How To Start a Blog?
iIn the field of business, we often start blogging to reach a long-term audience. In the opposite case, many bloggers are making money by starting blog-derived businesses. Of the major challenges for the new business 1 to one, there is audience building for the commodity.
New bloggers, on the other hand, move in the opposite direction. That is, explore ways to continually deliver quality content to build your audience and monetize that traffic. It’s easy to start a blog as a small side job, but you need to strategically develop your blog in order to earn money and succeed as a blogger in the future.
In this guide, we’ll explain what you need to know to start a blog and turn your visitors into revenue. And while our guides are aimed at people who haven’t started a business yet, they can also be useful for companies and individuals who are starting a blog. Let’s start by answering the important questions that are commonplace.
Table of Contents
What Is a Blog?
A blog is composed of content with a focus on some kind of theme, regularly updated Web is the site. Unlike other published articles, blogs have a personal taste and therefore can be deeply connected to your audience.
There are many reasons why people start blogging.
- To share opinions, passions, life experiences, etc.
- To teach people what you know
- To build a mailing list
- To create a personal brand as a professional
- To sell goods and services
- The above combination
For these reasons, blogging can be fulfilling. All others are enthusiastic about reading your content. On the other hand, it takes effort to continue blogging.
Be as regular as possible, daily, weekly, monthly, and regardless of how often you update. It is important that the content is consistent, not just the frequency of publication. Bloggers who get immediate results are rare, so keep your initial motivation and continue to practice.
How To start a Blog
The hardest part to start a blog is finding time and material to keep going. Starting a blog is pretty simple.
We’ll talk more about that later, but when you start a blog that can be a business, follow these steps:
- Choose your “strengths” and niches
- Choosing a blog name and domain name
- Choose a blog platform and template
- Think about how to make money
- Have readers read continuously
- Strategic disclosure plan
You may be wondering why monetization is the first thing to consider, but because the goal of this project is to monetize, you need to think of it as an entrepreneur, not just a blogger.
Choose Your “Strengths” And Niches
On the net there is a large amount of content, you think that it is difficult to stand out in that, but in order to be competitive 2, There are two ways. Focus on a particular niche and create content that isn’t easily readable on that subject.
It is important to choose a narrow and deep niche. It allows you to create content continuously without running out of material, and it also affects your blog title (more on this later).
There are several ways to choose a niche
- Focus on a specific location (eg New York)
- Focus on a specific segment in a large category (eg, specialize in vegan recipes in recipes)
- Differentiate the style and tone of content delivery (eg humor)
- Improve quality and differentiate (eg, pursue a theme deeper than anyone else)
For example, BlogTO deals with a variety of lifestyle topics but specializes in the city of Toronto. Niche selection is important because, 1 to one is for specifying the audience to continue to provide the content, and at the same time, because that affects the determination of the final monetization methods.
What are the products and services your audience wants to buy? Whether you monetize with display ads or use other strategies described below, this question is essential in determining your blog’s niche.
At the stage of narrowing down the niche, we analyze the competition in a specific industry. Tools like Buzzsumo and Ahrefs give you insights into content performance and upcoming topics in that niche.
Don’t underestimate this last step. Competitive analysis can help you build your own brand voice. The key to a successful blog is to find and fill the current gaps.
Select Blog Name And Domain Name To Start a Blog
Once you’ve decided which niche to enter, consider buying a domain. You can use a hosting company such as Bluehost to find available domain names.
When deciding on a domain, consider the name of the site. Choose something that is catchy, memorable, easy to type, but not used by other brands.
Unless it’s a personal blog or portfolio site, we don’t recommend using your name as a domain.
You can be the face of a blog even if your name isn’t in the URL. It also makes it easier to build a strong brand when you come up with a creative name that reflects your role.
Check out Ashley Hicks-Rocha and Toni Carey’s blog, Black Girls RUN! This blog summarizes Ashley and Toni’s personal experiences as black female runners, summarized under the name Black Girls RUN!
Here are the points when deciding on a domain.
- Easy to remember
- Fun to say
- Easy to spell
- unique
Choosing a blog name can be a daunting task, but a good brand name can make a memorable impression and clarify what your readers can expect from your company.
