Creating my blog is something I'd wished I'd done sooner. And although I've been doing this for a number of years now, there were definitley a few years where I contemplated it and didn't take the plunge. These days Blogging is something that can be turned from a hobby to a very successful career. If you are thinking about starting a blog with the aim of becoming big time, then the first piece of advice I can give you is to start right now! Getting started with Blogging can seem very daunting at first, but once you've got the hang of everything it will come second nature to you. Everything is a learning process, and blogging is no exception. Here's a quick rundown of how to take the plunge and start your blog:
What's Your Niche?
The first step is deciding what it is exactly you want to blog about. You may already have a very specific niche in mind e.g travel, or you might have a variety of topics you want to discuss. Either way it's best to have some sort of plan, and map out any potential content ideas you may have to get a clear understanding of your branding moving forward. Don't worry if you only have a vague idea, you can always add categories to your blog like I have if you want to cover a range of topics.
Choose Your Domain Name & Hosting
Okay so now you know what you do want to write about, it's time to choose a blog name. You can change this later on down the line, but I'd trying a stay clear of doing so. Which is why picking your niche/topic is important as this often is reflected in your blog name. Once you've settled on a name, it's time to register that name and purchase your domain. There are various sites you can do this through, I currently use GoDaddy and pay about £17 a year for my domain. You'll also want to decide where you want your blog to be hosted. I use Blogger at the moment, but Wordpress is another popular choice. Once you've done all the admin behind setting up your name and hosting, you can then create and customise your website from here.
Integrate Your Socials
So now you've got your own domain, and website space. What's next? Well we're nearly at the stage of creating content, but there's just one more thing to do. If you haven't already, you'll want to create social media channels in which you can share your content. Social Media is a good way to promote your posts, tag brands so they can see your content and reach new audiences. Ultimately a successful blog needs a community of readers behind it, so using social media as a way to connect and engage with your audience is key.
Create Engaging & Shareable Content
Now all the boring admin work is done, it's time for the fun part - creating content! There aren't really any rules to creating content. You obviously to create content that you're passionate about, however try and make the content engaging and shareable. By this I mean, create content that asks questions, or is thought provoking. This will encourage your audience to engage, whether that be commenting or sharing on their own social media platforms. This ultimately will drive more traffic to your site.
Optimise SEO Tools
Speaking of traffic, to get the most out of your blog you should be making the most of SEO tools. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is used to determine how well your blog ranks on search engines such as Google. And ultimately, the higher Google rank your site, the more traffic your site will receive. There's a handy guide to what factors are important in determining how well you rank over on the Aqueous Digital website if you want to check that out. SEO can be pretty confusing for blog beginners, so don't worry if you don't get the hang of it straight away.
Do you have a blog? If so, what advice would you have for beginners?