How to Start a Successful Parenting Blog

Starting a mom or dad blog is actually quite easy. It may appear complicated, especially if you’re not familiar with websites or aren’t very active online. But don’t worry, the technical part (which is probably the stumbling block for most people) is relatively simple.

You can be up and running very quickly. The basic website setup takes less than 15 minutes, once the blog hosting has been confirmed.

To get a new blog going, it is the content writing which is most important. But that’s not the part you’re worried about right?

Planning

Before diving in, sketch a rough plan to get your head around the project. Do some research to fill in any knowledge gaps so that you’re better prepared.

Creating a Plan – it can be on paper, in a spreadsheet or notes in your phone. Figure out what you know and what you don’t but need to find out. Have a massive brainstorm to set goals, draw up a timeline and outline a step by step plan.
What is a Parenting Blog Exactly – do you actually know what you want to do? Do you know the possibilities of what can be done, and what should be done? Probably not. A good way to find out is to spend a few hours and visit at least 10 dad, mom, and general parenting blogs to see how they’re designed and what they write about.
Should you Start a Blog – this is an important question. Obvious but often overlooked. Dig deep to think about why you want to have a blog. Take a look at these reasons to be a parenting blogger if you’re not sure.
What will you Write About – you’ve heard the phrase content is king right? Well it is, especially when it comes to blogging. Thrash out your content plan clearly and it will help to shape your blog’s brand, name and direction. Don’t know where to start? Have a good think then write down the titles for the first 20 posts in your blog.

Do some research

Make a list of the top parenting blogs you like
And/or search for some topics related to raising kids and surf through the leading results
Start a spreadsheet to compile a list of the URLs and websites you feel are good
Add personal comments to note down good ideas about each site
Take a look at the most popular posts in each blog to get insights on what type of articles readers like
Read some of the post comments to get a better feel of what topics get readers to feedback and interact
Have a think about what you’d like to blog about – will it be generic parenting stuff or will you be sharing local oriented info
Do a quick search for “parenting blogs [your country/city]” or “things to do with kids in [country/city] to see locally focused mom and dad blogs
When doing this research, stay focused on the written content or post titles, headings/sub-headings, content length/style/quality/shares
Feel free to add remarks in your spreadsheet about the design and anything else that’s noteworthy, but the key objective should be to figure out what type of parenting content works
Remember to visit the About page for each blog to see what other bloggers say about themselves – this will give you lots of helpful ideas when you write yours

13 Tips to Start writing your Mom or Dad Blog

It may sound obvious, but to be a blogger you need to be able to, and enjoy writing – so the best way to figure out if blogging suits you is to dive right in and write
Forget about web design, blog hosting, themes/plugins, naming/logo or anything else you think is important, just start working on the blog’s content first
Write your About page to think through how you’d like to portray yourself, why readers should want to read your blog, what value you hope to provide etc
To figure out your blog’s identity and the About page, start drafting the titles and sub-sections for your first 5/10/20 posts
After outlining some of the posts, get stuck in to flesh out the first few where you’ve got plenty of naturally free flowing ideas
When you write about things that are personal to you which you have knowledge about, the words should just flow
Keep writing and get as much down as possible without worrying about editing to get things perfect
Write like your talking to your best friend – make it personable using simple language where you write like how you talk without being too formal
Be someone that readers can relate to, instead of coming across like a stiff know-it-all that’s giving a lecture
Grind through those first 5-10 posts, working on the outlines and writing them out in full as the ideas come along
Once you’ve got 10 done and gone through to edit yourself or getting someone else to share feedback, you’ll be a different person to the one you are now (at least from a blogging perspective)
You can now begin to get the blog setup in order to publish those first 10 posts, or work on another 5-10 depending on how you feel, whether you’ve got ideas overflowing or other circumstances
If possible, keep on writing as it will give you a better feel of what it’s like to be a blogger, help build up a strong collection of posts to give your blog a jump start, and let you have a realistic insight into your writing abilities

Different Types of Parenting Blogs

A lot of parents start a blog without a proper plan and just post about random thoughts and experiences as they come across them.

