As of October 24th, I posted my first sports blog. Even with my previous experience in blogging, social media marketing, and sports, it was still a challenge. Every new topic or situation demands a different approach. Three months in, I’ve already learned a lot, and I want to share some of those lessons with anyone interested in what I’m doing.
How Did This Sports Blog Start?
First, let me walk you through how Play of Values came to life. I’d been wanting to start my PhD for a few years, but personal reasons and the simple fact that I didn’t have the right topic kept pushing it back.
Last year, during early spring, I met Dr. Justinas Kisieliauskas for coffee. We brainstormed ideas for my PhD and eventually ended up discussing how European basketball players tend to ignore the media, not realizing how crucial it is. The media is one of the main drivers behind why athletes earn more than teachers, hospital workers, firefighters, and so on. This conversation sparked the initial idea of exploring how the media impacts the value of the sports ecosystem and how effective media use can help sports entities increase their value.
Fast forward to August 2024—I applied for the PhD program and got accepted. A few days in, I realized my primary goal: I wanted to interview well-known figures from the sports world and speak to as many fans as possible. But here’s the catch—I quickly realized that no well-known sports personality would want to take my survey, and even if they did, it would take months of constant persuasion to get the answers. This would leave me with only a handful of responses. As for the fans, trying to interview 10,000 people worldwide? Not gonna happen.
So, I had a revelation…
I need to become a sports entity myself! If I can build an attractive media platform, my chances of grabbing the attention of both sports professionals and fans would increase. Initially, I thought about starting with a podcast, but I know how difficult that can be, so I decided to start with a blog first. Growing my social media presence would give me an audience, and once I had that, getting my first podcast guests would be much easier. Plus, while I take time to work on my PhD’s theoretical part, I can use this time to build my audience.
First Steps When Starting a Blog
One thing that works in my favor is the experience I already have. I know the essentials—I don’t waste time on what doesn’t work, and I’m familiar with alternatives when something doesn’t yield results.
I won’t dive into details about picking a platform, topic, hosting, template, and all that. Let’s skip ahead to just before you start writing.
Here are the absolute musts when starting a blog:
- SEO friendly website
- Linking with Google Search
- Linking with social media platforms
- Setting your KPIs
- Deciding on your audience and how to reach them (for free)
- Keywords and trends
Now, let me break these down in a bit more detail…
How to create a SEO-friendly blog?
Setting up your SEO is non-negotiable. If you’re writing content and want to attract an audience, you need to start appearing on Google search. If you do things right—better than your competition—you can start seeing results pretty quickly.
For me, three months in, I already have some sports-related keywords ranking in the top positions on Google, and I’m starting to enjoy some free traffic from people interested in these topics.
So, first things first—make sure your website template includes breadcrumbs. For me, a table of contents works really well with my scholarly style and automatically creates internal links. But honestly, the best move is to just get a SEO plugin. It’ll guide you through most of what you need to do, and in every article, you’ll get clear instructions on how to improve your SEO scores.
SEO Plugin: RankMath
Personally, I’ve put in a lot of work over the years helping clients improve their SEO, and we’ve seen great results where clients are generating sales purely through organic Google search. So, I know what I’m doing here, and I knew from the start that a solid SEO plugin and strategy would lay a great foundation for my future work.
I’ve tried a bunch of SEO plugins over the past decade, but I’m going to be honest—Rank Math is by far the best. It helps me get the job done without all the unnecessary fluff. Based on the results I’ve seen in my first three months, it absolutely delivers. Trust me, you’ll want to focus on your SEO right from the start.
When I started, I didn’t realize the full importance of SEO until I had written a bunch of articles, and let me tell you, it’s no fun rewriting old content. So, take the time to lay the right foundation, and the rest will follow.
Rank Math walks you step-by-step through everything you need to do on your website, and it’ll set you up on the right track from the get-go.
DISCLOSURE: The link to Rank Math is an affiliate link, but it’s a recommendation based on my personal experience.
