Get Started Blogging: A Writer’s Guide To Those First Scary 12 Months

There are so many benefits to creating a consistent writing habit and sticking with it for the long haul. Blogging is a great way to do this because it gives you structure and accountability.

How would things be different if you blogged consistently for the next year? Take a moment to imagine what your life and writing might look like.

Would you finally have the confidence to call yourself a writer? Would your writing quality have improved by leaps and bounds?

Would you have a pool of dedicated readers who eagerly await your next post, knowing you regularly produce quality articles?

Would you have laid the foundation of a platform that will keep growing and growing, giving you a jumpstart towards publication?

In this post, I’m giving you a roadmap to that first terrifying, exhilarating year so you can get started blogging.

When I reached the one-year milestone for my blog, I’d been posting an article—or sometimes two—every week since I started. So I’ve been in the trenches you’re in now.

Even though I’ve since pivoted to an editing career, meaning I don’t blog as regularly, I learned lots of valuable skills in that first year. I want to guide you along the paths I’ve trodden and cut through a few thorns for you along the way.

The tips in this lesson are organized around each quarter of the year that lies ahead of you. Of course, everyone’s writing journey is different, and your timeline might not match up exactly with mine, but I’ve tried to prepare you for the unique hurdles (and joys) of each stage.

You’ll want to grab the PDF I’ve created for this post. It breaks down the roadmap into actionable steps, so you can check them off and see your progress over the year.

Let’s get started.

Month 1–3: Get Started Blogging & Build A Strong Foundation

1. Set up your blog.

Of course, this is essential before you can get started blogging. There’s way too much to say about getting set up, so I won’t be covering it here, but you can check out these useful guides here and here.

But we have multiple courses on this subject in our Workshop, or you can also peruse other internet articles for guidance on how to set up your first blog. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to dive into your blogging journey.

2. Decide on a consistent and realistic schedule.

As you start out blogging, it’s a good idea to decide on a posting schedule. Having regular deadlines will keep you motivated, and readers like to see consistency when they visit your blog.

There’s no rule that you have to post on your blog every day or every week. If you set an unrealistic goal, you’ll get discouraged and give up quickly. To stick with blogging for the long haul you need to consider how it fits in with your other responsibilities and priorities.

Make sure you’re taking into account your commitments to school or work, your family and friends, and God. I’m careful to leave enough time in my day to read my Bible and pray, as well as staying faithful to my local church. There are more important things than my writing platform.

I post an article every Monday, with the occasional bonus post on Thursday. This schedule stretches me without being too challenging.

You have different responsibilities, circumstances, opportunities, and capacities. Be wise in setting a schedule that allows you to consistently meet your goals.

3. Establish goals and set habits.

You’ve decided how often you’ll post on your blog. But how will you actually produce those articles? How will you keep up with your schedule? That’s where habits come in.

It’s important to set up good habits from the beginning because these will be your foundation as you go on—especially when obstacles arise or your motivation falters. You’ll be less likely to give up if writing is already an established rhythm in your life.

In addition to habits, you might find it helpful to consider your blogging goals. Start by thinking about why you want to start a blog.

Are you just doing it for fun and to practice your skills? Or are you hoping to build a platform, move towards publication, or even start a career in writing? Setting targeted goals can help you get where you want to go faster.

Only set goals if they’re not going to place an unnecessary burden on you, or tempt you towards sins like pride. You don’t want to sap the joy out of writing or be unfaithful to God. It’s totally okay to just enjoy the journey and see where it takes you.

I find goals helpful and motivating simply because that’s always been my personality, and I’m at the point where I’m thinking about future career prospects around writing.

It takes discernment to make the best decision for you based on your personality, life stage, and opportunities. Talk to your parents if you’re not sure what goals to set (or whether to set them at all).

4. Get organized.

How far you go with organization depends on your personality and goals. I’ll outline my system for you here, but you can adapt it to whatever apps and tools you like to use (which can be as simple as a document on your computer or paper and pen).

