“HOW TO START A BLOG?” – This is the same question that a newbie asks when he/she is interested to start a blog. Even though starting a blog might seem like it is something that would be very easy, it actually is not. Thousands of people search for how to start a blog but still don’t get anywhere because of wrong approach. If your goal is to create a cash sucking blog that will bring in readers and customers, then you will need to understand the individual components that will give you the best chance to do this.
Those important components required in order to successfully start a blog would be niche selection, domain name selection, the blogging platform, web hosting, and the design of your blog. Each of these components must be understood and properly executed. And in this post, I am going to finally teach you how to start a blog from scratch…
#1. How To Start A Blog? – Niche Selection
Niche selection is going to be very important when you are first looking for how to start a blog. If you choose the right niche then getting readers will be easy. The basis for choosing a niche is to choose a sector of people who are thirsty for information. These people must have a number of problems and questions that are not being solved or answered elsewhere at least not in great amount.
There will be certain keywords they will use in order to search for the information they want. You must know how to identify these keywords along with the problems a given niche will have. You can do this by using keyword research tools or you can use Google keyword research tool, which is free.
You must also measure the competition for these keywords, this is best done by typing in your keywords in the search engine, going through the top ten sites and seeing which ones actually deliver on the promises they make in their titles. Also, you will want to measure the authority of the website itself to see how hard it might be to crack a given niche.
Recommended Niche/Keyword Research Tool :- Keyword Elite or Keyword Winner (wordpress plugin).
#2. How To Start A Blog? – Domain Name Selection
When you start up a new blog the domain name you decide to use can either make or break its success. Your domain name must advertise what the subject or core topic of your blog is going to be. If you are interested in monetization, which I am sure you are, then you will need to focus on getting a domain name for your blog that incorporates the keywords in it.
It would be even better if the keyword in the domain is an exact match keyword. Besides from this you must also pay attention to other things concerning domain name selection. You must make sure the domain is short, easy to spell, and more importantly easy to remember.
Recommended Domain Registrar -: Name.com.
Do try their ubersearch feature…It’s really cool for marketers!
#3. How To Start A Blog? – Blogging Platforms
When it comes to the type of blogging platform you will be using for your new blog you will have a large number of choices. Your main two choices however should be WordPress and Blogger. Both of these blogging platforms are free and are easily customizable.
Each ones comes with its advantages, Blogger for instance is owned by Google, which means it might be easier to rank right away. You might also be able to get traffic without much promotion. You will have the option of upgrading it if you want by getting a private domain.
WordPress might be the better option when it comes to blogging platforms, free or self hosted. WordPress is so powerful because it has a large number of SEO plugins that you can install. There is a sitemap plugin, a Google map plugin, Adsense plugins, membership plugins, and many more. It is also easy for you to set up WordPress with any web hosting service that is having the Fantastico script in their cPanel.
Personally I would recommend you to buy web hosting and self-host a wordpress blog on it for complete control on your blog.
#4. How To Start A Blog? – Web Hosting When Self-Hosting The Blog
You will have a hard time moving Blogger onto a private host afterwards, however you will easily be able to set up WordPress with just about any web hosting service you decide to use. If you are questioning the value that web hosting has when you decide to self-host your blog consider these benefits.
With self hosting you will have full control over your website, graphics, and content. You will have a unique domain address. You will have the potential to be perceived as more professional, and it will belong to you not the company that owns the platform.
Recommended Web Hosting -: HostGator (read my hostgator review) – 25% Discount Coupon: SMARTBLOGGERZ25 .
#5. How To Start A Blog? – Blog Design
Blog design is an area that can really make or break the success of your blog. It can impact how long people stay on your site, how it ranks in search engines, and it can affect how long it takes to load up. The areas you want to focus on when it comes to blog design would be having a good customized header at the top.
You want to make sure that the blog is easy to navigate so people do not leave. Include a search engine bar so people can easily find past posts. You will need to decide on how you want your non blog post pages to appear. You will also want to make sure you pick the right theme if you decide to use WordPress and make sure it includes the necessary social sharing features.
Recommended Blog Themes:
- Thesis Theme – Best Thesis Skin Club: Kolakube
- Ultimate Blogging Theme
- Woo Themes
- StudioPress
Putting most of your focus into these five things will ensure you build a good blog that will get traffic. If you are consistent with good content creation, and you make sure you posts are properly optimized, then the rest should take care of itself. Share your comments with me below if you have anything to say on how to start a blog.
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• how to start a blog • starting a blog • start a blog
Great advice. One important thing is to have a passion for your niche. Or at least develop some passion over a period of time. Otherwise if you do it only for the money, it tends to get boring after a point of time.
Thanks for commenting Garret. It mainly starts becoming boring when you aren’t able to make money out of that blog otherwise you try to be with it whether you like or not 😀
starting a blog on anything is not a difficult thing now because few years back it would be a difficult thing but now it is an easy thing to get benefited by copying others way of writing. you can also get useful tips through this post also. However according to me going with your own niche is very beneficial as far as writing and working on others.
Creating a blog is not difficult at all. With the help from wordpress or blogspot, a blog can be created within minutes. But creating an effective blog is still a challenge to most of us. So this guidance is indeed useful for most of the beginners.
In order to succeed as a blogger you should love what you are writing about because if you are not and you just blogging in hope that you will make money then you will easily disappointed if you don’t see fast results and give up
Thank you for the points you have discussed in this post of yours. What is important in writing successful articles and making a blog successful is always talk on the topic of your interest. When you talk on the topics on which you are already familiar with the subject and the body, you always tend to express it more beautifully and remarkably.
These steps pretty much covered it all. The steps in starting a blog are pretty straight-forward. However, there are lots of tasks involved. Especially true if one is starting to think about monetizing it. Important thing to note is to learn and master every step. It’s not advised to learn everything at once. Move on up the ladder slowly and by mastering each step. This allows one’s “common sense” and decision making to improve.
Starting a blog isn’t limited to Choosing a platform, hosting or a domain name. It maily depends on thinking what to write on, how to promote it and strategize those things.
Thank you for pointing out the importance of excellent content creation. Many who set out to start a blog become so busy with design and layout that they neglect the content, which is the main thing a blog offers its audience in the first place.
In Niche blogging it best to purchase domain and do keyword research for relative keywords.Choose thesis theme if you select wordpress plate for. Finally show a lot of patience for your success.