that, but this blog post is also dedicated to all those bloggers who started, but then for some reason stopped along the way (Just like me). Whatever the reason may be, this post will help you get back on track and get one step closer to your goals and the life you want to live!

I know that blogging can seem scary in the beginning when you start, but you need to remember that every blogger has been in the exact same spot you are when they started.

Blogging isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside, but it is something that you can definitely do! You just have to stick with it.

I know many other bloggers who are making a great living online, positively impacting the lives of others and living their life to the fullest.

So why not you too?

Related Content:

Every blogger earns money, grows traffic, and starts blogging in slightly different ways, but I’m going to go over the basics of how to start a successful blog. I’ve broken it down into simple, easy steps and will explain each of them.

Here are 9 easy steps to learning how to start a successful blog:

Determine what to blog about.
Create a blog name and domain name (URL).
Create your blog.
Create pages for your blog.
Brainstorm and write content for your blog.
Create an email list.
Start social media accounts.
Find ways to grow your blog.
Learn how to make money blogging

You don’t have to do these steps in the exact order. There is no right or wrong way to start. — Just start! and do what fits you best!

So… is 2019 too late to start a blog?

I get this question a lot from readers. 2019 is still a great time to start a blog!

The online world is still so very new and only in its infancy. Each year there are new ways to monetize and grow your blog even bigger!

It wasn’t until the past couple of years that companies and advertisers started realizing the value of online influencers, such as bloggers, YouTubers, and Instagrammers. That means there will be even more opportunities to earn money blogging once you learn how to start a successful blog.

The online world is a huge place and it is just going to keep growing. Every blogger earns a living in slightly different ways, and everyone has a different message and story.

Blogging is a lot of fun, but learning anything in life and how to be successful with it takes dedication and hard work. There will always be new things to learn but there is no reason why it can’t be enjoyable.

Plus, you gotta start somewhere right? 🙂 So why not start now?

If you are wanting to learn how to start a successful blog, today is the day to start one! Don’t let your fears hold you back and take charge of your life! Let’s do it! You can find my free How To Start A Blog Course here.

1. So… what do you want to blog about?

Trying to figure out what to blog about may seem to be difficult, but I promise it’s not! It’s best to create a blog around a topic that you really like or that you are passionate about, or that you really enjoy.

That way, blogging will be a lot more fun instead of feeling like a chore.

Your blog can be about anything or everything. It’s entirely up to you.

Here on Fire and A Beer, I mainly talk about personal finance, blogging, life lessons, personal development, spirituality, health, travel, RVing, and much more. I love what I talk about, that’s why I love blogging!

Plus, you can monetize any type of blog too, so don’t let that fear hold you back. There are so many ways to monetize even the most unique blogs!

Here are some possible blog topic ideas. The list doesn’t end here. Choose one, some, or all. It’s up to you!

Lifestyle;
Home;
Family;
Parenting;
Finance;
Crafts;
DIY;
Small business;
Outdoors;
Camping;
Road Trips;
Fitness and health;
Food;
Inspiration and advice;
Animals;
Travel;
Games;
Music;
Relationships;
School;
Electronics;
and much more!

That’s the beauty of having a blog. It can be anything you want it to be!

Should a person be an expert in the niche they choose?

A question people often ask is if a person should be an “expert” in their niche before they start a blog. I don’t think you need to be an expert in most cases when it comes to blogging.

However, I think you definitely need to genuinely enjoy the topic yourself. If you don’t like a topic, don’t blog about it for other reasons. This will only lead to frustration and disappointment with your blog.

Many times readers just want to hear from you, follow a real person’s journey, read about how a real person made it through a problem, how other people do things, and so on.

However, if you are wanting to give advice about legal or tax matters and that sort of thing, where you could get someone in a lot of trouble if you tell them the wrong information, then, yes, you should probably be an expert.

2. Create a blog name and domain name (URL)

Choosing a name for your blog is probably one of the hardest parts of blogging.

I know it’s easy to overthink your domain name, but remember that the value of your blog is in the content that you put into it.

Here are some tips to help you find your perfect blog name.

Make it catchy but keep it simple. You may want to think of something funny, use alliteration, or something else to make your blog name catchy and memorable. I suggest putting some thought into the name you choose. It doesn’t have to be long or super-catchy – in fact, a short and simple domain name is usually the best choice.

Brainstorm. Make a list of words that you want your blog to be about and even things that you enjoy. Then you can mix and match the words and brainstorm some more if you like. I found my blog name by making a list of things that I enjoy.

Think about what you’ll be writing about. You should think about the topics you want to write about on your website, who your target audience is, etc. Then, jot down descriptive words that are related to what you want your website to be about. Brainstorming this way can help you to think of a blog name!

Use a thesaurus. Sometimes, your first choice for a blog name may not be available, or perhaps you want to see if other words catch your attention better. A thesaurus can make this task easier.

