How to start a blog: Beginner’s first step

If you are looking for how to start a blog, then you have come to the right place. Consider your problem already solved. We are going to show you considerations and decisions to make before starting a blog. Please note that this is a beginner’s first step. Things you need to consider first. For the complete guide, see: How to create a blog in less than 20 minutes

1. What are your reasons for starting a blog?

The first thing is definitely knowing why you want to blog. Are you doing it for money or just for fun? If you are chasing a certain audience, what do you want them to see or benefit from when getting to your blog? Don’t be tensed or worried, have fund! Blogging is open to everyone.

2. Have you decided what you are blogging about?

If you are 100% sure about step one, then this will be easy for you. The reasons for your blog will give you the idea of what you want to blog about. The topic of your blog will also determine the audience you are trying to get attention from. You can blog about your personal life, this is educational to people, you let them learn from you. Or, you can blog about your favorite sports and activities. Blogging is all about doing something you love and enjoy doing, don’t do something that will bore you in the first week. Please don’t rush through this question. It is very important. Why is it so important? Because it can influence the success of your blog. If you pick a topic that you are passionate about and at ease with and very informed about, it is likely that you stand a better chance of being successful than picking a topic that you have no knowledge of or you are less motivated about.

3. A paid blog or a free bog?

Are you going to start a blog that you are going to pay for or the opposite? Yes, there are blogs you can use for free and they are some you have to pay for. Not that you are actually paying for the blog itself but you pay to host them. It is possible to be successful using either a free blog or a paid blog. But the options and chances of success is with the paid blog. The good news is that you can start with free, once you build a large audience and ready to make money out of it, you move to the self hosted (paid blog).  Starting a free blog is easy, you just go to the website, fill in your details and there you have it. Free blogs are all over the internet, our top three pick are:  WordPress.com, Blogger.com and Wix.com Free blogs may not allow you to advertise on them.

On the other side paid blogs (self hosted), offer to host for a certain amount per month or annually. Here the blog is yours, you have full control and can offer advertisement services if you want. You can do with it as you please, Make changes. You are in charge. In full control. Note that Paid blogs are not necessarily expensive!  However, there are cheap options you can go for. Picking the right host for your blog is very important in answering ‘how to start a blog’. Our top recommended option are BlueHost, HostGator and InMotion Hosting, we have picked them because of how fast, easy and good they are. They have a good support team in case you run into trouble and need some help. They are also very cheap and affordable!

4. The domain names.

You will have to register a domain name; this is actually the name of your blog. Domain range at about $8 but can get up to thousands. The more popular the domain name is the more the cost. One can always change the domain name.

You can use GoDaddy.com or Namecheap.com services to register the domain name that you choose. Sometimes you can go for cheaper domain names, but they are weird names. Once you are done with this step, your question of how to start a blog is answered.

5. Traffic.

When you have already started a blog, the main thing you should focus on is how to get traffic to your site (By traffic we mean visitors). When you put something on your blog, you want it to be the first stop for everyone who searches for something related to it. You can use your Social media pages to drive traffic to your site. For paid blog, research on SEO to help you get organic traffic. You can also boost your traffic by spending on digital marketing, that is if you want to hit the ground running immediately. You can consult us for help on SEO. Email us: admin@makemoney.ng

6. Content.

Once you have set up your blog and its ready to go, you should always ensure to update it with relevant content: articles, pictures or videos. Follow other blogs that focus on same topic as you, consume every information relevant to your niche. Make sure you are among the first to write about the latest information on your niche

With this information, I believe that your ‘how to start a blog’ question has been answered and you are good to go.