If you’re a teacher and you’re looking to share your knowledge with a wider audience, then it could be time to start a teacher blog. A teacher blog is not only a way to share your experience and expertise with other educators and students, but it is also a great way of connecting you with people who share your interests and passions.
As someone with teaching experience, I know firsthand how much better it is when you can share ideas and information with a like-minded community. One of the best ways to do that today is through a blog. It just so happens that you can make money while doing it too!
So, if this sounds good to you, or if you are thinking about getting started, read on to find out how to create a teacher blog!
Why Should You Start a Teacher Blog?
Need some inspiration to get started? There are a variety of reasons why you should start a teacher blog. Here are some of the benefits it can offer:
- Sharing your experiences and expertise: By blogging about your classroom experiences, you can help others learn from your successes and challenges, and contribute to the ongoing conversation about education within the broader education community.
- Connecting with other teachers: Having your own teacher blog can help build your professional network by connecting you with other teachers and educators who share your interests and passions.
- Growing your professional profile: A teacher blog can help you grow your professional profile and establish yourself as an expert in your field. By sharing your insights and experiences, you can build a reputation and open up new opportunities for professional growth and development.
- Engaging with your students: You can teach with blogs. A blog gives your students another way to learn and engage with your content. You can share links to your blog posts on social media or in your classroom, and encourage your students to read and comment on your posts. This can help you foster a more interactive learning environment and grow your audience.
- A place to track progress and provide feedback: Blogs don’t just have to be informational. They can also be used to document class progress and give feedback to students and parents. Think about how much easier it could be to remind your students of what was studied each week if you kept a blog of it.
- Improving your writing skills: Blogging can help you improve your writing skills, as it requires you to organize your thoughts, express yourself clearly, and engage with your audience. This can be beneficial not only for your blog but also for your teaching and professional development.
- Make money: By starting your own blog you are building a platform where you can sell your products or services. You can also get affiliate income by recommending any products that help you with your teaching, win-win.
Ready to create your blog? Let’s get started.
Find Your Teacher Niche
Before you start your teaching blog, it is a good idea to find your teaching niche. Start by thinking about your interests and passions. Do you already teach? What are you knowledgeable or experienced in? What topics do you enjoy talking about or writing about? If you already teach then it would be natural to blog about that subject as it’s an area where you have expertise.
You can also research what topics are currently popular or in demand in your industry or market. Once you have some ideas, consider how you can differentiate yourself from others in the same niche. What unique perspective or expertise can you offer? How can you provide value to your target audience? Can you niche down to offer a specific service?
Answering these questions can help you define your niche and focus your content and marketing efforts.
If you’re not sure where to focus, or if you don’t already have a teaching niche, here are some examples:
- English as a Second Language (ESL)
- Education technology
- Early childhood education
- Special education
- Mathematics
- Science
- History
- Music
- Physical education
- Fitness
- Health and wellness
- Art
- Computer science
- Foreign languages
- Social studies
- Environmental education
- Business
- Career
- Distance learning
Within these niches, you can then specialize further. For example, instead of just marketing yourself as an ESL teacher, you could market yourself as an ESL teacher who specializes in business English and blog about that.
The most important thing to remember is that when it comes to choosing a niche you don’t want to go too broad or too narrow. You need to find that sweet spot where you have enough to write about whilst establishing your authority within your blog’s niche.
What will your teacher blog focus on?
How to Start a Teacher Blog
Once you’ve decided upon a topic for your teacher blog, it’s time to get started! We’ll provide a quick outline of the steps that you need to take to get set up and then go into more detail on each point below.
To start a teacher blog, follow these steps:
- Choose a blogging platform. There are many different options available, such as WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. Research the different options and choose one that you feel comfortable using.
- Choose a unique and memorable name for your blog. This will be the URL that people use to access your blog, so make sure it’s easy to remember and spell.
- Buy the hosting for your blog. This is where your blog will be hosted so that people can access it on the internet. Without hosting, you don’t have a blog people can read! Many first-time bloggers start with Bluehost.
- Choose and install a theme for your teacher blog. This is the basic framework of how your blog and blog pages will look.
- Create your essential blog pages. Every blog needs a home page, an about page, and a contact page.
- Start blogging. Begin sharing your thoughts, ideas, and experiences as a teacher, and write about topics that you’ve identified.
- Promote your blog. Once you have some content on your blog, start promoting it through social media, email, and other channels to attract readers and followers.
- Make money from your blog!
Choose a Blogging Platform
One of the most important steps when starting your teacher blog is choosing a blogging platform. This is the software that your blog will be built on. There are a multitude of blogging platforms to choose from including WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.
