If you are looking for some help in the area of how to start a blog, you have come to the right place. This article is meant to help you get started on the right foot with blogging. One wrong move, in the beginning, can set you up to have to backtrack later. Let’s get started.
How to Start a Blog: Blogging Basics to Know
Figure out What you Will Blog About
The first step to any business is to determine your goals, mission, and dreams. This holds true with how to start a blog. Start your blogging venture by figuring out what you will blog about. Tip: choose a topic that you have loads of experience in so you never run out of content ideas. This is often why most bloggers quit blogging…they choose a topic that they eventually run out of material for writing about.
Pick your Domain Name
Once you have figured out what you will blog about, now you must determine what your domain name will be. A great place to buy your domain name from is Go Daddy. This where I personally buy all of the domain names I need. They make it so easy and their customer service is top-notch. Do your research, be clever and remember the key to more people visiting is to keep it short and simple. Tip: Search for available domains and don’t get discouraged, this process can be tedious. Check out the blog name you want to use on all social media channels. See if it is available before you lock into your domain name.
Purchase Hosting & Setup WordPress
This is part of the “do it right the first time” mentality. Find an affordable WordPress hosting account and then work to install WordPress on your domain name. Tip: there are many hosting companies, don’t be afraid to start with a lower cost one and move to a larger one later.
Choose a Theme
Next up in the business of how to start a blog will be that you need to choose a theme. There are many free WordPress themes to choose from. While you may want your blog to be pretty with lots of extras, keep it as simple as possible so as to not confuse the search engine robots. Tip: less is more when it comes to choosing a blog theme. The Genesis Framework is absolutely a must for when you are ready to invest in your blog and install a professional-looking design.
Logo
While it’s all great to have a logo designed if you are looking to spend less money upfront, this is the area you can invest in later on or hire someone from Fiverr to make you a decent logo. A logo or header for your blog is important, so ask around to see who makes logos. Tip: try to make your blog match your theme if at all possible for branding.
Social Media
Now that your blog is all ready to go, you need to get your blog name on all social media platforms. Check out Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and any other platform you want to promote your blog on. Register the exact same name as your domain name. Tip: if your exact domain isn’t available, you can message the person to see if they will release it to you.
Now that you have your blogging basics completed on setting up your blog and grabbing your brand on social media platforms, it’s time to start thinking about content. Determine how often you will blog, what your topics will consist of and how you will work to ensure the content is delivered. For example, use FeedBurner to set up an RSS feed that users can subscribe to.
These blogging basics on how to start a blog should lead you in the right direction to becoming a professional blogger in no time! Read up on blogging with these helpful books for even more great tips on how to start a blog.
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