Blogging for Beginners – Personal or Business
Attention to those who are new to blogging – this post is for you.
Do you have a passion for a certain topic and just want to share your knowledge with the world? Do you have a business or product that needs recognition?
Building a blog might be exactly what you need to talk to your prospective followers about.
A blog typically focuses on written content and features a comment section so you can interact with your readers. You do not need to be a professional writer to start a blog. The content may be super informative or informal. However, if you do it right you can have a very successful blog and even earn money from it. Here is a guide for beginner bloggers:
1. Prepare To Set Up A Blog.
What is your purpose for blogging? That can mean many things for different people. But it is important to define what you really want out of a blog in order to guide your approach. Finding a focus and tone can help set you apart from your competitors and build a following.
2. Choose A Blogging Platform.
While there are many free, easy-to-use platforms, WordPress.org ranks among the highest recommended blogging software. It is a self-hosted platform where you would choose your host and domain name. It has thousands of themes and very beneficial plug-ins, such as SEO for optimizing your content.
3. Choose A Niche.
Writing about something you truly love and are passionate about will help your blog flourish. Not only will it save you from becoming bored, but it will save your readers engaged and coming back for more. Your passion will shine through your text and your following will feel that.
Choosing a niche will allow you to become a subject matter expert and share your knowledge with readers. However, you need to make sure you don’t pick too broad of a topic or your blog will be lost in the sea of competitors.
4. Get A Domain Name And Hosting Account.
Choosing a domain name can be one of the hardest parts. You want something unique that will grab your audience’s attention and relates to how they feel. Luckily, having your very own domain name and hosting company is as little s $5-$10 a month. The benefit is having your very own name (MyBlog.com).
You will need a reliable web host to make sure your blog is available online 24/7. The host determines the functionality and performance of your site and it’s where your files are stored. Bluehost and WP Engine have been ranked as the highest hosting provider among blogging experts.
5. Customize Your Blog And Choose a Theme.
Many blog sites have hundreds to thousands of free themes to choose from. Pick something that inspires you, is eye-catching, clean, and easy to use. This theme will determine the layout and entire design of your blog. WordPress.org’s platform allows you access to different features and plugins that can help you stand out from the crowd.
6. Make Sure Your Blog Functions On Mobile Devices.
The way your blog site appears on your desktop or laptop will differ from how it looks on mobile. Make sure your blog aligns to all devices so that it maintains its easy-to-read nature with no loss in traffic.
7. Maintain Consistency In Posting Blogs.
Setting a publishing schedule can help ensure that readers return to your blog. This can also be very beneficial for you as it will get you in the habit of posting regularly and choosing topics ahead of time. ContentMender posts twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursday, religiously.
8. Create Catchy Content That Speaks To Your Audience.
This is where choosing your niche comes in; being passionate about your topic will show in your writing. A more personable, conversational approach will compel your reader to will read the whole post.
9. Build Your Own Writing Style Guide.
Maintaining consistency in your writing will keep your blog looking clean and easy to read. Creating your own style guide can help you choose the specific tone and voice you want. It will also keep your formatting and different punctuation consistent leaving you with quality content.
10. Utilize SEO.
Optimizing your posts for search engines is how you will grow traffic to your site. Yoast SEO is the recommended plugin for WordPress.org. Yoast makes optimizing a piece for a target keyword simple – and it also allows you to customize meta descriptions – the ultimate marketing message found in the search results (the description under the title of the blog/page article in the search engine results pages (SERP). Yoast SEO will let you know how well optimized your posts are and provide you with feedback on how to make it better.
11. Find Ways To Stand Out From The Competition.
Whether a personal blog or one that’s promoting a product or business, chances are there is a similar blog out there already. So how do you stand out from your competitors? Aside from acquiring everything mentioned here, you want to make sure you are creating the best evergreen content that is rich with keywords and answers the questions people are asking related to your niche. Lastly, track your results to determine what works and what doesn’t.
12. Grow A Mailing List.
Growing a mailing list from the very start is going to be one of the key components in promoting your blog. When you collect your reader’s emails, you can notify them when you post something new. This will keep your readers coming back and help you to build a relationship with them.
13. Promote Your Blog.
Aside from email marketing as mentioned above, social media is an absolute MUST to get more eyes on your blog. Make sure your article is easy to share via social media buttons, and always share on your personal profiles.
14. Make Money Blogging.
Once you have established your blog, you can start earning money. There are a few different options. The easiest one is selling advertising space on your page. You can also earn money by promoting and selling your own products or being paid by someone to write reviews on their products.
Concluding Thoughts
Do your research and competitive analysis before starting a blog. Setting up and maintaining a blog is the easy part (kind of); the hard part is standing out. However, if you follow a couple of simple steps, you can be writing and earning quickly. After all, the only requirement to be a successful blogger is having a passion for your topic.
