Starting a blog: The ultimate guide

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, you probably have a million questions and rightly so. Starting a blog is a big task that you want to approach correctly. You may be wondering what exactly you need to know before starting a blog. That’s where we step in. We’ve created this handy guide full of tips for creating a blog.

1. Choose what you want to blog about

The first thing to do before starting a blog is to decide what you want to write about. There’s no point in building your blog site if you have no idea what you’re going to focus on. Your blog can be about anything you want. It could be about a hobby, how-to guides or fashion. The choice is yours. Once you’ve chosen your topic, you can begin with the next steps.

2. Choose a platform

Before you post any blogs, you need to decide which platform you’re going to use. There are many platforms to choose from. They all have pros and cons so spend plenty of time researching which platform is best for you. For those starting a blog, we recommend the following platforms:

WordPress

This platform was first launched in 2003 and is the most popular blogging software. It powers around 39% of all websites. It is free to use but domain names and hosting comes at a price.

Medium

This blogging website launched in 2012 and is great for publishing blogs. When you sign up for their free partner scheme, you can earn money. You earn money when paying members read your work.

Wix

Wix.com is a website builder that allows you to build a customised website. You can also use the site to add blog posts via the Wix Blog app. A free account is available but has limitations and shows Wix ads on your site. The site is great for those just starting a blog, as the setup is quick and easy.

Blogger

To start your free blog on Blogger, all you need is a Google account. It is free and easy to use, especially for those not so savvy with tech.

3. Post consistently

If you want to see success from your blogs, you need to post content regularly. Your readers will feel more connected to a brand that posts frequently. Producing blog posts frequently will also increase your rankings on search engine results pages (SERP).

If you want a consistent audience, you need to post consistent content. Posting on specific days and times is a good way to get into the swing of posting regular content. Your audience will know when to expect your blogs.

4. Create compelling headline

In order to create a successful blog, you need to create compelling headlines that draw readers in. After all, headlines are the first thing people will see. You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression, so make your headlines count. If the headline doesn’t appeal to your reader, they won’t read it.

Some suggestions to create engaging headlines include:

• Use odd numbers – odd-numbered lists will stand out better than the usual top 10 listicles. Using odd numbers in your headlines can help your article stand out and improve overall performance.
• Use special characters – just like using odd numbers, these will also help your headline grab the reader’s attention. Brackets and hyphens are good examples of using special characters in your headlines.

• Questions – the use of questions generates more curiosity and is good for SEO.

• Use keywords– the use of keywords is important, especially when it comes to your headline. It will make it easier to locate on Google.

Your headlines are crucial to your blog posts, so it is worth spending some time crafting the perfect one. Sometimes it can be easier coming back to the headline after writing the full blog. Remember to create headlines that are impossible for the reader to ignore. Make them choose your blog over someone else’s.

5. Use search engine optimisation to increase visitors

Our next tip for starting a blog is all about search engine optimisation (SEO). This is the art of optimising your content in order to rank certain keywords on Google. This is where keywords come in.

Use keywords throughout when writing a blog post. They are more important than you realise. When someone Googles a word or phrase, Google searches its index for content featuring those words or phrases. Blogs that consistently use keywords throughout their content will be placed top of SERPs. This is because Google wants to offer the most helpful content to users. The more often the keywords are used in a blog post, the more useful Google deems it.

However, you need to avoid keyword stuffing. This is overusing keywords in your content that aren’t relevant or don’t make sense just to rank higher on SERPs. If Google finds you guilty of this, you could be penalised. Your article will be pushed down the rankings or you could even have your site blacklisted.

6. Linking

When starting a blog, it’s worth knowing about the importance of linking throughout your content. Linking to other posts can make your content more valuable to users. Linking provides a more in-depth experience for your readers. They are led to additional and related information that isn’t a duplicate of what they’ve just read. Thus, providing them with more helpful and relevant information. You can either use internal links or backlinks in your blog posts.

Internal links are links to other pieces of content on your site that are relevant to the topic at hand. Internal linking is a great way to get readers to read old content. This increases the amount of time they are spending on your webpage, which is good for SEO. Backlinks is providing links to relevant blogs from another site. Backlinks are always a great way of reaching out to other bloggers and making connections.

