How To Start Your Own Lifestyle Blog

How To Start A Lifestyle Blog That People Will Love [The Complete Beginner's Guide]

Last Updated on August 7, 2020 by

So, you're interested in starting up a lifestyle blog of your own? Well, you've come to the right place. In this complete beginner's guide, we're going to cover everything you need to know about creating, launching, and growing a lifestyle blog.

We are well into 2020, and I think that most folks know what a blogger is and what a blogger's job involves.

Blogs make up a huge proportion of all the content on the web and come in all shapes, sizes, in all kinds of niches.

During 2016 and 2017, WordPress dominated, powering more than 79 million websites. WordPress is now considered the most extensively used CMS.

Here's another interesting fact - There are now well over 152 million blogs on the internet, and a new blog is born every half a second.

But I know what you're thinking:

What is the point in starting another blog if there's so much competition?

First of all, competition is good. But more crucially, if you have something important and valuable to share with the world at large then you should start a lifestyle blog.

You can still make a difference. You can make a tiny dent in the universe with your blog.

I started this blog, Magnet4Blogging, during a time when the niche was already saturated with small business and marketing blogs.

I didn't care much about the rest of the competition because I was passionate about making my own contribution.

OK, let's get started.

What is a lifestyle blog anyway?

You probably already know what a lifestyle blog is from your own research and experience, but I just want to quickly highlight the two types of lifestyle blogs that exist today.

A niche-focused lifestyle blog.
A generalized lifestyle blog.

Let's start with a lifestyle blog focused on one specific niche or topic -

A niche-focused lifestyle blog would be something like "The Miracle Morning" blog.

The Miracle Morning blog talks about changing your lifestyle habits by completely transforming your morning routine. It's all about what happens in the first few hours of your day after waking up.

I've been a long-time follower of the Miracle Morning methodology for, and all I'll say is that it's completely transformed my life. I thought I'd just throw that out there.

Now, a generalized lifestyle blog would be one that covers a wide range of topics and subjects. These might include Healthy eating, relaxation techniques, exercising, meditation, supplementation, traveling, home decor and DIY, etc.

What you have to decide when starting your lifestyle blog is, do you want to focus on a specific area, or do you want to cover a wide range of topics.

What do lifestyle bloggers write about?

Now, depending on a variety of things including interest, passion, and knowledge-base, lifestyle bloggers tend to use themselves as the subject of their lifestyle blog.

So in other words, they may write and share their experiences, stories, and talk about their beliefs and ideas. Some lifestyle bloggers will also go as far as to give advice, etc. on either one specific thing or a wide range of things that might be helping them to live the lifestyle they are.

By the way, a blog is just one of the many mediums that lifestyle bloggers will use to create content. Often, lifestyle bloggers will use other mediums such as YouTube videos, podcasts, and social media.

OK, so let me give you an example of creating a lifestyle blog around a specific niche.

Let's imagine for a moment that I was interested in starting a blog about 'improving concentration, increasing energy, and mental alertness' by drinking smoothies.

I know, that sounds pretty random, right? I'm simply making an example here.

So here's what I could write about -

Share my favorite smoothy recipes.
Best times of the day to drink smoothies.
What types of smoothies are best for morning time, lunchtime, and evening time?
Share my weekly smoothy drinking routine.
Share my top 5 best smoothy recipes for increasing mental alertness.
Talk about smoothy ingredients for improving memory.
Write about using natural organic ingredients and benefits.
What smoothies I hate the most, etc.
Smoothies to help cure a hangover and tiredness, etc.
...And the list goes on.

Again, you have to think carefully about your own lifestyle. Then figure out how you can create a blog to share everything that is focused around the lifestyle that you live.

You also have to remember that whatever you do, you have to ensure that you're delivering value and not just writing about yourself and your amazing life.

Why should you start a lifestyle blog?

Now, this part is important, even if you already know why you want to start a lifestyle blog today.

Do you know why so many bloggers fail with their blogs?

It's because new folks getting into blogging often fail to fully understand why they are doing it in the first place.

And by the way, I'm not talking about - "because you want to build a blog that generates revenue", those things come as a result of growing your blogging business.

What I'm talking about is "passion".

Without passion, you cannot succeed.

Seriously, if your heart is not in it for the right reason, you will fail. I guarantee you will fail. Fail, fail, fail!

