In an age where digital presence defines personal brands and businesses alike, blogging serves as one of the most effective ways of connecting with people.
Whether you’re running a small to medium-scale business or are just enthusiastic about a particular field, starting a blog in NZ can be that medium that allows you not only to share your knowledge and experiences with an audience but also to make money doing it.
This article is going to guide you on how to start a blog in New Zealand as a total beginner, we’ll go over everything from choosing the right niche to monetization.
Over the years I’ve created many blogging strategies for businesses big and small. Stay tuned while I break down exactly how to create a blog that drives killer business outcomes.
Setting up a new blog in NZ is quite easy, but doing it the right way requires a level of experience that most newbies do not have. Here are 7 easy steps you can follow to build the perfect blog in New Zealand.
A niche is a specific segment of the audience you’re targeting with content tailored to their particular interests and needs.
For example, a blogger who only writes about flowers is in the flowers niche while someone who writes about curtains and chandeliers would fall under the home improvement or decoration niche.
Choosing the right niche is the single most important decision in starting a blog, if you choose the wrong niche, there’s a higher possibility that your blog will fail.
Choosing a niche should mainly depend on your interests, skillsets, and experience.
A good blog niche is one you can write content about without breaking a sweat, add personal insights no one else has, and have a strong passion for.
That said, most of the blog niches in New Zealand are already saturated — meaning, a lot of blogs already exist that have covered them extensively.
But that’s where sub-niches come into play, every niche has sub-niches within them; let’s take music as an example, there are a lot of music blogs in New Zealand but very few specialize in one music genre. This means there’s still room for new music blogs to thrive if they focus on a specific sub-niche.
Keyword difficulty is a search engine optimization metric that tells you how hard it will be to rank in the top position for a keyword.
The higher the difficulty score, the harder it is to rank.
But just because a niche is saturated, doesn’t mean you can’t cover it in your blog. If you want to outrank existing blogs on search engines like Google, focus on covering the topic better and add professional insight. Over time, this strategy will make you rise to the top.
The most important thing is picking a niche that attracts people in your target market, and that you’ll enjoy writing about.
With a niche decided on, picking a blogging platform is the next hurdle you need to get through. There are countless numbers of blogging platforms online (there’s a new one every week at this point).
I without a doubt recommend WordPress.
WordPress is a content management system that powers over 43.4% of all websites online with the majority of them being blogs.
In fact, WordPress is so good for blogging that top companies like Uber, NASA and Slack use them.
There are other platforms like Wix, Medium, and Squarespace that offer blogging capabilities but most of their advanced features are locked behind expensive plans and paid apps. I recommend staying away from these hosted blogging platforms as they can be quite restrictive and pull the plug on you if you go against their terms of service.
WordPress is a self-hosted blogging platform, which means, you own it completely and can host it on any hosting service provider of your choice — This means you can fully control the cost, performance, and even type of content your blog features.
The only downside is the setup, WordPress exists in two versions; WordPress.com which is a hosted version of WordPress (what I just warned you about), and WordPress.org which is open-source and free to use.
What you want is the WordPress.org version. In terms of setting it up, we have a blog setup service here at Take2 Elevate where we can take care of the setup and even consult on your blog strategy. But if you’re up to the task, I’ll explain how to go about creating a blog with WordPress in the next step.
Now that you’re sure of the blogging platform you want to build your blog with, here’s how to get a domain name and hosting.
A domain name is your blog’s address on the internet, it is the string of texts people enter into their browser to access your content.
When it comes to choosing a domain name for your blog, here are some general rules of thumb.
After you decide what your blog’s domain name should be, the next step is registering it.
You can register your domain name with any trusted domain registrar, for this article’s purpose, I’ll recommend Namecheap since they have the best discount deals for first-time domain registration.
Simply visit their website, enter the domain name into the search field, and click search. Once you do, you’ll know if the domain name is already taken or available.
Note: Domain names can not be truly owned, you have to pay an annual fee to your registrar to keep using it so it’s more like a subscription, I recommend paying for 3-5 years upfront so you don’t lose your domain if you forget to renew at the end of the year.
A host or hosting server is where your website files and data are stored, you can think of it as a house where your blog lives and the domain name as the house address. So, just like in real life, when someone visits an address, they find a house, and inside lives whoever or whatever they are looking for.
Just like domain names, you have to pay for a hosting plan annually or even monthly, so it’s more like renting than an outright purchase.
If you decide to go for a hosted blog platform like Wix, hosting comes with all their paid plans and there’s no setup requirement as it’s all done for you.
For open-source platforms like WordPress, you would have to select a hosting service provider and follow their setup wizard which can sometimes be difficult for newbies.
Some good hosting companies you can try out include;
Each of these hosting providers also offers domain name registration so to simplify everything, you can purchase both your blog’s domain name and hosting plan from them.
Since your blog is new, opt in for a starter managed WordPress hosting plan, all the companies I’ve listed offer this — managed hosting plans come with an easier setup process and great support, it’s a bit more expensive than normal hosting plans but it’s worth the investment for a new blogger.
