Are you getting ready to launch a new blog for the first time?  I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “If you’re going to do something, then do it right”.  That’s especially true for launching a new blog.

I’ve developed a pre-launch strategy that will help you:

• Establish yourself as a professional in your niche
• Get your target audience excited about your content
• Start adding subscribers to your email list
• Get traffic to your blog from Day 1

This is the same strategy I used to launch Next Level Blogging and one strategy that I teach to my coaching clients.  

13 Things To Do Before Launching A New Blog

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1. Choose A Niche For Your Blog

So, you want to start a new profitable blog, but what are you going to write about?  Before doing anything else you should determine your niche.

Choose a topic (or niche) that you’re passionate about, that other people will find interesting, too.

I know it’s tempting to write about a lot of different things, assuming you’ll attract a larger audience. The opposite is actually true.

Readers want consistency, so they know where to turn for answers. Narrowing your niche before launching your new blog will actually provide the best results for gaining loyal readers.

If you need help choosing a blog niche, you’ll want to check out this free workbook.  I walk you through choosing the perfect niche for your new blog, step-by-step.  If you’re interested in making money with your blog, this workbook helps you validate your niche for profitability.

2. Know Your Blog’s Target Audience

Once you’ve decided on a niche, who exactly do you hope to attract with your blog?  Think about that one specific person that will love all of your stuff and find value in every post.

Narrowing down your niche (Step #1 above) makes this step much easier.

Once you know who you’re writing for, that makes writing your blog posts much easier.  Then, you only create content that is going to benefit your target audience.

By targeting only a specific audience you’ll be much more successful.  You’ll build authority as an expert much faster and gain a trust factor from your readers.  Trust = customers.

Many businesses create a target customer avatar to better understand their customers.  You can do the same to help you stay on point for creating blog and social media content.  Learn more about getting to know your target audience here.

If you know your audience before launching your new blog, you’ll have no trouble creating great posts.

3. Choose A Custom Domain & Webhost

Now that you’ve decided on your niche and who your blog will appeal to, it’s time to choose a blogging platform.

This is one of the most important steps to establishing yourself as a professional blogger. This decision will also impact your ability to earn money with your blog.

Do not choose a free blogger platform like Wix, Blogger or WordPress.com.  These platforms leave you with limited features and limited growth potential.

I know when you’re just starting out, you might not have much money to invest in your blog.  If you’re only going to spend money on one thing – this is that one thing!!

It’s less than $10/month and you save if you can pay for the whole year in advance.

If you don’t pay for your own custom domain and web-hosting, you’re pretty much putting a sign on your blog that says “I’m not serious about blogging, I don’t know what I’m doing and I probably won’t be around in 6 months”.

I’m not trying to be harsh, but those are the facts.  Find the $10 a month somewhere or wait to launch until you can afford it.

“If you’re not going to do something right, don’t bother doing it at all.”  That’s another old saying that applies to blogging.

Choose The Right Webhost For Your Blog

There are thousands of options available for purchasing your domain and webhost.  My goal is to simplify things for you, save you time, and give you the best bang for your buck.

Who should you choose to purchase your domain and host your new blog? I use and recommend IPage.

I’ve been using IPage for Next Level Blogging since the beginning, and cannot say enough good things about them.  I’ve written a detailed review post about my experience with IPage that you can check out here.

With IPage’s WordPress Essentials package, you’ll get:

• Free custom domain
• Speeds up to 60% faster than with other providers
• Enhanced security
• Unlimited websites and email addresses
• 24/7 live chat, email and phone support (this is an absolute must!)
• WordPress experts to answer questions (not available with most webhosts)
• Free marketing tools
• 30 day money-back guarantee

With IPage, the WordPress Essentials plan includes unlimited domains, databases and disk space so you have one plan that grows with you – eliminating the need to upgrade to higher priced plans.  That’s my favorite feature.

Get your new self-hosted website from IPage now.

What If You’ve Already Chosen A Free Platform?

If you’re already using another platform, it’s not too late.  Make the switch to a self-hosted website as soon as possible.  IPage will move your current website for free.

4. Choose The Right Domain Name

Your domain name should represent your blog’s brand.  In other words, choose a domain name that represents your specific niche.  

