A blog is just a website that is often updated with new and relevant information on a given topic. Typically, it is written in a casual or conversational tone as if you are writing to your friends.
As well as being a fun creative outlet, blogs can make you money. Yes, even a small blog can provide some extra income, and if you put in the hours, it’s possible to make a full time income.
A blog can also be an effective online platform for promoting your bricks-and-mortar business, or selling your online services such as freelance writing.
As a blogger, your goal is to entertain your viewers and provide them with valuable or fun information. It’s important to give your readers engaging content on a regular basis, so they get into the habit of visiting your blog.
But what are the actual steps you need to take to start a blog? Continue reading, and you will find out.
1. Define the topic of your blog
“Write what you know” is the golden rule that you should follow. Especially when it comes to blogging, this is extremely important.
It’s essential to focus your own website on topics that you are familiar with and interested by. Writing on subjects that you have experience in increases your credibility and authority, which will lead to audience growth as well as better search engine results positioning.
Publishing new content often is essential for the success of your blog. This way, you will be sure that you create engaging and helpful material that readers will want to enjoy and even want to share.
2. Get a domain and hosting
It’s time to start creating a website for your blog once you’ve chosen a niche. Getting web hosting and a domain name are two of the most crucial elements for launching any blog online.
A domain is an address that leads internet users to your files stored on a server. That might sound complicated but it’s just the address that people will use to navigate to your site. The domain of this website is boostmybudget.com.
By renting server space from a hosting company, you will have access to the tools necessary to set up and maintain a blog. A web hosting service enables you to publish a website and all of its files online so that users may see it once they write your domain name on Google.
For a functional website you need both a domain name and a hosting plan. The two will cost you some money, but you can always opt for cheap hosting, at least in the beginning. You can go to hostadvice to find the most affordable web hosting solutions.
3. Choose a blogging platform
A blogging platform is a tool that helps individuals produce a good quality website with little effort. Most blogging systems or content management systems (CMSs) also come with multiple features that allow you to customize not just the content but also the design of your site.
There are several blogging platforms that already have already make themes that you may edit and change to your liking. Typically, a theme includes a design or structure, color palette, placement of photos, fonts, and other features you’ll need to build your website.
One of the most popular CMS for blogging is WordPress. It allows you to fully customize your blog and use plugins that will enable various functions on your site. WordPress is what I use personally, and it’s what most other serious bloggers use because it offers so many functions while still being simple to use. There is a bit of a learning curve at the beginning, but there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to help you set it up.
If you are afraid of anything technical, you may be better of with platforms such as Wix and Squarespace that are incredibly user-friendly and suitable for any beginner.
4. Start to create content
Whatever the subject of your blog, there are already blogs about it. They won’t share your perspective or voice, but they’ll probably be covering related subjects and speaking to related audiences.
So, in order to gain a following, you need to bring a unique perspective and have a different spin on the same topic.
You should try to provide distinctive, compelling content that draws readers in and keeps them coming back for more.
To help search engines such as Google find your blog and suggest it to users, spend a little time learning about SEO (search engine optimisation) and use some of the principles when creating your content.
Conclusion
Only four steps to start a blog? Well, yes! It’s not that complicated. All you need is a desire to write and do it often – and a tiny bit of technical know-how.
Of course, there is much more to the world of blogging once you start looking into growing your audience, and monetising – but the most important step is to just get started!
So, if you already know what you are passionate about, you have your niche or topic for your blog. From there on, just find a hosting provider, decide on a domain name and find a suitable platform for your skills. Once you figure that out, just start writing.