Choose a Blog Platform And Template
Before you write your first blog post, you need to set up your hosting service and CMS (content management system). This is where many blogger reserves get stuck if they don’t understand which platform to invest their time and money in.
There are two main types: self-hosting and hosted platforms.
- Self-hosting: This type offers customizable options but requires a monthly fee and initial setup to run the site. If you’re considering self-hosting, WordPress.org is a ready-to-use open-source platform.
- Hosted: There are a variety of hosted services, such as Blogger and WordPress.com (hosted WordPress ), which are free, but some are paid.
When considering your platform, consider the monetization method you want to pursue. Not all platforms have the features you need, and they may provide the features you don’t need.
Some bloggers opt for free accounts such as Medium and Tumblr. There are already enthusiastic readers and other bloggers on the platform. We’ll talk more about this later, but reposting articles on these platforms has the benefit of reaching an audience. With this free platform, you don’t even have to launch your own blog.
Shopify To Start a Blog
Shopify is a hosted platform that offers online shops and blogs. With a variety of plugins and apps, you can quickly sell your products and services to grow your business. There is a 14- day free trial, and it is recommended for those who want to use the EC function and blog function. Once you get started, it’s time to choose a blog theme.
“Theme” in the design and layout of the template of the blog, immediately Web create a site is the ability to. There are many great Shopify themes that you can use for free and you can set them with just one click. If you’re not happy with it, consider using a paid-out theme. Your choice will have a significant impact on the overall user experience.
The site design also influences SEO and blog engagement metrics. Readers instantly judge reliability based on the look and feel of the site.
Take The House That Lars Built as an example. At first glance, this blog, which deals with interior design and crafts, feels like a promise of a fun experience. With fast loading times, gentle coloring, and bright illustrations, this site quickly attracts anyone interested in art, crafts, and design.
Everyone has the experience of encountering a poorly designed site and quickly leaving when they realize they don’t have what they want. Consider carefully when choosing a theme. It can have an immeasurable impact on your blog’s performance.
Think About How To Earn Income
There are many ways to make a lot of money, depending on the type of blog. For example, combining a low-investment business with a blog can help you achieve sustainable growth at no cost other than time and energy. But many people somehow believe that Google AdSense is the only way to monetize.
There are other ways to make money quickly without needing a tremendous amount of PV every day. Reader trust and engagement are more important than the size of the audience.
Here’s how to make money on your blog:
- Sale of physical products suitable for the audience, such as T-shirts and goods
- Sale of digital products such as summary information, photos, designs, etc. that can be created once and sold over and over again
- Selling services such as writing, consulting, design, or monetizable hobbies
- Publishing books that can be sold physically or digitally
- Participate in affiliate programs and get commissions
- Paid brand reviews and promotions
- Start and promote your dropshipping business online
There are plenty of ways and opportunities to monetize your blog, but to be successful you must enjoy the content of the blog itself.
And even if you do affiliate marketing, for example, spreading your hands too much is not very effective. By specializing in niche genres, as I explained earlier, the business expansion will grow stronger from there. Who is the audience and how do they provide value? This should be considered more important than monetization.
Have Readers Read Continuously
Usually, you think about getting an audience after publishing an article, but if you want to gain momentum early, you need to think about it before launch. Many bloggers suffer in the course of delivery, but the large 2 it could be one of the reasons.
- Do not have a concrete and repeatable strategy in the publishing process
- Publishing an article is a nerve-wracking experience, and it’s even more depressing when it comes to expanding reach.
The latter can be overcome eventually, but the former will need to be considered overtime before launch. Therefore, I will explain below how to grow while making the best use of all posts.
Collect Email Addresses As Soon As Possible
No matter what platform you use, you should focus on getting email subscribers. A new subscriber is a sign that you’re doing the right thing and means a potential repeat reader that you can reach. If you change platforms or start something new in the future, your mail list will remain.
However, having a subscriber list is not enough. You need to get an email on every occasion using the contact form. It’s a good idea to put a contact form directly on the content and make it a habit to put up a button to encourage subscriptions. You can also use an exit popup to attract leaving users to your subscribers.
