Since those beginning blogging days my blog has grown beyond what I ever imagined, and in directions I never dreamed. Blogging is something I love to do! Blogging is enjoyable, inspiring, rewarding, fulfilling, it stretches me to grow and learn, it has allowed me so many exciting opportunities, and has connected me to so many fantastic people around the world!
More amazing than anything is the fact that I now earn a living from blogging, and it is helping me to build a thriving business. Even though there are an estimated 150 thousand new websites and something like 6 million new pages added to the Internet every day, I can confirm from experience that publishing a regular blog to showcase you and your offerings is a very worthwhile experience.
I am writing this article for anyone interested in starting their own blog, whether for business or pleasure. I want to help you ask the right questions, point you in the right direction and get you up and running.
Blogging goes beyond writing a post now and again. You’ll need to think about so many things before you can even get up and running. Once you get going there is so much that needs to be done, you have to make absolutely certain it’s what you want to do.
So are you interested in starting a blog? To save you a lot of the pain, time and hard work I went through trying to figure out blogging, before you get started I want you to ask yourself these questions, and take time to consider your answers:
1. What is your Reason for wanting to start a Blog?
If your reason is to make really quick money then blogging isn’t for you. It takes at least 6 months before you will be able to attract enough traffic to be able to start making real money. That is if you do everything right in the first place.
Here are a few good reasons to start a blog:
– It promotes you as an expert in your field.
– It’s a platform tool to reach a large, new audience.
– It will build your writing and marketing skills.
– It’s a social network to interact with others
– It’s a way to make a difference in the world
– Blogging is fun and entertaining
So what is your reason for wanting to blog?
2. How much Time do you have to spare?
For a blog to build your reputation and show value, you need to put effort into it. It needs to be updated often with interesting content. A blog is an interactive tool that needs care. It’s not like a website that once it’s set up you don’t have to make many changes. Creating and maintaining a blog involves a lot of work. But with the proper goal setting and time management you can do it part-time.
How much time can you allocate to a blog on a daily basis?
3. What Do You Want This Blog to Do?
Everything we do in life, there has to be a reason for doing it. The more clear your expectations are for your blog, the more likely it is that your blog will live up to those expectations. No many of y6ou are blogging for blogging sake. I know it’s fun, but there needs to be a tangible reason why you spend the time you do on it.
What do you expect your blog to achieve for you?
4. Who’s the Audience for This Blog?
The only fashioned scatter gun method of marketing isn’t right for blogging. You need to attract readers that have an interest in your subject and in what you have to say. The clearer you can define them, the easier it will be for you to get the right message to the right audience. Once you know who your readers are, it’s easier to plan content for them.
Who do you expect will be interested in what you blog about?
5. What Kind of Content Will You Provide?
What is it you want to tell or show your readers? You’re basically sharing a bit of yourself, your values and ideals on your blog, but it can be as personal or impersonal as you’d like. Every blog should have a theme. My theme is Healthy Lifestyles Living and the need for personal development. Spend time thinking about what your message is and remember the more useful and entertaining content you have, the more readers you’ll attract and keep.
What have you to write about each and every day?
6. How will you provide value?
Providing value to your readers is very important because otherwise what’s to stop readers you attract from going to someone else’s blog and getting from them the same type of thing you are trying to provide. Your information has to offer them value. It has to entertain.
What benefits will your readers get from reading your blog?
7. How Will You Promote Your Blog?
At some point in the near future you’re going to have to turn your attention to marketing your blog. You’ll get to the point where you feel all the time and effort you put in to writing your posts, isn’t worth it because only your closest of friends and family are reading it. So you have got to get out into the internet world and shout out. You’ll find a good ally in Google but that won’t do it all for you.
Will you be able to get out there and find readers and establish a social network?
8. How Will You Assess the Success of Your Blog?
What do you want to happen that will show you whether blogging is a successful avenue for you. Is it the amount of money you make, the amount of traffic, how your blog is ranked against others, or maybe the feedback you get from your readers.
What do you want to see 6 months after starting?
9. How often will you post?
Decide in advance how often you will post on your blog. Remember frequent updates attract readers. Many bloggers post every day of the week. Some write every weekday. Whatever rate of posting you decide, you have to stick with it, because it’s important to be consistent. If you stop posting, you’ll lose readers.
How many articles do you plan to write weekly?
10. Do you have enough knowledge and passion for your subject?
Determine where your knowledge, skills and passion meet and take it from there – that should be your base with blogging your passion. Start your blog based on your knowledge, passion and interest.
Blogging can be very rewarding if you are patient with it and do things right. Set out to honestly help people with your knowledge and experience and blogging will work out just great for you.
What is it you are so passionate about, that you’d love to write and talk about?
What are you waiting for? Get going and start a blog!
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