In today’s world, almost anyone can create a blog. Whether it be for helpful tips, telling a story or merely a way for someone to keep track of what they are doing in life, you can make a blog for just about anything.
But keeping your blog successful and exciting? That is a different story that not everyone can achieve. Not only do you need to produce content on a regular basis that engages your audience, but you also need to promote yourself and your blog to find people who will read it.
It can be challenging, but with dedication and a few helpful hints, you’ll be able to get a blog up and running (and potentially make you money).
Here are steps to take to get you started on your blog from home.
Decide Why You Are Doing a Blog
You want to have a purpose for your blog. Even if it is something simple as using your blog as a journal to talk about your day, you want some purpose behind it. Your reason will help keep you on track with your content.
Decide if you want to make money off of it or use it for fun. Is it your dream to become a published author or do you like to write just for yourself? Maybe you have an established business you are getting more exposure for. Whatever your reason for the blog is, make sure you have one.
Figure Out the Theme of Your Blog
Now that you have a purpose for your blog, it is time to decide what the theme of it will be. Your theme will help you keep your content relevant to one another. What are you knowledgeable about and can write with ease? This should be your niche that will set you apart from other blogs.
Ask yourself questions like:
- What topics interest you?
- What do you like to write about?
- What don’t you like to write about?
- Who wants to read about this topic?
- Why should people read about this topic?
Having a purpose and now a theme will help shape your blog and keep everything relevant and simple to understand.
>Design Your Blog
Designing your blog should be exciting. It is when you will start to see your ideas come to life. You want the site to look engaging and intriguing all while being relevant and easy to follow. If people have a difficult time maneuvering around your blog, they won’t want to stick around. Make your blog as simple as possible to follow.
Your design should reflect two things: you and your theme. Let your personality shine through professionally. You are the reason why this blog exists so let that show through. It will help make it stand out from other blogs similar to yours.
But that needs to tie in with what the blog is about. Just because you love food doesn’t mean a fashion blog should have a foodie-like background. Take some time to think about what you want it to look like that best resembles the theme and who you are.
Getting Busy – Make it a Career
Successful bloggers make a decent amount of money that it becomes their job. When your following grows and your website starts to catch on, companies will want to advertise on your blog. The more traffic you have, the more likely you’ll get advertisers.
Typically when a reader clicks on the advertisement, you get a percentage of what they make. Or, you can also endorse and advertise items and services yourself.
So if you find your blog is running so well you are struggling to keep up, it may be time to decide between taking it full-time. Consider setting up an office somewhere. Look at Calgary real estate or wherever you are for small offices that would work as your headquarters. Then you can decide if you need to hire more writers or use freelancers.
Have some fun with the processes of building a blog. It could be a step towards self-employment or an entertaining way of writing. Either way, you want to enjoy each step of the challenge. Take your time in the development process.
Don’t rush and skip a step. You’ll end up with a confusing blog that people won’t be able to understand. Instead, take all the time you need to publish a site that is engaging and enjoyable for followers to read.