Last updated on December 2nd, 2024 at 03:22 pm
What Is a Blogging?
If you wanted to create a Blog, and your gut feeling says also you are interested in blogging make it. There are so many resources available, to start a Blog, and share your thoughts and ideas with your audience, But where do you begin?
Before we move into the process of creating a blog, let us first understand what blogging is.
Blogging is the method of creating and sharing content online. It could be about anything, from personal experiences to business, tech , and cooking related topics.
Blogging has become increasingly popular over the years, with millions of people creating blogs worldwide. In this beginner’s guide to blogging, we’ll walk you through the steps of starting your own blog in 20 minutes.
Sharing is caring:
Hostinger’s Biggest Black Friday Sale of 2024 Ends December 15!
"Time’s Running Out!
How to Start a Blog in 7 Steps
Why Start a Blog? Benefits of Blogging.
Sharing Your Passion
Everyone has some or the other passion, and blogging is the best way to express your passion, your thoughts, and ideas and interact with others who cares your interests.
Establishing Yourself as an Expert
If you know about something, or you are an expert in the desired niche. So as you move forward with your expertise your targeted audience trust you more than any others.
And because of the authority you create around your field ,you have better chances to collaborate with other Bloggers and make more money from it.
Making Money
If someone establish herself/himself as an expert in the chosen field. WHY not make money out of it.
Because the targeted goal is to make money from anything what we know. Did you understand?.If you would agree with me type yes ” I AGREE” in the comments section.
So if you are interested in Blogging.There are many ways to make money from it:
Understanding Your Niche and Target Audience
Choose a Niche
If you want to create a successful blog, you must first choose your niche and target audience.
Your niche is the targeted topic or area on which you have expertise and you are passionate about that topic. It could be anything, from traveling to Business, Technology, etc.
Define Your Target Audience
Firstly, asking to yourself three essential questions
- Who is your target audience?
- What they are looking for?
- How you can provide for them?
When you are very clear about who is your target audience, what they are searching for and you have the same product and services that they are hanging for.
You’ll need to make a keyword list to focus on, properly optimizing your keywords on your landing page whatever service or product you provide, and putting that keyword in your content to provide true value and make sales.
Understanding your target audience will allow you to curate content that will encourage them to come back for more.
Something that others are eager to learn about.
“Successful blogs help solve everyday problems. The bigger the problem, the more likely your blog will be popular and help you earn money.
For example: how to install WordPress on your site. It’s is very common and big problem for the people who wanted to start blogging but they don’t know the simple thing.
If you can teach people how to tackle one of these challenges, you’re on the right track!”
Choosing Your Blogging Platform:
Choosing the right platform is very essential for any Blogger who is just getting started.
According to experts, WordPress is the most popular CMS platform, covering more than 40% of all websites on the internet.
WordPress is a powerful and flexible Drag and Drop platform that allows you to customize your blog very easily, without any coding.
It also contains lots of plugins and themes that you can apply to improve the functionality and Design of your blog.
One thing to keep in mind is that WordPress is available on two distinct formats. WordPress.com and WordPress.org are both available.
They have nearly identical names, however there are significant differences between them:
WordPress.com is a hosted platform, while WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform.
This means that WordPress.com takes care of all the hosting and maintenance for you, while you are responsible for finding a web hosting provider and installing and maintaining WordPress on your own server with WordPress.org.
WordPress.com offers a limited amount of customization options, while WordPress.org gives you complete control over the customization of your website.
With WordPress.com, you can choose from a few different themes and plugins, but you are not able to make major changes to the code.
With WordPress.org, Install unique themes on your self-hosted site, or create your own.
WordPress.com has some limitations on how you can monetize your website, while WordPress.org gives you complete control over how you monetize your website.
Monetization choices are limited, particularly on the free plan. Users cannot run their own advertisements, and eCommerce functionality is limited.
WordPress.org gives you complete freedom to monetize your website.
WordPress.com offers a basic set of features, while WordPress.org offers a much wider range of features. With WordPress.com, you can create blog posts, pages, and galleries. You can also add some basic widgets and plugins.
With WordPress.org, you can create any type of website you want, and you can use thousands of different plugins to add functionality to your website.
