Starting any blog can be one of the best opportunities you can take. It can open a pretty wide door of possibilities and enrich your life in...
Starting any blog can be one of the best opportunities you can take. It can open a pretty wide door of possibilities and enrich your life in ways you cannot even imagine until you really experience the world of blogging first-hand. Blogging can even become a lot more than just a hobby that you take up only in your free time. You can make some real money and join the world of influencers who actually blog for a living.
If you are thinking about starting a professional lifestyle blog, you can be sure that such an endeavor can turn out to be one of the best ones you can indulge in. If you are not quite sure what it takes to start one, you have come to the right place, so read on to explore everything that you need to do to jump on the blogging bandwagon and join the ride.
What Is Actually a Lifestyle Blog?
A lifestyle blog is best defined as a representation of someone’s interests and activities in their everyday life. This means that you could write about pretty much anything you want. It could be like your online journal where you would share your everyday experiences with your readers, with the goal of connecting with them and creating meaningful relationships.
However, don’t confuse it with a personal blog, which is a blog where people share their own personal stories with the world. Your lifestyle blog would be a place where you would share your personal interests – anything that you feel passionate about and have enough knowledge about it.
A lifestyle blog is much more than your daily outlet. With this kind of blog, you are the one making the rules, so you can choose any topic that you like writing about and create content that will be helpful to your readers. For instance, if you have a lot of knowledge and experience regarding parenting, you can provide useful tips for parents and help them raise their kids in the best way possible. As the name itself suggests, you can write about any topic that interests you, and that will provide some real value to your readers.
Why Start a Lifestyle Blog?
The first thing that usually pops into mind when thinking about doing anything is, without a doubt, the question: “What’s in it for me?”
- When you run a lifestyle blog, you get the opportunity to share your thoughts and opinions and truly make your voice heard.
- You can establish yourself as an expert in your field that people will always come to for a piece of advice, to resolve various issues they may have. Therefore, you can really make a difference by providing people with the information they are looking for.
- You can help those who may be going through the same experiences as you, which can be not only useful to them but also very satisfying for you. As such, your blog can actually be therapeutic. Helping people is a wonderful experience that makes you grow as a person. Your lifestyle blog can be an extension of yourself and a place where you can be exactly who you are.
- Also, as already mentioned, you can make money with blogging, which is one of the main reasons why people start doing it in the first place. The primary reason is a passion for writing, of course. After all, if you don’t have a knack for it, you cannot really expect to become a successful blogger. Nevertheless, the fact that it can help you make money is yet another reason why you should consider taking it up.
However, don’t expect to see the money rolling in right after your first blog post (or much more, to be honest). It takes a lot of time for you to earn actual bucks by blogging, not to mention a lot of effort, but it is definitely not an impossible mission. With the right activities that generate income and a lot of advertising, you can turn your lifestyle blog into a lucrative source of revenue.
What Types of Lifestyle Blogs are there?
There are quite a lot of different types of lifestyle blogs, as you may have already assumed, given the term “lifestyle.” Here are the categories that you can choose for your lifestyle blog –
- Health
- Fitness
- Wellness
- Parenting
- Pregnancy
- Marriage
- Relationships
- Food
- Travel
- Fashion
- Beauty
- Photography
- Professional photo editing
- Design
- Career
- DIY
- Money-saving
- Budgeting etc.
The theme of the blog must be pretty much anything regarding a specific lifestyle topic that can provide value to your readers.
Lifestyle blog's Best categories |
How to Start a Lifestyle Blog?
Without further ado, here are all of the steps that you need to take to start your very own lifestyle blog and enter the extraordinary world of blogging that will certainly bring both you and your readers some benefits.
Step 1: Pick a Specific Niche
What is it that you are particularly interested in and that you truly feel passionate about? Do you have a lot of knowledge and experience regarding a certain topic and you really want to share it with the world? For instance, if your friends are always relying on you for some fashion advice, perhaps a fashion blog would be your best bet. If you are a master in the kitchen, a food blog may be your way to go.
Confucius once said: “Choose a job that you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Therefore, choose something that you find interesting and fun and that you will enjoy writing about every single time you sit down at your computer, and your blog will become something that fulfills your life and makes you genuinely happy.
Step 2: Choose a Blogging Platform
Once you know exactly what it is that you want to blog about, you need to choose a blogging platform that will actually enable you to indulge in your writing adventure. There are a lot of blogging platforms you can choose from, but the best (especially for beginners) and the most popular one is definitely WordPress, so you should seriously consider it.
There are two versions of WordPress: WordPress.com and WordPress.org, the free and the self-hosted version, respectively. People often confuse them, so make sure you choose the one that best suits your needs.
Namely, if you choose the free version, you will not be in full control of your blog, which actually means that you will not really own it and neither of your files will be stored on your servers. Therefore, your blog can be shut down without even a single warning and all of your effort can go down the drain. What’s more, you will not be able to put ads on your website and make money, while you will be required to put someone else’s ads on it. You will also have no tech support, and you will have a generic URL that will certainly not help you differentiate yourself from other bloggers.
Choose a perfect lifestyle blogging platform |
On the other hand, if you choose the self-hosted version, you will be able to store your blog on your own server and design it in any way that you like, as you will be provided with a lot of themes and plugins for customization, many of which are completely free of charge. However, while this version of WordPress is also free, you need to register a domain name (which is certainly something that you actually want) and sign up for web hosting to be able to use it. This doesn’t need to be expensive at all, but the most important thing to have in mind is that you will have full control of your blog if you go for the self-hosted version.
