In this guide of how to start a blog, I’m going to begin at the very basics and step by step help you run your first blog. I’m going to cover:
- Decide to Start TODAY
- Choose the right niche
- How to choose and buy the right domain name
- Choose Blogging Plaforms
- How to choose a reliable and affordable hosting provider
- Selecting the blog design to build a brand
- Installing your first blog
1. How To Start a Blog? – Decide To Start TODAY
I realize that most of new bloggers (like me) are stucking with a failed blog not because they can’t build a successful blog, the only reason is that they are reading too much but not taking any action. So, promise me, you will take action after reading this detailed guide. TODAY, not tomorrow, not next week, and not next month. Tomorrow always feels “safe” because you’re not having to make a decision. The power of today is that you make that commitment to yourself. And that is the first step to success.This step is the very important! Don’t dream or thinking about doing something. Just get up and do it.
2. How To Start a Blog? – Choose The Right Niche
Although personal blogs often wander through a variety of themes and topics, for a serious blog project you will want to focus on a limited range of topics. Defining a single main area or niche for your blog topic has three main benefits:1. It’s Easier to Build a Memorable Brand
2. Your Readers Know What to Expect
3. It’s Easier to Attract Advertising
Broad Niches or Sub Niches?
1. Broad NichesPros:
+ Large depth of content
+ Larger potential
Cons:
+ Might be a bit TOO much to write about if you have limited resources
+ More competition and often more organized competition
2. Sub Niches
Pros:
+ Less competition makes them easier to dominate
+ Can act as a foothold into the larger niche
+ Can be better for branding to have a strong “angle” on the broad topic
Cons:
+ Smaller potential
+ Not as much depth of content
+ Can get boring!
Do You Interested In Your Niche?
It can be very difficult to blog on a topic in which you have little or no personal interest. If you have no passion in a niche you will not be able to build a massive blog about it. I’ve started many blogs in the early of 2011 but all of them are shut down or be sold.These niches have a big potential in making money but I can’t have any effort to write because I don’t have any interest and experience in this niche. So let’s choose the topic that you love and consitent learn and write about it frequently.
Can You Create Value?
For a blog to be successful it must create real value for its readers. It must be a worthwhile addition to their reading schedule. Creating value doesn’t mean you necessarily need to create a blog that is totally unique. It might simply mean that your blog explains a hard topic in a really simple way, or it might mean your blog has a much more frequent posting schedule giving more up-to-the-minute updates. Writing post based on your experience is the good idea to create value.If you are unsure whether your blog can create value in a certain niche, try asking yourself these questions:
1. Can you generate a lot of content in this niche?
2. Do you know or are you able to find out things that others
want to know?
3. Can you create content that isn’t currently available elsewhere?
4. Do you have a different take or angle on existing subject matter?
5. If someone else came out with the blog you are planning, would you
read it?
That’s it! You’ve read about how to choose the right niche and this is a task for you:
Task 1: Take action and choose your niche now! Write down your interrest and review them. You must have your niche before reading next section.
3. How To Start a Blog? – Choose and Buy The Right domain name
A domain name is the web address or URL that you type into your web browser to navigate to a web page. For example passiveincomediary.com is my blog’s domain name.Domain name is not only your blog’s address but also your brand so you need to research and choose wisely. The first reason that I started this blog because I want to change my domain name to fit my niche selection. There are some tips will help you:
1. Domain has to be as short as possible
Example: Chocolate.com is the top choice, ourchocolate.com is a good domain at this time. Ourbestchocolate.com it ok but ourbestchocolateonline.com is useless.
2. Easy to remember
Let me ask you a question, do you bookmark a random website that you just read ? NO . That’s why you should pick the easy to remember domain, they don’t bookmark but they will remember your domain.
Example: Google.com is a good example, people usually don’t bookmark Google but they will remember it since it’s so easy to remember.
3. Easy to spell
In english one word can have up to hundred meaning, don’t pick a domain that make people confusing when they read it.
Example: PenisLand.com Porn website ? No. Confusing domain will get unwanted traffic.
4. .Com is the best domain
Try to use .com domain because it been out for along time and it’s in people mind. For example: You want to buy a domain name ezwebs.com but it’s not available, try to pick izwebs.com instead. If you really like your domain but .com is not available try .net .org .us ,….
What make .com is the best domain ? Big company use .com domain: google.com, bing.com,…. people use to put .com for a domain suffix because they use google.com or bing.com at least 5 times a day.
