How to start a niche blog

Table of Contents Hide

Step 1: Pick Your Niche in One Sitting
Step 2: Buy a Domain and Hosting
Step 3: Choose and Install Your Blogging Platform
Step 4: Pick a Simple Theme and Don’t Overdesign
Step 5: Write Your First 5 Posts Before You Launch
Step 6: Make It Easy for People to Find You
Step 7: Post regularly (or here’s what happens If you don’t)
Step 8: Think About Why You’re Blogging Before You Monetise
Step 9: Publish Now, Tweak Later
In conclusion: Starting a niche blog for the first time

If you’ve been thinking about starting a niche blog, stop Googling “how to start” and follow this simple guide.

I’ve stripped it down to the essentials so you can have your blog up and your first post live in a weekend — without getting stuck in ‘research’ or ‘do-it-yourself’ mode for six months.

Step 1: Pick Your Niche in One Sitting

Don’t spend weeks (or months or years) agonising over this.

Pick a topic you can write about and iterate on at least 20 times without getting stuck = that’s your niche. Commit to it, and move on.

Quick way to choose:

List 3 topics you can’t stop thinking about.
Write 5 post ideas (yes, it can be eventual titles) under each topic column.
Whichever column flows easiest is your niche. Think ‘ease-and-flow’.

Step 2: Buy a Domain and Hosting

You can’t start a blog without an online “address”. That’s the definition of a domain name.

Go to Namecheap, Google Domains, and buy your domain (e.g. myblog.com). For beginner bloggers, I recommend purchasing your hosting and using the free domain (first year only) included in the deal – when starting, keep it simple and streamlined
For hosting, use something beginner-friendly like Bluehost or Hostinger. Siteground and Bigscoots are lauded for their service and ‘up-time’, but for a beginner blogger who is pre-monetization, it’s expensive. I use Hostinger for beginner sites – it’s affordable and I haven’t had any significant issues since
Connect your domain to your host (your host’s setup wizard will walk you through it). This is another reason to choose a free domain included with your hosting because the hosting company does everything. All you do is sit back and follow the prompts right through to the WordPress install

If you’re only testing the waters and don’t want to commit money yet, start free with WordPress.com or Blogger — but know you’ll eventually want to buy a domain and a more robust content management system (CMS).

TIP: When you use WordPress.org, you own your content 100%. In other words, you are not renting space from someone/something else – meaning, they can easily kick you and your content off their platform if and when necessary.

Step 3: Choose and Install Your Blogging Platform

The platform is the software that powers your blog.

Here are four examples of well-known, traditional content management systems (CMS) used for blogging:

WordPress.org – The most flexible and widely used CMS for bloggers. Requires hosting, but you own everything.
WordPress.com – Hosted version of WordPress; easier to set up but less control and fewer features on the free plan.
Blogger – Google’s free blogging platform. Simple and reliable, but dated and limited in design options.
Squarespace – All-in-one site builder with beautiful templates; paid plans only. Good for people who want design ease over flexibility.

Here are popular non-traditional CMS that can function as a blogging platform if you only want to focus on writing and logging posts.

Substack – Primarily an email newsletter platform, but each post lives on a public web page.
Medium – Built-in audience, minimalist writing interface; monetisation is limited to their Partner Program.
Notion – Originally a productivity app, but you can make a public page and treat it like a blog.
Ghost – Minimalist, open-source platform perfect for paid newsletters and membership-based blogs.

Step 4: Pick a Simple Theme and Don’t Overdesign

Your first goal is not to “make it pretty” — it’s to make it functional. Pick a clean, free theme like Astra or GeneratePress, or try a free starter template from Kadence.

Add your blog title and tagline.
Set your brand colours (don’t overthink — you can tweak later).
Create 3 pages: Home, About, and Contact.

Step 5: Write Your First 5 Posts Before You Launch

Don’t launch with a single post. Try for at least 5 medium-length posts.

If this feels like fleshing out four essays (daunting), then try a Listicle (list post) – these work well as ‘Ultimate top 10’ or ‘Best alternatives to___’ and are pretty easy to do with topics that you know a lot about or can easily research and list out in bullet or number point.

Here’s how to do it:

Open a blank Google Doc for each post.
Use straightforward titles like “How to ___” or “5 Tips for ___.”
Write 500–800 words each, without worrying about perfection.
Write a simple introduction paragraph.
List your items as bullet points or numbers – your preference or use what is appropriate for the topic
Write a conclusion – sum up what you’ve listed out and why your audience needs it
Add 1–2 images (yours or royalty-free from Unsplash).
Always have a feature image – this image will appear in search for both Google, AI overviews, and AI (ChatGPT reference); it will appear at the top of your blog post and gives the reader some visual interest – even better if the visual is relevant

Short-form vs long-form: What’s the difference?