There are hundreds of reviews of these platforms online and each platform has its pros and cons. However, the key thing is to make sure that your blog has good customization options and that you can easily monetize it.
For this reason, we would advise picking WordPress when it comes to building your teacher blog.
Why WordPress?
WordPress powers millions of websites across the globe and has a vast library of themes and plugins that you can choose from. In simple language, this means that you can choose from thousands of highly customizable blog design templates and you can plugin pieces of software that do all kinds of amazing things.
Want to make your site go faster? There’s a plugin for that. Want to create an online shop with a checkout? No problem. WordPress has it all and is ideal for beginners. Even if you don’t know how to code, you’ll still be able to use WordPress, and there are plenty of experts on hand to help. Just send us a message if you need assistance!
However, before you go ahead and install WordPress, there is one thing that we need to point out. You should always choose self-hosted WordPress at WordPress.org over hosted WordPress.com.
For one, WordPress.org is free, whereas you’ll need to pay for WordPress.com unless you want their adverts plastered all over your site. Furthermore, it is much easier to customize and monetize WordPress.org.
On WordPress.com you can’t upload themes and plugins, nor can you sell ads on your blog or offer memberships. This severely limits what you can do.
In contrast, you are free to customize your self-hosted WordPress.org website as much as you want and you can monetize it in a variety of ways. The only thing you need to do is buy your hosting.
Choose a Unique and Memorable Name for Your Blog
Choosing a memorable name for your blog can make a big difference when it comes to attracting and retaining readers. You also need to make sure that the domain name is available for any potential blog name you choose.
The domain name is the internet address where your audience can access your blog, e.g. www.dotefl.com. This should match the name of your blog as this is a key part of branding. To check if a domain name is available you can use NameCheap.com. If it is available you can go ahead and purchase it! We’d recommend using them as they don’t charge excessive renewal fees.
Here are a few tips to help you choose your teacher blog name:
- Make it relevant: The name should reflect the topic or theme of your blog.
- Keep it simple: A simple, easy-to-remember name will make it easier for people to find and recommend your blog.
- Be creative: A unique, creative name will make your blog stand out and be remembered.
- Consider keywords: Incorporating relevant keywords in your name can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and help attract visitors.
- Keep it broad: While it’s great to focus on a niche, you probably don’t want to use a name that restricts what you can write about. You want your teacher blog to be able to evolve over time. So, it might be better to go with something broad like “English Hub” rather than something like “Comma Club”, which could restrict you to grammar content only if your blog was English based. Then again that didn’t work out too badly for Grammarly!
- Test it out: Try saying your potential blog name out loud, or get feedback from friends to see if it’s memorable and easy to say.
- Go for .com: There are several different domain extensions, such as .com, .net, .io .education, and so on. However, it’s usually best to go for .com. This is the most recognized domain extension and instantly garners respect. Just try to resist the temptation to buy a domain name if it is already taken. If a domain name is already owned, it can be put for sale for very large amounts of money. So, unless you’re a well-funded start-up it’s much better to acquire a new, unique name that someone doesn’t already own.
Remember, your blog name should represent the brand you are trying to create as well as your content, so take your time and have fun with it!
Buy the hosting for your blog
As a teacher starting your blog, you should choose an affordable hosting option that is easy to set up with WordPress. For this reason, we recommend Bluehost as a good web hosting provider when you’re starting out.
While there are plenty of good web hosting providers, Bluehost is ideal for beginners. It offers a one-click WordPress installation and can even include the option of a free domain name. This means that you can easily get everything done in one place. Plus, if you get stuck there is 24/7 support ready to assist you.
Bluehost hosting plans start at a discounted price of $2.95/month through this link and you can select the plan that best fits your needs. I started with the Choice Plus plan as it offers security and backup features. The Basic plan can work equally well provided you find another way to back up your blog!
If this seems like a lot of information to take in, don’t worry. Here is a quick guide you can follow on how to get started with Bluehost and get your blog online in no time!
How to Get Started With Bluehost
If you’re ready to set up your hosting plan on Bluehost, you need to do the following:
- Click here to go to Bluehost and hit the “Get Started Now” button. Your discount will already be applied.
- Choose the Choice Plus Plan. This comes with extra storage and security, which can be very useful for teaching and educational websites. It also comes with a daily website backup for the first year. Believe me when I say this can be very useful if you’re making a lot of changes to your website early on! However, if you feel that you don’t need any of these extra features you can just go with the Basic Plan.