I know this because someone told me the same thing once and I ignored them. And guessed what happend? I failed with my blog in 2012.

So, why should you start a lifestyle blog? Ask yourself that question.

What is it that you're incredibly passionate about that you feel compelled to want to share it with the world at large with a blog? Write them down on a piece of paper if you have to.

To help inspire you along, let me paint the perfect picture -

"You are planning a wonderful trip of a lifetime around the world. You're thinking of ways in which to document this prestigious endeavor. You've got your GoPro, your main camera, and your laptop ready.

You've got your journal and your map, compass, and journal at hand. You're ready to start your adventure!

Then this crazy idea pops into your head. Why don't you start a lifestyle blog along with a YouTube channel? This way you can vlog about your trip and write all about all the beautiful places you'll visit, not to mention all the awesome things you'll experience."

Is this doing it for you?

But of course, you still have to be passionate about wanting to document the lifestyle which you'll be living on your trip.

So, once you've answered the "what am I passionate about?" question. Whether it's travelling, food, healthy living, etc. You can then move onto the phase of "defining" what your blog will be about.

Defining your lifestyle blog

Why should anyone care about your lifestyle blog, when there are thousands of similar ones out there to read and follow?

You may be smiling right now, but knowing this from the very start is imperative for two key reasons.

To help you stay on track and focused on the purpose of your blog.
To attract and engage with the right kind of audience you want for your blog.

Essentially, there are two ways in which you can define what your blog is about and why anyone should give a rat's a** about it.

Know your niche well.
Know your audience demographic.

Understanding both your niche and knowing who you're creating content for will help you to stay focused on serving your target audience more efficiently.

Of course, you're not going to know anything about your audience demographic until you start building an actual audience for your blog.

But, when the time comes, you're going to need to understand the needs of your audience more than ever before. Including what problems they're experiencing, their passions, and so on.

And that's how you're going to create a lifestyle blog that people will care about and will want to follow and read for many years to come.

Three examples of successful lifestyle bloggers worth checking out

OK, so to get you in the right frame of mind, motivated, and inspired - here are three successful lifestyle bloggers you may want to check out for some ideas and inspiration.

I recommend you read some of their content, study their writing style and personas, make note of the types of content they're creating for their blogs, and where the engagement takes place.

Louis Cole - British Traveler, Vlogger, Blogger.

Lily Pebbles - British Beauty & Style Blogger.

Kimberly Duran - Style & Interior Decor Blogger.

How to start a lifestyle blog of your own - The bare essentials

Right, let's get down to business.

If you're starting from complete scratch as a beginner, then you're going to need some basic things like web hosting and a domain name for your lifestyle blog.

#1. Domain name and hosting

As always, I use and recommend SiteGround (Affiliate link) for both domain and website hosting. I've used them for the last 5 years almost and they've been absolutely superb in terms of support, security, and reliability.

In addition to web hosting, you're also going to need a WordPress theme of some kind to give your lifestyle blog a unique and professional look.

I recommend you check out either Genesis Framework along with a nice child theme like the stunning Essence Pro Theme (Affiliate link). Or take a look at Thrive Theme's awesome new Theme Builder here (Affiliate link).

#2. Setting up your WordPress lifestyle blog

If you're totally new to WordPress and setting up a blog, don't panic, I've got you covered. I don't really want to go over the details of installing WordPress, themes, and plugins in this post as I've done this so many times before. So, go and check out my detailed step-by-step tutorial guide here instead.

#3. Writing your about page

OK, so far you should have most of the building blocks in place for starting your new lifestyle blog.

But, before you scribble your blog's official launch date into your online Calendar, let's turn our focus on getting things prepared on your blog beforehand, and we'll begin with writing your about page.

Writing an about page for your lifestyle blog requires a little bit creativity.

Remember, you're not trying to sell anything or market a product or service. Not yet anyway, so try and avoid the sales pitch and especially in your about page.

Instead, talk about your passion and the things you care about in this world. Share your beliefs and your main goal with your lifestyle blog.

Let people know what kind of personality you have and why they should consider following your journey.

Here's a quick checklist of some things you might want to include in your about page -

What you are passionate about, your beliefs, and what you stand for.
What inspires you every day to live the lifestyle you do.
Your personal story, journeys, and experiences. Any life-changing events you can write about.
What you hope to bring to others through your lifestyle blog and online content. What message do you want to spread? What value do you want to give? etc.

