Five tips for starting a family blog

If you are looking for something that can help your family to develop a good source of money, then family blogs are a possible option. But to start a successful family blog, it is important to consider a number of things before you even begin, so you start off on the right footing. First and foremost, family blogs and blogging is hard work, and don’t be fooled into thinking it isn’t. You won’t get paid work immediately, and have to build up content and authority first while writing about family life; as well as building a suitable brand and persona.

This is a collaborative post.

Family blogs can focus on a number of different topics; just look at our menu bar! We started as a family blog before developing into a media property as children have grown. being a mother brings with it mang challenges. From documenting pregnancy to family travel tips and advice on anything from surviving a family road trip, to recipes and potty training, you can turn life events into exciting write-ups and content that others will want to read.

When you are documenting that parenting journey through a blog, always consider WHY you are doing it first and foremost, and then think about these five things. There are loads of other things to consider, of course, but if you start here, it’ll help to maintain your momentum and enthusiasm through those initial tougher days.

1. Consider asking for family approval (particularly from your kids)

Even if it’s your family, it is worth stepping back and thinking whether you might be wise getting other members within your families to consent. Talk to your family and check if they want to be a part of this. It’s quite normal for some members not to be involved. In that case, respect their privacy.

For example, my other half is reticent to by online, so we don’t historically post that much that includes him. In addition, it is really important to think about your kids. If they are too young to get consent from, check your own comfort levels with sharing them and their photographs online.

It is also worth considering that as your children grow, their comfort level with being online will change, so what are you thinking you might do with this? You may find that you end up having to make a number of videos private as they move into the teen/tween years and are much more conscious of their own social footprints and sharing their home life online.

2. Consider your blog name carefully

A crucial thing for a blog is its name. That is probably a bit obvious – but the blog name is your family, and your brand, so make sure that it works for what you are going to be writing about. If you are focused on parenting tips; what works well for this? If you are going to be sharing lifestyle or travel tips, what will stand the test of time for those topics?

You can even use a bit of help if you get stuck, such as a name generator for your blog. That way, you will get a load of different options for you to choose from.

Remember to check there aren’t already blogs, or influencers out there with the same name, as it is important to be active in the family blogs community. Starting a blog where there is already one of that name isn’t a great start.

Consider whether the name stands the test of time, or the addition of more children too. Naming your blog after your child can be difficult if you then have three more kids, or end up focusing on blogging about have a large family.

Pick a name that means you can be consistent across platforms where possible as well; with whatever family focus you choose. If you are KiddyCharts on the site, it is also ways best to be KiddyCharts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and everywhere else!

Do check out the other parenting bloggers out there if you can as well – we have a great database of them for you to look through if you can spare the time.

3. Make it about the writing and be consistent

So, you’ve got the name, and your family are happy – the next is fundamental to making it work….

Now, it’s time to start writing that content. Be consistent, cover the topics that YOU want to read about, and don’t be afraid to put a little of yourself out there, depending on how comfortable you feel doing so. People like real stories from real parents; the challenges from raising kids are many, and people want to see parents being raw and honest about them.

Connections are much easier if there is something to connect to.

If you can, add some sarcasm or humour to your writing. Readers love a good chuckle; particularly within the parening space it can really help someone related to you, and want to read your next post.

4. Don’t underestimate the value of SEO

To help people find your blogs popular, do not underestimate the post of SEO: Search Engine Optimisation. Make sure to follow these steps when doing so:

• Do a thorough keyword research activity when you decide on an article topic, perhaps using Google or a tool like Keysearch, or RankIQ,
• Create your content as per the keywords, but don’t write FOR the keyword tool, remember that your article are also there for real people too,
• Add internal links to the blog content, which helps promote your content on the blog, and generate more page views for the site, giving Google the impression that people like your content,
• Write an appropriate title using the keyword analysis, but also bearing in mind that the title needs to work for social media. What is going to draw your reader in?
• Keep checking the content results; but don’t get obsessive with it. See how it performed and analyse why it did better or worse than the last piece of content.

Apart from this, do bear in mind that longer form articles can perform better on Google, so consider higher word counts. Sometimes blog articles with 2000+ words are likely to give you the best results; but bear in mind that the content needs to be valuable. No point in a 2000 word article with 1500 words of flannel!

Optimizing your blog for SEO can help it to rank high on the search engine results. As a result, your blog will get huge exposure and growth.

5. Promote, but build your OWN audience and don’t rely on social channels

Once done, promote your blogs on different platforms. A good way to do this is, of course, through social media and email newsletters. Make use of your Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter handles to bolster the post initially.

In the early days, perhaps you can ask your close friends and family to read your blogs, to give you a build of support, particularly while you are building an audience on social media. Invite them to share it on their social media handles if they like it too. Do pick and choose which family members share as well – no point in someone sharing that isn’t really part of your audience of course.

Aside from social media, build your own audience though an email list. Develop it gradually with that that like your content. Perhaps use forms on your site to get people that visit signing up, so you know they like your content. When you send email newsletters, be as personal as you can be, so that readers continue to connect.

Sometimes, we have had apologies from our readers when people haven’t had time that week to open our newsletter; we love getting this notes, as it really helps us see how important out content is to people. It keeps us going when things are harder!

It is so important to be consistent with your blogs. Commit to content regularly, and you’ll build that audience. Loads of luck, and let us know how you get on too.

If you are looking for other blogging and influencer content on KiddyCharts, do check these articles out:

We are always happy to help too, so feel free to contact us or reach out on social media too. Why not join our weekly newsletter as well – you might even get some good ideas for your site?

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Thanks for stopping by to see us, and we hope you will come back again soon. Good luck all you moms and dads out there looking to start writing; we look forward to seeing what you all come up with. Have loads of family fun, and enjoy your time with your whole family while you are writing.

Helen

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