So, If you ever wanted to have your own blog site but couldn’t figure it out, from where or how to start with? This is the post for you. I am pretty much sure, you already read few blog post or visited some sites regarding on this issue by now. So, don’t get upset if you find some of this information you already know. Frankly, more or less it’s nearly the same for anyone whoever wants to write on this topic.
It’s been over three years since I started blogging on this site. It cost me my time, money & patience to become whoever I am & for my site to be whatever it is right now. I openly admit to anyone that I did mistake, but I learned everyday & corrected myself. Today, in this post I will be writing on “How to start a blog?”. Yes, this is something I have learned over the years & I am going to share it with you all. Liked my idea? Keep reading.
1. Pick a Topic for your Blog
Choosing the right topic for any blog is the most important & the hardest part of all. Well, now you might ask me “Why?” The answer is pretty simple. It’s nearly impossible to write about something that you don’t know. As an author of your blog, the topic entirely depends on your personal taste. So, pick something that you love to talk about or to share. It could be literally anything. Whether it’s all about sports, fashion, technology or anything else. As a single individual, I bet you have certain issues where your passion works at it’s peak. Try to figure it out & pick that topic for your blog. Trust me, it will work much better than the topic that you don’t like to talk about on your blog.
2. Free or Paid Blog?
From my point of view, this is the second most important issue that you need to take seriously. Now a days, there are so many Free blog site provider out there. Blogger & WordPress are some of the best & well known Free blog site provider available for you. They are pretty reliable and has got lots of features. However, you have got another choice to go for a Paid blog site.
Now, at this point of time. I want you to take deep breath & ask few questions to yourself.
- Do you want to Monetize your Blog?
- Are you Planning to write on Regular Basis?
- How Serious are you about your Blog?
I think, the answers of these three question should determine the fact that whether or not you should go for paid blogging. Now, if you don’t understand what exactly I meant by “Paid Blogging” then keep reading. Paid Blogging basically includes buying your very own domain (www.yoursite.com) name & web hosting services along with designing your blog site, maintenance etc. Don’t get afraid, it won’t cost you whole lots of money. Now a days they are pretty cheap anyway.
Lets get back to those three questions. If the answer of the first question is “Yes” or you want to make money out of your blog then you should seriously consider of buying a domain name. However, you still have the option of monetizing your blog from Free blog blog sites even though I won’t recommend it for many reason & that’s a different topic to talk about.
If you think, you can’t write on regular basis because of your busy schedule or some other reason then may be you should stick with the free blogs. Why? if you are writing only on weekends or after a long pause, chances are there that you will loose your visitors. It’s not necessary to post something every day but it’s definitely good to have at least one post per day. So that your regular visitors can always come back to get something new.
The success (financially or other) of your Blog entirely depends on you. Yes, it’s you who will decide the ultimate fate of your blog. Yes, it’s possible to make six figure income from your blog ( Darren Rowse could be a very good example ) but that comes at a price. Your dedication, time you spent on it & content of your blog will be the major factors to become a successful blogger, at least financially. There are no options of taking these issues lightly, period.
The bottom line is if you are serious about your blog & really want to make money out of it then definitely you should go for a real domain name.
3. Choose a right Domain name
When I am talking about “right domain”, I mean there are certain issues that you should consider before you are choosing & buying your domain name (ex. www.yourname.com). One very simple wrong decision could be more than enough to bring ultimate disaster for your blog. Every single web site is unique, just because of their name. Even though the content of certain web or blog sites are pretty much the same.
- Choose a unique name
- It should be relevant to your blog’s focused topic
- Keep your Domain name as short as possible
- Make it easy to remember & easy to type
- Avoid Copyright Infringement
- Avoid Hyphens & Numbers
These are some of those factors that you should consider seriously before you choose your domain name. Now a days domain names are pretty cheap. You can easily buy your domain name from any web hosting service provider at a price range from 99cents to couple of bucks. However, it’s always good to buy your domain name from the same company where you would be hosting your site. Remember, you domain name is your identity & your brand. Since you can’t change your domain name once it’s registered, spent some time on it.
4. Web Hosting Plan
Having a good domain name is definitely a big plus for any site but you need to host your site as well. For those who are newbie, web hosting basically means to store your web site related files ( images, videos, html, database) in an online location from where your visitor can access them. A good Web hosting services depends on many criteria. Some of them are:
- Reliability
- Data Transfer Rate / Bandwidth
- Disk Space
- Technical Support
- Control Panel for your Account
- Type of Web Servers
- Pricing
- Additional features ( Email, FTP, MySQL, Shopping Cart etc.)
- Customers Review
There are thousands of Web hosting service providers are out there. GoDaddy, HostGator, 1&1, Blue Host, iPage are some of the popular ones that you can rely on. However, personally I prefer 1&1 for many reasons. In fact this blog site is hosted on 1&1 web server & I am happy about it. It’s been over three years I am using 1&1 as my web hosting service provider without any problem. Customer support is simply superb. Regardless my experience with 1&1, I would recommend you to do your own research.
5. Pick the right CMS
Content Management System (CMS) is a pretty hot topic to talk about now a days. In a plain & simple word, CMS is an Web application to manage the content of your site. Unless you want build your own custom CMS, you can choose from a wide range of free ones which are available in online. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, MODx, dotCMS are some of the popular CMS for any blog site. However, in terms of popularity, WordPress is the top choice for many bloggers and web designers that goes without even saying. Simple google search would be more than enough to find out thousands of free plugins, themes & tutorials for WordPress. I personally prefer WordPress for it’s simplicity & for robust features.
6. Have Patience & Spend Time
Over the last couple of years the single most important thing that I have learned about blogging is “Content is king”, it really is. Unless you are a gifted blogger, it would take sometime for you to write few really good blog post. Frankly, this the only way to become a successful blogger. There’s no “one size fits all” solution. Try to some spend some time on learning the basics of web designing like HTML, CSS, PHP etc. You would need these skills at some point to grasp the blogging concept entirely. Your post might take some time to rank on google’s search result, so have some patience as well. As I said before, there is no shortcut way to build a successful blog site.
Before I finish my post, I would personally recommend you to read as much as you can. Try to learn from websites who are advocating on many issues related with blogging. You will find tons of tips from many successful bloggers in online as well. Follow their advice & implement them on your site. Success is simply not too easy to get, so don’t give up. Keep trying & trying. Happy blogging.
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