- Enter the domain name that you want to use for your website (e.g. dotefl.com) under “Create a new domain”. If you already own a domain name that you want to use, enter it under “Use a domain you own”. If you don’t have a domain name yet you can click “I’ll create my domain later”. Take a look at the “name your website” section below to get some inspiration.
- Fill out your account information.
- Confirm your chosen plan under “Package Information”. You have a 30-day money-back guarantee so there is no risk if it turns out to be the wrong plan.
- Uncheck any paid extras under “Package Extras”. If “Domain Privacy and Protection” is offered for free you should keep this option.
- Enter your payment information and complete the purchase. You can then set your password and log in to your Bluehost account.
- Once you’re logged in you’ll see an installation helper. You can either answer the onboarding questions or skip them. To save time, and as you’re following the guide here, you can select “Skip this step”.
- You can also click “Skip this step” when prompted to choose your theme. We’ll deal with this later on.
- The system will now install WordPress automatically and you’ll be taken to the Bluehost dashboard. From the Bluehost dashboard click the “WordPress” button on the top right and you’ll be taken to the administrator area of your WordPress website.
Well done on setting up your brand-new blog! Now comes the fun part.
Choose and Install a Theme
Now that you have everything ready, it’s time to select a theme for your WordPress blog.
A WordPress blog theme is a collection of templates and styles that will determine the appearance and presentation of your teacher blog. It controls the look and feel and includes the layout, color scheme, fonts, and other design elements. Themes can be customized to fit the brand and personality of your blog.
There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available, ranging from simple and minimalistic to complex and feature-rich. If you just want to blog as a hobby, you’ll be perfectly fine with one of the free themes that are available.
However, if you’re serious about growing your teacher blog I’d recommend going with one of the more premium WordPress themes.
Premium WordPress themes do cost more money (they are not free), but they come with enhanced functionality and tend to provide much greater technical support. This is ideal if you’re a teacher blogger who is just starting out. Premium themes also offer unique, user and mobile-friendly designs that shouldn’t require you to do any extra coding.
For teacher blogs, some of the best themes can be found on Theme Forest.
What to Consider When Selecting a Theme
When choosing a WordPress theme for your blog, there are several important factors to consider:
- Responsiveness: A responsive theme will adapt to different screen sizes, ensuring your blog looks great on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
- Customization options: Look for a theme that offers customization options, such as the ability to change colors, fonts, and layouts, so you can make it your own.
- SEO optimization: A theme that is optimized for search engines can improve your blog’s visibility and ranking in search results.
- Compatibility: Ensure that the theme is compatible with the latest version of WordPress and any plugins you’re using, to prevent compatibility issues.
- Support and documentation: A good theme should be regularly updated, come with detailed documentation, and have a dedicated support team to help you with any questions or problems.
- Performance: A theme with a clean, optimized code will load faster and provide a better user experience for your visitors.
- Design and style: Choose a theme that fits your brand and style, and showcases your content in an attractive and effective way.
- Reviews and ratings: If it’s a good theme it should receive plenty of positive reviews from actual users. Always check this to see how well-established it is.
The good news is that many of the best premium themes tick all of these boxes!
By considering these factors, you can find a WordPress theme that meets your needs and helps you create a professional-looking, functional, and successful blog.
Create Your Essential Blog Pages
Once you’ve chosen your theme, it’s time to customize it and create your essential blog pages. These may vary depending on the purpose and content of the blog, but there are some common pages that most blogs should have:
- Homepage: The homepage is the first page visitors will see when they arrive at your blog, so it’s important to make a good impression. You need to make it clear what your teacher blog is about and also highlight any services that you offer. A clear and simple layout, with an emphasis on your latest content, is usually best.
- About page: An About page is where you can introduce yourself and your blog’s purpose, and share information about your background and experience. Allow your readers to get to know you and the reason for starting your blog. You may also wish to show them where they can follow you on other platforms.
- Contact page: A Contact page is where your visitors can get in touch with you. Make sure to include a form or email address to make it easy for people to reach out.
- Privacy Policy page: A Privacy Policy page is important for informing visitors about how you collect, use, and protect their personal information.
- Disclaimer page: A Disclaimer page can be used to specify any limitations or responsibilities associated with the information and content on your blog.
These are some of the essential pages that most blogs should have, but you may also want to include additional pages, such as a resources page or services page, depending on the focus of your blog.
While doing this, you can also customize the design and layout of your blog. Most themes offer a variety of templates and design options to choose from, so you can create a unique and professional-looking teacher blog. However, if you’ve chosen a good theme already you shouldn’t spend too much time getting bogged down with this. The most important thing is to start blogging, as without doing this you won’t build an audience!
