Art blogs have exploded in popularity over the past few years, and for good reason! By creating your own art blog, you can share your thoughts and ideas with the world, connect with other artists, and even make money!
In this article, we're going to show you how to get started with your own art blog. We will be discussing the steps necessary on how to start an art blog in 2023.
The Best Way to Start an Art Blog in 2023
Starting an art blog is a great way to share your creativity with the world. If you're thinking about starting an art blog, follow the steps listed below:
Watch this video for Useful Tips on starting a Blog in 2023:
#1. Finding Your Niche
Pick a niche and decide on your blog's purpose.
Art is an ever-growing genre with a lot of potential to be explored. However, to get started, you first need to identify your niche. You will need to spend some time in research mode to find the best niche for you.
Here are my 5 tips on finding the perfect niche:
- Make a list of 10-15 art niches that sound interesting to you or that you think you would like to learn more about.
- Search for content about each of those niches on Google, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook Groups, and Forums. Are there other artists already blogging about this topic? Are there Facebook groups or Forums about this particular subject? Are there Youtube channels showing how to do this type of art? Are people sharing this type of content on social media? If your answer is "YES", then that is a good sign that your niche could be profitable! Having competition is good! If your answer is "NO", then I suggest you choose a different niche.
- Use a Keyword Research Tool like KW Finder to find low competition keywords for your niches. Niches that have several low competition keywords might be easier and faster to rank for in Google.
- Based on your research, narrow down your list to the best 2-3 niches.
- Pick something you love doing, would love to learn more about, or won't mind doing for the next 2-5 years (that's how long it might take to make your blog profitable).
#2. Planning your Blog Structure & Purpose
Your blog's purpose should be crystal clear to your readers. For example, if the purpose of your blog is to showcase your artwork and photography, then make sure your readers are aware of that from the start. Your readers will be able to tell whether or not your content resonates with them if they have a clear understanding of the purpose behind your blog.
Don't confuse your readers with vague or unrelated content. Make sure that your content is clear and straight to the point. This will make your blog posts easier to read and will keep them engaged. It's a good idea to brainstorm different blog topics and ideas before you start creating the actual content for your blog.
This will help you create content that is relevant to your audience and easily marketable. Once you decide on your blog's purpose, you can pick a domain name and start setting up a website where you can begin writing the content for your blog.
#3. Picking a Domain Name
Try to come up with a creative and memorable domain name that relates to your blog's purpose, but make sure it is short, easy to remember, and easy to spell out.
There are plenty of online tools that can help you find a good domain name for your blog.
Now that you have your domain (the address for your website), you need to choose a hosting company that will store the files for your website and make them available on the internet.
#4. Set up your Hosting and WordPress Site
You can think of web hosting as the process of renting or buying space to house the content of your website so that it can then be made available on the World Wide Web.
Going back to our house example... just think of hosting as the piece of land that you need to rent or buy to start building your home on.
Choose a reliable web hosting company to host your blog. Keep in mind that in order to host a blog on the internet, you'll need to find a hosting provider and a web server that offers the services that you need at an affordable price. Read online reviews to find hosting companies that offer the best services for your budget.
Bluehost is a good beginner hosting service that you can use to set up your blog. They provide reliable and affordable hosting services for both individuals and businesses. They also offer excellent customer support to help you with any questions that you may have along the way.
Once you have found a hosting company, the next step is to set up a hosting account on their website. This involves creating a username and password for your hosting account and providing some personal details about your address and contact details.
I Recommend BlueHost as a WordPress Hosting Partner.
Once you have chosen your hosting, it is time to install WordPress. Think of WordPress is simply a free software that you can install on your own web host server to create your website.
Need help seting up a WordPress site with BlueHost? Then click and watch this Video!
Even though I believe WordPress is the best platform for blogging, installing, designing, and managing a WordPress site can be a little daunting for beginners, specially if they feel like they don't have great technical skills. So for those who want to sell their paintings, artwork, or any other item, and also want to start a blog without going through a very steep learning curve, I recommend using Shopify as the selling and blogging platform.
Shopify is easy to setup, requires minimal maintenance, and allows beginners to start selling and blogging almost immediately. Learn More About Shopify Here.
If you think this is the route for you, then watch this special video that will teach you the step-by-step process of blogging on Shopify.
Informative Youtube Video that teaches how to write Blog Posts using Shopify
#5. Install your Website Theme
Once you've signed up for a hosting plan, and installed WordPress on it, you'll need to install your website theme. If you are using Shopify to blog, watch this next video to learn how to setup a Theme in your Shopify store. Then go to step #6.
If you are using WordPress, then just keep on reading!
A WordPress "theme" is basically the look and layout of your site. The theme will provide all of the front end styling of your WordPress site, like page layouts, fonts and colors.
Going back to our home example... a theme is sort of like your home's blueprint. It will determine the dimensions, materials, and layouts of the rooms of your home.
We recommend using a free WordPress theme for your art blog to keep things simple and inexpensive.
There are lots of great free themes out there, but one of our favorites is Schema. It's clean and modern, and it works very well with WordPress. However, you can use any WordPress theme you want as long as it supports WordPress posts and pages.
#6. Design Your Website Pages
Even though a theme will determine the overall look of your website, you still need to design your home page and other pages on your site. Going back to our home example... this is kind of like doing home decor. Now that you have your home built, it is time to start decorating the inside of the rooms... like deciding what kind of furniture you want in your living room, where you want that furniture to go, what artwork you want placed on the walls, what style and color of curtains you want, etc.
