How to Become a Successful Blogger

Start your own successful blog

Starting a blog may be overwhelming for many reasons but here at Business Name Generator, we will equip you with the information and the confidence that you need to begin your blogging journey. People create blogs for various reasons, some wish to monetize their content and others use it as a means to articulate and share their viewpoints. Regardless of your motives, you will need an abundance of passion as your interest in your topic will shine through your content. If this sounds like you, read our simple guide to help you to get started.

Choose your topic

While your ideas don’t need to be revolutionary, your blog should center around a specific, niche topic. To begin, list topics and related sub-topics that interest you, whilst keeping your motivation in mind. Most importantly, choose a topic that you love, as this will ensure a steady stream of content and ideas. Choosing a niche within your topic will allow you to rate more highly within search engine rankings. You may wish to write about specific personal experiences, you may want to write about your life as a parent or business person,or you may wish to share a hobby or interest.

Assess your competition

Next, research the existing blogging world and read other successful blogs that share similarities with yours. This will allow you to gauge general interest in your topic as well as identifying a niche in the market.

Choose a memorable blog name

As in all aspects of life, a name identifies and represents you and in this case, your brand therefore, your name should be simple, memorable and relevant to your unique selling proposition (USP).

For example, a fitness blog could be called fitnesslover.com. Alternatively, a financial blog could be named financeboss.com. Before deciding on your final choice, try using our business name generator for inspiration. Below are a few additional tips when choosing an excellent blog name:

• Choose a .com domain when possible
• Keep it as concise and simple as possible
• Avoid using complicated words
• Don’t include numbers, homophones, and hyphens

At Business Name Generator, we have several invaluable articles that can assist you in the naming process, such as name availability, tips on generating ideas and advice on how to inject creativity into your name.

Set up your blog

It’s now time to deal with the technical aspect of blogging in setting up your site. While it may appear complicated at first, don’t worry, it is much simpler than it sounds. The good news is that you can usually complete a basic set up in less than one hour.

To set up your blog, you’ll need to choose a domain name and web hosting provider. There are many web hosting platforms where you can host your site. However, it is critical that you choose reliable web hosting as the performance of your website largely depends on your hosting company. We recommend choosing BlueHost to host your site as they have a simple tool for a WordPress installation. You can receive a free domain name and 60% off web hosting here.

As well as a domain name and blog title, you may wish to enhance your brand’s visibility by creating your own logo. Think about the advertising power of some of the most renowned logos, consider how you might visually represent your blog and read our article on creating your own logo here.

Promote your blog

While there are many social media platforms out there, it is worthwhile to choose a few popular social media sites on which to create blog-related profiles enabling promotion of your content. Choose social media sites that your target readers use. For example, if your blog is going to heavily feature photos and videos, opening an accompanying Instagram account is imperative. Whereas, if your target readers are professionals and businesses, LinkedIn is the ideal social platform for you.

Furthermore, there are a wealth of new blogger groups and forums that you can join for added beginner’s tips and promotional ideas. Such groups often encourage collaborations, follows and interactions with your content in exchange for the equivalent on their blogs.

Consider your equipment

By now, you’ll have a clear idea of what your content will look like. If you plan to include multimedia content that incorporates video, image, or voice-over, you will need equipment such as a high-quality camera, a GoPro, or a microphone. Additionally, if you plan to edit your video or sound content, you will need a laptop or computer that is fitted with the appropriate software.

Create successful content

Typically, successful bloggers consider two factors when creating content for their blog: their readers and their blog’s primary objective.

Objective-based content

When creating content for your blog, you will want the content to align with your blog’s purpose. For example, if your site is focused on promoting or reviewing products, most of your content will be opinion and review pieces. Whereas, if your blog’s purpose is to educate or instruct, you’ll focus on producing how-to articles.

Reader-focused content

It is essential to keep your readers in mind when compiling your content. Your readers are fundamental to the longevity of your blog; therefore, your content should prioritize their needs, which will, in turn, determine your content type, format and style.

Additionally, you’ll need to figure out how they consume content. If your audience is more interested in videos or podcasts than texts, then consider producing such content.

Static content

Your blog should include what is known as static content, which refers to content that rarely changes. Typically, these pages are the first to be created and are usually ‘About me’ and ‘Contact’ sections. These sections should be accessible from your blog’s landing page. Furthermore, if you intend to make money from your blog and use it to advertise or sell advertising space such as implementing Google AdSense or Google Analytics, you must include a Privacy Policy and Disclaimer Page.

Top content writing tips

The following tips should help you to create great content that interests and retains your readers’ attention.

• Ensure relevance

Readers expect to visit your site and to read about a specific topic. Therefore, it is essential to write content that is relevant to your niche. Think of what your audience is searching for and write about this, you can use social media groups and forums to obtain this information. Keywords research is another way to know what your readers are constantly searching for. Additionally, you can use Google Keyword planner to conduct your keyword research.

