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Wondering how to start a pet blog? Pet blogging can be very rewarding. Whether you want to write about one of your passions, animals or you want to share your journey with your own pet, or other reasons, you can use your blog as an outlet to share, vent or connect with an audience, teach others, inspire, or make money.
In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of how to start a pet blog including:
- Choosing a niche
- Setting up your website, and,
- Creating content
With a little bit of effort and dedication, you can start your own successful pet blog and share your passion for pets with the world.
Who am I and what do I know about blogging?
I’ve been blogging for almost a decade.
I’ve built dozens of blogs in various niches (I website flip) and I love helping others create their own unique blog. It really changed my life and I still blog today.
I’m not tech-savvy at all and I am no coder.
I created this guide to cater to the untechsavvy like me so beginners can go through a simple process to quickly build their dream blog.
I read about so many bloggers running a full-time business and earning a full-time income as a blogger, like Michelle from Making Sense of Cents who has made $100K per month blogging!
Here’s how you get started.
What is a pet blog?
Welcome to the world of pet blogging! Starting a pet blog can be a fun and rewarding way to share your love and knowledge of pets with others.
Whether you’re an experienced pet owner or just starting out, a pet blog is a great way to connect with other pet lovers and share your experiences.
A pet blog is a website or online journal that is devoted to topics of pets. This can include discussions of pets and animals, how to choose your dream pet, traveling with pets and other related topics.
Pet blogs can provide a space for people to explore their passion for animals and pets and connect with others who share their interests. They can also offer guidance and support for those who are seeking to live more fruitfully-based lives because pets are a part of their world.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to start a blog for pets, or if you’re looking for a place to share your own thoughts and experiences, then a pet blog may be right for you.
There are many different blogs out there to choose from, so be sure to do some research before deciding which ones are worth your time. You may also want to check out our list of the top 100 pets blogs , which can help you find some new ones to explore.
Why start a pet blog?
There are many reasons why people start a pet blog, some of which include:
- Sharing knowledge and expertise: Blogging can be a great way to share your knowledge and expertise on a particular topic with a wider audience.
- Personal expression: Blogging can be a form of self-expression and can be a way to share your thoughts and ideas with others.
- Building a community: Blogging can help you connect with like-minded people and build a community around a particular topic or interest.
- Establishing authority: By consistently creating high-quality content, a blog can help establish you as an authority in your niche.
- Opportunities for monetization: A well-established blog can provide opportunities for monetization through advertising, sponsored content, and affiliate marketing.
- Learning and personal growth: Blogging can be a great way to learn new skills and grow as a person, as it requires research, writing, and online promotion.
- Keeping a journal: Blogging can be an informal way of keeping a journal, it can be a good way to document your life and experiences, and to look back on in the future.
What to talk about in a pet blog?
Pets of course, right?
Anything you want from topics about pet care, travel with pets, pet training, potty training pets, puppy care, grooming and more.
You’ll be like a teacher to your readers and because this niche has a tight knit, passionate community behind it, once you get readers they may likely return time after time to read what you have to say about pets.
Here are some pet blog topics:
- Dogs
- Cats
- Fish
- Birds
- Horses
- Iguanas and other reptiles
Here are some best blog ideas:
- Different breeds of pets
- Animals daycare
- Pet onboarding
- Pets good for allergy-friendliness
- Low shed pets
- Low maintenance pets
- High maintenance pets
- How to walk dogs
- How to administer medicine to pets
- Crate training
- How to feed your pet
- Pet diets
- Making homemade pet food
Hope this gives you some inspiration on how to get started.
Do pet blogs make money?
There are dog blogs that make money, cat blogs, pet blogs that make money, and more. This niche has a very passionate audience behind it.
Pet owners are interested in the wellness of their pets. They have their best interests at heart. It makes sense that a dog owner, for example, would frequent a dog blog to learn about how to feed their dog whole foods or a raw diet, how to train their puppy, etc.
Starting a pet blog
You’ll follow this easy 4-step process to create your blog:
- Pick a niche- done
- Name your blog and find a domain
- Get hosting
- Blog setup
How to start a pet blog
Before we get started, this is what you need to start a pet blog:
- Time
- Computer access with internet
- Budget
First, you should have around 30 minutes to an hour of your time to start your blog.
Honestly, it might take a lot less time but having up to an hour is helpful just in case.
This is a tech-friendly guide so you don’t need to be tech savvy or know coding to get through this. I designed it to be easy for beginners.
Next, you will need a computer with internet. You can get away with using a cell phone or tablet but I think it’s just easier and probably faster if you use a computer.
Lastly, you will want to start a self-hosted blog which will cost money. It’s not expensive and totally worth it when you see the influence you can have online. Domains are usually included with the hosting plan.
If they’re not, you won’t pay more than $20 for a domain but you can get them super cheap, like under $5 too. Then hosting which can be as low as $3 or $4 per month. If you pay annually (12 months up front) then it’ll be around $50 to $80. That’s it!
And those are the only three things you will need to get started.
Step 1: Pick a niche
This step is done. You know you want to create a blog about pets. Move onto step 2.
Step 2: Name your blog and find a domain name
Naming your blog is the fun part. Name it whatever you want. If you want to name it something that is searched often, use a keyword tool like Ahrefs or Ubersuggest to check search volume before you pick a name.
What to consider when naming your blog
- A shorter name is better
- A matching domain name is ideal
- No special characters or numbers
A shorter blog name is better than a long name which can be difficult to remember. A matching domain name is ideal. So, as you’re brainstorming for blog names, do a quick check in Godaddy to see if the corresponding domain name is available.
For example, the blog name Her Backyard Garden…
You can see that herbackyardgarden(dot)com is available.
