Any tips on starting a blog for a college student?

Hi everyone!

I’ve started looking into creating my own blog this year and have checked out platforms like WordPress and Bluehost.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out? Any suggestions on what topics are popular right now?

What tools or services have you used that helped your blog grow?

Is it worth spending money on a theme for my blog or should I just stick with what WordPress offers?

I’d really appreciate any advice as I begin this journey!

I started my blog using WordPress and Bluehost in August 2024. I’ve only paid for hosting, nothing else like paid themes or plugins. No fancy courses either. I kept it simple at first.

I watched a couple of YouTube videos to understand how WordPress works and used Elementor for the layout, which is free and really useful. Definitely recommend it!

I think it’s best to start simple, don’t rush to add features or plugins right away. Your blog’s content is what really matters in the beginning. As for what to write about, I wouldn’t worry too much about limiting yourself in the beginning. Explore different topics that interest you. Over time, you’ll figure out what works best for you and what you enjoy writing about.

@Jordan
Thanks for your input! I should have mentioned earlier, one of my goals is to make some passive income from the blog. Do you make any money from your blog, or is it just for fun and creativity for you? I appreciate your thoughts, it helps me realize I don’t need a fancy theme to get started.

@Hazel
I’ve made a little money from my blog, but it’s mostly a creative outlet for me. However, it would be nice to eventually earn enough from it to consider blogging part-time. It’s hard to say when that might happen, but you never know when a post might take off and bring more attention to your site.

I recommend picking a niche that’s in demand, like tools or something more specific like birds or pets. Smaller niches can be great for building a dedicated audience.

Your biggest challenge will probably be backlinks, so choose your niche early on and start building relationships with other bloggers to help you get backlinks later on.

@Braint
This may sound like a silly question, but could you explain SEO to me? I hear about it all the time but some of it goes over my head when I watch videos. Any help would be appreciated!

Hazel said:
@Braint
This may sound like a silly question, but could you explain SEO to me? I hear about it all the time but some of it goes over my head when I watch videos. Any help would be appreciated!

Here’s a breakdown of SEO based on what I’ve learned (I get about 60,000 visitors a month):

  1. Pick a niche, do some keyword research, and choose low-competition keywords.
  2. Don’t rush your content. Make sure it’s well-written and human-focused, not AI-generated. One high-quality article is better than lots of lower-quality ones.
  3. Submit your site to Google and Bing Search Console.
  4. Get on social media, share your articles, and link your social media to your site.
  5. Add internal and outbound links to your articles.
  6. Avoid buying backlinks, they’re usually not good.
  7. Start working on getting backlinks. This is tricky, but networking with other bloggers is key. If you can, guest post on other blogs for backlinks.
  8. When buying guest posts, make sure the site is using mostly human-written content.
  9. Spend time researching each article and use long-tail keywords.
  10. Keep up with these steps for a year, aim for 50 posts and you should see traffic growth.

Keep at it, don’t give up too soon, and the rewards will come!

I’d avoid Bluehost. A lot of bloggers recommend it, but it’s mostly because of high affiliate payouts, not because it’s great for long-term performance. I’ve heard from some bloggers who used to recommend it but don’t anymore. You might want to look at alternatives like Big Scoots, Lyrical Host, Cloudways, Hostinger, or A2 Hosting.

@WilliamMia
That’s really helpful, thanks for sharing! I noticed that too, some people pushing Bluehost seem to not even use it. I’ve heard of Big Scoots, so maybe I’ll give that a try.

Hazel said:
@WilliamMia
That’s really helpful, thanks for sharing! I noticed that too, some people pushing Bluehost seem to not even use it. I’ve heard of Big Scoots, so maybe I’ll give that a try.

Big Scoots is solid. I work with some sites hosted there and haven’t had any issues. I’d recommend it!

I started my blog with help from a YouTube video by Tyler Moore. He walks you through everything you need to do to create a WordPress blog. The video is called ‘How To Make a WordPress Blog - Step by Step,’ and it’s from 2021. I highly recommend checking it out!