When you first start a blog, it can be scary, especially if you’ve never created a website before.
Fortunately, setting up a blog can be easier than you think. You can build a completely functional blog in a matter of hours, even if you’ve never before created a website.
In this article, we’ll cover a variety of topics, including how to select a blogging niche, name your blog, pick a hosting company, set up your website, publish your first post, and more.
What Is a Blog?
A website that primarily features written content is known as a blog. Blog posts are any of these pieces of written content.
You can find blogs on just about any subject you can think of, from personal blogs to business blogs to even blogs that serve as the core of major media companies like Buzzfeed. As opposed to other websites, blogs are composed primarily of blog posts.
The foundation of many prosperous online businesses has been high-quality blogs. The benefit of blogging is that it enables you to amass a niche audience to whom you can market goods, services, or educational programs. You have the ability to develop a blog into an online brand with the appropriate web hosting plan and content.
Why You Should Start a Blog
There are many justifications for starting a blog. Whether you want to drive traffic to your current website, share your viewpoint with the world, establish your authority, or amass enough of a following to monetize your blog with advertisements or affiliate links.
You don’t need to be a skilled writer on the order of Faulkner to launch a successful blog. Actually, Faulkner’s writing style wouldn’t work well for blogging, where it’s preferable to keep it simple and informal. Blogs aren’t where readers go to read literary masterpieces or prose that reads like a textbook. Instead, they seek out straightforward advice based on personal experience.
If you’re not good at writing right now, think about using some tools to improve your skills or finding a writing course or coach to help you. You can learn to write, and as you practice more, you’ll undoubtedly become better at it (just ask any successful blogger how they feel about their very first posts).
Your main requirement for starting a blog should be a combination of knowledge to impart and a desire to learn more as you go. After all, if you don’t have something worthwhile to say, what will the subject of all your blog posts be?
How to Start a Blog in 10 Steps
Running a blog will take a lot of time and work, but starting one is relatively easy. You can get your new blog in place by tackling these ten steps.
Step 1: Choose Your Niche
You’ll need to decide what you’re going to write about before you start thinking about blog names and website design. You will specialize in this.
A blogging niche is more than a single subject or market niche. It depends on your approach to the subject, your particular background, and the audience you’re speaking to. Your niche will give your blog direction, direct site design, and highlight the special value you’re providing to visitors.
If you’re starting a blog to help promote your business, then your blog niche needs to be directly tied to what you sell. A pet store starting a blog about football doesn’t make a lot of sense.
If you’re wanting to create a personal brand, then think both about what you’re interested in, and what your goals are. Do you want your blog to help you get a job or find clients? If so, make sure you’re covering topics that will be relevant to the type of businesses and people you want to work with, and what you hope to get hired for.
If you want to start a blog to share your opinions on a subject you’re interested in, then you don’t need to think as strategically (unless your ultimate goal is to monetize it). Nevertheless, take some time to plan out the main subject areas and points of view you want to cover. It’s unlikely that adding one more food blog to the internet will gain as many readers as developing a more focused point of view, such as how to create allergy-friendly food that children will eat. There is a specific audience searching for that content, and they are more likely to find you than the much larger audience of people who consume food.
Step 2: Research Your Space
Even if you’re an authority in the niche you’ve chosen, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you know what makes a blog successful in that industry. At this point, spend some time finding out what blogs are already available in your niche and what the most popular ones are doing right now.
Start searching for information on the subjects you want to cover in your blog. Pay close attention to the blogs where posts from various related topics appear. Visit each of these sites for a while, paying close attention to:
- The main topic areas they cover (a lot of the time you’ll see these listed as categories on the blog’s menu, in the footer, or along the side)
- How long their blog posts tend to be
- If the headlines follow any common structures
- How the blog posts themselves are structured (how many sections the blog posts have, how often they use bullet points and numbered lists, etc.)
- Any other types of media they tend to incorporate (videos, images, infographics)
- The blog posts that are the most popular (some blogs will highlight these in a sidebar, sometimes you can tell based on the number of comments)
Search for any holes in the services your rivals are providing as you evaluate them. Are there any services you can offer that none of these other blogs can? However, keep in mind what they are doing that is effective as you consider how to differentiate. Analyze trends in the posts, headlines, and content categories that audiences (and search engines) appear to prefer most.
Step 3: Name Your Blog
Your blog’s title should naturally flow from your subject. Choose a name for your blog that is both memorable and evocative so that readers will understand what it is about right away. However, it can be challenging because you have to pick an option that isn’t already taken.
Spend some time writing down any random words that come to mind as well as keywords associated with your niche. A travel blog, for instance, doesn’t necessarily need the word “travel” in the domain. Use words like journey, wanderlust, expedition, touring, flying, and more when describing this concept.
For instance, the name of Tim Flynn’s blog, Smart Passive Income, immediately conveys the topic of the website:
To maintain consistency, your blog’s name and domain name should be the same. This helps to keep your site consistent and makes it easier for readers to remember and find you. That means you’ll have to choose a domain name that corresponds to the premise of your blog from the start.
