Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Tech Blog

I started this blog in August 2021.

The journey has been amazing so far, but I wish someone had told me these 10 things about starting and maintaining a tech blog.

This blog post will explore 9 things I wish I knew before starting a tech blog.

Let's start.

Monetizing your blog takes time

Making money via blogging is 100% doable, but it takes time and effort.

How much money you'll be able to make will depend on many factors, such as traffic, the size of the email newsletter, etc.

You're on your path

Blogging influencers will sell you formulas to make a six-figure income, grow your blog in X amount of time, etc.

Don't worry about that.

You're on your path.

The growth of a blog depends on many factors.

Niche is a huge one.

For example, some blogs are seasonal, therefore traffic and revenue may vary depending on the season.

There are no original ideas

The idea of having to produce 100% original content is unrealistic.

Likely, your content idea has already been published countless times.

What is original is your personal story, unique perspective and writing style.

Related: Five Great Ways To Find Content Ideas For Your Dev Blog

Discipline will get you further than motivation (or passion)

Passion for writing won't be enough if you plan on growing your blog.

During your blogging journey, there will be days when you don't feel like creating blog posts.

In these scenarios, discipline will help you push through these moments.

Blogging is more than just writing.

It involves:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Marketing
Building backlinks.

The domain name makes you memorable (people are more likely to type it)

The choice of the domain name is crucial.

When people remember your domain name, your direct traffic increases.

"Choosing the right domain name for your company is so important — ultimately, it's how your audience will find and remember you.A custom domain will help your website stand out from the crowd and possibly even boost your SEO."[Hubspot]

Set up analytics tooling from Day 1

Monitoring your traffic is essential for increasing your blog's audience, attracting more opportunities and making more money.

As soon as you start your blog, set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

They're both free, and they provide valuable insights about your blog.

Related: How To Increase Your Blog's Traffic in 3 Easy Steps

Collect emails from Day 1

Emails are the best way to stay in touch with your readers.

Any platform can go down or be wiped away, but collecting and preserving your reader's email will ensure the longevity of your blog.

So collect emails from day 1.

It's a constant work in progress

Blogging is a constant, neverending work in progress.

There's always something to improve.

Some improvements you can make to your blog are:

Add more visual content (images, GIFs, videos).
Update old content with new links, paragraphs, and ideas.
Add more internal linking.

Related: Pros And Cons Of Running A Blog

Be careful with copyright

Always cite content from external sources.

If you're taking images from Google Images, beware that most are copyright-protected.

If you want to take images from Google, ensure you use Creative Commons-Licensed Images.

Key Takeaways

Monetizing your blog takes time.
You're on your own path.
There are no original ideas.
Discipline will get you further than motivation (or passion).
The domain name makes you memorable.
Set up analytics tooling from Day 1.
It's a constant work in progress.
Be careful with copyright.

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Until next time!

🙋🏾‍♀️

Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting A Tech Blog

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