Short-form (500–800 words) works well for quick how-to guides, listicles, and “answer a single question” posts.
Long-form (1,200–3,000+ words) is better for deep dives, cornerstone guides, and posts you want to rank well in search. When starting, mix both. Short-form helps you publish faster; long-form writing enables you to build authority.

Related Reading: Niche Blog Strategies for 2025

Step 6: Make It Easy for People to Find You

Use one social platform to focus solely on promoting your posts. If you want search traffic fast, try Pinterest — it’s highly recommended for new blogs.

Create a free Canva account.
Make a Pinterest pin template for your blog posts.
Post each blog link to Pinterest with a short description.

TIP: Pinterest takes a couple of weeks to months to have your pins circulate and rank in the feeds. While that’s evolving, focus on Pinterest SEO – use keyphrases and search intent in the main search bar; check Pinterest trends for trending colours and other graphic cues – and create interesting and unique pins that best express your blog post. Go with the current, but let your unique point of view shine – it will make your pins stand out in a sea of ‘same-looking’ pins.

Step 7: Post regularly (or here’s what happens If you don’t)

Can you post when the mood strikes? Sure. But here’s the trade-off: inconsistent posting usually means inconsistent traffic resulting in a blog that never grows.

Approach your blog like a business and post on a schedule — even when you’re not in the mood.

If you approach it like a diary, you’ll only post when inspiration hits. Nothing wrong with that if your goal is personal expression rather than audience growth.

Whichever you choose, be honest about ‘why’ you’re doing it. If you want readers and revenue, treat it like a business.

Step 8: Think About Why You’re Blogging Before You Monetise

Why are you here?

To write?

To communicate and connect?

To build an audience and a following?

Or purely to make money and possibly generate an income?

If the goal is to build an income-generating publishing business, monetization should be your primary focus – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But for a first-time blogger, I recommend getting comfortable with long-form, written, content creation first, then layering in monetisation tactics.

Here are a few low-barrier-to-entry monetisation options for beginners:

Affiliate links – Recommend products you genuinely use; earn a commission on sales.
Digital downloads – Create a simple PDF guide or checklist and sell it directly.
Sponsored posts – Write about a product or service for a brand in exchange for payment (usually comes later, once you have an audience).
Display ads – Use networks like Google AdSense or Grow by Mediavine to show ads on your site; minimal setup, low initial earnings.
Tip jar or buy-me-a-coffee – Let readers support your work with small donations.

Related Reading: Are you an investor or a founder?

Step 9: Publish Now, Tweak Later

The best way to start a blog is to simply start, no matter how unpolished your first post feels. It’s out there and it’s been said a ‘million’ times, but trust me on this one – it’s true. The more imperfect, the better.

If you’re not ‘sold’, try this: Just be human – and that one’s been gaining traction as well.

Here’s a tip: Write your idea, then flesh it out in your own words. If you must, allow AI to assist but then tweak in your own words. Never, and I do mean never, copy and paste. You can always edit and refine your writing later, even retrofit the SEO (though I don’t recommend it – pick one simple and meaningful keyphrase upfront and run with it). Also, pause on the branding till after your content is published. No one’s reading an unpublished blog.

Bottom line and in this order:

Buy the domain.
Get hosting.
Install WordPress (install automatically through your hosting; I use Hostinger – they do it for you while you make a cup of coffee…quite literally)
Write 5 posts.
Publish.
Share.
Then do it again next week.

The “perfect blog” comes from posting, not from planning.

TIP: Write raw, publish unpolished – give yourself permission to be edgy and experimental.

In conclusion: Starting a niche blog for the first time

This foundational post is brief and intentionally so.

This guide should take the overwhelm out of starting a blog or content site, and hopefully, allow you to build an online presence as quickly as possible. Fuss-free.

Would you like anything elaborated on? Let me know.

If, by any chance, you are vacillating between starting a niche blog or a personal brand one, why don’t you try my free workbook? It’s an editable PDF, making it easy to download and type straight into it. I guarantee it will not only inspire you, but help you answer a few critical questions about who you are as a person both introspectively (think: what drives me) and publicly (think: persona) – insights that are beneficial for structuring a successful blog. It’s simple but thought-provoking enough to stir something.

How to start a niche blog – Step-by-Step for Beginners Who Want to Post ‘Something’