Once you have some ideas, the next step is to use a domain search tool to see what is actually available. If the domain name you’ve chosen is still available, the search tool will notify you, and if it isn’t, it will suggest some related alternatives. During this process, you will also be shown a variety of domain name extensions that you can purchase. Although.com is the most popular domain name extension, successful blogs have been created using a variety of extensions, including.net and.co.
When you find an available domain name with the extension you want, register it right away. You don’t want someone else to buy it while you’re still planning.
Step 4: Create your content calendar
Now that you know what your blog will be about, it’s time to get specific. Making an editorial calendar ahead of time will make it much easier to get your blog up and running. Knowing what you’ll be writing about will help you get started and avoid falling off before you’ve even begun.
Begin by deciding on a few main topics or “buckets of information” about which to write. You can’t possibly know or write about everything unless you want to be the Walmart or Amazon of blogging. Narrow your focus to the most important topics in your niche—the ones you know a lot about or want to learn more about.
Narrowing down your focus will do a few things:
- It will help you identify blog articles to write
- An organized website will help your readers quickly understand your blog theme so you attract repeat visitors
For example, if you’re starting a lifestyle blog, you could focus on travel, fashion, and party planning. If you’re starting a fishing blog, your primary topics could be deep sea fishing, bay fishing, and equipment reviews.
Now that you are aware of your blog’s primary topics, make a content calendar.
A publishing schedule is known as a content calendar, also referred to as an editorial calendar. It allows you to keep track of tasks, deadlines, content types, distribution channels, and publication dates. In the end, an editorial calendar is a tool for planning that enables you to publish content on a regular basis and take seasonality and timely events into account.
How to create a content calendar
Follow these four steps to create your blog content calendar.
1. List your main topics and begin “brainstorming” articles for each topic.
It makes sense to start out by writing some foundational posts on timeless subjects. It might be a good idea for a blog that focuses on vegetarian cooking to publish articles on the benefits of eating more vegetarian food as well as some of the essential kitchen supplies. Before you move on to more specific topics, these will help you establish your viewpoint and demonstrate that you are an authority on the subject. The more thoughts, however, the better at this point.
Write down blog post ideas until you run out, and don’t stop at the fundamental subjects. The more you write down, the more time you’ll have before you run out and need to come up with more ideas.
2. Make a list of any holidays and observances related to your blog.
For example, if you’re starting an ecommerce blog, you’ll likely want to cover Black Friday and other major shopping holidays.
3. Look for magazine editorial calendars for inspiration.
Your niche research most likely provided you with some ideas of other blogs to visit for inspiration, but you should also consider visiting media websites and magazines. If your blog covers similar topics to Better Homes & Gardens, visit their website and look for their annual editorial calendar. This is typically found in the About or Advertising sections.
Consider similar monthly themes to stay current with what’s going on in your niche.
4. Create a schedule of the topics you’ve chosen on a calendar.
Choose whatever format feels right for you here: a spreadsheet, a digital calendar, or even a paper calendar (whether or not it includes pictures of cute puppies). Making a schedule ahead of time will help you stick with blogging because you’ll always know what to write about and will have set deadlines to meet.
Keep your editorial calendar somewhere you can easily access it. Perhaps include a section where you can jot down ideas for new blog posts when inspiration strikes. Whatever format you choose, your editorial calendar should help you stay organized so you can stay on track and publish timely blog posts.
Step 5: Choose your blogging platform
To start a blog, you don’t need to know how to code. There are several software options available that will allow you to design your blog and publish posts without learning a programming language.
WordPress is by far the most popular blogging platform. WordPress is a content management system that allows you to create and manage your blog’s content. WordPress is popular for the following reasons:
- It’s free and open source
- It’s relatively easy to use
- You can find lots of themes to choose from, which makes building your website easier
- There are tons of plugins, which extend the functionality of WordPress
- There are resources galore to help you learn how to use WordPress and get the most out of it (whole blogs are devoted to nothing by using WordPress)
WordPress does have a learning curve, especially when it comes to perfecting your design and learning how to work with various themes and plugins. However, because it is designed specifically for blogging, once you have your main blog design in place, adding and editing new posts is simple.
To make things even simpler, consider using a website builder that is intended for beginners. You might be able to launch your website more quickly and with less difficulty. However, while website builders benefit from being quick and simple, they typically lack power. There won’t be as many options for you to customize the appearance of your website. That might not ever be an issue, though, if your needs are fairly straightforward.
Step 6: Purchase web hosting
You’ll need a reliable web host behind you if you want your blog to be live on the internet, which is kind of the whole point. You are renting server space when you sign up for a hosting plan, giving you a location to keep the files for your website. You won’t have a website if you don’t have a hosting provider.
You have a variety of hosting options to consider when setting up your first blog. WordPress hosting and shared hosting are the two that make the most sense for blogs.
WordPress hosting, like it sounds, is a hosting plan that specializes in websites built on WordPress. That means you’ll never have to worry about compatibility issues, your web host will usually take care of keeping things up to date for you, you can expect fast speeds, and you can count on security features that work well with WordPress.
