Is your flower or vegetable garden the talk of the neighborhood? If so, today’s post on how to start a gardening blog may be perfect for you. Blogging is an exceptional way to share your gardening adventures, secrets, tips, and strategies with people who really want to know about them.
Your green-thumb expertise can fill the gap for the many folks who jump online in search of solutions to their gardening woes. Pack your blog with a bushel full of gardening tips and watch your traffic bloom!
A blog is also an excellent way to make some extra income from home. In fact, making money with your passion is perhaps the biggest draw of blogging. But, many people hesitate because of the misguided notion that setting up a blog is complicated.
Not true!
Today, I’m going to show you how to get your blog rolling in less than 5 minutes. So, pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s get to it.
How to Start a Gardening Blog- In Simple Steps
Creating a professional-looking blog has never been easier than it is today. Your own website is a few clicks and less than 5 minutes away. And happily, you need ZERO techie skills or coding knowledge. Can you tell I’m not a computer guru?
Here are the 4 steps you will need to take to get your blog up and running:
Get a Domain Name
Find a Host to Store Your Files
Install WordPress
Choose a Theme and Beautify Your Site
Now, let’s chat a bit more about what’s involved in each step.
Get a Domain Name
Your domain name is the address on the Web where your readers will find you. So, naturally, it must be unique. With that in mind, why not grab a pen and notepad to brainstorm some appealing options? Several possibilities are best just in case your first choice is already gobbled up.
One of the first things you’ll need to contemplate is whether to go for a keyword-rich domain name or perhaps something more brandable. Each approach can be effective, and you’ll find numerous examples of both types of domains.
A keyword-rich domain name focuses on content and search terms your audience may use. Gardening is a broad topic, and it’s best if you’ve identified a narrower specialization to target within this wider field.
For example, let’s say you want to target folks with gardening space constraints who’ll be using patios or balconies. You might select something like ‘EasyContainerGardening.’
Alternatively, you may decide to personalize things a bit more and go after your own brand with a domain like ‘LindasGardeningTips.’ You’re the boss here, and it becomes a question of what you’re most comfortable with using.
You’ll also need to choose a top level domain (TLD). There are many to choose from these days, but I recommend sticking with the tried and true and selecting a dot-com TLD whenever possible because it’s still what users are most familiar with seeing. Hence, it’s easier for people to remember.
There are many domain name registrar’s to choose from such as NameCheap or GoDaddy. Moreover, your domain name won’t break the budget. I use Site Rubix, and my domain costs me $13.99 a year.
Find a Host to Store Your Files
Every blog requires online hosting services where all your files are stored and made accessible to Internet users. Here too, you have many options. Some popular choices are Bluehost and Hostgator. Site Rubix is an all-inclusive platform that’s fully integrated into my online marketing community, Wealthy Affiliate.
I’m elated with Site Rubix because it’s fast, reliable, includes an SSL certificate, and offers excellent support. In other words, it has everything you want in a web host!
Install WordPress
There are many valid reasons why WordPress is the most popular blogging software on the Internet. I use WordPress myself and strongly suggest that you do also because of the ready availability of themes, plugins, updates, and support.
Many hosting providers, including Site Rubix, offer one-click WordPress installation. This is most definitely a feature you want and should look for when evaluating hosting services.
Choose a Theme and Beautify Your Site
The plethora of stunning WordPress themes and website design layouts is truly amazing. Site Rubix currently offers 2,893 free WordPress themes. There are also thousands of premium themes you can purchase to personalize every aspect of your new blog.
But you really don’t need a “Fancy Pants” theme with a ton of bells and whistles. A free one will work just fine. With any theme, you’ll be able to include lots of vibrant photos of your miracles of mother nature. Snap, save, and upload your beautiful garden images to create lots of visual appeal.
Check out the diagram below to see just how simple it is to create a website using Site Rubix.
In 4 quick steps, your gardening blog can be live on the Internet. Notice that in step one you have the option of creating a free website. If you’re serious about making money with your blog, you will eventually want your own domain. But this option of a free site is great for folks who want to try things out first and dip their toes into the online world.
Add Content to Share With Your Readers
Your blogging foundation is ready to roll, and you now have a framework that you can build upon. For most new bloggers there is heady excitement in writing and publishing their very first post and sharing their expertise. You now have the perfect vehicle for communicating and interacting with fellow gardening enthusiasts!
- Journal and document your horticulture triumphs.
- Admit to your gardening mishaps and explain how to avoid the problems.
