So, do you want to start a mental fitness blog but don’t know how to begin?
Don’t worry! We are with you.
In this blog post, we will guide you on how to start a mental fitness blog the correct way.
We are going to discuss various topics like:
- What is the importance of Mental Fitness?
- A guide to help you start your own Mental Fitness Blog.
- Ways to monetize your Mental Fitness Blog.
Read on!
Table of Contents
WHY MENTAL FITNESS?
Mental health professionals start a mental fitness blog to promote their services, boost their brand image, and attract new prospects.
Psychology students often start their mental fitness blog to share their class learnings with people to educate them.
Some content creators or bloggers start a mental fitness blog to spread awareness about certain mental health issues.
Others want to start their mental fitness blog to share their experiences with the world so that nobody else suffers the same as they do.
Which category do you fall in? Or is there any other reason that we have skipped?
Whichever category you fall in, please know that mental fitness is the need of the hour.
Let us give you some statistics to validate our point:
GENERAL STATISTICS
According to Our World in Data (2018), approximately 970 million individuals across the globe experience mental health or substance abuse disorders.
Anxiety, which affects 284 million people, is the most prevalent mental illness worldwide. Moreover, mental illness impacts more women (11.9%) than men (9.3%). In the United States, major depression, anxiety, alcohol use disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia are the leading causes of disability (U.S. Burden of Disease Collaborators, 2013).
Individuals who have mental disorders experience a mortality rate that is notably higher than the general population, leading to a loss of approximately 10.1 years in median life expectancy, as stated in JAMA Psychiatry’s 2015 study. Additionally, mental disorders are a factor in roughly 8 million fatalities worldwide each year, which accounts for 14.3% of all deaths, according to the same publication.
And, this is not enough. The numbers are growing with growing time demanding attention. Hence starting a mental fitness blog is the need of the hour and an ideal way to spread awareness.
ADVANTAGES OF STARTING A MENTAL FITNESS BLOG
The advantages of starting a Mental fitness Blog are endless. Some of which are given below:
- Writing a mental fitness blog is remedial for many.
- If you are a health professional then it is a great way to promote your services.
- A great way of establishing yourself as an expert in your domain.
- Helps you attract new prospects.
- Gives you new networking opportunities.
Whatever your motivation will be. I’m sure you must be facing the dilemma: ’ How do you start a mental fitness blog THE CORRECT WAY?”
Let’s dive in to solve this for you.
7 STEPS TO START A MENTAL FITNESS BLOG
Here are a few simple steps for you to start your mental fitness blog the correct way:
1. DECIDE ON YOUR NICHE
With numerous mental fitness blogs available online, the initial step is to select your specific niche and target audience. Choose the topic you want to discuss and who your target readers will be. It is advisable to remain consistent with your niche and avoid switching later, as it may create confusion among your audience and require significant effort to rebuild your readership.
LIST OF NICHES
- Meditation and Wellness
- Mental Health training
- Re-programming Brain Capabilities
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mental Training
- Personal Health
- Guide to Various Mental Health Topics
- Yoga For Mental Wellness
- Sharing Your Journey to Conquer Mental Issues
- Health and Mental Fitness
- Resilience, Stress, and Health Issues
- Staff Wellness, and Training
- Mind, Body, and Soul Balance
- Self-love, Well-being, and Motivation
- Work-life Balance and many more
FACTORS TO KEEP IN MIND
- What is your target audience?
- Are people really interested in the niche that you have chosen?
- Will you be able to write blogs long-term?
- Is it trending on Google?
- How are your competitors doing?
- Are you passionate about it or just doing it for money?
When you have a genuine interest and enthusiasm for a particular subject, it will be easier to consistently create high-quality content for your blog. Not only this, you will also be more motivated to research and explore the topic further, which will lead to more in-depth and valuable content for your readers. Therefore choose a niche you are passionate about!
