"Starting this blog was one of the best decisions I've ever made."
99% of successful bloggers have said that at some point in their lives. And I completely agree.
Here's how you can start a blog with just an iPad (like I did):
Find a home stadium
You want to find a great home.
You want this to be in some variation of an email newsletter—emails give you more control over your audience. On other platforms like YouTube or TikTok, the algorithms control you.
I recently started a YouTube channel to promote my newsletter. While my newsletter goes out to however many subscribers I have, YouTube is more unpredictable. A video I recently published got 12 views. A video released two days later got 331 views.
Control is key.
Look for a cool writing app
Test out different writing apps to see which one suits you.
I've used quite a few: Spaces, Bear, Drafts, Notion, Obsidian, etc. At the moment, I'm using Bear.
There's a benefit to having a standalone writing app: by having a set writing environment, you feel more creative and motivated to write. And in the beginning, having a set environment is key to building a consistent writing routine.
Start writing
Don't overthink it.
Just start writing.
Build a fun environment
Make writing easy for yourself: build an environment where writing seems fun.
This includes your physical environment (I like to change the colors of the lights in my room) and your iPad (pick a good writing app).
In addition, you want to build a distraction-free environment. Use Focus Modes, Guided Access, and other distraction removal techniques if you need to (you can read more about these here).
Find your readers
"Find where your readers hang out" is some of the best advice I've received on promoting my blog.
It seems like a simple and obvious idea, but you'd be surprised by how many people (myself included) get confused by this concept.
In my case, I had to do some thinking. Serious iPad users (the target of my newsletter) tend to be on other blogs' forums, Medium, Discord, and long-form YouTube. Of those, I can promote my blog on Medium, Discord, and YouTube, and I have the time to do so on Medium and Discord.
If you can find a place where your target audience hangs out and allows you to promote your blog, you've officially found a great tool to drive traffic back to your blog/newsletter.
Explore a new universe
Don't follow the previous idea all the time.
Feel free to branch out—you never know what could happen. Recently, I started exploring YouTube Shorts and TikTok, and I've already gotten at least one subscriber from my videos.
The same disadvantage of making these platforms your home base (the algorithm controls everything) is an advantage when using them to promote your blog.
Final Thoughts
"Build every damn day" - Tim Denning
Thanks for reading!
Adi