Last updated - February 23, 2024
Blogging is a method of self-expression through which you can share information, create visibility for a brand, and even generate revenue for yourself as a freelancer. Generally, when you start a blog, you choose a platform first which is a type of website or webpage where you can showcase all your interests, expertise, opinions, or updates in a chronological format.
Blog writing makes you your boss and helps you to work for as many hours as you want. If you are an individual who is fond of expressing yourself through write-ups, then this article will surely help you with valuable insights. Even for brands, blogging is an excellent way to gain traffic and visibility, organically.
Blogging: The Unique Channel for Self-Expression
Blog writing is a dynamic medium of communication that offers individuals and businesses the opportunity to expand their reach to global audiences. It creates a versatile tool that helps serve various purposes including personal expression, branding, and promotion.
With a valuable blog, you can transcend the conventional boundaries of self-expression, for better engagement and reach. The path of blogging is multifaceted and involves creativity, authenticity, and trust as its main currency.
Here’s a closer look at how starting a blog helps you evolve:
As an Individual,
- Blog writing offers creative expression of your thoughts/ideas
- It helps you grow with improved analytical thinking
- A blog helps you hone your writing skills as well
- And helps you grow as per your entrepreneurial aspirations
As a Brand,
- You can build trust and generate authenticity for your brand
- A blog makes an easier way to connect with your target audience
- Brands can use blogs for promotions, announcements, new product launches, and special offers too
- It helps the brand to gain visibility via improved SEO and establishes authority as well
- Moreover, a blog makes an excellent lead-generation tool and a cost-effective marketing channel
Key Benefits to Start a Blog in Recent Times
Having a blogging channel in recent times offers you a range of benefits, both for individuals and businesses. Here are some of the compelling reasons to create a blog in the current digital landscape:
- Lead with content as the king
In this digital era, content helps you create online visibility and engagement most organically with your audience. Through a blog, you can provide a platform to consistently create and gain visibility for more engaging content.
- Blogging helps to establish authority and expertise
A blog allows individuals and businesses to showcase their expertise and establish authority in their respective fields. Regularly sharing insights and knowledge positions you as a thought leader.
- It contributes to better visibility through SEO
Search engines favor websites with fresh and relevant content. Blogging contributes to improved SEO by providing search engines with new content to index, ultimately leading to better visibility in search results.
- Helps organically connect with your audience
Blogs facilitate direct communication with your audience. Engaging content, comments, and social media interactions help build a community around your brand or personal brand.
- A blog makes a cost-effective marketing tool
Blogging is a cost-effective marketing strategy as compared to traditional advertising. It provides a long-term asset that continues to attract and engage your audience over time.
- Blogging helps in brand-building
Whether you’re an individual or a business, a blog makes a powerful tool for brand building. It allows you to redefine your brand voice, share your story, and create a unique identity in the digital space.
- It offers a diversification of content
Blogs enable you to diversify your content with various formats such as text, images, infographics, videos, and podcasts. This versatility caters to different preferences within your audience.
- Blogging helps build monetization opportunities
For businesses, a blog can contribute to sales and lead generation. For individuals, blogging opens up monetization opportunities through advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsored content, or selling products and services.
- It helps in learning and skill development
Starting and maintaining a blog involves various skills, including writing, content creation, SEO, time management, social media management, and analytics. It provides a practical learning experience and an opportunity for skill development.
- A blog offers flexible work opportunities
Blogging can be done remotely, offering individuals the flexibility to work from anywhere. This aligns with the increasing trend of remote work and digital nomadism.
- It paves the way for networking and collaboration
Through blogging, you can connect with like-minded individuals, influencers, and other businesses in your niche. This networking can lead to collaborations, partnerships, and new opportunities.
How to Start a Blog Post in 8 Simple Steps
To create an interesting, meaningful, and engaging blog you need a good amount of research and an understanding of your audience to begin with. Following is the list of key ingredients and steps that will help you create an effective blog post,
1. Choose a Profitable Blog Niche and Name
First of all, choose a niche based on your knowledge and expertise. It is important to be wise with your choice as it will connect you with the related audience. Post that, you can look for the most researched topics by your audience or the most trending topics based on data.
You must always choose a topic that can gain visibility and traffic in less time. The blog can start with your name, your business name, or something creative to maintain attention.
You may also follow three simple steps to choose a perfect blog niche:
- Narrow down your interests
- Research your audience
- Track the blog for profitability
2. Choose a CMS or Blogging Platform
A blogging platform or a Content Management System(CMS) is the place where you publish your content. A CMS offers you your blog’s domain name or URL. You must choose a platform that offers a simple layout, customizable formats, and attractive design options. The platform must also contain features to analyze your content, upgrade it, and monetize the content in different ways.
| Some of the most trusted blogging platforms include WordPress, Medium, Wix, Blogger, CMS Hub, Tumblr, etc. |
3. Select a Hosting Platform
Every website requires a host that helps store websites on a server with a unique address for easy access by the customers. When you sign up for the host, your website uses rented space on a physical server to store all its files and data.
| Note: Generally, a hosting platform with good bandwidth, uptime, and customer support is the most preferred one. |
Let us understand these terms,
- Uptime is the amount of time taken by the server hosting your website to keep it up and running.