Use your name. If you don’t want something catchy and/or if you think you’re not creative enough, then just use your name. I see more and more people starting to do this, and it’s super easy that way.

Creating your blog name can be easy and super fun! When I created my blog name, I was literally enjoying a fire and having a beer! They are two things I enjoy so I figured why not. Be creative!

3. Create your blog!

My tutorial will teach you how to create your blog step by step.

To learn all the technical parts of creating your own blog, I recommend heading over to my tutorial, How To Start A Blog on SiteGround.

This tutorial teaches you everything you need to know about how to start a successful blog on your own and very easily, even if you aren’t technical or a computer whiz.

Follow it step by step and it will help you understand all the behind-the-scenes parts of learning how to start a successful blog. It is very simple and easy with my tutorial. 🙂

4. Make pages for your blog.

The next thing you’ll want to do is create a few pages for your blog. You can take a look at mine here:

These are really the only pages you need to have when you’re first starting off creating your successful blog. These pages tell your readers about you and what your site is about and how to contact you.

As you learn and grow with your blog, you will want to add more pages later on, and you’ll easily be able to do so!

5. Brainstorm and write content for your blog.

It all starts with research. You’ll probably want to do some research about the blog topics you want to talk about. That is the best way to share informative blog posts. I find that when you want to write about things you love to talk about, the research process becomes easier.

I personally write every day. I like to brainstorm ideas and write down notes on paper or on my laptop. My goal is always to create content that is helpful to my readers.

I have personally seen that the money starts coming your way when you create content that is helpful to your readers, and that you actually love talking about!

This makes the process more enjoyable and doesn’t make it seem like a chore.

Doing this will help you create valuable content on your blog, and that’s very necessary to grow and monetize your website.

Writing and creating is an important parts of your job! And if you’re talking about the things you love, then you’ll love your job!

I highly recommend getting into the habit of writing every day. You don’t have to publish every single day, you just need to get into the habit of writing every day. Even if it’s just for ten minutes.

If you’re trying to build a money-making blog, then you absolutely must focus on writing for your readers. You need to create content that is valuable and relevant to them.

A great goal is to publish this content on a weekly basis!

Some bloggers would argue saying that one of the most difficult parts of blogging is creating new content, and sometimes you may feel that you have hit a brick wall and can’t find any inspiration.

For me though, I have a system that works quite well, and due to that, I don’t think I will ever run out of ideas for content.

Below are just some of the things I write about:

Life experience. For me, I like to write about things that I enjoy and have experience with. I think this is what helps set me apart from others. I also receive the best motivation and inspiration from topics that I personally come across in my day-to-day life and turn them into fun and engaging content.

Emails/Questions from readers. I receive a ton of emails and comments each day from readers. If I feel like I have something valuable to share, then I like to turn questions into blog posts. This way, I can share my knowledge and expertise on a subject, and it also helps readers more than what I could say in a simple email. Plus, if one person has a question, I know that many other people probably do as well!

Research that I’ve done and articles that I’ve read. I read a lot of articles every day simply for fun, and sometimes I come across something that I feel should be expanded upon, a topic that I think people have a hard time understanding, things that boggle my mind, and so on.

Brainstorming Sessions. Once in a while, I like to sit down and have little brainstorming sessions. For me, it’s a type of meditation. It helps me do a “memory dump” and get thoughts out of my head and onto paper. From there I will then “zoom in” on certain thoughts and create them into content that will be helpful to others. While I do have a long list of possible content ideas, I like to keep my list fresh and update it often.

Ask the audience. Sometimes I ask my readers what they want to read more about. This always leads to a ton of ideas for blog posts and can be a very quick and easy way to add to your content list. It’s a lot of fun too! In many cases, your readers will surprise you!

As you can see, there are many ways to come up with new blogging content.

6. Create your email list

Not having an email list is a huge mistake if you want to learn how to start a successful blog. I didn’t start my email list until way later after I started blogging, and that is probably the biggest blogging mistake I’ve made.

I also didn’t really use my email list until later because I didn’t understand newsletters, and I also didn’t realize how having an email list could help me engage with my readers and grow my blogging income.

This is why I recommend that all bloggers spend time growing their email lists. Actually, starting an email list is important for anyone who wants to make money online, whether that’s a blog or any other online business.

Here is why having an email list is important if you want to learn how to start a successful blog:

Your list is all yours. Unlike Pinterest and Instagram (and any other social media sites), your newsletter and email subscribers are all yours, and you have their undivided attention. You don’t have to worry about some social media algorithm not showing your content to your readers, as they are your email subscribers, meaning you aren’t fighting with anyone else to have them see your content (which is a great piece of mind).

