A Simple Guide To Start A Blog.
So You are thinking about starting your own website but don't know what are the basics and where to start from?
In this article you will come to know all the basics and and right ways to start and run a blog on your own, without taking any professional's help. Also we will discuss all the requirements and methods to run a successful blog. But before moving on, know the reasons why you should start your own blog and what a blog can earn for you .There are many reasons and benefits of running your own blog.
- A blog can help you building And growing your business.
- A blog or a website can help you earn money from the internet.
- You can use your blog as a platform to sell products of your own.
There is no rocket science or technical experience required to start a blog. All you need to know are the basics and right tools. Such as Choosing Niche or topic, blogging platform, customization of your blog, selecting a perfect theme according your niche, hosting and domain selection , bringing traffic to your website and knowing the ways that how can your blog earn money for you.
Blogging platforms:
There are many blogging platforms out there to provide you there services and help you starting your own blog. but you need to know that they offer you two ways to start a blog, One is free and other is paid. Some of the best Blogging Platforms are:- Blogger.com
- Wordpress.com
- Wix.com
Now the question is what is the difference between Free and paid blogging platforms?
The simple and easy answer to this question is that, using a free platform means there are many limitations and risks. in short you won't get a simple ".com" domain (www.yoursite.com) ,instead you will get a domain name like, www.yoursite.blogspot.com or www.yoursite.wordpress.com", and also you wont be able to use many amazing, helpful tools and features in when it comes to free platform. But If You are a newbie and just starting your blog knowing the limitations and risks then it's good to start with a free blogging platform ,at least you will have a virtual place to put down your ideas, thoughts and so on.
Free Blogging Platform to Choose:
If you can't afford self hosted platform or if you don't want to begin with a paid blogging platform, Then it's good to start with Free blogging platform knowing the limitations. Free platforms are perfect for those people who are not planning on blogging for more then few months are so. You can make a free website on google without paying a single penny.keep in mind, with free platform you can earn money and also promote your business or sell your products.In simple, There are many goods and bad's in using free platforms. if we talk about goods then definitely you won't get charged for any fee what so ever using free platforms , also you will be eligible for the monetization of your blog, and if you get success in bringing traffic to your blog then you can use the traffic to sell your products and grow your business.
If we talk about bad's then you need to know that it's very hard and difficult to rank a free platform's blog in google, because of the domain name and also people don't give much value to a domain name www.xyz.blogspot/wordpress.com , instead they will prefer " .com domain" names ,and more..
Blogger.com:
If you still want to start a free blog then there is no better platform than blogger.com . Blogger.com is a free blogging platform owned by Search engine Giant, Google it self. It has having a very simple and easy layout, beautiful themes and amazing gadgets , plus very easy setup methods. Also you can monetize your blogger blog Easily , because it is google's own property so they definitely prefer blogger.com over other platforms when it comes to monetization. You can setup Your Own blog in just a few minutes using blogger.com. All you need to do is go to their official website and then signup with your google account. You will be redirected a page where you can see create a website/blog . just choose the name of your website and then choose the suggested theme or you can also get thousands of free themes on google search. just download any free theme, apply it on your website , setup your blog and you are ready to go.Wordpress.com:
Wordpress , the most famous blogging platform where you can start a free blog. when it comes to the best blogging platforms then your must choice should be wordpress.com. many of the top companies such as bbc ,sony, Newyork times and also nasa are running on the self hosted wordpress. Also around 52% of the top bloggers are using self hosted wordpress. When it comes to free then it's a bit hard to start with wordpress . Though wordpress is having amazing themes , plugins , tools and layouts and you can easily start your free website on wordpress, but it is quite hard for a newbie to start with free wordpress and earn money with it , i would definitely suggest blogger.com as your first choice when it comes to free platforms.After becoming successful on blogger, you can easily migrate from blogger to wordpress.