Note: a managed WordPress hosting plan comes with an easy-to-use wizard for setting up WordPress, but in case you find it difficult to wrap your head around this, feel free to reach out to the Take2 Elevate team and we’ll handle the entire process for you.
At this stage, you should already have a basic-looking blog with little to no content. The next step is setting up and customizing your blog to be ready for readers.
The setup and customization process can be broken into 5 steps.
Almost all blogging platforms come with a theme or template library where you can browse through hundreds of different blog designs, WordPress is no exception.
After installing WordPress, you can find a blogging template on the theme repository located under “Appearance” on the dashboard, all you have to do is install one and follow the documentation on how to set it up.
You can also opt-in for more premium blog themes on Themeforest, these come with a minimum of 6 months of support from the theme developer and better setup documentation so it’s the route I’d recommend.
Once you install a theme or template, you can proceed to add your blog’s logo, desired colors, and fonts. Website branding is a huge part of your blog’s appeal so make sure everything looks professional.
Also, don’t forget to remove all the demo-branded content that came with your theme, spend enough time replacing them with yours.
With your blog appearance taken care of, now it’s time to create the categories in which your blog posts will categorized.
You can do this in WordPress by navigating to “Categories” under “Posts”, and entering each term and its description.
Once you’ve done this, you’re ready to start creating content, but before then, we need to do one more thing.
Every well-made blog must include the following pages: About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Sitemap.
These are important pages not just for legal reasons but also to let readers know about the authenticity of the content they are consuming. For the about and contact page, most themes include them in their demo content so all you have to do is edit your information in and hit publish.
For the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions, you can use an online generator like Termly which asks you a few questions about your blog and generates the content for these pages at no cost.
Also, remember to add a GDPR compliance plugin if your primary audience is anywhere within Europe.
With your blog fully set, there are a lot of things you can do to make it better for readers before launch.
A platform like Wix takes care of most of these by default but WordPress requires the use of additional plugins.
A plugin is like an add-on that introduces new functionality to your WordPress blog, for SEO, I recommend going with either Yoast or Rank Math, these are the most popular SEO plugins on WordPress and both offer the same features.
They also come with an SEO setup wizard so all you have to do is follow the steps and they’ll handle everything else.
When it comes to your blog’s speed, it depends fairly on the hosting plan and theme you choose. Some themes are optimized for speed while others are not, it’s important to read the reviews about a theme before you decide to go with it.
That said, there are a ton of speed optimization plugins on WordPress, the best I can recommend is WP Rocket which is a paid plugin but absolutely worth it as it ships with both image optimization and a suite of caching features. It also comes with a setup wizard which makes it easy to use.
Last but not least is blog security. WordPress by default is an extremely secure blogging platform but when you add third-party themes and plugins, the risk of being hacked increases exponentially.
That’s why I recommend adding a security plugin like WordFence which helps safeguard your blog from all known vulnerabilities that tend to pop up monthly.
With these plugins installed and activated, your blog is ready to be published.
Note: If you find it difficult to wrap your head around blog optimization, feel free to reach out to the Take2 Elevate team and we’ll handle the entire process for you, no questions asked.
With your blog published and ready for readers, it’s time to put your writing cap on and flush out as much content as you possibly can.
I recommend having a publishing schedule as it helps you not only avoid burning out but also tells a search engine like Google that you have a consistent publishing schedule which is rumored to be a ranking signal.
A blog post is typically anywhere from 500 words to 5,000 words in length, it includes media like images, videos, and sometimes PDFs. Aside from writing the content, you also need to choose a featured image (the image that shows on social media when you send a blog post link).
Blog posts also have to be well structured, this means using headings, paragraphs, and lists to organize the flow of your content.
Once you have enough blog posts, you should start seeing some traffic most likely from search engines that have picked them up.
Blogs are just like social media accounts, aside from creating articles, you also have to promote them to as many new audiences as possible.
A good way to do this is by utilizing channels like social media, any time you publish an article, you can create short content around it and publish it on sites like X and LinkedIn. This should bring a good amount of visitors to your blog and increase your monthly readers substantially.
You can start an email newsletter and funnel your subscribers to your blog posts for detailed information about the topics you share there.
There are so many ways to promote your blog, from running paid ads to simply repurposing existing blog posts as videos on platforms like YouTube, you need to have at least one promotional channel and consistently use it.
Now, let’s take a look at some popular New Zealand blogs to get an idea of how a good blog should be and function.
First on our list is Stuff.co.nz which is a NZ news blog with over 2 million monthly readers making it one of the most popular blogs in New Zealand.
Stuff.co.nz uses a clean blog design that emphasizes typography and imagery, scrolling through the blog feels seamless and fast. Their font choice makes readability extremely good, especially on smaller screens.
They also integrate short-form video content which is the most consumed form of content right now, which shows a lot of custom work has been done on their blog.
A quick Wappalyzer scan shows that their primary blogging platform is WordPress but I reckon they’re using a completely custom-made theme which requires hiring an agency like Take2 Elevate to create.