Email marketing solution tools make it easy to create and use forms. You can also generate direct links to individual contact pages and use them to sign blogs, social networks, and emails.
People won’t be subscribers to your blog unless you ask them to subscribe and make it easy to subscribe. Every time you publish an article, you need to send a notice to your email list. Once you get the hang of it, this process can be automated in the future.
Attract Customers From SEO
Keyword research can help you understand the volume of a particular search query in your niche. The higher the number, the more demand and long-term traffic for that topic. If you don’t know what to do, enter your search terms from the perspective of your audience and discover blog material that interests you. “Method of …” and “○ selection” are good starting points.
It’s possible to find proven demand for content material without having to appear on the first page of search results. But if you set your goals high, learn more about SEO.
Build An SNS Strategy To Start a Blog
At first, using all social networking platforms may seem like a smart way to do it, but it quickly becomes difficult to manage and isn’t always effective. Instead, focus on the channels your audience spends most of their time on. Which channel you should choose depends on your niche and resources.
Facebook pages are a versatile asset for any blogger who wants to promote their content. On the other hand, cost-conscious food bloggers will want to get free engagement on Pinterest and Instagram rather than Twitter. For example, the party goods online shop Oh Happy Day uses a list of over 1.7 million followers for every new post. Don’t ignore your personal network either. Family and friends will be a good early audience.
Reuse / Redefine Content
Not many posts can be made every day. Good bloggers are reusing content efficiently.
I have summarized the points I want to keep in mind.
- Create “micro-content” for social media from existing posts using free tools such as Taler and Canva.
- Post a summary article of the past that is included in the common section. (Example: Summary of popular articles in 2020 )
- Turn existing posts into other formats such as infographics and quizzes.
- Increase initial exposure by regularly reposting blog content to other media audiences such as Medium, LinkedIn, and Tumblr. If you put a link to the original post ( such as ” first “) at the top, you can expect a transition to your site. My blog. Com
- After some time has passed since the last post, repost regularly to improve your Google search rank. This is especially useful for seasonal content, such as Halloween-related articles.
- Consider accepting guest posts when the number of followers increases. Guest authors will also share the article with their audience.
- Include links to related content in the article. If you’re using Shopify, you can install the related article app for free.
- As a podcast guest, discuss the blog topics you’ve already written.
As long as you are doing a blogging business using the asset of time, it is important to continuously and efficiently generate value.
Learn About Analytics To Understand Your Audience
The biggest opportunity is hidden in the data. You’ll be checking different metrics depending on the platform you’re using, but at least check the pageviews and sources of visitors to help with your performance. Whether you use WordPress or Shopify, take the time to set up Google Analytics on your site (it’s free).
Gain deeper insights on average browsing time, different reader qualities by source, and real-time readership. The data can also be a blogger’s weapon. Proving traffic is a great asset that encourages the cooperation of those who want to access your audience.
Strategic Disclosure Plan To Start a Blog
Bloggers need to keep a wealth of material at all times, but if you plan ahead, you won’t run out of material. We strongly recommend that you create a content calendar to keep your writing on a schedule.
You can simply create a content calendar with a spreadsheet, but we recommend using Trello. It’s free to use and is very helpful in organizing topics. It’s also important to think about your content mix to get an idea of the categories and tags for organizing upcoming content, and the overall scope of your blog.
Good combinations include:
- Content that deals with questions and problems that don’t get old because many people are constantly searching on Google
- Content about topics and trends that your audience currently cares about
- Narrow-range, quick-to-create curated content that lets you adjust your pace and keep your audience in between long posts
- Features of people and brands that might share your post (interviews, reviews, etc.)
- Visual or interactive irregular content that brings variety to your blog (infographics, quizzes, memes, etc.)
At least 1 plan of the blog in months before, by publishing a planned manner, the audience makes it easier to predict the frequency of new posts. Keep in mind that you can’t grow your audience overnight. There are hits and misses. The point is to keep growing continuously.
Start A Blog Today
What both beginners and experienced people have in common is that the audience is the ultimate success. You can expect traffic and reach growth by focusing on expanding your audience by adding new content regularly.
Also Read: Content Marketing: 5 Reasons To Open a Corporate Blog Right Away