WordPress.com has a free plan, but it is very limited. You can only create a blog, and you are not able to use your own domain name. The paid plans start at $4 per month.
WordPress.org is free to download and use, but pay annually for the name and web hosting. The cost of web hosting will vary depending on the provider and the amount of storage and bandwidth you need.
Setting up your Blog: Step-By-Step Guide
After deciding on your blogging platform, you need to set up your blog. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
Hostinger’s Biggest Black Friday Sale of 2024 Ends December 15!
"Time’s Running Out!
1. Choose a domain name and hosting provider
First Step: Go to Hostinger.com or Hostinger.in (if you are in India)
Before starting to create any website or Blog first, you have to take suitable hosting. A reliable hosting plan offers web hosting at an affordable price. Fast loading speed and one-click WordPress installation.
With over 30 million monthly visitors. Hostinger is one of the greatest web hosting companies. WordPress also recommends this Hostinger web hosting is a powerhouse. With 24/7 contact support, free SSL certificates, and free domain name registration.
For Hostinger.in
For Hostinger.com
Click the Claim Deal Button “Get Instant Deal now”. 80% off on web hosting or VPS plans for 12 months or longer. Only available upto 25 November. (as seen above) . Select a hosting package that matches your needs.
(Select the Plan which suits you but I recommend using the Premium web hosting Plan if you’re serious about it and want more resources and power.) Remember that you may always upgrade your plan as your business grows.
Key Differences Between Plans.
And if you are person who just getting started or above the beginners, I highly recommend you to choose premium web hosting plan from Hostinger.
For Hostinger.in – Premium Web Hosting
If you take 12 months plan you will get plan discount 75% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
And Free Domain for one year.
If you take 24 months plan you will get plan discount 79% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
Free Domain for one year.
If you take 48 months plan you will get plan discount 84% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
And you get 2 months free hosting + Free Domain for one year.
For Hostinger.com – Premium Web Hosting
If you take 12 months plan you will get plan discount 85% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
And Free Domain for one year.
If you take 24 months plan you will get plan discount 86% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
Free Domain for one year.
If you take 48 months plan you will get plan discount 88% plan discount and my coupon code referral discount 20% included.
And don’t stop there you get 2 months free hosting + Free Domain for one year.
Disclosure: There may be some affiliate Links that do not single cost you. Sign up through my referral Link. https://hostinger.in?REFERRALCODE=XVUUMANGVBY0 and get an instant 20% discount.
And for Hostinger.com use this Link: https://www.hostinger.com/?REFERRALCODE=XVUUMANGVBY0
For Hostinger.in
For Hostinger.com
Step2: Create your Account.
You can also log in using your Google account or Social media account. This Hostinger login will use in the future.
For Hostinger.in
For Hostinger.com
Step 3: Choose the Cart Plans.
For Hostinger.in
For Hostinger.com
My Recommendations: Choose the Plans above 12 months, and get 85% off on all Web Hosting Plans, if you choose for the period of 48 months, first you claim a Free Domain and 3 months of free Hosting.
Sign up through my referral Link. https://www.hostinger.in/?REFERRALCODE=XVUUMANGVBY0and get an instant 20% discount.
And for Hostinger.com use this Link: https://www.hostinger.com/?REFERRALCODE=XVUUMANGVBY0
Step 4: Complete your payment information.
For Hostinger.in
For Hostinger.com
In the above image, you see if you use my Coupon Code you get an instant 20% off referral discount on all 12 months above plans.
It depends on what plan you choose, but one thing remains the same you get 20% off on web hosting or VPS plans for 12 months or longer.
Agree to the terms & conditions and submit payment information.
Congratulations on setting up your hosting account! Check your inbox for a welcome email received from Hostinger!
2. Install WordPress
After Submitting your Payment and Billing Information you see this page. 👇
In the above image, click the button Start Now!
Step 1: Click on the Button Start Now!
Select the first option: I’m creating it for Myself then you will see: 👆
Select: Create a new Website then Claim your Free Domain as promised.
Step 2: Choose a Platform and Select WordPress
In the above image choose the platform that is easy for you to build the website.
