You may have heard many times about Blogs. In recent times, blogging has taken a huge market in itself and many people have taken this path. Though there are many people who start blogging, there too are many who fail to keep it going. People generally have no idea what they are doing and are in a rush for an immediate outcome. Today, I would like to express my take on blogs and what you should consider before you start a blog.
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What is a Blog & How to Start a Blog?
If I have to answer this question as simple as possible, then I would say Blog is an informational website where you put your thoughts, ideas, experiences, and knowledge in a genuine thought provocative manner. And the skill required to do is called Blogging.
If you are a beginner and want to have a general idea on what you should prepare early on for blogging then you are at the right place. Let us take a look at some key aspects to reconsider to start a Blog.
Mentally prepare yourself
You gotta be prepared for what you are about to do. Get the general idea what blogs are and keep your mind at peace. You shouldn’t over-excite yourself or over except results early on. I’ve seen many people fail while over expecting things. So, keep this in mind if you want to start a blog.
Choose a Niche
One of the most important things is to choose a Niche. There are different fields, ideas, and paths one can take to share the information. A Niche simply means the select field for which you would share your information /ideas /experiences. This can be Tech, Fashion, Sports and so on, you get the idea.
It is not a rule of thumb that we should choose just ‘a Niche’.If you are capable of sharing ideas about different Niche’s without under-committing in any one then you can do it. It’s all upto you.The point you should always focus is, your visitors are everything and make them wanting more from you.
Choose a suitable platform for your blogs.
A blogging platform is a base where you want to build your blogs.As a starter, there are quite a few things you should consider while choosing your platform. A beginner should choose a platform which is easy and need no codes for blog creation. You should also choose what is feasible for your kind of Niche. Personally, I choose WordPress as it suits my requirements. These are lists of popular platforms to start a blog :
- WordPress.org
- Wix
- WordPress.com
- Blogger
- Tumblr
- Medium
- Squarespace
- Joomla
- Ghost
- Weebly
Choose a platform of your choice. And, most important choose a custom domain name suitable for your Niche. You can check when the domain is occupied or not in who.is
Some platforms offer free hosting service but for many you should check out your local site hosting company. Choose the ones that give value for your money.
Take it slow
Nowadays, I see people are always in a rush for things. As I said earlier, you should be mentally prepared for things and don’t have any over-expectations.
I see that most of the people rush their way into Blogging, and then immediately slow themselves over time. It is ok to take it slow. Start a blog and take it in consistent pace. Nobody is successful at first. You might not get the results what you were looking for in initial stages but trust me on this, you will succeed overtime.
Content matters the most.
Most important thing for your blog is the content you put in it. Content matters above all in blogging . If you offer quality content then you won’t miss visitors on your blog. You should choose quality over quantity. If you do so , then your blogs will certainly get the rewards it deserves.
Blogs are all about sharing your words to your viewers. You must work on maintaining your views with similar interests and ideals. That way you will thrive. If you try to accompany visitors with different interests then they won’t be with you always.
SEO and research
Now that you have taken your initial steps.You have to have the knowledge about Search Engine Optimization. It means you have to make your blog such that google or other search engines favor it. For that , you have to optimize your blogs. It I will be doing a seperate article on SEO for beginners but for now just research for yourself , you will find several helpful blogs regarding it.
Adsense
If you work around above things, you should be able to verify yourself for Google Adsense. Focus on your contents first then only apply for Adsense when you have enough. You can show adds on your blogs and start earning. Take a look at Best Ad Network for Nepali Traffic.