This isn’t necessarily wrong, but it is harder to build up a loyal readership if you don’t have any particular strengths.

As you know, there are plenty of websites offering great content. To compete for the increasingly fickle and impatient web audience, you must be able to capture every visitor’s attention when they land on your blog.

You need to provide value and make it clear what you can offer on your homepage. This means there has to be a focused content plan.

Here are some ideas on the type of parenting related blog posts you can write:

Personal stories – this is where a lot of people start. Raising a child is an eventful journey and most parenting blogs start out as a journal documenting the experience. If your goal is just to make notes for your future self, publish photos to share with others, or pen your thoughts to unwind, then these posts will serve the blog well. However, if you’d like to attract subscribers and grow your blog, then you put your audience’s needs as the priority.
Parenting tips – the most successful mommy and fathering blogs normally have excellent articles that provide actionable ideas and advice to help readers navigate the daily challenges of raising kids. Parents are always searching for answers to the endless list of things that need to be solved. The web already has lots of brilliant resources for parents but there is always room to cover new areas or to provide a fresh take on classic topics.
Local parenting info – apart from general parenting tips, the other type of information parents need is local advice on what to do, where to go, best events/activities etc. If you can share useful info to help parents in your area, it could be a niche to get your new blog going. Compared to generic evergreen posts, locally focused content will have a more limited reach, but there will also be less competition.

What’s the best content strategy to build an audience for a new parenting blog?

Have a blend of all 3 content types – personal stories, parenting tips and local resources for parents.
Share parenting tips with a unique angle that incorporates real stories from your experience. This makes the advice both useful and more authentic as you offer readers a look into your life.
You can write about a particular topic and then support it with an incident involving your family, or share an interesting story and then highlight key takeaways that apply for other parents too.
Post local info to help local or visiting parents in your town/city/country – this will attract a targeted audience who are likely to subscribe/follow your blog. It will provide you with easy quick traffic to get your blog rolling. Once you’ve gained a reputation by providing niched local resources, your general parenting posts may gain traction too as Google starts to recognize your blog.
The point is – you have to start somewhere to establish a following first, and then slowly build up the higher value content that has wider appeal.

Naming, Hosting & Design

Next, comes the actual blog setup:

Choosing a Blog Name – this will be easier if you’ve done the research & planning properly
Picking a Blogging Platform – just go with WordPress, it’s the best and it’s free
Getting Hosting & a Domain Name for your Blog Website – the easiest option for most people is to get the Starter Plan at Bluehost. It includes a free domain name and comes with the WordPress.
Setting up your Blog & Choosing a Theme – after installing WordPress, it’s time to choose a design
Adding Specific Features using Plugins – this is why millions of people choose WordPress as their blogging platform. It allows you to add lots of additional functionality. You can skip this step for now.
Start Blogging – write and publish your first post.

It’s that easy.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will it cost? The main cost is for your domain name registration and blog website hosting. Registering a .com domain costs about $10 a year and simple hosting costs less than $110 a year. Both of them will cost a maximum of $120 a year or $10/month. This will be a lot less if you sign up for more than a year with the hosting provider.
How much does blog hosting cost? BlueHost’s Basic Plan (which is all you need for now) starts at under US$3 per month – https://www.bluehost.com/web-hosting/signup and includes a free domain name. This is a good deal that a lot of new bloggers use.
What is a WordPress? WordPress (WP) is the most popular blogging software or Content Management System (CMS) that is used by millions of websites. It is an open source source software which means it is 100% free.
What are Blog Themes? Blog/WordPress Themes control a site’s layout and every element of the design. There are thousands of free themes to use as well as paid premium themes. For beginners, free WordPress themes are perfectly fine.
What are WordPress Plugins? WP Plugins are used to enhance the functionality of WordPress websites. Just like themes, there are plenty of free ones as well as paid premium plugins.

Feel free to ask a question in the comments section below if you’d like more information. Just fire away and I’ll be glad to help.