• Spy on your competitors

Another amazing way to generate content is to look at different blogs within your niche. Find articles that coincide with your blog’s topic, and then try to flesh out the topics. This is known as the skyscraper method, where you continue blogging about a topic that’s been blogged about before whilst ensuring that your content is still unique.

• Post regularly and consistently

Don’t forget to post regularly! Successful blogs publish content on a regular basis, but you decide what that schedule is for you. You can choose to post weekly, daily, every other day, or whatever fits into your life. Just make sure you’re always posting something! Creating an editorial calendar is an excellent and professional way of organizing your content. At a glance, you will be able to view past and prospective content alongside content status and type. You can personalize your calendar to include headings that are useful to you and there are many free templates available online.

• Separate your content

Split your content into manageable sections, use subheadings, images, videos, bullet points and quotes that enable users to easily navigate and locate whatever they are looking for.

• Create internal links

Within each blog post, link to other relevant pages within your blog to encourage users to explore your blog further.

Boost your traffic

So, you have set up your blog and you have content ready to publish, so how do you get people to read it? Growing an audience might seem like a daunting task, but with efficient planning and strategy, your blog will be attracting readers in no time. Below are a few ways to grow your website traffic.

• Start an email list

The trick to growing your blog traffic is not to just draw new visitors but to also keep the old ones coming back. Starting an email list is an easy way to retain your followers. It’s a great asset that reminds readers to read your content by means of weekly emails. There are many email marketing tools that can help you get started, Convertkit and MailChimp are two of the most popular.

• Start guest blogging

Guest posting can help drive high-quality traffic to your blog. This traffic strategy can be extremely effective. Start by researching guest bloggers who have similar content to you and make enquiries regarding potential collaborations. Comment and like their social media posts, leave tips of advice, and reach out to see if you can guest post on their blog. Alternatively, beginner blogging groups are a useful means of connecting with other bloggers where these mutual collaborations are encouraged.

• Use social media

Another important part of growing an audience for your blog is maintaining a strong social media presence and encouraging readers to share your content on social platforms.

Utilize prominent platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. As discussed, you can choose platforms according to your content type and you should also consider using platforms that your target audience are part of. Additionally, incorporate hashtags into your posts, tag other accounts and engage with your competitors and with comments left on your content.

Optimize your search engine visibility

There are numerous ways in which you can rank highly within search engine results:

• Sign up for Webmaster accounts.
• Categorize your blog posts’ content to ensure that they belong to a relevant subject section.
• Install plug ins such as the Yoast WordPress plugin to help improve your rankings

Utilize blogging tools

Successful blogging relies on the utilization of various tools. From keyword research and graphic design to website analysis, there are tools to suit your requirements. Here is a list of some of the most beneficial tools available to bloggers:

• Canva will help you to incorporate visual content
• Google Keyword Planner will search for words or phrases that are linked to your products
• Google Analytics will report on your website’s traffic
• Business Name Generator will generate name ideas for your business as well as offering lots of helpful business advice on their Learning Hub
• Google Console will measure your site’s search traffic
• Google Docs an online word processor
• Yoast SEO Plugin enables higher SEO ranking
• Google Calendar assists you with time management and scheduling
• Google Trends allows you to see current search trends
• Hemingway ensures that your writing is concise
• Grammarly identifies errors within your content
• MailChimp is a marketing platform that enables further interaction with your audience
• Ahrefs helps with SEO rankings

Other ways in which you can generate profit

Once you have a substantial and regular audience, you are potentially in the position to start making money from your blog. While considerable profit may not be immediate, you can make money by selling the following:

• advertising space
• affiliate products
• memberships
• products and services
• digital downloads

Successful bloggers

Now that you are equipped with the information that you need, why not take inspiration from some of the industry’s top bloggers?

#1 ProBlogger

Inspiring fellow bloggers for nearly 20 years, Darren Rowse offers practical and experienced-based advice on the art of blogging.

#2 Smart Passive Income

This blog details the story of Pat Flynn, who after losing his job as a result of the 2008 economic slump, went on to achieve impressive blogging status. He provides advice, has created a podcast and offers courses that are sure to inspire you.

#3 Ryan Robinson

Likewise, Ryan Robinson is known for his direct, no-nonsense advice on blogging. His content is detailed and regular and he has worked with big brands such as LinkedIn, Google and Adobe.

Conclusion

All in all, we hope that you now feel equipped and confident about starting your blogging journey. Remember to articulate your unique ideas, write passionately and regularly and value and cultivate your audience. Gradually, you will reap the benefits from your content, your audience will grow, and you will fall into the natural groove of blogging. There is plenty of room for you to be successful within the welcoming blogosphere.

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