How to Prepare for Blogging
I recently started participating in the blogosphere (or at least making my own). Recently, I decided to join since I have a message I need to share with the world. Since I tend to the right on the political spectrum, I decided to write for a conservative blog. I needed to get my thoughts down on paper and share them with the world. However, there were a few things I needed to consider before I could launch my blog. I have compiled some of these considerations into an article to assist those starting on the road to becoming a blogger.
The first step in starting a blog is to choose a topic. It must be interesting enough that other people will want to read it. Again, it must be attractive enough for other people to want to read it. When I started my blog, I consciously decided to review the day’s top stories and offer my conservative viewpoint on them. Compared to the number of liberal bloggers, the number of conservative bloggers is quite tiny. It was a field I was familiar with and enthusiastic about as well. Make sure the subject of your blog is something you’re passionate about. Writing about anything every day will be much easier if it’s something you’re passionate about. Do not waste your time if it is boring. Also, make sure it’s a topic that interests enough people that others will want to read it. Is anyone interested in reading about how you feed and exercise your hamster online? There’s no point in blogging if no one else is interested in reading it. Sometimes, a public blog isn’t the best option, but keeping a private journal might serve a useful purpose.
To continue, it’s best, to begin with a modest goal. The time commitment for blogging is high. You are, in effect, creating your magazine or newspaper. Searching Google will reveal many sites that offer free blog hosting in exchange for your email address. This is a beautiful place to launch your efforts and get experience. Incorporating a blog into a social networking site like Myspace or Facebook is a breeze if you like that. Plus, if you decide to take your blog to the next level, you’ll already have a solid foundation of readers from which to draw. Free sites like Blogger and Blogspot are available if you want to skip social networking and get right to writing a blog.
Create content frequently, but make sure it matters. You need to update your blog often with fresh material. Or else people will become tired of visiting and quit coming. But don’t post for blogging; quality over quantity is vital. If you haven’t posted in a while and feel obligated to do so, it’s better to wait a day and work on something substantial than to rush and publish a few meaningless lines. Readers will be more likely to say, “Well, that took a while, but it was well worth it,” instead of, “Boy, this site is going downhill.” To that end, I ensure I have a stockpile of quality blog posts ready to go. Google Docs is fantastic since it allows me to draft posts from any Internet-connected device and save them for later uploading to my blog. So, when life gets busy, or you’re suffering from writer’s block, you’ll have a bit of a buffer to see you through the dry spell if you take the time to write up a few posts that aren’t time specific (if you’re talking about politics, don’t write one up about the upcoming election and then post it after).
Next, you need your domain if you want to be heard among hundreds of thousands of other people who use platforms like Myspace and Blogger. Godaddy is the most excellent place I’ve discovered to register a domain. Strange name; however, they have the lowest registration cost among reputable sites. The final price will change according to the chosen suffix. Popular extensions include “.com,” “.net,” and “.org.” The annual rental fee for one of these will probably be around $10. You’ll need to renew your lease once that year ends or someone else may swoop in and steal your domain name. Depending on the nature of your blog, you may choose to use a different domain extension, such as.us,.biz, or. Me. If you care about your blog’s visibility in search engines, which you should if you want people to visit your site, then you should focus on improving its placement in the top three results. They tend to perform better in search engine rankings, increasing the likelihood that your site will be displayed in relevant search results. One last piece of advice: avoid the.info extension. It’s tempting to buy because of the low price (typically around 99 cents), but there’s a catch. Many spammers quickly adopted it after its release, so Google and other search engines now actively discourage its use. If you go with a.info, know that there is a potential you could get blacklisted by Google for no reason other than being targeted by scammers.
You’ll need to think about a domain name in addition to picking an extension. In most cases, a shorter and more memorable moniker is preferable. It ought to be unique so that people can quickly discover it again. For example, my blog’s domain name consists of just two words reflecting my political leanings: simplyconservative.com. The.com version of the domain was already taken, but the.net version was free and clear. I set up the domain name, and it’s been receiving positive feedback from Google and other search engines since its launch. I also think it’s memorable enough that folks won’t need to write it down or bookmark it to return to it later.
Find a host when you have your domain registered. Staying with Godaddy could be pretty beneficial. They offer great flexibility and a discount on domain registration if you sign up for additional services. However, you will have some restrictions on the content of your site. For some, the elimination of mystery is a significant benefit. I want to go in and break it a thousand times until it works the way I want it to the thousand the first time. I decided on Hostgator as my hosting provider. My monthly fee is around $10; other than that, I have complete creative control over my site and its content. Their cpanel control panel is user-friendly and makes maintaining and adding features to your website simple. Before purchasing from them, you should always check if they offer discounts or promo codes. If you want to use your domain, you’ll generally have to pay a monthly charge to whichever provider you end up utilizing. One benefit is that it is your website address, not yourblog.legionofinfiniteblogs.com. To top it all off, you can make money from your blog with affiliate programs like Google AdSense, eBay Partners, and Amazon Affiliates, and your blog will likely perform better in search engines. A word of advice, if you do, make sure it improves the site rather than hurts it. People will quickly abandon your site if they believe it to be a spam billboard.
After taking the risk and purchasing your own space on the web, the next step is constructing your blog. The free regions had the advantage, and the disadvantage, of practically holding your hand and telling you what to do. You have been handed a clean slate and some essential equipment and told to figure things out independently. Thankfully, a few of those gadgets are rather significant. You should usually head to your control panel (cpanel) first. Your site’s control panel can be found at your place. After entering your username and password, a bevy of shortcuts will display. Look for a button labeled “Fantastico” toward the bottom of the page. Tap the button. You will now be presented with a comprehensive selection of add-ons for your website. Later, when I have more time, I’ll create a more in-depth post, but for now, the answer is Word Press. This is the most popular blogging platform currently available, and the most significant part is that it’s free. If you want it to be the first thing people see when they enter your domain, place it in the root directory before running Fantastico. It may take some time, but you’ll enjoy using WordPress once you get the hang of it. I plan to publish a more in-depth tutorial on installing and utilizing it when I have the chance.
That is pretty much all there is to it. You now have either a completely free blog you’re using for fun or a professional blog dominating the search engine results pages and the talk of the Internet. The next step is the most challenging: developing content that is both engaging and relevant to your target audience. But that and how to get them there should be saved for later discussion.
John Daniels is an instructor and IT specialist. He finds blogging to be both enjoyable and cost-effective. Therefore, he does it at
Read also: The Best WordPress Course For Beginners.
