How to start blogging

1. Why do you have to have a blog
If you’re wondering the way to start a blog, you’ve come to the proper place. during this guide, you’ll find out how to make a blog, the way to plan your content strategy, the way to found out your blog and the way to market it. But before you find out how to start out a blog, it’s important to know why you ought to create one.

A blog may be a space where you'll share your knowledge or thoughts with others. It are often a standalone website or an extension of your main site. Whether it’s for your business or yourself, once you create a blog, you help position your brand as an industry leader, and establish stronger ties together with your readers and customers.

1. Establish your expertise
Blogging is an efficient thanks to show what sets you aside from others in your field. Include practical, actionable advice or share the step-by-step methods on the way to get something done, and readers will come to acknowledge you and your blog as an authority.

2. Improve your SEO and drive traffic to your site
When ranking websites one among the items Google looks for is fresh, relevant content. Since an honest blog is often updated with valuable content, it’s more likely to rank high in search results, so it’s easier to seek out online. If you’re using your blog to send people to your website, your blog’s high ranking can help bring you more visitors.

3. Understand your audience and answer questions
Blogs are an excellent thanks to initiate conversations together with your customers. Responding to comments and questions on your blog can tell you what your customers like and what they’re trying to find . this will include anything from feedback on your product to common questions on your company.

2. The way to setup a blog

1. Get WordPress Hosting
Before you begin a blog you would like an area to host your blog. There are hundreds and possibly thousands of hosting companies available on the online , but not all hosting is that the same. the primary rule of thumb is that nothing in life is free – especially hosting. So if you see a corporation advertising completely free, no strings attached hosting don’t pip out . You’ll be far better off investing $3 to $35 per month during a decent hosting plan.

Bluehost, Wphosting,

Each of those may be a great option for a replacement blog. Bluehost offers budget conscious plans that are quite capable of handling a replacement blog. Though if you'll afford a touch more monthly we highly recommend WordPress specific hosting from Flywheel or WP Engine (which is what we use) since they fully manage your server and core updates for you. Plus both offer backups and security scanning to assist make your website safer.

most significantly these plans all work great with WordPress. this is often our preferred method to start out a blog since it’s easy to use, offers plenty of awesome features and is super flexible (thanks to all or any of the themes and plugins available).

2. Install WordPress & Configure Settings
As mentioned, all three hosting plans we recommend are fully compatible with WordPress and excellent if you would like to start out a blog. Once you’ve selected an idea you’ll got to install and setup WordPress for your website. counting on your host installation of WordPress may vary a touch , but regardless of which you select your site should be live and prepared for blogging in little or no time.

1. Bluehost features a quick one-click set-up once you signup. Simply log into your account, and choose the “Install WordPress” option under website. From there you only follow the on screen prompts to pick you name and make your WordPress admin login information. you'll learn more about the way to install WordPress with Bluehost in our guide.

2. WP Engine may be a managed WordPress hosting plan also , so you don’t got to install WordPress. you'll however still got to add a replacement domain or migrate your website (just login and attend Install > Site Migration if you would like to maneuver your website, then whether you’re moving an internet site or starting a replacement one attend Install > Domains to point over your domain). If you chose a professional plan or higher with WP Engine you'll install multiple websites on your hosting plan. to feature a replacement site hover on Installs and click on the Add option, then repeat the method of adding your domain.

3. Other Hosts: If you’re employing a different host, no problem! you'll install WordPress on any host (you’ll just got to manually download and install WordPress).

Once you've got WordPress installed and prepared , your can head over to your URL to log into WordPress. There should be a link to your WordPress login from your hosting account (usually it goes to your-url.com/wp-login or wp-admin or something similar). Use the admin name or email and password that you simply created when fixing your information for your hosting account.

WordPress is very customizable (in fact it's 100% customizable because it is open source software), except for the needs of this guide i'm pertaining to the settings accessed via your WordPress dashboard. If you hover over the Settings Menu item in your sidebar you'll see variety of options.

it's going to look a touch of an awesome list but it doesn’t got to be – there are only a couple of main settings on these pages that you simply need to concern yourself with at this stage. Let’s undergo each successively .

3. Choose a WordPress Theme to start out a Blog

this is often where most new bloggers get tripped up – they spend hours and hours in search of an ideal theme. So let me take a load off your mind: your theme isn't that important once you are just getting started. Your sole focus should be creating content and getting it out there for people to ascertain . Don’t worry about your site’s design an excessive amount of until you've got a large audience to inform you whether or not they love it .

By default, you’ll see the yearly WordPress theme active on your website. Automattic (the folks behind WordPress) release a replacement one annually and every one is geared towards bloggers (the most up-to-date theme Twenty Seventeen, but Twenty Eighteen is on it’s way). annually this new theme is usually quite suitable for those just getting started with WordPress to start out a blog.

But at some point you'll probably want to modify to a topic with more features for your growing website. Making the switch is straightforward – all you've got to try to to is install a replacement theme. Just navigate to Appearance > Themes > Add New via your sidebar. Click on the button to upload your theme. Then select your theme zip file to upload, install the theme then activate it. Ta-dah! you only installed a stunning premium theme with more features and options that you’ll get during a free theme.

4. Start Blogging

At now your blog is nearly primed for content production and there are just a few more things to require care of. the primary is getting obviate the sample post, page and comment that WordPress includes by default.

Delete the Sample Page & Post

First click on the Pages menu item in your sidebar. On your fresh blog you’ll see only one sample page which you'll delete by hovering over each and selecting the Trash option.

