Blog / Guides
How to start a blog?
Get the idea to start a blog
If you want to start a blog you don’t need a super innovative idea. But your blog should be focused on something specific. It’s 2020, there’s no unique idea on this planet anymore. But such as people - not two are the same. So your experiences can be quite different from someone else’s. Make it an advantage.
Try to find a niche that you are passionate about - the one that you’re most interested in. You have to ask yourself two key questions:
Do I enjoy the thing I’m going to write about?
Are there other people interested in the same thing?
If the answer is yes, and I assure you, it is, you can take a look at step 2. But to prove I’m right, let me just quickly discuss the two mentioned above.
Writing a blog should be a pleasure. If you don’t know anything about the topic or even worse, you don’t like it - it’ll show in writing. You shouldn’t start a blog if you don’t like what you’re blogging about. You just need to be curious about the topic, unless you don’t want to be able to show your passion. You know best what you’re good at. Just think about it for a while.
How about the second question? Do you think you’re the only one in your 20s obsessed with pottery? Nothing could be more wrong. No matter what you’re actually into - there are others out there. Just do your research, there are thousands of them. You’ll find it easy to win your audience.
Choose a blogging platform
Choosing the place where you want to run your blog is pretty much one of the first things you need to think about. There are few platforms you’ve probably heard of such as WordPress, Blogger etc. The best option is to try the biggest one. The more the platform is recognizable the more options and plugins it can offer. Which means, the more you can do with your blog. So when it comes to choosing a theme, using a text editor or uploading some media, there won’t be any limits. Great, isn’t it?
Name your blog
Now, this step is one of the most creative and fun of all. The name of a blog is your brand. It’s how people will see you. It has to be catchy and as short as it can be. Simple, but thought out. Related to what you’re going to blog about.
Think about the name from your readers’ perspective. The name has to be unique and clear, descriptive and easy to remember. If you’re going to write something personal, maybe choose your name to be the name of your blog. When you decide to write about something funny and easygoing, your blog’s name could be such as well. Why don’t you choose a wordplay or a rhyme?
However, I’m sure you’re here because you want to start a blog to earn some money. Then try to stick to the topic. Your name or personal hobby has nothing to do with the blog. Or at least, they shouldn’t have.
Get a web hosting account
Web hosting is a service that allows your blog to be accessed through the internet. It's kind of an undefined place in the internet space where your blog with all its content is located. Without web hosting, your blog can’t be seen online. Without a domain name or your blog’s name, your blog won’t have an address. These two are inseparable. There are plenty of companies out there to choose your web hosting from. But how can you know which one is the best?
The options are two: a free one or self-hosting.
Free versions are cool. We all love them. But you have to remember that it’s not as colourful as it may seem. Firstly, you won’t be able to have the domain name you want. There will always be some wordpress.com or blogger.com. Not so bad if a blog is your personal diary, either way, it may look unprofessional. Secondly - limits. Not so many themes to use, or plugins to choose from, you won’t be able to fully monetize your blog - it’s all limited. Think about it.
Self-hosting means you’re the boss here. You’ll be able to name your blog whatever you want. There won’t be any additions between your blog’s name and a .com or any other web suffix. That’s a win-win situation. But - you have to pay. Prices start at a few dollars a month but you don’t need anything fancy at this stage.
Select the theme and design your blog
Brainstorm your blog topics
Pull out a pen and paper or open your favorite notes tool and write down some of your ideas. Think about common questions you or your readers might have due to the topic of your blog.
What do they love and what do they hate when it comes to your field of interest. These kinds of posts will bring you the audience and activate the people. Try to write about the things that are interesting to you, the ones that fascinate you, excite you or intrigue you. Someone said that money rules the world? Well, maybe. But so do emotions.
Do you want to know what else can bring the traffic to your blog? Check it out!
Create your first masterpiece
Most of the platform uses intuitive editors similar to well-known word processing tools so that journey won’t be difficult. How to write a good and attractive text? Start with the draft title and skip to the body. Focus on that part first. Write until you feel happy with your content. You know the topic of the post so you can feel that creative vibe and just go with the flow.
Schedule your calendar
Promote your blog
Unless you want to be an unpublished writer, promotion is something that may interest you. What was the reason you’ve started the blog actually? To become recognizable. You can of course wait for the miracle to come but you can also help destiny a little bit.
Let your friends know about your blog. Write them a short message or paste the link to it on your private social media. That will surely cause some visits.
Start your Facebook Page, Instagram or Twitter. May it exist on social media.
Be active in your niche. Get involved on relevant social media, forums and pages. Comment on other blogs. Engage, build relationships.
Try some paid traffic. Use Google AdWords or Facebook Ads and promote your blog to the specific target audience.
Add your blog URL to your e-mail signature. So that anyone you contact via e-mail can check it out.
Monetize your blog
