Blogs are one of the most common ways of communicating on the Internet. Although it is not a new concept, it has gained a lot of attraction in the past few years. Many people use blogs to discuss their experiences or opinions about the world. Regardless of your age or experience, you can start writing blogs today and make money.
If you have a passion for writing and want to know how to start a blog, you couldn't have made a better decision regarding your professional career. There are many opportunities for you as you can achieve several accolades that are very hard to achieve otherwise.
Many businesses have started using blogs or content marketing to promote their brands effectively. When companies have a blog section, it shows they have authority in this field. For example, if a gaming company has a blogging area that constantly informs the audience about new games and the playing experience, people would consider that brand an expert in the gaming industry. The trust given by the customers will eventually lead to a high conversion rate and increased online sales.
Tips for Starting a Blog
1) Identify the Right Niche
When you understand how to start a blog, you will note that there is an element that lays the foundation for your blog, i.e., your blog niche. Your blog niche covers everything connected to your blogs, including domain name, content design, and website URL.
There is no limit to the variety of subjects you can choose. However, the most important thing is to select a specific blogging niche that remains the focal point of your entire content.
Since many niches focus on the same topic, you must identify the subject that stands out. For example, there are many overlaps between fitness and health. Although they are two different niches, they focus on almost the same thing.
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Here is how you can choose the best blogging niche that doesn't just relate to your passion but also have the potential to grow:
- Narrow your interests: When you understand how to start a blog, you should always think long-term. To motivate yourself to write regular blogs, you must choose a niche you are genuinely interested in. If you choose a niche based on its popularity, your ideas will eventually dry out. If you need more clarification about your blogging niche straight away, you can conduct a few brainstorming sessions about your preferred subjects.
- Research your target audience: The next step in learning how to start a blog is to research the topics people are interested in reading. If your blog is attractive, you can become a professional blogger and start making money. You can determine the demand for niches based on your market research. The more blogs appear in your search engine, the more you will be in public demand.
- Check if it is a profitable niche: Whether you are writing a professional blog or a personal blog, it is good to check whether your blog niche is profitable. Even if you are writing blogs as a hobby, consider the monetization options that may convert your blogs into a promising career.
2) Choose a Blog Name
Since you are thinking about how to start a blog, you may also be considering names. The three routes you can choose for determining your blog name are as follows:
- Your first and last name
- Your business name (if you have one)
- A creative or professional new name
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When you choose a blog name, you should think about the personality connected with your content. While determining the blog name, you can ask yourself whether it should be:
- Formal or professional?
- Sweet or romantic?
- Edgy or offbeat?
3) Create or Design Your Blog
Once you have reached this point, you have all the necessities to understand how to start a blog. Next, you must optimize your blog design by going through the following steps:
- Choose a Blog Template
Like your blog name, your template will be essential to your personality. When you learn how to start a blog, you must go for the pre-designed website template because you can customize it for future preferences.
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Since you are a blogger, you must ensure that your template covers your blog's subject. There are templates for different blog types, such as food, photography, and gaming. When you browse the templates, think about the message your website must communicate to the target audience.
It would be best to consider the color combinations while building your blog design. Color psychology is exceptionally influential in getting a positive first impression from the audience. When choosing the color palette, think about the emotions or the feelings that your website can evoke. For example, blue indicates dependability and trust, whereas yellow brings energy and enthusiasm.
- Decide What Pages to Include
Once you finish the website template, you can shift your focus to the number of pages you want to include. For the guide in starting a blog, here is an overview of the different page options you can consider for your blog website:
- Contact page: This section is where you place your email address so that your audience and potential business partners can contact you. You can also include your social media pages in the form of icons, eventually increasing your social media followers.
- About page: This page tells visitors about who you are and what values you stand for. It will provide some context behind your blog niche choice.
- Online store: You may opt for a separate store page if you sell items related to your blog. You can call this page 'Store' or 'Shop.'
If you want to include more pages to your blog site, a testimonial page, a trending page, and a tutorial page are the popular choices. However, some developers have blogs directly on their homepage rather than the blog section. Therefore, you must include a navigation menu so visitors can access your blog and other web pages.
4) Write Your First Blog
Once you have developed your blog website and brainstormed your blog niche and topics, it is now the time to write. When you learn how to start a blog, you must follow these guidelines:
- Keyword research: Finding relevant keywords is essential for attracting website traffic to your blog posts. By appropriate keyword research, you can increase the chances of your blogs appearing in search engines. For example, if you want to talk about a football match, your keywords can be 'football match,' 'football player,' 'footballer,' etc. You can refine your keyword strategy by going for robust paid options, such as Ahrefs and SEMrush.
- Outline main points: Choose what blog post you want to write. For example, it can be a how-to guide or a product recommendation. Whatever blog template you choose, you must know about your blog type before structuring the outline.
- Engaging content: When you write your blog, remember that you need an introduction followed by headings and subheadings. It would be best if you ended your blog with a conclusion. It will help if you include as many paragraphs as possible so the readers can be selective in the type of content they want to read. Moreover, it would help if you keep your writing simple.
Writing for the sake of writing is one of the blogging mistakes you can make. You must write meaningful sentences and maintain a tone that resonates with the audience.
- Insert visual content: Including images and videos can strengthen the audience's overall impression of your blog. Whatever visual content you include should convey your main points and be relevant.
Build Your Blog Site on Strikingly
In today's day and age, website-building platforms have become very common on the Internet. They are developed for entrepreneurs or individuals with the skill of independently using the Internet and creating a professional website. You don't require coding or programming skills to run these website-building platforms.
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Strikingly is a professional website builder with a user-friendly and easy-to-use interface and responsive website templates. If you understand how to start a blog, you can build your blog site instantly and enjoy the process of adding content.
Once you register on Strikingly, you will gain access to the dashboard and the website template section. You can choose one of the templates to suit your website design and further customize it. In addition, you can use the Strikingly tools to customize the templates according to your preferred look.
Image taken from Strikingly
Once you finish the website design, you can focus on the blog section. Strikingly allows you to add a 'simple blog' section to your web page. This will enable you to publish your blogs as soon as you have created them.
Once you have built your blog website and are familiarized with our tools, you will find it easier to grow your blogging platform. We provide users with a free SSL certificate, which adds to your website security plans. We also manage your website's hosting, relieving the burden of identifying the perfect hosting service provider.
Conclusion
Now that you have understood how to start a blog, don't hesitate. There are many exceptional writers in the world today who need help to convert their writing skills into a professional business. If you want to join the blogging world, now is the time to start writing blogs.
Strikingly is a website builder that encourages bloggers worldwide to establish their blog websites. If you have any technical issues or questions, contact our Happiness Officers, who are available 24/7.