Keep these points in mind when choosing your domain name:

• Choose a .com if possible
• Make sure it’s easy to spell
• Make it easy to remember
• Should be relevant to your brand
• Use keywords for your niche if possible

Vanity Domain

Many bloggers are choosing their own name as a domain name.  

This is a great option, especially if you’re having trouble coming up with a .com version of your desired name.  Using your name is also a good choice if you’re planning to offer coaching, design or other services.

Using your own name also leaves the option open to change your niche in the future without purchasing a new domain.

5. Start An Email List

In order to build your readership and connect with your audience, you’ll want to start an email list.

Connecting with your readers through email is a great way to build that trust factor for your blog.  This is especially important if you want to turn your readers into paying customers.  Your email list will be key for providing feedback so that you’ll know exactly what your readers want from you and your blog.

Free Email Marketing Tool For Bloggers

In order to collect emails on your blog you’ll need an email marketing tool.

MailerLite is the perfect choice for new bloggers!  Not only does MailerLite make it easy for you to collect new subscribers, it includes all of the tools you’ll need to manage your email marketing.

• Create customized forms for collecting subscribers (embedded forms, pop-up forms and Landing pages)
• Drag-and-drop functionality – great for beginners since there’s no coding needed!
• Free form templates
• Groups and Segmentation to organize your subscribers based on their preferences and behaviors
• Automations for creating email sequences and sales funnels that deliver your emails automatically at the right time!
• Free for up to 1,000 subscribers!

Those are just a few of the amazing features available with MailerLite, making it the best choice for new bloggers (definitely better than Mailchimp!).

Get Your Free MailerLite Account Now

6. Create A Free Lead Magnet

The most effective way to build your email list is to offer your audience something of value in exchange for their email address.  This is called a lead magnet or opt-in freebie.  This is very effective when used as a pre-launch strategy.

What Kind Of Lead Magnet Should You Offer?

Since you haven’t launched your blog yet, people really don’t know what your blog is about.  If you can create a valuable lead magnet that reflects one of the main topics of your blog, you can get readers excited about your blog. 

Think of something super relevant to your niche that you can turn into a useful checklist or guide.   Make it very specific to your target reader (think of your avatar from Step #2 above).  

Your lead magnet is going to tell your potential audience what to expect from your blog, so make it count.  It should be branded and professional, easy to digest, offer a quick-win.  

If you want to learn more about creating amazing lead magnets that your audience will love, check out this post on the Opt-in Monster blog.

7.  Use A Custom Coming Soon Page

Your WordPress website comes with a generic Coming Soon page that your audience sees before your website goes live.  

Create a custom Coming Soon Page that tells your visitors more about what to expect once your website goes live.

Download the free Elementor page builder and create a beautiful custom Coming Soon page that allows you to:

• Add a sign up form for your free lead magnet 
• Share links to your social media accounts
• Include a Countdown timer to get readers excited about your launch
• Include your logo and branding
• Change colors and fonts to match branding
• Give details about your upcoming blog content
• Much, much more!

Elementor includes free templates that you can use to customize any of your posts and pages so that your website is beautifully branded and professional looking.  Your readers won’t even know that you’re a newbie at website design 🙂

8. Create Plenty Of Blog Content

Before your blog goes live, you should write at least 5 – 10 blog posts.  These posts should be written to impress and attract your target reader.  Focus on evergreen content.

Each of these posts should:

• Contain over 1500 words – the more detailed the content, the better
• Include at least one image optimized for sharing on Pinterest (600px x 900px)
• Include a content upgrade or your lead magnet to promote email sign ups
• Include social sharing buttons – I recommend using Social Warfare
• Include internal linking to other posts on your blog

If you need help with this step check out these related posts:

• How To Create An Epic Blog Post Every Time
• 5 Steps To Creating Viral Pin Images

Remember, these posts are your readers’ first impression of your blog.  Build reader loyalty from the start by writing great content.

9. Create A User-Friendly Website

While your Coming Soon page is up, you should be creating a professional website on the back end.

Don’t skimp on this step. Your website design should be user friendly and promote email conversions.

Your Home Page

Design a Home page that includes a CTA (call to action) before the fold, or before the reader has to scroll.

Include information on your home page that tells the reader what problem you’re going to solve for them and why you’re qualified to help them.

