Starting a Blog
Starting a Blog
So, you have a business and you want to start a blog to build and establish your brand on the social media scene but you just don’t know how or where to start. Have no fear, it’s really not rocket science. I have brought you some easy to follow steps to starting your own blog. The aim here is to explain the necessary steps to a good and successful blogging start but before we proceed, why is starting a blog important for your brand?
There are many reasons why it is important to start a blog:
- Become a published author.It’s no secret. These days, publishers rarely work with authors who don’t have an online presence. The reason is simple: it’s a lot easier to sell books to people who already know you. A blog is one of the easiest places to start.
- Get more exposure for your existing business.A blog gives anyone–from individuals to large companies–the ability to reach a large number of people at very little cost.
- Just write.If you want to write, share your story, encourage others and build a community, a blog is a great place to do that.
- Blogging has quickly become one of the most popular ways of communicating and spreading information and news. There are literally millions of blogs online (don’t worry, you can make yours stand out and get noticed!).
- It’s a great way to express yourself and also a fantastic way to share information with others.
- You become a better person and a better writer.
- The best reason? You can make money doing it!
Below are the steps you need to take in starting a blog:
Step 1: Decide what to blog about
As a business, company or organization, this step will be easy to determine. Your blog should be related to the product(s) or service(s) you provide, or the cause you promote. It requires a lot of content to get going and to remain interesting. Also, choose a niche in which you can establish yourself as an authority. The aim is to get people referring to your brand as the go to blog on particular subjects you are expert on.
Step 2: Choose a blogging platform
This is perhaps, the most important step in starting a blog. There are many services you can use to start a blog or website. You may be tempted to use a free service, but know you’ll be limited, and in some cases, quite severely. You get what you pay for, as they say. Using a paid-for service isn’t expensive and it pays off in the long run. Of the many blogging platforms out there, WordPress is, by far, the most popular with over 82 million active users and it is super easy set-up, free to use with tons of free themes and layouts. It also has a massive support forum in case you get stuck.
Step 3: Find a host
A host provides server space for your site. Put simply, when your site lives on a server (instead of on your personal computer on your desk), others can find your site on the internet.
Step 4: Pick a domain name & hosting package
A domain is a web address. The domain is basically the URL of your website. Examples: google.com (Google.com is the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). You may or may not already have a domain. To have an existing domain, you would have registered it with a domain registrar, like GoDaddy or Blacknight. Hosting is basically the company that puts your website up on the internet so everyone else can see it. Everything will be saved on there. Think of it as a computer hard-drive on the internet where your blog will be saved. Most, if not all hosts, should have a “one-click” WordPress install solution on their admin panel. That button will automatically install WordPress on your blog. Once WordPress is installed on your website, all you have to do to start blogging is go to your WP-Admin page usually www.yourblognamehere.com/wp-admin and start writing by adding a new post.
Step 5 – Designing your WordPress blog
Make your blog look exactly how you want it to. To choose a new theme, you can either head to Appearance > Themes and install a free WordPress theme. WordPress also has this awesome feature that allows you to change themes with just a few clicks. Whenever you get bored of your current blog template, you can just switch to another one without losing any precious content or images. Keep your theme professional and let it reflect your brand’s personality.
And there you have it. Your blog is up and running with the easy as ABC steps above.
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