Firstly I like to organize my ideas for blog posts. You’ll forget the ideas that come to you if you don’t write them down! To keep track you can use the notes app on your phone, or a simple notebook.

I’ve got a larger writing notebook that I jot down ideas in at home, plus smaller notebooks in my car and next to my bed. I regularly collate them all into one list so I can go there whenever I need an article idea. Whatever method you use, the key is to capture immediately.

Secondly, I take my ideas and organize them into an editorial calendar for the upcoming month or two. I use Trello, a visual list-making app, with its calendar power-up. This allows me to drag and drop articles to arrange them on my schedule.

Within Trello I’ve also created a series of lists that I move articles through as I work on them. They start in the ‘Ideas’ list and move through various drafts until they reach the ‘Ready to Publish’ list.

This may be way too much structure for you—and that’s okay! Go with whatever works for you. Some people simply decide each week what they want to write about rather than planning it in advance.

But also don’t think that structure inhibits creativity. Sometimes I’ll write something spontaneously and shift things around to publish it quickly. Or I’ll write an article and decide it’s not working at the moment, so I’ll have to substitute something else.

For the most part, I stick to my schedule because it makes things much less stressful for me. It keeps me from getting paralyzed because I don’t know what I need to write next. I can see at a glance what articles I should be working on.

Month 4–6: Use Your Momentum

1. Prepare for flagging motivation.

At this stage, you’re probably still motivated and excited to get started blogging. That’s great! While you’ve got the enthusiasm to spare, use this opportunity to prepare for when harder times come.

One way you can capitalize on your momentum is to start documenting inspiration and encouragement. When your motivation flags, this file will become a storehouse of inspiration.

Keep a record of successes and milestones you reach—it could be kind words from readers or guest posts you have published on other blogs.

You may even want to record the successes of other bloggers you follow, like the photo they post while signing their book contract. With the right mindset, this can become something inspiring to spur you on rather than a trigger for jealousy or discouragement.

Another way to prepare for the inevitable difficulties is to get accountability if you don’t already have it in place. Don’t rely on willpower alone, even if you’re enthusiastic at the beginning. Trust me, the time will come where you’re not excited to write!

The Young Writer’s Workshop Community is an excellent resource for accountability. I joined an accountability group when I first signed up, and those friends have been a constant source of support and encouragement.

Every Monday we post our goals and hold each other accountable throughout the week. We cheer each other on when things are hard and celebrate together in our successes.

I don’t think I’d blog as consistently without my group, and they’ve been invaluable emotional support too. If you want both accountability and feedback, you could also join a critique group. Both types of groups together can give you the support you need to press on.

2. Create a bank of articles.

If it hasn’t happened already, you’re going to have periods where you struggle to produce an article on time. You might be busy with other things, or you simply can’t come up with a good idea.

Use the momentum you have now to take advantage of more inspiration and ideas, so you’ll have a safety net when you run out of time or motivation later.

I’ve found it helpful to work ahead so that I have a small bank of articles that are ready if I need one last-minute. This takes some of the pressure off of weekly blogging and allows me to produce better articles because I’m not desperately trying to write something to publish quickly.

Start creating this article bank by gathering a list of ideas for posts. Here’s a challenge for you right now:

1)     Grab a piece of paper and pen (or open up a document on your computer).

2)     Write your niche or blog theme across the top.

3)     Come up with a list of ten ideas for blog posts. Don’t get up from your chair or click over to Facebook until you’ve written down ten ideas.

You’ll probably get a couple of ideas easily, then the next few will be harder. You might think it’s impossible to come up with more once you’ve hit six or so. But keep pushing on, and don’t edit yourself or worry if your ideas are stupid. That’s often when your best ideas will come! If you get to ten easily, go for twenty.

Once you’ve got a good list of ideas, make time in the next month or so to turn some of these ideas into articles. Instead of posting them right away, save them for a rainy day.

