Establishing your new blog:
This article is not aimed at “business blogging” but it certainly can be used as a reference guide or stepping stone to the understanding of what you would need to get started in personal interest blog which can evolve into a business itself. The first thing you need to do is define who you are, what you’re about, the ultimate end result you want to arrive at and quench your passion for your desired interest through your new blog and self expression. An introduction is the first thing people will see on your blog. It should define exactly who you are without divulging personal details that could be used for identity theft and other things. Share what you’re about, the reason you’re so passionate about the certain topic or topics that are closely related and why you get ultimate joy from writing. If you’re thinking that you’ll just start a blog and get visitors or members, and ultimately start making money from it, then you need to establish the one thing that drives all individuals- and that is passion. Your blog should ooze the essence of you and how you feel about what you’re writing. It should draw readers in and give them the burning desire that you feel when you’re sitting and typing away. You should feel not only that you want to write, but need to write as if your life depended on it like it was your next breath of fresh air. A successful blog is one that can not only be read, but felt and it should inspire as well as encourage action by the readers.
The next thing you need to do is to have a look around and find the right web hosting solution for your new blog. There are plenty of free web hosting solutions around such as wordpress.com or blogger.com. When you are beginning, these types of options could be of benefit to you without spending any money on hosting a blog on a shared server that incurs a monthly expense. However, if your aim is to create revenue from your blog and you would like to have an additional income stream, then I recommend the following cheap web hosting companies:
*Coming Soon*
If you opt for the free web hosting solution and to begin on wordpress.com, blogger.com or another service, you’ll create a user identity that will become your blog address on the web. You should be aware that this option is an easy solution for beginners, but you’ll be at a disadvantage if you’re goal is to ultimately make money because they advertise on your free hosted blog and they’ll profit off of your hard work. If you opt for your own paid web hosting service, you will have to register a domain name. Your chosen new domain name for your blog should be catchy, memorable, easy to type and possibly a searched keyword phrase already in order to get found easier by Google and the other search engines. A domain name such as CookingForMyKids.com would be a great name, but Cooking4MyKids.com is not such a good name because that’s more of a brand versus a domain name that can have organic search traffic generated from the first few weeks of being online. I have years of experience in domain names and if you need any assistance trying to create a great domain name for your new blog, contact me and I’ll give you some free suggestions based upon your passion.
The top 3 domain name registrars that I recommend when securing your new online blog identity are: *Coming Soon*
There are several software options for your new blog that you can use such as WordPress, Drupal, TextPattern and others. I recommend WordPress. It’s what over 90% of my websites are built with and I find the user forums as well as availability of themes and plugins that can be interactive with users and engage them seamlessly via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to be the greatest benefit. However, look over all of the mentioned software options and pick the one that you feel is right for you.
WordPress comes with ready to go themes that you can begin your blog with straightaway. They are flexible with an easy option to add photos to your header (top portion of your new blog) so it’s customized as well as other options for what type of design you want such as a left hand sidebar, a right hand sidebar or even no sidebar. If you’re looking for a more definitive and creative theme to assist you in defining you, then I recommend Theme Forest for tons and tons of themes at very reasonable prices. You can also purchase WordPress theme creating software such as Artisteer. I have owned it for over a year and have created several custom themes with it and if I can operate it, more than likely you can as well.
This is the end of the first section of starting your new blog. The next section will cover the topics of must have plugins, tips for getting free web traffic to your new blog, seo (search engine optimization) tips for having Google and other search engines find your new blog, social websites you must brand your new blog identity with and security tips for saving your data and preventing hacking of your website as well as spamming from unwanted users.
I agree with the idea that you need to be passionate and love what you’re writing about. If you’re just doing it for the money, in the end you’ll most likely get sick of it and give up.
Thank you Domenica. Personal or business, I believe passion is required to run a blog. You are right. Without passion , the blog will become a wasteland