As believers we all have a story to tell of what God has done for us and so anyone can become a Christian blogger. It’s so easy to start, all you need to do is sign up with a blogging site like WordPress and follow a simple online template. This can be done very quickly, it’s finding the right content, words and visuals that will take the time. Al Gibson has set up several blogs and shares some helpful starting points from his experience, particularly as a Christian blogger.
I would encourage you to become a Christian blogger, especially if you feel God has given you a gift of writing. Somebody once told me that God had called me as a ‘modern day scribe’, a chronicler of what God is doing in the world. This was confirmation of something the Lord dropped in my heart at an early age, that I would be a ‘Journalist for Jesus’. This led to a career in communications before the Internet existed. Publishing anything was a costly exercise then as it required typesetting and print. Today you can just press ‘publish’!
This has levelled the field, giving everyone the opportunity to communicate to a large audience. However for your blog to be successful, you need to have something to say. Consider your life experience and where God has come through for you in significant ways and that may be a clue as to where to start out. Then, consider your motivation. Why do you want to become a Christian blogger? For many the question is, ‘Can I make money as a Christian blogger?’ Or at least supplement my income?
There are easier ways to earn a living than Christian blogging. Writing is just an extension of your ministry as an encourager. We know that the Gospel is not for sale. Freely, we have received, freely we should give. As a Christian blogger you are constantly sowing valuable seeds into people’s lives. So, trust God to give the increase. That is not to say you can’t monetise your blog but income generation cannot be your priority otherwise you may be disappointed.
To me, a successful Christian blogger is someone who knows the joy of knowing how many people you have reached with the Gospel message. It’s such an encouragement to find out that you have given a reader the strength to persevere, and fight on another day. So here are a few steps that I hope you will find helpful if you chose to embark on a writing journey with God.
5 steps to help you get started as a Christian Blogger
1 – Decide on what you will write about
What message has God laid on your heart? What have you overcome in life and how can you you encourage others? We have all heard the saying, “turn you mess into your message, your test into you testimony.” That’s truth right there. With the same comfort we have received we can comfort others. This is why it’s crucial to spend time in the Word and in Prayer, allowing God to speak into your life so you can let that overflow to others. Take notes so you don’t forget. As you write, trust God to give you the words and let the Holy Spirit guide you.
2 – Start writing
Start by telling your unique story in your own words. But do it in bite sized chunks, remember it’s blog post not a book. So 500 words is a good length. Certainly no more than 1000 when necessary. Rather have two short posts than one longer one, and link them to each other. Be original. By all means include scriptures or quotable quotes and be sure to acknowledge these correctly. If you are using WordPress, the Yoast App has a great SEO checklist that will ensure your post will be more easily found in web searches. It also checks the readability of your writing. Each post will be an opportunity for improvement. Grammarly is a great resource that will minimise proof reading, however don’t get hung up on technology. I find I wake up with a blog post in my head and it’s best if I jot it down on a piece of paper and then type it into Word or WordPress. In this way the technology doesn’t slow me down.
3 – Enhance your post with good visuals
We know a picture paints a 1000 words so it’s important to have the right featured pic. The best thing to do is use your own photographs, which keeps things original. Never just download an image from a Google Images search. You must ensure any image you use is royalty free. There are free stock images available through UnSplash and Pixabay and Wikipedia offers images for common use. WordPress also allows you to embed a video or social media post which is a great way of enhancing your post, with a link to source. This enables you to include photos of people without having to ask for permission. Shutterstock is a great resource for paid for royalty free images.
4 – Develop a strategy to get people to read your blog
.I would say the first step is to email all your contacts and tell them about your new blog. You can do this by registering for an online email management service like Mail Chimp or Constant Contact which both have free versions. Then tweet or share links to your blog posts on your social media account. A way you can get maximum social media traction is by joining specific niche groups that resonate well with your content and share your posts in them. Another great way to reach a larger audience is by doing a guest blog for another Christian blogger with links to your site. UK Christian is happy to support any Christian blogger in their journey by publishing guest posts.
5 – Monetise your site
Once your blog site is sufficiently established you can start earning an income from it through monetisation. The biggest platform that offers this opportunity is Google Adsense. However your site needs to be a few months old, have about 50 original posts and have sufficient monthly hits. I found this to be a challenging process but I got there in the end with the right help. The challenge with being a Christian blogger is that you don’t just want any ad to show up on your site so you have to monitor this carefully. Your monetisation will start to pay for your web hosting at least. However you will probably be better off by setting up you own online store.
Well I’ve reached my 1,000 word limit so it’s time to conclude. God bless you on your path to becoming a Christian blogger. Email hello@ukchristian.news if you have any questions or would like to write a voluntary guest blog that we will share far and wide to help you get started.
Also read: UK Christian offers guest blogging opportunities to Christian bloggers.
Al Gibson
Wordsmith, overcomer and exhorter. Al has a degree in Journalism and Media Studies and years of communications experience in Africa, the UK, Israel and USA. He left South Africa in 2001 and worked for GOD TV in England for 18 years. He now heads up Countdown Creative, a content creation business in Exeter. Al is the author of three biographies. Blogs he writes for include GODTV.com; International Christian and UK and US Christian.
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