Have you ever wondered how someone with a side gig of writing blogs turns it into a lucrative career and earns through it? One of the most significant advantages of the rise of the digital era is that anyone who knows and can use the power of words can become a blogger almost instantly.
But it is also true that the past few years have seen many people entering the Blogging domain, and while each one of them is equally good, new bloggers always have that lingering question in mind. “How to start a blogging website in 2021?”.
The process of how to start blogging has been pretty much the same even in 2021, but the one thing that has become different is that because of the ease and technological advances, almost everyone can start blogging to their heart’s content with just a few easy steps. Today, creating a blog doesn’t involve a lot of technical know-how, and whether you are 7 or 70 years old, you can start blogging with complete ease.
Understand the world of Blogging
Just like everything else, Blogging is also something you learn after making several mistakes. However, the important thing is that you need to learn from your mistakes so that you can improve the quality of your blogs with each new blog that you write. The best bloggers are, in fact, those people who write from their personal experiences and make their writing so graphic that the readers can instantly create a picture.
You could be a blogger writing about your everyday experiences and learnings or a travel enthusiast who wants to share with the rest of the world about your travel stories. Some of the best travel bloggers who connect with their audience with various travel stories are Legal Nomads, Expert Vagabond, and A Broken Backpack.
These bloggers are different from the others because of the level of personalization they bring to each blog. You need to be able to enthrall the readers with your connection, and as long as you can hold the conversation up in day-to-day life, it will be easy for you to connect with your readers even if you are no language expert.
The only thing that matters is that you have a passion for your topic and niche that you enjoy writing for, and the expertise to write about it will come naturally to you. Now that you know you have the passion and interest for your field and you want to share the same with others, here is what you need to do to start a blogging website in 2021.
Why do you need to blog?
Many people still ask this question, and it is ok if you are questioning the very reasons for Blogging. These days, people want to connect with their users, and Blogging is one direct way of doing so. So you need a blog if you’re going to;
- Share your story and personal experiences
- Write quality blogs and start earning money from the comforts of your home
- Promote your business with the depth of knowledge that you get in blogs
- Find a community of people who connect with the same thought process as you.
Now that we have understood what Blogging is and why you need to start it, let us look at the points you need to keep in mind while creating a blog in 2021.
Also Read: Ninja Guide To Content Creation- Top Writing Tools
Your Five-Step Mantra to starting a Blog in 2021
1. Choose a blog name
Poets and other famous book writers often have a different pen name under which they wrote and connected with the audience. Almost on similar lines, people writing blogs have a pseudo-identity that comes in a blog name. While coming up with a blog name, make sure that it is personal to you and at the same time has an accurate description that explains to your reader what kind of content you will be writing. Keep your blog name short and crisp and something that will immediately attract the eyeballs of the readers.
A few tips you can keep in mind while choosing your blog name are:
- If your chosen name is already taken try saving it under a different domain like .net or .org
- Add certain words like “the” and “my” to bring out a better personality to your blogging channel.
- Use special characters like “-” and “_” to define your blogging name.
2. Get your blog hosted online
The only way to get people aware of your online blogs is by registering them online and having them hosted. This aspect may seem a bit technical; however, several portals like WordPress, DreamHost, and GoDaddy have easy instructions that you can follow to get started on your blogging website. These portals are very user friendly, and as long as you know how to follow instructions, it will be a cakewalk to enter the world of Blogging!
When hosting a blogging website it is important to note that you need a blog hoster and blogging software that normally comes as a package. In order to start a blog channel of your own, you need to have a potential blog host ( WordPress, Wix, or SquareSpace) that gives you the platform where your users will reach you.
There are tons of blog hosts that offer a lot of benefits and I prefer using WordPress because if you are a starter you can sign up for free and make use of a lot of free tools and widgets as well. Choose your membership plan based on your needs and choose wisely as well.
Another important aspect of hosting a blogging site is to choose your domain and this allows you to choose a blog handle that might have already been taken up by another blogger. Please note that depending on the domain that you choose, the prices of hosting may vary as well.
3. Personalize your blog
The thing about almost all blogging websites is that each blog is different from the others. The thing that makes them different is the type of customization and layout of your blogging website. Most blogging hosts like WordPress give you a wide variety of templates to choose from. Choose the template that resonates with you the most and keeps adding more elements to it to make it more YOU.
The best thing about using WordPress is that they offer designs as themes and once you click on a certain theme, the entire design of and layout of your WordPress blog changes. You can change the appearance of your blog by clicking on the ‘Appearance’ tab and once you have selected the theme of your choice, click on “activate”.
4. Share the first post
With your blog page hosted and up and ready, the only thing that you need to do is work on that fantastic first post. Choose a topic that interests you, and once you have it constructed, all you gotta do is hit that “publish” or “post” button. It is easy to start a blog, but the shelf life of your blogging website will depend on how regularly you publish new content. So, make sure once you start on your blogging journey, you post content regularly.
5. Promote your blog
Imagine this, you are arranging a party, and you want more people to attend. Now the only way they can come to your party is if they know your address. Your blogging domain is new, and people will know about it only when you share the blogging website details with them. Take the help of your other social media platforms and accounts to have more people follow your blog. This is the only way you will promote your blog online, and the more your readers share your blog posts, the more following you will get.
Must-have ingredients for a good blog
To make your blog worth reading and interesting it is an absolute must that it carries static and dynamic content. Now static content is taken care of with the help of what you have written, but dynamic content comes in the form of images and animated pictures that you can add to beautify your blog. Dynamic content is also the kind of content that pushes your audience to interact with you.
Static content should also carry necessary information such as a contact me page and an about us page. These two pages give the readers the information of what you and your blogging channel are all about. Along with these two pages the other pagers that you need to include are:
- Disclaimer page ( so that they know the purpose of you writing the blog)
- Privacy page ( if you are asking your readers for their details you need to include a privacy page that lets them know that their details will not be misused)
- If your blog is in a way selling products or services then you need to have a terms and conditions page that explains all the details.
Dynamic content is basically the new information and posts that you put out regularly under the means of interacting with your readers. Important facts and tips that are interesting to know of and add more value to your blogs that are already posted. It is important to take note that it is with the help of dynamic content that you will be able to interact with your readers.
To start a blogging website in 2021, you must have a clear idea of what you want to connect to your audiences. Be passionate about one thing, and then pour all that passion into your blog content. The rules are simple, and the only thing that you need to follow to the T is, to be honest about your passion for writing about your niche. If you are looking to start blogs for your business, you can take the help of content writing services by professionals. These are a few points that you need to bear in mind if you are keen on starting a blogging website in 2021.
Also Read: How Blogging Can Be A Powerful Marketing Tool For Your Business?