- Answer questions your visitors may have like, “what’s eating my tomato plants?”
- Make layout and design suggestions for a garden.
- Do you have some favorite recipes featuring your fresh produce?
- Present flower arrangement ideas as you snip your spectacular blooms,
- Document your canning exploits.
What’s on your list of content ideas?
Grow and Nurture Your Traffic
Getting the word out about your new blog and growing your traffic or readership will take some time and consistent effort. You can’t assume that because you create a website people will automatically find it, Your approach to traffic generation needs to be proactive.
These are the 2 main approaches you can take to attract free traffic to your blog:
- Consistently sharing your content on social media channels like Facebook and Pinterest with a link back to your blog article.
- Employing fundamental search engine optimization (SEO) techniques like proper selection and placement of relevant keywords. You’ll eventually have Google sending lots of visitors to your site.
How to Monetize Your Blog
Once your site is getting regular traffic, it’s time to turn your attention to making some money with it. You have a few possibilities when it comes to earning an income from your blog. But, my favorite approach is affiliate marketing which involves promoting the products of others for a commission.
Offer reviews and opinions on gardening supplies and the tools of the trade you swear by. Based on years of experience, I bet you have strong convictions about who has the best seeds, fertilizer, or pruning shears, right? Almost all online retailers have affiliate programs that you can join for free.
If earning an online income with affiliate marketing is something that captures your interest, I highly recommend joining the online marketing community that I’ve been a member of for 2 years. Wealthy Affiliate offers all the training and resources you need to start, grow, and monetize your blog.
As an annual premium member of WA, it costs me about $30 per month for hosting, training, a super keyword research tool, and outstanding community support. That cost covers everything I need for my online business including the annual cost of my domain.
You can read my WA review here. You can also click the banner below to try it out with a free Starter Membership that lets you explore the community firsthand, create a free website, and experience everything the community has to offer.
Wrapping Up
For an avid gardener, there’s excitement in learning how to start a gardening blog and then nurturing that blog to success. I sure hope these tips on how to start, grow, and monetize a gardening blog were helpful.
The Wealthy Affiliate community is fully prepared to help with your endeavors, and I hope you’ll decide to join us. You can get off to the best start with all the resources, training, coaching, and support you need.
But either way, I wish you the best with this online adventure!
Over to You
Are you a keen gardener? Have you ever considered sharing your passion and gardening techniques with a blog? What’s holding you back? Drop me a line in the comment section with any remaining questions I can help with. I always respond!
Like It? Please Share It!
Hi Linda: Wow! I have read through your post and I am thrilled at your presentation.
This is well informed and helpful stuff. There are many people out there who would do well with little gardening tips to help them along.
As also there are those who have a whole stock of gardening knowledge that they can share.
Would you not suggest that all these people come on board?
DorcasW
Hi Dorcas,
I do agree agree that the popularity of gardening makes it a great niche and I would love to see more people get involved. If you have knowledge to share about your passion for this activity a blog is an excellent vehicle for you to choose. I would highly recommend narrowing your focus to a fairly specific aspect of gardening because there are many well-established authority gardening sites that would be difficult to compete with head-on.
But, as you point out there are many people looking for gardening tips on a wide range of topics. If you narrow your focus and serve a small segment of the gardening market well, I believe the opportunities are spectacular. And, it’s a wonderful thing when you can combine the shear joy of something you love with earning an income.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the kind words on my post!
You make it sound possible to actually start a gardening blog. I would love to make money writing about gardening, although my garden probably wouldn’t inspire anyone.
How do you keep a blog going? What do you write about?
So much has already been written about gardening. I’m not sure I have the confidence to pull it off.
Hi Gary,
It is absolutely possible to start a gardening blog and be successful. You are correct that much has already been written about gardening. However, there will always be narrow target market segments whose questions are not being addressed,
You keep a blog going by researching and getting in touch with your potential readers. Participating in forums is always a good choice because you get a sense of the relevant questions that potential readers might have. I would choose a narrow market segment like maybe people interested in growing vegetables on a balcony. From there I would perform keyword research to find long-tail, low-competition keywords. Super informative posts that target these low-competition keywords will perform well in search.
There are hundreds of long-tail keywords in any niche. Studies show that about 70% of the search queries in any niche are of the long-tail variety and very specific in nature. I would spend a few hours doing research and create a list with at least 50 good keyword choices. From there it’s simply a matter of creating a blog post to thoroughly answer each question.
I hope this information was helpful. Thanks for stopping by!