Writing and publishing your launch post

OK, now the exciting bit, writing your first blog post, which is essentially your lifestyle blog's official launch post.

Please take some time to write this carefully, and do not rush it. The reason being is that someday you will hopefully look back at this first post to see how far you've come. Make it memorable.

Your first post will also serve as a compass that you can refer back to anytime you feel you're steering off course with your blog's direction or purpose.

Now, just because this is your launch post, it doesn't mean you should launch your blog straight after you've published it. What you should consider doing is to aim to write at least 5 to 10 high-quality blog posts before you launch and promote your lifestyle blog.

It's better to have some decent content to help new readers get a feel of your blog, you'll have a better chance of turning them into subscribers as well.

OK, so here are some of the things to talk about in your launch post -

Introduce yourself and begin developing your blogger persona straight away.
Explain why you decided to start your lifestyle blog.
Outline what your readers should expect from your blog.
Hold yourself accountable by unveiling something your readers can look forward to. For example, perhaps you're planning a road trip to a faraway destination and will produce a daily vlog. Or, perhaps you've set yourself a physical enduring challenge, etc.
Outline deliverables, for example, explain how often you will produce content for your blog? Will it be weekly, monthly, etc?

Other pages to include in your lifestyle blog

Asides from the blog itself and about page, you may also want to add additional content pages to your lifestyle blog. Such as categories, a portfolio of visuals, travel and events page, and maybe even a shop.

Probably the most important page for your lifestyle blog is your homepage. Unfortunately, most bloggers fail to recognize their homepage as the pillar page when starting any kind of blog.

Instead of slapping a bunch of your latest blog posts on the homepage, consider creating a customized homepage that showcases the very core and value of what your lifestyle blog/website is all about.

If you take a peek at lifestyle blogger, self-care, and business coach Laura Wilson's website, you'll see that her homepage isn't plagued with a list of her latest or greatest blog posts.

Instead, Laura has adopted a custom homepage design using customized copywriting and visual content to highlight exactly what her personal brand's core values are, and what she has to offer to her audience.

So, what's next for your lifestyle blog?

Well, as you can see, there's quite a bit of preparation needed before launching your lifestyle blog, and hopefully, reading through this guide has given you some ideas, pointers, and inspiration.

The next thing you might want to do is start putting together your action plan. Let's go through a quick overview of what we've covered, along with some additional things that we might have missed.

Write down why you want to start a lifestyle blog. Always start with why, as Simon Sinek once said.
Define what your lifestyle blog will be about.
Set your goals.
Study other lifestyle bloggers in related niches to get ideas and inspiration (Check out this post).
Get a domain name and some web hosting (Visit SiteGround - Affiliate link)
Get a customizable WordPress theme (Visit Thrive Themes - Affiliate link)
Install WordPress and set up your blog (Check out this WP setup guide, and for tips on what to do after you've set up WordPress click here)
Write and publish your launch post.
Write and publish at least 5 more power blog posts.
Create categories for the topics you will cover on your blog.
Build additional pages for your lifestyle blog.
Launch your blog!

Final words of wisdom

I know I keep banging on about this but please take your time. Once your lifestyle blog is launched, you can start making small changes here and there. You ou can build in new pages, content, products, and services.

Look at your blog as a launchpad blog where you can focus on making continued improvements for growth and success.

Always have a plan, don't leave everything in your head. In fact, to help you plan your lifestyle blogging venture from the word Go, check out my Ultimate Pro Blog Planner PDF Workbook here.

OK, I've written enough here, now go make something 'real' happen. The best of luck!

Recommended books on Amazon

Lifestyle Blogging Basics: A How-To for Investing in Yourself, Working With Brands, and Cultivating a Community Around Your Blog - (Check price here)
How To Blog For Profit: Without Selling Your Soul - (Check price here)
365 Blog Topic Ideas: For The Lifestyle Blogger Who Has Nothing to Write About - (Check Price Here)

Affiliate Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links to various blogging products, Amazon products, and web hosting services that I recommend. This means if you click on one of these affiliate links and make a purchase of one of these products or services, I will be paid a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. You can read my full earnings disclaimer here.

Join Over 21,000+ Readers

Get fresh content from Magnet4Blogging delivered straight to your inbox, spam free! Or follow us on social media.

Plan to make 2022 your best blogging year yet!

Learn More