I have a theory on life…
The first step is the easiest…
That’s different from what others believe. And I suppose that both can be true depending on the topic.
When it comes to things like diet, exercise and blogging…getting started is easy.
Just about anyone can go to WordPress.com, signup and have their first post published within an hour. There are a number of other places you can do it as well. Even Facebook can function like a blog. Start a new post. Write paragraphs and break them up with headings and add the title and you have a blog post.
In this post we’re going to focus on parenting blogs. They’re popular…probably because there are a lot of parents out there. And my goal is not to deter anyone from starting a parenting blog. My goal is to provide a little more information on how to do it so that you see results that you’re satisfied with.
Because one of the challenges with starting a blog is managing expectations and sticking with it… The internet is littered with blogs that have about 10 posts and then…nothing. That’s because blogs, including parenting blogs, are super easy to start, but difficult to sustain.
Just like dieting and exercising.
Here are those tips on starting a parenting blog…
Tip #1. Motivations
Why are you starting a parenting blog?
If it’s to work out your life as a parent: good.
If it’s to become a better parent through researching, writing, etc.: good.
If it’s to make money…tread carefully.
Not saying that you can’t make money with a parenting blog. More on that in a little bit. But it’s probably not enough motivation for you to make it through the early stages of the effort. You’re better off getting another type of job. The same goes for getting famous or building a huge following. It can happen, but it’s not very likely.
But starting a parenting blog can have many benefits. Ones that are very worthwhile and ones that come fairly early in the process and ones that continue coming over the years.
One of the traps with blogging or dieting or exercising or whatever is that thinking about the idea gives you energy. It’s exciting. But eventually that wears off and you have to be good with the regular grind. If you’re not, you’re likely to quit before anything worthwhile occurs.
Tip #2. Brainstorming + Writing
The best tip I can give you for a parenting blog or any blog really is to separate the brainstorming and the writing. Sitting down in front of a blank screen and trying to come up with an idea and then write that idea into a post is nearly impossible. You’ve heard of writer’s block…that’s how it happens.
Schedule two tasks with your blogging: 1. Brainstorming and 2. Writing
Schedule time at least once a month and more likely once a week. Brainstorm as many ideas as you can at a time. Get them on a schedule, which is really just a list. Ideas, notes, dates.
Then schedule separate time for writing.
You can still leave time for random inspiration. But you need to supplement that with regular brainstorming and writing.
I akin it to the best songwriters in the world. 99.9% of them schedule time to write. They keep notebooks full of ideas and then when they have a scheduled write they open their book of ideas and begin. They can still write randomly when inspiration strikes, but many have found out that relying solely on that leads to a very short career.
Tip #3. Q&A, Documenting
Two strategies that will work for a parenting blog as far as ideas for posts are Q&A and Documenting.
You can identify all kinds of questions people and parents have about parenting and raising kids. The internet is full of them. Social media, YouTube, podcasts, blogs, blog comments, forums, etc. Even the questions you ask yourself and others. Then the questions you get in person.
Write them all down as ideas. Then find the answers and write your posts.
Documenting would be telling stories about your own parenting experiences. Not necessarily with points or lessons. Just telling stories and sharing them as blog posts. People love stories. They will like reading your stories and they can draw their own takeaways.
Tip #4. Analytics + Engagement + Snippets
I would suggest adding analytics, like JetPack or Google, to your blog from Day 1. But I would then suggest not logging in and checking the analytics for at least a year. Doing so will only lead to frustration because you’re likely not going to have any audience for the first year. The only exception would be if you have some kind of following already on another platform.
There are a few things you can watch for in the early days to gauge success. What’s working and what’s not working. You can look at comments. You can share snippets from each post on social media and gauge interest that way.
But it’s tricky. You’re almost always better off using the first year to become better at blogging. Better at creating the content and learning what you like and don’t like. What you’re good at and not good at. That will lead to better long-term engagement.
Tip #5. Monetization
Starting a blog for money is very tricky business. This motivation will almost always lead to disappointment. There are a lot of better ways to make money than with a parenting blog.
But money is possible. Putting Google Adsense on your blog or Amazon affiliate links can work a little. But you need a lot of traffic.
One way to think about it could be that you could learn about a certain demand in the parenting world and buy or start a business. Then you can use the blog, in the long-term, to promote the business and its products.
When it comes to monetizing content, I like to think about giving away all the content for free. No roadblocks to the audience. Get as many people as possible. Then look for ways to monetize off that. That’s the future of content monetization in my view.
Conclusion
Starting a parenting blog can be very rewarding. It’s easy to start. You probably have about 5-10 great ideas for posts. But like exercising and dieting, you’re going to reach a point very early when you start thinking about quitting. The initial excitement will wear off. There is a graveyard of dead blogs out there for this very reason.
If you’re looking at it for the long-term, use the tips here and your chances of success will increase.