Step 3: Register a Domain Name
Note: This step, as well as the following one, are required only if you choose a self-hosted blogging platform.
Choosing a domain name for your website is a very important step because that name will be the one that people will remember you by. It will represent your brand, so it should be something that is easily memorable and that, of course, has something to do with the niche of your lifestyle blog. Your domain name is actually the address for your website, that is, the URL for your blog.
You should make sure that your domain name is short, has no hyphens, numbers, or abbreviations, and that it really grabs the attention of your target audience. They should be able to remember instantly and easily recognize it. It should be unique and can be showcased as a brand so that you can really stand out from the crowd and be able to easily distinguish yourself, thus quickly build your brand.
There are a lot of domain name registrars where you can purchase and register a domain name, but you should also know that many web hosting providers also offer either a free or a cheap domain name in their packages. At the same time, a lot of domain name registrars offer a free domain name if you choose them as your hosting providers. Which option you will choose depends completely on you and your needs.
If you want to buy domain in cheap rate then you can try NameCheap. If you are lucky then you can buy a domain name in less than 1 dollar.
Step 4: Find a Web Hosting Provider
You need a web hosting provider for your blog to be actually available online. The web host you choose will put your website on their servers and, therefore, make it accessible on the World Wide Web. When you have a web host, they will be responsible for the server maintenance and every single update and upgrade to your website. You will have tech support available to you 24/7, and you will never have to worry about your site crashing for no reason whatsoever.
For you to put your website in safe hands, all you need to do is do your homework and find the best web host for your needs. There are a lot of great web hosting providers out there, so choosing the right one can be quite a conundrum. However, make sure that the company you pick is reputable, experienced and can provide you with the best features for making sure your lifestyle blog is effective and successful.
However, you need to have in mind that the price does not necessarily indicate quality, so don’t let it be the crucial factor that will influence your decision. Of course, you get what you pay for, but there are quite a lot of web hosts that offer high-quality services at very reasonable prices.
We recommended SiteGround hosting, which is best for your lifestyle blog. And you will get a free domain name for one year with their hosting plan.
We recommended SiteGround hosting, which is best for your lifestyle blog. And you will get a free domain name for one year with their hosting plan.
Step 5: Choose a Theme for Your Lifestyle Blog
You need to create a good visual representation of your blog for it to stand out. People are visually driven, which is why you need to choose an appealing theme that will instantly grab their attention and make them want to stay and find out more about your blog.
There are a lot of different templates for you to choose, but you can also design your own theme and customize your blog exactly the way you want. You can showcase your personal style and give your blog a real personality. WordPress offers hundreds of free themes, but you can also purchase one of the premium ones that offer a lot more functionality and are more SEO-friendly.
For getting premium theme you can have a look on ThemeForest, Teslathemes & MyThemeShop.
Step 6: Type Away and Create Your First Blog Post
At this point, you will finally have your blog up and running. All that remains for you to do is to start working on your first blog post. This is easier said than done, but there’s no doubt that you will do it with flying colors once you get your creative juices flowing. After all, you will write about something that you feel passionate about, so the content will certainly flow naturally.
Think of it as an exciting adventure and an awesome way to connect with people. What’s important is always to be consistent and show who you really are. Your readers will pick up on your passion, and your every effort will pay off for the long haul (especially when you engage in money-generating activities later on, if making money with blogging is one of your goals).
The key is to create unique content, even if the topics and ideas you write about are not entirely new. Make your own twist and craft compelling content that your readers will find useful and interesting and you can be sure that you will hit the bull’s eye with every single post you publish.
Don’t forget to add captivating images, because visuals can help you engage your readers more and connect with them on an emotional level. Make sure the images you include are high-quality and eye-catchy, and the visitors of your blog will feel enticed to scroll down and learn more about what you have to say.
How to Start A Profitable Lifestyle Blog From Scratch |
The Top 5 Lifestyle Blogs to Follow in 2017
You can follow the following top lifestyle blog to generate ideas and manage your professional and profitable lifestyle blog.
- A Cup of Joe – This lifestyle blog is one of the most popular ones right now, and it covers fashion, beauty, relationships, food, and travel. It was founded by Joanna Goddard in 2007, and it has over 5 million visitors per month.
- HBFIT – HBFIT (Health Beauty Fitness) is a lifestyle blog founded by Hannah Bronfman, one of the most popular and influential fitness bloggers. She provides excellent advice for both men and women and successfully inspires and motivates her loyal readers.
- GlobalGrasshopper – This award-winning blog is one of the most innovative travel blogs you can find. Its founder is Becky Moore, and she provides her readers with travel tips for some beautiful destinations, along with fascinating photography that can make you want to pack your bags in an instant and set sails for the adventure of your life.
- The Blonde Salad – Launched by Chiara Ferragni and Riccardo Pozzoli, this blog that covers fashion and beauty has become one of the most influential in its niche. The world-famous brands, including Burberry and Dior, have recognized the enormous potential of this blog and its founder Chiara, who is a successful fashion designer as well.
- Happy Fit Mama – This lifestyle blog was founded by Angela Bekkala, who provides fitness tips and succeeds in motivating quite a high number of people to lead a healthy lifestyle. She also shares a lot of delicious food recipes that help busy mothers run a fit and happy life.
Conclusion
If you follow all of the aforementioned tips, you will have your own lifestyle blog up and run in no time, and you can start sharing your thoughts and experiences with the world before you even know it. Blogging can really enrich your life, so don’t postpone your decision about starting a blog any longer – the time to join the ride is now.
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