Building Blocks: Starting a Blog is Not Rocket Science

So, you want to start a blog?

You should. Blogging for business purposes can help your company grow- 81% of U.S. online consumers trust information/advice from blogs and small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than their non-blogging counterparts. Aside from those numbers, blogging for personal reasons can make you a lot of cash, so much so that blogging today is becoming a growing career path all on its own.

And it’s not rocket science.

Anyone can start a blog- it’s really true. There’s just a few building blocks to place and a few hurdles to overcome in the beginning. Here’s the basics of how to make a blog for beginners.

First thing’s first- pick a platform and a name.

You can’t start blogging until you start up your website. So, first, you need to pick a hosting platform. A few of the most common and popular ones are WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, Ghost, Drupal, and Joomla. Whichever one you choose is entirely up to you, and majority of them do have a free site option, though you will have to pay the platform money if you aim to make any dough back from your blogging. The paid options on many sites are reasonably cheap, so don’t worry about the money it takes for start-up quite yet.

Also, you need to choose a domain name for your site (A.k.a. something .com). You’ll have to check around online to see what’s available or already taken as well as choose something that really represents you and your webpage. Depending on the platform you pick to host your site, you may have to pay extra charges in order to buy your domain name, but so long as you choose something short, sweet, and memorable, you’ll attract enough visitors to your site to break even with the beginning fees.

Next, design your site.

Make your website as eye-catching and creative as you possibly can. Every webhosting platform has tools and preset themes for you to choose and customize from, so this part should be relatively easy.

Always remember, that you’re making your blog for your readers. Keep your audience in mind and choose website layouts and backgrounds that look both professional and targeted toward your viewers. For example, a rainbow background and complex layout might not be the best choice for a blog meant to teach seniors about their healthcare options.

And then start your blog.

You started your blog to write, so write!

Always keep your content full of authentic quality– don’t publish fluffy posts full of air. Give your readers something to really read. Keep their interests in mind so they continue to follow your blog, giving your constant traffic and business opportunities if and when you have something to sell. Post often, too- keep your quantity balanced with your quality.

Bonus tip: read up on SEO.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and knowing it well can do wonders for your blog. SEO is all about getting search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing to index your site and, in turn, get you more traffic and viewers.

So, you wanted to start a blog?

Now you can. Blogging really isn’t a difficult thing to grasp, and you can and should take advantage of it as it grows and changes the world today. Remember- it’s not rocket science.