Let me tell you, there were a lot more than 3 challenges I faced when starting my blog. However, I’ll be sharing the 3 greatest challenges, along with solutions that helped me, in case you run into the same challenges.

It has been so worth it though; I wouldn’t go back and change anything. I am honestly in disbelief at the outpouring of support and connecting with so many similar people!

If you’re interested in starting your own blog but not sure where to start, check out my full guide to launching a successful blog!

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Challenge 1: Figuring out how to use WordPress

I use WordPress, hosted on Bluehost, and I love it. However, when I first started out, oh my gosh I was so confused. There’s definitely a big learning curve if you’ve never built a website before!

I can’t speak to any of the other hosting platforms, but I do love how I can edit my blog posts and site pages visually. As in, I don’t need to know how to write HTML codes to get my website to look the way I want it to.

However, it still took me a long time to figure out how to change my formatting, add in these sidebars and Instagram grids, and create all my different menus, and craft a pop-up for people to add their emails. The list goes on.

Also, I literally somehow deleted my entire site a week before I was supposed to launch it.🤦🏽‍♀️ I had to push back my launch date because of this, but THANKFULLY Bluehost support was able to retrieve my site. I hadn’t backed it up or anything (didn’t even know that was a thing?) so was so, so thankful they did.

Solution: Trial + Error (& YouTube tutorials)

Unfortunately, I think the only way around this challenge is through. As in, putting in the time and efforts to learning the ins and outs of WordPress (or whichever platform you’re using). Now that I’ve got it figured out more, it takes me way less time to set up the structure of these posts, or to add buttons to my menus, etc. It is super rewarding!

I also would google problems I had, and find YouTube tutorials or WordPress forum posts or other blogs to figure out how to do what I wanted to do. I learn best by reading, so my preference is to find step-by-step instructions.

I would also contact the Bluehost support pretty frequently. They were very responsive and so helpful when it came to fixing small problems!

Challenge 2: Figuring out when + what to post about

I think because I was SO excited to get started and share everything I could, I didn’t have clear direction. I had a general sense of things I could talk about, and things I wanted to talk about, but struggled to categorize it all in just 3 – 4 topics.

I also wasn’t sure how often I wanted to post. I didn’t want to say “oh yeah I’ll be posting three times a week,” and then a month later be burnt out already. However, I also didn’t want to only post once a week, and end up with a ton of backlogged content.

Solution: Commit and over-prepare

The two things you need to decide are 1) your 3 – 4 main content pillars, and 2) how often you’re going to post.

For my content pillars; I tried not to overthink these. They have changed since, and I just continue to refine them as I figure out what I’m most interested in talking about.

In terms of frequency, I decided on a bi-weekly posting schedule. However, in the first 2 weeks of launching, I posted every day the first week and every other day the second week to get content up on my site. 

I saw some really great advice when I started, which was to have at least 12-15 blog posts prepped and ready to go. This gave me the lead time to get my website up and running!

Challenge 3: Figuring out how to get web traffic

Let me be honest: I still face this challenge! Although I get more foot traffic now through my Instagram and weekly emails, I don’t think my posts show up in any Google searches. This is definitely something I want to tackle in the next few months, so stay tuned.

I really wanted to get content up on my page, before sharing with other people. But, this led me to the issue of having minimal views on my first posts. A bit of a conundrum.

Solution: Building social media first + SEO

This is a two-part solution. The first is that I wish I had built up my social media presence and email list first, before ever launching my website. This would have given me even more time to fine tune my content pillars and posts.

The second is that, now that it is launched, focusing on optimizing SEO. SEO stands for “Search engine optimization,” which is basically hacking your blog post and website content so that your page will rank higher in search engine results.

To be honest, I don’t have the right “hacks” or tools to tell you how to properly do this. Yet. Like I said, I will be further looking into this in the months coming, so be sure to sign up for my mailing list to be the first notified when I have SEO tips to share.

If you’re running into a similar issue, or something different, feel free to send me a message on Instagram! Would love to help any way I can.

💙mariss