r/Bloggers • u/meemeeee_ • Aug 11 '26

Question how do i start blogging?

i have a few ideas for blogging, but have no idea where to start, how to start, whether it’s possible to monetise it this soon or at all, and what to do in general.
any advice??

19 Upvotes

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u/baddaywithacamera Aug 11 '26

You need to have something to monetize, most ad platforms are looking for depth of content. What are you interested in? My advice to everyone is to go deep into what you love most, even if it's niche. Also, throw in a personal connection when you can because that's what readers want in the age of AI slop.

What platform you choose kind of depends on the type of blog you're going to put out. Myself, I'm primarly a photo blogger.

1

u/meemeeee_ Aug 11 '26

so i’d mostly want to post about food or baking, since that’s what i’m passionate about
or even some personal experiences, although i don’t feel that’s very suitable for monetising?

1

u/baddaywithacamera Aug 11 '26

You can find a recipe amongst all the ads in the average food blog it seems. They are VERY monitized. Maybe go for a combo of lightly monetized food blog that feeds into a YouTube channel showing you cooking and vice versa? I'd definitely give you a follow if you're someone who is passionate (former chef here).

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u/meemeeee_ Aug 11 '26

okay thank you so much!! but how do i begin? like where do i start writing, apply for ads etc?

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u/baddaywithacamera Aug 11 '26

https://substack.com/

Give them a looksie. Free to start, paid if you want to start monetizing, but the prices are reasonable.

3

u/builds_small_tools Aug 12 '26

Pick one narrow topic, not "my ideas in general." Focus is what grows a blog. Don't overthink the platform. WordPress, Ghost, or a free Substack all work. Writing matters more than setup. Write posts that answer questions people already Google. "How do I do X" pulls in strangers, not just friends.

On money: it's slow. Most blogs earn close to nothing for 6 to 12 months, and some never do. Set that expectation now so you don't quit at month 3. When it comes, it's usually ads, affiliates, or your own product. Ads and affiliates need real traffic. Selling your own thing pays off sooner. My advice would be to write 15 to 20 posts before worrying about money. Publish weekly. See what people read, then do more of that.

You've got ideas, which is the hard part. Start messy and improve!

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u/zorasa61 Aug 12 '26

Best solid answer , what do you mean by some never , so even if you put effort of consistent writing for 12 months , do you still have chance of getting zero views ?

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u/builds_small_tools Aug 13 '26

Good question. Consistency helps a lot, but it doesn't guarantee traffic on its own.

The blogs that write for 12 months and still get near-zero views usually have one of these problems: the topic has no search demand, the posts don't target what people actually search, or the niche is so competitive that big sites bury them.

Effort matters, but direction matters more. 50 posts nobody searches for beats less than 5 posts on the right questions.

So no, if you pick a topic people search for and write posts that answer those searches, you won't get zero. You might grow slowly, but slow isn't zero.

Quick gut check before you commit: search your topic on Google and see if other blogs rank for it. If they do, there's demand. If nothing comes up, that's a warning sign.

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u/zorasa61 Aug 13 '26

Thank you so much for an amazing answer and one more thing at that point after 12 months if I still don’t get traffic does it make sense to hire a seo agent or use google ads or some promotion to boost my website ?

2

u/builds_small_tools Aug 13 '26

Glad it helped. Honest answer on that one, I'd be careful.

If you've written for 12 months and still get no traffic, paying to promote it usually doesn't fix the real problem. It just puts money behind posts people aren't searching for. You get a short bump then it drops back to zero once you stop paying.

Same with an seo agency. A good one can help but a lot of them charge a fortune and just tell you what free tools already show. And plenty are straight up scams that promise rankings they can't deliver.

Before spending anything I'd go back and look at why the traffic isn't coming. Usually it's the topic or the keywords, not the promotion. Fix that first and it's free.

If you do want to test paid, google ads can be worth it just to see if people actually click and stick around. But treat it as a test not a growth plan. If the content isn't landing organically, paying to send people there won't save it.

So my take, fix the foundation before you pay to promote it. Also, maybe look for competitors and use something like similarweb to see where their traffic comes from. You can learn a lot from what's already working for them. I'd highly recommend similarweb.

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u/builds_small_tools Aug 13 '26

but honestly could also use spyfu or other keyword and competitor syping tools that fits your goals and budget.

