10 Things You Should Do In Your First Month of Blogging

Dear my passionate creatives and entrepreneurial friends! If you’ve been thinking about starting your first blog or if you’re new to blogging, I want to make it easier for you by sharing with you 10 things you should do in your first month of blogging.

I know sometimes the blogging World can seem overwhelming, so I hope that this simple step-by-step list can help take away some stress.

So, let’s go: 10 things you should do in your first month of blogging.

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# 1: Register Your Blog

The absolute 1st thing you should do in your first month of blogging…

If you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, my best advice for you is to JUST START. Register your blog today, because timing will never be perfect.

And trust me, you will learn everything you need to know along the way. No amount of research, reading and filling up worksheets will give you as much real-life experience than actually doing.

Building a business online can open up so many doors for you! I feel grateful every single day that I get to do this for a living.

MY ONLINE BUSINESS & BLOG CHANGED MY LIFE

Here are just some of my favorite things I was able to do because of my online business and blog, and I hope this will give you some inspiration to get started too:

Travel the World and check off bucket list items. I’ve been to 80+ vacations around the World and created so many amazing memories with my loved ones in the last 8+ years because of my online business.
Be my own boss. Being my own boss has seriously been awesome! No early alarm clock, no traffic jam and no mean boss lady breathing down my neck. I get to call my own shots and work at my own hours.
Pay for my lifestyle. My business has been paying for my lifestyle since Year 2012.
Bought rental properties. 8 of my rental properties were 100% funded by my online business.
Live anywhere I want. Seriously if you have a dream of living in other countries like me, you’d love having an online business.
Connect with people all over the World. It’s fascinating how an online business can help you reach so many like-minded people around the World.
Won awards and media coverage. My online presence (and my international best-selling book) was instrumental in helping me win the Best Personal Branding Award in Year 2017. Plus, dozens of media coverage.
Give back. I’ve donated 3 schools for underprivileged children and supported 30+ women entrepreneurs in developing countries, all thanks to my online business.
I get to DREAM. Seriously, this is the best part – you get to become who you want to be because now you have a vehicle to get you there!

The list goes on. But I think that gives you an idea.

Just Start Already!

Starting an online business and blog was definitely the best decision I’ve ever made.

But, first thing first, you will, of course, need to register a blog to have a blog (obviously!). My blog is registered with a web hosting service called SiteGround and I love it.

If you’re just starting out for the first time, you might feel a bit overwhelmed. But not to worry, I’ve created a step-by-step tutorial for you. So just follow along and you’ll get your blog registered in no time. Just start!

# 2: Design Your Blog

OK, the next thing you should do in your first month of blogging is… Drum Roll… Design your blog!

So you have your blog live and active now, but it’s not looking too pretty just yet, right? Don’t miss this step as this is important.

With so many blogs online, you want to take care of your blog’s aesthetic so that it represents YOU, attract your audience and stands out from your competition. (Plus, you’ll likely be more motivated looking at a pretty blog than an ugly one. Just sayin’)

WORDPRESS THEMES

The good news is that it’s actually simple to do! You don’t need to be tech savvy or be a designer to make this happen. That’s where WordPress THEMES come in.

Themes are pre-made professional looking templates you can use on your blog to make it look pretty and professional in just minutes.

There are many free themes available. But if you’re real determined and you want to create a particular look and feel for your blog, you can check out premium themes. Premium themes typically start from US$40+.

If you‘re curious, I bought my theme here. I really love it! It’s a premium theme, so I did pay for it. But I’d say it’s well worth my money and the support from the theme designer Louise is really top notch. If you’re interested, sign up HERE to get a 10% off coupon before you purchase.

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# 3: Install Your Plugins

Next. And this is a very important thing you should do in your first month of blogging. Install your plugins. Don’t take this step lightly!

A plugin is a piece of software that can be installed in your blog to add functionalities and features.

I have listed some essential plugins you need to make your blog run smoothly from day one like a pro in Blogging Resources.

Setting up the right plugins will help you lay the foundation for your blog.

# 4: Find Your Blog Niche

OK, great! Now that you’ve registered your blog, made it looked pretty and installed essential plugins, you want to start blogging, right?

Well, not just yet. You need to know what to blog about!

That‘s where knowing your blog niche is so important. In the blogging world, the word “niche” refers to your blog topic. What your blog is specialized in.

Having a clearly defined blog niche will help you connect with your audience better, establish your authority and attract more visitors to your blog. Plus, defining your niche can also help you come up with blog post ideas so much easier later.

HOW TO FIND YOUR PERFECT BLOG NICHE

I recommend you to find your blog niche based on your Passion, Profession and People you want to serve. Also, don’t forget to define your Profit model before you start blogging. That way you can be sure that you’ll have a purpose-driven and profitable blog.

Want to know how to find YOUR prefect blog niche? Read this post.

# 5: Write Your “About Me” Page

Did you know that your “About Me” page is where ~90% of your readers visit when they first stumble on your site. Say what?!

It’s where new visitors learn more about you and decide if they want to stick around your blog.

Many bloggers neglect this page, but let me tell you – it’s the single most important page on your blog!

And that’s why spending time to write a thoughtfully-crafted “About Me” page is another one of the top 10 things you should do in your first month of blogging.