The money is on your list. I believe that an email or newsletter is the best way to promote products, from affiliate products to the ones you create. Your email subscribers signed up specifically to hear what YOU have to say. So you definitely have their attention. Your email list will almost always lead to more sales.

Your email subscribers are your loyal followers. If someone is allowing you to show up in their email inbox whenever you want, then they probably trust what you have to say and enjoy hearing from you. This is a great way to grow a loyal audience.

Email is a great way to deliver other forms of content and it’s also a great way to make sure readers stay updated on the latest and greatest things on your blog!

I use Convertkit as my email marketing company. I personally believe that they are the best choice for bloggers. Convertkit makes it so easy to send emails and keep track of everything that comes with email marketing. Plus, you are able to create free courses and landing pages! I highly recommend using Convertkit if you are serious about making money blogging.

7. Start social media accounts.

Social media can help you to engage with your readers on a closer level so that they can get to know you better. It also improves your traffic levels, grows your audience, and much more. It might feel like extra work, but it’s an important part of learning how to start a successful blog.

So, you will want to create social media accounts for your blog. You may want to use Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or something else.

Social media can help you make money blogging in many different ways. I recommend starting with Pinterest as your first social media platform. I know that it can be time-consuming to master one social media platform, let alone trying to master them all. But you need to start somewhere.

Learning how to use social media for your blog gets easier once you’ve been doing it for a little while. Plus, you can automate a lot of it, including scheduling posts in advance. Once you get the hang of it, it will be easier to handle.

8. Find ways to grow your blog.

When you’re learning how to start a successful blog, you are also probably wondering “How do I get traffic to my new blog?”

All blogs have to start somewhere, and learning how to grow your blog is something that everyone has to do.

You do not need millions of page views per month to make money blogging, but if you want to increase your income, it will be important to increase your page views.

Every blog is different, and it isn’t always the blogs with the largest number of readers that make the most money. That’s because once you understand what your readers want and understand how to effectively reach out to companies for partnerships, you can make a good income online in many cases, regardless of the number of page views you receive.

However, if you want to increase your page views, here are my tips:

Publish high-quality blog posts. Readers come back to blogs with high-quality and helpful posts. I recommend that your blog posts be at least 500 words, but more wouldn’t hurt either. Most of my blog posts are around 1,500 to 3,000 words (this one is getting close to over 5,000 words!).

Be active on Pinterest. Pinterest is one of my top traffic sources. To increase your page views with Pinterest, I recommend creating great images, making sure the description and title of your images are catchy, pinning regularly, and only pinning long images.

Post regularly. If you want to earn money blogging, you should publish something at least once a week. Going for weeks or months at a time without a blog post can lead to readers forgetting about you.

Network with other bloggers. You should look at other bloggers as friends and colleagues, not competition. This means you may want to interact with them on social media, reach out to them via email, attend conferences, and more. Always be genuine and give more than you take.

Guest Post. Guest posting is a great way to reach a new audience and helps build partnerships with other bloggers.

Make your content easy to share. I love sharing posts on social media, but it gets frustrating when some blogs make it more difficult than it needs to be. You should always make sure it’s easy for readers to share your content. This could mean making your social media icons easy to find or having all of the info input that is needed for sharing (title, link, and username).

Organize the layout of your blog. A messy blog isn’t good for anyone. Make it easy for readers to browse your blog. If you want more page views, you should make it as easy as possible for readers to read your other blog posts. Readers should be able to easily find your blog homepage, categories, tags, search bar, and so on. Also, I recommend including links for related posts in every single one of your blog posts.

9. Learn how to make money blogging.

If you are wanting to learn how to start a successful blog, that probably means you are hoping to earn an income from it. Right? If so, that’s awesome! There is nothing wrong with wanting to make money from your blog. I’m so happy that I am able to make money from my blog all by doing something that I love, and I get super excited when I hear that others are doing the same!

There are several ways to earn money blogging. However, my favorite is affiliate marketing.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a blog monetization process in which you earn a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products on your website or social media platforms. You earn money when a follower purchases the product through your link, (this is known as the affiliate link).

Affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn money online. If you love and enjoy certain products and companies, then all you have to do is review the products and earn a commission every time a follower buys them as well.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money blogging. I love it because it can feel quite passive. With just one blog or social media post, you can potentially earn money years down the line.

Keep in mind that you will have to maintain the post and keep generating traffic to it. Also, most bloggers who do well with affiliate income share their affiliate links in more than just one post. This increases your chances of earning even more affiliate income.

Affiliate marketing allows me to relax and enjoy life more, all while knowing that I am earning a great income by promoting products that I use and enjoy.

Once you understand more of the nitty-gritty of affiliate marketing, you’ll understand why it’s such a great way to earn an income by doing very minimal work!

My blogging to-do list.

After reading the steps for learning how to start a successful blog, you may be wondering what I regularly do for my blog.