2. PICK YOUR BLOGGING PLATFORM AND HOSTING
After you have chosen your niche, it’s time for you to work on some technical aspects of Blogging. In order to publish your blogs online, you will need to select both a blogging platform and a hosting service.
A Blogging platform is either self-hosted or open source coding software that enables you to create, post, modify, edit and delete your blogs.
Hosting helps you to store all your website content on the web and access it whenever needed.
If you are choosing a self-hosted blogging platform (WordPress.org) then you have to choose a hosting and manage your website on your own. It will not come included with the platform.
While if you choose a hosted open-source blogging platform (WordPress.com) then you just have to focus on your website content and everything else will be managed by the blogging platform (hosting, backend processes).
SOME BLOGGING PLATFORMS
- WordPress
- Wix
- Ghost
- Joomla
- Tumblr
- Blogger
- HubSpot
- Squarespace
For different needs, there are different blogging platforms. Pick accordingly!
3. PICKING THE RIGHT LOOK AND FEEL
Do you know? Users do not spend more than 3 seconds if the look and feel of the webpage are not GREAT! Hence for you to glue your readers in the very first moment you need to select a good theme or template for your blog site.
While choosing a theme for your website keep these things in mind:
QUICK TIPS
- Functionality: The theme you choose should be compatible with your website’s platform and offer the features and functionality that you need. Make sure the theme supports any plugins or tools you plan to use on your site.
- Design: Your website’s design should reflect your brand and appeal to your target audience. Look for a theme with a design that aligns with your aesthetic preferences and meets the needs of your target audience.
- Responsiveness: Your website should be responsive and accessible across all devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. Make sure the theme you choose is mobile-friendly and responsive to different screen sizes.
- Customization: Look for a theme that is highly customizable, allowing you to make adjustments to the design and layout of your site as needed. This will give you greater flexibility and control over the look and feel of your website.
- Support and documentation: Finally, choose a theme that is well-supported and comes with clear documentation and resources. This will help you troubleshoot any issues that arise and ensure that your website is running smoothly at all times.
We recommend you add more videos to your blogs as medical professionals claim that watching videos is a great mood-uplifter for people suffering from mental disorders.
Let us give you an interesting example:
According to Ashley Womble, a mental health advocate and individual experiencing anxiety, watching videos on YouTube where individuals discuss their anxiety is beneficial. Such videos can alleviate feelings of isolation and inspire individuals to take action to address their mental health concerns
Therefore if you put videos on YouTube and then integrate it within your blog you will not only be able to solve health issues more effectively but also connect with your blog readers on a deeper level.
Figure out what your objective is and choose a theme accordingly.
Click to explore Mental Health Blog Themes.
4. SELECT THE DOMAIN NAME
Picking up a good domain name is an essential step to building a great website.
You can either choose a free domain name provided by the blogging platform or buy one.
Opting for a paid domain name is recommended as it provides a more professional appearance. With a free domain name, there is usually branding attached, which can impact the look of your website. For instance, free domain names on WordPress often include “wordpress.com” at the end, which can give off a cheap impression.
A good domain name contains the following characteristics:
- Short
- Makes Sense To Your Brand
- Memorable
- Unique
- Crafted Keeping The Target Audience In Mind
- Easy To Pronounce
If you have a name in mind, click here to know the availability.
Much like a storefront door, a good domain name attracts customers to your website, choose wisely!
5. DRAFT YOUR CONTENT
Now that you have finished your technical setup. It is time you show some creativity! Draft your content to attract visitors.
It’s crucial to find a balance between writing content that solves your readers’ problems and promoting your services.
As they say and say it correctly If your stories are all about your products and services, that’s not storytelling. It’s a brochure. Permit yourself to make the story bigger.
You need to make your content solution-oriented and easy to decode at the same time with less promotion.
We will provide you with six suggestions for creating compelling content.
TIP 1: BE CREATIVE
Get creative with your posts and layout. Think of ways you can make your content eye-catchy. One can be including your life experiences making the content more relatable. People suffering from mental disorders feel they are not alone after reading stories of other patients.
