More than 600 million blogs are active worldwide. This is a great thing. You can blog as a hobby or profession. There are many advantages.
A blog is a powerful marketing strategy that can help businesses.
Both hobby bloggers and professional writers can reap the same benefits from blogging. You will be able to build your brand, become a leader in your field and make money online.
No matter what your reason for blogging is, it’s a great way to build your online presence and share your thoughts. Here are some tips for new bloggers.
Tips for new bloggers
- Choose a blog niche
- Research your audience
- Get inspiration online
- What are people looking for
- Use keywords strategically
- You can organize your blog by categories
- Create an editorial calendar
- Start with a sketch.
- Data collection and research
- Write powerful copy
- Incorporate different content types
- There are many visuals you can use.
- Include clickable CTAs
- Develop a strong linking strategy
- Prioritize long blog posts
- Keep your content up-to-date
- Make a blog newsletter
- Social media is an excellent place to promote your blog.
- Enhance your online presence
- Monitor your blog analytics
- Make a profit from monetization opportunities
1. Choose a blog niche
To attract people to your website, you need to pick a topic or niche. What topic should you focus on?
Consider your goals first. Do you want your content to be used to promote your company or other goals? It is important to understand your overall goals to reach them.
No matter what niche you choose, it will be your main feature online. Choose an area that interests you and has experience in.
These are the most popular types of blogs:
- Blogs for business
- Travel blogs
- Food blogs
- Finance blogs
- Lifestyle blogs
- Personal blog
- Fashion blog
- Blogs about wellness
- Design blogs
- Technology blogs
It is possible to narrow your niche by using your experience to appeal to a specific audience. For example, you might focus on budget travel or vegan food within the European niche.
These templates will help you pick the right niche.
2. Research your audience
Bloggers make the biggest mistake of not knowing their audience.
Next, list their needs and interests. Based on their personality, think of topics that may interest them.
Keep these ideas in mind when you are thinking up topics for your blog and writing content. Before you begin writing, you should understand the reasons why each piece you create will be valuable to your readers.
3. Get inspiration online
As a beginner blogger, you might be curious about how to create blog topics. Do your research to find the most popular topics.
You can also check out blogs that are related to yours. This will allow you to see which articles are getting the most clicks or shares on social media.
It’s also smart to monitor trending content.
- Many online courses can be found in your field, including Udemy or SkillShare.
- Stay up to date with the latest industry news and trends.
- Q&A feeds can be found on sites like Quora.
- Search bestsellers, highly-rated books, and recently published books.
- See the top searches with Google Trends. Both vegan and paleo recipes receive a steady stream of traffic
Create a list of topics using your research on popular and high-performing topics.
4. Learn what people are searching
Keyword research is necessary to create your topic list. Target specific phrases and keywords based on what your audience searches for in search engines.
You don’t need to be an expert at keyword research. However, it can help identify terms that people are searching for. It will also help you rank higher in search results. This will make sure your content is read.
Keyword research can seem daunting but it is quite simple. There are many tools available that will help you find the right keywords. Some of these tools can be downloaded for free.
- Please answer the Public
- Ubersuggest (free)
- Google Keyword Planner (free).
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
After you’ve identified the keyword you want to target, you can perform a Google search. Make sure your blog posts are related.
5. Strategically use keywords
To find out the interests of your audience, you should conduct keyword research. You should also include these keywords in your text. Google will be capable of seeing the content of your articles.
Include keywords in your post before you upload it
- URL: For example, www.myblog.com/blog/strategic-keyword.
- Meta title. This is what Google will show you in search results.
- Meta description: This paragraph is located below Google Search Results’ blue title.
- Alt text: This text is added to make your images search engine-friendly (more information at step 12).
Keyword stuffing refers to the repeated and indiscriminate use of keywords in text. This can be spammy and damage your SEO.
6. You can organize your blog by categories
Your blog should be organized in the same manner as your closet. It might help to add topic categories to the navigation menu.
Google values structure. Google values website structure when ranking pages among the top search results.
7. Make an editorial calendar
A consistent publishing schedule is key to success in blogging for beginners. Google also rewards blogs that publish frequently.
It is a good idea to publish articles at least twice a week. To get started, it is important to establish a realistic publishing schedule.
You can create an editorial calendar to keep you accountable. Separate columns are useful for topics, ideas, publication dates and keyword, as well as progress status.
If you have a plan, and a list to choose from, it will be easier to meet deadlines. It is important to plan and prepare for research.
If you have more writers on the job, you can open up your blog to guest writers. Many writers are looking for ways to help other websites to build their online reputation.
8. Start with a sketch.
After you’ve identified a topic and several words, it’s time for you to plan the structure of your articles.
Your outline should include three elements:
- Introduction: This paragraph is the beginning of your article. Add some bulleted notes in your outline to highlight ideas you want to include in your introduction.
- The body is the main part of your article. Take a look at your outline to see the key points you want to emphasize in each section.
- Conclusion: These are your last paragraphs. You can add a conclusion section in your outline.
These templates can help you start your outline.
9. Research, data collection
Let’s talk about the content of your blog posts. The structure is key to making your piece convincing, powerful, and credible.
Data-rich articles increase the chances that people will link back to them on the internet.
