Have you considered starting a blog, but don’t know where to start? With the abundance of information and resources available online, it can be hard to filter out what you need and what you don’t to help you start your blog and become a blogger.
Starting a blog is one of the time-tested ways to make money online and passively. Therefore, investing in the right information on how to start a blog can effectively propel your marketing goals and plans. Check out this guide on how to start a blog in 2022 and become a successful blogger.
Step 1: Choose Your Blog Niches
A blogging niche is a specific topic area you will blog about mostly or exclusively. Some of the top best blogging niches you can consider in 2022 include:
- Digital marketing
- Blogging and making money online
- Health and fitness
- Personal finance and investing
- Recipes and foods
- Personal development and self-care.
However, the scope of niches is almost limitless. Blogging experts advise choosing a niche you’re well conversant with or passionate about. Moreover, if there is good financial potential in the niche you’re passionate about, you can blog along that line.
Besides passion, go for a niche that will attract a target audience. A unique perspective and the willingness to learn can help you pick the best blog niche and start a blog around it. Your niche will help you choose a name for your blog and help you develop a focused, productive blogging strategy.
Step 2: Choose A Domain Name and Get Web Hosting
Securing web hosting and a domain name are the next steps to starting a blog after choosing the best niche. Web hosting allows you to publish a website and all its content online. That way, your target audience can access your blog.
Getting hosting means renting server space offered by a hosting provider. Choosing a hosting provider carefully is one way to ensure your blog is functional and has great performance.
Most web hosting providers, such as Hostinger, have different web hosting types for blogs. The different types of web hosting in 2022 include:
- Shared hosting
- Dedicated hosting
- Cloud hosting
- WordPress hosting. This is mainly used for WordPress websites/ blogs.
Features to consider when looking for a web hosting provider include:
- Convenience
- Speed
- Great comfort.
Once you’ve set up your hosting, it is time to choose a domain name. Your blog’s domain name is the initial point of contact with your target audience and is how people will identify you at first. For example, koremedia.com is our domain name.
You can purchase a custom domain name from a domain registrar. Fortunately, some web hosting providers also provide domain names. Things to consider when choosing your blog’s domain name include:
- Make it as memorable and relatable to your blog’s name
- Use unique domain name extensions, such as .club, .online, and .xyz, to make your blog stand out.
Step 3: Choose and Set Up A Blogging Platform
Which is the best blogging platform for beginners? Blogging platforms come in varieties, each carrying different unique features. The two common types of blogging platforms to choose from are:
- Hosted
- Self-hosted.
Hosted platforms are common among beginner bloggers. They typically include all the tools required to start a blog. You don’t have to purchase hosting or a domain name separately. Hosted blogging platforms include;
- WordPress.com
- Zyro
- Squarespace
- Weebly.
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform, with over 90% market share in the United States. Most beginner bloggers start their blogs on WordPress due to its ease of use and convenience.
The benefits of choosing a hosted blogging platform include:
- Quick setup
- Exceptionally beginner-friendly
- Dedicated support
- Little to no maintenance required.
Unfortunately, you will have to surrender complete control over your blog.
Conversely, a self-hosted blogging platform will require you to purchase blog hosting separately. Self-hosted blogging platforms include content management systems like:
- Joomla
- Drupal.
The benefits of choosing a self-hosted blogging platform include:
- You have complete control
- You have complete ownership
- Built to grow. Self-hosted blogging platforms can host websites and blogs of different sizes.
The downside to choosing a self-hosted blogging platform when starting a blog may include a steep learning curve, no dedicated support, and it may require some time to set up and run.
Step 4: Design and Customize Your Blog
Your blog’s visual appearance is a major selling point. Dedicating time and resources to designing your blog can attract more readers and subscribers. You can create customized blog themes or choose from the available lists depending on the blogging platform you’re using. WordPress has over 9,000 free themes in the official WordPress theme directory alone.
Other options for customizing your blog include:
- Site identity (logo, site icon, site title, and tagline)
- Color (background color, header color, footer color, primary color)
- Background image
- Site menus
- Widgets.
You can also add plugins to your blog to personalize it in part or as a whole. Fortunately, you can also outsource web design development services to help you customize your blog’s aesthetics.
Step 5: Publish Content
Writing compelling content is where the fun begins. Once you’ve completed the technical parts of starting a blog, start writing or posting your content to attract your audience. Before publishing content, you can create pages such as “About”, “Blog”, “Services”, “Contact”, etc., to help ease the navigation of your site content.
Furthermore, before publishing blog content, it is advisable to take care of the pre-launch campaign. You’re more likely to succeed as a successful blogger if you plan your blog well. Below are tips to develop an excellent content strategy:
- Specify your goals
- Identify your target audience
- Find your competitors
- List the topics you want to write about
- Schedule your posts. Publishing content consistently keeps your audience engaged, instead of producing content in bulk and disappearing for an extended period.
Having set and optimized your content strategy, it’s time to learn how to write a blog post. Here are recommendations and tips to help you write a blog post like a pro.
- Be clear and concise
- Use headings, subheadings, and lists
- Add images and graphics
- Apply SEO practices. Tools such as Yoast SEO can help you implement SEO in your writing effectively. Applying effective SEO practices to your blog can increase your online visibility on SERPs.
Key Takeaways
Starting a blog doesn’t have to be challenging. Kore Media can help you create and maintain your blog, regardless of your expertise. With our expert blogging services, you can increase your brand awareness, gain more target audience, and elevate your content game. Reach out to us to help you start your blog successfully.
