In the age of TikTok and YouTube, having your own blog may sound old school. But in fact, statistics show the opposite: While social networking sites are on the rise, 77% of Internet users still read blogs every day, FinancesOnline reports.
So, if you’ve always wanted a blog of your own, it’s time to stop dreaming and start doing. Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Follow our tips below and get your blogging journey off to a flying start today.
Target audience: Know who you’re writing for
While naming your blog may seem like the obvious first step, we’d advise you to put that off for a bit. Instead, start with zeroing in on your niche and target audience. What do you want to write about? If you want to start a food blog, will you be posting easy, cheap hacks or advanced recipes for slow cooking? Are your focus wintery soups, hearty casseroles, and stews – or do you offer creative new vegan recipes?
Once you’ve decided on your content, your target audience will be a no-brainer. Older demographics with lots of time in their schedule and money to splurge will love the old-fashioned, slower recipes. Young people on a budget are always hungry for cheap, low-effort recipes to whip up after a long day. Families with kids want their cooking to be both healthy and efficient – and so on.
Naming your blog – dos…
Now that you know exactly what the purpose of your blog is and who you’re writing for, it’s time to come up with the perfect name for your new blog. First, take a look at other blogs in the same niche and get to know your competition. Figure out what is going to make you stand out from them – and use words that reflect that in your blog name. If you’re writing to a very specific niche, be descriptive and concise enough to signal your focus clearly to potential readers. You should also make sure to choose a name that is easy to both spell and remember and a fitting domain.
… and don’ts
When naming your blog, try to be as specific as possible. Don’t just call your food blog “My Food Blog”, if your focus is e.g. on traditional Indian or Italian recipes. This name is also problematic because of how generic it is: If you go on Google and type “My Food Blog”, you’ll see just how many other blogs are out there with the exact same name. Coming up with a name that stands out can be difficult – but you can always visit Businessnamegenerator here for all your blog name needs.
Name generators can help you come up with a name that is authentic to your specific content and original enough to make you stand out – but without using too unusual words or names that are too difficult to remember. Make sure to spell everything correctly and stay away from copyrighted names and anything too close to a much bigger competitor.
Sharpen Up Your Writing Skills
One of the essentials when it comes to running a successful blog is to have your writing skills in tip-top shape. After all, nobody wants to read stale, uninspired text full of grammatical errors. Neither do you.
Writing is a bit of an art, but fortunately it is one that anyone can learn with enough practice. Try on your own and analyze your text for some common grammatical errors. This can be something as simple as getting your and you’re right, placing proper commas etc. These are small errors, but they really make the difference for most readers.
And lastly, try to develop your own writing style. Maybe there are some phrases you find are catching, maybe you should use more symbolism and/or comparisons. The possibilities are endless, so take some time to explore and have fun with it.
Learn Basic Web Design
A blog is a website like any other, and as such you should try your best to make it as visually appealing as any other. Now, you’re not a web developer by trade, so there are some natural limitations and that’s okay. But a little knowledge about the website template you use, and the effect certain elements can have on people’s attention and interest can be crucial for a blog’s success.
For example, if there is specific content you are interested in people interacting with, you should make sure it is highlighted and easily accessible right from the get-go.
Also consider getting some graphical work designed, either by yourself or someone else and adorn your website with it. This will help convey the mood and spirit you desire and ultimately, it intrigues your visitors.
Most website hosting services, such as WordPress, do offer courses on how to use their tools more effectively. It will only be beneficial if you take some time to familiarize yourself with it.
Find Interesting Ways to Advertise Your Blog
Let’s say you’ve done everything right up until now, good job! It is not easy to do, but here you are. Now comes the hardest part: getting visitors to your site that interact with your content.
If you’re light on the coin, you need to find alternate routes of advertisement. You could for example build a presence on a relevant forum and attach your blog to your bio. You could also collaborate with other bloggers, and then you’d write guest articles for each other. This is also a great way for networking.
If you do have some coin lying around, consider doing social media advertisements on Facebook for example. You could also consider link building as an option.
Ready, Set, Go!
If you manage to achieve a level of success with all of the aspects highlighted in this article, your blog should perform fairly well. It will take a good amount of time and dedication, but ultimately, the effort is always worth it. Good luck, and keep blogging!
