Blogging is a good hobby, an outlet, and a good source of income if it goes well. Since we are already in the digital age, communication is now easy, and we can now voice our own opinions without limits. While some are comfortable doing Vlogs, there are still people who are comfortable expressing themselves behind a blog post rather than the lens. There are still people who would love reading than watching. By reading this post, I assume you are curious enough to know how to start your blog. Giving you some of the basic yet essential steps on how to set up your niche in this digital age.
- Platform
In creating a blog, you have to choose from various platforms available on the web. Choose a platform that suits your taste and the functionality that you would need. I had the experience of trying out different platforms before I got to land at WordPress. Some platforms are focused on allowing you to curate photos, create and reply to discussion threads, and some are focused on merchandise promotion. I spent years experimenting with different platforms wherein I can place my blogs and air out my thoughts. With that being said, you have to choose a platform that can also be a safe place for you. WordPress is a versatile platform wherein you can enjoy it for free and should you be needing a paid account; it is quite easy to tinker. For starters, you can already enjoy a lot from a free version but of course, a paid version can allow you to fully maximize it with its premium themes and plugins that a free version wouldn’t have.
- Site Name
Establishing a Site Name could be difficult yet hold of high importance. It is your branding and it would speak about you as its blog writer. It needs to be catchy, trendy, yet unique. The majority of the present blogs are named after themselves which I don’t think is a bad idea. I see that it brings encouragement to the blog owner if that blog site is named after him/her. This is a name that you would grow yourself into. You have to think hard about this because confusing your readers with switching site names would be the last thing you would want to do. Stick to that name and let it live with the help of your words.
- Logo
Some blogs don’t have a logo and they just settle for their site name, but this is super nice to have. It adds branding to your site, and it can trigger retention to your future readers. Logo and its colors are important as well and they can send impressions that you want your readers to have. A logo is crucial because it would finally set a tone and theme to the blog site. If a site name would register to your readers as your name, a logo then will register as your face.
- Content or Tone of the Blog & Audience
Now that you have a platform, a site name, and a logo, you now have to work on the content. I firmly believe that if you think of the content, you are already thinking about who your future or target audience is. It should peak their interests and would not make them regret staying and taking the time to read your blog post. No matter how good your site name and logo are, the content is still the gem that the readers would get and anticipate. The content MUST be aligned with the blog site theme. If you are a blog post reader, you would be highly disappointed to read something that is way off the theme’s intention. Same as its blog title, the reader must get what he/she is reading for. Avoid creating a clickbait. You can set a minimum and the maximum number of words per blog post and the theme must be well-thought-of for the readers. The reason why you would want to open up a blog is that you are ready to share what’s going on inside your mind to the public. Just like in WordPress, it allows you to add photos, videos, various plug-ins, and it encourages you to expand your creativity in delivering your content. A thought well-kept should be written in a diary and not on a blog post. The content sets everything in motion and it brings color to the readers’ imaginations. Writing the content and delivering the content to the readers hold an equally important role. There are a lot of tools that can be used to make sure that your content will be delivered to your target readers. There are Social Media sharing tools that can help you widen your reach.
- Frequency of Update
Creating a blog post is one thing but keeping it update all the time is another. If you would research some famous blog sites, they make sure that their sites are updated and with something fresh to offer. Subtly, you are already influencing your readers to have something to look forward to. You have to set a schedule that you would commit to yourself in writing the content, re-writing, and publishing it online. While other blog sites update on almost a daily basis, some blog sites are dedicated to a weekly update and/or if something just comes up. You can also leave a cliffhanger at the end of your content so that it can indicate an update and /or just to peak the readers’ interests and look forward to the next blog post.
These are just a few basic things you would want to check and set up for you finally set up your blog site. Once you have already established your blog site, you can now start building the content, introduce yourself to the public through Social Media sharing tools, and if you reach a certain number of posts and tenure in your chosen platform, you can now start monetizing your blog. Let me know if you want me to share ways on how can you start monetizing it as well.
I hope this can help those who would want to start their own blogs but don’t know how or where to start. If you have a blog already, please leave them in the comment section below and allow me to follow you! Let’s support each other on this!
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