SO, YOU WANT TO START A BLOG HUH?

One of the questions I get asked a lot is, “how do I start a blog?”

It’s actually come up a lot recently. There’s been this question lately about “is the blogger world too saturated?” and “are there too many Instagrammers right now?”

Here’s my take on this:

There are A LOT of bloggers out there. But I think it’s amazing, and no, I don’t think it’s too saturated. There’s room for more bloggers, trust me on this one. The blogger industry is growing internationally, and more and more companies and brands are picking up on this. There are hundreds and thousands of niches out there. As bloggers, you need to find yours and really focus on your story. Before you get into blogging, here are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• What am I trying to achieve as a blogger?
• What is the target audience I want to hit?
• WHY am I doing this?
• What is my 5 year plan? What is my 10 year plan?
• Am I doing this for money? Am I doing this because I’m passionate about something?

Those are just a few questions to start with.

When I first started blogging, wayyyyy back in University (read how I started blogging here) it was a very different world. I used this online platform solely to layout my inspirations. It was VERY fashion-focused. Lots of images, with barely any text. I never had any intention to grow it. I was doing this because I was passionate about fashion and beautiful photography. And I needed a platform to store everything. Scrapbooks were getting slightly old.

Once I started this blog, I noticed that people were actually interested in my content. They wanted to see more. This sort of excited me, and I continued doing it. To fast-track this story a little, once I graduated university and got a “real job,” I stopped blogging. I didn’t really have or make the time to continue it. It was always on the back of my mind, but because I was busy with work and wanted a social life, I sort of dropped it.

Years later I decided to revamp the entire thing and start over. This time, my intentions were to actually get people interested in what I was saying and doing. This wasn’t just going to be a fashion blog. It was going to incorporate more of my lifestyle. This time it would be about fashion and beauty, and a little bit of travel, and maybe even some food. I was going to dabble, however, I had a very clear idea of who my target audience was going to be.

I changed the name of my blog, and revamped the website. I strategically planned out my goals and what I wanted to achieve by starting up my blog again. This time I knew my WHY.

Why am I doing this? This is an important question.

It came down to providing value. I wanted my readers to come to my site, and leave feeling like they got value from reading my post. Even if it was nothing major. But providing value and sharing were my MAIN goals as a blogger. And it still is to this day.

So…

You want to start a blog? Let my start by saying this.

IF YOU WANT TO START A BLOG TO MAKE MONEY QUICKLY, STOP RIGHT THERE. This CANNOT be your goal. Because I’m telling you right now, you will not make it. You’ll be doing this for the wrong reasons, and it will show in your blog.

If you want to start a blog because you’re passionate about a topic, then you’re on the right track. (And the money will come)

To be a blogger that “makes money” you’ve got to be a blogger that LOVES what you do. Making money can be the endddddd goal or a bonus. But, to be a successful blogger, your passion needs to show first. You need to get a following that trusts you and your opinions. You need a following that gets excited when you release a new post. And those are the kinds of goals you should want to achieve.

That was my goal. I had ZERO intentions to make money. And if you have been reading my blog for years, you know that. You know that I’m HUGE on sharing (maybe an over-sharer) and I rarely do sponsored posts.

The other day I had someone asking me how they can go about starting a new blog. Let me tell you, I get VERY excited when people ask me this. Like I said, I love to share. So, when someone asks me this, I go full on!

But the conversation quickly turned to ‘how do you get sponsorships?’ And I was like……………………

Sort of speechless.

I wanted to say, “how about you focus on getting a fucking domain first and find out what your niche is before asking about getting paid to blog!”

And I did say that, but like, in a nicer way. LOL.

My advice is, stop focusing on the getting paid part. Focus more on your WHY.

Blogging is an amazing industry. It’s a shitttt ton of work. Especially if you already have a full time job. There’s SO much that goes into it: brainstorm sessions, content creation, writing, photoshoot coordination, shooting, editing photos, editing content, publishing, promotion, more promotion. I can seriously go on and ONNNN. It never stops. And if you’re doing this for money, you’re sadly going to see how much work this is, and will quit very soon. But if you’re doing this because you’re passionate, you’re going to enjoy every moment of this.

Trust me on this. I’ve been doing this for a while and I’ve had to answer “how do I start a blog” MANY times. And my answers always stay the same.

So, if you’re doing this solely for money, do yourself a favour and stop right now.

But if you’re worried that the blogging industry is ‘too saturated,’ don’t worry, it’s not. Do what you want to do. Just find your niche.

Xx, kim

+ make sure you’re following me on Instagram. 

++ oh and have you read the post on Writer’s Block? Check it out here.

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