Let’s discuss writing a blog in the simplest way possible. I have categorized blog writing in 7 steps to make it easier to plan and commence writing for beginners.
These are the steps to follow:
7 Steps to Start a Blog
- Choose a niche / topic
- Pick a domain and hosting for the blog
- Keyword Research
- Write your first blog post
- Publish Your Blog
- Promote your blog through different platforms
- Optimize and update your content
1. Choose a niche / topic
Obviously there must be some topic what you will be writing your blog on, its called niche of the blog. There are two types of niches; Macro niche and micro niche.
Macro niche is the topic that comprehends the broader perspective of the selected topic for example if you are interested in writing for sports, hence sports have a vast variety of games, therefore it’s a macro niche. Whereas micro niche is a sub division of macro niche that focus upon a particular subject of macro niche for example if sports is a macro niche, football in particular could be a micro niche for your blog. Its recommended by the professionals to choose micro niche for blogging to rank quicker.
Select a niche you are truly interested in writing or which is your passion because your involvement with the niche would help you a lot while starting your blog posts. Secondly, make sure there is an audience available whose interested in that particular topic so can grow easily. Your niche could be anything like travelling, politics, fashion, profession, business, technology so on and so forth. The only thing required is a well-researched and quality content that attract and grab audience attention.
2. Pick a domain and hosting for the blog
There are many platforms available for blogging but blogger.com and WordPress are the two famous platforms. Blogger.com is a free platform by google but it has limited options and not very popular amongst the bloggers. Whereas WordPress provides you versatile user-friendly platform to design and publish the blogs. You need to purchase a domain which is basically the name of your blog for example mine is www.mhalam.com which is the short form of my name and a brand name that I want to promote. Similarly, you can choose any easy to remember catchy name for your blog. Secondly, you have to buy a hosting service to publish your website online.
3. Keywords Research
Now this is a bit technical part that requires your attention and smartness. You need to research the keywords for your article. If I would define keywords in simple; these are the words which people are usually typing in google to search for their query. Let’s suppose I want to learn Amazon trading; I will write in google LEARN SELLING ON AMAZON or HOW TO SELL ON AMAZON? In this case as a blogger these must be your keywords what people are searching for regarding Amazon.
First of all, understand the audience’s search intent. In general, the audience search intent is differentiated in four different categories, what people are actually looking for:
- Informational — when people are searching for some specific information (e.g., “How to enhance phone’s efficiency?”).
- Navigational — When people want to go on a particular web page or website (e.g., “Samsung phones”).
- Commercial — When people want to explore the options (e.g., “best gaming phones”).
- Transactional — When people want to buy something immediately (e.g., “nearest phone market”).
Once, you understood the audience intent for any query, it will become easier for you to select your topic or the keywords for your topic.
Another way to analyze and select what you should write your blog about is google auto suggest. These Google features are most likely the most comprehensive source of people’s queries, problems and interests. Many of them can be used as ready-made ideas for articles. When you write something in google search engine it starts suggesting some keywords related to your words what people are mostly searching on google; for example, your niche is Amazon and you wrote “Why amazon”; google will start suggesting you the queries people are mostly searching about it like “Why amazon is successful” or “Why amazon failed in China” etc. similarly it also shows us ‘people also searched for’ related to what we searched for. You can pick those topics and write your next blog on them since people are already searching for those topics.
Moving on further, once you are done with your keyword research, now you have to find some other words that you are going to use in your whole article that will make google understand what actually your topic is about and it will rank on google accordingly, these are known as semantically related words. For topic like fitness; semantic words could be exercise, sweat, workout, health, gym, diet etc. You can read other popular articles which are already ranking top on google related to your topic to pick such words out from those articles. You must map out the semantically related keywords for each blog post. They can assist search engines in determining what the content is focusing on and how deeply it delves into the subject.
4. Write your first blog post
After finishing the pre-requisites of blogging, finally it’s time to write your first blog post. The simple advice is to share as much information you have about your niche with the audience. Try to solve audience’s issues about your topic and engage them to read through all your blog. Choose your heading wisely; they play a vital role in the blog. Try to keep the blog as simple as you can or the common reader. Come up with interesting and fresh ideas as much as you can to grab audience attention.
Attract them with relevant photos and videos. According to analysis of topmost performing articles, posts with one image receive twice the traffic as posts with only text; they also receive 30% more shares and 25% more backlinks. Videos were also found to play an important role.
To increase readers’ time on page, consider including video content, informative images, charts, or infographics. Another advantage of visuals is that they are often shared across multiple social media accounts, which is always beneficial.