Start Blogging
Once you’ve got the basics set up, it’s time to write your first blog post and start blogging. Education blogs can cover a wide range of topics and teacher bloggers can write about pretty much every subject you can think of. If people want to learn something you can create blog content around it.
Before you begin, start by defining the purpose of your blog and the target audience you want to reach. You should create content that your audience would want to read. Considering this can help guide the topics you choose to write about.
Next, consider your expertise and experiences as a teacher. What topics are you knowledgeable about or passionate about? Think about the questions your students or other people frequently ask and use that as inspiration for blog posts. You can look at current events, educational trends, or hot topics in the field to generate ideas.
You also need to consider your blog’s goals. Is it to provide information, share your experiences, offer advice, or promote your services? A successful education blog will often cover a combination of these and include information on valuable teacher resources, effective teaching strategies and teaching tips, and learning resources that can be used to help teach students.
By keeping these things in mind, you can decide what will be most interesting and valuable to your audience and help you achieve your goals with your teacher blog.
To give you some inspiration here are a few different types of articles you might consider:
- How-to articles: These articles provide step-by-step instructions for a specific task or need, a bit like this article!
- List articles: List articles present information in a list format (surprise!), such as “10 ways to improve your teaching skills” or “5 must-read books for teachers.” These are easy to read and can be a great way to promote products or services.
- Opinion pieces: These express your thoughts and views on a particular topic, and can be a great way to share your perspectives and engage with your audience.
- Personal stories: Sharing your personal experiences, anecdotes, and reflections, can help build a strong connection with your audience. Personal stories can be a powerful way to share your journey and inspire others.
If your goal is to make money from your blog, it’s worth writing posts where you can include links to products and services. How-to and list articles are both great for this. And, if you’re promoting your services, opinion pieces and personal stories serve to enhance your personal brand as well as your credibility and authority.
If you stay consistent and post regularly, you’ll be surprised at how fast this can grow.
Promote Your Teacher Blog
Once you have everything ready, it’s time to start promoting your teacher blog to get some visitors. Promoting your blog is an essential step to increasing your website traffic, reaching your audience, and achieving your goals. Here are ways to help you get started:
- Find out where your audience is: The first and most important step is to understand how to reach your target audience. Are they searching on Google or will you find them on social media?
- Utilize social media: Share your blog posts on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to reach a wider audience. Join teacher groups on these platforms and share your posts with like-minded individuals. This also serves as a great way to get practical tips and exchange ideas.
- Become a networking ninja: Connect with other teachers and educational bloggers, both online and offline. Collaborate on blog posts, share each other’s work, and join online discussions to build relationships and reach new audiences.
- Guest Posting: Offer to write guest posts on other teacher’s blogs or educational websites. This will help build your credibility as a thought leader in the field and improve the rating of your blog in the eyes of search engines.
- Email Marketing: Create an email list of your readers and send regular newsletters with links to your latest blog posts and offers.
- Conferences and Workshops: Attend education-related conferences and workshops and share your blog with attendees. You can also present on topics related to your blog, which will help build your reputation as a knowledgeable expert.
By using these strategies, you can reach a larger audience, build your brand, and grow your teacher blog in a fun and creative way. Who knows, before you know it you may be making some money from your blog as well!
Make Money From Your Teacher Blog
If you want to make money from your teacher blog there are a number of approaches you can consider. These could easily take up a whole new article each, so for now we’ll provide a quick summary here:
- Offer your services: Offer one-on-one or group teaching/consulting services to individuals or businesses.
- Online courses: Create and sell online courses related to your area of expertise.
- E-books: Write and sell an e-book on a topic you specialize in.
- Products: Create and sell products related to your teaching expertise, such as lesson plans, worksheets, etc.
- Paid online community: Create a paid online community that people can join.
- Affiliate Marketing: Promote educational products on your blog and earn a commission on sales.
- Sponsored Content: Accept payment from companies to feature their products or services on your blog through sponsored posts or in existing blog posts.
- Advertisements: Place ads on your blog and earn money through clicks or impressions.
Ready to get stuck in? Hopefully, these steps have inspired you and you’ll go on to create a highly successful, profitable teacher blog.
Conclusion: Start Your Teacher Blog
Starting a teacher blog can be a great way to share your expertise and connect with your students and other educators. Remember that the key to success is consistency, so be sure to publish new content regularly and actively engage with your audience.
With dedication and hard work, you can build a successful teacher blog that helps you share your passion for education and make a positive impact in the lives of others. Who knows, you may even make a decent profit for yourself in the process!
James has been helping people teach English abroad for over twelve years. He’s traveled to over 30 countries, lived in 3, and taught English in Chile and online.
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