So you think you’re ready to get started in the blogging world? There are loads of reasons why you should consider breaking into this area of the Internet.
First of all, it is a very rewarding hobby, one that can really help you give your writing skills a little boost. Once you get into your new hobby and find that you start to pull a significant number of readers to your blog, you will then be able to make some cash from it.
There are various ways you can do this, from adding adverts to your site and promoting sponsored products in your posts. But before you can even start to think about setting up your very own blogging business, you need to have created a fantastic blog, one that everyone will want to read and stay up to date with.
So how do you get there in the first place? Hopefully, all of the following tips will tell you everything you need to know to get started.
Think Of Your Niche
Do you know what you want to blog about? If not, you need to spend some time thinking about your blog topic and niche before you get started. It is important that you try and think what you can write about that will set you apart from all the other blogs out there. After all, there are thousands and thousands of blogs out there on numerous topics – how will yours attract an audience?
There are various styles of blogs you could adopt, including lifestyle, parenting, and tech. But once you decide on your overall topic, it is a good idea to find a niche on this subject. For instance, gluten-free cookery, or a parenting blog that focuses on children with disabilities. This can really help you to find a dedicated audience.
Build Your Website
First things first, you need to build your own website. There are a few hosting platforms out there that are specifically aimed at bloggers, such as WordPress and Squarespace. These websites give you the chance to host your blog with them. You will be given the choice of some templates to help you design your site and make it look exactly how you want it to.
There are advantages and disadvantages of using these kinds of sites, though, and if you believe that the cons outweigh the pros, you might prefer to create your own website without help from these kinds of platforms.
Thankfully, you don’t have to do it all from scratch as you can use tools to help you such as Adobe Dreamweaver. Don’t be put off by these types of programs and tools. Sure, they may seem complicated at first, but you can always take a few Dreamweaver training classes to help you on your way. Still find it all very complicated and overwhelming? You can always hire a web designer if you find it extremely difficult to get started.
Get Into Photography
No matter what type of blog you start, it is going to need photos and images. These will help it to look great, and they can also help you with your SEO which will help your website move up in Google’s rankings. Sure, you could just settle for some stock images that you can use for free without attribution. But these will end up looking quite generic, and some of them might be used on quite a few other blogs. So they won’t help your blog stand out too much!
The best way to make your photos pop and impress your audience is by taking your own. And if you want to take good ones, you are definitely going to need a good quality camera. Ideally, a DSLR. These types of cameras will allow you to take some very good pictures even when the camera is in the auto setting. However, if you take some time to get to know your camera and sharpen your photography skills, you will find that you can easily take some photos that look very professional. If you want to take things even further, you might even like to sign up to a photography course to hone your skills even more! You never know, you might end up selling some of your best pictures!
One thing is for sure, you will certainly find that writing a blog will be a very rewarding and fulfilling hobby! Get it right, and you could also end up making a nice little bit of extra cash as well!
Image Credit: Pixabay
