Cara Lisette

Top Tips for Starting a Mental Health Blog

Last year I went to Time To Change’s Story Camp and did a talk about how to create a mental health blog.

I am still amazed that I was asked because I totally feel like I don’t know what I’m doing but people are reading what I write so I must be doing something right! A lot of people said they found it helpful afterwards so I thought I would share some of my top tips with you all.

Getting Started
Firstly, you need to pick a platform for your blog. I use WordPress and I’m really glad I chose it – it seems to be where most bloggers start out so it makes it really easy to connect with other bloggers. However, there are other options including Blogger, Blogspot and Wix.
Read other blog posts sharing their tips. I don’t mean the ones telling you how to make £1000 in your first month, but the ones that give you genuine tips for beginners. I wish I had done this as I spent my first few weeks feeling pretty baffled and have only really been using some of the great ideas I’ve read over the last six months.
Find what you want to talk about but don’t feel pressured to have a strict niche. Although this blog is about mental health, I do talk about other things too. I want people to know me as me and not just my mental illness. Next, you need to pick a name. It needs to be something catchy and easy to spell and remember. My blog used to be called Moods, Meds and Meals; those of you who have been around for a while will probably remember this. I loved that name and I do regret changing it sometimes but I changed it because I felt that I was restricted by it in that I didn’t think it allowed me the freedom to talk about other topics too. Cara’s Corner is flexible and feels personal as it includes my name.

Common Questions
Do I need a schedule? No, you don’t. Some people find it helps them to stay on track, and you may get a more regular readership through doing this, but it’s absolutely not necessary. I used to post as and when. Sometimes life gets in the way and for me it’s just not always practical to stick to a schedule. I do have one currently but it may not stay that way.
Do stats matter? Yes and no! Your stats don’t signify your worth as a blogger and lower stats doesn’t mean that your writing isn’t good. However, if your aim is to help reach more people, which for most of us with mental health blogs is the case, then more readers is better.
How do I gain followers? I haven’t had rocketing followers but I’ve gained a very steady stream over the last couple of years. I don’t have any secrets to share here, for me it’s about being personable, being yourself and engaging with as many people as you can.
What should I write about? Write about whatever you feel happy and comfortable with. Remember that if you put something out into the internet it can be hard to get it back, so only share what you are happy to.
Do I need to spend money? No you don’t. You absolutely can but it’s not essential. If you want your own domain name you will have to pay and you will need to host your website somewhere which also costs money, but don’t feel pressured to do so. If you’re hoping to make money from your blog you may have to invest money into it first.

How to Get Your Message Heard
Engage with others on social media and on blog – reply to comments, read other blogs and leave comments, do blogger tags. Take any opportunities to make genuine connections with people. This also helps with inspiration for posts; I get a lot of my inspiration from the blogging community.
Don’t be afraid of self promotion – be proud of yourself! Running a blog is hard work and you need to be your biggest cheerleader.
Use social media to your advantage. Join twitter chats, use retweet accounts, chat to people, share your posts. Get the word out there. Guest blogging is also a great way to share your writing with others – write for others and have others write for you. That means that you reach the readers of that person and you also get to make more contacts.

Taking Care of Yourself
This is the most important part of mental health blogging. Firstly, don’t pressure yourself to keep up with others. Try not to compare your schedule, writing or followers with others, it is toxic and will only make you feel bad about yourself. For example, I work full time and I’m busy – I can’t post as much as others do and that’s okay. You do you.
Only share what you want to no matter what anyone else is doing. It’s not a competition and your wellbeing comes first. I used to feel bad that I wouldn’t share when things were difficult for me, only afterwards, but actually that was what I needed to do to keep myself well. Don’t make yourself vulnerable for the sake of blog stats.
If you need a break, take a break. Say no to opportunities if you need to, there will always be more.

My Favourite Tools
All social media, especially Twitter and Pinterest. I get most of my meaningful engagement from Twitter but most of my views come from Pinterest.
Tailwind for Pinterest – this schedules your pins for you so you don’t need to manually pin every day.
For all my graphics I use the Canva app. It’s super easy to use, free, and you can make some great logos and banners.
Anywhere to record my thoughts: pen, paper, notes app, laptop, tablet.

Final Points
1. Social media is invaluable.
2. It’s okay not to know everything!
3. Your story and experiences are yours alone and no one can take that – it’s okay if your experiences are different to other people’s.
4. Put yourself first. This is the most important thing I want you all to take away with you.

Remember that all of your voices matter – there no such thing as saturated market in mental health. We are all on the same side. Support each other!

I hope this might have been helpful for some of you!


33 comments

  1. Hi, I really enjoyed this post, thank you for sharing!

    I think many of these tips could also apply to blogging in general. I have been blogging for years, on and off (mostly off in the last two years), but only recently revamped my blog to start writing about my own mental health journey. If you’d asked me a year ago, it wouldn’t have been something I would have considered writing about but I’m comfortable making space for it now. My blog isn’t a mental health blog per se – it’s mainly an outlet for me and my interests – but it fits in with everything else that is me. I still have lots of cleaning up to do of my old posts.

    A couple things: you can pay for a domain but still have free hosting through WordPress dot com. This is what I do at the moment though I have gone the self hosting route before; the only downside at the moment is I’m not paying for a premium account to remove ads😕

    Secondly, I haven’t heard of Tailwind for Pinterest. Do you mean you share you’re blog posts to Pinterest? I have a vague recollection of this being a thing but I will have to look into this. I’m not sharing anything beyond WordPress at the moment but I’m the past I’ve mainly shared to Twitter. I never really got the same engagement via Facebook and it’s mainly my family on there who don’t read my blog. I’ve recently started cleaning up my Pinterest account too so making a space for blog posts sounds like a good idea.

    Thanks again for sharing. I really enjoy your updates on Twitter but I’m trying to get back into blogging so will be around here more often😊

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    • Hi! Yes you make images for each blog post and pin them to Pinterest – that’s where most of my traffic comes from! Although I get most views from Pinterest, most of my genuine engagement comes through twitter so each have their pros and cons.

      Thanks for reading!

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  4. I love your point about sharing what you want because it is not a competition. Blogging is definitely a learning experience as well as the issue of mental health. I have a mental health/lifestyle blog and honestly I have learned so much from different bloggers and their experiences.

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  6. I joined Twitter years ago and couldn’t figure it out so I quit. I want to now get back on there for my blog. But I have no clue what to do! Do you know of any tutorials or blogs that might be able to help me? Thanks!

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  7. Very informative and helpful. As a new blogger I didn’t know where to turn and bit the bullet on asking for pointers from fellow bloggers in my niche.
    Thank you for sending me this link! I will use it well.
    Keep up the good work 💚

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      • I was motivated by your blog. I have so much to blog about relationships. What does a healthy one look like and what does a toxic relationship look like. A toxic relationship usually begins very euphoric but in a short time becomes highly addictive. Where a healthy relationship may not start out as intense in time it grows with friendship which turns into tryand real lasting intimacy. Not nearly as crisis oriented as addictive relationships. Of course the most important thing in having a loving relationship with others oh s having a loving relationship with yourself first. Kristen Summers LCSW Thanks Cara

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  14. I’ve just started a blog, well actually a blog, podcast, vlog and gaming site laughs, as you said dont get stuck in a niche laughs. I was wondering, as part of my thing on my blog is going to be to get others to start blogs of there own and open the worlds eyes, can i link to this article? I will be very happy if you will let me.

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