Anyone can come up with an idea for a blog and get started but long before writing commences, there are several steps that must be done beforehand. Taking care of the basics in creating your lifestyle blog helps get your blog to more eyes quickly and improves search results.
To start blogging today is actually really simple, but not a best practice. Preparation is the key to success; using this guide to get your lifestyle blog up and running ensures you won’t spend time in the wilderness but have a clear plan of action and know the signposts to success.
Here are the Five Steps to Start Up a Lifestyle Blog
Step 1: Specialize
There are two questions prospective bloggers must answer – what are you interested in and where is your expertise? Answering these questions allows you to write about what you enjoy and gives your readers something to take with them. Whatever your talents are, sharing them in a compelling way will get you increased readership, so focus on these areas.
With lifestyle blogging, there are a lot of subjects you may be interested in but drill down on a couple. The reason is focusing on a niche draws interested readers and that allows you room for growth and interaction with a loyal base.
Step 2: Choose Your Host
There are lots of different hosting sites for your blog, the key is to choose the right one. Developed for blogs initially, WordPress is one of the most well-known. There is a lot to it, and even if you’re not a computer expert, it is easy to work a WordPress site. The resources are everywhere – all you need to do is type a question into Google and there are tons of YouTube videos for you to see.
There are different paid tools and free tools as well. For free platforms, there is little in the way of tech support and owning your site is difficult. Though there may be a small fee, it is worth paying the fee for the site because you will get ownership of your work and a greater percentage of the income derived from the blog.
This is an important decision to make – especially before you choose the URL.
Step 3: Name Your Domain
Let’s get the important part out of the way right way – you want a simple name that ends with .com. Make sure the name of your site is what your site’s about. Sometimes a name may be taken, but they are usually cheap to acquire.
One thing you never want to do is try and replicate a website name similar to something that is already popular. Be creative and have a site name that could be branded. Think about Amazon or a site with a similar name that is just one or two words. If you come up with a concept that is easy to remember and repeat, then you have chosen a proper name for your blog.
One more tip is making sure your site name is not too specific. As your blog gains notoriety, there will be opportunities for collaborative projects. Make sure that having a site name that is specific enough but is still generic can jump-start these collaborations.
Step 4: Theme Choice
Whether or not you are using WordPress, your site will have to have a theme. Themes can be paid or free, but with paid themes there are a little more in the way of options with them. It is important to know the different things to think about when choosing a theme.
First, make sure that your homepage has a proper display. Do you want a recent blog post to greet visitors or a standard display? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you choose a good theme to base your blog on.
The next step is making sure that your theme is friendly for advertising. This allows you to monetize your blog with ease. The more friendly your site is for advertising, the easier it is to attract the big fish paying for exposure on your blog site.
Tech support is really important too. Free themes often have problems with getting helpful tech support when you need it. Spend a little more on a theme so you can get tech support when problems arise.
SEO is very important too. A theme that supports SEO will allow you to place keywords where needed so traffic is organically arriving at your blog site.
Step 5: Create Great Posts
Writing may seem to be the easiest part of creating your blog site, but the reality is this part is quite difficult. For your blog to be sought out, it must be enjoyable to read and easily shared. There are no shortcuts here. Don’t go for clickbait headlines or content that is provocative just to be provocative. Have a purpose, respect your readers, and make it fun. If you do those things when you write, people will share your work with others, and that is how you build a following.
There are several things you can do to ensure your writing is compelling. The first is to write about something that you really enjoy. Your feelings about a topic come through and your diction is the window into this mindset. Readers will know you are passionate, and that passion naturally brings people in. Always get yourself in a positive frame of mind, and the love of the subject will come through.
Consistency is very important. Set a schedule for yourself with your posts. Maybe you start out with 1-2 posts per week but as you get into the flow of things you can pick up your output. Your readers will appreciate the consistency. Be sure to post on the same day each week. If, for some reason, you are unable to post, put a note on the site giving a short answer as to why there is no new content.
Make sure you are using ethical business principles. Don’t write something and publish it if you are unwilling to stand behind it.
Photos showcase your ideas to the world. Use them to add depth to your words. A great tool is using royalty-free photos that can be found on Google Images.
Make sure that your blog is not an extension of a therapy couch. Providing a window into your life connects with readers. Don’t show the readers all the skeletons in your closet.
The bottom line, blogging is something that is a lot of fun. When you have a road map like the one outlined above, your blog is on the fast track to success.