You might also see that a .com may not be available but instead these are available:
- .co
- .net
- .org
- .info
- .blog
Go for the .com version first. If it’s not available and you absolutely want that blog name, a .com or .net is good for a second option.
Step 3: Get hosting
I recommend Siteground and Bluehost.
I have personally used both and they are the best hosts I’ve had (I have been with many hosts). Siteground is where Millennial Nextdoor (my blog) is currently hosted.
They both offer a lot of built-ins with your hosting. You can get your domain name during the process too, so your domain and hosting will both be with the same company and under the same account.
You can pick any web host that you’d like but I highly recommend these two hosting providers. They’re great.
Here’s the step-by-step process for getting Siteground hosting
1. Visit Siteground
2. Pick a billing plan
I’m on the GrowBig plan. For new sites, StartUp or GrowBig is what I’d personally recommend. You can always upgrade or downgrade in the future.
What the differences are between each plan, according to Siteground:
-
The StartUp plan is for people with one website that are starting now.
3. Get your domain
If you bought a domain from another place, you can move it to Siteground really easily. If you haven’t, you can add a Siteground domain in this step under Register a New Domain.
4. Complete checkout
Click here for Siteground.
Click here to buy Bluehost.
Step 4: Blog Setup
You have your pet blog!
Now, the setup process is super fun. You’ll do things like:
- Apply a website theme
- Add plugins
- Add content
- Set up social media channels for your blog
Website themes
For website themes, my favorite theme providers are Studiopress and Bluchic.
Web plugins
Plugins are like little shortcuts you can add to your blog that can help you accomplish certain tasks without having to code.
For example, the Simple Social Icons plugin will add social icons to your blog posts so your readers can socially share your posts to Twitter, Facebook, etc. All you do is get that plugin, activate it and it’s on your blog!
Starting out, I really like these plugins:
- Wordfence
- Pretty Links
- Simple Social Icons
- W3 Cache
- Yoast SEO
- WP Rocket
Over time, you’ll get to know which plugins work best for you. If you want to spy on top pet blogs and see what WordPress plugins they use, you can use the free tool WPThemeDetector, which can detect plugins on many WordPress blogs.
Content creation
Adding content is about writing blog posts. Write as many blog posts as you like.
If you want to have a store of blog posts on your blog before you publish and go live, I’d recommend writing 10 blog posts to start so there’s plenty of content for your readers when you launch.
It’s true, content is king. If you want to be one of the top pet blogs or best pet blogs around, you’ll want to focus heavy on the content.
You want to consider:
- Writing catchy keyw0rd-rich headlines
- Doing SEO research to rank for keywords your audience is searching for
- Creating long-form, beefy posts that your audience can’t wait to read
- Creating problem-solving, value-driven content
It can sound like a lot and feel overwhelming but, the process does get easier with practice. You don’t have to be a pro writer to succeed writing blog posts. But, if it is too much for you to take on, consider outsourcing it.
While hiring writers is a traditional approach many bloggers take, a cheaper (and I think more effective) way is by using an AI writing assistant like Jasper AI or Copy AI.
You can use AI to write value-driven, long-form content that can save you a ton of time compared to writing posts yourself. This isn’t a one-and-done kind of tool. You will still need to do some proofreading and light to medium editing but, it’s a major time-saver and more affordable than hiring a freelance writer.
I personally use both Jasper AI and Copy AI and they have transformed my blog writing, helping my blog grow over 500% in the past year.
Pro Tip: Use AI writing software like Jasper (I personally use this and love it!)
Social media
Social media is not required but I have found that a lot of bloggers, if not all of them, have social media for their blog:
- Facebook fan page
- Tik Tok
You don’t have to have all these. Join as many or as few social networks as you’d like.
Launch time!
Then when you’re ready, launch!
Don’t forget to legally protect your blog with this blogger legal bundle, which I highly recommend. It’s optional, but a good idea, in my opinion.
How to monetize a cat or dog blog?
To monetize a cat or dog blog or any pet blog, there are a few different paths you can take:
- Affiliate marketing: Make money referring products to others
- Selling products and services
- Brand deals/sponsorships: Make money featuring companies on your pet blog
- Ads: Make passive income featuring advertisements on your blog
Final word on pet blogging
I hope you found this quick guide on pet blogging easy to follow. Comment below if you have any questions and read these helpful posts for more on blogging:
- Legally protecting your blog with blogger contracts
- How to quickly write blog posts using artificial intelligence tool Jarvis
BONUS Tools I Recommend for Blogging
These are some of my favorite tools that I use and recommend. Check them out if you’d like…
ConvertKit
This is for email marketing. You can use Convertkit to collect email subscribers for your newsletter. It’s great for sales funnel building, running email courses, and more. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market.
You can create email sequences that run in the background on autopilot, making you money 24/7. They have a free trial to test drive their email marketing tools. You will love it, trust me!
Start your free trial for ConvertKit.
Evernote
This is for note-taking. I use the free version and it helps me jot down notes that come to mind when I’m on the go. Specifically, if inspiration for a blog post hits me, I open up Evernote app on my device and can jot down what I’m thinking.
You can take Evernote everywhere you go. Their app is available on desktop, laptop, mobile and tablet. So whatever device you’re on, you can access your notes.
Market Muse
This tool is such a game-changer. It helps you rank your blog posts.
You can put your keyword in Market Muse and it’ll give the keyword a score. Then paste your blog post draft into the tool and it’ll tell you your score. So if the keyword score for ranking is 40 and you’re at a 30 for your draft then you know your post needs some work to improve your chances of ranking.
To rank, it’ll give you a long list of keywords to insert in your post to boost your chances of ranking. It’ll also tell you the target length of your blog post and other helpful info. I just started using this and absolutely love it! There’s a free and paid version.
Click here to visit Market Muse.