4 Tips for Starting Your Own Blog
Everyone has a great story to tell and some people choose to do so through their own blogs. Whether that be a travel blog, beauty blog or something completely different, it’s a great idea to set out online in order to reach people.
Making a successful blog is about the long-game, and it may take a while before you’re earning money. But with persistence, patience, and commitment, you can take your blog to be great.
Below are some tips on how you can go about creating a blog and making it successful for you.
Focus on Your Targets
It would be great if every man, woman and child on the world would come and read your blog, but unfortunately, that’s probably not going to be the case. More and more people are getting their information online every year, and you want those people coming to your blog. That’s why you’ll have to really think about who your target audience is going to be.
Are you going to be making a blog for young mothers? What about single people? Families? Whatever it is, you should focus on exactly what you’re going to do and push your content so it’s attractive to those readers. In this case, it’s much better to go deeper instead of going wider.
Plan Ahead
Think about your favorite TV show. Maybe it’s Grey’s Anatomy or How to Get Away with Murder. You have the TV show circled on your calendar and you know that every night at 7 P.M., you’re going to be in front of the TV with some popcorn, ready for this night’s episode. But imagine one night, the episode doesn’t come. Instead, it shows up randomly on a Tuesday morning. Then, it takes two weeks for the next episode to come. Trying to watch the show becomes such a chore that you end up abandoning it altogether.
Having a blog, you run the same risks. You need to be pushing regular content out for your readers so they keep coming back. This doesn’t mean that you’ll have to put up an article every day at exactly 4:05 P.M., but you’ll want to have a consistent schedule.
Make a content plan and see what you can publish. If you’re having trouble thinking of what to write about, maybe try a series of blogs or a certain theme for a week. If you’re doing a travel blog, talk about the places you visited and the best restaurants in the area.
Having a solid plan can help you stay on track and keep a consistent level of traffic coming to your blog.
Take Care of the Tech Side
To have a blog, you first have to have a website. Make sure you set up your domain name. You don’t want to have this great idea only to discover that the domain name is already taken.
When you’re designing your blog, it doesn’t have to be some super-duper website with all the bells and whistles. Keep it simple. Simple is often better as readers don’t want to be confused or frustrated. Think about the last time you tried to load a web page and it took longer than 10 seconds. You left the site, right?
Same idea with your blog. If it’s too complicated to navigate, people will just leave.
Also, remember to make your blog mobile friendly. There’s nothing worse than going to a website and having to do the two finger zoom just to read some text.
Don’t Be Intimidated
You might have always wanted to start a blog but fear to do so because you’re not a great writer. What’s the best way to become a better writer? Start writing! Practice does make perfect and no one in the world was born a great writer. You might not become Charlotte Bronte overnight, but with consistent practice, you’ll get better and better.
Don’t worry if you’re not the most tech-savvy person out there. So many websites offer tutorials on how to build your own website and all the tips and tricks that tools and platforms have. You may surprise yourself with what you’re able to do and learn in such a short time!
