You might not be a big name blogger, but that doesn’t mean you’re immune to social media attacks. Anyone can come across something you’ve posted at any time and decide to defame you and bash your blog.

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Don’t get it twisted. Great content is the key to successful blog. Without it you’ll get lost in the crowd. Many bloggers fall victim to their own disorganization as they try to lure readers with compelling blog posts. Create a content plan, and hopefully you’ll never have to scramble for a blog idea again.

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I’ve said it before: a blogger without a plan is a blogger destined for failure. (You can expect to see that countless more times here.)  Knowing exactly who you’re blogging for and why you’re doing it from jump will help you avoid any competition with other bloggers that’s usually more demoralizing than inspiring.

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As we’ve discussed, picking a specific, interesting blog topic is the first step toward building a successful, sustainable blog.

Interesting is a given but why did I emphasize the importance of specific? Because a blogger without focus is a blogger destined for failure.

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Before you begin blogging, you have to pick something to blog about. It seems simple, but this is where most failed bloggers go wrong. For Harriet isn’t my 1st,  2nd or even my 3rd blog. I’ve blogged about everything from fashion to beauty to celebrity gossip. Blogging didn’t click until I found a compelling subject I love. Blog planning is essential because the process of starting a blog with high hopes only to see it fail because you didn’t plan properly sucks. Don’t put yourself through that.

 Pick a blog subject that’s specific and interesting.

Your blog can be a personal blog, a topical blog or a little bit of both. A personal blog is more like an digital journal where you’ll recount personal experiences or collect your prose or poetry. For a topical blog, you’ll need to choose an area of focus to write about consistently. Topical blogs have more of an outward focus.

Examples of personal blogs

• A Belle in Brooklyn
• New Model Minority
• Awesomely Luvvie

Examples of topical blogs

• The Fashion Bomb
• In Her Shoes
• Curly Nikki

See the difference?

If you want to create a personal blog you might be saying, “Kim, I just want to blog about my life. That’s it.”

Dig deeper.  Answer these questions:

Who are you?

Example. I’m Kimberly Foster. I’m a media obsessed Millenial. I’m endlessly curious, and more than anything, I adore Black women.

What’s your passion?

Example. I’m passionate about empowering women of color to find and share their voices through blogging.

Passion is important. During your blog’s first few months (or longer), it could very well just be you and the spambots. With few visitors and little feedback, your passion will be the only thing keeping you going. Without it, you’ll give up.

I know. It took nearly two years for For Harriet to become anything like a sustainable blog.  The only thing that kept me going was my desire to tell black women’s stories honestly.  If you don’t have the fire that will motivate you after a fruitless 18 months, don’t start a blog.

Just being honest.

What’s your goal?

Example. My goal is to create a blog community for black women to connect, share, and learn about blogging.

Combine the two, and you should be able to write up a sentence or two on what exactly your blog is about.

Example. My blog is about sharing the knowledge I’ve learned as blogger, and helping Black women create successful, sustainable blogs.

Note: If your goal is just to make money, blogging isn’t for you. No one gets rich off of Adsense. Well almost no one, and probably not you.

Choosing the right direction for your blog is important, and blogging is much easier if you make the correct decision the first time, but keep in mind, your blog will evolve as you do. You won’t be 100% sure  until you get your blog up and running. So don’t get stuck here. In the beginning, the most important thing is to get started.

What Is Your Blog About? Tell us in the comments!

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Kimberly N. Foster is the founder of Black Girls Blogging and Editor of For Harriet. Email or Tweet her.