Starting a health and wellness blog can seem like a big challenge. Follow these simple steps to get your website up and running today.
Are you looking to impact the lives of others with your writing? You totally can! Here are some tips to jump-start you on your journey to becoming a successful health and wellness blogger.
My experience as a health and wellness blogger
My journey to becoming a trainer, author and blogger it started in mid-2015. I was completely exhausted in my corporate fashion work and knew I wanted to impact the lives of others with my work.
Like many, it was my journey that inspired me.
As a recovering people pleaser, I had finally begun to regain control of my life. I enrolled as a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and focused my attention on learning new nutritional theories and a holistic perspective.
My coaching business continued to grow and I found myself loving the process of writing. Between blog posts and weekly newsletters, I felt like I had finally found my voice.
In 2016, I published my first book, Boundaries with the Soul.
Today, my work focuses on holistic self-care. I support women in learning how to create soulful boundaries and get in touch with their beloved No. My work has been featured in outlets like Hello Giggles, Bustle, and Elite Daily as I continue to grow and expand my audience. This process has been nothing short of exhausting, but so rewarding.
Keep reading for my four tips for starting your health and wellness blog today.
Step 1 : Choose your audience and niche
Finding your target audience is the most important step when learning how to start a health and wellness blog. Learning more about the audience you are speaking to, also known as your niche, is a crucial step.
Remember: If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one.
Being specific with your target audience may seem scary, but I think it’s really the key to success. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a blogger with an extremely vague website talking about nutrition.
Why would people choose your website out of the thousands available on Google?
The answer: You have to be solving a specific problem they have. That will make their work not only stand out, but it will resonate with them on a much higher level. They’ll feel like you’re on their mind and a relationship will begin to form.
As I write this, I’m targeting women who are completely exhausted from always giving too much. much to others. They ignore their own needs and become frustrated, resentful, and quite unhappy.
Helpful Questions to Get Started
- Who are you talking to?
- What problems are you solving?
- Where does your audience hang out online?
- Where do they shop?
If you’re looking for a more detailed how-to guide, check out my post on starting a successful blog.
Step 2: Register your domain name
Okay , this part might seem a bit confusing at first, but I promise it’s not so bad when you follow the steps below.
Once you’ve decided who your audience is, it’s time to secure your domain name.
I started with www.coachingbycarley.com but changed it to www.carleyschweet.com after a few years. The reason I moved it to my name was that, at the time, I was branching out and doing more than just training. I didn’t want to end up pigeonholing myself or confusing my audience if my approach changed over the years.
Also, the domain name should be unique and should have one or two words in it. key into it (mine didn’t… oops!). Above all, it must accurately represent the blog.
When it comes to registering your domain, you can do it in a number of places, such as GoDaddy and Google Domain (a part of the GSuite platform).
Step 3: Select a Host
There are platforms like wordpress.com, where you can sign up and start blogging with the hosting already integrated. If you’re looking for something more pre-built and easy to use, a service like Squarespace might be a good choice.
Or you can sign up with a hosting plan from GoDaddy or Bluehost and install WordPress over there. I have used GoDaddy in the past and found the site to be very slow so I decided to change my host to help improve my site speed.
Since I use WordPress, I upgraded to WPEngine from GoDaddy to host my blogIt’s more expensive, but the performance is high speed and I’m happy with it so far. Now I can quickly edit my blog posts and make changes to the backend without the delay I experienced before.
An optional step is to also use SiteLock, a personal site security system. SiteLock helps reduce the risk of your site being hacked.
Considering WPEngine? Save 20% on your first month by clicking here.
Step 4: Write, Edit, and Publish
Since I started blogging, I’ve had a bit of a hard time establishing a good pace for writing and posting consistently.
Tips for creating content consistently
- Find out how many times a week you’d like to post and then select which day or days will post your posts. I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays because that’s what works for me!
- Block time on your calendar dedicated to writing your blog posts (be specific what exactly you are working with )
- Plan a few weeks to a month of content in advance (I use Asana to help!)
Before I switched to WPEngine , I was always frustrated with how slow my WordPress backend was. It took me forever to create and edit my blog posts. Now, I can write multiple blog posts in one go and I don’t want to throw my computer against the wall.
As a health and wellness professional, I know your time is valuable and can quickly fill up with other commitments. Make sure you have a scheduled process that helps you create a solid pace for content creation.
Propose ideas for health and wellness posts
Aside After completing the four important steps above, many people never start blogging simply because they don’t know where to start. Don’t let it be you.
Coming up with ideas for content isn’t always easy. In fact, many people stop blogging because they can’t think of anything to write about or feel that no one is interested in what they have to say. That’s not true, I promise.
Your audience wants to hear from you and read what you have to say.
Here’s what I’ve found to be very helpful when it comes to creating content:
- Follow industry and niche trends
- Think seasonality: what are people looking for this time of year?
- Ask your audience! Instagram polls are a great place to start
- What are you passionate about right now?
- Do some keyword research (I use this tool free to help ) and find what people are already looking for on the web
Promote your wellness blog on social media
Okay, so you wrote a post on the blog, now what?
Share it! Getting your post on social media is a great way to spread the word about your work and drive traffic to your site. Don’t feel like you have to be a master of all forms of social media. Pick one or two that you know your audience frequents and stick with them!
Make sure you have fun while using it. Plus, it’s a great way to connect with your community and engage with your readers.
I also make sure to submit my most recent blog post at the end of my weekly email series. , which keeps readers informed and, ideally, me on the top of their minds. You can learn more about the email marketing service I personally use here.
How can I help you?
What questions do you have about getting started? with your website?
What’s stopping you from starting your blog?
x or –
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