Hey, so you found us! If you have been thinking of starting a blog, we bet this is not the first article you have read on “how to start a blog” – there is a ton of information on the Internet about all things blogging.
We don’t want to repeat what is already included in the piles of content out there. So, this is not a step-by-step guide to setting up your blog or an article about WordPress installation.
Instead, we will focus on 5 things you wish you knew before you start a blog.
Why do you want to blog?
Before you write even one word or pick a name, you need to know what type of blogger you want to be! Are you a hobby blogger? Are you doing it to make money or support your career? Or are you somewhere in the middle?
To be honest, blogging is hard work. Gone are the days of bloggers becoming famous organically! Today, it requires a clear identity and a plan. Everything you plan will stem from the type of blogger you want to be. There is no right or wrong answer here – but you do need to answer this question.
What do you want to blog about?
If you have reached this far then clearly you have a theme or niche in mind. Now, it’s time to expand it and take it for a spin.
Try out these steps –
- Write down your theme, what you want your blog to be about and who is your ideal reader.
- Do some research to find similar blogs and check out what is working for them.
- Pitch the idea to your immediate circle of friends and family or to online communities.
If you are wondering why we are suggesting this, then the answer is simple – writing, researching and talking about your theme will help you clarify the details and concretize your thoughts.
How will you pay for it?
Basic blogs don’t cost all that much. But assuming you want to be more than a hobby blogger, your blog will cost you time and money. Factors to be considered are – the domain name and hosting, graphics, videos, content production and marketing costs. All these have to be paid for and it’s important that you create a realistic budget and a plan to help you turn a profit down the line.
Blog business plan
Successful and profitable blogs don’t just happen by accident. You need a solid and very detailed business plan to make sure that you and your blog stay focused on building a loyal tribe of followers whom you can someday turn into loyal customers.
If you are ready to get serious about creating a business plan, then do check out this business plan template by Regina and one by Melyssa, who both have successful online consultancy businesses teaching people how to sell and create online brands.
How will you get traffic?
In the digital world, everything is tied to how many people engage with your content. Traffic is the only metric of success. The truth is that generating traffic entirely depends on how much of your time and money you want to put into your blog. If you dedicate hours of your time engaging with people on communities and forums or spend quality time writing guest posts or work with a respectable marketing budget – then the traffic will increase – slowly, but surely.
What’s your long-term plan?
When you have to run an interesting blog on one theme for Buy legal Tamoxifen years and churn out fresh content 3 times a week, you can run out of ideas really quickly. Map a 6-month content calendar with details of themes, blog titles, and synopses. We promise this process of putting down your thoughts on paper will streamline your process for a long time to come.
Conclusion
Our work puts us in touch with thousands of bloggers every day; in fact, we have an entire team dedicated to analyzing data and that elusive human angle on what works and what doesn’t. All good bloggers have one thing in common – they are passionate and think strategically about their work. The World Wide Web is a mature and crowded space and the only thing that will stop the reader from pressing the back button is when useful content is delivered consistently.
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