As you create your ideas, research statistics that support your claims. Instead of saying “More people surf the internet via mobile”, you should say “About half of all global web traffic is from mobile.” These statistics can be added to the outline before you start writing.
The above stats are hyperlinked. To properly credit external sources,
Once you feel more comfortable blogging, it might be a good idea to increase your research skills (e.g. by conducting online surveys about your audience or interviewing people). To create authoritative, expert content for the internet,
10. Write powerful copy
After you have completed your outline, you can start to create your first draft. These elements should be included in your blog post.
Headline: This is how you draw people in and get them to click on your article.
Introduction: This area is important to grab readers’ attention. Your introduction should appeal to all readers, then move on to your main topic
Body – Use your notes to elaborate on your main argument.
- To break up your text, each main point should have its section.
- Add visual texture to your article by using bullet points and numbers.
- Use statistics and examples to illustrate your points.
- Clear, actionable suggestions will a benefit your readers.
- Keep paragraphs short to maximize whitespace and improve readability.
- Use a consistent voice to represent your brand.
Summary: Remind your audience in 2-3 sentences your main points. Ask them a question such as “What do these ideas mean to you?” “You can also tell us anything else.
Final step: Review and edit your article before publishing. This will increase your confidence and make you feel like you did your best.
This post template will help you format and write your post.
11. Incorporate different content types
Images can be added to your articles. You can also link to an ebook, webinar, or other resource related to the topic.
Repurpose articles in different formats for sharing across multiple platforms. It is possible to also create a podcast or ebook based on your articles.
12. You can use a variety of visuals
Your writing is what makes your blog posts stand out. One image per 75-100 words will increase the shareability of your articles.
Remember this when you break up text blocks with images and videos.
Use high-quality images to create polished and professional pieces
Alt text is used to optimize images for SEO. It will not appear in the published post.
This article will show you how to find the best blog templates. View more templates.
13. Include clickable CTAs
Do you hope your readers will turn into clients? This could be true if you’re blogging for your business or selling products and services that are related to your brand
This is what your readers want. Calls-to-action is short, actionable phrases that encourage or move readers closer to purchasing your products.
CTAs are a great way to get more people to your site.
14. Create a strong linking strategy
Learn How to start a blog. You should pay attention to three types of links.
- Internal links: These links are within your blog posts that connect to other pages or articles on your site. This type of linking improves the SEO of your articles.
- External Links: These links are embedded in your blog posts and link to third-party sites. These links are useful when you need a study or statistic to be cited from another source
- Backlinks refer to links from third-party websites linking to your website or blog. A backlink from an authoritative website will make your site more trustworthy.
Each plays an important role in the success of your blog. Include links in your posts.
15. Prioritize long blog posts
Research shows that blogs with between 1,500 and 2,000 words perform better in SEO. In 2020, the average length of a blog article for SEO was 1,890 characters.
Long posts can be so useful because they allow readers to dive deeper into topics. Longer posts have a greater impact on SEO as they address the most relevant keywords to the topic.
This does not mean you should stop writing blog posts. Longer articles will be given priority when creating your content calendar.
16. Keep your content up-to-date
It is a vital tip for new bloggers to ensure that your content is current. Prioritize timeless content blog articles on topics that will be relevant for many years.
An update to content can be as simple as a refresh or as complex as a complete redesign. You will find more information below.
To keep track of any changes, it may be a good idea to include a column in your editorial calendar. This reminder will remind you to check the article every six months.
17. Make a blog newsletter
One question will always come up, even after you publish a month’s worth of articles: How do you get people to continue reading your blog?
First, you need to consider how to get people to your site who have visited it before.
Encourage sign-ups via your blog posts. Use a CTA to get readers to sign up. You can communicate regularly with your audience and turn them into loyal fans.
There are many ways to get your reader’s emails addresses
18. The best place to promote your blog is social media.
Next, you need to know how to get new visitors to your blog.
Social media sharing is an easy and cost-free way to promote your blog.
Share these articles with others. Ask readers to share them.
19. Increase your online presence
It doesn’t matter if you are on social media. There are many creative ways to establish yourself as an author.
- Network with bloggers in your niche online and in person to inquire about cross-promotional opportunities.
- Joining online communities, such as forums or social media pages about your industry.
- Guest posting to other sites can increase traffic to your site and increase backlinks. This will allow you to expand your reach.
You already know your readers, all you have to do is find them.
20. Monitor your blog analytics
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how your blog posts perform.
How many people read your articles each month? Which topics are most popular? These data can help you to improve your blog and show you how you can replicate your success.
You might be able to create more articles about the same topic in a similar format if one article isn’t getting enough attention.
21. Make a profit from the monetization opportunities
As a beginner, you may not be thinking about how to monetize your blog. Many people want to make more money and even a full-time income from their blog.
To make money blogging, you need to turn your traffic into income.
- Members-only Access to Exclusive Content is Available through Paid Subscriptions
- Affiliate links can be added to products. These links will enable you to receive a commission every time a reader clicks the link and buys the product.
- You may sell merchandise related to your brand.
- Companies will pay for you to create sponsored content.
- Your blog can be used by clients to offer consulting services.
- Advertise on your blog
It may seem overwhelming, but you can achieve your goals. Take a look at the Build It Yourself Blog online course.