Welcome back to another installment of the #ChekwaBloggingSeries. As I mentioned in my blog anniversary post, I will be doing a series about blogging. This series will continue throughout the year, so if you have any questions you would like me to address, DM on Instagram or leave a comment below.

In today’s #ChekwaBloggingSeries post, I will be talking about how to start a successful blog. I get a lot of questions about this topic, so I am super excited to finally be writing this post. If you are interested in learning more about how to start a successful blog in detail, keep on reading.

KNOW YOUR WHY

I know this sounds super cliché, but knowing your “why” is crucial if you want a successful blog. I started my blog because I felt like there was a need for more young bloggers who love Jesus and Fashion. Also, when I got saved, I noticed that there were not a lot of women in the church who dressed the way I wanted to look.

I decided that I wanted to fill the gap I was seeing in church. I wanted millennials to know that they can love God and still be stylish. Furthermore, I also wanted to show young girls on social media that they can be beautiful, sexy, chic, and feminine without showcasing their whole body to the world. I knew my why before starting my blog, and this has not only helped me to stay on track, but it has also helped me grow a loyal following.

RESEARCH YOUR NICHE

Before starting anything it is always important to do your research. A lot of people think that there are certain blogging niches that do better than others, but I truly believe that any niche can be successful and make you money as long as you do the proper research. There are bloggers who have over 2,000 blog subscribers and make 6 figures talking only about dogs. There are bloggers who blog about being parents. Some bloggers blog only about medicine. There are also lifestyle bloggers, like me, who blog about pretty much everything but still have a specific concentration area which for me, is fashion.

You can literally blog about anything; you just have to make sure it is something people need, and is a niche that is profitable( if that is something you are looking to get into). You also need to make sure you like what you are blogging about or it will get really old really quick. Don’t pick a niche just because of the money or number of subscribers you could get. Blogging is not easy. You have to really love what you blog about to keep going.

CHOOSE A BLOG NAME

I honestly do not have much advice when it comes to this area because I always knew I wanted a self-titled blog. I chose my name as my blog title because I didn’t want a specific name tied to a specific niche. I wanted the flexibility to venture into topics outside of fashion and I knew choosing my name would allow me to do that. For example, if I named my blog “Joyce’s Wardrobe or Joyce’s closet,” I would be confined to the fashion space and would confuse my audience if I talked about something like hair or home decor.

I think using your name offers you the greatest flexibility, especially if it’s a unique name. Furthermore, as we age, our preferences and lifestyle changes. You may think you want to blog only about fashion for the rest of your life, but then 5 years later you become a mom and want to share your experience with motherhood. Choosing your name allows you to be flexible, without confusing your audience.

On the other hand, if you plan to only blog about a specific topic, I think choosing a name closely related to that topic is ideal. Just make sure you choose something that is searchable. This will help people find you on Google and Pinterest a lot faster. Also, make sure that the name you choose is easy to type out. You don’t want a name that is super complicated and hard to search.

CHOOSE A PLATFORM,HOST & DOMAIN

Before I explain what platforms, hosts, and domains I use and recommend, here are some common blogging terms that you need to understand:

Blog Platform: A platform that allows you to build your website/blog. It helps you upload your content and manage your posts. Examples of blogging platforms: WordPress.org, Wix, Squarespace, and many others.

WordPress.org is a free blogging platform, but you must buy your domain name and sign up with a WordPress hosting provider to host your blog.

Host Provider: Allows you to post your website on the internet. In other words, it allows people to see and search for your website. They also take care of all the backend problems that may come up with your blog/website. Blogging Platforms like Squarespace provide hosting with their plan, but WordPress.org does not. You have to find a host if you decide to use WordPress.org. I will talk more about this below.

Domain Name: The name of your website. For example, my domain name is Joyce Chekwa.

Top-level domain– The suffix at the need of the Url. For example: .com, .org, .co, .NET. I recommend sticking to .com if you can. It is the most common top level domain and is the easiest to search. Not to mention, it is SEO friendly.

Choosing your platform, Host, and buying your Domain:

Once you know your why, have completed your research, and picked your blog name, now it is time to choose a platform to house your blog. When I was deciding on whether to use Wix, SquareSpace, or WordPress, I chose WordPress.org simply because many of the biggest websites around the world are built on wordpress.org. Some examples of these websites are Vogue, CNN, Forbes, The New York Times, MTV News, Sony music, and many others. I thought to myself, “if these platforms are using WordPress.org, then it must be good.” Not mention, pretty much all my favorite bloggers use WordPress.org for their blog.