Overall, Stuff.co.nz is a solid blog with a good team behind it and that’s why they keep growing on search engine result pages (SERPs).
The Spinoff is a New Zealand blog covering topics like pop culture, politics, and social life through features, criticism, interviews, videos, and podcasts.
Just like Stuff.co.nz, The Spinoff also features really clean typography and imagery, this is a common design feature of most NZ blogs.
In addition to written content, The Spinoff produces high-quality videos and podcasts, delving into a wide range of topics from politics and media to personal stories and social justice. The platform collaborates with various writers, commentators, and experts, ensuring a diversity of voices and opinions.
According to Wappalyzer, it was built using NextJs, React, and FireBase. This means it’s a custom-made blog through and through with a custom-made content management system which is quite common with many successful blogs.
Starting a blog can be quite affordable, depending on your approach and the features you want. You can begin with as little as $50 to $100 for a basic blog setup.
I recommend starting with a reliable hosting service like Bluehost or SiteGround as these come with good support which is crucial for new bloggers, an entry hosting plan typically costs around $3 to $10 per month. You’ll also need a domain name, which usually costs about $10 to $15 per year.
If you opt for a free platform like WordPress, you can initially customize your blog with free themes and plugins. However, investing in a premium theme from Themeforest (around $30 to $60) can enhance your blog's appearance and functionality.
Don’t forget to budget for essential tools like email marketing services, SEO plugins, and possibly some stock photos or graphics, which can add another $20 to $50 to your initial costs.
Overall, you can start a professional-looking blog for under $200, and as your blog grows, you can invest more into it.
Monetizing a blog involves several strategies that can generate income. Here are some effective ways to turn your blog into a revenue stream:
There are companies called ad networks that connect blogs to advertisers and can pay you for displaying their ads on your blog website.
Ad networks have different ways of paying but the two most popular ways are CPC (cost per click) and CPM (cost per impression).
When someone clicks or views an ad on your blog, your ad network records it, and depending on the set rate the advertiser is paying you get credited.
Some popular ad networks you can try working with include:
Each ad network has its own set of requirements but Google’s Adsense is by far the easiest to get into. All you have to do is have valuable content with little to no traffic and apply, once you get accepted, ads will start displaying on your blog.
Just like Ad networks, you can also partner with companies to promote their products or services and earn a commission for every sale made through your affiliate links.
Some popular companies with affiliate marketing programs include Amazon Associates, ShareASale, and Commission Junction.
Sometimes, brands can reach out directly and offer to pay you to create content that promotes their products or services. These are called Sponsored Posts and are a good way to earn money via blogging.
You can also reach out to companies with proposals if you feel they’d be a good fit for your blog’s audience.
You can sell digital products like eBooks, online courses, and printables, or physical products through your blog.
If you have a specific skill or expertise, consider offering services like consulting, coaching, or freelance writing.
This is why it’s important you choose a blog niche you know inside out, a lot of people who read your content would likely like to work with you to solve their problems.
You can create premium content (exclusive articles, videos, or other resources) that are available only to paid subscribers and charge a monthly or yearly fee for access to them.
This can be a great addition to your income especially if you already have an audience who trust you and are willing to pay for extra perks.
You can encourage your readers to support your blog through donations or platforms like Patreon. Crowdfunding can also be a way to finance specific projects or content series.
Your blog can also serve as a portfolio to attract freelance work or speaking opportunities in your niche. This would mostly work if your blog’s niche is service-related.
By diversifying your income streams and consistently producing valuable content, you can effectively monetize your blog and turn it into a profitable venture.
Starting a blog in New Zealand in 2024 is an exciting and rewarding endeavor. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can set up your blog efficiently and effectively.
From selecting a niche and choosing a domain name to setting up hosting and customizing your blog's design, each step brings you closer to sharing your voice with the world.
Remember to focus on creating high-quality content, optimizing for SEO, and engaging with your audience to build a loyal readership.
With dedication and consistency, your blog can become a platform for personal expression, professional growth, and even a source of income.
Embrace the journey, stay adaptable, and watch your blog thrive in the dynamic NZ digital landscape of 2024.
A personal blog is an online platform where individuals share their thoughts, experiences, hobbies, and opinions with the world.
Unlike niche or business blogs, personal blogs cover a wide range of topics, often reflecting the blogger's interests and daily life.
It's a space for self-expression, creativity, and connecting with like-minded readers.
To write a blog post, start by choosing an engaging topic. Research to gather information, then create an outline to organize your thoughts.
Write a clear, readable draft with short paragraphs and subheadings. Edit for grammar and flow, add visuals, and optimize for SEO.
Finally, publish and promote your post on social media and other platforms.
Start a free blog by choosing a platform like WordPress.com, Blogger, or Wix. Create an account, select a memorable blog name, and choose a free theme.
Customize your blog's appearance, write your first post, and publish it.
You can monetize your blog through advertising, affiliate marketing, and sponsored posts. Sell digital products or services, offer memberships or subscriptions, and encourage reader donations.
Building an email list to promote products or content can also generate income. With consistent effort, these strategies can turn your blog into a profitable venture.