Create Your First Post

Let’s take a glance at creating your first post. Just navigate to Posts > Add New via your sidebar and you’ll be presented with a screen almost like that shown below:

There are three key points you would like to urge your first post out into the open (although we do have an in depth guide to publishing your first WordPress post):

Create a title for your post: This goes within the field directly below “Add New Post.” Make it clear, concise and catchy. It’s also an honest idea to incorporate your keyword.
Write your content: This goes within the main text editor box that takes up the bulk of the screen. this is often a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor (WYSIWYG for short), meaning you'll see the changes you create with the editor when using the included options (bold, italics, font sizes, links, etc) or inserting media (images, video links, etc).
Featured image, category & tags: If you would like to feature a featured image now's the time to try to to so. We also recommend using categories (broad groupings of posts) and tags (specific, niche descriptors) since they create it easier for readers to browse your website afterward once you have many posts on your blog.

With those three points covered, click the Publish button. That’s it – creating content in WordPress is that easy! While there are variety of belongings you can do to optimize and better present your posts, the key to getting started is simply that: getting started. Worry about the fine print afterward , except for the nonce get some content out there!

5. Structure your blog
Once you’ve added a couple of posts to your blog it’s good to believe your blog’s structure. A well structured blog makes it easy for your readers to navigate and should even increase the time they spend reading. for instance , you'll add recent or featured posts to showcase your favorite blog posts.

you'll also found out categories and hashtags. These will make your blog easier for readers to navigate. Categories are wont to organize large groups of posts with an identical topic. for instance , if you've got food blog, you'll create a ‘recipes’ category. Each category in your blog should eventually be related to a minimum of 10 or 20 posts.

Hashtags describe a post more specifically supported your keywords. As you write your blog posts, aim to tag each of your posts with 5 to fifteen hashtags.

6. Create a publishing schedule
Integrating blogging into your regular weekly or monthly schedule can help make sure that you retain your blog updated regularly. Set a sensible goal for yourself––blog as often as you'll , but don’t attempt to “bite off quite you'll chew.” Once you’ve decided how often you would like to blog, set a posting schedule for yourself.

3. the way to Create a Content Strategy for Your Blog
a part of learning the way to start a blog includes developing a blogging strategy, before you begin writing. a transparent strategy helps you stay organized and make focused, value-driven content.

1. Determine your goals
Ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish. Are you looking to grow your business? Build brand awareness? Maybe you’re looking to make a private blog to share tips from your travel experiences.

If your goal is to extend traffic to your website, your posts should include the newest updates about what visitors can find on your site. If your goal is to boost brand awareness, write on what sets you aside from your competitors. a private blog, on the opposite hand, might specialise in your experiences and advice on touring the planet .

2. Define your audience
start by brooding about who you’d wish to reach. Consider demographics like gender, age, needs and challenges. you'll also consider more personal character traits, like personality, values, interests or hobbies, and lifestyle. Getting a transparent picture of your readers won't only assist you create concise, focused content; it'll also assist you build content that your audience relates to.

3. Optimize your content to urge found on Google
program Optimization, commonly mentioned as SEO, is that the process of optimizing your content so as to extend your chances of appearing high in leads to Google. to offer yourself the simplest shot at success, start brooding about your blog’s SEO before you begin writing your posts.

Google ranks your blog supported keywords and phrases. These are words, or groups of words, that match the search terms (or “queries”) that folks enter into Google. The more relevant keywords and phrases you employ in your blog, the more likely your target market will find you.

Pick a couple of key phrases to specialise in and use them throughout articles in your blog. Integrate these key phrases into the titles of your blog posts, within the texts you write and as alt text for images. The more you employ your keywords and phrases during a logical and natural way, the more Google will associate these words together with your blog and therefore the more likely you're to seem in relevant search results.

4. Use diverse content
Blogging may be a good way to share diverse, visual content. Visitors are much more likely to read, share and have interaction with visual content, which may significantly increase traffic to your site. Visual content, within the sort of images, gifs, animation or videos, is increasingly important in online marketing.

Consider ending blocks of text with images and/or videos. The visual content should be associated with your business and support what you're saying in your post. you would like to post original, high-quality images and video, whenever possible. make certain to incorporate compelling visuals once you post your blog on social media or sell through email marketing.

5. Determine the length of your blog posts
Aim for a minimum of 300 words per post but confine mind that longer posts have a far better chance of performing well. Longer posts of 1500-2000 words can allow you to explore a subject thorough and are simpler at establishing your expertise, plus they need a far better chance at being shared on social media. no matter length, the foremost important thing is to publish high-quality posts frequently.

4. the way to Promote Your Blog
Congratulations! You’ve published your first blog post. subsequent step is to form sure your post is seen. Learning the way to start a blog isn't only about getting found out , but about user engagement. Promote your blog through social media, your newsletter, friends, family, colleagues, and more.

1. Share your blog on social media
Social media may be a powerful tool for getting more people to read your blog. Once you’ve published, share your post with everyone––share it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn or the other platform where you’re active. Ask your friends, family and colleagues to share your post.

2. Comment like crazy!
search for places where people in your industry or your potential customers are the foremost active. this will include other blogs, forums and enormous social media sites. Then, become a lively participant. Write professional, engaging comments and always include a link to your blog

3. Stay in-tuned together with your readers
As your blog grows, gather an inventory of readers and their email addresses––these are your subscribers. you'll then market your business and deliver your latest blog posts on to their inbox

Creating a successful blog takes dedication and time. With the proper strategy, platform and therefore the promotion tools, you'll create a successful blog that delivers value and promotes your brand and business.