Blogs have become successful tools for promoting content in various segments. Here are some tips for starting a blog and keeping it going.
No one can deny the growing popularity of blogging. In two words, a blog is a website that mainly focuses on written content, that is, blog posts or posts.
In popular culture there is often talk of news blogs or celebrity blogs, but in fact, there are blogs dedicated to just about any topic you can think of. Companies have even used blogs to carry out their marketing strategies .
How can I write a blog post for beginners? In fact, it is easier than it sounds. The modern web provides dozens of ways to start your own blog, both free and paid.
Every new project, regardless of its type, begins with research. Whether you need to do some housework or complete a scientific study, you must first learn everything you need to know about the matter, and blogging is no exception.
Before you start creating your own blog, you should consult other similar resources, read the stories of other bloggers and their advice for beginners.
Well, whether you’re trying to build an independent business, launch a personal brand, earn a living from a personal blog, or simply express your passion for writing through blogging, spend at least part of your time reading this content.
This will give you the general idea of the steps you should take to achieve this goal.
In this post we are going to focus on the fundamental steps and give you some advice in the form of the most important questions that you must answer before starting to create your website. Join us!
1. What will you talk about with your reader?
The essence of blogging is sharing your knowledge, ideas, thoughts, and emotions with everyone.
Well, if you want to start a blog dedicated to the subject that you are passionate about, the whole process will seem much easier.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s not about limiting yourself to a single topic.
You can write about anything you want or feel current, but if you write about something that you are really interested in, your passion for the subject will make your text shine and keep your readers interested.
So your blog can be made up of dozens of different categories. However, all of them must be linked by some specific main theme.
This blog organizing principle will help you more easily identify your target audience and niche, as well as make connections with like-minded bloggers, etc.
If you have trouble identifying the key topic of your future blog, answer the following two questions:
What is your passion? Do you have some valuable knowledge to share with the world?
By posting posts about the topics you are really interested in and know a lot about, you can position yourself as an expert in your specific niche and earn a good reputation online.
Do you have any special abilities? Is there something you can do better than others?
Highlighting these skills on your own blog can be a very good idea. For example, if you are a successful athlete, you are passionate about sports and healthy food, and you want to share your personal experience and help others start living a healthier life, it is obvious that you should think about starting a sports, exercise blog and healthy recipes.
2. What platform will you use to start your blog?
There are many free and premium platforms to choose from. However, WordPress is without a doubt the market leader today. This platform has become the most popular option among both beginners and professionals.
You don’t even have to have special technical skills to create a WordPress website. The key benefits of this platform are:
- cool functionality that can be expanded with different plugins;
- the incredibly intuitive interface;
- design flexibility thanks to the use of templates;
- the very large community of users that can help you solve almost any problem.
If you have doubts when choosing between a free and premium platform, we recommend opting for the second option. The only advantage of freebies is that you can get them for free, while their list of disadvantages will impress you. The most obvious are:
- free platforms usually post their own ads on your blog and you generally cannot control or influence this;
- those tools do not provide you with any technical support;
- free platforms limit you to a generic URL.
Premium solutions have many advantages over free platforms. If you’re not sure if a paid solution is worth investing in, or if you have a very limited budget, you can always purchase a 1-month plan to try.
3. What domain name will your blog have?
Simply put, the domain name is the key part of your website address..
If your blog’s domain name contains your own name or your brand name, this automatically gains trust from your target audience. It’s no secret that the right domain name is one of the main factors for the future success of your blog.
For your domain name to be more effective, it must be:
- short and easy to remember;
- easy to pronounce and write;
- only;
- suitable for your blog.
When you’ve finished choosing a domain name, it’s time to take your site to the web. This may sound difficult and overly technical, but the whole process is straightforward.
In general, for your blog to work, you need two things: a web hosting plan and a blog platform. The good news is that those two things are typically provided in one package.
A web hosting provider is a company that stores all your blog files and delivers them to the user each time they type the name of your blog in the address field of the web browser.
As for choosing the correct hosting provider , we recommend that you analyze the opinions of experienced users and compare the packages and prices of different providers before making the decision and purchasing a plan.
4. What do you want your blog to look like?
If you have decided to build your blog on WordPress, you will be surprised by a wide variety of ready-made templates that are available for free or paid. Choosing a template for your online project should be based primarily on the goals you are pursuing with your blog.
Just like premium blog platforms have many advantages over free ones, premium WP themes are also better compared to free ones.
In addition to the fact that they are provided with technical support, the paid templates also feature:
- premium quality extensions,
- custom widgets,
- modules.
- and much more.
These options help you launch a powerful blog without investing extra money in the purchase of additional plugins.
As the default theme integrates the Elementor web builder, it allows you to build and edit your blog in an intuitive drag-and-drop way.
Additionally, 24.Storycle includes a premium Jet plugin bundle (greatly extending Elementor’s core functionality), 7 blog layouts, 11+ demos, and a host of elements, most of which are displayed on the main page:
- sliders,
- eyelashes,
- Featured post blocks,
- various header menus,
- great footers,
- among others.
On the other hand, the responsive design of the template makes it work flawlessly on all types of devices, regardless of their screen sizes and resolutions.
5. What do you plan to publish?
Only useful, informative and shareable content will motivate the audience to return to your blog again.
Well, make sure that:
- your content is written with love and passion for the subject;
- you post new posts on a regular basis;
- articles are accompanied by quality, captivating and relevant images;
- you enjoy what you are doing.
Visual content is the indispensable part of any blog, site or other web project. It is easier to understand the main message of a post and more interesting to read the whole story if there are images and videos attached.
At the same time, nothing disenchants users more than a blog with low-quality visual content.
6. How will you promote your blog?
The most important thing you must do to get your blog to appear in search engines is to optimize its content. When it comes to SEO, the title of each post is of prime importance.
Well, the title should be easy to read and understand and, at the same time, captivating, so that your blog entry stands out from the rest in the list of search results.
Don’t underestimate the quality of your content. You might learn to optimize your post titles and texts like a pro, but if a person finds your articles mediocre and leaves after reading the first paragraph, all your efforts will be worthless.
Better to post a good post once a month than to post dozens of unprofessional posts daily.
Don’t forget to include links to other blog posts in each new post. By including links to relevant articles, you show your visitors that you care about them and do your best to help them find relevant pieces of content on your website.
In addition, we recommend including links to the posts of other blogs that you trust to show your readers that you are striving to help them find the best pieces of content in the specific niche.
Respond to the comments that visitors leave on your blog. By doing this you show that you appreciate the time and efforts of the users who left comments, as well as encourage them to return to your blog in the future.
Lastly, don’t give up if your blog isn’t as perfect as you wanted it to be. Perfection simply does not exist. However, you can always do your best to achieve it.