2. Check out your competition.

What better way to draw inspiration than to look at your well-established

competition?

It’s worth taking a look at popular, highly reviewed blogs because their strategy
and execution is what got them to grow in credibility. The purpose of doing this
isn’t to copy these elements, but to gain better insight into what readers
appreciate in a quality blog.

When you find a competitor’s blog, take the following steps:

Determine whether they’re actually a direct competitor.

A blog’s audience, niche, and specific slant determine whether they're actually
your competitor. But the most important of these is their audience. If they serve a
completely different public than you, then they’re likely not a competitor. That is
why it’s important to define your buyer personas before taking other steps in the
blog creation process.

Look at the blog’s branding, color palette, and theme.

Once you determine that they’re your competitor, it’s time to take note of their
techniques so that you can capture a similar readership. Colors and themes play a
huge role in whether you seem like part of a niche — for instance, a blog about
eco-friendly products should likely use earthy tones instead of bright, unnatural
colors such as neon yellow or pink.