I recommend you use WordPress because 40% of website owners use this CMS.
Step 3: Claim a Free Domain and choose the right name for your Domain: ⬇️
Then Choose an extension from the Drop Down Button i.e. ( .in, .com, .net, etc.) And if your Domain is Available then it turns into a green Bar and shows available.
Step 4: Finish Setup
Choose your Server location and Click Finish Setup.
Step 5: Fill out Domain Owner Contact Details
Select your Country and fill out your Personal details: 👇
Click Finish Registration and your Domain Name is Registered after this Process and Then Setup your Website.
This interface will provide you with an overview of the Hostinger+WordPress integration. Here, you may manage all the WordPress settings such as plugins, comments, pages, blog posts, etc.
Remember! Do not set the plugin & WordPress to auto-update.
Congratulations your Domain and Hosting is ready:
Step 6: Manage the Site
Click on Manage Site you see in the above image, and the New Dashboard opens, which is also called H-Panel .ie. Hostinger Panel.
And Done!
Note: Your Domain takes time to activate at least 24 to 48 hours.
3. Select a theme and customize it
It’s now time to pick a theme. There are many free and paid WordPress themes available, so take your time and find one that check all the boxes:
NOTE: Designed Theme is not an important aspect right now as beginners. Make sure when you choose your theme.
- It should be light weighted.
- It should be fast.
- No fancy design, it should be minimalistic.
- It should be responsive.
4. Install Essential Plugins
A plugin is a small piece of software that expands the capabilities of a WordPress website. Yoast SEO (for search engine optimization), Akismet (for spam prevention), and Jetpack (for site metrics and security) are some vital plugins to install.
5. Create essential pages
- About: About Us page shows you and your teams, the website’s goal, beliefs, and people behind it, as well as developing trust with visitors.
- Contact: The contact Page allows website visitors to contact you, and ask questions, regarding any query.
- Privacy Policy: It shows how we measure and secure user privacy and how user data is gathered, processed, in order to develop trust and prevent website owners from legal concerns.
Creating Engaging Content: Tips and Tricks
The secret to a successful blog is producing high-quality content. The following methods you can use to create content that builds trust with your audience:
1. Write for your audience
It is crucial to write for your target audience while developing content. What are they interested in reading about? keep asking these three questions.
Then Create the content according to the user needs so that they keep them coming back for more if you satisfy their requirements.
2. Use catchy headlines and subheadings
Catchy headlines and subheadings are essential for websites because they capture website visitors’ attention and urge them to interact with the content.
The title is the first thing the target audience sees, and it must be high quality and unique enough to get them to click through and read the rest of the article to the end.
3. Use visuals
Visuals are the right way to break up text and make it more engaging. It helps to keep your website visitors engaged. Use photos, infographics, and videos to explain your content. It allows your audience to interact with your content very easily.
4. Use storytelling
Storytelling is a great way for website visitors to keep interested in your content because everyone loves stories rather than simple text. And it also reduces your website bounce rate, and in turn, increases your trust with your targeted audience.
5. Write in a conversational tone
If you write in a conversational tone it, allows you to connect with your readers in a friendly manner which results in more engaging, digestible content that connects with a larger audience.
6. Use lists and bullet points
Using lists and bullet points allow you to make your content more effective and simpler to read, hence increasing engagement and retention.
7. Use call-to-actions
If your goal is to collect emails, drive more traffic to your website, generate leads, or drive more conversions then CTAs play a major role with your audience.
Blog Design and Layout: Making Your Blog Look Professional
The style and layout of your blog play an important role in attracting and maintaining user attention. Here are some points to make your blog appear more professional:
Install The SEO Friendly Themes
A theme that is SEO-friendly for WordPress is one that has main focus on how the user interact with your site. These themes are made to help websites get higher positions on SERPs.
They are developed in such a way to support SEO strategies and offer a great user experience.
You can find out if your WordPress theme is SEO friendly by looking at these factors:
The goal of responsive design is to make web pages that fit well on any device and screen size.
The code that is simple to read and comprehend is called clean code, while the code that is written to be as speedy as possible is called optimized code.
