Do you have so many questions about how to start a blog
that it’s holding you back from actually taking that first step? You are not alone.
The idea of starting a blog sounds so fun but, a little scary too. All you have to do is write something that is interesting and post it, right?
Well, not exactly, but armed with a little knowledge you can make your blogging dreams come true by following the advice of some of the best bloggers out there.
The amazing thing is that there are a lot of great bloggers who are willing to give you that much-needed advice. I have found that the blogging community is a wonderful group of people, and I am glad you’re going to be part of it.
We bloggers need to be there for each other, for support and encouragement. Here are some of the questions you may have. Those nagging questions that are making you apprehensive about taking that first step.
Like…
Am I doing this right?
You may be asking yourself this question (as we all did) and this is a good question to ask. Why? Because you have to be willing to learn and grow your blog.
Find what works best for you. There is so much to learn and no one has ever said that starting a blog was going to easy.
What was I thinking?
This is another a great question, because you may feel overwhelmed at times and wonder if you can do this.
The answer is, yes, you can! This question also keeps you focused on what your blog means to you and your readers.
Where am I going?
You are going down the same path a lot of brave bloggers have gone down before and have paved the way.
You may be one step behind some of them, or maybe you are a step ahead. Either way, you can take this opportunity to learn or share information with someone else.
Reaching out for help or helping someone else can make all the difference.
Here are some of the first steps every blogger must take to start their blog. We all have to start at the beginning.
Step 1: Set up a website.
You can choose any blogging platform you like. These are just a few of the platforms out there. The most popular ones are WordPress, Blogger, and Weebly.
The majority of bloggers I follow use WordPress. I set up a self-hosted WordPress website with a custom domain name which gives
me the ability to make money from my blog and I have more control over my website.
Investing in a WordPress theme is an excellent idea, it really makes a difference. People tend to trust websites that look professional, plus it is less work to
make it pretty.
Step 2: Writing some great posts.
This is the fun part and why you wanted to start a blog in the first place, right? You should also pay some attention to your reader’s user experience, like easy
navigation to find your posts and the readability of your posts.
This is a perfect example where other bloggers can help you with their tips and tricks that have worked for them. I have a few pro tips that I want to share with
you to help you with your website building and post writing.
Pro Tip 1
Yoast SEO – This is easy to use SEO WordPress plugin that tells you exactly what Google is looking for, like keywords and readability of your posts. I love it! It is an absolute must-have!
Pro Tip 2
Grammarly This is one of my favorite add-ons ever! They have a free version or an upgrade! Microsoft word doesn’t catch half of the grammar mistakes I make and I had no idea I couldn’t write English good 😉 Get it!
Step 3: Adding Pages to your website.
You will want a home page, a contact page and you definitely need to have an about me page, which is very important so that you can tell your readers a little about yourself. Believe me, they want to know!
You will need a Privacy Policy/Terms of Service page, especially if you want to run ads or use affiliate links. If your goal is to make money off your blog then it is a must!
Step 4: Use images legally.
There are a lot of stock photo websites to choose from. Pick one or several that offer the “look” you’re happy with. You want to have the “right to use” the images on your website, plus, it is very comforting to know you are legal 🙂
Pro Tip 3
Haute Stock has some of the most beautiful photos that I have ever seen and they are geared toward women entrepreneurs. Design Cuts is also a great choice, they have a great selection of graphics and fonts.
Pro Tip 4
Canva is a free website that you can use to make printable designs or any kind of graphics you can think of. It’s awesome and it is so easy to use, in fact, I use it all the time (even though I own Photoshop CS 5 and PaintShop Pro)
Step 5: Join affiliate marketing networks.
Here are the two most popular networks.
ShareASale which is free to join.
Awin which has a onetime fee of $5. Which you get back after your first sell.
You do have to have a website up and running with some content to get approved.
You will also need the Privacy Policy and TOS page that I mentioned earlier so make sure you do that first before you apply.
It takes a day or two to hear back from them.
Step 6: Start an email list.
This is the most important thing to do. According to most of the bloggers I’ve talked to, they have all said that they wished they had done this from the beginning.
So get that email list going as soon as possible. Be ahead of the game’
I just did this through Mailerlite because they are free up to the first thousand subscribers.
Plus they have templates you can use to make a “sign up” widget like mine, which is on the right side of my website sidebar.
So here’s my question to you…
What are you waiting for?
Take that first step towards something great.
Start by following the steps above.
There is definitely a learning curve on some of the steps I mentioned.
But if I can do it, so can you!
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