7. Be clear and straight to the point

When writing a blog post, you want it to be engaging and in-depth. However, you don’t want to spend too much time waffling as it will bore your readers. If readers can’t take anything away from your blog, it’s been a waste of time. Not only for them, but for you too. Your content should be providing value to your readers. Only feed them information that is relevant to the blog title. Keep your language straightforward that can be easily understood by your readers.

Check out our article writing tips blog for ideas on writing and structuring your blog post.

8. Incorporate visuals in your blog posts

Don’t worry, we still have more tips for starting a blog to come, so keep reading! You probably associate blogging with writing and you’re right. However, the best blog posts incorporate visuals as well as writing.

Visuals are a great way of highlighting what you’re trying to say. If your blog is a guide for using Photoshop, screenshots are a great way of showing people a step-by-step guide. Likewise, you could also use videos to illustrate your point. Visuals are also a great way of making your posts more visually appealing.

You should always use a cover image for your blog. It shows the audience an overview of what the blog is about. Blog posts with appropriate images also perform better in search engines.

9. Share your blog posts on social media

Next up on our list of tips for starting a blog is the importance of sharing them. You’ve spent time and effort perfecting your blog post, now it’s time to share it with everyone. If you want your post to be successful, you need to reach as many people as possible. Sharing it on social media increases your chances of reaching a wider audience.

Add a call-to-action when you share it and ask others to like and share your post too. When starting a blog, it’s important to get the word out. Sharing it across your social media channels is a great way of doing so.

10. Proofread before publishing

We can’t stress enough how important is to check over your blog at least twice before posting it. Thoroughly check through your blog for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Your content needs to be perfect if you want to succeed. It will look unprofessional if you post blogs that are full of errors. It will also make it difficult for your audience to read and they may question your legitimacy.

You could always ask someone else to look over your blog to see if they can spot any errors. A fresh pair of eyes can bring a new perspective. Once all the proofreading has been done, it is ready to post.

Can you make money from blogging?

Now you know all the tips about starting a blog, you may be wondering how to make money from blogging. The truth is, it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you are persistent with blogging. All the best performing bloggers have all been where you are now. You can only earn money through your blogs if you have enough site visitors. Here are some suggestions of how you can make money from your blog posts:

• Promote your blogs on social media
• Write sponsored posts
• Offer services
• Write guest posts
• Offer to sell a space
• Merchandise
• Promote an affiliate product
• Offer to review products for a fee.

What are the benefits of starting a blog?

Starting a blog can benefit you and your business in many ways and here’s how:

• The more blog posts you create, the more your writing skills will improve.
• Blogging can give you the freedom to be more creative
• You can manage your online identity and build trust
• You will make new connections and build genuine relationships
• Your blogging can help you sell your products or services
• You’ll reach a wider audience to connect with your brand
• You can learn more about your audience
• Blogging can help improve your SEO.

Are you ready to start a blog?

Do you need our help?

We hope you’ve found this post about starting a blog helpful. By now, you should feel more prepared to take the next step for creating your blog. If you still need more information, our team are on hand to help.

We would love to hear about your business goals. So, why not contact us and speak to one of our team? We can brainstorm how we can produce the best content for you. Then, we will use our experience to make recommendations.

We pride ourselves on delivering results. We will provide you with predicted outcomes so that you can make an informed decision. If you give us the go-ahead, we will provide you with a quote. Our team will then get to work on creating the content of your dreams!

Check out our list of services to see what’s on offer.

Check out our blog for the best blog writing tips to get your content off the ground.

See something you like? Let’s get started!

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Step 1 – Tell us about yourselves! We want to hear about your company’s goals and ambitions. What do you want your marketing strategy to achieve?

Step 2 – Now it’s our time to shine. We’ll do some research and create a proposal of ideas – just for you! This includes recommendations drawn from our extensive experience. Are you ready to hear our ideas?

Step 3 – There’s no point in investing in your content if you don’t know what it will do for your business. So, based on our knowledge and experience, we’ll make predictions about the likely outcomes of the content. That way, you can see how our services are going to benefit you.

Step 4 – Finally, we’ll provide a quote for our services. Once that’s out the way, then the real fun can begin!

Let’s get Vocal! Get in touch with a member of the team and get ready to watch your business grow.