Choosing a suitable format might assist potential readers better grasp your information. There are several varieties of blog articles to pick from, each with a basic format. Some examples of this style of blog article are:
- How-to Post: A how-to article is a step-by-step tutorial that informs the reader on a certain activity. A great advice for creating a blog article in this format is to minimize jargon and just utilize analogies that readers will comprehend.
- List Post: A list post, often known as a “list,” is an article written in a list style. This sort of information is easy to identify because the title frequently includes a number. List articles are also easy to read and skim, allowing readers to swiftly comprehend and memorize information.
- Review Post: Review blog postings usually discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a product or service. Podium reports that 93% of people examine internet reviews before purchasing a product. As a result, this is one of the most popular genres of material.
- Featured Content: A collection of valuable information on a given topic. This post style is ideal for including facts such as statistics or industry examples.
- Comparison Article: As the name implies, this style compares several options to assist readers in making a decision. Include data and figures from third-party sources to back up your statements while writing a fair comparison piece.
- Interview Post: This form of content is ideal for giving the viewpoint of an authority person on a given issue. It’s also useful for connecting with industry gurus or influencers and drawing new readers to your site.
5. Publish your blog
It’s now time to publish your blog article on your website. Before posting the content, make sure the URL is brief, descriptive, and includes the title of the blog post; altering the URL after a post has been published might damage its ranking and search traffic. Another thing to think about before posting your first post is the meta description, which is a brief overview of what the post is about. To increase organic click-through rates, try writing a readable, interesting story that includes relevant keywords. Once the content is published, begin advertising it to attract readers. Potential readers will not be able to locate the content if it is not publicized.
6. Promote your blog through different platforms
You can no longer stay silent when corporations and bloggers promote things through digital and conventional marketing. To popularize your blog, use numerous types of advertising such as PPC, native advertising, pre-roll advertisements, email campaigns, and social media platforms. Paid adverts that display on users’ Instagram Stories and feeds are becoming increasingly popular among bloggers. Consider partnering with other bloggers in your field, commenting on other renowned sites, connecting with your audience, and writing on a regular basis to establish a following and earn the affection and trust of your followers.
Here are some great ways to advertise your blog for free:
- Use social media – share your blog article on prominent social networks like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Social media, on the other hand, is a two-way engagement tool. In other words, you must connect with other users by beginning discussions or commenting on their postings.
- Mailing list – Create a mailing list if you want to alert readers about new blog content. Consider offering a free course or eBook in return for a visitor’s email address to establish an email list. If you’re using WordPress, you may generate and send newsletters directly from the dashboard by utilizing a newsletter plugin like Jackmail.
- Participate in online forums – Consider participating in internet forums in your niche. Contribute to the forum on a regular basis and look for opportunities to highlight your postings in the discourse.
- Use reciprocal sharing sites – joining a reciprocal sharing website like Triberr, which allows you to connect with other bloggers, is another approach to generate traffic to a post. If you share the material of other users on social media, they may promote your postings as well.
7. Optimize and update your content
Once your blog article is published, remember to keep it up to date. Use relevant keywords, publish excellent content, add SEO meta tags, optimize pictures, and lower your bounce rate if you want your blog to rank higher on Google.
Now that you’ve read our blog development guide, let’s move on to the next part to learn how to make money from your blog.
How Can I Earn Money with My Blog Post
Blogging may also be used to generate income online. Here are a few ideas for making money blogging:
- Affiliate marketing – using this strategy, bloggers simply add affiliate links to their posts and make a commission when visitors purchase through the links. Go to sites like CJ Affiliate to identify affiliate marketing programs to join.
- Sponsored articles – A blogger may potentially make money blogging by discussing items or services that they enjoy. Social Stars and Blog Meets Brand are two locations to look for sponsorship possibilities.
- Display advertising – displaying advertisements on your site is another easy approach to generate money from blogging. Google AdSense, which is free to join and has simple criteria, is one of the most popular platforms for monetizing a blog with advertising.
- Sell services – if you have special abilities, transform your blog into an online portfolio and begin providing services online using sites like Upwork and Toptal. It’s a great method to make money blogging with little to no initial outlay.
- Write books – For those who want to make money from blogging, there are many ways to do so: you could write a short e-book on a topic that you know very well; you could write an e-course teaching people how to do something; or you could even write an entire book on the subject matter that interests you most. Bloggers are taking advantage of this opportunity to make money by publishing their work and selling it on their site or other sites like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes Store.