Wix.com:
wix.com is also one of the famous free blogging platform and website builder. Due to its amazing layouts and tools it is also a good choice to start a free website with wix. The key feature of wix is that a website and pages you create on this platform are supported for portable devices ,which means that your readers on their smartphones and other devices can see your work easily displayed.Using free platforms doesn't mean that with those many limitations you won't be able to start and run your blog easily or there will be problems. Using free platforms can help you earn around $5k or more easily and also it can help you promoting your business and selling your products ,it all depends on your niche, content , your hard work and traffic..
But if you want long term blogging and looking for some serious business then you may not go with free platforms . because of the serious limitations such as:
1.A minor mistake or copyrght strike can cost you your blog . because it is a free platform so your blog can be shut down any time without a warning if you violate any policy or term.
2. You can't customize and decorate your blog because of the limitations such as important tools , gadget and plugins.
3. Also you will have fewer designs and themes to choose from whichwill cost you customers because no want want to stay on a boring looking blog.
4. There will be no custom domain and hosting which means that your blog and site will be sticked to an address like,www.xyz.blogspot/wordpress.com which will cost you traffic.
5. It is quite hard to make money with free platforms when you don't own the domain and hosting because most of the free blogging platforms won't allow you to place ads on your website accept ,blogger.com.
6. With all these limitations and risks your blog gives unprofessional and boring look which means it is a bit hard decision to start with free platform.
Start Your Own Blog:
1. Find Or Choose A Niche:
Niche means topic on which your blog will be based, and on which you will write posts on your blog . A blog Won't Help you enough,if it don't get much traffic because of the niche you are putting in front of your audience.Try To find a unique profitable niche. Do market research and know what are the best and less competitive niches. which will help you finding the right niche for you. If you are Good at giving health tips , create a health blog , if your are good at giving news , create a news blog. but try to bring something new in your content. Don't copy other's content . just be honest with yourself and your audience . Do research and find the pure and helpful content. so it will help you gaining the trust of your audience and making your website rank better on the search engines.2. Choose Blogging Platforms:
AS i have mentioned above in the article about the best blogging platforms. You can start with blogger.com or wix and wordpress. But we are talking about long term and serious blogging so i will recommend wordpress due to its great community and support and ease of use. wordpress is easy to setup and also it is a free platform so all you will be needed a cheap web domain and hosting for your website to start with wordpress. it is a secure platform ,having great support community, and Also it has thousands of unique themes and plugins which you can use in building your professional looking website. Starting with wordpress is so easy , all you need to do is sign up on their website and click on create a website button to start creating website.
3. Domain And Hosting:
Hosting can be define as the house of your blog which means that where your blog will live. and Domain can be define as the address of your house which means that it will be the address of your blog. There are many companies out there offering cheap web hosting and domains for your websites, but we have created our website with wordpress so i'll suggest bluehost , because it is recommended by wordpress itself. bluehost is providing its services from 1995 and also offers very cheap rates under 3 dollars. so in my opinion bluehsot will be the best to start with. Just complete the sign up process , buy and install bluehost domain and hosting on your wordpress website.4. Choose A Theme:
When everything is done then it is time to give your blog a professional look. because it matters a lot when your theme is cool looking then a visitor won't get bored and will definitely visit your other articles. You must be aware of the point that almost everyone browsing out there are using their smartphones , then You need to choose a right and smartphones friendly theme for your website. so that a visitor from smartphone and other devices don't skip your website or article. You will find thousands of free themes on wordpress. Just choose one of your choice and apply it on your website.5. Choose Must Needed Plugins:
Plugins are the main factor in changing the whole game for you . right plugins and setup can help your website rank higher in search engines. some of the most important wordpress plugins are ;- Yoast: Yoast plugins helps in optimizing blog for search engines and getting more traffic.
- Sucuri: Helps in beefing up website
- Up draft Plus: Create Regular Backups of your website if sommething goes wrong.
- Wp Super Cache: Helpful in Speeding up website
- wp forms: Create Contact form which helps your readers to be in touch with you.
- Google analytics Plugin: Monster insight plugin helps configuring google analytics on your website.
6. Create Important pages and main menu:
If you want to make sure your blog grows perfectly and give you some good results and help you earn money then you might need to know which are the most important pages that your blog must have. There are four most important pages your blog must have;1. About US: A page where you need to write about yourself and your website.
