How to Start a Blog
How to start a blog - from identifying your goals, to finding the best blogging platform, to making money online. A quick start guide for newbie bloggers.
October 20th, 2010 by Becky Turner
How to Start a Blog |
A blog (or a weblog as it was first called in the 90s) is like an online journal - and it's within just about anyone's power to launch such a publication in the next hour. But why would you do such a thing?
Well there are personal reasons, and there are professional ones. I want to highlight the difference between the two, because a lot of people get caught up writing personal blogs then expect the world to be in awe and give them lots of money for it. Not so. If you're in it for the dough, you better make sure you understand the precise needs that a professional blog should fulfil - and exactly how you're going to fulfil them.
Then we'll look at the best blogging platforms depending on your goals. I've done a direct performance and price comparision of the three big ones: WordPress, Site Build It and Blogger. Once you decide, you'll be able to start a blog today and get your creative juices flowing.
So here comes a simple beginner's guide on how to start a blog and make some money out of it... in a nutshell.
Personal Blogs
Some people blog to tell their family and friends all about their new baby named Jeff who can gurgle and fart and do other cute things too. Some use it to vent about all the little things that bother them in life, like how to correctly use an apostrophe. And some blog about their passion for building model airplanes and will tell you about every development in their miniature recreation of the Wright brothers' original flying machine.
These are personal types of blogs that can be a nice little hobby to while away the hours, but won't go down in history as The Blog That Changed The World. In fact, since the advent of Facebook, we all pretty much have our own mini blog now anyway. If I want to post a picture of myself on vacation or tell two hundred unsuspecting acquaintances what I had for dinner last night, I can do so at the click of a button.
Professional Blogs
At the other end of the scale we have pro-bloggers, who write (at least in part) in order to make money from it. In the beginning, I imagine, these were mostly lumpy, greasy men in their 30s who still lived with their mothers, and who had a penchant for the internet. Not that I'm trying to conjure up any particular stereotype.
Today, I think, pro-bloggers come in all varieties, from stay-at-home-moms to retired transsexuals to modern history students. The important difference is they are building a business intended for thousands if not millions of viewers, and so they direct their content as such.
Professional blogs contain information that people WANT and NEED, rather than the details of your latest bowel movement or your slightly eventful trip to the dentist. The blog is not focused on you but on your audience. Of course, that's not to say you shouldn't sprinkle personal anecdotes into your blog (provided they are relevant and interesting) as this builds personal credibility for you.
A professional blog might entertain or educate within the realm of a particular niche or style of writing. You will note there are no catch-all blogs - every blog has it's own particular angle, one way or another. If this if your first professional blog, you will want to hone in on a very tight niche and master that. This also helps with monetization.
Identify Your Goals
Before you choose your blogging platform, you should roughly identify the goals of your blog. This will help you decide how much time and money to invest in your new online venture - and, indeed, whether to do it at all.
- What is the purpose of your blog? Is it to amuse friends and family or do you want to reach a wide global audience?
- Do you want to make money blogging? Is this a creative hobby or are you seriously looking to replace your day job?
- How much do you want to spend? Are you going to dedicate any funds to making your site a success?
Have a quick think about each question right now and jot down your ideas. Then we'll use your goals to identify the best blogging software for your particular needs. Remember that the more you want out of your blog, the more time and effort you'll need to put in.
What is The Best Blogging Platform?
I'm going to discuss the three major blogging platforms - those are WordPress, Site Build It, and Blogger. I have used all three of them myself to create blogs with varying degrees of success. The following are my own reviews based on market perception and my personal experiences.
WordPress: nifty & cheap |
What is it? WordPress is a nifty little blogging platform with plenty of plug-in features. It is considered by many as the premiere free blogging tool, used by millions of amateur and pro-bloggers globally. The free version is best for amateur bloggers creating hobby sites. The paid-for version is ideal for pro-bloggers who already know the ins and outs of e-business.
