How to Start a Blog: A 9 Step Guide

Recognise your target audience

Make sure you have a firm grasp on who you want to read your blog article before you begin penning it.

Inquire as to their specific areas of interest. The question is: what will strike a chord with them?

The technique of developing buyer personas is useful in this regard. You should take into account the demographics of your buyer personas and the topics that they are interested in while brainstorming blog post ideas.

For instance, if your target audience is millennials interested in launching a startup, you generally won't need to instruct them on how to use social media.

However, you may wish to instruct them on how to modify their approach to social media (from, perhaps, a casual, personal style to one that is more businesslike and networking-oriented). This sort of adjustment is what allows you to distribute material on subjects that your target audience actually cares about.

Examine your competitors.

You may learn a lot by observing your competitors, who can serve as a great source of inspiration.

It's instructive to examine the methods employed by widely read blogs, as this is often what has contributed to their success. The goal here is not to steal ideas, but rather to understand what characteristics people look for in a good blog.

When doing a competitive analysis, you should consider many factors:

In terms of design, take note of the blog's logo, colour scheme, and overall theme.

Copy: Examine the rival brands' tones and writing styles to learn what resonates with readers.

Examine the areas of interest of their readers to ascertain what you could find interesting.

Choose the subjects you'll cover.

Choose a topic to write about before you start writing.

To begin, the topic might be rather broad until you establish your chosen specialty in blogging.

You can pick subjects to address by asking yourself questions like:

• Who should I write to?
• How well do I comprehend this subject?
• Is this a relevant topic?

Determine your distinct point of view.

What unique viewpoint do you provide that sets you apart from the crowd?

This is critical in defining the trajectory of your blog's future, and there are several options to consider.

• What distinguishes you as a credible expert or thought leader on the subject?
• What issue will you address for readers?
• Will you express your thoughts on current issues?
• Accomplish you want to show your readers how to do something?
• Do you want to compare or share original research?

It is up to you to pick what unique perspective you will take on themes.

Give your blog a name

This is your chance to be creative and come up with a name that will give visitors an indication of what to anticipate from your site. Some suggestions for choosing a blog name include:

• Maintain an easy-to-say and spell blog name.
• Connect your blog's name to your brand's message.
• Take into account what your target audience is looking for.
• If you still need help, consider utilising a blog name generator.

Make certain that the name you choose isn't already in use, since this might reduce your exposure and mislead people seeking for your material.

Create a domain for your blog.

A domain is a component of the web address nomenclature that someone would use to locate your website or a page of your website online.

The domain for your blog will be www.yourblog.com. The name that appears between the two periods is entirely up to you, as long as this domain name does not already exist on the internet.

Do you want to make a subdomain for your blog? If you already have a culinary business at www.yourcompany.com, you may set up a blog at blog.yourcompany.com. On other words, the subdomain of your blog will exist in its own part of yourcompany.com.

Some CMS platforms include free subdomains, so your blog stays on the CMS rather than your company's website. It may look something like this: yourblog.contentmanagementsystem.com. To build a subdomain for your corporate website, however, you must first register the subdomain with a website host.

Most website hosting providers charge extremely little to host an original domain – in fact, when you commit to a 36-month contract, website charges may be as little as £5 per month.

Here are five prominent web hosting providers from which to choose:

• GoDaddy
• HostGator
• DreamHost
• Bluehost
• iPage

Select a CMS and create your blog.

A CMS (content management system) is a software tool that allows users to create and maintain websites without having to write them from the ground up. CMS solutions can handle domains (the location where your website is created) and subdomains (where you create a webpage that connects to an existing website).

A self-hosted WordPress website on a hosting platform like WP Engine is a popular CMS. After you've decided on a CMS and a domain or subdomain for your blog, you'll need to select a web hosting service.

Customise the appearance of your blog.

Once you've registered your domain name, adjust the look of your blog to match the topic of the material you intend to provide as well as your brand.

Green, for example, may be a colour to consider when creating your blog if you're blogging about sustainability and the environment.

If you already operate a website and are writing the first post for that website, make sure the appearance and topic matter are consistent with the website. There are two methods to accomplish this: include your:

This can be your company's name and logo, and it will remind blog readers who is publishing the information. (How aggressively you brand your blog is entirely up to you.)

Page "About": You may already have a "About" page that describes yourself or your company. The "About" section of your blog is an extension of this higher-level declaration. Consider it your blog's mission statement, which supports your company's aims.

Create your very first blog entry.

The only thing missing once you've set up your blog is content. While the style and layout are enjoyable and practical, it is the content that will attract your readers in and keep them coming back for more. So, how do you go about writing one of these interesting and informative pieces?