If you are new to blogging and you are thinking of setting up a new blog then it is not as easy as you may think. There are a few things that you should know and consider when first setting up your blog. Here are a few of things you should learn and implement for your blog to give it the very best chance of success.
Know your path
The key to blogging success is understanding your path. You have felt compelled to blog for a reason which means that you should, hopefully, know what path you want to go down with your blog. It could be a certain area of your religion that you want to focus on or it may be that you would like your blog to cover a variety of biblical topics to help people understand the meaning what is happening in certain areas of the bible. Knowing about the path you want to take is key, if you are writing about something you don’t know enough about or do not enjoy then it will make the writing harder, and will create content that packs less of a punch.
Learn how to run a blog
If you are new to blogging then you need to make sure you know how to run a blog and create a following to gain views. The main thing when creating any blog or website is Search Engine Optimization, this is something that will help you gain organic search views. SEO will help to rank your blog higher in search engines when searches link to keywords to do with your blog. So the higher your SEO rank the more likely you are to show up when someone searches anything relevant to your blog. You also need to make sure you look into maintaining your blog, such as by updating your WordPress – or chosen hosting channel – regularly. Planning content is another key aspect of running a successful blog. It can help to create a spreadsheet with blog post titles and ideas and dates that you would like to post them on, to help ensure that you are producing new content for your blog on a regular basis.
Learn about SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial in making your blog a success and reaching a wide audience. SEO is very much needed to increase the flow of people to your blog, it increases the chances of your blog being featured when keywords are searched in a search engine such as Google or Bing. It is extremely important to educate yourself on SEO to increase your traffic and stop your site being buried under hundreds of other sites.
The main thing when creating any blog or website is Search Engine Optimization, this is something that will help you gain organic search views. SEO will help to rank your blog higher in search engines when searches link to keywords to do with your blog
Take security seriously
When setting up your blog you need to make sure you spend some time making it secure. Make sure you setup a strong password and keep up with the updates that are released. When setting a password try not to use anything that you use on other platforms so it isn’t easy to guess. It is also best to steer away from anything linking to you or family such as birth dates or special occasion dates as this can make it easier to guess if the hacker has your personal info. Another great thing to incorporate for security would be ID verification software which will stop anyone logging in to your blog without the correct documentation and ID. There are various options available that you can learn more about online.
When setting a password try not to use anything that you use on other platforms so it isn’t easy to guess. It is also best to steer away from anything linking to you or family such as birth dates or special occasion dates as this can make it easier to guess if the hacker has your personal info.
Be organised
When just starting your blog you need to make sure you are organised by planning your content out in advance so you know what your going to write about and put on the blog. Doing this then allows you to spread the content across multiple categories and allows you to have a constant stream of posts going up on your blog, you can even schedule your posts to go live at different times so you have posts going up regularly if you don’t have time to write them every day.
Market your blog
SEO will be your main source of traffic but to begin with it is best to market your blog and increase your following to get your blog off the ground. The best way to achieve this is through social media, as it is very much word of mouth on there. You need to first of all build up your followers and then when you share your content they will like it or share it, then their followers see it and so on causing a snowball effect. Therefore your content will reach farther and your following will grow.
Utilise WordPress
The first step is to have a blog added to your website. Contact your web designer and ask them to add a blog to your site. Ensure that you opt for a self-hosted WordPress blog, as WordPress tends to be the best system to use for blogging as it’s simple and easy to use, plus these sites tend to have a more professional and polished feel to them. Added bonuses of WordPress include the fact there are thousands of theme templates to choose from and adding extra features is simple with the use of widgets.
Create a list of blog post ideas and a posting schedule
Next, you should sit down and create a list of blog post ideas and establish a posting schedule. Ideally, you should aim to post two times a week at a minimum, to ensure that your blog remains interesting and relevant. Stuck for ideas? Take inspiration from blogs that your competitors run! Believe it or not, you can find some incredible ideas this way, so it’s worth taking the time to have a browse and get inspired.
Outsource the task of creating content
If you aren’t a skilled writer and don’t have a team member who is, it could be worthwhile considering outsourcing the task. Blogging is a skill that requires a passion for writing and a knowledge of SEO, which is why if you aren’t experienced in this niche, it may pay to outsource the task to a company that specialises in search engine optimisation or SEO for short. Getting your blog’s content right is the key to success, so if you can’t create it yourself, hire someone who can.
Utilise social media
You could have the most amazing business blog in the world, but if your content is not being properly shared, it could be a huge flop. That’s why it’s so important that you utilise social media to share your content. You will find that with an effective social media plan in place, that you can boost views on your blog and website, increase link conversions and build brand awareness. That’s what makes social media so important.
Starting a blog can be a lot of fun, however, it’s also important to understand that it comes with a lot of hard work. That being said, if you persevere and put your time into your blog, you should be able to build a successful site that you can be proud of.