Shared hosting allows you to keep your hosting costs low, while still giving you the necessary server resources to grow your site. If your site continues to scale, you may need to upgrade hosting in time, but a shared hosting account will give you a solid foundation to work from.
Shared hosting is the cheaper option, so if your main priority is saving money or if you’re building your website with a website builder rather than WordPress, it makes the most sense. And for most personal and small business websites, shared hosting will provide everything you need. But if you are using WordPress to build your website and are willing to spend a little more, WordPress hosting can mean a bit more speed, security, and ease of use.
Step 7: Build out your new blog
It’s time to start building out your site now that your domain and hosting account are set up. The process of setting up a blog is similar to that of setting up any other kind of website, with the exception that you must make sure the platform you select has blogging functionality.
1. Building a Blog With WordPress
The first step to setting up your blog in WordPress is to install WordPress with your web hosting account. Many webhosts have one-click installer for WordPress that you can use to setup a wordpress site with a few clicks. The easiest way to create a website that looks good within WordPress is to find a theme that has a design you like. Designers have created a lot of great looking WordPress themes, so spend some time browsing what’s out there to find one you like.
Once you’ve chosen a theme you like, activate it by logging into your WordPress account, navigating to Appearance>Themes, then click ‘Add New’. Perform a search for your chosen theme’s name, then click Activate, and Customize.
Your theme will form the foundation for how your site looks and functions. It will provide most of your website’s base design, so once you have it looking how you want, you can just focus on content. To further customize your site navigate to Appearance>Customize. This will give you a wealth of different options you can choose from to edit your site.
2. Building Your Blog with a Website Builder
The specifics of setting up your blog, if you chose to use a website builder, will depend on the builder you select. The process will typically begin by either selecting a template (which is similar to a theme in WordPress) that serves as the foundation of your website’s design or by giving the website builder some basic details about the website you’re building and having the tool use AI technology to build it for you.
Consult the company’s resources for specific instructions on how to create your blog within the website builder you selected.
Step 8: Start Writing Blog Posts
Before you really start promoting your blog (even if it’s a small one to start with), you should have a body of content. People won’t have much of an idea of what to expect from or why to return to a blog with only one article. Visitors are more likely to read, enjoy, and decide to return later for more of your articles if your site already has a number of engaging posts published.
Review your editorial schedule once more, then begin working on the first few scheduled pieces.
An excellent blog post should include the following:
- A catchy article title
- Images that illustrate or add to the topic
- Useful information
Generally speaking, you should organize that information in an easy-to-read format by segmenting it into headings and subheadings, and including lists and bullet points where appropriate. You might also want to include links to additional useful information when appropriate (including internal links once you have enough blog posts available to allow that option).
You should also think about what action you want visitors to take and include a call to action (CTA) for any blog that has a specific goal, such as assisting in the promotion of a business or building up a large enough audience to earn money from it. You might think about using CTAs like joining your email list, scheduling a call, or looking at a product as examples.
Always double-check your blog posts for errors before publishing. When trying to retain readers, you don’t want to lose them with embarrassing typos or poorly constructed sentences.
Step 9: Publish your first post
The challenging part is writing the posts. Comparatively, publishing them is fairly simple.
How to Publish a Post with WordPress?
Within WordPress, select Posts>Add New from the left-hand menu. This will bring up the post editor screen where you can enter your title, your post content, and any media you want to include. Once you’ve got the content in place, you’ve got a couple extra steps you want to take before hitting that “Publish” button:
- Add relevant tags to your post, and select relevant categories for it
- Select your featured image
- Add a meta description, which is a brief description of your post meant to show up in search engines (and ideally help convince people to click). Note: you’ll probably want to add an SEO (search engine optimization) plugin to WordPress to make this part easier.
- Click the Preview button in the top right corner of the screen to see how your post will look once it’s live. Take a minute to make sure everything looks right.
Click “Publish” when you are finished editing your blog post to make it live.
Step 10: Promote your blog
You can skip this step if you’re going to treat your blog like a personal journal and don’t care who reads it. But you can’t just click “Publish” and cross your fingers that people will read your words (which is probably why you’re publishing them online). You must put in effort to make your blog post simple to find.
The best way to promote your blog is up to you. Instead, you can choose from a variety of strategies to see which one best suits you and your audience. Here are some examples to think about:
- SEO – SEO is about doing what you can to get your website showing up higher in the search engines for relevant terms. SEO is competitive, but with the right strategy, you can increase your visibility and drive traffic.
- Social media – Promoting your posts on social media is a good way to get them in front of the people who are already interested enough in what you have to say to follow you. For an extra boost, consider paid promotion on social media.
- Email marketing – Encourage visitors that like your posts to sign up for your email list, and you can ensure they hear about every new post you publish right in their inbox.
- Guest posting – Reach new audiences by pitching guest post ideas to related websites. If you impress their audience, some of them could follow you back to your blog and become regular readers.
- PPC advertising – Showing up in the search engines is one of the best ways to get found (hence the value of SEO), but organic results are really hard for new blogs to land. You can take advantage of search engine visibility a lot faster if you invest in PPC advertising. For businesses with a budget to spend on the blog, this is a smart way to show up for new readers in your early days.