WHY CRAFT YOUR “ABOUT ME” PAGE

A thoughtfully-crafted “About Me” page can help you do wonders:

Grab your readers’ attention
Immediately convey the value you provide and what you do for your target audience
Help you connect with your target audience
Make you credible
Share what you and your brand stands for
Make you relatable, likeable and memorable
Ask your readers to take the next step with you (for example, subscribe to your newsletter, download a checklist, follow you on Facebook etc)

I think you get the point. It’s an important page!

Don’t know where to start? I’ve prepared a simple step-by-step tutorial for you (you’re welcome!). Just follow along and you’ll have the most important page of your blog beautifully crafted.

# 6: Start Creating Content

I love using my planner to jot down blog post ideas. Whenever a new blog post idea pops into my mind or when I see something inspiring or relevant I will write those down in my planner. This helps me to stay focused on my content and avoid writer‘s block.

I mean, seriously, staring at my laptop with a blank cursor is definitely no fun.

TIPS FOR BRAINSTORMING BLOG POST IDEAS

Here are a few simple ways to come up with blog post ideas:

Follow your reader‘s journey. What’s the first thing a beginner in your blog niche would want to know about? Follow-through on their journey and create a few blog posts.
Google’s autofill. Open up Google and type in the keyword from your blog niche. You‘ll notice that Google will come up with related search terms. These are actual words (and popular words!) people are searching for in Google. Write your blog title using these exact words and create your content.

Browse Amazon. Browse relevant books in Amazon. Look through the titles, table of contents and comments from readers to spark your imagination.
Look at your competitors. Chances are your competitors have already written up blog posts on popular topics that your readers are looking for. Look for words like “popular posts” and featured posts on their side bar. Don’t just copy them. Get inspirations from their blog posts and then put in your own spin and awesomeness.

I recommend you publishing at least 3 blog posts before you start promoting your blog to your World.

# 7: Find Your Photography Style

You’ll need some photos on your blog to make it look interesting and fresh.

By that I mean photos of yourself as well as relevant photos in your blog niche. Say if you’re in the healthy eating niche, you’ll need some beautiful photos of healthy food. If you’re in home decor niche, you’ll need photos of beautiful homes.

Although it’s always best to take our own photos so they are completely unique to our style, but honestly, who has time to take our own photos all the time, right?

WHERE TO FIND ROYALTY FREE STOCK PHOTOS

That’s where royalty free stock photos come in. It‘s important to use royalty free photos for your blog to avoid any copy right and legal issues down the road.

Pixabay and Unsplash are 2 of my favorite spots for free royalty free images. You can also sign up in this link to get 550+ beautifully-designed images for FREE.

# 8: Get On Social Media

Now that you have a few blog posts up and have some beautiful images on them, it’s time to share it with the World.

Sharing your blog on Social Media is another one thing you should do in your first month of blogging.

My guess is that you are already on some social media platforms. Being active on social media is the best way to bring the most engaged audience to your blog when you first get started.

The 5 most popular social media platforms are: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube (PS – Pinterest is actually more like a search engine. More on that in another blog post).

As a beginner, you want to select social media platforms you’re most comfortable with. Also, consider which platform your audience may be hanging out at.

I would suggest focusing on only 1 or 2 platforms to start so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

It’s really up to you to decide which social media platforms you want to go with, but make sure to register your accounts as soon as possible so you can secure those unique usernames.

# 9: Invest In Your Education

Now, this is another one of the important things you should do in your first month of blogging: Invest in your education!

I’m a strong believer in investing in my knowledge and my business. After all, if you treat your business like a hobby, it will pay you like a hobby (which is nothing!).

So learning new skills and improving my craft is something I’ve always been doing. And over the years, I have taken many courses and seminars to hone my skills.

Yes, sometimes it’s really scary to spend that money, especially when I was new and not earning anything from my business yet. But I’m so glad that I’ve listened to my inner voice!

Taking courses and investing in myself have been a huge game changer for me. The education has already paid me back many folds in profits.

RECOMMENDED COURSES FOR BEGINNERS

Did you know that blogging and having an online business can help you create an amazing lifestyle, make an impact and fulfil your purpose?

Of course you do. That’s why you’re here.

And investing in yourself is definitely the short cut to that reality. Here are 2 online courses for beginners I highly recommend:

Blog By Number. In one year this stay-at-home mom was able to grow her blog from US$0 to over $11,000 per month. From deciding your niche to monetizing your blog, she covers it all in this amazing blogging course. You get so much value and knowledge from this eCourse that it will worth every single penny. Highly recommended.
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. To learn all there is to know about making money through affiliate marketing, you can check out Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing eCourse by Michelle Schroeder. This is by far the best investment you can make for your blog. Michelle currently makes US$100,000+ per month from her blog, with US$50,000+ from affiliate marketing commissions.

Invest in yourself, learn and start blogging away!

# 10: Blog Consistently

A key factor in building a successful blog is to create relevant and useful content on a consistent basis. This is one of the most important things you should do in your first month of blogging.

Publish content consistently can help you build a strong long-term foundation for your blog. Go back to #6 above to brainstorm and jot down additional blog post ideas. Schedule your blog post ideas on an editorial calendar so you know exactly which day you will blog about which topic – this can help to take a huge amount of stress out.

And then? Start blogging your heart out and have fun!

10 Things You Should Do In Your First Month of Blogging

# 1: Register Your Blog