Benefits? WordPress is very easy to use and customizable. Whether you're a web developer or a newbie, you can find all the appropriate tools you need to create your WordPress blog. It offers a number of free design templates to give you a slick looking website.
Downside? It doesn't tell you how to research the best keywords, write for the web, generate free traffic, nor make money from it. These are essential components of creating a profitable blog. Alas, this is like all free blogs really; it's like buying a DIY kit car but not the instruction manual. How will you know if your car will actually drive when it's built?
How much? The free WordPress gives you a free subdomain (such as yourblog.wordpress.com) but Google will view you as a hobby blogger. The paid WordPress costs $6.95/month for your own dot com domain and web hosting (WordPress recommends BlueHost). That's $84/year to run your own high quality, professional blog - not bad.
Site Build It: all inclusive |
What is it? Site Build It is an educational, step-by-step guide to creating your own profitable blog or website. It's taught as a course, both online and in universities, with beginner's blogging software included. It's best for anyone who wants to learn how to make serious money from a blog.
Benefits? Site Build It is easy to use and fully customizable, aimed at techno-phobes but also anyone who wants to learn the secrets of successful blogging. Uniquely, it educates people on generating free traffic and making money from their blog. It also provides point-and-click web design templates and the ability to integrate your own unique designs.
Downside? Being dumbed down for beginners, advanced web developers will find the web building interface rather clunky. However there is an HTML option which allows you to manage the bulk of your site creation offline in an HTML editor like Dreamweaver, so it does cater to all needs.
How much? Site Build It costs $25/month which includes your own professional domain, web hosting, pro-blogger education, Content 2.0, mass mailer, and all the usual design and site management tools. In total that's $299/year to run your own profitable online business.
*For more detailed info, check out my full Site Build It review.
Blogger: dead easy |
What is it? Blogger is a very basic blogging platform run by Google. It has limited features but does enable anyone to create a simple blog in a few minutes. It's ideal for amateur bloggers creating a personal hobby site.
Benefits? Blogger is very easy to use, ideal for techno-phobes and people who have never published anything online before. It has special features to easily integrate monetization methods like AdSense and Amazon Associates, helping you to earn money from ads and product recommendations. However you will need decent traffic to make those ads pay out, and I'm not convinced most people have any idea how to get it, which is why I keep returning to Site Build It.
Downside? It's very 1990s. There aren't any slick web designs to choose from and it's harder to customize your blog to get the look and feel right. Like all free blog platforms, Blogger doesn't tell you how to research the best keywords, write for the web, generate free traffic, nor make money from it. These are essential components of creating a profitable blog. As I said before, it's like buying a DIY kit car but not the instruction manual. How will you know if your car will actually drive when it's built?
How much? Blogger is free but this only gives you a subdomain (such as yourblog.blogspot.com) even if it is ultimately owned by Google.
Final Thoughts
To sum up what we've learned today...
When it comes to blogging, everyone has different goals and technical capabilities. You should choose whichever platform suits you best. While I'm sure there are some entrepreneurs out there who could knock up a successful blog with ANY blogging software, my recommendations are:
If you want a free blog to share your innermost thoughts with family, friends, and a few complete strangers, go for a simple WordPress solution. It will give you all the user-friendly tools you need to start a blog, even if it is just a creative hobby and you don't expect to make money from it.
If you're at all serious about blogging to the masses and making money online, go for the Site Build It solution. The technology is flexible enough to hold your hand or let you run free with your own HTML. But most importantly of all, you'll learn how to profit from a successful blogging career, which can of course lead to many more blogs and websites.
I hope you found this article helpful - if so, please help my blog by sharing it on Facebook or whatever social happy place you frequent. If this proves popular I'll definitely be doing more articles on pro-blogging. Thanks :)
If you found this free article helpful please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you so much for your kind support.
Latest Articles
How to Get an ITIN (Apple Publishers)
How to Deal with Content Thieves
How to Write Killer AdWords Ads
How to Make Money by Blogging
>> Career Blog Archives
 |