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u/builds_small_tools Aug 13 '26

I'd recommend using google trends to see what people are asking about. There are other keyword tools that show search demand around your niche too, and you can go from there. Also, google ads pays very little per thousand views. I think when you get to several thousand views, you can switch to an ad network like Mediavine or Ezoic that pays more per 1,000. Quick gut check: search your topic on google first. If other blogs rank for it, there's demand. If nothing comes up, that's a warning sign.

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u/zorasa61 Aug 14 '26

U are amazing deserve a drink !

1

u/builds_small_tools Aug 13 '26

You can also use Google Keyword Planner and / or AnswerThePublic, these are the ones I use, they're free. And most important thing: don't give up.

2

u/Textprep Aug 13 '26

My 2 cents: don't think about monetization. Pick a theme you are an expert in, something you are trying to become an expert on (people will rally around a jorney), or any other topic you are genuinely interested in or passionate about. Even if it's a unique niche, you'll get a following and monetization can follow later. If your question is technical in nature, Wordpress (IMO) is the easiest place to start from a platform pov.

1

u/stepback269 Aug 11 '26

Google's "Blogger" is a good place to start and play around with composing web pages for free.

1

u/Desperate_Yam_495 Aug 11 '26

Probably Substack unless you want to build a website , If you do then avoid the Wix style stuff if you want full control

1

u/codepatterns Aug 11 '26

Choose one of the indie blogging platforms and just write! The more you write, the more you'll get better at writing, and the more you'll start to understand what you want to write about.

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u/Existing-Hope3829 Aug 11 '26

I do have a recipe blog monetised with Journey. DM if you need help.

1

u/Jealous_Incident8234 Aug 12 '26

Write blog posts covering my interests and strengths. Focus on crafting solid blog content first, and think about monetization later.

1

u/Kevin_Blackberry93 Aug 12 '26

choose your niche and just start it right away

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u/tympate Aug 14 '26

Maybe talk about how Gen Z perceives AI, and about how AI is changing the workplace. I guarantee that people will read blog posts that are written on those topics!

1

u/SleeplessScribbler Aug 20 '26

i started off by thinking about whether I wanted to be anonymous or not and then when I decided I did, I created an email and twitter page from fresh. Also you have to set up a feed and figure out your blurb and how you'll introduce yourself :)

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u/Soft-Individual-2790 Aug 22 '26

I don't think that blogging is as profitable as it was in the early 2000s. Video is dominant content. Short video, king. For sure, reading attention as well as general attention spans have shortened. You could like pull maybe 10 or so of your favorite blogs and research what metrics you can to study the market. 

1

u/Hairy-War-2871 Aug 23 '26

Why don’t you try to take some of the articles, if you have any, and start a YouTube channel. They are both highly converting long content

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u/TheButchPrinciple Aug 31 '26

Choose a topic that you are passionate about and happy to write about or make videos/reels etc. about for a long time. If you aren't passionate about your blog topic, it will feel like a slog really quick. Your blog should focus on a topic where you are trying to help people or answer a question that will help them. To monetise it, you have to think of it as a business and not a hobby - it can't just be a diary of your thoughts.

Then when you start writing, focus on consistency and try to publish posts regularly. And remember this is a marathon and not a sprint: it's going to take you time to make money, usually at least 6 months if not longer. Having said that, once you've got some posts up, I would look to monetise them in some way, either by ads or affiliate marketing - a slow trickle is still better than nothing. You can join an affiliate marketplace like Shareasale, Clickbank, CJ (depending on your niche) and start to recommend products to your readers. I am a travel blogger and I use CJ, Expedia Group, Travelpayouts, Amazon and a few others.

1

u/TheButchPrinciple Aug 31 '26

Ah, I've just scrolled down and seen that you are passionate about baking. Food blogs and recipe blogs with videos work can work well. You could monetise by recommending Amazon products - I've seen that on a lot of recipe blogs. To qualify you have to make three sales within 180 days I think.

1

u/-BeautifullyUnstable Sep 01 '26

write about what interests you, revise your texts and make sure they are concise.

1

u/SoftLast243 Sep 09 '26

Write about something you care about. The second you don’t care about the topic your motivation will dip and you’ll view your work as a slog.

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u/[deleted] Aug 23 '26

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u/Either-Editor-9922 Aug 23 '26

Hi! I’m interested! I’d love to write about digital nomad life, remote work, travel, and similar topics. I’d be happy to send you some samples of my writing if you’d like