I'm sure that you would agree that blogging has truly taken the world by storm. Everywhere you go, you'll hear of people who are making successful livings off their blogs. Fashion Blogs, Food Blogs, Health Blogs and such truly dominate the internet in this current age. Are you someone who has something to share with the world and would love to do that through starting a blog? If so, this is the article for you. Today, we will look at the six steps you need to take when working on developing a successful blog. Interested? Read on to find out more!
1. Domain and Hosting
The first step when it comes to starting any successful blog is to register your domain and purchase a reliable hosting plan, from a reliable hosting service. There are multiple plans you can choose from, such as reseller hosting to VPS hosting. A reliable host is one that can tend to your needs round the clock with 24/7 technical support. You never want to be in a situation where your website has crashed and you have to wait for hours to get in touch with your web host.
Now the domain name. Your domain name is essentially your blog’s name, and what people are going to remember when they want to head to your website. This is why choosing a memorable, catchy and descriptive domain name is key. You want your domain name to give people a clue as to what your blog is about. Take for example, Crazy Vegan Kitchen. From its domain name, you can roughly figure out that this is going to be a blog about Vegan Food and Cooking. Follow suit by choosing a descriptive domain name that captivates your target audience.
2. Choose The Right Theme
Appearance is key when setting up a successful blog. No one wants to have to search through a poorly designed blog, that is a major turn off. A good theme will give you the look and feel that you envision for your blog, allowing you to create something that you have full control over. Most of us are not coders, so a theme makes the design process a million times easier. Additionally, once you purchase a theme, you own it for life and can customise it to your liking. A theme has two components: the framework (the bones) and the Child Theme (the beauty).
When it comes to framework, there are several on the market, one of which is Genesis. Genesis is one of the most flexible and reliable frameworks, and is something we always recommend to new bloggers. As for the Child Theme, there are many available to you via ThemeForest or BYLT. You will legitimately be spoilt for choice.
3. Modifications
Once you have hosting, domain, framework and themes sorted, you can now modify your blog. You can tweak the various aspects and designs to cater to your individual preference, whether it is flipping your website to be a mirror image of the original child theme, or changing header and body text fonts. The possibilities are endless, and do not require you to have much prior knowledge in design. Another thing you will want to do is establish a Google Analytics account to track your web statistics. This is great to find out where traffic is coming from, which posts are doing the best and can assist you in modifying your blog in accordance with the people who are visiting it.
4. Plugins
Plugins are where the fun begins. With plugins, you can add Facebook badges, social icons and share buttons to your posts, ensuring that people are sharing your content on their social media pages. Plugins also take only a few seconds to install, and you will have thousands to choose from. Don't go too crazy with the plugins, just use ones that you really need, as an overload of plugins may cause your blog to slow down significantly. Always remember to delete inactive plugins as well.
5. Quality Content
Now, steps 1 to 4 are essential, but not as essential as step 5 - quality content. There is no point in having a pretty blog if you don't have content to back it up. Remember to publish regularly, consistently and to write about things that your audience want to read. Do a little market research - what are people looking for? Find out, and then provide it to them. This is a great way of ensuring a steady stream of traffic to your blog.
6. Social Media Marketing
Now that you've got your blog up and running, it is time to make use of Social Media marketing. With platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, you can market your blog for absolutely no cost whatsoever. Push your content out there, try and get people to share it to their own pages, and interact/engage with your readers.
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We hope that these 6 simple yet effective steps will assist you in creating the successful blog of your dreams!
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