Linking with Google Search Console and Social Media Platforms
Linking up with Google Search Console is key to making sure you’re visible on Google. It also allows you to track how your pages and keywords are performing, which helps you optimize your content.
Linking up with social media platforms is just as important, because you want to grow your visibility there too. Over time, your social media accounts will also act as a traffic generator, adding value to your brand.
But here’s the deal—if you’re patient and don’t have unlimited financial resources, building your social media presence should be a secondary goal. The reason? Organic reach on social media is pretty limited, and you need a massive following to generate significant free traffic. Sure, it’s important to have a social media presence so people can follow your content, and bigger accounts do serve as social proof to potential sponsors, but in my case, it’s not where I’m putting my main focus.
Let’s be real—growing social media accounts and especially driving traffic through paid ads is unsustainable. As soon as you stop spending on ads, your results will drop.
That’s why you should prioritize building up your blog and content. The more visible you become on Google for valuable keywords, the better.
From a technical standpoint, linking to social media platforms just means setting up social media accounts for your blog, which is easy. The only real challenge is installing a Meta Pixel, which requires some technical know-how.
Linking to Google Search Console is a bit trickier if you’re not experienced, but luckily, WordPress has official plugins that guide you through the process.
Setting your Sports Blog KPIs
KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator, but simply put, it’s about setting goals so you know what you’re aiming for and why you’re doing what you’re doing. For businesses, KPIs often revolve around things like sales or Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).
For me, as I work my way into the sports ecosystem, my main goal is to attract the key sports entity—the fans. My goal is to build an audience within the sports ecosystem that I can promote my work to and, eventually, invite to participate in my PhD survey for fans.
The best way to do this is by generating leads—or, in simpler terms, building an email list that I can later use for newsletters.
To sum it up, and this usually applies to any blog—generating leads and sending newsletters is one of the best ways to connect with your audience.
Social media is important too, but here’s the thing: Organic reach on social media isn’t as strong as sending emails to people who have willingly subscribed. So focusing on leads is key. And here’s a fun fact: this list of leads will likely convert to social media followers much easier than the other way around.
Let me back this up with proof. In the first month, I spent my budget on social media ads and tried generating leads through pop-ups on my website. It was a disaster—each lead probably cost me in the hundreds. Now, I’ve set up a lead generation campaign, and each lead costs me about 0.3 Euros (roughly the same in dollars), which is a price I’m more than happy to pay.
If at the end, 10,000 leads cost me 3,000 Euros, that’s a win in my book. And I’m hoping to amplify these results as more well-known people start being a part of my blog and podcast.
Picking Your Audience
Choosing your audience is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when starting anything. It’s like setting your course on a map—you need to know where you’re going before you can figure out how to get there. Understanding your audience helps you stay on track and gives you hints about what kind of content you should create.
Of course, it’s about balancing what you want to write with what your audience wants to read. If your content doesn’t connect with your audience, and you find yourself having to completely shift your approach, it might be time to rethink your target group. But if your topic is broad enough, responding to the feedback and signals from your audience can keep you on the path to success.
For me, it’s pretty straightforward. I want to reach as many sports fans as possible. I’m focusing on Europe and North America because those are the markets I understand best, and I’m comfortable with the advertising dynamics there. From there, I narrow my focus down to sports management and sports marketing, because that’s where I can really dig deep and create content that resonates.
I’m already seeing patterns emerge. I’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t. I mainly use Facebook tools to track my ad performance. By running ads aimed at increasing page views, I can monitor which content has the lowest cost-per-click (CPC), and those are the topics I lean into.
One of my success stories has been tapping into the Lithuanian market and seeing how much our sense of pride can really work in my favor. I wrote an article about Kaunas, and it really took off by becoming seen on a national level on biggest news portals and national news.
This lead to getting an offer to do some publishing work for DELFI, the biggest national news portal. It is a huge opportunity for me to get my sports blog out there even more and take it to the next level. Pretty exciting stuff!
