Starting a Blog: A complete guide

For me, blogging is just like talking”- Jared Polis

“The influence of blogging is overall a very positive force in the media” – Garrett Graff

So you’ve decided to start your own blog? You have an ardent interest in certain fields and you are passionate to share your interest with the world. Or maybe you want to start your own online business and you think blogging could add momentum to it? That’s great news!  Whatever be the reasons,   I am ready to guide you through the process.

To become a blogger, it doesn’t require more than hard work. One just requires to create some decent quality work and that too on a regular basis. But to do successful blogging, one needs some good and careful planning, strategic moves and some smart decisions. It is a lot more difficult to achieve than it sounds.

On this page, I shall discuss how to create the right impact with your blog.

Decide on the topic/niche of your blog

This is the most crucial step before you decide to start blogging. The topic gives the life to the blog. Your blogging journey starts with this step. You might be having knowledge regarding various topics but for blogging, you need to pick up a topic regarding which you are highly passionate about.  Remember you have to express and reach out to the audiences through your views. If you decide to blog on multiple topics that may mislead the audience and it’s also not search engine friendly.  When you decide to blog on a single topic of interest that increases the chance of being higher on the search engine. So pick a single topic of interest and start blogging.

Know your audience

This is an important one for blogging. It is absolutely necessary to know and target the right audience. Unless this is done, one can’t be sure whether the content that you are creating is having the desired impact or not. Think about the audience. You can rely on keyword research to put you on the right tracks but getting to know your audience is of paramount importance. Delve into the audience’s needs and dreams. Make your audience smile. In other words, be conscious of who is reading the blog. Make an email list and start sending the broadcast email now and then asking for feedback from the subscribers. You can also ask them what they would want to see on your blog and what they don’t want to. You can promote a link to a survey on the site to get the desired feedback too.

Blogging Platform

So you have decided to start your own blog? Well, that is very good news! But you get stuck up on the most basic but important questions-

  Which blogging platform should I choose?

   Where should I go to start a blog?

There are many free blogging posts which one can have access to. Blogging platforms like Word press and Blog spots are very famously known. Most of the bloggers start their blogs on BlogSpot as this will teach you the basics of blogging. The best part about BlogSpot is that it offers a mobile app which gives you the option of doing the publishing and management tasks from your mobile phone.  WordPress is also a popular platform for launching a blog. By using Word Press you can control your website completely. WordPress.org is open source software which gets updated every few months to give the users all the new features. Like BlogSpot, they have a mobile app which lets you blog anytime and from anywhere.

Choosing the right Domain

Want to make your blog a success? Well, choose the right domain. That is the most important thing to do. Making a wrong choice regarding the domain can cost you a lot. If you choose a wrong domain name and you want to change it later, it is going to involve lots of hassles. A switch might involve losing your brand popularity and search ranking. In simple terms, you need to get your very own www.yourdomain.com.After this is done, you need to store your blog (your hosting). And yes there is one more important thing. If you want to stick with a .com extension, that is absolutely fine. But nevertheless, you can always choose and buy .info, .org, .net, .us as well.

The Way Forward

It doesn’t require a lot to become a blogger. What is important is that you carve out your own mark by bringing something unique to the table. To make your blog a success, you have to work both smarter and harder. Do ensure that the quality that you are providing to the readers is of high quality and you have promoted it well. It is not necessary that you be the first one in your niche, but your blog needs to be distinctive and unique to be remembered.