Blogging is considered a valuable marketing tool as well as a way to improve and hone your writing skills. However, managing a blog takes considerable work, and is not nearly as easy as it might look from the outside. The most obvious challenge is creating good content, but there are also many other decisions that you will need to take on the way.

Before you start, you need to decide on a topic of your blog. You then need to consider a range of issues, from how often you are going to update it to where you are going to host it. As your blog becomes more successful, you may find that new questions arise, such as whether you should accept guest posts. This article explains the skills that you need to write and manage a successful blog.

Before You Start

The first question that you need to answer is why you want to write a blog.

One very good reason is because it will help you to market your business (or your employer’s business). Around half of marketers say that blogging is a top priority in their marketing strategy. Marketers who write blogs see a very good return on their investment, so it makes sense.

You may also simply want to share your ideas and expertise with the wider world. However, it can be hard to keep yourself motivated if that is your only reason for blogging. The time investment is considerable, so it may be helpful to consider it as a business option in some way: that you can monetise it, or it will help you to develop skills, for example.

The next question is your topic.

The most successful blogs have a clear and very defined focus. They don’t jump around all over the place. Instead, they know their audience, and have a very clear understanding of that audience’s needs. Everything that they write, publish or share is designed to meet those needs. Before you start, it is therefore a good idea to get a really good understanding of your audience, and the niche that you plan to target.

It is also important to remember that successful bloggers have very good writing skills. They express themselves clearly, and use good grammar and spelling. If you struggle with this, blogging may not be ideal for you!

For more tips about writing for the internet, including blogs, you may like to read the main page on this issue.

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Practical Issues in Blog-Writing

You also need to consider some practical questions. The first is where you will host and publish your blog.

If you are writing a blog for your employer, the company may already have a suitable website. If not, you need to decide on a site.

Should you have your own domain? The alternative is to use a site like Medium, which hosts medium- to long-form content. The disadvantage here is that you don’t own your own content, and you don’t have much control over how it appears to readers. Having your own domain is therefore a good idea if you want to have a clear ‘brand image’ for your blog, or plan to use the content for other things.

You will also need to decide where you are going to host your site. There are a range of options, including cloud hosting or shared hosting (see box).

Once You Start

The key to successful ongoing running of a blog is an editorial calendar.

This means planning ahead over time—usually a rolling six months to a year—to decide what you are going to publish and when. Regular content production is important to build momentum with a blog, so that your readers know when to look for new content. You therefore need to decide how often you are going to update your blog. It is also worth considering the type of content that you plan to produce: its length, and whether you want to include photos and/or videos.

This planning process allows you to take into account holiday periods, or times when you will be especially busy, and prepare content ahead of time. It also allows you to think ahead about seasonal content, and ensure that you have the necessary photos or videos. Equally importantly, it ensures that you don’t lose momentum, because you know what you should be producing.

Of course you may want to respond to news and current affairs—but an editorial calendar gives you a skeleton to work around.

Marketing Your Blog

You also need to consider how you are going to market your blog.

The question here is how will your followers know when you have published new content?

The answer is likely to be social media. The platforms you use will depend on your audience. If they are on Twitter/X, that’s where you need to be. If they mostly use Facebook or Instagram, then you are better off sharing links and having conversations there. You may also use your blog as part of your more general social media marketing activity.

A Final Question: Monetising Success

The final issue to consider is what you do once your blog is successful. Do you just keep going? Do you monetise it in some way? Do you do more? Do you invite other people to contribute in some way, for example, through guest posts? Do you add other writers so that you can keep publishing but without having to do so much work?

The only person who can answer these questions is you, because only you know why you started to write a blog.

However, the most important issue to consider is what will best suit your audience. After all, without an audience, you no longer have a successful blog!

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