DailyWritingTips

Start A Blog in 5 Easy Steps

start-a-blogStarting a blog, like Daily Writing Tips, is one of the best things you can do. Here’s why:

  • You can make money with a blog: There are many people making $5000 or even $10000 monthly with their blogs. How is that possible? Blogs tend to attract a lot of readers, and once you have readers you will be able to make money by selling advertising and related products.
  • You will hone your writing skills: Writing regularly is probably the fastest way to improve your writing skills, and having a blog is the perfect way to achieve that.
  • You can use your blog to promote a business: If you already have a business, be it a home-based business or a brick-and-mortar store, you’ll certainly be able to use your blog to promote your business and get more customers.
  • You will network with interesting people: A blog will allow you to network with interested people from all over the world. You’ll be able to find people who share your interests, and many opportunities might come out of that.
  • It will be a lot of fun: Writing is fun! Having other people read your stuff and give you feedback is even more fun! After a while you’ll probably get addicted to writing new posts and seeing how people will react to them.

I am guessing you are already convinced, right? If you are not technically savvy, though, you might be wondering how you should go about starting a blog. Don’t worry, the process is very simple and anyone can do it! Below you’ll find 5 easy steps you need to follow:

1. Choose a blog topic

The first step is to choose the niche or topic of your blog. What will it be about?

Simply make a list of your interests, and then pick one of those. Notice that you can be generic (e.g., blog about cars) or more specific (e.g., blog about luxury cars).

Don’t worry too much about the topic selection. You will always be able to change it later, or even start a new blog on a different topic.

2. Find an appealing and available domain name

The domain name is what people will type on their browsers to reach your website. For instance, google.com is Google’s domain name.

Ideally your domain should have few words, be easy to spell/remember, and describe the topic of your blog. Let’s say you are going to blog about cars. Here are some domains you could consider:

  • MyCarBlogIsSuperCool.com (Not a good domain because it’s too long and hard to spell)
  • JohnDoe.com (Not a good domain because it doesn’t describe the topic of the blog)
  • Cars.com (Probably the best domain possible, but certainly not available anymore)
  • FastCarsOnly.com (A very good domain for a sports cars blog, and might be available too)
  • TheCarBlog.com (Another good domain, because it’s descriptive and easy to spell/remember)

You can verify if the domain you are considering is available using the widget below. Important: there’s no need to buy the domain at this point. On the next step I’ll explain how you can register your domain for free.

Apart from the .com extension you might also consider the .org and .net ones, as they are also quite popular. If TheCarBlog.com is not available but you really like it, for instance, you could try TheCarBlog.org and TheCarBlog.net.

3. Get a web hosting company

Once you find an available domain name that you like, it will be time to find a web hosting company.

This company is the one that will actually keep your blog online. You will pay them a small monthly fee (around $5) to keep your website live on their servers.

If you want a recommendation, check out Bluehost.com. It’s one of the best and largest hosting companies in the world, and their WordPress hosting plan costs only $3.49/month. They also offer a free domain name registration, during the signup process, so you’ll just need to specify the domain of your choice.

Choose the basic package, as it already comes with unlimited bandwidth and all the features that you’ll need.

4. Install WordPress and choose a template

WordPress is by far the most popular and best software to run a blog. If that wasn’t enough, it’s 100% free!

In order to install it, first log into your hosting account (you should have received the login details via email). Inside your hosting dashboard, locate the “Mojo Marketplace” section.

mojo-one-click-installs

Click on “One-Click Installs,” and then click on “WordPress.” Follow the steps until WordPress is installed.

Now you will just need to choose a cool template for your blog. Log into WordPress (again, you will receive the login details via email) then go to “Appearance > Themes.” There you’ll be able to select a template that you like. You can also view the official WordPress themes section to choose one.

5. Start writing content and promoting your blog

You are all set! Now you should start writing posts for your blog and promoting it. Here are some recommendations:

  • The more, the better: Try to publish at least a couple of posts every week. If you have more time available, aim for 5 or 6 posts per week. The more content you publish, the more readers you will attract over time.
  • Follow a regular schedule: If you are going to publish 3 posts per week, for instance, choose 3 specif days and stick to that schedule. Both Google and visitors like sites with a regular schedule.
  • Quality over quantity: Publishing many posts is good, but don’t compromise the quality. Aim to write long and structured posts that will add value to the life of your visitors.
  • Network with fellow bloggers: One of the best things you can do to promote your site is to get it mentioned on related blogs and sites. Get busy to interact with those fellow site owners and encourage them to recommend your blog to their visitors.
  • Use social media: Make sure to create a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account for your blog. Publish content on those accounts regularly, as this will help you gain readers over time.
  • Learn SEO: SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It involves all techniques that you can use to make sure Google will like your site and consequently send you many visitors. You’ll need to learn about SEO if you want to have a really big and popular blog.
  • Focus on visitors: Even if your plan is to make money with your blog, focus on growing the number of visitors it receives first. Once you have a decent number (e.g., 20,000 monthly visitors) then you can start trying to monetize the site.

Good luck!