TIP 2: MAKE IT INTERESTING
Put more pictures, videos, and create podcasts to connect with your blog audience. Nobody likes black and white text blocks.
TIP 3: SOLUTION-ORIENTED APPROACH
People will land on your blogs to seek solutions to their problems. So make sure you do not disappoint them. Make your content solution-oriented and not about yourself. Always remember if your visitors are happy, you will be happy!
TIP 4: DO NOT OVER PROMOTE
While promotion is necessary for brand positioning but overdoing it will bounce off your audience. With so much awareness people are smart enough to know when you are trying to promote yourself and when you are helping them.
TIP 5: DO NOT GIVE YOUR VISITORS A TOUGH TIME
Use simple language and clear formatting. Make your content skimmable so that they do not have to spend time decoding different parts.
You can do this by adding whitespaces, various headings, and subheadings
TIP 6: TRIGGER EMOTIONS
If people are going to relate more to your content, they will come back again and again. This is what you want, isn’t it?
The simple way to do this is by triggering emotions in your readers. You can do this by writing a relatable piece, putting intriguing images or titles in your post, or even presenting your content in story form.
6. PROMOTE YOUR BLOG
As per Gary Vaynerchuk’s famous quote, “Content is king, but marketing is queen and runs the household.” In other words, if you want to attract more prospects, it’s crucial to promote your content effectively.
Wondering how?
Let’s get you started!
4 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR MENTAL FITNESS BLOGS
1. SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is an already built community of people for you to tap on.
It is probably the most effective way of promotion in today’s time where millions of people are active on various social media channels.
WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are some platforms that you can use to promote your blogs online.
`2. MAKE SHARING EASY
If you want your visitors to share your content and hence increase engagement then the most obvious way to do so is by “adding shareable icons” with EVERY blog post.
Nobody is going to take pains to share your post so you need to make sharing ‘EASY’ for them.
Adding sharing functionalities like social media icons or click-to-tweet feature is a great way to do so.
You can experiment with different sizes and potions to include your icons and see what works best for you.
3. ADD TESTIMONIALS
If you are into proving your services also then adding testimonials to your site is a great option.
Testimonials are a great way to boost:
- Customer Trust
- SEO
- ROI
You can also ask your customers to talk about you on their page which will increase your number of backlinks and brand credibility.
4. PUBLIC SPEAKING
Attending public events and talking about topics related to your niche is a great to promote yourself and your work at the same time. This will also project you as a domain expert.
One great way of doing this is in college or school seminars.
7. MAKE MONEY THROUGH BLOGGING
Ultimately, every blogger aims to earn money and make it a big hit. You make money through various means. Some of these are given below:
- Affiliate marketing: Promote products or services related to mental health and wellness, and earn a commission on any resulting sales.
- Sponsored content: Work with brands and businesses to create sponsored content, such as product reviews or sponsored blog posts, that promote their products or services.
- Online courses: Create and sell online courses or webinars on mental health topics, drawing on your expertise and experience.
- Coaching and consulting: Offer one-on-one coaching or consulting services to individuals or organizations looking to improve their mental health and well-being.
- E-books and other digital products: Write and sell e-books, workbooks, and other digital products related to mental health and wellness.
- Advertising revenue: Earn revenue through advertisements on your website, either through direct partnerships with brands or via ad networks like Google AdSense.
CONCLUSION
Great job! You’re making good progress toward launching your own mental fitness blog! Remember, the most important thing is to be authentic and passionate about your content.
As you begin your journey, focus on building a dedicated audience and creating valuable content that addresses the needs of your readers. With time and effort, you’ll be able to grow your blog into a powerful platform for mental health and wellness.
So, take some time to think about your niche, set up your website, and start creating content that will engage and inspire your readers. It won’t always be easy, but the rewards of creating a meaningful impact on people’s lives will make it all worth it.
So go ahead, take the first step, and start your mental fitness blog today!
