If you want to start your own blog and are wondering how to do so, then you are at the right place! For most people putting their ideas out there, creating and exploring new concepts, and building an online presence are highly rewarding. However, you need to keep in mind that your blog must revolve around your passion and expertise. Only then can you put your heart and soul into it.
It is your innermost beauty that when comes out, inspires, entertains, and educates your followers. With time your blog would grow and then you can start making money through it. Not only this, your passion can turn into a full-time job. Therefore, it is necessary to do this as well as you can.
In this article, we will give you a step-by-step guide on how to create a blog. You will learn all about how to launch your own site, start your blog and draw in as many readers as you can. So let’s get going!
How to Start a Blog?
1. Choose a Blogging Platform:
The first step to starting your own blog is to select a platform that you will use to put your work out there. You can search on Google and pick out a platform for yourself. It could be anyone, best suited for you. Make sure that it fulfills your needs. You can even go through reviews of other bloggers before starting.
2. Pick a Hosting Platform:
The next step is picking out a hosting platform for your blog. Just like other websites, a blog requires a host. This will help your store your site under a unique address, so your readers can easily reach you. Most of the blogging platforms that are available provide a hosting platform too. Therefore, you will not need a separate web host.
3. Find Your Niche:
Now that you have chosen a platform and established your blog, the next step is to find your niche. This is very easy. Just step back and think to yourself, why did you start this blog in the first place? Think about the factors that will create your blog. What do you want to put out there for the people to read?
The answers to these questions will take you to the niche. When it comes to the subject of your blog there is no limit, no boundaries. Your blog can be literally about anything. The important thing is that you need to have a specific topic area around which you are going to build the blog.
You can pick anything from fashion to food to marketing products and other things. To help you choose the perfect niche for yourself you can take the following steps.
- Firstly, you can narrow down your interests and pick one or two of them.
- Next, conduct thorough research on your audience. See what people out there like to read. That which catches the audience’s attention is the most successful.
- Lastly, ensure that whatever you pick is profitable. As once your blog starts growing, you would want to earn from it.
4. Pick a Blog Name and Domain:
When you are planning to start a blog, what its name should be is always lurking at the back of your mind. When deciding upon a name you can pick any of the three routes.
One, you can go with your first name and last name. Secondly, you can give it the name of your business or your brand which is only if you have one. Lastly, you can choose to give it a creative name. Something out of the ordinary. Although, make sure that it is not too difficult and your audience can easily pronounce and remember it.
Once, you have chosen the name of your blog, you can also pick out the domain name. This would be your website’s URL. Your domain name should be the name of your blog. But if you do not want that you can go with something similar. It is generally preferred to have the same name for both.
5. Set up and Design:
Choose a blog template:
The first step in designing is to select a template for your blog. You can find ready-made templates on the platform you pick. Just like your blog’s name and content, its look and feel should also be unique. This should be something that reflects the personality of your content. Your audience should connect with you when they look at your blog and are tempted to read.
Decide which pages to include:
Once the layout is in place, you have to decide how many pages to include in your blog. Many bloggers go with more than one section in their blogs you might even want to add an online store to your blog or a contact page or even an image gallery. It is entirely up to you, what you want to give out to your audience.
Get indexed on search engines:
The next part when launching a blog is making sure that you are visible on search engines like google. You need to take care of this right away if you want your blog to pop up on the search when people are looking for something.
By submitting your sitemap to the Google search console, you will send Google a notice beforehand that you exist. This way your blog will get indexed on google.
Create a blog logo:
Lastly, to finish it off you need to have an eye-catching logo for your blog. This should be something that is readable and instantly attracts your audience. Choose colors and fonts that leave a lasting impression. This way your readers will remember you for a long time. Make sure to brand your blog appropriately.
6. Brainstorm Topics:
Moving on from the topic of how to create a blog. Now that your blog is all set and ready to go. You can think about what will you write to start off with? You need to have a few topics brainstormed and ready before you launch your blog. One can always kick things off by sharing insights into successes, failures, ideas, experiences, and achievements. Although make sure that they are related to your niche.
You can either talk about them on the surface level or go in-depth with each topic. Make sure that whichever topic you are picking is able to attract your audience’s attention. Try to get into your reader’s head. While brainstorming you can ask yourself these questions. They may help you land successful results.
Since you have already conducted research on your target audience, you can ask yourself, what characteristics do your readers possess? Secondly, what they will get excited about? And what are the challenges your target reader faces and how can you address that? Having answers to these questions can help speed up the brainstorming process for you.
7. Write Your First Blog Post:
Once you have chosen a topic the next step is to write your first blog. You can start by doing a keyword search. Look for what words will people put in the search box and that should lead them to your blog. Next is to decide on a catchy title, so that your readers are keen to find out what’s in store for them.
Once you have that in place, you can then jot down the main ideas and points that you want to include in your blog. This way you can write smoothly without thinking in a haphazard way. Make sure that you write engaging content so that your readers enjoy reading your work. If your audience finds it interesting then you will have a successful blog.
You can also insert aesthetic images, or if you are writing about something informative then you can add snippets of information on how to complete the particular task. Furthermore, try and optimize your content for SEO purposes. Lastly, edit your content and publish it for your viewers.
8. Create an Editorial Calendar:
Once your first blog is out on your platform, then take a little break. Let the public react to it and absorb your content. You can use this time to plan out your next piece. You can conduct research on various topics, the likes and dislikes of your audience, and what is on trend in the world of blogging. If you give your audience what they are looking for then you will be able to build a strong fan base.
During this time you can plan out the posting schedule for the upcoming weeks. It is essential to create an editorial calendar for yourself when you are working on a blog. This way you can make sure that you are publishing content consistently, with the right amount of gaps in the middle. This will help you stay on track and not deviate from your writing goals.
9. Start Promoting:
The last and final step of how to create a blog is to start promoting it. You can do so by using social media platforms. Make use of the facilities of social media and promote your blog through sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram. You can also get your friends to like it and share it as much as possible.
Another great way to promote is to create a newsletter for your blog and send it regularly to your loyal readers. You can also start writing for other sites through which you will be able to promote your blog.
Try and use social media platforms to engage with the community. The more you interact with your audience the more followers you will gain. You can also opt for paid advertisements on Google and Facebook, as that is a great way to reach most amount of individuals in very little time.
This is it from our side, hope this guide proves to be helpful for you. After reading this complete guide you would know how to create a blog?