- Bandwidth is the amount of data your website can transfer to visitors over a certain period. It is affected by the size of your website and the amount of traffic you expect.
- Customer Support: Your hosting provider should offer an online help center, offer callbacks, and respond to questions and concerns on social media.
On a few blogging platforms, hosting is already included so a separate web host is not required in such cases.
| Some other popular hosting platforms that you can choose for their hosting plan include Bluehost, Hostinger, GoDaddy, HostGator, etc. |
4. Customize Your Blog with an Impressive Theme
Once you have chosen a blogging platform, hosting platform, blog name, and niche, it’s time to design a template for your blog page. You can choose a pre-defined template and further customize it based on your preferences. Just make sure that the chosen design compliments your chosen niche. You can also use color psychology to evoke feelings and connection with your readers.
Further, choose the pages you want to include in your blog like the home page, contact us page, about us page, products or shop(for online store) page, etc. Now, make sure your domain name is indexed on the search engine to ensure your blog’s visibility.
Do a quick site search to check whether your blog is visible on search engines. Enter site:yourblogname.com in the search bar and check the results. If your blog shows up, it is surely indexed.
Finally, finish off with an attractive and smart logo that speaks of your brand. Your logo will help your audience to identify and connect with you faster. Place it on the upper left-side corner of your website and link it to the homepage.
5. Brainstorm and Plan Your Content
Once you are set with the basic template and technicalities of blog writing, now it’s time to research and list down the topics for blogs. You can choose topics based on your knowledge, experience, competitor research, or your audience and their expectations. Choose something that excites, engages, and informs your audience about the respective niche.
You can create blogs based on the topic cluster method and create interlinking for better SEO. It’s like choosing a broad topic first and then creating subtopics out of the main topic and linking them together as a complete package. The reader can choose as per the level of challenges one faces.
Now, plan down these topics on an editorial calendar to ensure the frequency of posting and keeping track of these posts. Keeping a calendar will make you more accountable and stay in alignment with your blogging goals. You may use Excel or Google Sheets and align it with Google Calendar for constant reminders and tracking the progress.
| There are a Variety of Blog Formats including Listicle Articles, How-to Blog, Infographics Post, Guest Post, Curated Post, Thought-Leadership Post, ‘What’ and ‘Why’ Post, Press Release, etc. |
6. Publish Your First Blog Post
Now with a list of ideas, let us start a blog for your blog page. To begin with you need to pursue refined keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner, SemRush, Ahrefs, etc. You always choose a keyword with low difficulty and high search volume. Further, you need to sprinkle these keywords throughout the blog(based on SEO) for visibility on search results.
Now, structure or outline your post for a clear flow of information. It is important to have a starting and ending point. You may use H2, H3, etc. tags, bullet points, etc. for a decent blog layout.
Once you have defined the blog outline, it is time to choose a clear and direct blog title. Choose a title with an H1 tag and add a power word or positive word for impact and engagement.
Now, create content based on your research and knowledge of the topic. You can also take the help of AI tools like ChatGPT or Brad to generate content. Further, write meta content, check grammar and spelling mistakes, ensure plagiarism check, and insert images wherever needed.
Next is to optimize the post for SEO with proper keyword density, internal linking, CTAs, and alt text. Finally, you need to review the entire post and then publish it.
| Elements of a Decent Blog Post include: > Crisp and catchy title > Short and engaging intro and end > Proper structuring with tags for easy navigation > Actionable steps for better engagement > Examples, quotes, and statistics for authority > Images(with alt text) to give life and flow to the post > Proper inter-linking and redirection > Proper SEO for visibility and traffic |
7. Promote Your Blog for Traffic
Once the post is published, it is time to promote the blog for better reach. You can start promoting your blog on various social media platforms, create a newsletter, collaborate with other bloggers, participate in discussions of related niches, invest in paid ads, or try different formats for connecting with your audience.
Stay connected with your audience and inform them about your postings. Prefer activities such as networking, running polls, etc. to keep them engaged.
8. Monetize Your Blog Posts
You can generate revenue from your blogging channel in different ways. You can sign up for affiliate programs, offer advertising within your blog, offer subscriptions, create sponsored content, provide help resources, merchandise, etc. These options help make money from your blog’s popularity.
Create Digital Footprints…
Starting a blog in recent times is a strategic move for those who wish to share their knowledge, build a brand, connect with their audience, and adapt to the evolving digital space. Whether for personal expression, professional growth, or business success, a blog remains a versatile and powerful tool. It helps you gain visibility organically and is an excellent way to connect with your potential clients for the best results. So, do not wait any longer and start a blog now. For more such informative posts, stay tuned with LearnWoo.
Further Reading,
How to write perfect content using ChatGPT & Grammarly?
How to Export Import WordPress Posts and Articles from Your Site to Others?
20 Best SEO Plugins for WordPress to Boost Search Rankings (2024)