There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes for each post, and it might sound like a pretty long process. But, it’s become routine over time. I personally do everything on my blog. I don’t outsource anything, nor do I really want to right now. I absolutely love taking charge of everything, all the way from creating graphics, to writing blog posts, to setting up sponsorships. Although it does get overwhelming from time to time, I don’t think I’m ready to outsource just yet. I actually really love the rush of being so busy and getting things done!

Here is a list of what goes along with each new article that you see on Fire and A Beer:

Brainstorm new topic ideas. I have a list of over 200 possible article topics that I keep on my laptop and my phone. These topics come from life experiences, reader questions, research, articles that I’ve come across, and so on. But, I’m constantly adding new ones.

Create a schedule. I have a schedule of things I need to get done for the blog every day. Including writing articles, scheduling dates articles will be published, creating graphics, answering emails, replying to comments, and other administrative duties. I like to make sure I cover all my administrative duties every day so they don’t pile up for me. A little bit every day goes a long way!

Write content. I like to sit down and write an article from beginning to end without any breaks. It may take me an hour to write an article or it may take me all day. Sometimes, I do end up writing content that spans a few days, but for the most part, I like to finish a piece of content in one sitting. It’s easier for me that way because the idea of what I am writing about is fresh in my mind.

Formatting and adding images. Once I am done writing and editing my content, I add images (mainly for Pinterest). Then I format the post the way I want it to look and add links to related content on my website.

Publish the blog post and share. Once the blog post is published on Fire and A Beer, I share it on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.

Email my subscribers. The last thing I do is send an email to my subscribers about a new blog post being published. I also do that for all of the blog posts I write for other blogs too. If I happen to be guest posting or taking part in an interview, I usually share it a little more than I do my own content. I recommend you do the same if you are guest posting on someone else’s website. The more you share it, the more traffic that person will get and the more likely they are to re-share it too. So it’s a win-win for everyone!

Life Update

Hello! I’m back!

It’s been a really long time since I’ve done anything to the blog. A lot has happened since last year. Though, I’m really grateful to my readers who still referenced back to my site, (even though there wasn’t much going on for a while).

To be honest, at one point last year, I did have a thought about shutting it down and putting this whole blogging thing behind me. But then I looked at my income reports, emails, comments, and so on, of all the hard work I’ve done on the blog, and it motivated me to continue what I started.

And I’m so glad I did! Coming back to my blog was really refreshing and helped me remember why I started it in the first place.

They say that if your “why” is strong, then you will always find a way back on the path you were meant to be on.

My “why”, as in why am I doing this? Is because I want to help people. I want to help people become the greatest version of themselves. In every aspect of their lives. Financially, physically, spiritually, and mentally. I want to be the greatest version of myself as well, in every aspect too. Having a blog lets me easily keep track of that.

It’s amazing to go back and look at what I’ve done with my blog. In July 2018, I made $1,843.10. I can’t believe it has been a full year and so much has happened!

Many of you may be wondering, what exactly happened… Life happened!

Let me fill you in on what has taken place in the last year:

My grandfather passed away.
I Left my hometown.
I moved to a new province.
Started a new job.
Made some new friends.

I feel like I’ve finally caught up with my life and I’m finally able to get my priorities straight.

The blog is one of my top 3 priorities.

I am excited to see my income for the blog grow again and get to unbelievable heights.

So I have decided to create monthly goals for my blog that I will review at the end of each month to see if I have accomplished those goals or not.

Blog goals before the end of September:

Make $100 dollars from my blog. (I’ve made an income on my blog before and I definitely know I can do it again).
Get more followers on all my social media platforms.
Get more email subscribers.
Update my blog and get everything running smoothly again.
Guest post to at least 5 bloggers that I love.
Make more blogging friends.
Create a blogging schedule for myself.

I need to find my flow once again with my blog, and that is something I am really excited about. I can’t wait to share my ideas and passions with my readers and help as many people as I can! 🙂

I’ve learned so much about life this past year and I can’t wait to share it with you! 🙂

For those of you who already have a blog and you are on the same boat as me, of re-starting your blog, then I encourage you to keep going. Remember why you started in the first place and let that fuel you. Remember your dreams and ambitions and let’s create the life you’ve always imagined!

Are you ready to start your blog?

After reading all about how to start a successful blog, you might be really overwhelmed or you might be super excited. Don’t worry, feeling that way is completely normal. You are starting something new, so obviously you’ll get nervous. But you’ll also be excited too! Just remember that all bloggers started exactly where you are.

If you’re really excited, that’s great! Learning new things, like how to start a successful blog is exciting and a fun new challenge that can completely change your life. Let’s keep that motivation going!

But do keep in mind that reaching success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of work, but with the right mindset, tools, and resources, you can earn money blogging.

Are you interested in learning how to start a successful blog? What questions do you have for me?