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How to Mentally Prepare to Start a Blog

When I decided I wanted to take my blogging from personal to a professional level, I thought I knew what it would all entail. Boy was I wrong. I was NOT mentally prepared to start a blog.Mentally prepare to start a blog

I really went in blindly. I looked at the thousands of pins on Pinterest on blogging and thought, “WOW! This is going to be so easy and awesome. Let’s do it!”

I started to read some of those pins, and then some more. From social media and email list building to income reports, editorial calendars, content, hosting, and learning WordPress, the list goes on and on. There is a TON of information scattered everywhere online.

It made my head spin. I really didn’t know which way to go, and I wanted to do things right.

That’s when I decided to pick up Ruth Soukup Book How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul, and I took the leap and signed up for Elite Blog Academy. If you would like to read my review on Ruth’s book check it out here: Book Review

Learning things in an orderly fashion really helped me move forward, feel confident, and prepare me for what is ahead.

With that, I would like to share 8 tips on how to mentally prepare as a new blogger and avoid frustration.

8 TIPS TO MENTALLY PREPARE YOU TO START A BLOG

1. Don’t Hurry Yourself – Pace Yourself

This was a hard one for me at first. I kept rushing myself to get things done. I soon figured out I was doing that because I felt like I was missing my moment. The truth is the internet will still be here and you’re not missing it!

There won’t be a huge difference if you get that one thing figured out right now, or in a week or two. You are learning a ton right now. So pace yourself.

2. Brain Dump

Your brain is a powerful thing, but when we are bombarded with information and tasks, it will make us feel overwhelmed and frustrated.

Do a brain dump, which is writing down all the thoughts and information you’ve been carrying in your head, and from there make a to-do list. Getting things on paper will help your brain stop juggling all those thoughts continually so you don’t forget.

3. Take A course / Read Books

Words cannot describe how important this is, especially for new bloggers. There are tons of books out there. The two I have read and recommend are Blog Inc (which goes through the very basics and beyond) and How to Blog for Profit: Without Selling Your Soul.

If you can afford or save up for a course, I would highly recommend going that route. I have been so blessed to be part of Elite Blogging Academy. I have learned so much, and I know my blog will grow and be successful because of it. It’s only open once a year in February.

There are other courses out there as well. Look for good recommendations and do your research before picking one.

4. Realize It’s A lot of Work

I knew blogging wasn’t an easy task since I’ve tried it before, but I didn’t realize how much time it would take to learn things and to actually accomplish my goals. It’s a lot of work! It isn’t something you can just do for an hour a week and be done. Like any business, it really does take time and dedication.

5. Writing is HUGE part of it

When the majority of posts and pins that offer advice on blogging focus so much on social media, income reports, and affiliates, you don’t really grasp how much of blogging is content writing. Something I learned right away was that CONTENT IS KING.

If you don’t write content, you have nothing to post. You don’t have anything to share on your social media pages, no affiliates to link too, and you won’t be posting any income reports! You have to be writing and producing good content all the time. That’s how you grow your blog!

6. Graphics Don’t Magically Appear

Not going to lie: I wish I had a little graphic fairy that would come into my office while I slept and magically make me beautiful graphics

The truth is that when you are starting a blog you can’t alway pay people to do everything for you, and well, fairies don’t exist. This means you must become a jack of all trades.

Thankfully, there are tools out there that make this easier. Some of the ones I use and that are popular are:

  • Snappa (I am a member of Snappa and LOVE it. You don’t have worry about paying for any graphics like Canva. All their graphics are royalty free! Woohoo!)
  • Canva (Canva has some amazing looking templates! I’m not a huge fan of their stock photo policy, and you are not allowed to use them to make a logo, but if you are using free stuff, then it’s a handy site.)
  • PicMonkey (Picmonkey is a popular one among a lot of bloggers, and there are good reasons for that. It has tons of features, and they even have an app! You can work on graphics on the go!)

To check out more resources I recommend go to my Resource Page.

7. You Will Have To Invest Some Money

No one really mentioned the large elephant in the room, but it’s there. There are certain things that will cost money. Now, how cheap you want to go is up to you, but keep this in mind: hosting and getting a domain name alone will make you open your pocket book.

Don’t be scared to invest in your blog and yourself. It’s well worth it. Just be mentally prepared for that, and start setting some money aside. You will avoid a lot of frustration that way.

8. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

If there is something I noticed about myself and many other people, it is that we want things to be perfect before we do anything.

The truth is that things will never be perfect, and that’s ok. Something will always happen to tweak an image, or a widget stops working, or your website crashes. No joke, the day I launched my site, my website crashed (and that led me to switch from Bluehost to Siteground.)

But the reality is it doesn’t matter. What matters is that my blog is looking and working better every day. Let it go and just enjoy the process.

So, just to quickly go over those 8 tips to help you mentally prepare to be a blogger:

  1. Don’t Hurry Yourself – Pace Yourself
  2. Brain Dump
  3. Take A course / Read Books
  4. Realize It’s a lot of Work
  5. Writing is HUGE part of it
  6. Graphics Don’t Magically Appear
  7. You will have to invest some money
  8. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

I hope these tips help you avoid frustration and feeling overwhelmed. Blogging is an amazing way to reach people you would never be able to at home. And it is possible to make a part-time and full- time income from it. So, keep your head up, and get to work. It’s worth it!
Drop me a comment below, and share with me what you have learned and tips you have gained about being a blogger.

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Courtney

Friday 30th of August 2019

I def need to do a brain dump! I'm still trying to decide who I wanna host with and Bluehost was one I was really leaning towards. Besides the fact that your website crashed were there other reasons you switched from Bluehost? What do you like about Siteground?

Owen Kariuki

Saturday 1st of July 2017

I agree that it can be taxing to prepare for a blog and even despair at the final moments. Thanks for this incentive.

Rebecca Brianne

Tuesday 6th of June 2017

I think running a good blog involves constant brainstorming and pivoting a bit to evolve! The more we write the more we learn about ourselves, our blog and our readers and it's super important to explore that in order to deliver the best content & grow!

Best, Rebecca

Chelsea Damon

Tuesday 6th of June 2017

I need a good brain dump now and again. That's why I love making lists!

Angie Rose

Monday 5th of June 2017

Oh man. Where was this article when I started a blog! lol Everything you say is so true! Pacing yourself is definitely key, it's so easy to get overwhelmed. Nothing good ever comes from being overwhelmed. Big lesson I learned! Content is definitely number one. I know I could do a half-hearted post daily, but that's not what I want to do. I want it to matter, and be something truly important to me! Being a photographer has helped me tremendously with blogging. Having the right images is equally as important. I couldn't live without PicMonkey! Love all of your advice :)