2. Terms And Conditions: A page where you need to mention about what information you collect, rules and laws of your website.
3. PrivacyPolicy: A page where you need to write about all of the advertising parties, information, third parties, children law, information collection methods etc.
4. Contact Us: Page on A brief detail or a contact form where anyone can contact you or send you emails.
You can create all of these pages online with the help of google.just search about any page and find the right info.after creating these pages you must go to the wordpress dashboard then go to the pages section and setup your website main menu.
7. Configure the basics:
In blogger.com, it is very easy to do all the setup but in wordpress it is bit difficult, You need to check all these settings before moving to the next stage in wordpress.1. Make sure your blog is live:
Go to Dashboard> Settings> Reading> make sure the box in "search engine visibility" is uncheked.2. Disable Ping Backs:
Go to Dashboard> Settings> Discussion> and uncheck box" Allow link notifications from other blog" .3. Permalink structure:
Go to Dashboard> Settings> Permalink> choose "Post Name". and it's all done.Congrats! Your blog is created.
8. Great Content:
Now it is time for you to create great ideas and convert them in to great content.You need to write 2,3 articles a day when your blog is new. Keep searching for good and unique ideas.keep writing unique , pure and great articles for your audience. because your content speaks.Everything about your content and website should attract the audience.Create quality content and articles ,Tell about the idea you are serving to them and Give examples to the audience and ways to execute the ideas.Keep Yourself engaged to the readers, know their problems and come up with solutions in the shape of the good content and article.9. Promote Your Blog:
After everything is done perfectly and the articles are posted then it is time for your blog to get some traffic. For getting traffic you need to promote your blog. You can promote your blog in many ways such as;1.Submit website to Search Engines And bookmark sites: You need to submit your blog to search engines such as bing .and also to google with the help of google search console. and also to bookmarks sites such as reddit.
2. Guest Blogging: You can promote your website by doing guest posting which means to write articles for the other blogs where you can mention your own blog.
3. Comments On Other Blogs: You can comments on other blogs also known as backlinks and promote your blog there. Just Promote but don't spam.
4. Social Platforms: Now a days almost every website is getting traffic from the social media platforms . you need to share your blog and articles on social media platforms such as, facebook , youtube , twitter, snapchat , instagam , pinterest and others.
These are the ways that you can grow your blog.
10. Make Money With Your Blog:
Well Well Well, every step is completed, now it is time to get something from your blog. what i mean to say is that now it is time for you to make money from your blog. After getting traffic now you can monetize your blog or you can use your blog as a way to sell products.There are many ways that you can earn money from your blog but ill explain some famous methods such as,1. Ads On Your Blog:
We all are aware of google adsense. To make money from your blog , you need to apply for adsense and get approval. when you get approved then you will have to place ads on your website pages and when someone click on that ad you will earn money from it . You can earn ( 0.03$ to 100$ ) per click.But what if google adsense reject your application? Don't Worry there are many alternatives of google adsense such as infolinks, media.net, and others. you can apply there to monetize your website.
2. Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing is a system where you promote products of other companies on your website.when you signup on affiliate marketing website , they give you a link for specific product , when you place that link on your website and someone click on the link and buy the product through your referral link then you get paid a small commission for that, around 15-20%. some of the famous affiliate marketing websites are amazon , click bank and alibaba.3. Sponsor Ads:
After getting traffic your website starts becoming famous. There are many advertisers who are willing to pay money to bloggers who place ads of the advertisers on their website. Those posts can be based on advertisers product promotion . You will get paid with a smart amount of money once your website become famous.There are many more ways to monetize and earn from your website. You need to choose the method that won't affect you and your readers in a bad way.You can also sell your e-books and many other things and can earn money. Every thing depends on your hard work. if you put too much efforts in your blog then no doubt you will be successful and happy.
That is all for now readers. Hope Everything will be simple and easy to understand. if you find anything confusing just mention it in the comment section below. Thanks.