Another reason why I like WordPress.org is because of their themes and plug-ins. Most of the themes on WordPress.org are FREE, but if you do not like those themes, there are plenty of theme plugins that you can download for free. WordPress.org also gives you ownership over your website data, has several security features, is extremely flexible, and mobile friendly. Not to mention, they are SEO friendly and offer SEO plugins, which is key if you want to rank on google.

**BTW, please do not confuse wordpress.org with wordpress.com. These are two different blogging platforms. WordPress.com offers a free hosting service, but the problem with this is you do not have access to custom themes/plugins, and you do not own your website. I repeat…YOU DO NOT OWN YOUR WEBSITE with wordpress.com!

This platform also runs their ads on your website and your url will end in wordpress.com. For example, if you use wordpress.com, your website url will be : https://(Your domain name).wordpress.com. WordPress.com can also delete your website at anytime if they feel like you have violated their terms and services. They basically have full control over your site. On the other hand, with wordpress.org, you fully own your website. No one can delete or take it away from you nor can anyone run ads on it without your permission.

Now as far as a host, I use Bluehost. Again, I decided to use this host provider because many of my favorite bloggers and website owners use it. Bluehost is also very affordable starting at $3.95 a month and comes with a FREE domain name for the 1st year. Another thing I like about Bluehost is their 24/7 lifetime customer service. I run my blog by myself, and I do not have a background in IT, so whenever I run into problems on the back end of my blog, I just call Bluehost and they fix everything. Bluehost also comes with WordPress.org, which means you can automatically activate the platform. I personally have not experienced any problems with Bluehost thus far and would definitely recommend them for people wanting to start a blog.

CHOOSE A THEME

Now that you have all the technically stuff out the way, it is now time to build your website. Like I mentioned earlier, if you use wordpress.org, you will have access to thousands of themes that you can customize. A lot of bloggers choose to buy themes on Etsy or from other bloggers, but I chose to customize my website using Elementor. Now, I will admit that my website did take a little longer to build using Elementor because there was a learning curve, but if you have YouTube and Google, you will be fine chile!

Another reason why I chose Elementor is because I wanted to learn how to build a website. I’m always interested in learning a new skill and do not mind putting in extra time to master it. I also would rather have complete flexibility over my site then minimal flexibility. Elementor also has a FREE version you can download as a plugin, but I 100% recommend their paid version which is only $49 a year. With their paid version, I get full access to all their features which is seriously incredible. Everything you see on my website was pretty much built with Elementor and this has made website building soooooo easy! I know building a website might sound scary at first, but once you use Elementor you will see how easy it is.

Another reason why I chose to use Elementor was because I noticed a lot of bloggers use the same theme. If you take the time to look at a lot of fashion bloggers, and lifestyle bloggers websites, you will notice that they have the same or a very similar layout. I didn’t want that. I wanted something custom, and I wanted my readers to be able to distinguish my blog from other blogs.

I will say though, that I did draw inspiration from other bloggers websites. As I was building my website I looked at other bloggers sites and saw things that I wanted and did not want on my site. There is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from other websites, just don’t copy! That will get you sued real quick!

START BLOGGING

After choosing your theme, now you can officially start blogging. I recommend having about 6 post on your blog before launching. When I started my blog, I had 2 post in the faith section, 3 post in the fashion section, and 1 post in the lifestyle section. I did this because I wanted my readers to have content to look at while they were on my site. I also wanted my readers to stay on my website longer and the only way that could happen is if I had content ready for them to read.

I’ve seen people launch their blog with only 1 or 2 posts and as nice as that is, that is just simply not enough to get new readers excited and ready to subscribe. I know before I subscribe to a blog or newsletter, I browse the website first to see if they really have things I am interested in. I do the same when I shop online at a new websites. Before I give them my email for 15% off, I see if I like their clothes first. If they don’t have a variety of clothes on their website, then how will I know if I like there stuff or need their services? It’s the same thing with blogging. Make sure you have enough high-quality content to keep your audience engaged.

Remember, it’s okay to take your time before launching your blog. I bought my website in late November and did not officially launch it until March. This was mainly because I got frustrated while trying to learn everything on my own. I quit a few times lol, but I never gave up and you should not either!

CONCLUSION

Whew, we finally made it to the end! That wasn’t so bad right lol?

I know after reading this you might be intimated or even want to push back starting your blog, but please don’t! Remember, if God called you to it, he will give you the grace to do it! You can always DM me on Instagram if you have any questions. I can not wait to see your blog flourish! Have a blessed day family!