The time, in seconds, that a web page needs to download and show on a user’s browser is called loading speed. How fast a browser can load web pages from a site that are fully functional is called website speed or website performance.
Your site can do more things with plugins, which help you use WordPress better. You need to find a theme that works well with the plugins that make your site smooth. For eg. I use Neve Theme which is responsive, fast and compatible with plugins.
Your theme should work well with different browsers. This will let users see and share your content no matter how they use it. Some common browsers to check are Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.
You can make site creation much easier with page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder. They let you use drag-and-drop features.
If you change themes and you used a page builder to make your site, you may have to adjust your site to keep your current SEO on-page and technical.
So, you may want to pick a new theme that works with your chosen page builder.
You need to pick a theme now. Your theme decides how fast and responsive your site is.
There are many WordPress themes that you can choose from, both free and premium, so take your time and find one that suits you.
Do this: appearance > Go to themes > pick the theme that is free > click install > Hit Activate.
I use Neve theme for my blog to make it easier for you.
Appearance
Go to themes
select the theme that is available for free
click install
Then Hit Activate!. voila your theme is activated.
Customizing you theme
Customizing your theme means changing the site icon, upload the website logo. Make changes in the website Header, Footer, Body and SideBar. Or anything that is necessary for your website.
Add Logo And Favicon
Your blog can be remembered by readers with logo and favicon (Site icon).
This is another way to show your personality on your site, and it’s a key step if you want to make a blog that becomes a known brand.
Do This: Appearance > Customize > Header > Change Logo > Hit Publish!
Go To Appearance and click Customise.
After Clicking the customise button the new interface will open as you can see in the image below 👇 .
Click on the Header Section
Click Change Logo and Favicon and Then Hit Publish!
Voila! Your Logo and Favicon have been Published.
Promoting Your Blog:
If you want to attract visitors, you have to promote your blog, which in turn builds your audience. Here are some ideas for promoting your blog:
Social Media
Social media is the popular way for promoting your blog and connecting with your target audience. Share your posts on social media to create a loyal audience with those who follow you to build relationships.
( Source: Statista)
As of January 2023, around 64.4% of the world’s population, or 5.16 billion people, were using the internet. Out of this total, 59.4%, or 4.76 billion people, were actively using social media, up from 4.62 billion in 2022.
SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of enhancing a website’s or web page’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an excellent way to gather emails from a targeted audience and keep your users interested. Then you can retarget your Audience using the emails collected from Email Campaign.
You can use a service like Mailchimp, constant contact, or ConvertKit to generate email campaigns and newsletters that keep your audience up up-to-date on your latest content.
Commenting on other blogs
Many blogs allow you to post a comment with a link back to your own. Making useful comments on blogs will bring your site in front of individuals who you know are interested in your topic.
Caution! This procedure should not be abused.
If you leave bad comments on blogs solely to get your name out there, it will harm your blog. Furthermore, low-quality comments will very certainly be removed by the blog owner.
People are more likely to visit your site if you offer a valuable remark since they want to learn more about what you have to say about the subject.
Guest posting
Writing guest articles is another strategy to encourage visitors of other blogs to notice your blog.
Simply contact other blog owners and offer to write an article for their site to write a guest post.
Not all bloggers are flexible to this concept, but if you can identify a handful that are, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
You offer them with high-quality material in exchange for a link to your site in your article. People who love your guest article are more inclined to return to your blog for higher-quality content.
Online Forums
Join famous online forums connected to your topic if you haven’t already. Join a handful of the most popular tech forums, for example, if your site is on tech, gadgets etc.
Many forums will enable you to include a link to your website in your signature, which appears at the bottom of every post you make. Some forums may demand that you make a few posts before you may do this.
Make useful posts after you’ve joined a forum. The content of your forum postings, like those of your blog comments, must be of high quality and useful.
People will not want to read your blog if they do not think your forum postings useful and entertaining.
Monetizing Your Blog
Everybody wants to earn some decent money that’s why you started a blog. Here are several methods to monetize your blog:
1. Advertising
You can use Google Adsense for advertising. It is the most trustable and secure platform. When you have a good amount of traffic to your Blog, Google automatically applied ads to your website.
Also, you can adjust the ads area where you want to display your ads.
