Blogging has become an important part of the World Wide Web where “Content is King.” It is definitely an essential part of digital and content marketing as it is extremely relevant for SEO. Blogging is often use to promote or market a product, a service or a brand whether directly or indirectly. This “brand” could be YOU. Maybe you wish to start a blog to brand yourself and sell services or products. Whatever the reason may be why you consider blogging, here are the steps to follow to start a blog today.
Choose your topic
Ideally you already know what you want to write about and WHY. The idea of starting a blog is to become a source of information in a selected niche. It is strongly recommended to pick a niche so you can become an “expert” in that field. You should do research on the topic to make sure you have credible information but most importantly, you should be PASSIONATE about what you write otherwise you might end up just giving up blogging.
Define your tone
This one in my opinion is key. This is where you can differentiate yourself from others and really take off. Your tone of voice in writing is HOW you say things. This is where you let your personality shine. The great thing about blogging is that you can forget about written rules taught in school. You can write in a very informal manner and let your personality shine through. Add some humour or sarcasm. Whatever it is, be authentic, be you.
Choose a platform, domain and hosting
Domain:
There are multiple platforms you can use. I will quickly mention some but one thing I strongly recommend is to AT LEAST have your own domain name. I personally use GoDaddy to purchase a domain name. You can get free domain names with platforms but the format would usually be something like insertname.wix.com or insertname.wordpress.org
This to me looks unprofessional and not serious. I would have a hard time trusting you are taking your blog seriously therefore I would question the credibility of your content. I wouldn’t waste my time on that website.
Platforms:
In terms of platforms, I personally prefer WordPress. It is a giant in the industry and used for all purposes not just blogging. This means you can grow with it. This also means you have an unlimited amount of options for templates and plugins. However, if you do not care for that, and you simply want a blog with great aesthetics, I have heard great things about Squarspace. A lot of influential bloggers use it when they first start a blog. There is also a new kid on the block; Showit, which allows you to have full control of your website’s look. If budget is not a concern for you then Showit can be an amazing option. Checkout Saffron Avenue for the most beautiful templates. Overall, if you are budget conscious and wish to grow, I would stick with WordPress and cheap yet powerful hosting with BlueHost.
Hosting:
For hosting company there are so many possibilities. GoDaddy offers the service as well. I personally use BlueHost as it is the most affordable option starting as low as approximately $3.95/month. I find their service great specially their Live Chat. Also, you can host unlimited amount of websites.
Post regularly
This one is tough but it is a MUST. Blogging helps drive organic traffic to your website. It is simple: more blog posts means more web traffic. The search engine algorithms love it and it will help ensure that your website is being regularly crawled and indexed. To read more on the topic head here.
Keep in mind SEO
Writing can be fun but if no one reads your stuff because no one can find your stuff then it kinda sucks don’t you think? It is completely different to write for the internet than writing a book, an essay or just for pleasure. Writing for the internet means huge competition and for search engines to find you, you have to make it easy for them. Therefore, carefully chose relevant and good Keywords, add links to your posts, etc. I strongly recommend getting Yoast SEO plugging if you do WordPress. To read more on how to pick the right Keywords for best optimization read this article and make sure you always stay up to date since the algorithm keeps changing!
Don’t give up
This one is a no brainer but it is also the most difficult one for a lot of people. It can take two years before your blog is established with regular viewers. Most people give up before that. I get it. I have given up so many times and we all have our reasons – little free time because of life commitments or you simply feel like you are talking to yourself alone. Try hard to overcome that and continue writing and posting.
Not ready to start a blog? You can always join our team and start blogging right away!