Keywords and Trends
Now, we’re back to the SEO game. It’s all about driving organic traffic. I’ve been using Google Keyword Planner and other tools to find out which keywords are trending. Based on this, I’ve started crafting content around those high-performing terms. And so far, it’s paying off. I’m ranking well with keywords like “Human Highlight Reel” and “Pound-for-Pound,” and my impressions and clicks are steadily increasing.
With these keywords, I was kinda shooting in the dark at first, but once I saw that these start to rank good (thanks, Rank Math), I added a little extra focus, to solidify my positions.
Jumping on trends has also worked in my favor. For example, I was one of the first to write an article summing up the most memorable sports events of 2024. By the time other big sports blogs and pages caught up, I had already claimed the top spots on Google Search.
For a while, my article was one of the top results for search queries like “most iconic sports moments of 2024.” That organic traffic was a huge win. Unfortunately, I’ve since been bumped by The Guardian, but hey, I’m still sitting at number five, ahead of sites like The Ringer and Bleacher Report—which, honestly, is still pretty awesome.
Now, I’m jumping on the Super Bowl trend. Let’s see if I can ride this wave to the top again!
Conclusion: First 3 Months of Starting a Sports Blog: 5 Key Dos and Don’ts
So, in conclusion, I’m pretty happy with how my first three months have played out. No miracles, but definitely some solid results that show I’m heading in the right direction—though it’s still too early to say that with full confidence. I’d say getting recognition on a national level in Lithuania, working with students from Maryland, and seeing steady organic traffic growth are all signs that I’m on the right track. But hey, we’ll see… we’ll see.
Anyway, here are my key takeaways—dos and don’ts—when starting a sports blog (or any blog, really):
- DO start by laying solid technical foundations, and DO NOT start by writing and then worrying about SEO later.
- DO decide on your KPIs upfront, and DO NOT stop experimenting until you start seeing results.
- DO NOT panic if your initial tactics don’t work. DO understand that only through experimenting and assessing your progress will you get closer to your goal.
- DO NOT focus on growing your social media channels right away. DO focus on slow, steady, and sustainable growth through quality content—you’re in this for the long haul.
- DO celebrate every little success you get and find ways to grow it.
Remember, this is a journey—take it one step at a time!
Questions related to Sports Blog
How do you write a sports blog?
To write a sports blog, focus on engaging, well-researched content that speaks to your audience’s interests, blending personal insights with facts and statistics.
What are blogs in sport?
Blogs in sport are platforms where writers share analysis, news, opinions, and stories related to sports, often appealing to niche audiences.
Can a sports blog make money?
Yes, a sports blog can make money through ads, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and even paid content or merchandise sales.
Is blogging good?
Blogging is great for sharing knowledge, building a personal brand, and potentially earning passive income, but it requires consistency and dedication.
How do bloggers write?
Bloggers write by focusing on clear, engaging content tailored to their audience, often using a conversational tone and organizing posts for easy reading.
How long should a sports blog post be?
Sports blog posts should typically be between 600 to 1,500 words—enough to provide value without overwhelming the reader.
Do blogs make money?
Yes, blogs can make money, but it takes time and effort to monetize through ads, affiliate links, and sponsored content.
Do blogs still work in 2025?
Absolutely! Blogs still work in 2025, especially with the right content strategy, SEO, and social media promotion to drive traffic.
Is blogging very hard?
Blogging can be tough at times, especially when building traffic, but with consistency and focus, it’s totally manageable.
Can a blogger become a millionaire?
It’s possible, but becoming a millionaire from blogging takes time, creativity, and a solid monetization strategy.
How to promote your sports blog?
Promote your sports blog through SEO, social media, collaborations, email marketing, and by engaging with your audience to build visibility.
What is the highest earning blog?
The highest-earning blogs often belong to niches like finance, lifestyle, or tech, but sports blogs with big followings can also make significant income.
Can I be a successful blogger?
Yes, with dedication, consistent content creation, and the right strategy, you can definitely become a successful blogger in any niche, including sports.