2. Services
If you provide services related to the niche of your blog, you use your blog to promote them and attract customers. For example, if you run a website designing a blog, you may provide web design services.
3. Sponsored Posts
Sponsored posts are paid advertisements for a product or service. You can charge any amount for sponsored posts, but it also depends on how much traffic your website brings.
Make sure that you only advertise things that are in the niche of your blog.
4. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the technique of making money by advertising the products of others company. You will be paid a commission if someone places an order using your unique affiliate link.
5. Digital Products
Digital products such as ebooks, courses, and printables are good sources for you to monetize your Blog. Create high-quality digital assets and promoting them on your blog.
You can also use the collected emails from the email campaign and then retargeted them to download your digital products.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a Blog
1. Not defining your niche
It is important to have a clear mindset of the niche in which you wish to start a blog. Covering too many topics at once as a beginner might make it harder to attract the targeted audience.
2. Neglecting SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) plays an essential role in increasing visibility and traffic to your blog. Make sure to audit and apply SEO tactics such as keyword usage, quality content creation, and backlink creation.
3. Inconsistent posting
In the blogging field, consistency is everything. You have to post consistently not regularly, which can help you establish a loyal audience and increase the visibility of your blog. Because quality matters over quantity.
4. Ignoring your audience:
Because your audience is the main reason for your blog’s success, it’s vital that you interact with them and listen to their feedback. Respond to comments, take feedback, and provide a solution that fulfills their needs.
5. Poor design and user experience:
The design and user experience of your blog decide whether your blog is successful or not. Make your blog internally beautiful, clean, user-friendly, and mobile-friendly.
6. Not promoting your blog:
Creating valuable content isn’t enough.
If you want to attract visitors, you have to promote your blog, which in turn builds your audience.
Use social media, email marketing, and other promotional techniques to bring your blog in front of your target audience.
Blogging Tools and Resources: Must-Have Tools
As a blogger, having the right tools and resources help you to save extra time, increases your workflow and generate high-quality content. Here are some appropriate tools for any blogger:
1. Content Management System (CMS)
A content management system (CMS) is a popular software that allows you to manage and publish content on your website. WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix are popular options.
2. Hosting and domain
Web hosting is an online service that makes your website’s content available on the internet. When you purchase a hosting package, you are renting space on a real server to store all of the website’s files and data.
A domain name is also required which is the address that users will use to access your website. Hostinger, Bluehost, HostGator, and GoDaddy are some reliable domain and hosting companies.
Use this REFERRALCODE=XVUUMANGVBY0 and get an instant 20% Discount on Hostinger web hosting or VPS plans for 12 months or longer.
3. Analytics
Analytics tools allow you to monitor your website and view key indicators such as traffic, engagement, and conversions. Google Analytics is a well-known and free solution. Create a Google Analytics account and submit your website to it.
4. SEO tools
SEO tools assist you in optimizing your website for search engines, which can increase your visibility and traffic. Yoast SEO, Rank Math, AHREFS and SEMrush are popular choices.
5. Social Media Tools
In today’s time, Social media is available on every person’s phone. Use this powerful tool for advertising your blog and connecting with your audience.
Tools such as Hootsuite, Meta Business Suite, and Buffer can assist you in managing and scheduling your social media post.
6. Email marketing
Email marketing helps you build a loyal customer base and promote your content. Tools such as Mailchimp and ConvertKit can assist you in creating and sending email newsletters.
7. Design and graphics
Graphics are essential to engage your readers and encourage them to read the whole content and systems like Canva and Adobe Creative Cloud helps you in creating professional-looking graphics and designs.
8. Grammar and editing
Writing is an important aspect of blogging and tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway help you improve your writing abilities, grammar mistakes, writing tone, and detect problems.
By using these tools and resources, you can start your blogging journey improve your content, and build a successful blog.
Sharing is caring:
FAQ
How do I start a WordPress blog?
How do bloggers get paid?
Can I blog without experience?
Is blogging still profitable in 2025?
How much Does it cost to start a Blog?
Which is the best hosting site for starting a new blog?
Thank you for reading this post, if you have any problem leave you problems in the comment section. And don't forget to subscribe!