5. Meaningful domain
Your domain has to go with your website, don’t use random domain name. If you look for a tutorials website, two website show up on google: WebsiteTutorials.com and PhilsDavid.com, people will pick websitetutorials.com because the domain show people that this website is only for website tutorials. Have keywords in your domain might be a good idea but at this time, it’s very hard to choose a short, easy to remember domain include keyword in.
6. Domain with “-“
My-computer-stores.com, this domain seems pretty good because is’s meaningful but “-” symbol is always to far away from other . “-” also make it hard to tell other people about your website, even harder when they try to remember your domain.
Don’t use number in your domain because it will confuse people. pixel2life.com sound like pixeltolife.com. That’s why you shouldn’t use number in your domain.
7. Copyright Domain
Don’t use domain with some company or software name (r) or (TM). Because you website may become a big website and you will get into domain copyright issue.
Words like Photoshop, Illustrator, CorelDraw … it already registered . Domain with those words will count at violate copyright because you use that words without asking.
These tips to pick domain sometime don’t work well with your domain name, but try to follow these tip because it will help you out a lots later on.
Task 2: Depending on your selected niche, choose your domain name wisely and buy it at trusted domain registar like : Godaddy
4. How To Start a Blog? – Choose Blogging Plaforms
A blog needs blogging software and a web server to host it. There are two directions you can go here – hosted or self-hosted.Hosted Blogs
A hosted blog is a service such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com. These services let you sign up for your own free blog that is hosted on their servers.The pros of a hosted blog are:
- Quick and easy to set up, usually within just a few minutes
- Free, no domain name registration or web hosting fees
- No ongoing maintenance such as updating software or applying security settings
- Can’t use your own domain name unless you pay extra
- Limited customizations without paying extra
- Can’t add on other website components such as discussion forums
- Difficult and sometimes prohibited to monetize, for example by adding advertising
Self-Hosted Blogs
A self-hosted blog uses software such as WordPress.org and is installed on web server space that you purchase from a web hosting provider.The pros of self-hosted blogs are:
- Uses your own domain name that allowing you to make a massive brand
- Unlimited customizations through the use of free or paid visual themes and plugins
- Unlimited expansion of your website to include discussion forums, newsletters, ecommerce, and much more
- Freedom to monetize your website as you wish
- Responsible for your own installation, although this is made easier thanks to automatic installation scripts provided by most web hosts
- Some minor costs involved with buying a domain name and web hosting
Personally I would recommend you to buy web hosting and self-host a wordpress blog on it for complete control on your blog.
5. How To Start a Blog – Choosing a Reliable and Affordable Hosting Provider
I think it would be better to tell you exactly what is the best hosting provider than tell you some tips to choose a good hosting provider. I highly recommend Hostgator. I used this hosting provider for 3 years and don’t have any complaint about the quality. They also have the best customer service. Their supporters are online 24/7 and you can talk with them about your issue any time you need. All problems will be solved quickly.
Host Gator provides Shared, Reseller and Dedicated web hosting solutions. Their services are designed for both beginners and professionals. All of their shared plans include a 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support and a 45-day money back guarantee. For your blog, Shared hosting is enough. They have 3 plans: Hatchling, Baby and Business but you should choose Baby Plan because it allowed you to host unlimited domains.
Task 4: Get Your Hostgator Hosting Package now using this coupon: PASSIVEINCOMEDIARY to get 25% discount
6. How To Start a Blog – Selecting a blog design to build a brand
When a new person visits your site, you only have only few seconds to grab her/his attention to make he/she read your blog and become a loyal reader. I can say that blog design is one of the element make or break the success of your blog.The good thing about designing WordPress blogs in particular is that you don’t really need to know any code and you don’t have to be proficient in software like Photoshop. Everything can either be outsourced and purchased for a fee, or found around the web for free.
Recommended Blog Themes:
- Genesis Framework
- Thesis Framework
- WooThemes
Task 5: Considering and selecting your blog design. I recommend you to use premium themes because they are designed by professional designer.
7. How To Start a Blog? – Installing Your First WordPress Blog
Fortunately installing WordPress is made easy because the web hosting providers have automatic installation scripts for customers called: Fantastico DeLuxePlease, follow the step-by-step guide below in order to activate WordPress on your hosting account:
Step 1: Login to your CPANEL and click on Fantastico De Luxe icon:
Step 2: Click on WordPress(#1) >> Click on New Installation (#2)
Step 3: Compelete your blog information and Click on Install WordPress Button
Step 4: Click on Finish Installation
Congratulations, you’ve just started a blog! I hope this detailed guide will help you. Share your comments with me below if you have anything to talk about how to start a blog.
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