In addition to your Home page, your website should include a Blog page, About page and Contact page, at minimum.  You’ll also need to make sure you’ve included a link to your Privacy Policy.

Formatting

Choose 2-3 colors to use on your website and a font pair that is easy to read.  This should match your branding and be consistent across the web and on social media.

For posts, black print on white background is easiest to read. Make sure your paragraph font is set to at least 16 pixels, since anything smaller is hard to read.

You can always use the Elementor templates for help with creating professional pages on your website.

10. Setup Your Blog’s Facebook Page

Social media is a bloggers best friend for finding your audience.  Facebook is still the most popular social platform and offers so many ways to connect.

Creating a Facebook page for your blog will help you start connecting with people that will be interested in your new blog.

When creating your page, there are a few things that are key for growth.

Page Name

In your page settings, update your page name to your blog name (or as close as you can). Branding your page name makes it easy for your page to be found.

Sign Up Button

You can edit the button on your page to link to your sign up form.  This will increase engagement and build your email list at the same time.

Share Tips And Quotes

Since your blog is still under construction, start sharing relevant tips, photos and quotes. Posting once or twice a day is sufficient.

Don’t forget to mention your upcoming blog and ask for email signups so page followers can be notified once you go live.

Ask For Likes

Once your page is active and has a few posts, invite friends that are interested in your niche to like your new page.

11. Join Facebook Groups

Facebook groups are one of the best places to find potential readers for your blog.  Find a few groups in your niche and become an active member.  Help others by answering questions and engaging in conversations that will be relevant to the topics on your blog.

This gives you a chance to learn more about what hot topics are in your niche, what roadblocks or challenges affect your target audience and gives you a chance to connect people that will be most interested in your content.

Don’t jump in these groups and make it all about promoting your new blog.  Be helpful and listen, mention your blog when it’s appropriate.

Blogger Facebook Groups

Join a few Facebook groups for bloggers that offer promotion threads.  You’ll connect with other bloggers in your niche, which is key to successful blogging.  Plus, the promo threads will help you spark traffic, get blog post engagement, comments and shares and increase page likes and follows.

Get started now by joining the Next Level Bloggers group.

12. Host A Giveaway

If you really want to build your list before you launch, host a giveaway.

Everyone loves free stuff, and the prize doesn’t have to be anything expensive to be successful.

The key to a successful giveaway is to offer something niche-specific. You want email signups from people that will actually be interested in your content, otherwise it’s a waste of time.

Rafflecopter is an easy-to-use and free tool for giveaways. It helps you keep track of entries and will draw a random winner to keep it legit.

You’ll build your email list and build excitement about your new blog.  Double win!

13. Host A Launch Party

When you’re ready to go live, host a launch party.

Go live on your Facebook page and introduce yourself and new blog personally. This is a great time to announce giveaway winners, too.

If you’re going to host a launch party, be sure to announce it several times on Facebook and Twitter, and include the date and time on your coming soon page.

It’s a celebration! Your new blog is going live!

Conclusion

Launching a new blog is exciting and the possibilities are endless.  If you follow the tips in this post, you’re new blog will have a strong foundation for success.

If you’re struggling to understand any of these concepts or how to implement them, you’re not alone.  There’s a lot to learn when you start a new blog and have no website design or marketing experience.  Unfortunately, most bloggers give up within the first 6 months because they just can’t make a go of it.

You don’t have to DIY your blog all alone!  I’m committed to helping you build your own successful and profitable blog and offer a variety of blogger services to make sure you succeed.

Blog Coaching

Hiring a blogging coach to help you launch your new blog greatly increases your chances of success!

As your coach, I’ll walk you through everything, step-by-step, so you can be confident in your choices and decisions including:

• Using WordPress features for design and functionality
• Creating a great lead magnet that builds your list
• Setting up your email marketing
• Implementing strategies that drive traffic to your blog
• Using Pinterest to explode your growth
• Anything else related to building and growing your blog

You can check out my blog coaching packages here.

Your Turn

Now that you know what it takes to launch your new blog with confidence, tell me what you think.

Did these tips help? Do you have another strategy that you’ve used in the past?  Please leave your answers and feedback in the comments section below.

Before you go, please share this post with other bloggers on your favorite social media platform.

Happy Blogging!

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