First things first, let’s be clear about the intention here: this series is about converting whatever you’re passionate about into a blog form, and then creating a profit. If creating a blog for fun is your goal, that’s totally ok and awesome. Some of the tips in this series will definitely be helpful, but some may not apply. Just know that! 😉
Now if you came here looking for recipes and could care less about starting a blog, no worries. Head over to the recipes category where you’ll find all kinds of delicious and healthy eats (like these EPIC Spicy Salmon Tacos)!
So let’s talk about the first thing you need to do when creating a blog: Know Your Passion!
If you’re already 100% sure that you know your passion (the one you want to center the blog around), feel free to skip ahead to the next post (How To Create A Blog – The Logistics). Unless you just really want to make sure! Then read on, friend.
I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve talked to that have told me that they want to start a blog, but don’t know what they’re passionate about. I’ve come to the realization that there are two types of people: people who don’t have a lot of passions, and people who have “too many” passions! <—– I’m that girl. I completely understand! Either way, it can be pretty tough to figure out what you should center your blog around. Grab a pen, a notebook, and let’s work through this together! Here’s how to know your passion when creating a blog:
1.) What energizes you?
What makes you come alive? If you could do ANYTHING, what would it be? For me, I knew that I have a passion for food and fitness. I also love travel and lifestyle!
2.) How could you potentially use each of these passions to teach, inspire, or help people?
The information you share with others should be useful. Put yourself in the reader’s shoes for second. What do you want to see when you visit a blog? Why do you visit your favorite blogs? Most likely, you keep returning to the blog because it provides you with useful information. Even if that information is inspiration! You might learn a recipe, you might learn how to start a blog (hint hint), you might find a solution to entertaining your kids with crafts and projects, or you might just find the fitness motivation you need to start working out from the best Fit Education personal training courses.
Think about how you can share your passion with the world in a way that would make it helpful to them! If some of the passions on your list don’t have the potential to teach, inspire, or help, then go ahead and remove them. You can always try to add them back in later as your blog grows, but for now we want to find a very specific niche for your blog!
3.) Which of these passions can you write about all of the time?
Think about having to take photos of this thing all of the time and what it would look like to collaborate with others.
Guys. Let’s be real. A blog is A LOT of work! I used to think that I wanted to make complicated recipes or tons of healthy baked goods, but then I realized it wasn’t feasible for me since healthy simple/easy recipes are more my style. I wouldn’t make those complicated recipes in real life, so why would I make them for the blog? I quickly burned out in my attempt to brand myself in a way that wasn’t realistic or efficient for me. It’s so important to not only write about what you’re passionate about, but to think about how it’ll fit in your day-to-day lifestyle, as well! This doesn’t mean that I won’t do a more complicated recipe or bake something every once in a while, but it won’t be the core of my brand.
Think about what you already do on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis. Not only what you love to do, but what you can do often in order to easily share that with your readers in a consistent way!
4.) If I had to choose one of these industries to work with all of the time, which one would it be?
When I first started out, I had dreams of working with brands in the food industry and representing brands in the fitness clothing industry. Think about the brands you LOVE and can’t live without! This should help you choose which passion and industry is a fit for your blog.
Do you feel like you know your passion?
Have you narrowed it down? If you have more than one passion, do they go hand-in-hand? I want to hear all about your blog ideas in the comments below! And if you have any questions, be sure to ask them in the comments below as well!
Now for the logistics. 😉 Let’s move on to the next post in this series: How To Create A Blog: The Logistics!
Susan says:
How did you come up with the name “Jar of Lemons”?!
Christine McMichael replied:
Hi, Susan! It was just a name that came to mind and I liked the simplicity of it. Not much of a deeper meaning there, just thought the name flowed well (and was semi-related to food, haha)! 😉