Month 7–9: Revive Your Motivation

This is where all your preparation from the past couple of months kicks in. Around this time I found that my motivation was flagging, and weekly blogging just felt like so much work. Here’s how you can combat the writing slump.

1. Celebrate the 6-month milestone.

Make sure you take the time to actually step back and celebrate reaching this point—it’s an amazing achievement!

I tend to start projects and fail to finish them, so when I started blogging I was worried I wouldn’t stick with it. Reaching the 6-month milestone was so exciting and encouraging.

You can celebrate by sharing about the milestone with your accountability or critique group. They’ll be stoked for you because they’ve seen all the hard work you’ve put in.

You might also choose to mark the occasion on your blog. My 6-month anniversary happened to fall on a Monday, which is the day I post my articles each week. I’d recently written a more personal post about contentment in singleness, so I decided that opening up to my readers a little more by posting it would be a good way to celebrate.

2. Spark some inspiration.

When you’re struggling with motivation, dig out the file you prepared in months 4-6. Look over your wins and encouraging comments, and remind yourself of the end goal.

Don’t be afraid to ask for extra help and accountability if you need it—this is where your accountability group can be really valuable.

If part of the reason you’re unmotivated is that nobody seems to be reading your writing, consider why you blog. It may seem pointless to keep writing into the void, pouring your heart and soul into an article that gets one or two readers.

But this is the stuff that forms a writer! With every word you craft and publish, your writing skills are growing. It’s also character-forming to learn how to trust God. He will work through your words—even if at the moment they’re only changing you. Trust in his wisdom and timing.

3. Be gentle with yourself.

Don’t expect your blog, or your blogging journey, to be perfect.

It’s okay if you miss a couple of weeks completely, or just repost an article you’ve had published on another website (I’ve done this quite a few times). Don’t stress if other people’s writing is better than yours, or if your platform isn’t growing as fast as you like.

Of course, we all want our writing to be the best it can be. Especially when you blog publicly and you know other people are going to read it. But the reality is that nobody writes a flawless article every time. If you’re waiting for perfection, you’ll never publish a single post!

There have been some weeks where my schedule has been overloaded and I’ve barely had time to write. The article I’ve painfully etched out doesn’t look particularly good, but that’s all the creativity I can manage.

In those times, I’ve had to battle with my perfectionism and just post it even before it feels ready. It’s all good practice; every article hones my writing skills. Chalk it up to experience and try again next week.

Enjoying yourself is important. I know how easy it can be to get caught up in sticking rigidly to a blogging schedule, obsessing over email subscribers and other stats, and just generally putting too much pressure on yourself.

Writing is meant to be something you love, so make sure you’re having fun. There is discipline involved, of course, but if you’re not enjoying writing that’s a sign you might need to ease off a bit.

Step back, maybe write something fun without the pressure to publish or make it perfect. Give yourself the space to fall in love with writing again.

4. Review your goals and habits.

This quarter is a good opportunity to step back and look at how things have gone so far. Is your writing schedule realistic and sustainable, yet challenging enough? Do you need to write less or more often? Have you made progress towards your goals? How are you doing at sticking to your habits?

Don’t get too caught up in evaluating yourself, but think through a couple of these questions and make any necessary changes. You don’t need to be doing everything perfectly. Be gentle yet ambitious, and celebrate every success you make along the way.

Month 10–12: Think Long-Term

1. Push yourself and seek out new opportunities.

I know, I know. Didn’t I just say to be gentle with yourself? That’s important, but if you want to grow as a writer you’ll also need to know when you push outside your comfort zone.

If you’re anything like me, by this point in your blogging journey you might start feeling restless. Churning out one blog post a week can get monotonous.

I found it helpful to have new challenges in addition to my regular blog schedule. They kept me excited about writing and helped me gain confidence.

Some of the opportunities I’ve had have come to me unexpectedly from God’s kindness, but a lot of the time I’ve had to boldly seek them out. Don’t be afraid to try something new—you never know where it will lead.

