I remember when I started my Pet Business meeting someone who told me that I should start a blog. It’s quite a daunting process to be honest and there is so much information out there about blogging that it’s hard to know how to start a blog and the things that you need to do first.
I am all in favour of keeping things very simple, but what I have learnt over the past few years is that if you are blogging without a plan you really are not going to see the results that you deserve from all your effort.
There are however a few things that you need to consider before you get started
3 Things You Need To Decide Before You Start A Blog
#1. What Are You Going To Blog About
It might seem obvious that you are going to blog about pets if you have a pet business, but deciding on titles, themes and the style of your posts is going to make your blogging journey much easier.
You are more than likely going to be mixing your posts between
- Answering Questions
- Educating Your Readers
- Entertaining Your Readers
But it’s a good idea to get at least 3 months of titles ready at a time so that you are never stuck for something to write about. It also means that you never have an excuse not to blog.
It also means that your readers will get a mix of content from you. You won’t always be talking about your business, but you will also be educating and making people smile.
#2. How Often Are You Going To Blog
I recommend for maximum impact you blog 3 times per week. But I get that it’s not possible for everyone to do that. At a minimum though you need to blog once a week.
Anything less and you are going to be waiting a long time to see any real results in your business. It will also take a very long time to build up enough blog posts to educate your potential clients about your business.
When you create your list of titles you will be able to plan them out to meet your weekly blogging target. This will make the process each week simple and easy.
#3. Where Are You Going To Learn The Skills To Blog
I wish when I first starting blogging that I had invested in a blogging mentor. I recently updated my skills and took a course with the very well known Marcus Sheridan.
This transformed my approach to blogging completely. I had been seeing great success before I did this course, but once I had completed it and started to implement everything that I learned it was a real eye opener.
Learning the exact way to structure blog posts, how to approach SEO and how to learn what your readers want from you has allowed me to create much better content and also teach people to do the same.
Although you are always updating your skills, having a solid foundation has been key for me.
