1 Year Blogiversary: Advice For New Christian Bloggers

Tips and Advice for New Bloggers 

Before I start with my story, I wish to thank all of you who have supported me. Family, friends, subscribers, and all of you whom I’ve met through the blogging community-my deepest gratitude goes to you all! Thank you! 

Without further ado, here are my 5 pieces of wisdom I have for new Christian bloggers:

When I started The Scribe’s Portion I knew I wanted to write with purpose.

I also knew that creating a blog, was an act of obedience. Allow me to explain. Due to my introverted and reserved nature, putting myself out on the web was nothing short of intimidating. I’m the kind of person who does not want to be known and who only shares her opinions and work with close family and friends. But for almost a year, I felt the conviction to start a serious Christian blog. I had created several blogs in the past for fun and as a way to share my writings. However, this time I felt the gentle push to make a blog dedicated to sound Biblical posts. The conviction got louder and more insistent until I finally decided to acquiesce. And I’m glad that I did because it has taught me so much more than I have taught others. 

[bctt tweet=”5 Pieces of wisdom I wish I knew before I started blogging.” username=”TheScribe_Blog”]

1. Decide What The Purpose of Your Blog Will Be (and stick to it!)

If you’re still fiddling with the idea of starting a blog, you probably already know what you want to focus on. But my advice would be to stick to it and not allow what others write about to change your style. When I started TSP I knew I wanted to write Christian Living posts and Biblical Reflections. During the first months of blogging, I strayed a bit from this because I noticed that many Christian Bloggers wrote more on the Lifestyle side. I saw that readers were more interested in posts about Christian parenting tips than a devotional on Psalm 23. I attempted to write posts catered toward Christian Lifestyle but soon realized that it just wasn’t who I was nor what God had called me to write about. 

So I chose to carry on God’s purpose for TSP rather than follow other bloggers. In a few words: write with Godly purpose, not human purpose and keep it up. 

I purposed in my heart that I would not monetize it.

Since I had decided that this blog was dedicated to God and God alone, I didn’t think it right to make money from it. But soon I realized that I could make a small income from blogging to pay for hosting services and other blog-related expenses. If I could keep TSP running without having to pay out of pocket, I thought, “Why not?” And so I compromised.

So I signed up for affiliate programs and Google Sense. The latter was a bad decision. As easy and tempting as Google ads are, I DO NOT RECOMMEND it. I had never liked Google ads because it litters blogs and just looks bad. Having little control over what ads appear on your blog is not good when you’re trying to run a Christian Godly blog and there are inappropriate ads on your posts. And this was the main reason why I disliked it but I was becoming frustrated with the zero cents I had made with the affiliate programs that I gave in. 

After being convicted, I took out the ads, lesson learned. But it was a valuable lesson on relying on God for provision rather than on ads. If He called me to start this blog, He will provide a way to keep it running. 

*I’m still part of affiliate programs but my hopes are not on them if I earn $100 or nothing, glory to God. I use this income to further God’s kingdom, not as a way to make a living.

2. To Monetize or Not to Monetize

I am not here to say if monetizing a Christian blog is good or bad. Pray and seek God’s guidance on this. There are many Christian bloggers who make a living from blogging and there are others who don’t. I will not state my opinion on this matter, ask God what route you should take on this. But never put your hopes on the income you receive, depend on God for everything. 

I thought I needed accounts for all social media platforms to grow an audience.

When I started blogging, I made social media accounts on every platform I could think of: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Needless to say, I grew overwhelmed very quickly. I’m not one to be on social media all day every day, in fact, it stresses me something horribly sometimes. Even with the help of Hootsuite, I couldn’t keep up with all the social media accounts. I quickly learned that I needed to rely on God for that too. God speaks, I write, God drives the traffic. And if only 3 people visit your blog in 1 week, don’t fret, be content with doing God’s work, not just writing posts for an audience. 

3. You Don’t Need All the Social Media Platforms

Pick 1 or 2 and post consistently. Write meaningful posts. People are drawn to meaningful posts they can relate to. Don’t overwhelm yourself and don’t get trapped in the comparison trap. Your following will grow in due time like a plant grows with consistent water. And remember that it takes time to grow an audience, it doesn’t happen overnight. But at the end of the day,  numbers don’t matter, what matters is that you’re obeying God’s lead and your blog glorifies Him. 

I knew that webinars were not for me. 

When I started my research on creating a blog I was overwhelmed with the number of blogs and websites that offer free webinars, tools, and articles on blogging successfully. I watched ONE webinar and 5 minutes of another  and said, “nope.” Not only do bloggers contradict each other on how to blog, I couldn’t force myself to sit through and listen/read to others’ opinions. If I was going to blog for God then I would allow Him to teach me and guide me. I would not rely on man’s wisdom. 

4. You Don’t Need to Listen to Every Free Webinar

In fact, please DON’T listen to every webinar, you will be overwhelmed. Creating a successful blog does not require a secret formula. Write great content free of grammatical errors, announce on social media of your choice, and repeat. Do this consistently while depending fully on God and your blog will be successful. Blogging is a lot of work, but it’s simple. 

[bctt tweet=”You don’t need to sign up for every free webinar to learn how to run a successful blog. ” username=”TheScribe_Blog”]

I was determined that I would never compromise the Truth.

From the beginning, I promised myself that I would never compromise the Truth even if it offended others. I am a person who values the unwatered, unsugar-coated Truth. I’m the type of person that if 99.9% of the people go to the left simply because everyone else is I will be the 1 lone person who will go to the right if it means pursuing Truth. And I vowed from the very start of this blog, that I would be this way when writing.

I know some of the posts I have written have offended people. I know that much of what I write does not attract many, but that’s alright because I write what needs to be said, not what people want to hear. I’m aware that this affects the traffic to my site but numbers will never override the mission of this blog which is to preserve the Word of God. 

[bctt tweet=”Whatever you do, do not compromise the purpose of your blog!” username=”TheScribe_Blog”]

5. Whatever You Do, Do NOT Compromise Your Purpose

This goes with what I stated earlier, don’t allow what everyone else is posting to change your style, purpose, or the truth. If everyone else is writing about Valentine’s Day gifts do not feel pressured to write about that. I use Pinterest to promote my blog posts and I cannot tell you how many posts there are about the same topics. I’m pretty sure some subjects have been completely exhausted already. I’m not criticizing other blogs, it’s just an observation. Write with purpose and stick to it! But above all, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! Allow God to write for you, He has given you a platform and an audience, glorify Him alone! 

I hope these small pieces of advice will help you in your blogging endeavor. I pray that God will guide you and that you may be obedient to His voice! 

Love,

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