10 Important Questions to Ask Before Starting a Blog

If you’re starting out for the first time — or even if you’re experienced — there are a number of key questions to ask yourself before you launch a new blog. Whether writing as a creative outlet, establishing a personal brand/product or building expertise in a particular field; blogging requires some thoughtful consideration.

The decision to create a blog is frequently based on a foundation that channels passion and nurtures keen interest; however, developing enjoyment, growth and a site’s success often begins well before the first post has been published.

While extensive knowledge or becoming a top level aficionado aren’t prerequisites to start a blog, possessing a coherent vision is highly-recommended. Sharing any type of content with readers should ideally come with focus and direction — and a basic, practical grasp of the technical aspects of blogging. 

From time-to-time there will be issues to overcome when writing and maintaining a blog; this is normal and to be expected. However, one of the best ways of becoming a more proficient content creator is to remain a forthcoming and consistent learner throughout the experience.

To support anyone’s journey with this; whether a newbie or seasoned pro, here are ten questions to ask yourself before you start a blog:

1. | Why do you want to blog; what makes you unique?

Figuring this out is the most essential opening move; by clarifying purpose, goals and audience you can better identify the type of content you want to create. Understanding your reasoning can also assist with strategic decision making about design, promotion and monetization (if that’s what you’re working towards). Things to consider could include:

• What your interests are/what you’re an expert in.
• Where/how you want to make a difference.
• Content you enjoy reading on other blogs but can take in an alternative direction.
• Exploring popular and/or trending topics.
• What kind of experience you want to give potential readers.

2. | How much time are you able to dedicate to blogging?

Equally important as recognizing what’s prompting your interest in blogging is determining how much time you can realistically commit to it. Identifying this supports consistent scheduling, achievement with writing goals and task prioritization; ensuring motivation is maintained and potential burnout/writer’s block is avoided — it also helps pinpoint when to take a break from blogging.

3. | How often should you post?

Typically speaking, the more times you post per month, the more organic traffic will be generated. While some advice may specify an exact number of posts to publish, successful timetabling depends on your goals and resource availability (including time). If your aim is to increase search engine visibility, blog traffic and/or income from affiliate marketing, then more frequent posting is advised. However, if the focus is to address in-depth topics and build value, writing less often is likely a more appropriate option. 

Ultimately, when deciding on a publishing schedule, every blogger should aim for consistency; something that facilitates easily sustainable research, planning and writing. Determining what’s achievable as a writer (that also encourages loyal readership) may involve some reworking every now and then but once established, it makes being a blogger much easier. Things to consider could include:

• What’s going on in your life (personal/social/work, etc).
• The time required for conducting adequate research for a chosen subject.
• How quickly/easily blog post images and graphics can be sourced and/or created.
• The goal of the content; such as whether it’s following a realtime issue, generating organic traffic (SEO) or maximizing leads, for example.

4. | What is the optimal length for a blog post?

Depending on the topic being covered and the style in which it’s being presented, the ideal length for a blog post will vary. The bare minimum to provide enough substance for readers to engage with is at least 300 words — however, this length rarely gets search engine recommendations or encourages social media sharing. Blog posts that tend to perform better in terms of driving site traffic and nurturing durable readership (and therefore growth) are typically around 1000-2500 words.

Quality content will always be more important than post length, but if you want to generate something that’s authoritative and appealing (both from an audience and SEO perspective), longer posts remain best practice.

5. | What are your writing and technical skill levels (including SEO)?

Good writing skills are undoubtedly an asset, but they aren’t a requirement to become a blogger — with practice and dedication, they can improve over time (if needed). Perhaps most important is being able to communicate effectively in a way that captivates an audience’s attention and interest. You want people to enjoy and connect with what you’re producing, and the most effective way of achieving this is to remain authentic. 

If you’re choosing to focus on it, Search Engine Optimization or SEO represents an important aspect of blog post writing. Exploring the basics and becoming proficient at enhancing site visibility and traffic from search engines like Google will help blog content rank higher in search results. SEO techniques to learn could include:

• Keyword research and relevant usage.
• On-page optimization (title tags, meta descriptions and header tags, for example).
• Link building (both internal and external).
• User experience and site speed improvement (including image and mobile optimization).

6. | Who are your target audience; how long does it take to build solid readership?

If you want to figure out what a potential audience will respond to; start by researching topics relevant to your blog’s niche and see who is engaging with those topics on social media and other online platforms. You can also use tools such as Google Analytics or your own site’s statistics dashboard to analyze current audience demographics and trends. 

Building blog readership takes time and effort, especially if you spend the first few months testing out what works best. Various factors like the quality of content, SEO techniques and promotion strategies will factor into when it starts taking off. You can typically expect to start seeing growth within three to six months; however, it can take up to a year before you transform that into a dependable, well sustained audience. This can also be the same timeframe it takes to begin earning money from blogging (if that’s your focus). Building consistent readership could involve: 

• Clear, cohesive branding.
• Careful and consistent content planning.
• Regular publication of high-quality blog posts.
• Post promotion on social media.

7. | What are the most popular types of blog posts?

Some of the most popular types of blog posts include listicles, how-to guides, opinion pieces, tutorials, reviews and interviews. While some people may like to stick to one style for their particular site, using different varieties could keep things fresh and interesting. Choosing which kind of blog post to use for a set topic will depend on the goals and audience your targetting. 

8. | What supports a blog’s success?

The following list isn’t a magic formula, but doing these six things can help your blog flourish:

• Having a clear niche or focus.
• Maintaining a consistent posting schedule.
• Providing knowledgeable, high-quality and original content.
• Cultivating a unique voice or perspective.
• Engaging with readers through social media and blog comments.
• Remaining open to feedback and growth.

9. | How do you measure a blog’s success and effectiveness?

This comes down to our own individual goals and objectives; how we track and validate our efforts may well be different from what others choose to focus on. Whatever we decide to use, identifying priorities and measurable goals will help determine which blogging metrics and achievements are most meaningful to us. Helping determine success could include:

• Personal enjoyment as a content creator.
• Number of blog posts published.
• Achieving recognition or awards in your niche.
• Comments and social media shares.
• Referral rates from search engines and social media platforms.
• Email subscriber numbers.
• Revenue generated from advertising or affiliate marketing.
• Website traffic such as page views, most popular posts/pages, bounce rate and returning visitors.

10. | What are the best ways to promote your blog?

Enticing a range of visitors to your site is what blog promotion is all about. It’s an essential part of generating interest and making your posts easily accessible; additionally, promotion can lead to opportunities for guest blogging, speaking engagements and other professional opportunities. Blog promotion can include:

• Utilizing SEO strategies to improve your blog’s visibility in search engines.
• Sharing your site and/or specific blog posts on a variety of social media platforms and blog promotion sites.
• Designing visually appealing graphics to share on social media.
• Sending your most recent posts via email marketing to subscribers.
• Participating in online communities related to your blog’s niche.
• Guest blogging on other websites to gain exposure.
• Collaborating with other bloggers or influencers to reach a wider audience.

In Summary

Asking yourself these ten questions about blogging can help provide a more coherent strategy when starting your own blog (or improving an existing one). Becoming knowledgeable about what you’re working towards is not about finding perfection; it’s okay that parts of this may be challenging — hopefully these prompts ease some of that. 

If you haven’t started blogging yet; what’s holding you back? If you are a blogger; what do you find most demanding about it?

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Further Info:

10+ Most Popular Types of Blog: Your Blogging Inspiration for 2023 – Themeisle

The ROI of Digital Accessibility – Moz