How to Start a Blog in Three Easy Steps
Starting a blog has become all the rage these days. With news ones adding to the thousands upon thousands that exist every day, a weblog, or “blog” as it is commonly known, has a myriad of uses. From a place to simply vent about the troubles of your day to a pedestal to spout nonsensical ideologies, blogs have become some of the most read pages on the internet. In fact, some blogs serve as a primary source of news for many individuals, evidence that they’re becoming more mainstream and acceptable. This article will outline the basic steps necessary to start your own blog and take the internet by storm.
1. The first step is often confused for the second step. Before even beginning to consider what blog platform you will use, you have to decide what your blog will be about. What’s your niche? While many blogs serve as nothing more than an outlet for individuals to unleash the stress of their day, they often distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack by being witty, amusing, or just a darn good writer. If you prefer to write about a specific topic, do some research beforehand to see what others in said category are talking about, how they format their blog, their writing style, etc. Once you have an angle, be it general or specific, you can begin the next step, which is…
2. Deciding what blogging platform to use. There are a large number of options to choose from, though the most popular are Blogger, WordPress, and Typepad. Blogger is owned by Google, so they have the power of the Googleverse on their side; WordPress is highly customizable, offering the ability to customize via CSS literally thousands of different themes; and Typepad is just Typepad – very basic and easy to use. If you prefer to have your blog look more like a bonafide website, I recommend WordPress due to the potential for customization. Most bloggers I know use Blogspot, which is incredibly simple to use.
3. Once you have your blog up and running, the next stop is to start marketing it. This is much simpler when you have a specific niche, as this allows you to go to other blogs that fall within the same category and leave comments, link to your blog (don’t spam!), and the like. If not, your best bet is to employ social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and Reddit. In these cases (and in all cases really), is to have quality content as opposed to quantity. If people like what they read, they will keep coming back. Start your blog off right with several top quality posts and the hits should keep coming.
And that’s it. Once you’ve laid down the groundwork, the rest is up to you. Update consistently, and always keep your target audience in mind. With a little effort, a little time, and even a little luck, you could potentially turn your little corner of the internet into a money-making machine!