9 Things to do in Your First 3 Months of Blogging

The first 3 months of blogging can be a whirlwind. Before you know it, posts have been published, plans have been made, achievements have been accomplished, and months have flown by in no time at all.

When you’re a new blogger, sometimes you don’t quite realize the things you can do today that will benefit you significantly way down the line. There are certain things that you can do now that will save you a ton of time, energy, money and frustration months or even years from now.

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Here’s my list of 9 Things to do in Your First 3 Months of Blogging. I know these will put you on the right track to blogging success!

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1. Develop your content calendar- and stick to it

Remember how I said earlier that time flies when blogging? Your first 3 months of blogging will be gone before you know it. Without a content calendar, it’s going to be pretty hard to plan out your posts in advance and keep to a regular schedule.

Why is a regular posting schedule necessary? Well, your fans, followers, readers or peeps will better know what to expect from you. When you give them the ability to start to expect a post every week or two posts every week on the same day(s), they begin to view you as a dependable person. As human beings, we have an innate desire to follow and give our loyalty to reliable & trustworthy people.

A content calendar will also help get you writing in advance. If you know exactly what your post is going to be about next week, why not write it now and get ahead of the curve?

As far as what form your content calendar should take, that’s going to depend on what you prefer personally. I recommend CoSchedule because it’s way beyond just a content calendar, it’s a full-fledged editorial and marketing calendar as well. If you want to start off simple, your Google calendar or a spreadsheet can work just fine.

2. Get your Pinterest game on point

Pinterest is where it’s at for blog traffic. I don’t care what your blog niche is; you need to be on Pinterest. Even if your niche is B2B or geared towards men; you need to be on Pinterest.

Just a bit of effort into making Pinterest-optimized images and scheduling in advance can yield massive traffic results. Traffic is good, no?

While traffic isn’t the be-all-end-all of blogging, it is necessary to get eyeballs on your content, opt-ins, and offers.

So, spend some time researching what works on Pinterest and do that. Thankfully, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Do what works consistently, and you’ll see results.   RELATED: Pinterest Scheduling Using Tailwind & How-to Video

Hint: Think tall images (think 800 x 1800), bright or saturated colors, large text, great images, catchy headlines, and schedule 10-40 pins a day on Tailwind.

RELATED: Join our exclusive IBA Tailwind Tribe by becoming an International Bloggers’ Association member today!

3. Start building your email list

Don’t bother with the WordPress ‘follow’ feature. Don’t worry about growing your social media followings first. Grow your email list.

Why? Well, your email list is the only way you have control over communication with your followers & fans which is not dependent on the whims of someone or something else like WordPress, Facebook, Snapchat, etc.

Let’s say you grow your Facebook group to 14,000 members, for example. Awesome!

Tomorrow it could be gone. Just because. With no warning or cause what-so-ever. Facebook could just delete it.

Sound far-fetched? I wish. This happened recently to a wonderful woman & blogger I know that ran a spectacular group. It happens, more often than most realize.

4. YES, email your email list!

Set a schedule and email your list weekly. Send them the best of what you have or do because they are the people who are crazy about what you do.

Your email subscribers are your biggest fans and they want to hear from you.

Don’t just send them an automatic RSS of your latest blog posts and treat them as an afterthought. Invest in them and they will invest in you.

5. Choose the right email service provider

While we’re on the subject, start off right with an email system that’s going to work long-term for you. Trust me; it’s a huge pain-in-the-you-know-what to change later.

Mailchimp seems to be where a lot of people start. I know I did years ago.

Today, there are many more alternatives that do a better job of offering what you’ll need as you grow.

If you are not monetized yet, I’d recommend MailerLite. They offer an insane amount of capabilities including spectacular landing pages and automated sequences even for free accounts. It’s free up to 1000 subscribers and after that it’s extremely affordable.

If you have clients, services or paid products, I recommend ConvertKit because of their fantastic tagging system that allows you to segment down your list to the n-th degree which allows for better conversions and less drop off. I use ConvertKit and I love them!

6. Niche down

This one is for those who hope to gain clients or make an income from their blog at some point. Niche down now before you get too invested in writing about anything and everything.

Niche down farther than you think you need to.

This allows you to find your perfect readers and attract only those who are going to be your raving fans. There’s no point in writing for everyone else.

Now, if you are absolutely confident you never want to make a cent off your blog, go ahead and write about anything & everything.

Examples:

Too broad: Parenting
Better: No-nonsense parenting
Best: No-nonsense parenting to raise self-sufficient kids

Too broad: Cooking
Better: Cooking healthily
Best: Cooking healthy food that tastes great

Too Broad: Frugal living
Better: Frugal living for families
Best: Frugal living for large families

7. Realize you need to invest in your blogger education

So many bloggers are hesitant to spend even a dime on their blogs, and that kind of thinking holds them back from growing at the rate they could be.

You invest in any other hobby, right? Let alone if you want to monetize; you invest starting a business, right?

Blogging is no different. Invest in your education as a blogger. Free tools and resources are all well & good, but often what happens is that the pieces of the puzzle don’t all fit together properly when they’re from a million different sources.

I always recommend starting with Elite Blog Academy first if you’re a new blogger (less than three months experience). They have a great Blog Structure Blueprint that’s helpful in setting the structure of your blog right from the start, plus it’s totally free.

Now, if you’ve got a few good months under your belt, I’d recommend checking out my program, Blog Life Breakthrough, to teach you how to become a blogging success in a way that doesn’t require constant hustling or throw you into overwhelm.

If you’re not at the point where you can dedicate the time needed for a full on e-course, start with a smaller program such as the Blog by Number ebook or the Find Your Tribe Online program.

8. Be sure you made a wise choice in hosting

Hopefully, you’ve already chosen your site host wisely (RELATED: The Most Embarrassing Mistake I Made as a New Blogger) but if you ended up at one with a sketchy reputation or one that you’re not happy with, move. It’s a million times easier and less stressful to transfer now instead of having to do it down the road.

Some hosts, like SiteGround (which I LOVE), will migrate your site free of charge so definitely do your research.

9. Research the legalities of blogging

I am not a lawyer, and this shouldn’t be construed as legal advice, of course, but you need to make sure that you’re blogging legally.

Know what images are safe to use on your blog without landing you in hot water or fines. Find out how to legally do a round-up.

Research what you legally need to have in your Terms & Conditions of Service, Privacy Policy, and Affiliate Disclosures.

Research when you have to start filing taxes on anything bloggy related. Research if and when you need to get business licensing in your state or country.

Research, research, research… and then consult a lawyer.

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To recap: 9 Things to do in Your First 3 Months of Blogging

1. Develop your content calendar- and stick to it
2. Get your Pinterest game on point
3. Start building your email list
4. Email your email list
5. Choose the right email service provider
6. Niche down
7. Realize you need to invest in your blogger education
8. Be sure you made a wise hosting choice
9. Research the legalities of blogging

Don’t let the first 3 months of blogging fly by and then turn into years without setting yourself up for long-term success. Many of these simple things are easy in the beginning but get quite a bit more complicated as your blogging journey progresses. Take the plunge and accomplish these 9 things now!

What do you see as your biggest challenge in your first 3 months of blogging? Let me know in the comments section below.