What kind of new opportunities could you aim for?

Perhaps you could do more guest posting—either writing more frequently for sites you’ve already been published at or taking a risk by submitting to new sites. Even if you pitch to a website and are turned down, that’s an invaluable experience. You learn how to get back up again after discouragement. And you never know, maybe you’ll be accepted!

You could branch out to writing something different like book reviews. Or try going out of your comfort zone to connect with other writers. It could also be something directly related to your blog, like starting an email list, writing an e-book, or running a giveaway.

You never know where opportunities like these are going to lead. I decided on a whim to join the book launch team of one of my favorite bloggers. I’d never been on a launch team before and didn’t know whether I’d have the time, but I’m so glad I went for it! I now count that blogger as a friend and she has linked to my articles in her email newsletter.

Another opportunity I sought out was trying my hand at book reviews. I’d noticed that my favorite Christian bookstore occasionally posted book reviews on their blog. Figuring I might as well give it a go, but not expecting much, I sent a book review to them to see if they wanted it for their blog.

Not only did they publish my review, but I now regularly write reviews for them in exchange for free books. I had no idea it would lead to such an exciting partnership.

These opportunities have helped me to grow my platform, get valuable feedback, and connect with other writers.

2. Make a roadmap for your second year and beyond.

Blogging consistently for a whole year is a great goal, but have you thought about what you’re going to do once you’ve hit that milestone?

Consistency isn’t the only skill you need as a writer. Now that you’ve got momentum as a blogger and a growing platform, where do you want to put your attention next?

It can be a bit daunting to consider all the paths open to you. One way of cutting through the overwhelm is to seek advice from others.

Ask those who know you and your writing journey (family and friends, your YWW group, a mentor) about where you should go next. Try to get an idea of your strengths and weaknesses.

You could also ask other more experienced writers for help, briefly outlining your writing situation. That’s what I did in our “Ask an Instructor” space in the Young Writer’s Workshop, and I received helpful advice on where I should be putting my focus.

You might also know just from your own writing and editing what you need to work on. If you look for feedback from other writers regularly, you’ll begin to see patterns in the feedback that help you know where you can improve your craft.

Based on all this feedback and advice, and your own goals, choose what you’ll focus on once the year is done.

This may happen organically. I’ve had opportunities come up in the past few months that have meant platform and networking have taken a bigger focus. I’m also trying to keep improving my craft, but I don’t want to let these opportunities pass by.

Here are some ideas of areas you might decide to focus on, and how you might do so:

• Deep focus on improving your writing skills: writing daily, getting regular detailed feedback, reading writing books and implementing what you learn, joining a program like the Young Writer’s Workshop and working through our content library.
• Growing your platform: networking with industry professionals, building connections with other writers online, guest posting, marketing your blog, learning how to use social media effectively.
• Branching out into a new style: trying your hand at fiction or poetry, writing different kinds of articles (e.g. lists, devotions, expositions of Bible passages, personal reflections).

For help with making progress in these areas, check out the content library or try finding an experienced mentor. Of course, you should only take on extra projects if you’ve got the time and energy to do so. Don’t burn out if you’re already at the limit with your current blogging schedule!

At The Finish Line

You did it! You’ve blogged consistently for a year.

That’s a massive achievement, so the first thing you should do is celebrate. Just like with the six-month milestone, it’s so important to stop and acknowledge how far you’ve come. Praise God for how he has sustained you!

Maybe you can buy yourself a treat or take a day off and spend it doing something you love. Find some way to mark the occasion.

Once you’ve finished celebrating, don’t lose your momentum! Keep on blogging. Keep writing.

Need help getting to that elusive one-year mark successfully? That’s why I created a digital roadmap that condenses this article into three pages of steps you can take and check off to make sure you’re keeping yourself on track. You can click here to download the PDF, print it off, and use it as your roadmap over the next twelve months. Remember that we’re all over here cheering you on as you take the next steps to launching your blog into the world!