If you don't have any HTML knowledge, you will need to hire someone to do this for you or you can use a page builder tool like Thrive Architect. This is what I currently use to design my own WordPress website and it is a lifesaver!
It is super easy to use. Just drag and drop the elements you need (text, images, videos, forms, icons, etc) into a page and voila! You have a beautiful page!
Keep in mind that this page builder tool only works on WordPress sites. It is not available for Shopify stores. However, the beauty about having a Shopify store is that Shopify has it's own page builder tool that allows you to make basic customizations on your home page, blog page, and product pages.
Even though you are limited on what you can add or change, it is super easy to use and beginner-friendly. Just watch the video above to learn how to set everything up.
For creating a beautiful website and beautiful blog posts on WordPress, I recommend using Thrive Architect page builder.
Here's a helpful video for first timer Thrive Architect users:
Once you have installed your theme and designed your website, it's time to start writing your first blog post!
#7. Find Keywords related to your Niche
Figure out what your interests are - Once you know what you're interested in, start researching blogs that share your same interests. This will help you figure out if your blog will be successful and figure out what to write about. You should also make a list of your favorite blogs and include their links on your website or social media profile.
Your blog posts need to be focused on keyword phrases in order to rank on Google. You can search for relevant keywords and phrases using a tool like KW Finder.
For example, if you're looking to start a blog about art marketing, you could use the following search terms in your Google search bar: "art marketing", "marketing for artists", etc. Once you've found a few interesting blog posts, read them thoroughly to see how they are presented and what the author's focus was. This will give you an idea of how to structure and present your own content.
Searching for keywords and phrases on Google is okay, however, if you really want your posts to rank in the first page of Google, you will need a Keyword research tool like KW Finder from Mongools. This tool will tell you the difficulty of the keyword phrases that you are searching for so that you can easily know if it's worth writing an article on that topic or not. It will also give you ideas for other keyword phrases you could use and even look at your competitor's keywords.
Best keyword research tool for writing articles that will rank on Google: KW Finder
#8. Start making Content!
Now that you've set up your website, it's time to start creating high-quality content for your readers! You can write about your work, your favourite artists or galleries, tips and tricks for your art practice or any other topic that interests you!
It's important to stay consistent with your posts - try to upload new articles at least a few times a week. Share your posts on social media and Pinterest so more people can see them! Your followers will be your best resource for promoting your blog - so be sure to interact with them in the comments and help them out if they need it!
You should choose a topic that you're passionate about and write engaging posts about it. Don't forget to include high-quality images in each post. This will help make your blog posts more visually appealing and make them more interesting for your readers.
#9. Build up a Loyal Following of Readers
Making great content is the first step to getting lots of visitors to your blog. But to get them coming back you need to connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
The best way to build an engaged audience is to create and share content that is relevant to their interests. Try to stay present and active in the comments and respond to any questions your readers have. Keep the conversation going and try to engage in meaningful conversations to help your readers get the most out of your blog.
You can also build an audience by connecting with other artists and other creatives in your community. Networking is a very powerful way to connect with others who are interested in similar things as you!
Social media is also a great way to connect with your audience and build an engaged community around your blog. Try to follow and engage other content creators in your industry and build a mutually beneficial relationship. This will help promote each other's work and help grow your audiences.
#10. Grow your Email List
Making a simple "Opt-in form" on your blog (even one that says "sign up for our mailing list"), either in the footer or the sidebar, is an excellent way to grow an email list.
Encourage your readers to sign up for your mailing list so that you can keep them updated on your new blog posts! This helps keep your subscribers engaged and motivated to read your blog posts.
You can also offer a freebie such as a guide, a checklist, an exclusive video tutorial, a list of your best art tips, etc. in exchange for their email address.
You can create a dedicated landing page on your website, a pop-up, a section on your blog posts, or even on the footer or sidebar where people can sign up for your newsletter or sign up for your freebie. This form will be connected to an email service provider such as Aweber or Mailchimp used to collect the email addresses and send out regular newsletters to your subscribers!
How to Stay Motivated as an Artist When You're Starting Your Blog
Once you start your blog, it can be hard to stay motivated. There are a lot of reasons why you might not feel the same excitement that you felt before. It’s important to remember that this is just the beginning of your career as an artist. You might think that there is no point in continuing because you have no job prospects, but this is actually a good time to focus on what you want to do and build up your portfolio. This section provides tips for how to stay motivated as an artist when starting a blog.
First Tip: The first tip is remembering that this is just the beginning of your career as an artist and not giving up because there are no job prospects available right now.
Second Tip: The second tip is to remember that you are building up your portfolio at this time and not worrying about if it’s going to be enough for a job.
Third Tip: Keep your work and know-how relevant by checking out what others are doing in the same genre. For example, if you do photography, check out what other photographers in the same field are publishing on their blogs and websites.
Fourth Tip: Use social media platforms like Instagram or Facebook to build your following and give people a glimpse of what you are doing as an artist.
Conclusion
Art blogs are beneficial to artists as they can help promote their work, build an audience and potentially earn revenue through advertising or commissions on sales. They also offer a space for artists to share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions with others in the field." They are a way for artists to communicate their work to the public, and for the public to engage with artists. There are many benefits to having an art blog. It helps you build your following, it can help you promote your work and it can even help you find your next job!